Family Resemblances

One reason I love looking at old pictures of family members is to see if there is any resemblance to living family members.  I like the idea that those genes just keep appearing to connect us to one another in a visual way.

Now, I don't know much more than the science behind genetics other than Gregor Mendel and his pea plants that I remember from high school biology, but in the genetic pool that we all come from, I know the possibility is there that an ancestor's nose, eyes, or hair color will find its way into one of my grandchildren.  In looking for these visual connections, I didn't have to look too far to find one such case that tells me that my father, my son, my grandson, and I all descend from my great-grandfather, Frank Clark.  That same gene is floating around in each of us.  I only wish I had a photograph of Frank's parents so I could tell if that gene came from the Clark's or from Frank's mother, Belle Stairs.  

Frank Clark

Me with my cousin Mike  - about 1959

                                

Timothy Koehler - 1984 - age 4

My dad, Bob Wayson,
 with my grandson, Liam, who is Timothy's son.

This month marks the thirty-third anniversary of my Aunt Edna Mae's death.  On September 5, 1977, she was shot and killed by her second husband, Dan Dodson in Benton, Arkansas.

Edna Mae Wayson was born November 3, 1941 in Dover, Kentucky.  She was the sixth child and second daughter of William and Juanita (Clark) Wayson.   She relocated to Benton, Arkansas with my grandmother and several of her siblings in the early 1960's.  It was there that she married her first husband, Tommy Raper.  They had three children, a boy and two girls.

It was during her second marriage that Edna Mae decided to pursue a career as a Licensed Practical Nurse.  Her career was short-lived.  Her life cut short.

May you rest in peace.  You are remembered, Aunt Edna.

The Mysterious Death of Miss Laura F. Judd

Laura Judd was the sister of Phoebe Judd Nower, my great great grandmother.  Laura was born in Mason County, Kentucky on the sixth day of September 1865.  She never married and remained close to her sisters all her life.  It has been said that Phoebe's daughter, Myrtle, loved visiting her Aunt Laura. 

Another sister, Joella Judd Coulter and her husband, John, had moved from Mason County to Missouri.  Around 1890, Laura must have decided to join them in the area.  According to Maysville, Kentucky newspapers during that time, Laura returned to Mason County often for visits with Phoebe.  One item in the June 3, 1895 Evening Bulletin stated that Laura was returning to Leavenworth, Kansas after visiting with Phoebe's family.  Her nephew, Ernest Nower, was accompanying her.  By 1900, she was living in Buchanan County, Missouri in the household of her sister and brother - in -law, Joella and John Coulter.  

It was in her sister's home that Laura met her mysterious death.  According to one newspaper source, Laura, during the night of July 4, 1909, accidentally drank carbolic acid which killed her.  Her body was taken to Dover, Kentucky for burial in the Locust Grove Cemetery.  On July 13, it was reported in the Daily Public Ledger that there was talk of the possibility of Laura being forced to drink the poison, however I could not find any other newspaper article mentioning this.  I imagine her friends and family could not understand her untimely death and were looking for an answer.   I think they had a difficult time believing her death at age forty-three.

Myrtle Nower Marries Frank Clark

Miss Myrtle Nower, only daughter of the late Mrs. Phoebe J. Nower of Dover and Frank Clark of Hebron, Ill., who has been visiting at Dover for some months, were married yesterday at Georgetown, Ohio.

3 October  1907                    
Daily Public Ledger        
Maysville, Kentucky

I found this marriage announcement on the Chronicling America web site.

The Nower Family

Last week I wrote what I know about Paul Nower and included a picture of him.  Over the weekend, my mother commented to my father and me that Paul really didn't resemble his sister, my great-grandmother, Myrtle, at all.  Looking back through all the entries of this blog, I realized that I have never posted the great photo I have of Paul's whole family.  The picture isn't dated and its actually a copy of the original, but looking at the dates of birth for each of the children, I am guessing that it was taken sometime in the 1890's.

The family posed for their picture in front of their home in Dover, Kentucky.  They were, what I suppose we would call, an upper middle class family in their small town.  During this time, Samuel was a constable in Dover.  His granddaughter, Frances, told me the story of how her mother, Ella Myrtle, was raised with affluence and even had a nanny who cared for her needs.  She said that Samuel was a banker, although, as of yet, I haven't found any evidence of that occupation for him.  I think the photograph is evidence of the Nower family's economic standing in Dover.  Everyone looks well dressed.  Samuel has a visible watch chain and the table looks like it is well made with, maybe, a marble top.

Beginning on the left in the front is Paul standing next to his father, Samuel Jackson Nower.  Mother, Phoebe Jane Judd, is seated beside her only daughter, Ella Myrtle.  Myrtle, as she was known, was born in Dover in 1884.  In the back, on the left, is Ernest William, who was born in Illinois in 1887.  Finally, there is Clarence Rigdon.  He was born in 1880.  A son, Samuel Judd, was born in 1888, but lived only five months.  

Paul Morse Nower

Born on the twenty-third of February 1890, Paul Morse Nower was the youngest son of Samuel Jackson and Phobe Jane (Judd) Nower.  The brother of my great-grandmother Myrtle Clark, Paul was my great-great-uncle.  If I had ever met him, I was too young to remember as he died in 1963 when I was just six years old.    

Paul was a Chesapeake and Ohio railroad man who worked as a conductor on a steam engine.  My father remembers his Great-Uncle Paul throwing candy to the children as his train passed through Dover, Kentucky, the caboose having a statue of a white bird on top.  

According to his niece, Francis Clark Johns, Paul was quite a character!  She remembers him as being very cheery and pompous, but very caring.  He once bought a Cadillac, even though he didn't drive, just to park it in the front yard so it would look good to the neighbors!

Paul grew up in Dover, Kentucky before moving, as a young man, to Covington in the same state.  He married a woman named Olive Copper, but the marriage was not long-lived.  On March 13, 1929, he married Nellie Grace Bess of Keyser, West Virginia.  His residence was still listed as Covington on the marriage license so it is unknown how the two met.  

Paul and Nell settled in Russell, Kentucky where he continued his work with the railroad.  On September 24, 1963, after an extended illness, Paul died in a Huntington, West Virginia hospital leaving Nell to mourn his passing.  Funeral services were conducted in Russell and his body was taken to the Greenbrier Burial Park in Hinton, West Virginia for burial.    

William M. or W. Wayson ???

I am now wondering if I have my great-great grandfather's correct name.  When I first located his and Ada Dean's marriage record, it was a transcription of the original.  Whoever transcribed it wrote M. as the middle initial.  Now that I have found the original, it looks like that "M" just might be a "W".  At least, it gives me something else to go on since I haven't been able to locate him anywhere prior to his marriage.  This record also gives his birth place as Greenup County, Kentucky so I might be getting closer!  

Click on the picture, take a look for yourself, and let me know what your opinion of that middle initial is.  The record is on Line 12.