Naola was located very near the point where Cannon, Coffee and Warren Counties join. It was located along the old McMinnville to Shelbyville Stage Road. Jess Lewis http://www.cafes.net/jlewis/

Merry Christmas, Friends I have an Aunt, Sarah Mildred White, who was born at Naola, Tennessee. I know there was a place in Coffee County by that name, but I do not know the location of that community. Can anyone tell me exactly where it is (or was) located? I presume the Coffee County location is the one in which I am interested, for that is where the family is found in 1920, 1930. Someone told me the 1913 Post Office Location map depicted it, but they neglected to tell me where it was located. Thanks, John Sissom

Hi everyone. My name is Reta DeShields Parton. Born a DeShields. I am stuck in Beech Grove, Tennessee. Coffee County and Grundy County. I hope someone can help me find information. Does anyone know if there is a Ranch journal for French Rayburn or Hans Crosslin in existance? Many large land owners kept daily journals to document income, expense and daily happenings on the farm. Hopefully there is one in existance for these two. I have traced my family back to Beech Grove, Tennessee in 1838 and probably South Carolina in 1800s. I am enclosing what I know in hopes someone can help me. This is what I know: William, Handy, and John DeShields came to Arkansas in the 1830s. They were brothers. They are said to have came together and stopped in Marion County, Arkansas (Dubuque or now Lead Hill area) because one of the older brother's wives was with child and not having an easy time. It was decided to winter in Lead Hill. The family maintained control of a very large 4 room cave in the hills on their farm for several years so it is believed they wintered the first year in this cave. William was the oldest and it was his family who said the wife was of an older brother. No record of the wife or brother has been found. It is possible this was a McBride, not DeShields brother. William's 3rd child was born in Beech Grove, Tennessee in 1838. He also had two other children: Andrew Maxwell DeShields and Amanda Jane DeShields (who married a Hughey in Arkansas). William had married Martha Elizabeth McBride who was the daugter of John and Elizabeth McBride of Beech Grove, Tennessee. I believe John practiced law in Shelbyville, Tn. They lived at the head of McBride Branch and Stone River. Since they had another child born in 1839 in Arkansas, I feel they left in late 1838 from Tennessee. However, in Handy's Obituary, it states he came to Arkansas in 1835 and the family always told he came to Arkansas when he was 16 years old which would have been correct. Handy married Nancy Womack in Arkansas and lived his life in Arkansas. But the 1835-1838 leans me to believe they may have came to Arkansas and went back to Tennessee for the family. John was the youngest brother. His military papers said he was born in Coffee County, Tennessee in 1825. I believe their father is Joel DeShields who was listed in the Middle Tennessee Census in 1830. Of course, 1830 did not list names but this is the count they gave and how I believe it was: Census - 1830 Middle Tennessee Joel Deshays (DeShields) Males 1-aged 50-60 - Joel was born 1782 per later census - he would have been 48 1-aged 20-30 - William Jasper was born 1808 - he would have been 22 1-aged 15-20 - Josiah was born about 1810 - he would have been 20 1-aged 15-20 - Unknown 1-aged 10-15 - Handy was born 1819 - he would have been 11 1-aged 5-10 - John was born 1825-1826 - he would have been 4-5 Females 1-aged 50-60 - Charity was mentioned in a later census living with Josiah she was born in 1777 she would have been 53 1-aged 20-30 - Mary was mentioned in a later census living with Joel she was born in 1808 she would have been 22 1-aged 15-20 - unknown In 1840 - when William, Handy and John were already gone to Arkansas, Joel's census read: 1- aged 60-70 - Joel would have been 58 1- aged 15-20 - This would have had to be the unknown with his age wrong Females - 1 - aged 60-70 - This would have been Charity who would have been 63 1 - aged 30-40 - This would have been Mary who would have been 32 in 1850 - Joel was living with Mary in Grundy County. 1- aged 68 - Joel who would have been 68 1- aged 42 - Mary who was 42 Josiah had his own family: In 1840 he was married and it read 1 male-aged 20-29 - Josiah was about 30 2 males-aged 0-4 1 female-aged 20-29 In 1850 - he was married and living in Grundy County and was listed as follows: Josiah DeShields - aged 40 - Farmer Jane DeShields - aged 32 - born in Tennessee Margaret - 7 born in Tennessee Robert - 6 born in Tennessee Elizabeth - 4 Jacob - 2 Charity - 1 Charity 73 (I believe this is Joel's wife. It may be they were both in bad shape at that time and Mary took care of Joel and Josiah took care of Charity or it may be Charity was helping due to Charity being young. who knows. Anyway, It says that Joel, Josiah and Mary were born in South Carolina. William said he was born in Tennessee until he went to Oregon in 1853. Then he said he was born in South Carolina. So I am thinking he was in the area that changed. Handy always said he was born in Tennessee and so did John. But they were younger. So they were both probably born in Coffee County. Would love to correspond and share with anyone who might have information on these families. I can bring them forward from 1840 but would like to have some sort of proof before that date. I would greatly appreciate it. I will be glad to share my information. Reta DeShields Parton 1808 W Huntsville Springdale, Ar 72762 1-479-751-6947 rpsodapop@aol.com daughter of D W DeShields & Cora Irene (last name withheld) DeShields granddaughter of Dennie DeShields and Ruby Lee Austin DeShields gggranddaughter of John Wesley DeShields and Frankey Green DeShields ggggrandaughter of Handy DeShields and Nancy Womack DeShields

Several have asked about the "expanded" districts map that I gave a link to, a few days ago. The RootsWeb server that it was stored at, had a hard drive crash, and many pages, including that one are temporarily down. I saved a copy before the crash, so I'll post both of the maps on my server, for a while. Bear in mind that these are most accurate between the years 1880 to the mid 1900s. As populations shift, new districts are added, and apparently in some areas, districts have been removed. The latter doesn't seem to be the case in our local area My original little map is at..... http://www.cafes.net/jlewis/DISTRICTS.jpg I'll put the "expanded" one at.... http://www.cafes.net/jlewis/DISTRICTS2.jpg Jess Lewis

I need to get in touch with Jan McFarlin, who transcribed the Goodspeed's 1887 History of Coffee Co., for the Coffee Co. web pages. I know that she changed her E-mail address, but I seem to have misplaced it. Any help...anyone.... Thanks, Jess Lewis http://www.cafes.net/jlewis/ http://www.cafes.net/jlewis/cannon.htm

Let me Rephrase my statement... Many counties on THE MAP THAT I POSTED didn't changed that much, between 1875-1880 until the mid 1950s. The Rutherford map seems to agree mostly with the DeBeers 1878 map. The Bedford map seems to agree mostly with the Tim Marsh map at Tn-Gen's "Maps-R-Us" Warren seems to be in pretty good shape. The Coffee map is valid. The Cannon map is valid. In Cannon, CD 12 was carved from part of part of old CD 4 and CD 13 was carved from part of old CD 5 between 1870 & 1880 In Coffee, CD 16 was carved from CD 4 and CD 15 was carved from part of old CD 10, between 1870 & 1880. Another similar map with less detail, but covering more middle & east Tennessee Counties can be found at..... http://www.tngenweb.org/warren/civil.jpg Jess Lewis

Ever wonder just where in a county a particular "Civil District" was actually located ? Or how do Civil Districts in adjacent counties align with neighboring counties ? This little map of our area was given to me several years ago. It is ca. 1950 as best I can tell. Nevertheless, many counties, including Cannon, Coffee, and Rutherford didn't change much from 1870-80, until the mid 1950s. It is a bit crude, but gives you a pretty good idea how things fit together. If your family was in Coffee Co. Civil District #10, in 1870, but you can't find them in 1880, don't forget to look just across the line in Cannon Co., CD 5 or 13, or maybe in Warren, CD 10. The map is at..... http://www.cafes.net/jlewis/DISTRICTS.jpg I'll leave it there for a while, and probably link to it from the Cannon & Coffee pages. If anyone wants to link to it from other pages, feel free to do so. Jess Lewis http://www.cafes.net/jlewis/ http://www.cafes.net/jlewis/cannon.htm

Dian Bowen sent me the Chicken recipe, but I lost it. Was it the same as the one you emailed?

Hi, I may be offline for a while. I broke my ankle in three places and have to have an operation to stabilize it. Take care. Don't miss that second step from the bottom. The results can be painful and complicated. Lee Anne

Our list member passed this along. Interesting reading and lots of Coffee related families. Thanks Greg. Jess Lewis > -----Original Message----- > From: Greg and Ginger Keeling [mailto:fandral@charter.net] > Sent: Sunday, November 17, 2002 7:29 PM > To: Jess Lewis; Loretta Kelldorf > Subject: [Fwd: [TNBEDFOR] Records of the Allison Land Deal] > > My transcription of the records of the Allison Land Deal has > been posted to the web site: > > > > http://www.tngenweb.org/bedford/ > > > > You can go directly to the records at this URL: > > > > http://www.tngenweb.org/bedford/Allison_Land_Deal.htm > > > > or find the under "Land Records" on the main page. I thank > Charles Reeves for posting them > > > > These records describe a series of transactions in 1823 that > cleared the title to many properties in the Three Forks area of > Bedford County, Tennessee. They contain descriptions of the > property involved, listing the name of the owner(s), the number > of acres, the watercourse on whose drainage the land was located, > and the names of the owners of abutting property. This > information is very useful for understanding who the neighbors of > a given family were, and therefore in the search for hard to find > information such as the maiden names of wives. > > > > Here is a list of all the names, spelled as found in the records: > > > > Acres James L. Armstrong John Arnold > > Edward Ashley William Ashley Widow Baker > > John B. Bates Benjamin Belt T. H. Bernard > > William Blanton Shaybe Booth Stephen Booth > > John Bowers Brown Puree Bullin > > James Burkes William Burnham Freeman Burrow > > Philip Burrow Edward Cage John Carigan > > Joseph Carny William Carothers Captain Clay > > Samuel Clay Nicholas Cobb Jacob Coble > > Ballard Coldwell J. C. Coldwell N. E. Coldwell > > Joseph Conway James Couch Joseph Couch > > Thomas Couch William Crabbs William Crittenden > > Richard Cunningham Andrew Davidson Hugh Davidson > > John Davidson Daniel Davis Jesse Davis > > Henry Davis John Davis Thomas Davis > > Thomas Drake Enoch Eaton Samuel Eaton > > Richard Elkins William Ellison Colonel Andrew Erwin > > John Ewell John Ewing Burwell > Featherstone > > Will B. Finch Mrs. Frazier Nathan Frizzel > > John Ewell E .B. Galalegy William Gallegley > > Peter Garron James Gibson Willis Green > > > > John Gregory Mrs. Gunn Fergus Hall > > George Hall Jesse Hall Robert Hannah > > Samuel Hannah William Hannah Mosley Harris > > John Harrison Robert Harrison George Hill > > John Hodge William Hodge Elijah Holt > > James Hooper Edward Hord Jesse Horton > > Doctor Howe John Hufman Joseph Jacobs > > John A. Johnston Joseph Johnston Laben Jones > > Matthew Jones James Keele John Keele > > Philamon Keele Richard Keele Richard R. Keele > > Francis H. Keller Joseph Keller Kelly > > John Kennedy George Kimbro Thomas Kindal > > Samuel King Allen Knight Will Knot > > Witheral Latimore Peter Lee Charles Lewis > > Porter Lewis Gray Lynch Reuben Manly > > John Marlow Samuel Marr Matt Martin > > John McBride John M. McCrory Anna McGee > > William McGee McIntosh > Margaret McMichael > > Thomas Merritt Minton Blan Moppin > > Thomas B. Mosley James Nall Duncan Neal > > George Newton Norman Newton Mrs. Nichols > > Henry W. Norton John Norville William Norville > > > > Anne Robison David Patton Sr. James Patton > > James E. Patton Jane Patton Neely S. Patton > > Moses Payne Sally Payne Zebediah Payne > > Baxter Ragsdale John W. Ragsdale Widow Robbins > > Drury Rogers Thomas Rushing School Tract > > William Sample John Scott Sely? > > Ewell Semple Edward Sims Shellor > > Walter Sorrels Thomas Smith Vincent Smith > > Widow Stave William Stephens Harbert Suggs > > John Sutton James Tate Edward Tatum > > John Taylor David Thomas B. Tillman > > John Tillman Charles Timmons Jacob Troxler > > Joel Vannoy George Waite William Waite > > Robert Wallace Walker James Walker > > William S. Watterson Colonel Webster William Weaver > > Thomas Wharton Doctor White Jenkin White > > George Whitson Jacob Whitworth Jesse Whorter > > Richard Wilkins Robert Wilson Medler Williams > > John Wood Zadoch Woods Elias Yates > > > > ============================== > > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online > genealogy records, go to: > > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >

Thanks to everyone who offered to do lookups for me in the 1880 census. I went back to the LDS site and tried searching the entire state for the surname Holder. I finally found my missing Dennis Holder as "Danie Holder" his wife Martha as "Joann"???? and his children James, Samantha, Louis J. (listed as Juddah), Laura (listed as Landra), Lewis (listed as Ludwig!), M. (don't know who this is) and Burl Woodard. Another question, as a footnote to this household entry was the notation that it is was an "HCP entry." Anyone know what an "HCP entry" is? Mary Ann

Mary Ann, I'm not familiar enough with either of them (ancestry.com or genealogy.com) to make a judgment. Probably depends a lot on the individual and exactly where you are on your personal search. At any rate, I have Sistler's 1880 census index booklets for Coffee, Cannon & Rutherford Counties of Tennessee. If your missing people are in those areas, send me a FEW names & I'll check to see if they made his abstraction. Jess Lewis

If you're having trouble locating people in the 1880 census on the LDS web site, try alternate spellings. I have found Sissom as Scissom, Cawthorn as Cawthom, and Burchett as Burget. Census takers sometimes spelled names however they sounded to them and were not always accurate. Keep trying! Carol

I would like to hear some comments from any of you who have subscribed to ancestry.com or genealogy.com. Is one better than the other? Are they worth the price? Also, on the 1880 census transcribed on the familysearch.org site, I have been unable to locate some of my people--anyone else have this problem? I wonder if perhaps the pages were damaged or illegible. Mary Ann Holder

Here is an interesting website with county formation maps and census maps for Tennessee www.segenealogy.com/tennessee/tn_maps.htm Jess Lewis

Check the Tennessee State Library & Archives web site for information about graves and the regulations covering them. I don't think you can be denied access to the grave yard.

This situation has already been tried and upheld in the Tennessee State Supreme Court. You do have a right to visit a cemetery. See the case at.... http://web.utk.edu/~kizzer/genehist/research/cemetery.htm Scroll down near the bottom of the page to "Case Laws" Also, please check the notice at the bottom of the page. "It is the responsibility of law enforcement personnel with jurisdiction over the location of the cemetery to enforce these laws." This means the County District Attorney and the County Sheriff. It probably won't come to this, though. Folks along Possum Pawl are somewhat strange, by today's standards. Quiet, close knit, country folks, and leery of outside strangers. Humm.... come to think of it, that's not really a bad idea, these days & times. They usually warm up after a bit. They are mostly Democrats and believe that these Republicans are trying to take our social Security. So, you've got a warm up conversation already :^) BTW, the road is currently named "O'Possum Paw" on the latest Coffee Co. Roadmaps, but all I've ever heard it called all my life, is "Possum Paw" At any rate, 'coon and deer hunters roam all through that area, every winter, often without an invitation. I believe that Eugene "Tink" Driver currently owns the land. He is an "OK" type of person, and I'm sure that if you contact him and tell him why you want to visit the place, you won't have a problem. Believe me, this is by far, the simplest approach. The Sheriff and DA will eventually get you permission, but it takes a lot of prodding and usually causes a lot of lasting hostility. There is a small cemetery along the river in Hillsboro, that I have been waiting for 5 years for the hostile land owner to "pass away". She finally went into a rest home, last year, so maybe this winter will be the time to strike :^). A few years ago, one cold rainy winter day, my son left his 4 wheel drive Jeep at my house while he went to work. He didn't get out of sight very far, before my wife & I hopped into it, and headed to "Possum Pawl". We visited the Messick and Gibson Cemeteries, along the way, which, as you say, has no marked tombstones. We went all the way to the end, up on top of the Tennessee Ridge, to the old Gilbert Messick Homeplace and Cemetery. Several neat old tombstones there, in a small well kept plot. But, the view from there is magnificent !! You can see for miles, in all directions. We didn't ask anyone, just kept driving and slipping and sliding. We had to open a few gates, taking care not to let any cattle out, but we were never confronted by anyone on the entire trip. A great little adventure. You can always go into your "stupid mode", as I sometimes am guilty of. "Duh, Mister, I didn't know that anyone cared if I come up here and just visited grandpa's grave. I promise not to hurt anything." It usually works. Most people don't want to shoot you anymore. Too messy and lots of paperwork. And, as I found out last year, Trespassing Laws, at least in Coffee Co. are almost impossible to enforce. If you have property marked "No Trespassing", and someone crosses your property without doing damage, the Sheriff's Dept. is only going to laugh at you, when you call to report it. A word of caution though. A few folks back in those hollows sometimes have been known to grow a small "cash crop" on the side, usually back in some overlooked place and often NOT on their own property. If this is the case, all bets are off !!! Best to tip your hat, and beat it. Jess Lewis http://www.cafes.net/jlewis/

Some of you may know better than I do, but my understanding was that if a cemetary was on or adjacent to someone's property, they have to leave a right of way to the cemetary. I don't think you should have to have permission to visit the Gibson Cemetary. I'm curious now to know if this is correct. Does anyone know? Thank you! Gayle Ragland In a message dated 11/3/2002 8:28:24 AM US Eastern Standard Time, TCMagures@aol.com writes: > Jess, Thank you for the directions to Mt. Hebron. The house there must be > very new, because there was no house when we last visited a little over a > year ago. We also just drove up to the cemetery. A Confederate grave near > the gate was cleaned, but the rest of the cemetery sadly overgrown. I > would > gladly contribute to a fund to have it kept up. > > I was also sad to learn that the house on Possum Paw Road that was built by > > my great grandfather Jeff Gullett was gone. The road by his house led to > the > old Gibson Cemetery. We have never visited that one because we understood > that we would need permission of the owner to cross the property. I have > been > unable to find out who owns that property now also. My family there have > graves marked only by sandstones. Thelma Phillips > >

Jess, Thank you for the directions to Mt. Hebron. The house there must be very new, because there was no house when we last visited a little over a year ago. We also just drove up to the cemetery. A Confederate grave near the gate was cleaned, but the rest of the cemetery sadly overgrown. I would gladly contribute to a fund to have it kept up. I was also sad to learn that the house on Possum Paw Road that was built by my great grandfather Jeff Gullett was gone. The road by his house led to the old Gibson Cemetery. We have never visited that one because we understood that we would need permission of the owner to cross the property. I have been unable to find out who owns that property now also. My family there have graves marked only by sandstones. Thelma Phillips

Someone was asking directions to Mt. Hebron Cemetery near Gossburg. This is in old Civil District #1, in northern Coffee Co. >From Interstate Hwy 24 Exit 97 at Beechgrove, go North on State Hwy. 64 approx. 2 miles, toward Gossburg. At this point, the road crosses Sutton's Branch. This will be the 1st bridge and stream that you will cross. The Cemetery is about 200 yards East of this point. Just look to your left when you get to the bridge and you should see it up along the hill side. The only logical way to drive (or walk) up to the cemetery, is through the barn lot on the left, that you passed, just before arriving at the bridge. Any other way would require you to cross the creek (Sutton's Branch) that curves around the hill just below the cemetery. There used to be a fancy old white house next to the barn lot, (the old Moore Farm), but it finally decayed and was removed a few years ago. A new home now is at the same location. I don't think the people at the house are too hard nosed and I simply just drove up to the cemetery, a few years ago, with no problem. I probably should have asked, though. The Tullahoma Chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans cleaned the cemetery several years ago, and I understood that some sort of fund was being set up to clean it, from time to time. But, that has been a while back. There are about 100 marked graves in the ancient cemetery. Several Confederate Vets. Many more graves are marked only with a field stone. Jess Lewis http://www.cafes.net/jlewis/