Notes:
I was told by Jonnie Jarrett, another researcher of this line, of the existance of a census naming one "Leland" Ray as being in the household of James Absalom Ray together with Clyde Ray and recording him with the same age as Clyde. This, of course, leads to the conclusion that Leland, not Claude, was the twin of Clyde. If this were true, it would deny the recollection of Clyde's children who are all still living and who state without reservation that Claude was the twin of Clyde. As often happens, the census taker made an error. (That's why censuses are not considered to be primary genealogical sources.) I have a notation in my files that Claude served in the Army in WWI.
Notes:
Preacher.
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Searching the 1870 census, Brenda Hawkins located James and Carrie residing in Panola Co., Mississippi. They had four children with them then, Theodocia, Ambros, Molly, and James A. Molly, she speculates, might be a child of Jameses first wife, Indiana, because she was seven years old in 1870 making her birth year 1863, three years before we believe James and Carrie were married.
Notes:
From my own research, I was about convinced that Carrie's maiden name was Altom even though it is occasionally found as "Altour". Opal Ray had in her files [sent to me] copies of a few pages from an old genealogical listing called, "The Holcombes, Their Genealogy and Biographies" by Mrs. L.D. McPherson - 1947. This reference gave her name as "Altour". As a double check I inquired about this to Brenda Hawkins, who has been researching the Rays for some years, and she had this to say about it:
"Lynn,
To answer your question about Carrie's maiden name, I will have to say that I believe Altom is correct.
Here's why:
1. Marty Ramage [widely referred to by researchers of this line], in his latest revision to me, has included the full marriage date and still listed her name as Altom.
2. I ran the name Altom through the Ancestry.com search for any deaths, births, or marriages in Mississippi and found several. But when I ran the name Altour, there were none.
3. I ran just the last name of Altour through the SSDI Death Index records and in all their 71 million records there's not a single incidence of Altour, so I'd say it's a pretty good bet that Carrie's name was not Altour.
Best regards,
Brenda"
I have a brief bio on James Absalom Ray prepared many years ago by Inez (Ray) Harris, his grandchild. In it she also mentions her great grandfather, James Mallory Ray, and therein she states that he married Carrie "Alton". Thus we have three choices for the surname of Carrie.
Hearing of this from me, Angela Day, another researcher of the Ray line, found in "Mississippi Marriages, 1826-1900" (an Ancestry.com data base) the following record:
Name: James M. Ray Spouse: Carrie L. Alton Marriage Date: 20 Jun 1862 County: Pontotoc State: MS
In the LDS marriage file she is listed with the same data but her name is spelled "Altom". There is no Alton family from the Pontotoc area but the family of Elihu Altom lived in Pontotoc, Co. at exactly the right time to be the parents of Carrie Lee. What is more, Elihu is recorded as having a daughter Caroline. Thus we can be virtually positive that he is the father of Carrie Lee and the census taker either recorded her name wrong or wrote it so an "m" can be confused with an "n", and listed her nickname instead of her real name. [That's why census records are not considered primary evidence by professional genealogists.]
About Carrie's birth place: Considering that every family member surrounding Carrie was born in northern South Carolina, she should have been born there too, but according to Brenda Hawkins every census in which she appears states her birth place as Tennessee. Another interesting fact is that this part of South Carolina had several "Alton" families residing there. This leads to the speculation that the ancestral surname of Elihu Altom is actually Alton and the spelling became changed somewhere along the line.
Notes:
Inez (Ray) Harris assigns two additional marriages to William, on 11 Dec 1904 to Susie (or Bessie) C. Hodges and on 28 Aug 1914 to Leona Bell Mathis (or Redrick), this last within three years of his death.
Notes:
In her family group pages, Inez Ray names her Jennie C. Pinkston but on an ancestral chart I have which was (presumably) made from her data, the name Catherine Jane Pinkston appears. Both names have been found in different compilations on the internet and I have been unable to confirm either one of them.
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While found in the compilations of others, this Andrew does not appear in Inez (Ray) Harris' list of children for William C. Spears. It could be that "J." is his correct middle initial, stands for "John" and this is the Jack Spears in Inezes list. If so, he is the one who married Virginia Sledge.
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The parents of Will Cobb were Ezra Cobb and Mary H. Campbell.
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The birthdate given for Florence Simpson is from an LDS Church record. However, Rebecca Gallup has it recorded as March 12, 1869. Opal, grand daughter of Florence told me that her mother, Cora, did not like Will Cobb at all. He was a harsh and demanding man who made his children work in the fields at tasks that were very difficult and tiring for their age. In particular, his daughters were expected to produce as much as the boys, which they couldn't and so suffered Will's displeasure with them. When Florence's first husband, Christopher Spears, died, Will Cobb began to spend an unseemly amount of time "hanging around" Florence's house. Florence is believed to have told (someone), so Cora said, that she was concerned about gossip spreading and so decided to marry Will for the sake of propriety, not that she loved him.
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An alternate birth year of 1825 has been given for Nathaniel. If correct, this would make him unusually older than his wife and leaves room for a previous wife which we don't know about.
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Opal Hamlett remembers Jan 1891 as the birth date of Earl Spears.
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In her notes, Inez Ray names her as "Carrie" Hooker.
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Opal (Ray) Hamlett remembers "Aug 1894" as the birthdate of Vera.