The Well-Loved Mother, Mrs. Tobitha Watson of Oregon County, Missouri

These newspaper clippings were sent to me by Wanda Watson, a descendant of Tobitha's husband's brother. Here is the transcription of Tobitha's obituary. She died 9 February 1937 in Birch Tree, Missouri: 

"Tobitha Ann-Watson, daughter of Hol and Millie House, was born in Oregon County, March 4, 1846 and died February 9, 1937 at Birch tree, Missouri. Her age was 90 years, 11 months, and 5 days.

She was united in marriage to Robert King in 1870. To this union two children were born; Fletcher and Dora. Mr. King passed away in 1876. On December 28, 1879 she was married to Samuel H. Watson at King Chapel, Missouri. To this union eight children were born; three daughters, Cora Judd, Linda Moore, Ora Brown, and five sons, Henry, Amos, Bob, Lee and Sam.

Mr. Watson preceded her in death on August 10, 1925. Two of her children, Dora and Henry, also have preceded her in death several years ago. 

She leaves to mourn her passing 4 sons, Amos Watson of Thayer, Mo.; Bob, Lee and Sam Watson of Thomasville, Mo.; and 3 daughters, Cora Judd of Rover, Mo., Linda Moore of Thomasville, and Ora Brown of Birch Tree. She is also survived by three brothers, a sister, several grandchildren and great-grandchildren and a host of other relatives and friends.

She was converted and united with the Methodist Church at King Chapel, Mo., at an early age. She was a devoted Christian, a good kind mother, and a lovable companion.

Funeral services were conducted at Union Hill Church at 3 o’clock Wednesday afternoon on February 10, by Rev. Knight of Mtn. View. A host of relatives and friends were present at the burial at Union Hill Cemetery.

Her toils are past, her work is done

She fought the fight, the victory won

In childhood day her patient smiling face,

Meant more than all the world to us,

There’s nothing here on earth can take her place."

"Card of Thanks

We wish to thank our friends and neighbors who were so kind to us during the illness and death of our mother, Mrs. Watson. And especially do we wish to thank Rev. Knight for his consoling words and those who rendered the music. Also the undertaker and all others who so willingly helped.

The Children."

It has been several years since I have actively done any research on the King or Watson family. This is the first time I've actually noticed that her obituary and death certificate (upcoming post) list her name as Tobitha. I had always thought her name was Tabitha. Most researchers have her listed as Tabitha as well. 

According to her marriage record to her first husband, Robert King, she was listed as what looks to be Tobitha House; according to the marriage record between her and her 2nd husband, Samuel Watson, she is listed as Tolitha King. On her husband, Samuel Watson's death certificate, she is listed twice as Tabitha Watson (once as the wife and once as the informant). However, on her own obituary and death certificate, she is listed as Tobitha Watson and on her headstone, she is listed as Tabitha Watson. I guess I will need to query some of her descendants for clarification. Many of her grandchildren are still living today in Missouri. There is a lot of discrepancy around her date of birth as well, so I am not surprised to see this discrepancy around her name too. 

What is not in question is that Tobitha/Tabitha was the daughter of Hollingsworth HOUSE and Millie THOMAS. I came up as a Family Finder (autosomal DNA) match to a gentleman who also had Thomas as one of his surnames and that prompted me to do some research into my Thomas surname last fall. I learned that my Thomas line supposedly comes from an Ephraim Thomas of Franklin County, Virginia (source: Anne Jobe Brown, via personal email). 

According to the above obituary, and their marriage record, Tabitha House married Robert King July 28, 1870 in Howell County, Missouri. I am in the middle of looking for a notice in one of the local newspapers for their marriage. You can read about my trials and tribulations with historical newspapers here. Her obituary also says that Robert King died in 1876. Again, I have been looking for his death notice to no avail. It could be that the information in this obituary is incorrect. 

Tabitha and Robert King did have two children - Fletcher King and Dora King. Dora was my 2nd great-grandmother who married William Peters. Dora King Peters died of a snake bite around 1912. No record of her death has ever been found. Dora's half-brother Henry Watson, who was mentioned in Tabitha's obituary as the other child who preceded her in death, was shot to death according to Wanda Watson. This obituary contained a lot of very useful information, including the names of the eight children she had with her 2nd husband, Samuel Watson. 

It also states that she was Methodist and was buried in Union Hill cemetery. She was buried beside her 2nd husband, Samuel Watson who died in 1925 and they share a double headstone. Her FindAGrave memorial with photos of her and her headstone is here. This is the second mention of the Methodist affiliation as Tabitha's son Fletcher King was married by a Methodist Circuit Rider named Joseph Martin Willard. 

Next I will see what I can learn from Tabitha/Tobitha's death certificate. Here is a photo of Tabitha when she was older.


Ginger R Smith, "The Well-Loved Mother, Mrs. Tobitha Watson of Oregon County, Missouri" Genealogy by Ginger, posted 22 May 2012 (http://http://genealogybyginger.blogspot.com : accessed [access date]). 

Keeping Track of My 2nd Great-Grandparents

I have 8 sets of 2^nd great-grandparents with a total of 16 individuals.

Paternal Line:

Set # 1: Claude Rual Smith (1896 - 1975) and Willie Harriet Riddle (1899 – 1985)

Set # 2: Fred Fox (1884 – 1974) and Melvina West (1882 – 1978)

Set # 3: John Milton Binns (1868 – 1961) and Perthinia “Pert” Eula Brooks (1873 – 1942)

Set # 4: Nathaniel Gustaves Hill (1873 – 1944) and Jessie Inez Barton (1875 – 1950)

Maternal Line:

Set # 1: Alvin Theodore Godwin (1879 – 1950) and Louella Davis (1882 – 1947)

Set # 2: William Edward Peters (1874 – 1948) and Dora King (1875 – 1912)

Set # 3: James Franklin Lasiter (1876 – 1968) and Rosalie Putman (1875 – 1961)

Set # 4: Barney Sheron Benson (1884 – 1952) and Eva Mae Dennis (1889 – 1983)

I was born in 1976. As you can see, two of my paternal 2^nd great-grandfathers died 1 or 2 years before I was born and 2 of my paternal 2^nd great-grandmothers lived to hold me in their arms (The obituary of one of my 2^nd great-grandmothers, Willie Harriet Riddle Smith, mentioned that she had 18 2^nd great-grandchildren!)

One of my maternal 2^nd great-grandmothers lived to hold me. I wasn’t the only one though. She had several other 2^nd great-grandchildren that she travelled around to visit with. Check out my 5-generation photos:

 Back Row: Sue Lasiter (my grandmother), Marilyn Godwin (my mother), Louise Benson Lasiter (my great-grandmother); Front: Eva Dennis Benson (my 2nd great-grandmother), Ginger R. Smith (me!). Taken March 1976, Fort Smith, Arkansas. From personal collection of Ginger R. Smith, inherited from Louise Lasiter. Copyright 2012. 

Back Row: Claude Rual Smith, Jr (my great-grandfather) and Willie Harriet Riddle Smith (my 2nd great-grandmother); Front: Tim D. Smith (my father), Ginger R. Smith (me), Darrel E. Smith (my grandfather). Taken 1976, Fort Smith, Arkansas. From personal collection of Ginger R. Smith, scanned from photo album of Barbara J. Smith, Copyright 2012. 

L to R: Reba Fox Smith (my great-grandmother), Ginger R. Smith (me),  Melvina West Fox (my 2nd great-grandmother), Tim D. Smith (my father), Darrel E. Smith. Taken March 1976, Fort Smith, Arkansas. From personal collection of Ginger R. Smith, scanned from photo album of Barbara J. Smith, Copyright 2012. 

Most all of my sets of 2^nd great-grandparents lived in Arkansas with the exception of the Bensons. I’m pretty lucky because the Arkansas death certificates started about 1914. I can actually probably take my ancestry back another generation to 3^rd or even 4^th great-grandparents just by using death certificate research!

As I said in my last post about requesting death certificates from the Arkansas Department of Health, it can become quite addicting and difficult to keep up with all of the requests and processing of incoming certificates. I try to space them out. I have employed the following two tables to help me with my research. They track my progress in securing and processing death certificates and obituaries. From looking at these tables I can see from a glance what I am missing.

From the tables I have filled out below, I can see that I have the obituaries and death certificates of 8 of my 16 great-grandparents. I am half way there! The obituaries I obtained either from family members or from various newspapers. My cousin, Doris Hamblin Smith, sent me copies of a bunch of Smith family obituaries in 2010 before she passed away.

In order to understand what the headers Scanned?, Transcribed?, FTF Notes?, and FTF Source? refer to, you must first know my genealogy work flow:

1.       Scan and save obituary and death certificate as a PDF, TIF, and JPG file

2.       Transcribe and save to Word document or Notepad File

3.       Copy the Transcript to the notes file for that person in my genealogy software

4.       Enter the Birth, Death, Burial, Occupation, Marital, etc facts into my genealogy software, including the parents' names

5.       Create a source and attach to the Facts (some call these "Events")

Nos. 3 and 4 are included under the FTF Notes heading in the table. FTF stands for “Family Tree File.”

As I collect more obituaries and death certificates, I can  update this table. I already know which death certificate I plan to order next – that of Rosalie Putman. However, since 6 of the remaining 8 died in Arkansas, I can go ahead and order them all at once.

Dora King died in 1912 in Missouri. I have not found a death record for her yet, probably because she died before deaths were required to be recorded. Family stories say she died of a snake bite. I might be able to find a death notice for her in a local newspaper. But I've found this to be difficult; or at least time consuming when you don't know the month and day. 

Barney Benson died while visiting his son in California. I have not yet ordered a death certificate from California, so this will be my first experience.

Obituary Resources
Name	Scanned?	Transcribed?	FTF Notes?	FTF Source?
Claude Smith Sr	yes	yes	yes	yes
Willie Riddle	yes	yes	yes	yes
Fred Fox	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Melvina West	No	No	No	No
John M Binns	No	No	No	No
Eula Brooks	No	No	No	No
Gus Hill	No	No	No	No
Jessie Barton	No	No	No	No
Alvin Godwin	No	No	No	No
Louella Davis	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
William E Peters	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Dora King	No	No	No	No
James F Lasiter	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rosalie Putman	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Barney Benson	No	No	No	No
Eva Dennis	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Death Certificates
Name	Scanned?	Transcribed?	FTF Notes?	FTF Source?
Claude Smith Sr	yes	yes	yes	yes
Willie Riddle	No	No	No	No
Fred Fox	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Melvina West	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
John M Binns	No	No	No	No
Eula Brooks	No	No	No	No
Gus Hill	No	No	No	No
Jessie Barton	No	No	No	No
Alvin Godwin	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Louella Davis	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
William E Peters	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Dora King	No	No	No	No
James F Lasiter	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rosalie Putman	No	No	No	No
Barney Benson	No	No	No	No
Eva Dennis	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

How do you stay organized? Does your genealogy work flow look like mine? If not, how does it differ? How is it similar? I’m looking forward to hearing how other people process the obituaries and death certificates they receive. 

Amanuensis Monday - Obituary of W E Peters

Transylvanian Dutch blog author John Newmark started the Monday blog theme called Amanuensis Monday. According to John, “amanuensis” means:

"A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."

For this week's Amanuensis Monday post, and in keeping with the spirit of writing about my brick wall ancestors, I am highlighting the obituary of my 2nd Great-Grandfather, William Edward Peters.

Here is a copy of his obituary taken from the Pocahontas Star Herald (Pocahontas, Randolph Co., AR), Feb 3, 1948. Unfortunately, I cannot remember if I pulled this from microfilm or if my Grandfather had a copy of it in his personal collection.

Here is the transcription: 

W. E. Peters
-----------------
William Edward Peters, aged 74, died at the home of Daniel Persful of Route 2, February 3. He was born in Thomasville, Mo., March 10, 1874 and had lived in the Brockett community for the past several years.
Funeral services were conducted at the McNabb Funeral Chapel Wednesday afternoon at 3 o'clock. Interment was in Masonic cemetery here under the direction of McNabb's.
He is survived by a son, Herbert Peters of Texas; five daugthers, Mrs. E. S. Pendergrass of T hayer, Mo., Mrs. Nova Godwin or Ft. Smith, Mrs. Mary Lark of St. Louis, Mrs. Lula Franceis and Mrs. May Bonds of California.

The information about William matches up with what was reported in his death certificate and unfortunately, his death certificate did not identify who his parents were which is why he continues to be a brick wall ancestor.

I knew about the son, Wm Herbert Peters and the 3 daughters, Nova Godwin, Mary Lark, and Mrs. E. S. Pendergrass. However, I was surprised to see mention of Mrs. Lula Francis and Mrs. May Bonds of California. There had been mention of a Melinda M and an Ollie M Peters on the 1920 Census report, with Melinda M then being referred to as May on the 1930 census report and Ollie having disappeared all together. William was living with a different wife on the 1930 census than he had been living with on the 1920 census, so Ollie could have gone to live with her mother. I've never seen mention of a daughter named Lula, though. I have not been successful in finding either of these two daughters in California to date. I hope they will show up sometime soon.

My Great-Grandparents

I have 4 sets of great-grandparents with 8 total individuals.

Set # 1 were my mom's mom's parents: Thelma Louise Lasiter (1912-1996) and James Putman Lasiter (1908-1974)
Set # 2 were my mom's dad's parents: Nova Lee Peters (1908-2000) and Orville Godwin (1905-1956)
Set # 3 were my dad's mom's parents: Kathryne Blanche Hill (1912-1992) and John Brooks Binns (1910-1989)
Set # 4 were my dad's dad's parents: Reba Fox (1920-2003) and Claude Rual Smith, Jr (1919-1996)

I knew and interacted with 6 of my 8 great-grandparents throughout most of my childhood - Louise "Mamaw" Lasiter, Novi Martin, Blanche Binns, Johnnie Binns, Reba Smith and "Big Daddy" Smith. James Lasiter and Orville Godwin both died before I was born. Orville Godwin and Novi Peters were my only set of divorced great-grandparents. Orville Godwin was murdered in his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the young age of 51.

The 6 great-grandparents I knew all lived in Fort Smith, Arkansas, with the exception of the Smiths who lived out in the country in Kibler, Arkansas (near Clear Creek State Park).

Obituaries and Death Certificates
I have the obituaries of 7 of the 8 of my great-grandparents that I obtained either from family members or from the Fort Smith Library's microfilm collection of newspapers, including the Southwest Times Record, and associated online archives. I do not have a copy of the obituary of my Mother's Father's Father, Orville Godwin, who died in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I do, however, have a copy of the news article that was published about his murder.

I have four death certificates - Blanche Hill Binns, for Nova Martin, Louise Lasiter, and James F Lasiter Sr.

I created a checklist to see if I had obtained copies of all of the obituaries of my great-grandparents, and also to see if I had scanned and transcribed them, and saved them to the notes section of my Family Tree Maker software and created source entries for them. Here are my results:

Obituary Resources

Name	FTF Notes?	FTF Source?	Scanned?	Transcribed?
Nova Peters	yes	yes	yes	yes
Orville Godwin	no	no	no	no
James Lasiter	yes	yes	yes	yes
Louise Benson	yes	yes	yes	yes
John Binns	yes	yes	yes	yes
Blanche Hill	yes	yes	yes	yes
Reba Fox	yes	yes	yes	yes
Claude Smith Jr	yes	yes	yes	yes

Death Certificates

Name	FTF Notes?	FTF Source?	Scanned?	Transcribed?
Nova Peters	yes	yes	yes	yes
Orville Godwin	no	no	no	no
James Lasiter	yes	yes	yes	yes
Louise Benson	yes	yes	yes	yes
John Binns	no	no	no	no
Blanche Hill	yes	yes	yes	yes
Reba Fox	yes	yes	yes	yes
Claude Smith Jr	yes	yes	yes	yes

Results:
I have copies of 7 of the 8 great grandparents' obituaries which were scanned and saved to my harddrive. I have transcribed them, pasted them into the notes section of my genealogy software, and entered them as sources in my database and attached them to the basic facts (birth, death, marriage) of my great-grandparents and added them as sources to any relatives' names that are mentioned.

I only have copies of 4 death certificates - one of them is the original copy of my great-grandmother, Nova Martin's death that my grandfather gave to me. I scanned the copy and saved to my hard drive. I then transcribed it and added it to the notes in my genealogy software and added as a source. I obtained a copy of my great grandmother Blanche Binns' death certificate from my grandmother who had a copy of it in her scrapbook. I scanned it right from the scrapbook and saved it to my hard drive. I transcribed it, added it to the notes section of my genealogy software and added it as a new source.

Since I originally published this post, I ordered two additional death certificates - those of my great grandparents on my Mother's side - Louise (Benson) Lasiter and her husband James P Lasiter. I had put them off because I already have all of the vital information that is provided on the death certificate from the obituary and from my grandparents' tales. However, these certificates are available and should be included in my great-grandparents' files. They cost $10.00 each and took 4 weeks to arrive. I ordered them from the Arkansas Department of Health via an online form that I printed and mailed in to them, along with a check for $20. Update 7/27/09 & 2011: Copies of these two death certificates were received and scanned, transcribed, added to the notes section and source section of my family tree file.

Goal: To obtain copies of the rest of my 4 great-grandparents' death certificates!!

Lou Ella Godwin Otten (1882-1947), Part I

Lou Ella Godwin Puzzle

According to Joyce Hambleton Whitten’s transcribed Arkansas Marriage Records, an Ellce or LouElla Davis, 19 yo, of Hardy, Sharp Co., AR married Allen or Alvin Godwin, 22 yo, also of Hardy, Sharp Co., AR on 14 Mar 1899. The marriage was officiated by W. E. Dark, witnessed by J. N. Pully.

In the 1900 Fulton County, Pleasant Ridge Township, AR census report taken 2 June 1900, Alvin Godwin was enumerated with his wife, Looeler? Godwin. Alvin Godwin was 21 years old, born Jan 1879, married 1 year, 0 kids, born in AR with father born in AR and mother born in MS. “Looeler?” Godwin, wife, was 18 years old, born Feb 1882 in AR, both parents born in TN.

This census report corroborates the approximate date of marriage and ages of Alvin and LouElla Godwin listed in the marriage record.

Alvin and Ella Godwin were enumerated again in the 1910 Fulton Co., Mammoth Springs, AR census report with their two children, Laura and Arvil Godwin:
Godwin, Alvin T. Head, 30 yo (b. abt 1880) Married 11 years (abt 1899), AR AR AR
Ella Wife, 30 yo (b. abt 1880), Married 11 years (abt 1899), 2 / 4 kids living AR TN AR
Laura 8 Daugh AR AR AR
Arvil 6 Son AR AR AR

Alvin and Ella divorced sometime between 1910 and 1920. By 1920, Alvin was back living with his parents in Mammoth Springs at age 40, was divorced and an Ella “McGee” was found in Shawnee, Pottawatomie, Co. OK. The census states she is married, born in TN around 1886 (34 years old) with two kids - Lorine O, 17 born in MO and Orvale L, 15, born in MO. The children's ages match up, however, Ella's age is off and the census lists the kids' birthplace as MO instead of AR.

By the time the1930 census was enumerated, Lou Ella was married to Nace Robert Otten. They were listed in the 1930 Shawnee, Pottawatomie Co., OK census report: N Robert Otten was 42 yo, married, b. in MO; railroad conductor; WWI vet, Ella Otten, was wife, 44 yo, married, b. TN, both parents born in TN;

This past fall we found the obituaries of both Lou Ella and Nace Otten at the Shawnee public library, as well we photographed the headstones placed on their graves in Fairview Cemetery, Shawnee, OK. The obituaries brought up some interesting questions about exactly who was Alvin Godwin married to? The marriage record said Alvin Godwin married Lou Ella DAVIS. However according to the obituaries, Lou Ella had 3 brothers with the last name of CARPENTER. So did Alvin Godwin marry Lou Ella Davis or Carpenter? Was Lou Ella married to a Davis before marrying Alvin?

Here are the transcripts from the death notices and obituaries:

Shawnee (Okla.) News-Star, Friday, July 18, 1947
Deaths
Funeral Pending For Mrs. Otten, Railroader’s Wife
Mrs. Ella Otten, 62, of 431 North Aydelotte, died Thursday at 4:15 p.m. in a local hospital as result of a heart attack suffered about 10 days ago.
She was the wife of N. R. Otten, Rock Island conductor.
Funeral services are being arranged by Gaskill’s.
Mrs. Otten came to Shawnee in 1910 from Hardy, Ark. She was a member of the first Presbyterian church and the Ladies Auxiliary to the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen.
Surviving besides her husband are one son, Orville Godwin of Tulsa, one sister, Mrs. Ed Clark, Los Angeles, a half sister, Mrs. Roy Eckert, Shwanee, and three brothers. The brothers are Ernest and Marland Carpenter of Hardy, Ark., and Willie Carpenter, Los Angeles. Mrs. Otten also leaves nine grandchildren.
[Microfilm No. XVI-378-406 from the Shawnee, OK public library]

Shawnee (Okla.) News-Star, Sunday, July 20, 1947 (p. 2A)
Deaths
Otten Services Set for Monday
Funeral services for Mrs. Ella Otten. 62. 431 North Aydelotte, who died Thursday in a local hospital will be held Monday at 2 p. m.
Services will be held in the Gaskill chapel with Rev. Claybron Derring in charge. Burial will be at Fairview cemetery.
Mrs. Otten was a member of the Central Presbyterian church and the Laides Auxiliary to the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen. She had lived in Shawnee since 1910, coming from Hardy, Arkansas.
Bearers will be Henry Martell, O. Beeson, Wallace Doss, Robert Freeman, Edmond Kitchell and Sam Hewlett.
[Microfilm No. XVI-378-406 from the Shawnee, OK public library]

I did find the three brothers listed in the obituary as children living in the household of William Carpenter in Highland Township, Sharp Co., AR in 1900:
Highland Twp., ED 119, enumerated 4-5 June 1900, T623, Roll 77, p 44
William Carpenter, head, white male, b. sept 1844, 55 yo, Married 10 years, IL, Unk Unk, farmer, owned free farm
Dora B or E Carpenter, wife, white female, b. June 1864, 35 yo, married 10 years, 6/8 children living, TN TN TN
Lou A Carpenter, daughter, white female, b. Feb 1882, 18 yo, single, AR IL IL
Oceola Davis, step-daughter, white female, b. Jan 1885, 15 yo, single, AR TN TN
Acy Carpenter, son, white male, b. Jan 1892, 8 yo, single, AR IL TN
Willie Carpenter, son, white male, b. July 184, 5 yo, single, AR IL TN
Marlin Carpenter, son, white male, b. Oct 1896, 3 yo, single, AR IL TN
Ernest Carpenter, son, white male, b. May 1899, 1 yo, single, AR IL TN

1910 Sharp Co., AR census report:
Dora Carpenter, head, 45 yo (b. abt 1865), widow, 6/6 children, TN TN TN
Willie Carpenter, 15 yo (b. abt 1895), single, AR IL TN
Marlin Carpenter, 13 yo (b. abt 1897), single, AR IL TN
Ernest Carpenter, 10 yo (b. abt 1900), single, AR IL TN
Nellie Carpenter, 5 yo (b. abt 1905), single, AR IL TN

However, as I mentioned earlier, my Lou Ella Godwin was enumerated with Alvin Godwin in Pleasant Ridge, Fulton Co., AR, 2 June 1900. She was born Feb 1882 according to both census reports, so it is possible she was enumerated twice. There is mention of a DAVIS living in the family’s household in 1900, she was Ocealo Davis, 15 years old, born about 1885, step daughter of William Carpenter.

So what should I do with this information? Should I attach my Lou Ella to William Carpenter? Did she marry a Davis before marrying my Alvin Godwin at the age of 19? Or is it more than a coincidence that she had a step sister with the last name of Davis? Was she really Dora Davis' daughter and William Carpenter's step daughter?

Continued on Part II