Tishia's Genealogy Research Log: October 2020

Sunday, October 25, 2020

Eva Nola Bell Wilhelm

Eva was born on November 15, 1903 in Oil Trough, Arkansas to Julius Seamon and Rosie Pollard, of the Pollard, Arkansas Pollards. Rosie died when Eva was not quite 2 yet. Eva had three older brothers, William, Claud, and Loyd. After Eva died, her father moved from Arkansas to the northwest and had a new family, but that’s for his entry as Eva never met or knew her baby brothers and sisters.

Eva worked as a cotton picker at the cotton farms around Oil Trough alongside her father and brothers growing up, but she still got to attend school all 12 years. Julius and his children lived in the “shantytown” part of Oil Trough, their neighbors were all black and mulattos. I found this interesting- the only “W” for whites in that whole portion of the census in 1910 and 1920. She kept up with the fashions of 1920s and had a flapper style dress and haircut in the only photo I have of her.

This was the hub of Oil Trough, Arkansas- the Hankins' Store. Everyone in the area

came to this store for everything, so Eva and her family frequented this store.

This is the cotton gin near the cotton farm that Eva and her family were hired to live on and work at alongside many other mulatto and black families. in 1920, they appear as the only white family on the census at this location.

She marries Lowern Wilhelm in 1924. Lowern was a character- see his entry for more information. She has 4 daughters, Araminta, Betty, Oma, and Ramona, then she passes away in 1938. There’s more information in Ramona’s entry and Lowern’s entry about Eva.

Lowern Oren Wilhelm

Lowern was born April 1, 1906 in Wiley’s Cove, which is now renamed to Leslie, in Searcy County, Arkansas to George Wilhelm and Celia McCullough. He lived in Wiley’s Cove/Leslie until 1920. He does not appear in the Leslie High School band or basketball team, I already checked that. I found no record of Lowern graduating. I dug a little more and found his social security application. In 1920, after May, but before September, he moved to Olyphant, Arkansas in Jackson County. I know this because the Wilhelm family appears on the 1920 census as living in Leslie, Arkansas, but in September, Lowern, both his parents, and one sister applied for Social Security Numbers with Olyphant, Arkansas as their residence. There’s no high school in Olyphant, so it is very likely none of the Wilhelm children attended school after they moved to White County as the nearest school was in Oil Trough, Arkansas where Eva lived.

In 1920, Lowern was 13 years old, two of his half brothers were married with new babies and they stayed in Searcy County. Homer was married and staying behind in Maumee, Arkansas with their first son and Arthur was a very young widow having just re-married again with a new son. Homer and Arthur lived near each other until 1930 when Homer moved to Missouri, then Kansas. His oldest brother, Grant Wilhelm, was already married with children and he married again in Harrison, Arkansas in 1930. Homer shows up as enlisting with an Olyphant address so at some point they all went to Olyphant, Arkansas. Lowern is Celia’s oldest biological child, then there’s Aline, Thema, and Lee.

Lowern’s dad George was a land clearer. People would hire him to clear land. I am still researching exactly what makes a land clearer different from a logger. I believe it’s where he is hired to make the land ready for farming or for building on. He likely worked with explosives. George and Celia also made moonshine and passed the skill on to confirmed Lowern and Lee. I haven’t found evidence Lowern’s half brothers did this, as they went on to be miners and an actual logger. That’s how I know George was not mislabeled as land clearer in place of “logging”, because it’s there on the same census where Arthur is specifically a logger.

After living in Olyphant for four years, from 1920 to 1924, Lowern married Eva Nola Bell Seamon in Olyphant, Arkansas. Eva was born near there in Oil Trough, White, Arkansas. Lowern was 18 and Eva was 20 years old. Eva appears on the 1930 census as having attended school through high school so she likely graduated from Oil Trough school in 1922. I have no proof of this. Just a logical conclusion based on the facts I have- census says she graduated, in 1920 she lived in Oil Trough, Arkansas, and she got married 2 years after graduation.

Lowern and Eva live in Olyphant, AR and her dad and brothers lived in Oil Trough in 1924, according to the marriage records. Then their firstborn, Araminta is born in their home in Harrison, Arkansas two years later. I looked through the events surrounding Olyphant, Arkansas and found that the National Park Service declared a large area a national preserve, meaning no more land clearing. George and Celia moved to Harrison because that is Celia’s hometown, and Lowern and Eva followed to be near family- Lowern appears in the stave mill employee rolls in 1926. He also had his first Harrison arrest on December 9, 1928. Minta was 1 and Betty was a baby then. His home at 721 E Ridge Street, Harrison, AR was raided many times, but Lowern escaped capture several times.

Lowern was arrested 10 more times, each time for having moonshine in his house, violating Prohibition Laws. July 7, 1929; August 4, 1929, July 9, 1930, April 3, 1931, July 11, 1931, October 16, 1932, February 24, 1933, March 8, 1933, April 28, 1933 and May 18, 1933. I can’t post the articles on this blog due to copyright issues, but you can look at the Harrison Daily Times on these dates to read the articles. Often his brother Lee was also involved. The arresting U.S. Marshals were Rufus Adair, Berry Jackson, Isaac Stapleton, J.L. Boen, and Bruce Wilcox, Prohibition Agents. He was fired from the stave mill and Lowern did not like that, so he set fire to the stave cooperage mill, then harassed attendants of the Assemblies of God church. Lowern’s lawyer was often Bob Derryberry.

His wife, Eva Nola Bell died in 1938 when Lowern was 31 years old. Eva was surrounded by her 4 daughters when she passed away and her father. Eva’s pall bearers were Charles White, Gus Jenkins, Robert Hale, Dave Woodard, WW Porter, and Vander Fiser.

Lowern leaves behind the home at 721 E Ridge Street when his wife died and moves his daughters in with his mother, Celia. They lived on E Rush Street with his father in law next door. I found no records of run ins with the law, but Prohibition did end at this time. He appears on the 1940 census as working at the cooperage, but it must be a different one from the one he burnt down. I am not finding records on this new mill he worked at.

He died on March 5, 1942 from tuberculosis at 36 years old at the tuberculosis ward of the Harrison Hospital. His pall bearers were Lee Wilhelm, Bill Smothers, Shortly Long, Floyd Coiner and Charles Gregory.

Lowern and Eva's gravestone His gravestone says April 7, most records says he was born April 1.

The home that he lived in when it kept getting raided by Prohibition Agents. Also the home where his 4 daughters were born and where his wife, Eva, died.

View of Harrison at the time of his many arrests.

Lowern and Eva in 1929.

Oma is in Eva's belly in this photograph.

The house behind them is the same home at 721 E Ridge.

Lowern posing with his sisters baby Thelma and Aline.

Sunday, October 18, 2020

Brick Wall Busting

My great grandmother Celia Bell was hard to find! I mean, I have several pictures of her plus stories of her being an amazing grandmother as she helped my grandma’s aunt raise the Wilhelm girls and the Howell boys alongside Aline’s own daughters. That is partly why Corene and Charlene resented my grandma, her sisters, and our Howell cousins. Jealousy of sharing their mother. But when I set out to search “Celia Coker” in the census- nothing. Not even a birth record. I had to travel to Boone County to dig through the old books with cursive writing. I found her death certificate. Celia Putman.

Putman??? Where did that come from? I’ll look it up and see if I can find a Celia Putman. I did. Celia Putman, marrying Lewis Putman in 1899 then she’s a widow in 1900. So I find Lewis Putman’s death record and see that his wife Celia’s last name was McCullough, daughter of Charles Erwin.

Huh??? Erwin, who’s this Erwin? And McCullough as her last name? I looked up this Charles Erwin and found that he married Celia’s mother when Celia was 8 years old. Now that I had a location, I found that church’s records, Carrollton Hollow - which by the way is NOT Carrollton, but in Lead Hill area, it’s now underwater, they all moved down to the Carrollton we know when it got flooded repeatedly in the 1900s, before it stayed underwater for good due to the damming of the white river in 1940s, anyways, now that I knew the right church records to look through, I found Celia’s birth in the church records.

“Celia Bell McCullough, born to the widow Nettie, daughter of JMCoker on 30 March 1881.” Oh, so she was born Celia Bell McCullough, never having known his father since he died before Celia was born. On the census, Jenettia goes back to “Coker”, but she’s incorrectly listed as daughter in law on the census, but when I check the previous census, she’s James Marion Coker’s daughter. And James Marion does have a daughter Celia, that’s why someone else kept trying to say Celia is this same person, but no, that’s actually 2 Celia’s- this Celia Ann Coker is Celia Bell’s aunt.

Anyways, since her mother went back to her maiden name, Celia probably went back and forth using McCullough and Coker as her surname until her mother married Charles Erwin. When I found “Nettie Erwin”, I found many records mistakenly recording Benjamin Erwin as Jenettia’s son when Benjamin and Celia were step brother and sister and the records completely left off Celia, not understanding she’s Nettie’s daughter from her deceased first husband. Now that I knew what I was looking for, I found her father Isaac F. McCullough.

But Charles Erwin is the only father she’s ever known. Anyways, back to Isaac McCullough-

Isaac McCullough was born in Randolph, Missouri. He was marked as Deaf in the census rolls and the military records. This guy was either brave or crazy. At only 13 he enlisted into the Missouri Volunteeer Calvary. That’s what I wanted help with. Is this a mistake? Only 13? But yes, there were child soldiers in the Civil War and his job was to assist the quartermaster by running messages back and forth. He served from August 14, 1862 to July 5, 1867. He then married Jenettia on July 15, 1879 in Carrollton Hollow, Arkansas. He then died in 1880. His grave is gone, because there were graves that the civil engineers needed to relocate to make way for damming the White River to create lakes. I will never be able to properly document his buriall, but a professional genealogist said I can mark it as assumed this, never to be proven by anyone and that she would’ve made the same conclusion as well.

James Marion Coker was a stagecoach driver along the old Dubuque Road back and forth from Springfield Missouri to Arkansas as far as Eureka Springs, AR and Nettie likely accompanied him to Springfield on his job and that’s likely how Nettie met Isaac. Isaac lived in Springfield in 1870 and he drew a pension for being “disabled veteran” and helped load/unload stagecoaches in Springfield, Missouri. He then does not show up in Springfield’s 1880 census which supports he is the same man that married Nettie and died the following year. I found a story about people freezing to death duing those stagecoach runs to Springfield. I don’t have a record of Isaac’s death, but I have records of JM Coker losing a son in law frozen to death, then only one of his children is a widow the following year- Nettie. It fits. I will never be able to say here’s Isaac’s death certificate and burial records. However, a professional genealogist has checked my research and says she does the same “leaps” and then adds footnote “Unproven, but educated assumption.” So this is my unproven but education assumption- Isaac McCullough was assisting his father in law JM Coker on a stagecoach run and froze to death the winter of 1880, while Nettie was pregnant with Celia.

I am still trying to find all the places that the Missouri Sixth Regiment Union Company D had to go fight in, exactly what a quartermaster’s messenger is, and what Isaac’s duties likely were- he was only 13 years old when he enlisted and 17 when he mustered out, with an injury to his leg. I wonder if he signed. It blows my mind a teenager Deaf boy was in the Civil War and that he’s MY direct ancestor. Was his deafness an asset or an hindrance? Was his youth an asset or hindrance? He worked as a stagecoach loader/unloader in his 20s, so his leg injury must not have been that bad. Did Celia know her dad was deaf? If she was still alive when I was born, would she’ve been like, oh, of course Tishia’s deaf, my dad was.

I want to learn more about his time in the war- I am just stunned they used boys as young as that and deaf ones at that? I asked the librarian if this is a mistake and she pointed me to several resources- the youngest documented child in the Civil War was only 9 years old. So yeah, 13 year olds wasn’t a stretch especially as it was a volunteer cavalry for the union. They were desperate. So there it all is- the brick wall I was so excited I broke through.

Carroll County Cokers

Carroll County Families, by Jim Lair

Crooked Creek Association of Missionary Baptist Traveling Preachers Annuals, Sugar Loaf Church, Boone County Arkansas (a book of roll calls from revival meetings travelling preachers hosted)

Carrollton Hollow Missionary roll records

Pioneer Life and Pioneer Families of the Ozarks by Earl Berry

Supporting information at this website https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/dubuque-boone-county-7374/

James Marion Coker drove a stage coach over the old Dubuque Road from Carrollton, Wilson Springs (now Harrison), Crooked Creek (also part of Harrison) to Dubque (now Diamond City) across a ferry on to Springfield, Missouri and back.

I have found no relation between my Cokers and the infamous Cokers of the area. As far as I can see, they just coincidentally have the same surname. People who link our William Coker to the infamous William “Buck” Coker clan are mistaken. It is very possible they’re distant cousins, but I have found no proof. Cokers from Buck came from North Carolina, our Cokers came from Tennessee via Illinois.

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Oma Lee Wilhelm Evans

Oma Lea (She changed it to Lee later) was born to Lowern and Eva (Seamon) Wilhelm on July 12, 1929 at the family’s home at 721 E Ridge St. Harrison AR. Her parents got married on September 28, 1924 in Jackson County, AR, near Eva's childhood home of Olyphant, Arkansas. They moved to Harrison, Arkansas in 1925 as they appeared in the Harrison city directory residing at the above Ridge St home, where Lowern paid $5 monthly rent. At this time their dad Lowern worked as a planer at the mill. This is where one shaves the lumber down to the correct thickness.

During her parents’ move to Harrison, Eva was pregnant with Oma’s big sister Araminta. They likely took a train to either Bergman or Leslie then a stagecoach to Harrison, as the railroads didn't yet go through Harrison as they were still actively building this.

Their neighbors were Jack Brown and his wife Grace Hudson with their daughters Dorris and Joyce, Elizabeth Jackson and her son, AD Taylor and his wife Josie, and The Martin family, John, Eva, Jessie, Vada, and Arlie. This neighborhood was in the Eagle Heights area.

Oma has three sisters: one younger, Ramona, born August 1931 and two older sisters, Araminta Lou, born February 1926 and Betty Jean born on New Year’s day of 1928. All four sisters, along with their cousins graduated from Harrison High School. They grew up alongside their cousins- more on that in the below paragraph.

Araminta and Betty are 22 months apart, Betty and Oma are 18 months apart, Oma and Ramona are 22 months apart. Minta was 3 years old when Oma was born. Their mother, Eva, passed away January 31, 1938. At this time, Ramona was six years old, Oma was 8 years old, Betty was just turned 10, and Minta was about to turn 12. Eva was only 34 years old when she passed away, leaving behind their dad a widow at 31 years old.

When Eva passed away, the extended family moved to Harrison to help with the 4 girls, as Lowern was struggling with tuberculosis . Eva’s dad Julius Seamon moved to Harrison in 1938 next door to Celia Wilhelm; Lowern’s mother. Two of Eva’s brothers, Loyd Seamon and Claud Seamon also moved to Harrison in 1938 to help with the Wilhelm sisters. They lived on the same street, E Bunn Street. So on Bunn Street in the 1940 Census, at 225 E Bunn Street lived the 4 Wilhelm girls, Minta, Betty, Oma, and Ramona with their grandmother, Celia Wilhelm, their dad Lowern, their uncle and aunt, Bill and Aline Smothers, their cousins Thelma Corene and baby Billie Charlene, and their other set of cousins James and Gene Howell.

So in that one house, there was Celia, Lowern (starting to get sick with TB), Bill and Aline raising 8 children in all, in a 3 bedroom house, so it’s very likely the 8 children shared a bedroom, growing up as brothers and sisters. At this time, Lowern was still working at the stave mill, Celia was working as a laundress on the square of Harrison, Bill was a truck driver back and forth from Texas. The children were Minta Wilhelm, 14 years old, 6th grade, Betty, 12 years old, 5th grade, James Howell, 11 years old, 5th grade, Oma Wilhelm, 10 years old, 4th grade, Ramona, 9 years old, 3rd grade, Gene Howell, 9 years old, 3rd grade, Corene Smothers, 5 years old, and baby Charlene born shortly after census taken.

James and Gene Howell’s father Voyd Howell abandoned Thelma when she became ill with TB, so Celia took them in because Thelma was in the hospital at this time, where she eventually passed away from TB. This house was not too far from the hospital.

Next door at 223 E Bunn Street lived Eva’s father and brothers Julius Seamon, Claud and Loyd Seamon. The Seamons shortly thereafter moved to the greater Seattle area way up northwest in Washington state.

Across the street lived Nellie Jones with her children Lester Jones, Fern Jones, and Charles Jones, all around the ages of the 8 children living together. They likely walked to school together. The other children up and down the street within the same ages, meaning they were in the same class were: Edna Fullerton, age 9, 3rd grade, Charles and Herman Freeman, ages 11 and 10, 4th grade, Gerard James and Lewis James, ages 11, 5th and age 5, not in school yet, Charles Pierce, age 11, 4th grade and Hoyt Freeman, age 11, 4th grade. The distance from Bunn Street to the school is 0.8 mile, down Main Street, past the government building, the hotel seville, through the Harrison square, then up Stephenson Ave to Cherry Street. So the square was on their way.

Their dad, Lowern Wilhelm, entered the hospital alongside his sister Thelma Howell where he passed away March 5th 1942. Oma was 12 at the time. Aline raised the Wilhelm girls alongside her own daughters and the Howell brothers.

There was a bowling alley above the drugstore her sister Mocha worked in and Oma came to enjoy bowling for a long time, well into adulthood. She worked as a waitress next door to the alley/drugsstore called Hotel Seville. She very briefly married Riley Palmer and moved to New Orleans. She appears back in Harrison just a few months later as a divorcee and she then married the love of her life, Ray Clinton Evans. She and Ray went on to have 11 children.

As most of the children are still living, I am going to refrain from listing them all on here, however, I’ve listed them and her grandchildren on the familysearch account I have if you want to peek.

Saturday, October 10, 2020

Ramona Bell Wilhelm Turbyfill

Ramona Bell Wilhelm

Ramona was born to Lowern and Eva (Seamon) Wilhelm on August 1st, 1931 at home, 721 E Ridge St. Harrison AR.

Their parents got married on September 28, 1924 in Jackson County, AR, near Eva's childhood home of Olyphant, Arkansas. They moved to Harrison, Arkansas in 1925 as they appear in Harrison city directory residing at the above Ridge St home, where Lowern paid $5 monthly rent. At this time their dad Lowern worked as a planer at the mill.

During their move to Harrison, Eva was pregnant with Araminta. They likely took a train to either Bergman or Leslie then a stagecoach to Harrison, as the railroads didn't yet go through Harrison.

Ramona is the youngest of the Wilhelm sisters. The other girls are Araminta Lou Wilhelm, born February 6, 1926 Betty Jean born on New Year's Day of 1928, and Oma Lea (she later changed that to Lee) born July 12, 1929. The 4 Wilhelm sisters all graduated from Harrison High School.

Araminta and Betty are 22 months apart, Betty and Oma are 18 months apart, Oma and Ramona are 22 months apart. Minta was 5 years old when Ramona was born. Their mother, Eva, passed away January 31, 1938. At this time, Ramona was six years old, Oma was 8 years old, Betty was just turned 10, and Minta was about to turn 12. Eva was only 34 years old when she passed away, leaving behind their dad a widow at 31 years old.

When Eva passed away, the family moved to Harrison to help with the 4 girls, as Lowern was struggling with tuberculosis . Eva’s dad Julius Seamon moved to Harrison in 1938 next door to Celia Wilhelm; Lowern’s mother. Two of Eva’s brothers, Loyd Seamon and Claud Seamon also moved to Harrison in 1938 to help with the Wilhelm sisters. They lived on the same street, E Bunn Street. So on Bunn Street in the 1940 Census, at 225 E Bunn Street lived the 4 Wilhelm girls, Minta, Betty, Oma, and Ramona with their grandmother, Celia Wilhelm, their dad Lowern, their uncle and aunt, Bill and Aline Smothers, their cousins Thelma Corene and baby Billie Charlene, and their other set of cousins James and Gene Howell.

Minta, being the oldest at 14, likely herded the children to and from school and probably stopped at either Bennett’s drug store or Coffmann’s Drugs for sodas on the way home from school until their grandmother Celia got off work at the laundry on the square where she worked as a laundry to help escort the children home. My grandma has told me stories about how back then she wished and wished she had a bicycle and when she got a job, that’s the first thing she saved up for. That is how I know for sure the Wilhelm clan did not have a car or bicycles- it would’ve been too expensive to buy eight bicycles all at once at the time.

Their dad, Lowern Wilhelm, entered the hospital alongside his sister Thelma Howell where he passed away March 5th 1942. Ramona was 10 at the time. Aline raised the Wilhelm girls alongside her own daughters and the Howell brothers.

Ramona was known as Mocha when she began working at the Bennett’s Drug Store as a soda jerk. Araminta was given the nickname Minty. Betty and Oma were still Betty and Oma. Her live-in cousin James Howell got a job as a paperboy. Based on this, I assume all 8 children got little jobs by 14. Ramona told me she bought her bicycle by the time she was 16 and she loved that bicycle. She passed it on to Charlene when she graduated and moved away. At this time, Charlene was likely around 10. Mocha’s boy interest at this time during high school was Ron. At this time, the Harrison Library was across from the Hotel Seville. Her sister, Oma was a waitress at the Hotel Seville, which was right behind the Bennett Drug Co. Fun fact, there used to be a bowling alley upstairs of the drug store. They all attended the old first Christian church, on W Stephenson Ave.

Ramona “Mocha” Wilhelm’s workplace had a stickup and I can’t find information on this situation. My grandma refused to talk about it.I’m still searching for the story on it. Surely this was featured in the Harrison Daily Times.

After she graduated high school in 1948, she enlisted into the women’s service corps and they sent her to Fort Hamilton in New York. There, she met my grandfather, “Sonny”- (Real name Lloyd Worth Turbyfill). Ramona married Sonny on March 9, 1951 and had their first daughter, Marcella Jo on August 19, 1951. They both left the service and moved to North Carolina to be near the Turbyfill family. Starly came a year later on August 9, 1952. 2 years later, Gary Kent Turbyfill came along on September 23, 1955.

During the years of 1957-1960 Sonny vanished. He reappeared back in North Carolina and then along came my uncle “M” in 1961. He asked me to not use his name online as he is living and I respect that. My grandpa then again vanished and my grandma followed him to Indiana.

I still haven’t identified WHY they moved to Indiana. My cousin told me it was for the steel plant jobs there. I believe him, but I haven’t found anything to confirm this. While they were living there, Tammy was born 1967 then Loyd Harold (Not Lloyd as often mis-spelled, he’s named after uncle Loyd Seamon and aunt Loyd (Bare) Hagie.

I have no records of what Ramona “Mocha” or “Lum” as she was called in North Carolina was up to from 1970 to 1976, but in 1977 she appears in Harrison, Arkansas working at the Boone County Hospital, later changed to North Arkansas Regional Medical Center as a janitor. In 1982-1984 she and Sonny moved to Enid, Oklahoma. I haven’t find out why.

In 1985, she moved back to Harrison alone, leaving Sonny behind in Enid with some of their children. They remained married to his death a year later. I haven’t found out more information if they separated or if it was some other reason they did not live together the last few years of grandpa’s life. At this time, grandma owned 2 homes- a pool house on Skyline Drive and the house on Circle Drive. This could be why she had to come back to Harrison.

In 1986, the youngest child got another child pregnant and Grandma had them both live with her and she helped raised her grandson from this union. In 1990’s, her eldest bought a store and campground and Ramona moved back and forth between North Carolina and Arkansas to help her eldest run the business while maintaining her home in Harrison. She brought 2 of the grandchildren with her back and forth between Elk Park, NC and Harrison, AR. In 2000, Ramona began experiencing kidney damage from adult onset diabetes and could no longer do the back and forth between two states, and she gave up her properties in North Carolina to live full time in the Circle Drive home in Harrison, Arkansas until she passed away in the hospital.

When she passed away, Ramona had her eldest sister, Minta Winner and her granddaughter, Tishia Bell at her side. She was cremated and I believe her eldest son has her ashes.