LOOKING BACK, II IN MCNAIRY COUNTY, TENNESSEE

LOOKING BACK, II IN MCNAIRY COUNTY, TENNESSEE

PROBABLY EARLY 1900 MAY BE IN THE ANDERSON FAMILY IN SELMER

COMPILED BY NANCY WARDLOW KENNEDY JULY2004

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LOOKING BACK, II IN MCNAIRY COUNTY, TENNESSEE

We are assembled here today, The tribute of our love to pay To those who are remembered last; The uncrowned heroes of the past, Whose deed will shine with brighter glow, While generations come and go.

From McNairy Pioneers by Jennie S Perkins 1904

COMPILED BY NANCY WARDLOW KENNEDY

Information for LOOKING BACK is obtained from various sources and not always verified. All research, court cases and transcribing by Nancy Wardlow Kennedy, unless otherwise noted. Acknowledgment is given, when known, to the source or author. I am sorry for any errors they are not intentional.

Looking Back is a random collection of McNairy County History. This is not an English essay so please expect misspelled words, typo's and other errors. An index was made to help but it also may contain errors and omissions.

March 1, 2015: When I was diagnosed with a meningioma in December, I decided to put all my work on the McNairy County website, in hopes it would help someone else. Some of my work, such as this one, has not been proofed, so please overlook any errors. It is not indexed. Rather, it was indexed, but different programs and printers changed the page layout and the original index is not correct. Since time was my biggest obstacle, I did not go back and index. Please use your `Find' key to search this document. Some of my work will overlap and be included in more than one document, but I thought it better to share than to be precise. My work as been important to me and important for it to be preserved. I love McNairy County History and I love those who love it with me.

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Table of Contents

Names in Genealogy

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Reminiscences of Old Purdy

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Bill Simpson's Legal Experience

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Homesick for Selmer in 1930

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Buelah King vs A J King, petition for divorce 1884

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Petition to Judge, from (ca 75) citizens of Adamsville 1938

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A N Kirkman Settlement 1915

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Ramer Girls Basketball Team 1927

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McNairy County Sheriffs

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Doctors in McNairy Count in 1850 and 1880

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Letter from Bill Dugan, first airplane seen in Selmer 1924

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J H Ferguson vs George Taylor, petition for road, 1907

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Letter for a Civil War pension, T J Walker

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William Ferguson vs L C Roten

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Coke, Austin and allied families

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Mrs. Ann Wesson, oldest citizen dead 1920

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Saunders

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Names of people living in and around Purdy 1859

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Jacob Wolfe

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Justices and Constables Elected 1906

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Stantonville History

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A. T. Springer

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J R Davis Daybook, Iuka, Tishomingo Co, Miss. 1857- to ca 1865

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Richard Rushing Bible Records

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Thomas William Price Bible Records

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State of Revenue Oct 1888 - Dec 1888

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History Article by J C Taylor - Leapwood area - Wild Goose

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Hill Family Bible Records

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Smith and Wyatt Bible Records

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William Hamm Bible Records

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Huggins and Hamm Bible Records

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Caroline Bowers Price Reynolds Hardin

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Isham Forsythe

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Frank & Jesse James

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The Bridge

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Aaron Springer

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Henry Clay Farris 1850-1899

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The Courtship

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Saline Farris Chambers Caffey

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James Haynes of Chewalla, Tn, pension appl and other articles

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Dr. Harris T. B. Speer

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Hanceford Emmons

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W C Moore vs Nancy Lockman

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John M Harris vs E H Ferguson

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W F Mozier vs Jasper N Sipes

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Lee R Lockman vs Margaret Roberson

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John G Gooch vs Jesse Gooch

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Estate of William C Kindel, those that owed him in 1877 ca

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McNairy County School June 1921 and enrollment

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Henry the Slave

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History of Ramer Baptist Church

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J W Sutton

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Letter from Herman Price to Thomas Price 1930

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Board of Education 1921

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Voting Precinct 1902

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Selmer Town Election 1922

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From 2nd District

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Center Hill School, Walking Down Memory Lane

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Margaret Moore

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Folks Living in Bethel Springs in 1880

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Old Huggins Cemetery

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Peter Moore Graves

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Two misc letters

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Will of Reuben Atkins 1879

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Interview with Robert Dickerson

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Black Teachers in 1906

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tidd bitts ..............by Nancy Wardlow Kennedy

NAMES IN GENEALOGY

When I first started genealogy, names bogged my mind. Every Wardlow family from here to the beginning of time had a John in it. James Wardlow had three sons and every one of them had a son named John, usually about the same age. It was devastating to try to figure out which one was mine. This naming pattern was used by our early European immigrants and it went something like this:

1st son after the father's father 2nd son after the mother's father 3rd son after the father 4th son after father's eldest brother 5th son after mother's eldest brother

1st daughter after the mother's mother 2nd daughter after the father's mother 3rd daughter after the mother 4th daughter - mother's eldest sister 5th daughter - father's eldest sister

This could go on forever. There were other brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles and grandparents. It was very rare to name a child other than ancestral names.

Sometimes the mother's maiden name was the first name of child, especially Quaker names. I found a Thompson had married a Thompson and a child was named Thompson Thompson. One of my ancestors was named Martin Martin.

Many times the second name was the mother's maiden name. My Mary Pleasants Bolding began having children about 1791 and all had the middle name of Pleasants.

The Quakers liked to use desirable character traits such as Charity, Patience, Prudence and Temperance. In the 1800's we notice a movement to name children, especially girls, after states. Tennessee was a very poplar name during this time.

Down through the years this tradition was lost. How I wish that I had used family names, at least for my children's middle name.

Well, I did have a cat name after my grandmother. We had four little kittens we named Any, Minny, Minny and Mo. We gave them all away but Minny, who soon came to be known as Minnie Mae Donia. It was a crude awakening when about six months later we found she was a boy.

REMINISCENCES OF OLD PURDY

If Bill Sweat and Lawson Lockman could wake up and see the old Purdy bone-yard today, being desecrated by raising corn and cotton on it, they would be amazed and astonished to see the destiny of this once famous horse swapping ground. Immense crowds used to come from all over the county and adjoining counties, to this noted bone-yard, which was just south of the public square. Back in the days when saloons were in Purdy, the crowd would become quite hilarious along towards night and break up with a few fist fights and sometimes a right serious cutting scrape.

Among the first beginning of the temperance movement in Tenn, was an organization called the Murphys. I remember they held Murphy meetings in the old Presbyterian Church at

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