Birthdays in my family tree for the week of March 23, 2015:
March 23
Beluard Wilson (my 3G uncle on my mother's side), b. 1868; d. Oct. 1, 1869. One of 14 children of Isiah and Sarah Jane Wilson. He was the brother of my 2G grandfather Abijiah Wilson.
March 24
John Milton McBrayer (my first cousin twice removed on my father's side), b. 1873 in Wagner, Rowan County, Ky.; d. Jan. 31, 1939, in Rowan County, Ky. The son of Lewis Parker McBrayer and Martha Jane Kidd McBrayer, John Milton was married twice — first to Hattie L. McBrayer (maiden name unclear) and then to Sarah Anna Day McBrayer.
Myrtle White McBrayer (wife of Benjamin Franklin McBrayer, my first cousin twice removed on my father's side), b. 1882 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. Dec. 29, 1972, in Ashland, Boyd County, Ky. Myrtle married the aforementioned John Milton McBrayer's brother, Benjamin Franklin McBrayer. Lewis Parker and Martha Jane McBrayer had at least eight children, according to my research. The two mentioned here were named for famous people, but the other six, apparently were not.
Samantha Susan Slusher McBrayer (wife of William Edmund McBrayer, my first cousin twice removed on my father's side), b. 1885 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. Aug. 31, 1982, in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky. It seems a bit odd that one child and two daughters-in-law of one couple would share birthdays — yep, William Edmund was a thrid son of Lewis Parker and Martha Jane Kidd McBrayer — so I am skeptical about the date I've found for Samantha's. All were born in different years, however, and died on different dates in different places, according to family-tree information I've uncovered on Ancestry.com. So it could be an interesting coincidence, not merely a case of one person's information getting confused for another's.
• Elmer Elbert Lambert (my first cousin twice removed on my father's side and my fourth cousin twice removed on my father's side), b. 1921, in Kentucky; d. July 23, 1997, in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ky. Elmer was the child of Edd and Pearl Belle Lowe Lambert. Edd was my paternal grandmother's uncle and the brother of her father, Henry Lambert. But Elmer also has a connection on my mother's side — according to the 1940 census, he was a lodger in the Carter County, Ky., home of Bun and Bessie Wilson. Bun was my maternal great uncle. Another interesting tidbit from that census sheet is that while living in Bun's home, Elmer was a neighbor of Goldie Thomas — his future wife. Elmer later moved to Mansfield, Ohio, where Bun's son later moved and where Bun spent his final years. ... And I can't wait to tell you more about Bun. He'll get his own blog entry soon.
Harold J. Lambert (my first cousin once removed on my father's side), b. 1942; d. June 20, 1968, in Shelby, Ohio. Harold was the was the son of my great uncle, Clyde Tracy Lambert and his wife, Mildred Faye Fultz. Harold was killed in a motorcycle accident, leaving behind a daughter and a 21-year-old, pregnant wife. Compounding the tragedy, his wife, Lynne Frances Hefflefinger, died of her own hand shortly after giving birth. I was first told this story sometime after Uncle Trace's death in 1994, and it still breaks my heart to think about it.
Vermell Ray Graham, left, with her mother, Jessie Boone Ray, in this undated photograph posted by SayRay at Ancestry.com.
March 25
Vermell Ray Graham (my wife's great aunt on her father's side), b. 1915 in Kershaw County, S.C.; d. Nov. 21, 1974, in Camden, Kershaw County, S.C. Vermell was one of 11 siblings of my wife's paternal grandfather, Clarence Richard Ray. She died at age 59 and is buried next to her husband, Lawrence Graham, in the Emmanuel Baptist Church Cemetery in Kershaw County, S.C.
Everett Alfrey (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1867 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. Sept. 28, 1887, in Rowan County, Ky. Everett died before his 20th birthday, but I have not found a cause of death.
March 26
George M. Carey (uncle-in-law of Homer Lee Wilson, DDS, my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1867; d. May 5, 1896.
Andrew Jackson Brown (my first cousin twice removed on my mother's side), b. 1909 in Morgan County, Ky.; d. April 7, 1960. Andrew was the child of Rufus Humphrey Brown and Amanda Melvina Williams Brown. Amanda was the sister of my great-grandfather, Andrew Jackson Williams, for whom her son might have been named. Andrew was one of 14 children born to Rufus and Amanda.
Marion Hall (my second cousin twice removed on my mother's side), b. 1918 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. March 27, 1926, the day after his eighth birthday, in Clearfield, Rowan County, Ky. Marion was the daughter of Howard Vinton Hall and Bertha Hall (maiden name unknown.) She died of meningitis.
March 27
Virgie Ethel Lambert Jones (my first cousin twice removed on my father's side and my fourth cousin twice removed on my father's side), b. 1911 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. April 30, 1994, in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky. Elmer Elbert Lambert's sister. They are both double relatives because her grandfather, Julian Delaney Lambert, married his mother's first cousin.
March 28
Martha A. Heffley (my second cousin four times removed on my mother's side), b. 1848 in Somerford Township, Madison County, Ohio; d. Feb. 16, 1926, in Jefferson Township, Madison County, Ohio. Heffley's paternal grandmother, Elizabeth, was a Wilson. Elizabeth's father, Jacob Wilson, moved his family from Virginia to Ohio. Jacob's son and Elizabeth's brother, Jeremiah, was born in Virginia and eventually moved his family to Rowan County, Ky.
March 29
Ann Cloud Martin (my 6G grandmother on my mother's side; also a distant relative on my father's side), b. 1741 in Kennett, New Castle County, Delaware; d. Oct. 9, 1761, in Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware. Ann was married to George Martin. Their granddaughter, Anna Martin, married Isaac Jacob Hall Sr., one of my mother's maternal 3G grandmothers. Ann's 3G grandson, Harlan Hall, married a Jennings, which also links him to my father's side of the family. I don't know much else about Ann.