Delhia Stogner, 1909-1988, Walthall County MS

Delhia Stogner and husband, George Ellis Sorrell

Delhia Stogner, also spelled Deliah, Dehlia, was born 11 January 1909 in Mississippi, the daughter of Thomas Edward and Susan Cordelia McCain Stogner. She died 21 March 1988 in Walthall County, Mississippi and was laid to rest in Carson Springs Baptist Church Cemetery, Walthall County.  She married George Ellis Sorrell on 29 October 1925 in Walthall County, son of William Sorrell and Sarah A. Stogner.  They had 5 known children, all daughters- Leatrice, Dixie, Bonnie Jean, Joyce Sue and Veona.  Delhia was my paternal grand aunt, sister of my grandfather Lewis Edward Stogner.

Evie Stogner

Evie Stogner & Lawson Schilling

Photos contributed by Bill Reagan

Evie Stogner, the daughter of Thomas Edward and Susan Cordelia McCain Stogner, was born on 07 June 1914 in Mississippi.  She married Lawson Schilling, son of Daniel Schilling and Sarah E. Knight, on 04 January 1932 in Walthall County, Mississippi.  They had at least one son, Lawson Schilling Jr.  Little else is known of her at this time.  Evie was my paternal grand aunt, the sister of my grandfather Lewis Edward Stogner.  

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday: Historical Photo- Turnage Family Gathering

There are several copies of this photo in circulation within the Turnage circles.  Family tradition states that the photo is that of the Robert Daniel Turnage family and they had gathered to honor his birthday.  

Reportedly, Robert Daniel Turnage is the man sitting in the front row with the child sitting on the ground in front of him.  His brother is sitting next to him- the man with the long beard.  This was a huge gathering!  I counted at least 106 people in this photo, and I probably missed a few!  I wish that the people in this photo from the past could each be identified.  

Robert Daniel Turnage was my paternal 3rd great grandfather.  He married Martha Ellen Pigott on 25 January 1848 in Marion County, Mississippi.  They had 8 children that I'm aware of.  Some sources say the couple had 14 children, but I have not investigated the family thoroughly as of yet.  

If anyone can help identify some of these family members, please contact me.  I would love to know more!  

Happy New Year!

It's a brand spanking NEW YEAR, a NEW BEGINNING!

"We will open the book.  It's pages are BLANK.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called OPPORTUNITY and its first chapter begins NEW YEARS DAY."

New Years Day is refreshing, isn't it?  It is a time to reflect upon the days of the past year and look forward to the new year with HOPE, a time to feel grateful for being here upon this earth for another year, a time to feel joyful for another opportunity to make forward progress and forget, or gracefully accept, past mistakes.  

In the new year I'm looking forward to expanding my genealogy circle here.  I've been browsing or "snooping" other blogs and genealogy pages quite a bit since beginning my family history blog last month.  The information and genealogy resources available on the web these days is phenomenal!  I wish I had started a family history blog much sooner but I didn't realize until recently the surprising number of people who share their family research and resources online.  There are some wonderful blogs filled with tons of helpful information, as well as amazing stories of their own ancestral discoveries.  I have enjoyed reading post after post as I've browsed through their stories of triumphs and defeats while searching their family's roots.   I feel greatly encouraged toward making progress in my own family research :)   I also want to shout out a big "THANK YOU" to those who have put such a great effort into helping others with genealogy research!  

My husband and I have enjoyed spending the New Years weekend with my daughter Crissy and her family in Tupelo, Mississippi.  We have been blessed by being in the midst of love, plentiful laughter and lots of good food!  I have enjoyed watching my grandsons Matthew and Nathan playing with their new Christmas gifts while occasionally getting into a little trouble- they are typical boys, and as such, they can become just a tad bit hostile with each other.  Nathan, the 2 year old, is constantly on the go and enjoys evoking an emotional response from his older brother.  I just smile and silently thank God that I've been there, done that and now I'm through *laughs*.  Here's a couple pics of them:

Matthew is always ready to SMILE for a pic :)

Nathan, on the other hand, doesn't like to cooperate with pics.  

He and I were playing "peek-a-boo" and I snapped this photo at about the right time (pretty sly, huh?)

Today is a "first" for me.  I'm going to break family tradition.  What????!!!!! Yes, I'm going to break tradition by NOT eating our usual New Years dinner of cabbage, black-eye peas, pork and cornbread.  Mom used to encourage me, saying it was necessary to eat this traditional dinner for MONEY or FINANCIAL GAIN (green=cabbage), GOOD LUCK (black-eye peas), and PROGRESS (pork, usually ham hocks or a pork roast).    Most of the time I just shared the meal with Mom to make her happy, and besides that, I really do love a good country meal sometimes.  But- the part about the money, good luck and progress has been questioned numerous times throughout the years, lol!  

Finally, I want to share the following message for the new year:

At the sound of the tolling midnight bell,

a brand new year will begin.

Let's raise our hopes in a confident toast

to the promise it ushers in.

May your battles be few, your pleasures many,

your wishes and dreams fulfilled,

May your confidence stand in the face of loss

and give you the strength to rebuild.

May peace of heart fill all your days,

may serenity grace your soul,

May tranquil moments bless your life

and keep your spirit whole.

Author Unknown

 I hope everyone has a SAFE and JOYOUS New Years Day!!!  

Christmas 2011

I hope everyone has had a Christmas season blessed with the spirit of Love and filled with wonderful memories. It's been a busy few days with ongoing preparations for Christmas dinner.  I cooked a traditional dinner with turkey, cornbread dressing, vegetables and desserts.   It was delicious, but I ate more than I should!  I will definitely avoid scales this week :).  The day was spent in good company with daughter Cherie and her sons-Tyler and Coby, son Ryan, sister Sandy and daughter Lennae.  My brother Frank Jr visited this afternoon.  I'm sharing some Christmas photos of family members (from their facebook albums):

My grandsons, Nathan and Matthew (sons of Ryan & Crissy Curry)

Nathan & Matthew again

Terry Lucas Powell (my sister-in-law) with her grandchildren Alisha, Nathan & Conner 

(children of Jennifer Powell Hall)

Jennifer Lynn Powell Hall (niece)

Alisha, Nathan & Conner Hall

John (J.C.) & Seth Bourgoyne, sons of John & Suzanne Bourgoyne

(great-nephews)

Brianna, Brooke, Brittan & Patrick Bourgoyne, children of Patrick & Melissa Bourgoyne

(great-nieces and nephew)

Anita Kay Smith Stringer & Wayne Stringer (cousin)

Kathy Lynn Smith Ratcliff with grandson Aeden (cousin)

My grandson Coby and son Ryan, what a couple of outlaws!

Lennae unwrapping her gifts (niece)

Treasure Chest Thursday: Photo of Thomas Edward Stogner & Susan Cordelia McCain

Thomas Edward Stogner was my great-great grandfather.  He married Susan Cordelia McCain on March 19, 1895 in Marion County, Mississippi.  They both died before I was born so I never had the opportunity to meet them.  Before I began my family research over 16 years ago, I didn't even know of their existence.  Grandpa or Grandma Stogner never spoke of their parents or grandparents.  I found out later in life there were several things they never spoke of, at least not in my presence.  I wish now that I would have had an interest in our genealogy while I was younger and my grandparents were still living.  I often wonder how many family stories I missed out on because I lacked interest in our history back then.  

I was thrilled when I met Artherine Stogner a few years ago.  She and I began a conversation about the Stogner family and she informed me that she had some photos I might be interested in.  I could barely wait to see them!  I drove out to Mrs. Stogner's home a few days later and together we shared tidbits of information about our Stogner family branches and browsed through old photo albums.  One would have to be a family researcher or genealogist to understand the intense excitement I felt when I laid eyes upon this old photo of Thomas & Cordelia Stogner.  Seeing the photo "brought life" to these ancestors that I never knew.  Until that point, I had only their names and dates in my database. Mrs. Stogner also had photos of some of the other children of Thomas and Cordelia Stogner.  She was generous enough to allow me to bring the photos home so I could scan and copy them.  I am grateful to have met her- I now have a few more pieces of family treasure.  

Recently, I've met another Stogner family member online- Bill Reagan.  He and I have exchanged information and photos as well.  I will be posting some of them in the future :)  

Treasure Chest Thursday: Photo of Minerva Warden

This is my FIRST post for Treasure Chest Thursday.  The idea came from visiting other genealogy blogs.  Several genea-bloggers write about specific topics on certain days of the week.  I think it's a wonderful and creative idea!  Now, on to today's treasure from The Treasure Chest:

Several years ago my Mom had given me an old pair of eyeglasses that belonged to her mother.  The eyeglasses laid upon a cotton swatch inside a small white box.  One day I opened the box to peek at "Granny's" old eyeglasses and as I pulled the eyeglasses from their resting place the cotton swatch fell out, revealing a "hidden treasure".  There, beneath the cotton swatch, was an old photo.  I flipped the small black and white photo over to see if it revealed a name.  Sure enough, the words "Minerva" were scribbled in pencil on back of the photo.  

Mom was surprised about my find.  Apparently she didn't realize the photo was there either.  She informed me that Minerva was "Harriet's mother".  Harriet Woodard was married to Granny's (Susie Johnson) father, Robert "Bob" Johnson.  Mom nor I understood why Minerva's photo was tucked inside the box that held Granny's eyeglasses but, nevertheless, I was excited to find it!  It is the ONLY photo of Minerva Warden that I have.  

Minerva Warden married Thomas Riley Woodard.  The family resided in Lumberton located in Marion County (now Lamar), Mississippi in the late 1890's through the early 1900's.  The Warden and Woodard families are bricks in "My Brick Wall"- I have accomplished very little in my research on them.  I have no knowledge of Minerva's parents or siblings at present.  From my own estimates, Minerva was born probably between 1850 and 1860.  She lived to be an elderly woman, as evidenced by her photo.  She was likely in her 80's or even her 90's when this photo was taken.  Her husband, Thomas Riley Woodard, had died in his late 30's leaving her a widow with 7 children that I have knowledge of.  

I hope to one day find out more about Minerva and her family.  For now, Minerva's photo is tucked back into its original resting place beneath Granny's old eyeglasses, a part of our family's Treasure Chest.