Thomas Washington Witham - Camp Ripley 1964

Here is a photo my cousin Kevin Pruiett (Thank you, Kevin!) just sent me. It's a photo of my grandpa (Tom Witham) at Camp Ripley in 1964. This must be a National Guard or Army Reserve photo. Grandpa is standing right behind the cooks in the photo. I included the original photo and a blown-up version to show you where grandpa is standing. (As always, you can click on the photos to view them at a larger size.)

'Bound To Be Bound' Book Bindery

My grandpa (Tom Witham) used to work at this book bindery in Jacksonville, IL. He talked about it all the time. I believe other family members used to work there, as well, including Aunt Marjorie.

I got this photo of the book bindery from my cousin, Kevin Pruiett (Thank you, Kevin!). It isn't dated. My grandpa is in the back row in the center. I included the original photo and one marked in red to show you where my grandpa is standing. (Just click on the photos for a larger view.)

And here are a few photos I took of the book bindery while I was in town for the 2011 Witham Family Reunion. 

                               

Witham Family Home - Pisgah, IL

Here are some photos of the Witham family home in Pisgah, IL. I don't know much about this property yet, other than the Withams lived there, but we have some folks trying to gather some more information about it for us. I'll be certain to pass that along when we get it.

If you are interested in visiting this property, you can find it in Pisgah, IL right across the highway from the grain elevator.

Photos taken in 1989 when the property was being renovated:

And here are some recent pictures taken in 2011:

Searching Witham Family History

Here's a quick tip for you. If you are looking for something specific on the Witham Family History website, you can use the search box in the upper left hand corner of the website.

If you were to search for OBITUARY, for example, the website will return all the obituaries we have listed on the site.

If you were to search for FRANCIS CALVIN WITHAM, you could see all the info we have on him.

Go ahead...try out the SEARCH feature!

Reunion 2011 Attendance Sheet & Chart

Hello, Withams! We have the attendance sheet and the attendance chart from the 2011 Witham Family Reunion completed. We have 33 attendees recorded. They are:

Sandy Sparks McCurley
Marilyn Sparks Yost
Richard Koehler
Nancey Koehler
Bishop Wendell Smith
Warren Smith
Connie Smith
David Smith
Jackie Hyatt Lacy
Becky Hyatt Bucalo
Mary Louise "Pete" Doolin
Mary Beth Doolin
Mary Beth Doolin's boyfriend Bill
Jeff Dixon
Kelly Dixon
Carter Dixon
Kate Dixon
Charlene Probasco Smith
Bill Smith
Shawn Smith
Tanner Smith
Cyndy Witham Argenta-Eaton
Randy Eaton
Jerry Witham
Mike Smith
Aunt Betty Robinson
Judy Leak
Bucky Leadill
Connie Leadill
Tracy Leadill-Mulquin
Uncle Ray Witham
Aunt Beulah Witham
Karen McKinney

Thank you to all who attended the reunion this year. If you missed it, please start planning for next year! We had so much fun! We would love to see you there next year!

In case you are wondering how you are related to the other folks who attended the reunion, we created a reunion attendance chart so you can visually see how we are related to each other. It's a bit on the small side, as I had to make sure we could fit everyone who attended the reunion on it, but I hope you can still read it ok. (Hint: You can click on the chart for a larger view)

If I missed anyone or misspelled a name, please let me know and I'll fix it. Thank you! ~Mike

Indian Creek -vs- Creelsboro (Mann Family History)

I just got this article from Becky. She found it in her research and was kind enough to share it with us. It will be of special interest to Charlie Witham's kids/grandkids, as it mentions the Mann family. Thank you for sharing it with us, Becky!

Indian Creek vs. Creelsboro

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

It was a Saturday, September 12, 1931. 400 people had gathered on the Conner farm on Indian Creek, just south of the Cumberland River, or in present-day terms, north of Grider Hill Dock, to watch a baseball game between Indian Creek and Creelsboro. Indian Creek was scheduled to play a black team from Burkesville, but the team had cancelled. So, the Creelsboro team was asked to play and the game was on.  At one point in the game, John Hugh (Monk) Oliver fouled the only ball they had to play with over in an adjoining field. While someone went to retrieve the ball, the shooting started. Down through the years, different stories have been told as to what happened, but here is the real story as told by three members of the Creelsboro team: Oliver (the batter), Carlos Mann (the third base coach), and Kermit Mann (who was on third base). George Elmore was in the crowd on the third base side, near the backstop. While the foul ball was being retrieved, he came out of the crowd and started walking toward home plate. Constable Leo Mann, who was watching the game from just beyond the first base side, came onto the field and tried to arrest Elmore. Mann drew his gun, and the two men began to wrestle over it. As they moved toward first base, Elmore's buddy, Jasper Hadley, who had been watching the game from just beyond third base, came across the infield, drew his gun, and shot Leo Mann. He fired a second shot that accidentally struck Elmore. Over by first base, Bill Mann came running out of the crowd yelling at Hadley to stop. He drew a gun and shot at him, but the gun jammed. A second shot struck Hadley, but not before Hadley had fired at him, striking Bill Mann in the neck.  Jasper Hadley walked over to the third base area, handed his pistol to Porter Conner, told him he thought he killed Elmore then fell to the ground dead. Bill Mann walked up on a bank behind first base, where he dropped dead. George Elmore was taken to Dr. Ballou's office at Rowena, where he died that evening. Leo Mann was taken to Dr. McClendon's office in Russell Springs, where he died the next evening.  The entire episode lasted only one to two minutes. Four men who were related either by blood or marriage and who had grown up in the Creelsboro-Manntown area, were killed and only four, possibly five, shots had been fired. No one else, including the ballplayers, was involved.  This story first appeared in the book, Russell County, Kentucky by Wayne Johnson of the Russell County Historical Society (1997)

Raegan Christina O'Bryan - Welcome!

We would like to take a moment to welcome Raegan Christina O'Bryan into the world and into our family, as she was born today, Wednesday July 20, 2011 at 2:04pm. She weighed 8 pounds 6 ounces, 19 inches long, with long, dark hair and eyes and "cute as a button" according to Uncle Ray! Congratulations to Raegan's mom, Jennifer, grandma Chris, great-grandparents Uncle Ray and Aunt Beulah, and their whole family! 

Welcome to the family, Raegan!

(These pictures were added after the original post. Raegan was 3 days old when the pictures were taken.)

Francis Calvin & Mary Witham with Aunt Till & Uncle Ed

We posted this picture before but we didn't know who the young kids in the photo were. While we were at the reunion this year, Charlene brought a big box of Aunt Myrtle's old pictures. We found this same photo in her collection and it was labeled, so we now know the kids in the photo are Aunt Till and Uncle Ed.

Thank you, Charlene!

Looking To Grow - Need Additional Contributors/Admins for Witham Family History

I would like to add some new admins to this blog so many people can author posts and contribute information from different branches of the family tree. If you are interested in contributing in this manner, just let me know. There are no requirements. You would just post pictures and information as you have the time and inclination.
I think it would be great to grow this site with multiple authors making posts that represent multiple branches of the family tree. Let's take this to the next level! Let me know if you are interested.

Thank You & Meet The Team!

I receive a lot of credit for my role in our family history project because my role is a public one - I take all the information we gather and post it here on our family history blog and in our family tree for our whole family to share. But, I am not the only person working hard to gather our family history information. There are lots of people who have contributed to the information you see here. All I do is try to compile everything together and make it available for anyone who is interested. Let me tell you about some of the other people involved in our project.

Mike, Sandy, Becky  (Witham Family Reunion - July 17, 2011 - Franklin, IL)

Here is a picture of me with my two family history buddies, Sandy and Becky. Let me tell you about them.

Sandy Sparks McCurley is Aunt Jennie Witham Sparks' granddaughter. Sandy and I have been working on our family history on and off for years and years. We met online probably 10 years ago and then lost contact with each other for several years until we reconnected a few years ago. Sandy has provided a lot of the pictures you see here, especially many of the ones of Francis Calvin and Mary Witham and the pictures of Aunt Jen. She has been my long-time family history buddy and we have bounced ideas and information off each other for years.

Becky Hyatt Bucalo is Francis Calvin Witham's great, great granddaughter through his first wife, Martha McDonald. We also met online about a year ago. I don't really believe in past lives, but if I did, I'm sure Becky would have been either a detective or a hound dog in her past life. She has an infectious passion for family history and a determination that can't be stopped. She has made many major breakthroughs in our family history when we've come up against roadblocks.

Without Sandy and Becky, this family history project would NOT be anywhere near where it is today. Sandy, Becky, and I aren't the only contributors, either, though. We have had lots of help from many others in the family.

Aunt Myrtle's daughter Charlene has been incredible, sharing lots of photos and information with us. Uncle Ray, Aunt Betty, and Aunt Marjorie have also been invaluable sources of information that we've sought out on many occasions. We appreciate the benefit of their experience. Many others have also contributed pictures, stories, documents, and information that we really appreciate. There are too many of you to list and I know I would forget someone.

So, thank you to everyone who has contributed! If you haven't yet contributed, but you would like to, we welcome anyone and everyone. Just jump right in. No invitation is needed. You might be surprised to learn how fun it is. Uncovering your family roots is like a mystery, a puzzle, and a history lesson all wrapped up in one.

Witham Family Reunion 2011 - Post Reunion Update

Hello, Withams! Yesterday was the 2011 Witham Family Reunion in Franklin, IL. We had a wonderful turnout! Thank you to everyone who was able to attend. We had lots of locals and many who came in from a distance, including Missouri, Wisconsin, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Arizona, and California (email me if I missed one)! We appreciate your participation and we enjoyed seeing you there! If you weren't able to make it this year, please plan to do so next year. We would love to have you! We have lots of exciting reunion photos and information to share with you over the next few weeks, so come back often and see the updates. I will be posting them as the information comes in to me. Thank you to Uncle Ray for his leadership with the reunion and to everyone who worked hard to set up the reunion and make it possible. Stay tuned for more updates...

George Sherman Witham & Mary Elizabeth Starnes

Here's a photo of Francis Calvin Witham's brother, George Sherman Witham with his second wife, Mary Elizabeth Starnes. This photo came from Jack Witham Payne through Becky. Thank you Jack and Becky!

I have George Sherman Witham listed as George T.S. Witham. I've always wondered if his full name is George Tecumseh Sherman Witham, named after General Sherman. Not sure yet.

Page from a Witham Family Bible

Hello Withams! Becky has been working her contact with Jack Witham Payne again and has discovered a page from a Witham Family Bible. This page lists the names and birthdates of the children of George Washington Witham and Catherine Bunch Witham. This has filled in a few blanks for us. Parts of the page are missing, but luckily, we already have that information, anyway. Here are the names and birthdates listed on the page. Thank you to Becky and Jack for sharing the information with us.

George Washington Witham: July 15, 1831
Catherine Bunch Witham: March 7, 1832

Francis Calvin Witham: December 16, 1857
William Granville Witham: August 24, 1861
Sarah E. Witham: February 8, 1863
Thomas Joshua Witham: May 5, 1865
George Sherman Witham: December 25, 1867
Robert Alexander Witham: September 19, 1871
Annie P. Witham: April 5, 1874
Charles H. Witham: April 13, 1878

Mike's Notes:

We had Francis Calvin's year of birth at 1858. I'll have to look into this to see which one is correct. Either way, we now know that Francis Calvin was the oldest child of GW and Catherine.

Another interesting note, if you're not already aware, is that Annie was born in 1874, but passed in 1881, at the age of 7. I'm not sure how she passed, yet.

Thomas Washington Witham & Annabelle Stucker Witham

My Aunt Cyndy surprised me with this photo. It's a picture of my grandpa, Thomas Washington Witham, and his first wife, Annabelle Stucker. They were divorced before I was born, so I didn't know Annabelle (my paternal grandmother) well. I do remember meeting her one time when I was young, but that's all I remember about her. This photo is the first time I've seen what she looks like, since I don't remember much about meeting her a long time ago. Thank you for sharing, Aunt Cyndy!

Here is the text from the photo:

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Witham are shown cutting the wedding cake after their marriage in this city Sunday, Sept. 7. The bride was formerly Miss Annabelle Stucker, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Stucker of this city. Mr. Witham is the son of Mrs. Josie Witham and the late Charley Witham. 

The wedding ceremony took place at the home of Rev. William J. Boston, 903 North Church street. Rev. Boston performed the single ring service. 

The bride wore a tan street length dress and a corsage of white roses. The bridemaid, Mrs. Earl Smith, sister of the groom, wore a black street length dress and a corsage of pink roses. 

Earl Smith, the groom's brother-in-law, served as the best man. 

The groom served four years in the U.S. Army Air Corps. More than three years were spent overseas. 

After the ceremony, a reception was held at the home of the groom's mother for close friends and relatives. 

Mr. and Mrs. Witham will make their home in Jacksonville where Mr. Witham is employed at the New Method Book Bindery. 

Note from Mike: The date listed on the photo is Sept 7, but it doesn't give a year. If anyone knows the year of their wedding, please either leave a comment or send me a message. Thank you!