Posted: November 26th, 2008 | Author: Mark | Filed under: Genealogy, Ohio, Tiptonville, Tennessee | Tags: caldwell, hopson, parker, stevens | No Comments »
It dawned on me recently that many people find this site while looking for relatives, and I haven’t made things easy for them. If someone arrives here after having Googled “stevens genealogy”, or “caldwell family”, they’ll find a frustrating lack of organization. But I must say that I prefer a more casual, “organic” layout, and find that excessive structure only serves to infuse the subject with banality, and genealogy needn’t be boring.
In order to clarify my family tree a little, here’s a quick-and-dirty outline of the family: I’m Mark Stevens, born in 1957. My father was Homer Douglas Stevens (”Doug” 1915-2007), and his father was Homer Stevens (1888-1961). Homer’s father was Albert Stevens (1852- ?). Albert’s father isn’t known, although there was a John J. Stevens that’s a possibility. All the Stevens mentioned here lived in Ohio, primarily in Guernsey County. My grandmother was born Goldie Irene Parker (1888-1979), and her father was Henry G. Parker (1840-1914). Her mother was Emily R. McMurray (1846-1930). Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: October 26th, 2008 | Author: Mark | Filed under: Genealogy, Tiptonville, Tennessee | Tags: caldwell, parker | No Comments »
Boy, I didn’t see this coming: I’ve learned that my great, great grandfather, William P. Caldwell, was a member of the United States House of Representatives. My knowledge of mom’s family, limited as it was, had told me only of their farming background, so this came as quite a surprise. And when I learned that my great grandfather Fred J. Caldwell (William P.’s son) was also an attorney, it’s become clear that agriculture hadn’t always been the predominant family business. So who exactly was my great, great grandfather?
William Parker Caldwell was born on November 8, 1832 in Christmasville, Tennessee. After having practiced law in Dresden and Union City, he represented the state’s 9th congressional district from March 4, 1875 to March 3, 1879. He later practiced law in Gardner, Tennessee and served in the Tennessee Senate from 1891 to 1893. He died in Gardner on June 7, 1903.
I’ve been unable to find any details concerning his career, but did learn that two of his sons, Fred J. (my great grandfather) and John A. Caldwell, followed in his footsteps by also practicing law. Another son, Luther W. Caldwell, became a physician practicing in Tennessee. While I can’t confirm it, at least one document could indicate that Luther relocated his practice to Hunt, Texas after the year 1900.
Once the exhilaration of these discoveries began to wane, a question came to mind. What prompted my grandfather, Fred J. Caldwell Jr., to forsake such gentlemanly occupations as the study of law or medicine for the respectable, but certainly more physical, life of a farmer? Genealogical research can uncover a wealth of information, things such as names, dates, events and places. But that sort of data doesn’t convey the thoughts and motivations of an individual. It’s too bad, as that’s certainly where the real story resides.
Posted: October 12th, 2008 | Author: Mark | Filed under: Tiptonville, Tennessee | Tags: caldwell, ellen | No Comments »
My mother, Ellen Virginia Caldwell, was born to Fred Caldwell Jr. and George Ella Caldwell on April 4th, 1921 in Tiptonville, Tennessee. Situated in the northwest corner of the state, the community is largely agricultural, and cotton farming was the family business. It’s probably the contrast between rural Tennessee and my own suburban upbringing that is the source of my fascination with Tiptonville. It shares little with the metropolitan setting to which I’m accustomed, and my memories of the place, not visited by me since 1981, are of an idyllic setting that exemplifies what America once was. The community has a fascinating history, far more than I can cover here, but I would like to touch on a few points of interest.
Tiptonville, population 2,439, is in Lake County, the smallest county in Tennessee. The town, situated along the New Madrid Fault Line, is near Reelfoot Lake, which was said to have been formed as a result of the earthquakes of 1811-1812. According to several accounts from the time, the quakes split the earth open, the Mississippi River flowing backwards to fill the void. The filling process was said to have taken anywhere between 10 and 24 hours. Read the rest of this entry »
It dawned on me recently that many people find this site while looking for relatives, and I haven’t made things easy for them. If someone arrives here after having Googled “stevens genealogy”, or “caldwell family”, they’ll find a frustrating lack of organization. But I must say that I prefer a more casual, “organic” layout, and find that excessive structure only serves to infuse the subject with banality, and genealogy needn’t be boring.
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