ciaran on Family Tree Circles

Viola James Kitchen(s) b. 8/11/1885 Obion County,TN died 1/31/1973 Memphis,TN. Since she was an orphan, we have no idea of her parents names. We are not sure if her middle & last names were her birth names or her adopted family's name. Her last name has been shown as Kitchens and Kitchen so not sure which is correct. We don't even know the name of her adopted family. My cousin & I have been trying for years to find the information.
In the 1900 U.S.Federal Census for Troy,Obion County,TN Civil Dist.6, it shows Viola Kitchen,age 14,orphan, living in household of Wade H. Pyles age 72 and Lenora J. Pyles age 70. Are they related somehow? Possible grandparents? On the census she stated she didn't know where her parents were born.
Viola married William Walter Gentry on 9/9/1904 in Obion County,TN. William Walter was b. 12/14/1873 Obion County,TN and d. 11/13/1951 in Memphis,TN. They had 8 sons & 2 daughters:
Wade Hampton b.8/28/1905 Obion Co.,TN d.9/9/1908 Obion Co.,TN
James Milton b.10/28/1906 Obion Co.,TN d.12/22/1958 Longview,TX
William Floyd b.11/15/1908 Obion Co.,TN d.1/3/1956 Memphis,TN
Charles Mason b.8/25/1910 Obion Co.,TN d.5/22/1988 unk location
Walter Harl b.8/5/1919 Shelby Co.,TN d.10/23/1995 Memphis,TN
Neuman Reid b.5/5/1921 Shelby Co.,TN d.4/18/1982 unk loc
Raymond Earl b.6/8/1923 Shelby Co.,TN d.12/20/1997 Memphis,TN
Edward Jackson b.6/16/1925 Shelby Co.,TN d.5/15/1996 Clearwater,FL
Ruth Alein b.8/16/1916 Shelby Co.,TN d 10/22/2000 Memphis,TN
Doris Blanche b.8/12/1912 Shelby Co.,TN d.10/19/1994 Memphis,TN

If anyone has any information on Viola please let me know. Also need info on ancestors of William Walter's father, James Milton Gentry b. 8/8/1836 b. KY d. 8/30/1888 Obion Co,TN. He is buried at New Ebenezer Cemetary in Obion County,TN. He was married to Martha Francis Tanner b. 1836 TN.

This information is from the Welcome Society of PA records. There were several ships that specifically brought Quakers to America. The following is a list of their names:
Welcome
Bristol Factor
John and Sarah
Amity
Freeman
Hester and Hannah
Lyon
Friendship
Mary
Society
Golden Hindle
Samuel
Friends Adventure
Providence
Elizabeth
Ann and Catherine
Hopewell
Lamb
Jeffrey
Antelope
Unicorn
Submission
Adventure

Looking for the ancestors of my great-grandmother, Ada Lee Davis. She was born Oct. 1881 in Tate County,MS. Her father was William C. Davis b. abt 5/1849 in TN and mother was Anna ?, b. abt 3/1865 in TN. She had 3 brothers: Paul b. 7/1893, Lewis b. 8/1909, Jessie Coleman b. 7/1884 and 1 sister, Ina b. 2/1888.
I have been searching for several years for her grandparents, etc but have not had any luck.
Would appreciate any information.

Anyone doing research on the Billingsley family needs to check out the book,"Billingsley Family in America" by Harry A. Davis, published in 1936.
This book is invaluable to any Billingsley researcher and is often called the "holy grail" for Billingsley research.
I was lucky to have my mother actually named in the book and from her & my grandmother, I could trace my ancestors all the way back to England and beyond.
This book has helped in my research very much. It gives great starting points for further research. From this book, I have found relatives I didn't know about and some that I did.
From further research I've done, I have been able to find pictures of some of my ancestors homes that are still standing; both in the USA and in England. I also learned about the Billingsley family reunion trip to England that is held each year.
This book contains a wealth of information about the Billingsley family and their life after coming to America.

Sometimes you may have information on a person or family that is not related to you by blood or marriage. It is still very important to make this information known.
My GG Grandfather, Charles Nathaniel Billingsley, was married to Laura Jane Lowrie, daughter of Dave Lowrie & Jane Diffee. Dave & Jane raised an orphan named Jennie Gates.
Since I had this information, I did some research on Jennie Gates and found a marriage record and census information. I posted this information and was soon contated by a descendant of Jennie Gates. She was trying to trace her roots and had not had any luck until she saw my post. My information helped her get a good start on her research. The following is what I have on Jennie:
Jennie was born abt 1865 in MS. On a census she said her parents had also been born in MS. (Note:still trying to find out their names). There is a Marriage Bond in 1882 in Tate County,MS for Jennie Gates and William M. Meredith b. 3/1861 in MS. The bond was signed by R.J.Lowrie.
The 1880 census of Looxahoma, Tate County,MS shows Jennie,age 15, living with Dave & Jane Lowry(Lowrie).
The 1900 census for Tate County,MS shows: W.M.Meredith, wife Jennie(Virginia), children: Ada, Orthe, Bob, Carrie, Rosie, Daniel.

You don't realize how a small pebble of information can start a landslide. Always post any information you may have. Somebody is probably looking for it.

My cousin & I have been searching for over 10 years for the ancestors of our ggg grandfather, James Matox Gentry, but no luck. His name has been shown as Matox, Mattox, Maddox or James M.. All we can find about him is 2 records of a marriage in Hickman County,KY. First marriage was on 01/24/1830 to Polly Nichols. Second marriage was on 4/13/1843 to Mary Carter. After those marriages we can't find anything until the 1850 census in Obion County,TN. On that census it shows: Matox, wife Mary, sons James, John, Robert & daughter Sarah. In the 1860 Obion Co. census it shows: Maddox Jentrey, wife Mary, sons: James Milton, John, Robert, Edward & daughters Sarah & Alice R.. The 1870 Lake County,TN census shows: James M., sons: Thomas, James H.,Daughter Sarah (Richardson) & her son Edwin. There is no wife listed, sons James Milton,John E., & Robert have undoubtedly left the home, daughter Sarah had married & had a child but husband not shown (did he die?). Note: Lake County,TN was formed by land taken from Obion County,TN on 6/24/1870.
We have not found any land records, wills, etc for James Matox Gentry.
On the census' for 1850 & 1860 he stated he was born in TN but no town.
We continue to search and would welcome any information about our mysterious ggg grandfather.

Charles Nathaniel b.2/3/1847 and Laura Jane b. 1/28/1854 were married 11/28/1872. They had 8 children:
Elizabeth "Bettie" b. 11/28/1873
Robert Lee (my g-grandfather) b. 3/19/1876
Mollie b. 10/3/1879 d. 7/26/1885
Samuel D. "Sam" b. 1/15/1882
James Oscar b. 6/23/1884
William L. "Willie" b. 2/19/1887
Clara Leona b. 7/18/1891
Annie Laura b. 12/11/1893

The following is my Billingsley line from my grandmother back to before 1437:
Christine Leslie Billingsley
Robert Lee Billingsley
Charles Nathaniel Billingsley
Cyrus Billingsley
James Billingsley
Sias (aka Cyrus,Silas)Billingsley
Clement Billingsley
Bowles Billingsley
William Billingsley
John Billingsley
Francis Billingsley
John Billingsley
Francis Billingsley
Francis Billingsley
John Billingsley
William Billingsley
William Billingsley
Roger Billingsley
Roger Billingsley
John Billingsley
William (de)Byllingsley

Cyrus was born in NC and Amanda was born in TN . They lived in Looxahoma,Tate,MS and had 10 children. Edd,their oldest child, was killed in the Civil War. Charles Nathaniel (my gg grandfather) and James Newton, twins, were next. Charles Nathaniel was a farmer & James N. was a Baptist preacher. Jane, their oldest daughter was next. Zachariah T. was born next. He also was a Baptist preacher. A.N, or Nick, as he was better known was their next child. He, too, was a Baptist preacher. Next was Jonathan W. and their youngest was Susie. They lost 2 little girls at a very young age: Agnes and Berline.

Charles Nathaniel married Laura Jane Lowrie on Nov. 28, 1872.
James N. married Mrs. S.C.Perrin on July 31, 1873.
Jane married Jim Holmes and lived in Oxford,MS. She died while still a young woman and left no children.
Zack T. married Mollie Lowrie and after she died he married her sister Callie on June 21,1880. They were sisters to Laura Jane that married Charles Nathaniel.
Nick married Susie Winn and after her death he married the Widow McNeely.
Jon W. married M.J. Billingsley (his cousin) on Aug. 28, 1881.
Susie married William T. Clark on March 23, 1878.

Bettie married Walter J.DeShazo 2/14/1906.He had 1 daughter,Jewel,when they married. They had 5 children.
Robert Lee married Ada Lee Davis 1/20/1901. They had 9 children.
Sam married Blanche Murphy 5/8/1910.They had 4 children.
Willie married Ruth Martin 3/21/1914.They had 5 children.
Leona married Jodie Barmer 12/14/1913. They had 2 children.
Annie married Eugene Wynn 1/11/1914. They adopted 1 child and had 1 child of their own.
Oscar married Lucille ? on 6/24/1915. They had 4 children.