Troy L Partain, 1931-2013

     My Uncle, Troy Partain, passed away Wednesday night.  The following obituary appeared in the Gwinnett Daily Post today:

"STONE MOUNTAIN Troy Partain Troy L. Partain, age 82, of Stone Mountain (Gwinnett County), Ga., died Thursday evening, September 25, 2013. His funeral will be Saturday, September 28, 2013, at 2 pm in the Bill Head Funeral Home, Lilburn/Tucker Chapel, with Dr. Robert Woodall officiating. Burial will follow in Eternal Hills Memory Gardens, Snellville with Air Force Military Honors. Born in Anderson, SC., Troy was a retired trainer for General Motors and a 11 year veteran of the U. S. Air Force. He was a member of Lilburn First Baptist Church. Survived by his wife of 52 years, June Craft Partain of Stone Mountain, daughter and son-in-law, Carol and Bill Williams of Lexington, NC., son, James Partain of Stone Mountain, grandchildren, Joshua (Tiffany) Williams, Andrea Williams, Danielle Partain, Alex Partain, sister, Shirley Royston of Royston, Ga., and loving and faithful canine companion, Kasey. The family would like to extend a special thanks to Crossroads Hospice for their care to Troy. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Crossroads Hospice, suite 500, 1957 Lakeside Pkw., Tucker, Ga., 30084. Condolences may be left at www.billheadfuneralhome.com. The family will receive friends Saturday from 12 noon until 2 pm at the Bill Head Funeral Home and Crematory, Lilburn/Tucker Chapel. 770-564-2726."

Frances "Tootsie" Albea Clary, 1924-2013

     My Great-Aunt Tootsie (Frances Ninola Albea Clary) passed away yesterday.  I remember her as a happy, upbeat woman, well loved by her family.  She grew up in mill villages in Greenwood and Greenville, South Carolina. As a young teen, she was in a car accident that resulted in her being pronounced dead and credited her mother's prayers with her survival.  She married her husband, Doyle, only two weeks after they met and just before he went into the army for World War II.  She celebrated the end of the war with her husband in Downtown Atlanta. She was active in her church and devoted to her community there.

     Here is her obituary, from the Thomas McAfee Funeral Home website:

    "Frances A. Clary, 88, of Greenville, died Thursday, January 24, 2013. Mrs. Clary was a member of Brandon Baptist Church. She served as a Sunday School Teacher, GA leader, WMU, Director and Treasurer Of Joy Group.
     Surviving are two daughters, Linda Pannell, and Tracey Ligon and husband, Richard; a son, Ray Clary and wife, Sandra; eleven grandchildren; fourteen great grandchildren; 8 great-great grandchildren; and a sister, Marie Wingard.
     She was preceded in death by her husband of 66 years, Doyle Lloyd Clary. Visitation will be held Sunday, January 27, 2013 from 1:30 p.m. until 2:45 p.m. at Thomas McAfee Funeral Home, Northwest. The funeral service will follow in the Chapel at 3:00 p.m. Burial will be in Graceland Cemetery West.”

Mike Lowe, 1962-2012

My cousin, Mike Lowe, passed away yesterday. His obituary, as published on the website of Caldwell & Cowan Funeral Homes:

     "Mike Lowe of Oxford, passed away August 8, 2012, at the age of 50. Mike was a veteran of the United States Navy. He worked as an electronic technician, for Atlanta Repair Depot, for more than 25 years. He was a Ham Radio Operator, and loved working on electronics even as a hobby. He enjoyed camping and watching the History channel. Mike was preceded in death by his father, Kenneth Verdell Lowe; and his step-brother, Richie Dryman.

     Survivors include his wife, Melanie Page Lowe of Oxford, sons and daughter-in-law, Branden and Samantha Lowe of Monticello, Bryce Lowe of Oxford; grandson, Gabriel Blake Lowe; mother and step-father, Charlotte and Richard Dryman of Greensboro, NC, step-brother, Chris Dryman; step-sister, Elizabeth Deifell; several aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

     Funeral Services for Mike will be held Saturday, August 11, 2012, 12:00 PM, at Caldwell & Cowan Funeral Home, 1215 Access Road, in Covington, with Jason Parr officiating, and interment following in Crest Lawn Memorial Park. The family will receive friends at the funeral home Saturday, from 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM."

Kathy Wingard, 1950-2011

San Diego, California - Kathy L Wingard, 60, passed away on Sunday, February 20th. She was born 29 August 1950, the daughter of William "Bill" and Evelyn Wingard. She is survived by her partner, Teresa Loughlin; a stepmother, June Maree Wingard of Flowery Branch, Georgia; two brothers, William O. Wingard, III of Fairburn, Georgia and Michael Williams, also of Flowery Branch.

Ollie's Baby

     Dad's favorite aunt was his mother's sister, Ollie Britt. She married Joe Funston, a veteran, and is buried next to her father at the Melwood Cemetery in Stone Mountain, DeKalb, Georgia. Ollie spent a lot of time with her sister's children and died when she was 42.

     When I found her mother's obituary, I soon had some questions about Ollie. The obit listed Ollie as "Mrs. Borowiski," a name I had never heard of.  I asked Dad if he knew anything about other marriages, but he didn't. Then, I asked my Aunts. To my surprise, I learned that Ollie had been married not once, but three times and had once had a child! Not much was known about the child and I became very interested in finding out who he had been. My Aunt June said,

"Ollie was married to a McGee when she had Bobby... I think he is buried in the same cemetery as Grandma Ledora" and in a different conversation, "She was married and had the baby. And then she married that guy that was in the service, I think. And then she married Joe. She never remarried after Joe."

     And Aunt Charlotte said,

"Yes. We found the obituary. Because we didn't know the name either. But he was, I think, a little bit older than me, maybe a year or less older than me. And he died soon after birth. And I remember Mama sayin' in later years, she thought he had leukemia... or somethin'. There was somethin' wrong with his blood."

     From these statements I was able to piece together that a baby boy named Bobby had been born about 1940 with a surname of McGee. But I hadn't been able to uncover more. And today when I checked my email I found that Aunt Charlotte had found the obituary and sent it to me.

     From this obituary, I now have a full name for the baby, a name for his father and paternal grandfather, as well as a place of death. Part of the reason that I had not been able to find a death record was that I was looking in the wrong place! Ollie and her family lived in Emanuel County, but the baby died in nearby Chatham County (probably the closest hospital). 

    With all of the information I now have, I have been able to locate a death record, that I believe is correct, for two month old Bobbie McGee that died on 24 May 1939 in Chatham. Unfortunately, I have not located a burial record for the baby in Hawhammock, which has been well indexed online. But considering Ollie would have been only 15 when her baby died, I find it very likely that she was not able to purchase a headstone for him. 

     Now I really want to send off for a death certificate for the baby. For some reason, I am very interested in this young baby's life and want to know as much as I can. 

Elizabeth Meetze Hyler Obituary - Amanuensis Monday

   The following is the obituary of Elizabeth Meetze Hyler, the wife of Nathan Washington Hyler of Lexington County, South Carolina.  It was published in The State newspaper on 7 June 1910.

Mrs. Elizabeth Hyler Special to The State.     Lexington, June 6 - Mrs. Elizabeth Hyler, widow of Wash Hyler, and one of the oldest residents of this county, died at her home on Hollow Creek this morning at 3 o'clock, having reached the ripe old age of 84 years.     Mrs. Hyler was one of the most loved women of her community and her death has caused much sorrow, she having been widely known throughout her section.      The deceased is survived by three sons, Rufus, John and Henry Hyler, all well known men of the county. She was a member of the Lutheran church and was active in religious af- fairs.      She will be buried tomorrow morn- ing at 10 o'clock in Mt. Pleasant churchyard, with funeral services by her pastor, the Rev. O. C. Peter- son.

     It's interesting to note that she, and many of her family, are actually buried in the Beulah United Methodist Church Cemetery in Gilbert. According to their website, they have been in place since 1896. I've also been unable to verify if the Mount Pleasant Lutheran Church in Saluda even has a cemetery. So I'm not entirely sure what happened between the obituary and the burial or after, that provided the incorrect information. 

Thanks Thursday - Edward's Obituary

     In breaking down my Albea family brick wall, I utilized collateral lines to uncover information. Even though I have now broken down this particular brick wall, I'm continuing to research the collateral lines to flesh out my research.  Recently, I utilized Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness to request some obituaries. One of those requests was for my GGG-Uncle Edward Albea's obituary. Thanks to volunteer, Bob D'Angelo, for sending me this obituary from the Tampa Morning Tribune.

The Augusta Chronicle Goldmine

The Augusta Chronicle's archive website is a wonderful resource for anyone researching ancestors in the Georgia and South Carolina border area. Their fully searchable, online collection spans the Daily Chronicle & Sentinel, The Augusta Chronicle and Gazette of the State, and The Daily Chronicle & Constitution. It's not clear what dates are covered, but I returned results from the 1990s to the 1880s. The newspapers cover a wide swath of area, covering news from across the region, including somewhat distant cities such as Lincolnton, GA and Greenwood and Columbia, SC.

I bought a one-day pass ($4.95) and was able to search their archive for a little over 24 hours. The search is based on OCR text recognition, so it's not perfect, but it is very good. I turned up a lot of obituaries for distant aunts and uncles, and a little infant I would not have otherwise known about.

One search I had luck with was "Surname NEAR town/county NEAR died." This turned up the obituaries of entire families in certain areas. Here are a few I found:

Uncle Bill

From today's AJC, my Great-Uncle Bill's Obituary.

"William O. (Red) Wingard Jr.

WINGARD, William, Jr. Mr. William O. (Red) Wingard, Jr., age 81, of Decatur, died on Wednesday, July 22, 2009. He is survived by his wife, June Wingard of Decatur; children, Kathy Wingard of San Diego, Michael Williams of Flowery Branch, Ava Walter of Flowery Branch, William O. Wingard, III of Fairburn; and sister, Katherine Sanders of Jonesboro. Graveside service will be held at 11:00 AM, Saturday, July 25, 2009 at Sherwood Memorial Park with Rev. Tom Shannon officiating. The family will receive friends from 6-8 PM, Friday, July 24, 2009 at our Jonesboro Chapel. Pope Dickson & Son, Jonesboro Chapel. 770-478-7211"

New Links, Obits, and Clues

Thanks to Saturday Night Genealogy fun over at Genea-Musings, Greta's Genealogy Blog posted a list of her top genealogy sites, which included the Greenville SC Library Obituary Index. I haven't been to this website in years and was unaware of this index. I have a good amount of family in this area and was excited to hear about this.

I searched for surname, Albea, and up came my results. There were 7 results, 6 of which I knew were part of my family tree. The index provided me with their name, obituary publication date, and page number. But I don't live in Greenville and don't have access to the Greenville News microfilm. However, a quick search on RAoGK showed that there are quite a few researchers doing obit lookups in the county. I picked one and sent them the information I'd found. Within 24 hours (so fast!) I had the three obituaries that I had requested.

I was very excited about one in particular, for William A. Albea. William is one of my brick walls. I have some suspicions on who his parents are, but no proof. Thanks to his obituary, I now know the names of three of his siblings that I hadn't known before! Hopefully this will prove helpful in my research.

Lillie Ruth Belk

LILLIE RUTH BELK, 94, of Snellville died Tuesday. Graveside service, 2 p.m. Thursday, Hillandale Memorial Park; Tom M. Wages Snellville Chapel.
Published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on 3/25/2009

My half-brother's grandmother passes away. The funeral is today.

Thomas "Wayne" Craft, 1947-2008

"Wayne Craft
(CRAFTYDOG) Thomas “Wayne” (Craftydog) Craft, age 60 of Lawrenceville passed away, Friday, September 19, 2008. Funeral Services will be held 2:30 PM, Sunday, September 21, 2008 in the Lawrenceville Chapel of Tim Stewart Funeral Home with Martha Guest and Joey Craft officiating. Burial East Shadowlawn Memorial Gardens, Lawrenceville. A U.S. Navy Veteran serving on the USS Francis Marion for 7 years, Mr. Craft was of the Christian faith and former Secretary & Treasury of Duluth Bass Club. He was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas Spurgeon and Sarah Frances Britt Craft, brother, Gary Craft, and is survived by: Wife: Willie Brown Herman, Lawrenceville; Children: David Craft, Orlando; Nathan Craft; Tyler Craft, Lawrenceville; Joey Craft, NC; Tracy Morgan, Danielsville; Teresa Garland, Auburn; Brothers; Kenny Craft, John Craft, Greg Craft; Sisters: Charlotte Dryman, June Partain, Grandchildren: Stefanie and Tiffanie Morgan. Family will receive friends form 6-9 PM, Saturday, September 20, 2008 at the Tim Stewart Funeral Home, 300 Simonton Road, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30045. 770-962-3100. Please sign online guest registry at www.stewartfh.com. In lieu of flowers - Go Fishing"

finding obits

I'm lucky enough to live near a library that has the Atlanta Journal Constitution on microfilm. The AJC, in it's many forms, goes back to 1868 and the entire publication is available on microfilm, while only sections are available online (for a fee). Every now and them I'm able to go down to the library and find obituaries. Today's findings:

Mary Harding Waters Whitlock

Ollie Britt Funston

Margaret "Margie" Lee Price

My Great-Uncle, Doyle Clary, passed away on 19 January 2008. His obituary:

The Greenville News: 01-21-2008
“Doyle L. Clary
Greenville

Doyle L. Clary, 86, of Greenville, died at his home on January 19, 2008, following an extended illness.

Born in Greenville, he was the husband of Frances Albea Clary and a son of the late Shuman Luke and Mattie Allison Clary.

He was a member of Brandon Baptist Church for 51 years, where he served as a deacon and the director of the Joy Group. He was employed by Brandon Mill for 41 years and Brandon Baptist Church for 15 years. He was a volunteer with the Woodside Crisis Center.

Mr. Clary was affiliated with the Southern Textile Tournament for 50 years and the ASA Umpire Association for 40 years. He was a US Army Veteran, having served in World War II.

Surviving in addition to his loving wife of 66 years are two daughters, Linda M. Pannell of Greenwood, Tracey Ligon and her husband, Richard, of Greenville; a son, Ray Clary and his wife, Sandra, of Easley; 11 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.

Mr. Clary was predeceased by three brothers and a sister.

Visitation will be at 6-7:30 p.m., Monday, January 21, 2008, at Thomas McAfee Funeral Home, Northwest.

Funeral Services will be at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 22, 2008, at the funeral home, with burial in Graceland West Cemetery.

Reverend Wilton Maxwell and Reverend Clyde Wright will be in charge of the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Brandon Baptist Church, 16 Calder Street, Greenville, SC 29611.

The family will be at the home at -----.”