Pope IL – Opening Doors in Brick Walls

Old Photographs Saved From Trash Can ~ #90 Charlie LILLIE and his Mrs. (Part 2)

Last week I featured this photograph of an unidentified couple in Brookport, Massac County, Illinois.

mrin39470-1970s-charlie-lillie-with-wife — Charlie LILLIE with a woman I believe was his wife in the 1970s

I compared it to this photograph (below) in which Charlie was identified with his wife. I also included a link to the 2014 obituary online of the woman seen as Charles Newton LILLIE’s wife on his death record in 1984.

mrin39470-lillie-charlie-and-wife-cutout — Charlie Lillie and Mrs. cutout of group photo taken around September 1966.

What my readers thought…

Several of my readers noticed differences in the women. Amy thought Fannie May Sides Lillie’s smaller nose and more delicate features in the obituary photo did not match the women above. Vera also said the nose looked totally wrong as noses get bigger with age, not smaller.

Is it an old wives’ tale that a person’s nose and ears continue to grow? I checked around and learned it’s a misconception that cartilage continues to grow as you age. The skin of the nose and ears starts to sag making them more prominent while cheeks cave in a bit. It’s more of an optical illusion we can blame on gravity.

More help came from Joe…

My cousin Joe Rooney sent a genealogy source that couldn’t be ignored. His Mom’s address book. He didn’t send me the actual book but took the time to type up all the addresses for me. Charles & Evelyn Lillie had a P.O. box number in Dallas, North Carolina. This is the town Charlie was living in when he died in 1984. To keep this in perspective, Joe’s mother Ruby died in 1981 so the address is pre-1981.

Who was Evelyn?

We know Fannie May SIDES was the name of Charles Newton LILLIE’s wife from his 1984 death transcript from FamilySearch’s collection North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994.

1984charlesnewtonlilliedeath — “North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994,” database, *FamilySearch* (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FG42-CMT : accessed 14 February 2017), Charles Newton Lillie, 13 Dec 1984; citing Lincolnton, Lincoln, North Carolina, v 49A cn 49094, State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh; FHL microfilm 1,985,160.

Who was Evelyn seen in Ruby’s address book?

On Ancestry I found a marriage in the Kentucky, Marriage Index, 1973-1999 collection. Evelyn P. HILL married Charles N. LILLIE on 26 October 1974 in McCracken County, Kentucky. The bride was 60 and the groom 65. Both had been previously married and the marriages had ended with the death of a spouse. The number of previous marriages was not included.

I searched North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994 for a death record for Evelyn and found she died on 8 June 1980. Her home address was the same as Charles’ in the 1984 death record at right. Her maiden name was PIERCE.

Evelyn and Charles were married from 1974 until her death in 1980. Charles married again, before his own death in 1984, to Fannie May SIDES.

The featured photo at top must be Charles Newton LILLIE (1908-1984) and Evelyn Loraine PIERCE (1914-1980).

How many times was Charles actually married?

I’m figuring at least four times as I found an early marriage for him in 1933 in Sikeston, Scott County, Missouri. I am confident this is Charles as he was living in Sikeston with his mother Geneva and his sisters Emma Roxie and Alberta Editha at the time of the 1930 census. Charles married Muriel Hurt on 1 July 1933. Although both were from Scott County, they obtained the license in Mississippi County and were married the same day by a Baptist minister in Sikeston.

I couldn’t find either of them in the 1940 census. Charles’ mother Geneva was in Detroit with her oldest married daughter.

On Missouri Digital Heritage I found a single young girl named Muriel Hurt born in 1915 and died in 1937. Was this the same girl who married Charles? Did the marriage not last? The marriage license was signed and returned but the names of their parents were not included.

Who was Mrs. Charles Lillie in 1966?

This leaves me with a void between 1933 and 1974 filled only by Mrs. Charles LILLIE seen in the photo from 1966. Was she the only unknown Mrs. Lillie? I’m beginning to think a newspaper subscription might be helpful.

Until next week, when I’ll be sharing a series of brick wall photographs.

More about this collection, how it came to be in my possession,
and links to previous posts in the series can be found here.

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Old Photographs Saved From Trash Can ~ #90 Charlie LILLIE and his Mrs.

There were only three color photographs in this collection. Two of them were from the 1970s and shared in Old Photographs Saved From Trash Can ~ #73 Ruth Joanna LILLIE, Part 2.

The last of the three is of an unidentified couple in Brookport, Massac County, Illinois. The location was recognized by my cousin Joe Rooney when he labeled it years ago.

The man’s plaid jacket and turtleneck, the woman’s blouse with long pointed collar and button up vest, and their glasses – these point to the 1970s. In the background at the left, behind the man, is a light colored car with a black top. Very little can be seen of it but I believe it’s the same car as in the post mentioned above. [See the photo of Ruth Lillie in front of her car at her home in Brookport, Massac County, Illinois.]

Cousin Joe shared photos from his private collection of family photos with me when he saw my interest in the old photographs. Joe’s mother Ruby was Ruth’s sister. In the private collection I found a group photo of six. In the group were a man and woman I believe are the couple in the first photo. (see cutout above)

Look at the way the man holds the woman in both photos. How the woman’s shoulder fits in under the man’s arm. Compare the man’s nose and smile. He is wearing glasses in one and has glasses in breast pocket in the other. I think, at least, the man is the same in both pictures.

Who were they? This is the group photo taken in 1966.

mrin39470-lillieroxieraymondrubyruthcharlieandwife — Group photo from Joe Rooney’s private collection.

It was labeled on the back with the following names.

mrin39470-lillieroxieraymondrubyruthcharlieandwifeback — Back of group photo from Joe Rooney’s private collection.

Who were all these LILLIEs? Raymond b. 1904, Ruby b. 1909, and Ruth b. 1907 were siblings and children of Florence ROYALTY (1868-1946) and Isaac Spencer “Ike” LILLIE (1872-1932)

Roxie b. 1905 and Charlie b. 1908 were also siblings and the same age as Raymond, Ruby, and Ruth. Ike’s father Albert Spencer LILLIE (1848-1913) remarried after the death of his wife Pernecia Elizabeth GLASS (1852-1899) and had three children with his second wife Geneva Elyse MASON.

I was confident with the man in the top photograph being Charlie LILLIE because he, along with his sisters, were mentioned (without names) in the 1966 obituary of Ike’s brother John Calvin “Jack” LILLIE (1883-1966). Jack was the last living child of Albert and Pernecia.

My 52 Ancestors: #14 Albert Spencer LILLIE (1848-1913) ~ Old Photographs Saved From Trash Can was the very first in what became this series. I mentioned Albert’s marriage to Geneva MASON but did not include the fact that she gave him three more children making him the father of fourteen. Since there were no known photos of his children from his second marriage in this collection, I did not bother to research them in-depth. Their children were Emma Roxie, Charlie, and Alberta Editha.

Was his son Charlie married? Could this be his wife? No name was given for her on the back of the group photo so I had to go back to the beginning. Check census records from birth until 1940. Search for possible marriage records. Check for a death record.

I found a death record for Charles Newton LILLIE who died in 1984 in North Carolina on Ancestry.com in the North Carolina, Death Indexes, 1908-2004 collection. The abstracted information (there was no image) was not enough to confirm it was the same man. FamilySearch had more abstracted information in their collection North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994.

County and state of birth and the parents names (although off a bit) are a match. Most important, the name of his wife was included.

I finally found an obituary online for his widow. Fannie May Sides LILLIE died on 28 July 2014 at CaroMont Regional Medical Center, Gastonia. I have not found a marriage record and her husband was not mentioned in the obituary. However, per the U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, in the early 1990s she lived at the address found on Charles’ NC death record.

I would have liked to include the photo from her online obituary for comparison in this post but without permission I ask you to click on the link to see it. Does she look like either or both of the women in the photos above?

Charles Newton LILLIE (1908-1984) and Fannie May SIDES (1928-2014) are the names I would like to add to the top photo from the 1970s. Would you agree with me?

More about this collection, how it came to be in my possession,
and links to previous posts in the series can be found here.

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Old Photographs Saved From Trash Can ~ #77 Isaac and Florence LILLIE

Last week I shared a photograph of Isaac Spencer LILLIE (1872-1932) and his wife Florence ROYALTY (1868-1946) with their sons Reese Gentry LILLIE (1892-1965) and Samuel Royalty “Roy” LILLIE (1895-1979) taken in the late 1890s or early 1900s (before 1904).

Sometime after the photo was taken Isaac grew a mustache.

This picture was taken by Frank A. Gregory in Metropolis, Massac County, Illinois. Isaac and Florence appear to be about the same age as in the family portrait featured last week.

They donned their hats in this photograph taken during the same sitting.

More about this collection, how it came to be in my possession,
and links to previous posts in the series can be found here.

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Old Photographs Saved From Trash Can ~ #76 The LILLIE Family Portrait

Isaac Spencer LILLIE (1872-1932) and his wife Florence ROYALTY (1868-1946) have been mentioned often in this series. This is because the entire collection appears to center around their family.

lillieikefloreeseroy — Isaac Spencer LILLIE and his wife Florence ROYALTY with their two oldest sons.

When did Florence’s interest in collecting photographs begin? Around 1874 when the first known photograph, a tintype, was taken of Florence at the age of 5 or 6 years? Or the very late 1890s or very early 1900s (before 1904) when she sat with her husband and two oldest sons, Reese and Roy, to have this family portrait made?

The four Lillie family members are wearing the same clothes in this family portrait as in the pictures below.

Could those pictures, labeled penny pictures by an unknown person, have been proofs taken in preparation for the family portrait?

I purposely did not name the sons under the family portrait. The reason being that the dark haired boy between Isaac and Florence appears taller than the light haired boy on the left of Florence.

In the series of photos, someone added the names of the boys. Reese, born in 1892, was two and a half years older than Roy, born in 1895. In the pictures where the boys are with their father, “Reese” appears to be smaller than “Roy.” Could Roy have been so much taller than Reese or was he standing on a stool in the group photo? Or are the photos labeled incorrectly?

In 1917 when the boys registered for the World War I draft, Reese was described as medium, slender, blue eyes, and light hair. Roy was described as tall, medium, gray eyes, and dark brown hair.

From the descriptions, I believe we can assume Roy is the boy between Isaac and Florence and Reese is the boy on the right of Florence.

The photos of Reese (above) are the only ones in the collection. Roy’s pictures were more numerous as can be seen in the links shared in post #64 Brother and Sister in 1950.

More about this collection, how it came to be in my possession,
and links to previous posts in the series can be found here.

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Old Photographs Saved From Trash Can ~ #49 Splitty’s Band

The third son of Isaac Spencer “Ike” LILLIE and Florence ROYALTY, Raymond Egbert LILLIE (1904-1970) was featured last week in #48 Raymond Egbert “Splitty” LILLIE (1904-1970) and earlier with his brother Roy and Uncle George in #45 Three LILLIE Men.

Splitty’s Band may be a bit misleading as a title. This group photo, of a band, has “Raymond E. Lillie” written on the back. Which of the band members Raymond was is not listed nor who the other members of the troupe were. This is not dated and the location isn’t noted. Is it in Pope County, Illinois, where Raymond grew up, or in Detroit, Michigan, were he was seen in 1930 and 1940, or perhaps in Massac County, Illinois, where his father died? Raymond worked for the railroad and may have gotten around a lot.

My guess is front row, kneeling, second from right. Or standing far right? Anyone else what to take a guess? For comparison here is a head shot without hat from one of the photos of Raymond in 1930 shared in the previous post.

More about this collection, how it came to be in my possession,
and links to previous posts in the series can be found here.

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Old Photographs Saved From Trash Can ~ #47 Thelma HOLT 1901-1984

The daughter-in-law of Isaac Spencer “Ike” LILLIE and Florence ROYALTY, Thelma HOLT (1901-1984) was the wife of Samuel Royalty “Roy” LILLIE (1895-1979). She was a bit partial to pearl necklaces or at least it seems so from the two photographs of her.

Thelma Holt LILLIE 1930

Thelma’s parents were William F. HOLT (1871-1938) and Edith S. WYMER (1874-1948).

Thelma and Roy were married before 1920 and had a son Lynn Vance LILLIE (1920-1993). Although divorced before 1930 Thelma and Roy are buried beside each other in Pell Cemetery, Brookport, Massac County, Illinois. Their son Vance lies on one side of Thelma and Roy on the other.

Thelma Holt LILLIE with friends in late 1950s

From left to right: Thelma Farmer, Flora Lemley, Barney Robinett, Thelma Holt Lillie, Goldie Faughn, Ruby Garrett, Harry Faughn, Mabel Gillett.

Is this from a school reunion? Quick searches of the census show Thelma’s friends grew up in Massac County, Illinois, and were all about the same age, born between 1899 and 1902. They do not appear to be related to her although more research would need to be done to prove or disprove this.

More about this collection, how it came to be in my possession,
and links to previous posts in the series can be found here.

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Old Photographs Saved From Trash Can ~ #40 It’s a Girl!

Florence Cecil ROYALTY (1909-1997)

Mrs. Florence Lilly (sic) of Bay City, Pope County, Illinois, received this postcard written on 8 August 1909.

On the front is a photograph of baby Cecil ROYALTY. One would think with this name the baby would be a boy however this young lady was named after her mother Fern CECIL (1889-1978).

On the back of the postcard is the following text:

Our grand daughter
Cecil Royaltey
Born Feb. 4th 1909
Shawnee Okla.
Will Royaltey babe.
sent by Grand Father
C. A. Royaltey
Purcell Okla.

The grandfather C. A. Royaltey who sent the card was Chester Ashley ROYALTEY (1856-1917), the brother of Florence ROYALTY (1868-1946), wife of Isaac Spencer “Ike” LILLIE (1872-1932).

Further research on baby Cecil showed the date of birth given on the card is not quite correct. She was born 4 January 1909. Cecil, being the first grandchild, may have been the reason the excited grandfather Chester made the mistake. Did he have several copies of the photograph he was sending to family and friends? Did he not pay close enough attention while writing the same text on each postcard?

On the census in 1910 and 1920 she was seen as Cecil, in 1930 as Florence C., and in 1940 as Florence. She likely got the name Florence from her grand-aunt Florence LILLIE née ROYALTY who received the photo from her brother Chester, the grandfather. The SSDI and SSN application (both index-only) have Cecil with her married name(s) EILBECK and TOLLES but not with the first or middle name Florence. The 1972 obituary of her first husband Arthur Blake EILBECK does not mention children and the widow is named as “Cecil (née Royalty).”

1972obit — Historical Newspapers, Birth, Marriage, & Death Announcements, 1851-2003. New York Times 1972 (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 January 2016)

More about this collection, how it came to be in my possession,
and links to previous posts in the series can be found here.

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Old Photographs Saved From Trash Can ~ #39 The Two Cora B.’s of Pope County, Illinois

I am in a quandary. Although many of these photographs have writing on the back which helps with identification, I’m not sure about the identification giving as both persons are the same gender and age. Does the person on the left have her name written on the left on the back of the photograph or on the right? Are there rules for this and were they followed?

Which Cora is which?

This is the dilemma I’m facing with this photograph taken by Riley & Cook of Paducah, Kentucky. I was amazed at how small the original photograph is. The photo is mounted on a 2.75 inch square cardboard frame with the name of the photographer debossed in the lower left corner. Both ladies are wearing matching flower corsages in their hair. The lady on the right has a corsage which looks like a bouquet with the stems pinned on her shoulder and the flowers draping down. I would like to date it at 1898 for reasons seen below.

I believe the lady on the left is identified as Cora B. GOLIGHTLY. Below her name is written “married Mr. COLVIN” which suggests GOLIGHTLY was her maiden name. The lady on the right would be Cora DAVIS. Azotus, written below the names, is the name of the cemetery in which Cora B. GOLIGHTLY’s parents Calvin W. GOLIGHTLY and Sarah K. METCALF are buried. No where have I found it is a town name in Illinois.

I thought Cora DAVIS may have been another name for Cora GOLIGHTLY, before or after her marriage to Mr. COLVIN, due to the brace or curly bracket, until I searched Pope County for Cora DAVIS.

Cora B. RUSHING (1881-1964) married Peter DAVIS (1878-1939) and both are buried in IOOF Cemetery, Golconda, Pope County, Illinois. I didn’t find a marriage record for them. On Find A Grave their date of marriage is listed as 19 April 1898 in Pope County. I was able to confirm this date using the Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900 on the Illinois State Archives site. Cora was born after the 1880 census and married before the 1900 census which means she was not found on a census with her parents. I have not found any source which lists the names of her parents.

Could this photograph have been taken on her wedding day? Was Cora B. GOLIGHTLY her maid of honor? Both ladies were born in 1881 and lived in Pope County, Illinois, while growing up. Were they best friends or related to each other?

Cora B. GOLIGHTLY (1881-1984) married Charles Owen COLVIN (1872-1943) about 1928 when she was 46 years old and following her widowed father’s death in 1926. I hadn’t been able to locate the couple in the 1930 census until I tried wild cards and found the surname spelled Calvin. On this census Cora was seen as age 48 married at age 46. Her brother Hiram GOLIGHTLY was in the household and helped make the positive identification. Cora and Charles don’t appear to have had children together.

And now dear reader please tell me, which Cora is on the left and which on the right in the photograph?

More about this collection, how it came to be in my possession,
and links to previous posts in the series can be found here.

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Old Photographs Saved From Trash Can ~ #38 Dr. James A. CROW Family

About 1890-1891 the young family of Dr. James A. CROW and his wife Anna Mae HODGE posed for a photograph with their young son William Jacob HODGE in Golconda, Pope County, Illinois, at the Alt studio.

James of Massac County and Anna of Pope County, married about 1889. Their first child Willie was born on 28 January 1890 in Kentucky.

James and Anna had two daughters before the 1900 census. Flora A. was born in Illinois on 6 May 1893 and Ruth K. in Kentucky on 28 August 1895. In 1900 the family was living in Pope County. Their third daughter Ruby Harriet was born on 15 September 1902 and died in Pope County on 30 January 1904.

About 1909 Anna wrote on the back of a photograph of herself with her husband and two daughters:

From left to right
Jim, Flora, Anna & Ruth
Hello how are you all? I have wanted
to write every (sic) since I was down but put
it off. How is the baby and Ruthie, bless her
heart. How I wish I could see you all. How do
you like this weather. I don’t like it very much.
What are you going to do Christmas.
Come up! Let me hear from you real soon.
Yours, Anna Crow

Flora would have been 16 and Ruth 14.

The photograph is not dated and Anna did not write the name of the person she was writing the note to. From the text I believe it was taken most likely in 1909 and was for Florence ROYALTY. My only doubt comes from Anna’s writing, “since I was down” and “come up.” Florence lived in the Jefferson District of Pope County and Anna lived southwest of her in Benton, Massac County. Did she mean it literally as in coming to a higher place from a lower place? Or did Anna consider Pope County as “down home?”

Anna M. HODGE and Florence ROYALTY were born about six months apart in 1868 and most likely on adjacent land. In 1870 when Anna was 2 years old she was enumerated with her parents William Stewart HODGE (real estate valued at $2000) and Harriet TAYLOR in HH#153-153 in Township 13 Range 6, Pope County, IL. Florence who was also 2 years old was enumerated with her parents Samuel L. ROYALTY (real estate valued at $2000) and Joanna PALMER in HH#151-151. Living in HH#152-152 was George HODGE (real estate valued $0), a farmhand without land.

Samuel’s mother Sarah ROYALTY née LUNDERMON and Johanna PADDOCK, who four years later would marry the widowed Samuel, were living with the HODGE family. Samuel L. ROYALTY came from Indiana to Pope County after the Civil War and before 1866. His mother may have come with his family to Illinois while his sisters remained in Indiana. Johanna PADDOCK, an “old maid” and first cousin of Samuel’s wife Joanna PALMER, also came to Illinois from Indiana in the 1860s.

Anna’s sister Julia (1858-1924) married Florence’s oldest brother Chester Ashley ROYALTEY (1856-1917). Anna and Florence were neighbors, went to school together and may have been best friends growing up. They both named their daughters Ruth and Ruby. The baby mentioned in the note was Joe ROONEY‘s mother Ruby Pernecia LILLIE who was born in April 1909.

More about this collection, how it came to be in my possession,
and links to previous posts in the series can be found here.

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Old Photographs Saved From Trash Can ~ #37 William Alonzo SLANKARD

This young man was not easy to research. On the back of this photograph his name was written as . . .

. . . Alonzo SLANKARD.

I spent a lot of time looking into Alonzo Oliver SLANKARD (1872-1935) until I found an Alonzo SLANKARD, age 23, a single boarder living in Pope County, Illinois, in 1900. Warning bells were ringing as Alonzo O. was 28 and married at this time. In 1900 there were two men named Alonzo SLANKARD, one born abt. 1872 living in Alexander County, IL in 1900 and the other born 1876 living in Jefferson, Pope County, IL.

Who was the younger Alonzo? William Alonzo SLANKARD was born 17 September 1876 in Pope County, Illinois, to Thomas F. SLANKARD and Loney JONES. In 1900 he was living only a few households away from Green Berry Lyon GLASS (1864-1933). Jefferson, Pope County, was the residence of the LILLIE and GLASS families who are included in this collection.

In 1918 on his World War I draft card William Alonzo SLANKARD is described as tall, medium build, blue eyes and dark hair. His permanent home was in St. Louis at the same address as Miss Lora SLANKARD who was his nearest relative. His employer was the City of Minneapolis. This matches entries found for him in the city directory of Minneapolis in 1914 and 1915.

William was 47 years old and still single in 1923 when he finally married in Salt Lake City to Belle RUSSELL. She was Della Belle LOE, divorced, and the daughter of Sam LOE and Mary BOWER of Massac County, Illinois. Her date of birth on the marriage record made her six years younger than she really was. William and Della lived in Denver, Colorado, in 1930 and 1940. They did not have children.

As the photograph of “Alonzo” was most likely taken in the 1890s he may have been a friend of one of Albert Spencer LILLIE and Pernecia Elizabeth GLASS’ older sons. I have not been able to find a family relationship.

Alonzo Oliver SLANKARD or William Alonzo SLANKARD? If you recognize this young man, I’d love to hear from you.

More about this collection, how it came to be in my possession,
and links to previous posts in the series can be found here.

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