“The more complex the network is,
the more complex its pattern of interconnections,
the more resilient it will be.”
– Fritjof Capra
This narrative begins at the birth of John H Brinkley, and is a linear history of three specific lines of Brinkley, Blankenship, and Dill families. In it I attempt to offer some perspective as to where and when each person entered and became part another's life story. It is a work in progress.
Visit the Family Geography page for links to resources regarding the places where they lived.
Find the records where I found the records by following the links on the
Miscellaneous Family Resources page.
Individuals are listed within their family pages with links to their records.
John H Brinkley (alternately spelled Brinkly) was born in South Carolina, to father William H Brinkley and mother Julia A (Marr) Brinkley, some time between 1851 and 1855.
Macon County, North Carolina is located near the far southwestern tip of the state. This is where I pick up the documented history of John H Brinkley with his family. I follow them through the historical record to the nearby counties of Swain, north of Macon; and Rabun, just over the southern border, in Georgia, and into Eastern Tennessee, where John’s story ends in tragedy.
Where I leave John’s story, I continue to trace his children, and their relative Etta (Brinkley) Blankenship Dill, from east Tennessee to many parts of Georgia, and then northeastern Mississippi.
North Carolina 1856, MapGeeks.com
Blue Ridge Mountains, Dr. Michael A. Milton
According to a Brinkley family legend posted to an Ancestry profile, William H Brinkley was a bounty hunter in Ellijay, Georgia, who carried a big stick. The Marr family is said to have been from the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island, and moved from there to Person County, North Carolina.
William H Brinkley may have been married in Person County, North Carolina in 1844 to Rebecca Satterfield.
On the day of the 1860 federal census record for Macon County, Welches District, North Carolina, William H Brinkly was a farmer, age forty-five, married to Julia A (Marr) Brinkley, age forty-five. In addition to John H, age five, there was son Andrew J, age eight, and a daughter Rachael J, age three. There were also three laborers on the farm, with the last name Cardin (alternately spelled Carden): William, James, and thirteen-year-old Mary.
Macon County is part of the mountain region of North Carolina, west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It includes a portion of the Great Smoky Mountains. The minerals and gemstones deposited there have made it a place of interest to naturalists since 1770. Mining has existed there on a large scale since at least 1871.
The Cherokee Nation had thrived there for thousands of years prior to the arrival of European colonizers. The Trail of Tears followed along the Nantahala River, which runs through Macon County.
Map of Chimborazo Hospital, 1865, National Archives
William H and Julia A (Marr) Brinkley were recorded as both born in North Carolina in about 1815. He, in Person County, and she, in Buncombe. Andrew J was born in Georgia. John H was born in South Carolina, and Rachael J was born in Macon.
William H Brinkley enlisted to fight against the Union in the American Civil
Oakwood Cemetery, Richmond,VA, 1865, Library of Congress
William H Brinkley enlisted to fight against the Union in the American Civil War June 20, 1861. He was a private in the 16th infantry regiment, Company H
William H Brinkley was admitted to Chimbaroza Hospital number 5 in Richmond, Virginia on March 7, 1862 for "debility." He was later treated for continuous fever and died at the hospital August 29th, 1862. Soldiers who died at the hospital were interred at the nearby Oakwood Cemetery. Records for the hospital and the cemetery are kept at the National Archives.
Eight years after her husband’s death, Julia A (Marr) Brinkley was the fifty-four-year-old head of household in Macon County, Alarky, North Carolina. With her were son Andrew, now eighteen; son John, fifteen; daughter Rachel, thirteen; and nine-year-old son George.
On the next line of the 1870 census are thirty-one-year-old B J Marr and his wife, former laborer for the Brinklys, twenty-three year old Mary (Carden) Marr. B J Marr may have been Julia’s nephew Benjamin.
Rabun County, GA, Digital Library of Georgia
Twenty-three-year-old John H Brinkley sought license to marry sixteen-year-old Mary Jane Gaines in Rabun County, Georgia between March 12 and March 18, 1879. The marriage was recorded by J W Green, Ordinator on July 17, 1879.
On June 14th, 1880, they were living in Rabun County, Persimmon, Georgia with their five-month old baby Sarah Elizabeth Brinkley. John was still farming, with Mary Jane keeping house.
John’s mother Julia A (Marr) Brinkley, sixty-seven, and John’s brother George, eighteen, were recorded a few households away on the census. Mary Jane’s parents, Henry and Sarah (Taylor) Gaines are the next family after John and Mary Jane on the census.
I am still searching for records showing Julia (Marr) Brinkley and her son George Brinkley after this census.
In January of 1921, a fire broke out in the Commerce Department Building, where federal census records were being held. The Federal Census records for 1890 were almost completely destroyed.
An informative article about this event at the National Archives Website titled “First in the Path of the Firemen,” written by Kellee Blake includes this bit of genealogy trivia: Each census of the ten years preceding the fire was required by law to be filed, whole or in part, with each county. For political reasons, this was not the case for the 1890 census. Unlike those first ten sets of census records, no “back-ups” exist for 1890. Only a few fragments remain.
So far, I have not found anyone from the Brinkley, Blankenship, or Dill families in the available fragments.
Damaged Census Records, National Archives
Hiwasee River, Polk County, TN, PCHGS
In 1900, John L Brinkley was listed as forty-eight-years-old and living in Polk County, Civil District 1, Tennessee with thirty-six-year-old Mary J. Many online genealogy sites hosting the 1900 Federal Census have them indexed as L Brinkley and Mary L Brinkley. Numbers have been written over where John is written. The J does resemble an L, and is identical to the supposed L in Mary J, written in the next line. John was a farmer, and they lived in a rented home.
In 1900, John and Mary Jane’s children were twenty-year-old Sarah; seventeen-year-old Mary M; fifteen-year-old Samuel; thirteen-year-old Lela O; nine-year-old Easter C (also known as Ester, later called Candis); six-year-old John W; and three-year-old Nancy M, later known as May. These are all of the known children born to John H and Mary Jane (Gaines) Brinkley.
Also in the household was Etter Brinkley, age thirteen. She is listed as “daughter” with what could be the letter G or letter S written above it. Some indexes have interpreted this as “grand-daughter.” Mary Jane was about sixteen when she married John H, and there is no record of a previous marriage for him. I believe Etta may actually be John’s niece, possibly a daughter of his brother Andrew and his first wife Elizabeth J (Marr), though I have found no records verifying this relationship.
Sarah Elizabeth Brinkley married Sam I Blankenship in McMinn County, Tennessee on March 29, 1903. The ceremony was conducted by Justice of the Peace, E P Gibson. Sam was the son of Isham Harden (also called Patty) Blankenship and Martha Malinda “Mattie” (Caldwell) Blankenship.
On August 7, 1903, J I (James “Jim” Isham) Blankenship, Sam’s brother, applied for a license to marry Sarah’s sister Mary Magdalene Brinkley. They were married August 9, 1903 by Justice of the Peace, E P Gibson in McMinn County, Tennessee.
On Sunday, June 17, 1906 an accident occurred. That Sunday morning, Sarah (Brinkley) Blankenship and her husband Sam, her parents John H and Mary Jane (Gaines) Brinkley, her brother Sam Brinkley, and friends Levi and Nancy (Davis) Womac loaded onto a handcart in or near Polk County, Patty, Tennessee. According to the Find A Grave memorial for five-year-old J Eli Womac, he was also present, though he is not mentioned in any newspaper accounts of the event.
The group rode the tracks of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad on the New Line, headed to visit family in Georgia. It is unclear who they planned to visit. At around 6:30 that morning, as they crossed the Hiwassee River Bridge, about two miles west of Benton, Tennessee, the handcar was struck by an empty locomotive.
L&N Steam Engine, Harold K. Vollrath
Hiwasee River Bridge, Reliance, TN, James Hargis
Newspaper articles identify the engine as no. 558. However, there is no record of L&N ever having a steam engine numbered 558. After contacting John Landrum of the L&N Railroad Historical Society in Kentucky, it was determined that 558 is most likely a typo. It is possible the actual engine involved that morning was no. 258. The engine pictured at left may be similar to the one involved in the accident on June 17, 1906.
Driving the light engine were engineer C Simpson and conductor T R Kelley. Foggy weather and the noise of the handcar were reported by papers as contributing factors to the accident, though court documents state the engine was seen by passengers of the hand car when it was about 200 yards away. The engineer reported that when they saw the handcar, they turned off the steam and applied the brake, but it was too late to prevent the collision.
John H Brinkley was employed by the railroad. According to newspapers, he did not have permission to use the handcar that morning. However, during a court case against the railroad on behalf of the children of Levi and Nancy (Davis) Womac, it was revealed that John was given permission by his gang foreman, though it was against company rules.
Accounts are conflicting as to who in the group was killed instantly and who died later. The first person at the scene, S J Crox stated that Sam Blankenship and John H Brinkley were dead on the bridge, and the others were in the river below. Crox said Sam Brinkley was crying as he held his mother Mary Jane’s head, and she died a few hours later.
Sam Brinkley was able to jump from the handcar, and lay beside the tracks. He stated during the trial against the railroad that he was so scared for the week following the accident he was unable to remember anything.
Though listed among the dead in some newspaper accounts, Sarah Elizabeth (Brinkley) Blankenship survived. The extent of her injuries is unknown. She and her brother Sam, and John Womack, were the only survivors of the accident.
John H and Mary Jane (Gaines) Brinkley were buried in Linsdale, Polk County, Tennessee at Friendship Baptist Church Cemetery. A marker was placed at their grave a century after their deaths, by grandson Spence Brinkley. The Womacks are there, as well. Sam I Blankenship may be buried in Wesleyanna Methodist Church Cemetery in Etowah, Tennessee. This is the burial location of numerous other members of his family. No record of his burial has yet been found.
The Chattanooga News, June 18, 1906
On June 24, 1906, William Homer Knox, known as Homer, sought license in McMinn County, Tennessee to marry Lela O Brinkley. The second guarantor on the license was Charles W Gamble. Eight days after her parents’ deaths, Lela and William Homer Knox were married by E B White on June 25, 1906.
Between 1906 and 1910, Mary M (Brinkley) Blankenship and her husband lost three children in infancy. Johnnie Blankenship, 1906; Sammie Blankenship, 1908; and Hobert Blankenship, 1910. The babies are buried in Wesleyanna Methodist Church Cemetery in Etowah, Tennessee.
On December 16, 1908, the negligent death cases brought by by the Womack children against Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company began, with Judge Sanford presiding. N S Nicholson acted as next friend for the Womacks. Attorneys originally asked for $25,000 for each parent lost.
A jury ultimately awarded the children $1,000, on December 18, 1908. The railroad appealed, but the judgement was affirmed in 1909.
Mary Ann Knox was born to Lela O (Brinkley) and William Homer Knox on October 11, 1909 in McMinn County, Tennessee. Variations of her name in the available records are Masy An Nox, Mary An Nox, and Mary Ann Knox.
April 21, 1910, John H Brinkley’s son John W, age fifteen, was a helper on his uncle Andrew Jackson Brinkley’s farm in Murray County, McDonald, Georgia, just south of Polk County, Tennessee.
Candis (Brinkley) Radford was twenty-two and lived in Warren County, Georgia on April 29, 1910. With her were thirty-year-old Jim Radford, and their one-year-old son Frank. They are reported to have been married for three years. They lived on a rented farm. Jim was able to read and write, Candis was not. According to her great-granddaughter, Candis was blinded by cataracts at an early age. She is not listed as blind on this census record.
During the first week of May in 1910, thirty-year-old Sarah E (Brinkley) Blankenship was in McMinn County, Civil District 3, Tennessee.
The Chattanooga Times, December 16, 1908
Murray County, GA, 1910 GeorgiaInfo
She lived in the household of her mother-in-law, Mattie Blankenship, age sixty-three. Also living in the household were Sarah’s sisters May, twelve, and Mary, twenty-six; her brother Sam, twenty-five; and Mary’s husband J I Blankenship, twenty-six. Sarah worked as a cook in a private home.
On this census record, widow Mattie Blankenship was the manager of a home farm, which she owned. J I Blankenship and Sam Brinkley were listed as farm laborers on a home farm. May Brinkley was a servant for a private family.
On July 12, 1910, with midwife Mrs Watson in attendance (Arbin Watson, son of Sarah Watson, will later be listed as the informant on William Blankenship’s death certificate), Etta (Brinkley) Blankenship gave birth to daughter Essie Lee Blankenship, in McMinn County, Tennessee.
Icelee Knox was born to Lela O (Brinkley) Knox and William Homer Knox sometime between 1911 and 1914. No record of her birth has yet been found.
On March 23, 1911, Sarah E (Brinkley) Blankenship married widower Daniel Houston Dill in McMinn County, Tennessee. Her brother-in-law J H (Jim) Radford, husband of her sister Candis, was witness to the ceremony, which was performed by W W Bryan.
In McMinn County, Tennessee, on February 18, 1912, William S and Etta (Brinkley) Blankenship had a son, Charlie Blankenship. William was working in farming. This child later went by his middle name, Robert.
On March 27, 1914, Mary Magdalene (Brinkely) and James I Blankenship lost a fourth child, one-week-old Linout Blankenship. He died from unknown causes. The death record for Linout lists his mother’s birthplace, as reported by his father, to be Rabun, Georgia. The baby was buried on March 28 at Wesleyanna Methodist Church Cemetery in McMinn County, Etowah, Tennessee.
John Samuel Knox was born to Lela O (Brinkley) and William Homer Knox on April 19, 1916, in McMinn County, Tennessee.
On April 26, 1916 Lela O (Brinkley) Knox died in McMinn County, Tennessee, with no physician in attendance, due to complications of childbirth. J I Blankenship, of Englewood, Tennessee was the informant. She was buried on April 25, in Wesleyanna Methodist Church Cemetery in Etowah, Tennessee.
John Samuel Knox died on May 24, 1916 in McMinn County, Tennessee. Cause of death is listed as inanition (failure to thrive, in today’s terms). The informant is listed as his grandfather, G W Knox. He was buried the same day in Wesleyanna Methodist Church Cemetery in Etowah, Tennessee.
On June 5, 1917, John W Brinkley lived in Warren County, Georgia, where he worked in farming for Will Brinkley. According to his draft registration card he was born on May 16, 1895 in Habersham County, Georgia. He was tall, with a medium build, and dark hair and blue eyes.
John W Brinkley enlisted with the Army on Jun 20, 1918 in Wayne County, Jesup, Georgia. He departed from Hoboken, New Jersey aboard the
He was ordered to report for training at Camp Gordon in Atlanta, Georgia on July 24, 1918.
A World War I draft card shows Candis (Brinkley) Radford, and her husband Jim (James Hampton Radford), were living in Bartow County, Cartersville, Georgia on September 12, 1918. Jim was tall and slender, with gray eyes and dark brown hair. He worked as a farmer for Ab (James Abda) Vaughn.
Thirty-five-year old Samuel A Brinkley was living in McMinn County, Englewood, Tennessee on November 12, 1918. His World War I draft card lists his birth date as April 17, 1883. He was a self-employed farmer, and his nearest relative was his wife Ella (Prince) Brinkley. He was medium height and slender, with blue eyes and light hair.
Northern Pacific in September 1918. He was a private in the 1st Division, 18th Infantry Regiment, Company M.
August 23, 1919, John W Brinkley embarked from Brest, France, aboard the SS Santa Teresa. He arrived at Hoboken, New Jersey on September 4, 1919.
SS Santa Teresa, September 4, 1919, iBiblio
On September 29, 1919, John W Brinkley married Estell Brinkley in Wayne County, Georgia.
In 1920 Mary Ann Knox, age eleven, and Isie Lee (Icelee) Knox, age seven, were living in DeKalb County, Decatur District, Georgia. They were listed as inmates of the Orphans Home of North Georgia, Methodist Conference. This orphanage was also known as the Decatur Orphans Home. Both girls were listed as being born in Georgia, though Mary Ann was born in McMinn County, Tennessee, and Icelee was likely born in Tennessee as well.
Records for the orphanage, later known as United Methodist Children’s Home, are housed in the archives of Emory University, as part of the Pitts Theology Library, in Atlanta, Georgia.
January 2, 1920, John W Brinkley, age twenty-three, and his wife Estell, sixteen, lived
in Wayne County, Madray, Georgia, with nine-month-old Eunivee. John's in-laws are listed just before his family on the census. He was a farmer, and it is noted he just returned from the war.
On January 3, 1920, Sarah (Brinkley) Dill's stepchildren Judge Dill, age twenty, and Ellen Dill, age seventeen, were both in Lee County, Mississippi, listed as cousins of the Willie Bell family, during the census. Judge worked as a driver of a dray wagon. Willie Bell was Mary (Dill) Bell’s brother-in-law.
On January 6, 1920, Mary Magdalene (Brinkley) Blankenship, age thirty-seven, and her husband Jim, also thirty-seven, were living in McMinn County on Williamsburg Road, with their children. Daughter Ruby L was seven and son Francis L was three. Also listed in the household was Mary’s twenty-two-year-old sister, May.
Mary’s brother Sam Brinkley and his family lived next door to Mary and Jim Blankenship in 1920. With him were his wife Lou Ella (Prince), her children from a previous marriage, Ruell Hall, age ten and Cecil Hall, age five, and their sons together, Eugene, age two, and daughter Johnnie E, age one. Sam was employed as a farmer.
January 15, 1920, Sarah E (Brinkley) Dill was step-mother to Dan Dill and Mattie (Coleman) Dill’s eleven children: Jimmie, age twenty-six; Bolie, age twenty-four; Willie, age twenty-two; Nancy, age seventeen; Winfield, age fifteen; Coy, age fourteen; Troy, age twelve; and Boyd, age ten. She was with Dan and the children in Bartow County, Taylorsville, Georgia, where Dan was a farmer.
McMinn County Civil District, National Archives
The ages listed on the 1920 census for the children were almost definitely incorrect. I calculated their ages in 1920 using the ages reported on the 1910 census, when their mother Mattie was still living.
I am still looking for records of Mary (Dill) Bell or husband Bennie Bell after 1918. Their children were Jewell (Bell) Slay, Willie Bell, and Johnie Victoria (Bell) Blankenship.
Candis (Brinkley) Radford, twenty-seven, and her husband Jim, thirty-nine, lived in Bartow County, Cartersville, Georgia in 1920. Jim was a farmer and Candis a farm laborer. Their children were Frank, age ten, and Claude, age eight.
Bartow County, 1913, Georgia Digital Archives
In 1920, thirty-five-year-old Etta (Brinkley) Blankenship lived in McMinn County, Tennessee on Williamsburg Road. Also in the household were her husband, forty-nine-year-old William S, and their six children: Essie Lee, age ten; Charles Robert, age eight; Jessie Malinda, age five; Flora, age three; and eight-month-old twins, Paul and Pauline. William worked in farming and was also classified as an employer.
Estell Brinkley gave birth to Woodroe Brinkley in Georgia October of 1920. She died October 23, 1920, in Bartow County, Georgia. Her cause of death was listed at "Puerpural Eclampsia." She was buried Bartow County at Cross Roads. Informant for the certificate was John Brinkley.
Nancy Dill married John W Brinkley in Bartow County, Georgia on December 23, 1920. The marriage was recorded by G W Hendricks, Ordinary.
Woodroe Brinkley was found dead in his bed on February 27, 1921. His cause of death was unknown, but a contributing factor may have been "Richititus" (Rickets). His death was registered in Bartow County, Taylorville, Georgia. George Dupree was the informant.
A death certificate filed in Bartow County, Georgia from July 22, 1921, names May Brinkley, age eighteen, as the deceased. Though the age is off by a few years, it seems likely this is May Brinkley from the Blankenship’s household in McMinn, Tennessee in 1920. Two Brinkley sisters were living in Bartow County, Georgia during this time: Candis Radford and Sarah Dill, as was brother John W Brinkley. May Brinkley does not appear on any further census records in Tennessee or Georgia. The cause of death was syphilis and pellagra. She was buried in the Paupers Farm Cemetery in Cartersville, Georgia.
Nancy (Dill) Brinkley gave birth to Sammie Boley Brinkley on October 6, 1921 in Bartow County, Georgia. She died on October 9th. Cause of death was confinement (complications following childbirth). D H Dill is listed as
father. Her mother would be expected to be Mattie Coleman, but instead a first name starting with either the letter C or E and the last name of Martin or Marlin is listed. D H Dill of Taylorsville, Georgia is listed as informant.
John W Brinkley married Bessie Proveaux in Wayne County, Georgia on March 23, 1922.
Ellen Dill married Franklyn Ephram Robinson Bartow County, Georgia on February 26, 1924.
On May 19, 1924, Jim Radford died in Bartow County, Georgia as a result of a mine cave-in. His birth is listed as March 14, 1880 in North Carolina. He was a laborer in the mines. The informant was Mrs Jim Radford. He was buried in White, Georgia at “Cross Roads.”
Jim Radford’s great granddaughter states that Candis (Brinkley) Radford once pointed out “the Vaughn farm” in White, Georgia as the place where Jim had died. Mining activity did take place on James Abda Vaughn's property in White, Georgia. No records of a mine collapse in this area during the time period surrounding Jim’s death have yet been found.
Aerial Map Showing Former Vaughn Property, The Diggings
On June 1, 1925, Ellen Robinson, age twenty-one, and Frank Robinson, age thirty-three, lived in Schoharie County, Esperance, New York on Rock School Road. Also in the household were their six-month-old twins, Edith and Harold; Frank’s mother, Fannie Tabor, age fifty-four; servant Hezekiah Pierce, age thirty-one, and his son Kenneth, age four. Frank was a farmer, and Ellen kept house.
Boyd Dill married Mary Ann Knox in Lee County, Mississippi on November 9, 1927.
In 1930, Candis (Brinkley) Radford, thirty-six, was living in Richmond County, Augusta, Georgia. Her last name is listed as Dill, though there is no record of a second marriage, and living family members insist she never remarried after the death of Jim Radford. In the household were her sons Frank, age twenty-one, and Claude, age eighteen, and sixty-six-year-old boarder, John H Parton.
Samuel Brinkley, age forty-seven, and his wife Ella (Prince) Brinkley, age thirty-nine, were living on Old Patty Road in Polk County, Civil District 1, Tennessee on April 10, 1930. In the household were son Eugene, thirteen; daughter Johnnie, eleven; Spence, one; and Sam’s stepsons Ruell Hall, twenty-one, and Cecil Hall, fifteen. They lived in a rented home and Sam worked as a farmer.
Augusta, GA, New South Association
On April 11, 1930, Winfield Dill, age twenty-four, was a cotton farmer on a tenant farm in Crittenden County, Black Oak Township, Arkansas. Living with him on Plantation Road was his wife, Georgia (Fennel) Dill, twenty-four; daughter Univee, age one; and father-in-law, Houston Fennel, age sixty-seven.
On April 12, 1930, Judge Dill, age twenty-seven, was living in Itawamba County, Mississippi, near Tupelo and Kirkville Roads. In the household were his wife, Etta (Brinkley) Dill, age thirty-nine; sons Buck W, age eight; Cleve J, age four; George R, age four; and step-daughter Jessie Blankenship, age fourteen. Judge worked as a farmer.
On April 14, 1930, John W Brinkley, thirty-four, was living in Wayne County, Jesup, Georgia with his second wife, listed on the census as Bessie, twenty-seven, and their daughter Univee (Eunavee), age ten. John was working as a laborer in the sawmill, same as the majority of his neighbors.
On April 18, 1930, Dan Dill, age sixty-seven, and Sarah, age forty-eight, lived in Itawamba County, Mississippi at County Line Road. Also in the household was Boley Dill, age thirty-five. Both men were farmers.
Next on the census were Boid (Boyd) Dill, age nineteen, and wife Mary Ann (Knox) Dill, age twenty. They had one son, Dan, age one year and eight months. Boyd worked as a farmer.
After Boyd and Mary Ann were Coy Dill, age twenty-six, and Icey (Knox) Dill, age sixteen. With them were daughters (Sarah) Elizabeth, age one year and nine months, and Ruby, less than one month old. Coy worked as a farmer.
Troy Dill, age twenty-one, was the last of the Dill family listed on this page of the census. He was divorced, having been married at age twenty, and working as a farmer.
On April, 16, 1930 Ellen (Dill) Robinson, age twenty-eight, and Frank Robinson, thirty-eight, lived in Wayne County, Detroit, Michigan with their children Edith and Harold, age five, and daughter Helen, age two. Frank worked as a retail salesman of toilet articles, and Ellen kept house.
April 26, 1930, forty-seven-year-old Mary M (Brinkley)Blankenship lived in McMinn County, Tennessee with forty-seven-year-old Jim, a farmer, and son James, age fourteen, and daughter Willie, age nine.
Next door to Mary and James lived their daughter, eighteen-year-old Rubie (Brinkley) Blackwell
Itawamba County, Mississippi, MyGenealogyHound
and family, in a rented home. Her husband, twenty-year-old Fred, worked in a grocery store. They had a seven-month-old son, James.
Troy Dill Married Rheba Cooksey in Tyronza, Arkansas on September 3, 1933.
Icelee (Knox) Dill died in 1937, reportedly due to complications following the birth of Macey Lee Dill, a child later adopted out to a family living in Lee County. Icelee is buried in Itawamba County, Mantachie, Mississippi at Center Star Cemetery.
Georgia Ada (Fennel) Dill died in Pointsett County, Little River Township, Marked Tree, Arkansas on April 18, 1938, two days after the birth of her son Marvel Dill. Cause of death was "puerperal infection."
Records have not yet been found showing Willie Dill or his children with Delois Clementine White, Jackson Leon and Willie, Jr in 1940. Clemmie gave Jack and Willie the last name White rather than Dill.
On April 11, 1940, John W Brinkley, age forty-five, and his wife Bessie Marie (Proveaux), thirty-eight, lived in the household of her father, tenant farmer William W Proveaux, age sixty-four. Also in the household were Bessie's mother Eliza, age sixty; grandson Edward Braddock, age four; and adopted daughter Elsie Hires, age two. They lived in Wayne County, Georgia.
Sam Brinkley and his wife Ella (Prince) Brinkley were living in Polk County, Civil District 1, Tennessee on April 15, 1940. Also in the household were Ruell Hall, thirty-one; Cecil Hall, twenty-five; Johnnie Mae, twenty-one; Spence, ten; and Gladys, six. They owned their home, which was valued at $2000. Sam was a farmer, earning $350 annually, and Ella was a housewife.
April 18, 1940, Candis (Brinkley) Radford, forty-seven, lived with her son Frank, thirty-one, his wife Lecie (Burris) Radford, thirty-four, sister-in-law Grace Burris, forty-three, and three children. James E, age four; Claudia, age two; and Flora May, seven months. They lived in Polk County, Civil District 1, Tennessee in a rented home. Frank worked as a sharecropper.
Troy Dill, age thirty, and wife Reba, age twenty-seven, lived on a rented farm next to Winfield Dill and his family. With them were their children Roxie, age six; Reetha, age four; and an infant, Wayne. Troy worked as a laborer on a road project.
On April 23, 1940, fifty-one-year-old Mary M (Brinkley) Blankenship lived in McMinn County, Civil District 3, Tennessee with husband Jim, age fifty-one and son James L, age twenty-four. The home they owned was valued at $2400. Jim worked as a farmer, and his son James was an unpaid family worker on the farm.
Living nearby were daughter Ruby (Blankenship) Blackwell and husband Fred; and daughter Willie (Blankenship) Watson and her husband Hubert. Willie’s uncle William S Blankenship lived in the Watson home as well.
On April 22, 1940, sixty-seven-year-old Sarah (Brinkley) Dill lived in the household of her stepson Boley, age fifty-two, with her husband Dan, age eighty-seven, in Itawamba County, Mississippi. Boley was a farmer working of his own accord, and his home was valued at $200.
Next door were thirty-year-old Mary Ann (Knox) Dill, and twenty-nine-year-old Boyd Dill. Their children were Dan, age eleven; John, age nine; James, age seven; Junior, age five; and twins Troy and Roy, age three. They lived on a rented farm, and Boyd was a farmer of his own accord.
On the other side of Boley’s farm were Winfield Dill, age thirty-eight and his second wife Bessie (Slay) Dill, age nineteen. Living with them were Winfield’s children with his first wife Georgia (Fennel) Dill: Univel, age eleven; Mattie, age eight; Millard, age six; Marvin, age four; and Marvel, age two. They lived on a rented farm and Winfield worked as a laborer on a road project.
On April 25, 1940, widower Coy Dill, age thirty-two, lived at or near the Lee County Poor House in Saltillo, Mississippi with his six children. Sarah, age twelve; Ruby, age ten; Charlie, age nine; Roosevelt, age four; Mary, age three; and Mazie L, age one. Coy was working as a farmer on his own account.
Ellen (Dill) Robinson, age thirty-seven, and husband Frank Robinson, age forty-eight, were living in Montgomery County, Charleston, New York on May 2, 1940. In the household were their children Edith and Harold, age fifteen; Helen, age twelve; and Henry, age eight. Frank was a farmer and Ellen kept house.
On October 16, 1940, Coy Dill lived in Lee County, Saltillo, Mississippi. He worked for his brother Boley Dill. He was born in Lee, Mississippi on March 15, 1907. According to his draft registration card he was 5 feet eleven inches tall, weighed 170 pounds.
He had a dark complexion, with brown hair and eyes.
Lee County, Mississippi, MS Dept. of Archives & History
Winfield and Bessie (Slay) Dill lived in Itawamba County, Dorsey, Mississippi on October 16, 1940. According his draft card, Winfield was born on April 15, 1906 in Monroe County, Mississippi. He was 5 feet 11 inches tall, 171 pounds, with a dark complexion, and brown hair and eyes.
Troy and Rheba (Cooksey) Dill lived in Itawamba County, Dorsey, Mississippi on October 16, 1940. According his draft card, Troy was born on July 10, 1909 in Lee County, Mississippi. He was 5 feet 5 inches tall, 140 pounds with a dark complexion, and brown hair and eyes.
Sometime after 1940 Coy Dill married Helen Lee of Wayne County, Jesup, Georgia.
Judge Dill and his spouse were living in Dorsey, Mississippi on February 16, 1942. According to his draft registration card, he was born in Amory, Mississippi on June 15, 1900. He was 5 feet 10 inches tall and 167 pounds. His complexion was sallow, and he had brown hair and blue eyes.
Dan Houston Dill, son of Enoch Dill and Hannah (Richardson), died in Mississippi on February 27, 1947. He is buried in Mantachie Cemetery, in Itawamba County, Mantachie, Mississippi.
Willie Dill, son of Daniel Houston Dill and Mattie (Coleman), died January 26, 1954. He is buried in Mantachie Cemetery in Itawamba County, Mantachie, Mississippi.
Etta (Brinkley) Blankenship Dill, parents unknown, died January 3, 1956. She is buried in Mantachie Cemetery, in Itawamba County, Mantachie, Mississippi.
At some point after 1956, Judge Dill married Jessie Blankenship.
Sarah Elizabeth (Brinkley) Dill, daughter of John H Brinkley and Mary Jane Gaines, died in Mississippi on
June 29, 1956. She is buried in Mantachie Cemetery, in Itawamba County, Mantachie, Mississippi, next to Dan.
On February 2, 1957, Sam Brinkley’s wife, Lou Ella (Prince) Brinkley died of coronary thrombosis. She is buried in Green Hill Cemetery in McMinn County, Etowah, Tennessee.
John W Brinkly died on May 8, 1958. He is buried in O'Quinn Baptist Church Cemetery, in Wayne County, Georgia.
Winfield Dill, son of Daniel Houston Dill and Mattie (Coleman), died on December 26, 1961. He is buried in Mantachie Cemetery in Itawamba County, Mantachie, Mississippi.
Judge Dill, son of Daniel Houston Dill and Mattie (Coleman), died on August 30, 1965. He is buried in Mantachie Cemetery in Itawamba County, Mantachie, Mississippi, with Etta.
Ellen S (Dill) Robinson, daughter of Daniel Houston Dill and Mattie (Coleman), died in 1965 and is buried in Fulton County, Perth, New York, in Perth Cemetery. Frank Robinson died the year prior, and is buried in the same cemetery.
James I Blankenship, son of Isham Harden Blankenship and Mattie (Caldwell), died on February 25, 1967. He is buried in McMInn Memory Gardens in McMinn County, Athens, Tennessee.
Coy Dill, son of Daniel Houston Dill and Mattie (Coleman), died in 1968. He is buried in Center Star Cemetery in Itawamba County, Mantachie, Mississippi.
Mary Ann (Knox) Dill, daughter of William Homer Knox and Lela O (Brinkley), died on May 15, 1969. She is buried in Itawamba County, Mantachie, Mississippi in Mantachie Cemetery.
Sam Brinkley, son of John H Brinkley and Mary Jane (Gaines), died in Chattanooga, Tennessee in September of 1969.
Boley Dill, son of Daniel Houston Dill and Mattie (Coleman), died in 1971. He is buried in Mantachie Cemetery in Itawamba County, Mantachie, Mississippi.
Mary Magdalene (Brinkley) Blankenship, daughter of John H Brinkley and Mary Jane (Gaines), died in McMinn County, Tennessee on July 7, 1973. She is buried in McMInn Memory Gardens in McMinn County, Athens, Tennessee.
Candis (Brinkley) Radford, daughter of John H Brinkley and May Jane (Gaines), died November 18, 1974. She is buried next to her son Frank Radford in Louisville Cemetery in Jefferson County, Louisville, Georgia.
Helen (Lee) Dill, daughter of Joseph Lee and Myra Nellie (Johnson) , died on April 16, 1975. She is buried at Jesup City Cemetery in Wayne County, Jesup, Georgia.
Troy Dill, son of Daniel Houston Dill and Mattie (Coleman), died March 30, 1986. He is buried in Mantachie Cemetery in Itawamba County, Mantachie, Mississippi.
Boyd Dill, son of Daniel Houston Dill and Mattie (Coleman), died August 16, 1991. He is buried in Mantachie Cemetery in Itawamba County, Mantachie, Mississippi.
The dates of death and places of burial for two of Daniel Houston and Mattie (Coleman) Dill's children, Mary Jane (Dill) Bell and Jimmie Dill, have not yet been found.
UPDATES:
October 12, 2020