Tombstone Tuesday - Grandma Spurlock 1800-1908

This is the grave marker for Ellender (Vickers) Spurlock, my paternal 2^nd great-grandmother.

Digital image. Copyright Denise Spurlock. 2011.

GRANDMA SPURLOCK

1800-1908

As with the markers for Frances Spurlock Miller and SarahSpurlock Duncan (Ransom and Ellender Spurlock’s oldest daughters), I believe the dates on this gravestone are incorrect.

Ellender is first enumerated by name on the 1850 census; she is recorded as being 29 years of age indicating she was born in either 1819 or 1820. On the 1900 census, the enumerator recorded her birthdate as 1 January 1817. (For some reason the enumerator recorded full birthdates for about half the individuals on the page, the others have just the month and year of birth.)

In my database, I have her date of birth recorded as 30 December 1820; that fact is not sourced (likely something I was told as a newbie genealogist many years ago—the information probably came from a family member). I also have a recorded death date of 11 November 1906, also unsourced. [Note to self: clean up database!]

Ellender and her two oldest daughters are buried in the same cemetery; their gravestones are very similar. It is likely that the markers were made some years after the deaths of all three women. The individual who gave the information to be put on the stones could not have had firsthand knowledge of Ellender’s birthdate and may have been relying on memory for the date of her death resulting in inaccurate information.

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Tombstone Tuesday - Sallie Duncan 1835-1930

Digital image. Copyright Denise Spurlock 2011.

SALLIE DUNCAN

SEPT. 26, 1835

NOV. 6, 1930

Sarah Jane (Spurlock) Duncan, my paternal great-grandaunt, was born likely in 1839 rather than 1835, as stated on this marker. Her parents, Ransom and Ellender (Vickers) Spurlock, were married in 1836. Sallie first appears by name on the 1850 U.S. federal census; the enumerator wrote down that she was aged 10.

She probably was born in Hinds County, Mississippi, where Ransom Spurlock is enumerated on the 1840 federal census. She married William H. Duncan on 9 January 1868 in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana. Sallie and William had no children. He died in 1905, and Sallie lived with her younger brother, John (my great-grandfather), for the remainder of her life. She is buried in the Mt. Zion (Driskill) Cumberland Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Tombstone Tuesday - Francis Spurlock Miller - 1831?-1932

Francis Miller Gravesite, Mt. Zion Cumberland Presbyterian Church Cemetery,
Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
Digital image. Copyright Denise Spurlock 2007.

Francis Miller

Feb. 1, 1831

July 12, 1932

Francis E. "Fannie" (Spurlock) Miller, one of my great-grandaunts, was the daughter of Ransom and Ellender (Vickers) Spurlock.

I believe Fannie was more likely born in 1837, rather than in 1831 as shown on the marker. On the 1850 census (the first census on which she is named), she is noted as being 13 years old which would put her birth in the 1836-1837 range.

She married John Miller on 23 December 1858 in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. The couple had two children. Their son, J. R., died before he was two years old; their daughter, Francis Elizabeth, died in 1912. John Miller died of disease during the Civil War. Although there is some evidence that Fannie married again, I have been unable to locate a record of the marriage. She used the Miller surname throughout the latter part of her life.

The grave marker is the only source I have for her death date, but that date is suspect as well. I have been unsuccessful in finding a death certificate in the Louisiana Secretary of State's database. There is some evidence that her death was not reported in a timely manner in order that another family member would continue to receive her widow's pension payments. More on that at another time!


© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Tombstone Tuesday - Dialtha Owens Spurlock

This is another photo taken while visiting Hurricane Cemetery in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, in 2007. Dialtha Owens Spurlock was my paternal great-grandmother. I believe this marker was placed in the 1930s; late in 1929, my grandfather J. J. Spurlock mentioned paying for it in a letter to his sister Sarah E. (Spurlock) Conville.

Digital image. Original held by
Denise Spurlock, [ADDRESS WITHHELD FOR PRIVACY],
Lomita, CA, 2011.

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Tombstone Tuesday - Houston T. and Sherreldia J. Owens

I took these photographs of the graves of my paternal 2nd great-grandparents, Houston T. and Sherreldia Jane (Hammontree) Owens when I visited Hurricane Cemetery in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, in 2007. I was saddened that Houston's marker was broken but did not have the knowledge or resources to repair it.

Digital image. Original held by
Denise Spurlock, [ADDRESS WITHHELD FOR PRIVACY],
Lomita, CA, 2011.

 Huston [Houston] T.

Husband of 

S. J. Owens

Born Mar. 24, 1816

Died Sept. 15, 1895

Digital image. Original held by
Denise Spurlock, [ADDRESS WITHHELD FOR PRIVACY],
Lomita, CA, 2011.

Sherreldia J.

Wife of

Huston [Houston] T. Owens

Born Nov. 10, 1825

Died Dec. 31, 1896

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Tombstone Tuesday - James J. and Ollie S. Spurlock

Digital photograph taken by Denise Spurlock,
[ADDRESS WITHHELD FOR PERSONAL USE], 2007.

SPURLOCK

James J.
Apr. 15, 1853
Jan. 20, 1889

Ollie S. Baker
Dec. 31, 1860
Dec. 29, 1945

Hurricane Cemetery
Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

 



James Joshua Spurlock, my paternal great-granduncle, was the 9th child of Ransom and Ellender (Vickers) Spurlock. He married Ollie Samantha Carolina Martha Baker on 12 September 1879. The couple had four children before James' death in 1889: Ransom Bartholomew, Ora Bell, George W., and Flora L.


© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Tombstone Tuesday - W. A. Yauman (Yawman)

W. A Youman
3rd Minn. Inf.
Digital photograph taken by Denise Spurlock 2007.

This is the gravestone of William A. Yawman, my great-granduncle, born 1831, died 31 January 1895. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Denison, Grayson County, Texas.

He was a wagoner in the 3rd Minnesota Infantry from 1861 to 1864.



© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Tombstone Tuesday - Jasper J. Spurlock (1876-1940)

Jasper J. Spurlock 1876-1940
Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California
Digital photograph by Denise Spurlock
2011

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Tombstone Tuesday - Rev. John F. Spurlock

Rev. John F. Spurlock
Aug. 22, 1846 - Mar. 18, 1945
Antioch Cumberland Presybterian Cemetery
Quitman, Jackson Parish, Louisiana

As mentioned in my post of John Spurlock's obituary, my research presents conflicting evidence regarding his date of birth. He likely was not as old as is reflected on his tombstone and in his obituary.

© 2011 Denise Spurlock

Tombstone Tuesday AND Tuesday’s Tip – Two Posts in One!

First, for Tombstone Tuesday, I am posting pictures of the front and back of the tombstone memorializing my parents, Jasper Jackson and Beaulah Belle (Yawman) Spurlock, located in Lone Grove Cemetery, Lone Grove, Carter County, Oklahoma.

Now for Tuesday’s Tip: Don’t accept what you find engraved on a tombstone as your only proof for a genealogical fact. You could be lead astray!

My father is the only person buried in the grave pictured above. My mother died in Bakersfield, Kern County, California; at her request, her body was donated to the University of Southern California for medical research purposes. My siblings and I chose to have a new marker made for my dad’s grave to remember my mom as well.

You might surmise from the listing on the back of the marker that my parents had six children, but they did not. Jane was my father’s daughter from his first marriage to Mattie Lee McBride. Deanna, Arny and Tony are my mother’s children from her first marriage to Archie Sherrell. Jenny and I are the only two children born of my parents’ union.

Perhaps you know of a unintentionally deceptive tombstone in your own family. If you do, make a record of it so that future descendants will not be mislead.

© 2011 Denise Spurlock