Remember When, 2nd Installment.......

Yesterday, I started a walk down my genealogical path by introducing you to my paternal lineage. Today, I will continue by introducing you to some of the people from my maternal lineage. Remember....two people fell in love...........

This is my great, great, great-grandparents, Thomas Jefferson Jackson, Sr. and Martha (Patsy) Allen-Jackson. T.J. was born Feb. 3, 1826 in Jackson Co., TN. Although some family researchers claim him to be a relative of President Andrew Jackson, I can neither prove nor disprove that through my own research. I believe it to be highly doubtful. He is, however, a direct descendant of a Cherokee Princess, Nancy, a member of Kyshire Indian tribe, who was born in 1726 in North Carolina. T.J. met and married Martha (Patsy) Allen in March, 1844 in Gainesboro, Jackson Co., TN. Although my paternal lineage also includes Allens, I have yet to be able to show a definite connection between the two sets of Allens. Martha was born on Jun. 2, 1826 in Gainesboro, Jackson Co., TN. After their marriage, the Jacksons moved westward from Jackson Co., which is in Middle Tennessee, ending up settling in Hardeman Co., in Western Tennessee. The couple eventually had 16 children, some of whom stayed in West TN and others who moved farther westward, settling in OK, TX, NM and CA. T.J. was a well known timber man and blacksmith throughout Hardeman County, having been the original proprietor of Jackson Lumber Company, which was carried on by his descendants into the latter years of the 20th century. He owned several hundred acres of land, where he harvested his own timber and opened his Smitty shop, also running a sorghum mill and helping establish a school in the area surrounding his property. T.J. died on the 16th of Jan., 1904 in what was then known as Bryantsburg (present-day Hebron community), Hardeman Co., TN and was buried in the David McKinnie Cemetery. Martha passed away soon afterward on the 22 July, 1904 and was laid to rest beside her dear husband of 62 years.

Sarilda Lucinda C. Jackson was the 14th child of T.J. and Martha Jackson and was my great, great-grandmother. She was born in 1867 in Hardeman Co., TN. She married William N. Pipkin on Apr. 3, 1886 in Hardeman Co., TN. William was born in 1867 in Madison Co., TN. Unfortunately, William died at a very young age in 1888 in Hardeman Co. I have not been able to find the cause of William's death. During their brief marriage, Sarilda and William had two daughters. The girls were less than one year apart and were always extremely close to each other. Sarilda did the best she could with her children and remarried on Mar. 13, 1890 in Hardeman Co., TN to James Hardeman Coburn. Mr. Coburn was a dreadful man and beat Shrilda mercilessly. She soon discovered he was sexually abusing her young daughters and sent them to lived with her parents, T.J. and Martha. After enduring his harsh treatment for as long as she could, she also left and went home to her mother following her father's death. She waited too long however, and died of complications from wounds received at the hands of her husband sometime between Jan. and July of 1904 in Hardeman Co., TN. Some researchers have reported that she was buried at the cemetery where Mr. Coburn and his second wife are buried. I have been unable to verify this and think it is highly unlikely that her mother would have buried her there. Although I cannot prove it, I believe her to be buried at the same cemetery where her parents were buried. After burying her dear husband and her daughter, Martha could no longer go on and died in July, 1904.

My great-grandmother, Minnie Hattie Victoria Pipkin, was the firstborn of Sarilda Jackson-Pipkin and William N. Pipkin. She was born on Feb. 28, 1887 in Hardeman Co., TN. She was just over one year old when her father died in 1888. As you can see by her appearance, her grandfather's Cherokee heritage is very evident. Hattie married John Thomas Howell on Jan. 13, 1901 in Hardeman Co., TN, just prior to her 14th birthday. John Thomas Howell was born on Apr. 15, 1877 in Hardeman Co., TN. He was nearly 10 years Hattie's senior. He also was a blacksmith and it is believed by some that he most likely learned his trade in Hattie's grandfather's shop. This might explain why he and Hattie got married when she was so young. John Thomas and Hattie had 7 children. John worked hard to support his family and moved from Hardeman Co. to Madison Co.during the 1930's to work in the cotton mill. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1939 and moved his family back to Hardeman Co. so he could die on the old home place. John Thomas died on May 24, 1940 and was buried in the Hebron Baptist Church Cemetery. Many years later, Hattie married again to Tom Sparks. They married about 1959 and he died in 1960. Hattie lived out the remainder of her life alone, but living just across the street from one of her children. Hattie died on Dec. 20, 1974 at her home in Hardeman Co., TN and was laid to rest beside John Thomas the the Hebron Cemetery. She was a much beloved woman and was in inspiration to her family until the day she went home.

My maternal grandparents are James Elbert (Elb) Howell and Lula Mae Sisco-Howell. Oh, and by the way, that pretty little baby they're holding is me! This picture was taken in the summer of 1958. I as less than one year old. I was the first grandchild on both sides of my family and spoiled rotten! Ahhhhh, those were the days!!!!!!
Elb Howell was born on Oct. 12, 1912 in Hardeman Co., TN. He worked alongside his Dad on the farm and in the blacksmith shop. His older brother, Willie, married a young woman from across the county and Elb became interested in her sister. After telling her family Elb was going to take her for a haircut on a Saturday afternoon, Elb and Lula Mae Sisco eloped to Ripley in Tippah Co., MS to get married! Imagine Lula's parent's surprise when she came home, not with a new haircut, but with a new husband! Lula was born on Jun. 19, 1914 in Hardeman Co., TN near the county seat of Bolivar. She was the daughter of Robert Sisco and Idella Doyle-Sisco and the granddaughter of Elijah Sisco and Mary Jane Weaver-Sisco and Edward H. Doyle and Sarah Norton-Doyle. All of her grandparents were born in TN, except for Elijah Sisco, who was born in Louisiana. He enlisted with the Confederate Calvary at the outbreak of the Civil War and was captured by a Union regiment and taken as a prisoner of war to Fort Delaware. While at Fort Delaware, he was offered an opportunity to purchase his freedom for a sum of money and an oath of allegiance to the Union. Elijah agreed and immediately signed up with the Union Army. He went on to fight valiantly for the Union, receiving combat wounds at least three times before the end of the war. When the war ended, he traveled back to Western TN to settle down. There he met Mary Jane Weaver and they were married about 1868. Elijah was still living at the Veteran's Census of Hardeman County recorded on Apr. 26, 1910 and receiving a pension from the Federal Government. Lula Sisco-Howell died from complications of Alzheimer's disease on Jun. 27, 1999 at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, Jackson, Madison Co., TN. She was buried at the Hebron Baptist Church Cemetery. Elb Howell lived to be 93 years old and died of old age on Nov. 8, 2005 at Bolivar General Hospital, Bolivar, Hardeman Co., TN. He died less than one hour after his son, John Thomas Howell, died in the room next door from complications of liver disease. Their funeral was held together and they were laid to rest in the Hebron Cemetery. Elb and Lula had 9 children, but had lost 2sons prior to their own deaths, with John also having died just prior to Elb's death as well.

The above are pictures of Momma, Thelma Mae Howell-McDonald. Momma was born on Aug. 1, 1939 at my grandparent's home in Hardeman Co., TN. She was the third of nine children and the first daughter. For all of her life, her siblings, even her older brothers, looked up to her and thought of her as the "mother" or leader of the family. She met Daddy, Van Patterson McDonald, in the late summer of 1956 at a local grocery story. His brother dared him to ask her out and the rest, as they say, is history! They dated for about six months and decided they wanted to get married. They planned to marry in February, 1957 but Daddy was still in the Army Reserve and had gotten notice that he might be called up for sniper duty in Vietnam. They at first decided to put the wedding off, but then decided to go ahead and get married and let whatever should come be left in the hands of the Lord. They were married at the Alcorn County Courthouse in Corinth, MS on Saturday, March 23, 1957. Momma had three children by the time she was 21 years old. I am the oldest and was born on Nov. 22, 1957. Charlotte is the middle child and was born on Apr. 16, 1959. Debra is the youngest and was born on May 24, 1960. Momma turned 21 on Aug. 1, 1960. The picture below was taken in Oct., 1960 on the day my Uncle Horace and Aunt Madie got married. It is taken outside my Maw and Paw McDonald's house. I think Momma is lookin pretty darn good to have just given birth to #3 just 5 months earlier. Especially when you consider that not only was it #3, but it was #3 in less than three years!
Momma and Daddy were always so happy when they were with each other. They laughed a lot and played practical jokes on each other all the time. Daddy always told Momma if she was planning to leave to be sure to pack his bag too, cause he was going with her!
When Momma was only 56, she had to have a double by-pass surgery on her heart. Two years later, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and had to retire on permanent disability. She also suffered from diabetes. She developed renal failure due to the diabetes and passed from this life on Apr. 20, 2006 at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, Jackson, Madison Co., TN. She was laid to rest the cemetery of her home church, Brints Chapel Baptist Church near Middleton in Hardeman Co., TN. Daddy had a difficult time adjusting to life without her, but has finally been able to move forward and continues to live on the farm with my sister and brother-in-law, who bought the farm after Mommas death.

Our Family

(L-R) Daddy (Van), Momma (Thelma), Diane, Charlotte and Debra

The James Elbert Howell Family

February 15, 1994

Elb and Lula's 60th Anniversary Celebration

(Back) Bobby, Donald, Kenneth, John, Sandra, Glenda, Shirley and Thelma

(Front) Lula Mae Sisco-Howell and James Elbert (Elb) Howell

ALL BECAUSE TWO PEOPLE FELL IN LOVE!!!

I'll pick up the story again tomorrow. Thank you all for reading. I hope you're enjoyed a fraction as much as I am !