Just to set the stage and jog your memory...
Becky is the great granddaughter of Alex Clay (Uncle Clay) Witham. Alex Clay is the oldest son of Francis Calvin Witham and his first wife, Martha (Mattie) McDonald. Sadly, Martha passed away when Uncle Clay was less than 2 months old, so Uncle Clay never knew his mother.
We also know that Martha grew up as a neighbor to Francis Calvin, so it seems to be a very romantic love story with such a tragic ending. Unfortunately, we don't know too much more than that about Martha.
Becky has had her nose to the grindstone for 2 1/2 years, trying to find the proverbial needle in Martha's haystack. She has now tracked down a living relative of Martha's sister, Temperance McDonald-Dicken. We have been given a photo, as well as additional information, about Temperance.
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| LEFT: Alfred Richard Dicken and his wife, Avo. MIDDLE: Temperance RIGHT: Lewis Allen Dicken |
Pictured above is Temperance McDonald-Dicken with her 2 sons and daughter-in-law. Thank you to Fred who provided the photo and to Becky who so kindly shared it with the rest of us.
We also learned that Temperance is full-blooded Cherokee Indian, which means that Martha is most likely also Cherokee. If you recall, Catherine Bunch (Francis Calvin Witham's mother) was also full blooded Cherokee Indian. It appears that we have a lot of Cherokee roots in our family.
If you have any more information for us about Martha (Mattie) McDonald, we would love to hear from you. Please comment on this post or send me a message.
So, Becky takes us one step closer to Martha. She's still hot on the trail and if I were a bettin' man...
Thanks Mike for posting. You have such a great way of putting my thoughts to paper. My heart is warmed by this discovery.
ReplyDeleteBecky
Thank you for sharing it, Becky. I got an email from Charlene. She thinks she may remember hearing about a Temperance WITHAM. She suggested I add that to my list of things to ask Aunt Marjorie about on our next phone call, so I will do that and let you know if I find out anything new.
DeleteThanks Mike, I am posting all of this to Clinton County Families to see if we get a hit. Becky
DeleteSounds great, Becky. The more places we have it posted, the more likely we are to get a hit. Keeping my fingers crossed...
DeleteI hope someone can remember something about my Martha. Thanks Mike.
ReplyDelete