52 Ancestors Week 14: The Maiden Aunt

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This has been a challenge to find one person to write about. Today I am going to talk about 2 Martha Gilberts. The first Martha Gilbert is my first cousins three times removed, the second Martha Gilbert is my great-grand aunt.

Many Gilbert researchers have the first Martha Gilbert, the daughter of Francis M Gilbert, married to William Lill. I have to disagree with this. She is clearly shown living in the home of her father in the 1880 Census for Shoal Creek, Lumpkin, Georgia, United States.(1)   She is listed as the age of 26 and single, which in that time frame would make her an old maid. The Martha E Gilbert who married William Lill had children by 1875 and 1877, which would seem to indicate she is not the daughter of Francis Gilbert.

The second Martha Gilbert , daughter of Simeon Gilbert, is shown living in his home in the 1860 and 1870 Census records. She is not in the 1880 Census with her family. I think she may have been the Martha Gilbert who married William Lill and had 2 children by him.

Martha Gilbert Lill is shown in the 1900 and 1910 Census in the home of her son Andrew Lill. Martha E Gilbert is named in the 1939 death record her son Andrew Lill. Also in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 of her daughter Callie Lill Haynes. You can view William Lill’s Profile on Ancestry.com


So my quandary is which Martha Gilbert married William Lill ? At this time I have him married to Martha the daughter of Francis but I truly think his spouse was the daughter of Simeon. I do have one DNA match on Ancestry that is from the line of William Lill I need to explore. This may be the way to answer the question of who married William and which Martha is the maiden aunt.








(1)"United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M8G6-Q4K : 11 August 2017), Martha Gilbert in household of Francis M Gilbert, Shoal Creek, Lumpkin, Georgia, United States; citing enumeration district ED 147, sheet 372C, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 0156; FHL microfilm 1,254,156.

52 Ancestors Week 13: The Old Homestead


I grew up hearing stories of the Ellis homestead. Mom would tell stories of how she and her siblings would be there with her grandparents and how great-grandpa David Ellis would gather them around the fireplace in the evenings and read to them from his Bible. Stories of learning to swim and playing in the woods near the farm. I had built up a mental picture of a small white house filled with love and laughter.

About a year after joining WikiTree I ran into a distant cousin Ruth who had taken her father back to see the old homestead. She had photos of the Ellis hearth, as the house was long gone. (to see this photo please visit the profile for David Ellis on WikiTree) This was such a surprise and joy for me to see. Here before my eyes was the fireplace my mother sat near as a child. I could almost see and hear then sitting there listening to my great-grandpa David Ellis read from his Bible. I could hear my mamaw Sophia Ellis Samples telling the children to be still and listen.

We have a Facebook group consisting of cousins from the line of Sophia Ellis Samples and Charles Samples that we are using to share old photos as we find them. I have seen some wonderful old pictures lately of my Aunts and Uncles. One picture that brought me great joy is a photo of the Ellis homestead taken in 1956.

In this photo, shared by a cousin, I see before me the homestead my grandmother Sophia lived in. My mom and her siblings had played on that front porch as children. I can not put into words the wonder and excitement at seeing this place of my dreams. No, it was not white, no it was not small but I know it was filled with love and joy.






The photo was taken Jan 1957



There is one photo of him and his 2 daughters, Sophia and Mary, I have which shows him in the latter part of his life. I am not sure where this was taken but I think the year was 1956. I have always wondered if this was taken at his home on Racoon Creek.





From left to right: Sophia Ellis Samples, David Ellis, Mary Ellis Hall


I am going to return to my old box of photos and see what other treasures I have that have not been added to our shared family tree on WikiTree. Until next time I hope all have a safe and joy-filled week.

52 Ancestors Week 11: Lucky
#52 Ancestors

This week’s clue has caused much thought and still, nothing has come to mind. One of the issues is that I know very little about my ancestors past my grandparents.  So how do you decide on if a person is lucky or not?  I did not have anyone born on the 17th which I could have used.  As week 12 has arrived and I am sitting here tonight scratching my head on what I will write about for week 11, I hear the weather sirens start to sound.  Eureka !!!  I know who to write about at long last.

Some time during the later 1950’s a series of tornados hit the area in Alabama where my grandparents lived.  One of these tornados hit so close to my grandparents home it moved it off the foundation with my grandmother, Elmira Tululah (Atkinson) Gilbert inside the home.  As the winds howled all around her she held on tight.  I can only imagine her fear as the deafening winds moved her home in the air and sat it back down again. During this hair-raising flight, several of their belongings flew out of the windows of the home. Among those items that were scattered to the unknown were my grandmother's false teeth.  They were able to find many of the items that were lost but never found where her teeth went to.   This story has been shared over and over in our family.  To think that the only major loss was her teeth is amazing.  They stayed in the home, though it was not on the foundation, for a few more years until my grandfather passed in 1957.

52 Ancestors Week 10: Strong Woman


When this prompt was posted my thoughts turned to all the women in my tree. They were all amazingly strong brave women. I cannot imagine how hard their lives must have been. To be in a time where we were considered not much more than property, to be told what to do without a say in the matter. There were many strong women who defied the norm and made a life for themselves. They forged ahead and helped us achieve the freedoms we so enjoy today. We are closer to being equal that we have ever been. We are a force to be reckoned with when united. Helen Reddy says it all in her song “I am Woman” ... “If I have to, I can do anything. I am strong, I am invincible, I am woman”(1)




One such strong woman was Mary Jane Boggs McTheny  my great, great grandmother. Within days of her birth in 1833 her, Rachel James Boggs died. She and her older brother, Benjamin Silas Boggs, were left in the care of their father Silas I. Boggs. Sillas married Charlotte Pierson on 20 May 1834, within a year of Rachel’s passing. We know nothing about Mary’s early life. We find her living in the home of her grandmother Mary Polly (LeMasters) Boggs in the 1850 Census for Braxton, Virginia, United States. Her brother Benjamin Boggs, father Silas Boggs, his 2nd wife and children are shown living in the house next door. I thought she was there to care for her grandmother but there may have been other reasons.

Between September 10 and September 20,1856 Mary and her husband John McTheny lost 3 children to Scarlet fever. The oldest of which was James Anderson Boggs who was 5y 10m 15d old on September 10, 1856 when he died. Based on this information James was born on October 26, 1850. The death record for James Anderson Boggs (died from Scarlet fever) has the mother listed as Mary Jane Matheny the record does not state a father. The person reporting the death was the Step-Father, John McTheny. 

The children with John McThney were Harriet Elizabeth Matheny Age 3y 1m 1d died on September 10, 1856 and  Samuel L. Watson Matheny Age 1y 1m died on September 20, 1856.

This child born out of wedlock brings to question just what hardships had happened in Mary Janes life. Was this unwed pregnancy why she was living with her grandmother in the 1850 Census. Had her father kicked here out of his home? How hard would it have been for a young mother to be alone and wonder how she was to raise her child.

I can't imagine losing a child let alone three with in ten days of each other. Yet she recovered from all this to go on and raise seven children. She to me is the definition of strength. She was a woman and can do anything. She was strong, she was invincible, she was woman”


For sources and other information please see Mary Jane Boggs McTheny profile on WikiTree.

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(1) Wikipedia contributors, 'I Am Woman', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 30 December 2017, 01:34 UTC, <https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=I_Am_Woman&oldid=817699514> [accessed 9 March 2018]

52 Ancestors Week 9 - Where There's a Will

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The will was for Margaret Jean (UNKNOWN) Anderson. In her will dated 4th May, 1761 names, Granddaughter, Margaret Anderson, alias Clendennin, and her daughter Hannah Anderson and her son John Clendennin.

The will enabled me to know the connection of Margaret Anderson to her father, William Anderson was correct and the marriage information for Margaret Anderson was correct. It was so wonderful to see the names of her children listed. Hannah Anderson Clendennin and John Clendennin.

I have found it is so amazing to read will from so long ago and glean so much information. You can see a little glimpse of the family if you look and read found wills closely. Such as who was added to the will, who was left out, who the writer chose as the executor, who bought items that were sold off in the settlement of the estate? These little clues can often open up long locked doors to your family's past.

52 Ancestors Week 8 - Heirloom


This week was an easy one for me. There is one heirloom in my possession that was once part of a living person who would turn 125 on the 6th of March this year. In the early 1950′s, (not long after my mother and father married) Mamaw Sophia Ellis Samples gave my mom, Janice Bell (Samples) Gilbert a gift that would be in the family for years to come. She gave her a three-foot-long ponytail that was not to be a keepsake but to sell just in case she needed money for food. Mom cherished this gift and the meaning behind it. She saved the Ponytail, and in the late 1970′s added her own three-foot ponytail. Mom gave me the Ponytails in the late 80′s and to carry on the tradition I added my three-foot ponytail in the late 1990′s.


To my delight, I received a photo of Nancy Bell (McTheny) Ellis (Sophia Ellis Samples’ mother), who on 8 Feb 1865 would have been 153, from my cousin. The photo shows Nancy standing with her long hair flowing.


I have since added in December 2017 another nearly three-foot ponytail to the collection as well as a smaller ponytail from my youngest daughter. I hope one day to pass these ponytails down to her. You never know maybe in thirty to forty years there will be a great-great-granddaughter receiving this once living gift.

Mel before the cut 2016

Nancy Bell McTheny Ellis

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Birch “The Lady of the Woods” wire sculpture


Smokey Quartz & Rutilated Smokey Quartz

A very powerful metaphysical stone, Smokey Quartz emits a high level of energy. Smokey Quartz helps ground the holder with Earth energies and is good for working with the Root and Solar Plexus Chakras. Use Smokey Quartz to absorb and transmute negative energy. Smokey Quartz is also a great stone for pain relief, and helps to prevent healing crises after a strong energy session. Smokey Quartz can help integrate messages and/or spiritual energy received in higher chakras into the lower chakras and anchor expanded consciousness into the physical body. Smokey Quartz works with all of the Chakras, but can specifically focus its energies with the Root and Solar-Plexus Chakras.

Meditating with Smokey Quartz can bring information from other realms into the physical. Many people who work with Smokey Quartz have reported unusual sightings of spiritual entities. Smokey Quartz is great for manifestation programs and grids, and body layouts, due to its slow and methodical way of pulling higher energies down into third dimensional reality.

Smokey quartz is nature's stone of endurance. If you need a extra boost, carry a smokey quartz gemstone with you. It promotes: Personal pride and joy in living, Creativity in business, Opens the path for perception and learning. A stone often used in Attunements, Rutilated Quartz promotes a connection with the Divine. It is a self-contained example of two very synergistic minerals working in combination with each other, where each mineral enhances the energies of the other. Rutilated Quartz is useful for amplifying energies and intention, and is therefore great for programming, meditation, and dream-work.

The fine vibrations from rutilated quartz can easily facilitate the deeper state of mind that is conducive to lucid dreaming and productive meditation sessions. Simply gazing into Rutilated Quartz can bring one into an altered state of consciousness. Programming is the same as it is for Clear Quartz, however the program is amplified even more so in Rutilated Quartz Crystal.
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BIRCH: (Betula spp.) - Long associated with fertility and healing magic, new beginnings, purification, protection, creativity, fertility & birth. It was known as ‘The Lady of the Woods’. Birch twigs were used to bestow fertility on cattle and newlyweds, and children's cradles were made from its wood. Birch is one of the first trees to grow on bare soil and thus it births the entire forest. Criminals were at one time birched to drive out evil influences on them, to renew them for the new year. Birch is an incredibly useful tree - nearly every part of it is edible, and it's sap was an important source of sugar to Native Americans and early settlers. The inner bark provides a pain reliever and the leaves are used to treat arthritis. It's bark was used for everything from paper to canoe hulls, and axe handles were also made from Birch. 

Carefully gather strips of the bark at the New Moon. With red ink, write on a birch strip: "Bring me true love." Burn this along with a love incense, saying "Goddess of love, God of desire, Bring to me sweet passion's fire." The specific name of a god/goddess may be added. Or cast the bark into a stream or other flowing water, saying: "Message of love, I set you free, to capture a love and return to me." ***Remember*** It is unwise to use this incantation and ritual directed toward a specific person as that would violate the rule. If a love is to come to you, it must be of that persons free will to do so.
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Silver:
The color silver has a feminine energy; it is related to the moon and the ebb and flow of the tides - it is fluid, emotional, sensitive and mysterious. It is soothing, calming and purifying.

From a color psychology viewpoint, it signals a time of reflection and a change of direction as it illuminates the way forward. It helps with the cleansing and releasing of mental, physical and emotional issues and blockages as it opens new doors and lights the way to the future. With its reflective and sensitive qualities silver inspires intuition, clairvoyance and mental telepathy. It reflects back any energy given out, whether it is positive or negative. Silver restores equilibrium and stability to both feminine power and spiritual energy. It protects itself from outside negativity, reflecting the energy