Wednesday, March 26, 2014

+Ellen McKeldin & Family

  This is the story of Ellen McKeldin she's my great grand aunt, born to:
Sallie McKeldin b: abt 1825 and Sandie McCammis date of birth unknown.
Ellen McKeldin was born March 1862 McMinn county, Tennessee
The first census I find her in is the 1870 census, where she's living with her mother and siblings, she's 13 years old.



So far I haven't found her in the 1880 census. She married Jeff Reagan August 20, 1880 in McMinn Co. Tennessee
She isn't listed as living with her mother in the 1880 census either so she must have missed that year.

Jeff Reagan was born 1863 in Tennessee and probably died around 1909.


















Ellen and Jeff had nine children listed below:

George Dixon Reagan  May 25,1881-Dec 3,1922, Athens, TN
Jeff Daniel Reagan Nov 17,1884 -Jan 9, 1968, Athens TN
Mattie Evelyn Reagan Jan 3, 1889 -Feb 25, 1971, Medina, Ohio
Mary Francis Reagan Dec 31, 1891- Jan 12, 1957, Athens, TN
Sallie Reagan  Nov 13,1893 - Feb 10, 1943, Athens, TN
Hattie Reagan  March 22,1894 - Aug, 1980 , Athens, TN
Ellen Reagan  1895 - ?
Ada May Reagan 1897 - ?
Edward Alexander Reagan -  April 28, 1904 - July 1, 1957, Athens,TN

The 1900 census shows Ellen living with her husband Jeff and all their children.






Jeff's occupation is a Day laborer and Ellen is a washer woman.










In the 1910 census Ellen is a widow and her children are living with her.


Ellen and Jeff's children and their spouses listed below and what I know about them.














George Dixon Reagan married Mabel Jordan, 
Jeff Daniel Reagan married, Rosie L. Love,
Mattie Evelyn Reagan married Edward J. Keith.  Here is a photo of Mattie which I was able to acquire through a relative through marriage.

Mattie Evelyn Reagan














Mattie is in the middle. She would be my 1st cousin 2x removed. I don't know who the two ladies are on either side but I'm hoping to get that information
Mattie and Edward were married November 18, 1906 in McMinn County Tennessee. I haven't found out what happened to Edward, Mattie's first husband, they had two sons:
George E. Keith 1907-1981
Robert A. Keith 1908 - 1982


Edward either passed away or they got a divorce, but Mattie is married for a second time to Luther McElrath August 15,1892- July 9, 1969, Athens, TN.  Luther and Mattie were married June 19,  1918.  McMinn Co. Tennessee


Mattie Reagan and Luther's tombstone in Hammonds Cemetery, McMinn Co, Athens, Tennessee.
Mary Frances Reagan married William Richard Carden b: 1890- 1957, their children are:
Clyde E. Carden
Jessie Carden
Helen Carden
John W. Carden

Sallie Reagan married Alexander Hunter b: 1885 TN.
I haven't found any children for them so far.
Hattie Reagan, I haven't found a husband or children.
Ellen Reagan no husband or children found so far or date of Ellen's death or where.
Ada May Reagan no husband, children found nor date or place of death
Edward Alexander Reagan no wife or children found.  He's buried in Hammonds Cemetery, Athens, TN, he died of tuberculosis.

This is all I know about the children of Ellen and Jeff Reagan.  I'm still researching Jeff Reagan Sr, Ellen's husband to find out exactly when and where he died.

What I still need to find:

1) death date of Ada May Reagan and if she was ever married.
2) death date of Ellen Reagan and if she ever married or had children.
3) Jeff Reagan Sr. actual death date and where he is buried, which is   
mostly like Hammonds Cemetery, I just haven't found him there yet.

I never knew anything about the McKeldin or Reagan side of the family growing up. The only photos I have are the ones that Jay Strong sent me of Mattie Evelyn Reagan. Thank you Jay for sharing with me. 
Genealogy has taken on a new level for me, the ancestors come alive through my research, and I've gotten to know them pretty well considering.  It's amazing how much you can actually learn about a person just from census records and through family stories, and just because I've written a post about this family doesn't mean there won't be another one, because as I find out information and receive photos another story will be waiting to be written.














Sources:

1870 U.S. Federal Census, Ancestry.com
Tennessee State Marriages 1780-2002
1900 U.S. Federal Census, Ancestry.com
1920 U.S Federal Census, Ancestry.com
Find A Grave.com


































Wednesday, March 5, 2014

+Eva May Gragg-Edingburg, Mystery Unsolved

Eva May Gragg-Edingburg
was my Grand Uncle Roscoe Edingburg's first wife. I'm writing this short post in hopes of someone reading it and help solve a family mystery.

Eva May Gragg-Edingburg


Eva May Gragg-Edingburg was born  1901 in Georgia I don't know where in Georgia, died: January 10, 1935, Chattanooga, TN.

Eva was brutally murdered by a woman named Gladys Carter in Eva's home in Chattanooga. 

The Death record states pistol wound and homicide.

The death certificate shows not only shot wounds to the chest but also  multiple stab wounds. 


So far no one has been able to locate any information as to what happened to Gladys Carter.

We would like to know:
1- Did Gladys go to trial?
2- Was Gladys sent to prison?
3- What was the reason she murdered Eva?

All we know is what's listed here in the post. 











Sources:
Chattanooga Times, Tennessee
State of TN, Dept of Public Health Division of Vital Statistics, Ancestry.com





+Theodric Roscoe Edingburg, and Family

Theodric Roscoe Edingburg was my grand uncle, everyone called him Roscoe, I just called him Uncle Roscoe.  He was born to Daniel Trigg Edingburg and Minnie M. McKeldin-Edingburg on Sept 25, 1896 in Chattanooga Hamilton Co. Tennessee. The first census I found of Uncle Roscoe he's 4 years old.


   Since I was born in Chattanooga, and lived in the same home where Uncle Roscoe was born, and lived, I got to see him until we both moved away from Tennessee.  My memories of Uncle Roscoe are nice ones. I remember when we would go to town to shop, Uncle Roscoe would go with us sometimes, he would always speak to everyone, wave to everyone, and was constantly getting people's attention. One time we were walking down the street and he yelled to someone across the street just to say hi.  He always wore a hat and some sort of a suit jacket.  It seems a lot of people always dressed up just to go food shopping or to do anything in town.

Unfortunately no one so far has a photo of Uncle Roscoe, so this post I'll have to use just  the documents that I have found, and tell what I remember of him.  This is the photo of the house where he was born and grew up.






I borrowed this photo from Daniel Edingburg Sr's post because it's the only photo I have of the full view of the house. I think this is Minnie Edingburg standing in the photo which would have been Uncle Roscoe's mother.  I have two photos of Minnie close up but with this being so far away there's no way for me to know one hundred percent.
The next census is Uncle Roscoe in the 1920 census, he's already married, and has one child seven months old and is working as a house carpenter.  All of the men in the Edingburg family were carpenters, Uncle Roscoe was the last child born to Daniel and Minnie and he also took up the carpenter trade as did my father as a second trade to do. 


He also signed up for the WW1 Draft Registration of 1917-1918, he's listed as working as a carpenter for his father Dan Edingburg, and also he listed his mother as the nearest relative.



Uncle Roscoe, Eva his wife and Roscoe Jr are living in Uncle Roscoe's parents home with a few of his siblings.
I do have one photo of Eva his wife.
They were married May 30, 1918 Chattanooga, Hamilton Co. TN. Book 20, page 396, License 27906.  Eva was 17 years old. Uncle Roscoe was 21 years old.


Eva May Gragg-Edingburg

Uncle Roscoe and Eva had two children:
Theodric Roscoe Edingburg
born May 18 1919 Chattanooga, Hamilton Co. TN
and died July 13, 1975 Los
Angeles, California.

Wendell Gragg Edingburg
Aug 13, 1921 Chattanooga TN died: July 20, 2004 Chicago, Illinois.

I didn't get to meet Eva, she died of a tragic death which I will write about later.


Between 1918 and 1930 Eva and Uncle Roscoe got a divorce because in the 1930 Census he's already married to a different person. 




Uncle Roscoe is married to Vera Greene ( b: June 1, 1904 Macon, GA) (d: Jan 11, 1991 Chicago, Illinois). He and Vera had one daughter named Vera Edingburg ( b: June 23, 1934 Chicago, IL, and d: July 9, 1934), she was 16 days old. burial July 10, 1934 and buried Lincoln Cemetery, Worth, Cook, Illinois. I didn't get to meet Vera either.

Delayed certificate of birth for Uncle Roscoe, it lists his father's place of birth as West Virginia which is incorrect, Daniel was born in Abingdon, Washington Co. Virginia.


front side





back side















Tennessee didn't start recording birth certificates until 1908 officially, but a few cities did record them which was available by mail.
This is Uncle Roscoe's WW2 Draft registration record, he was 45 years old.




Uncle Roscoe passed away Dec 3, 1962 in Chicago, Illinois. 



The one thing that will always stick in my mind is that Uncle Roscoe looked so much like my grandmother they could have passed for twins.  This was in his later years, I don't know what he looked like as a younger person, and also he was not much taller than my grandmother, she was tall.




















 Sources:
1900 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com
1920 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com
1930 United States Federal Census ,Ancestry.com
U. S Social Security Death Index 1935 - Current. Ancestry.com
Cook Co, Illinois Death Index, 1908-1988, Ancestry.com
WW 1 Draft Registration 1917-1918, Ancestry.com
WW 2 Draft Registration Cards 1942, Ancestry.com