#33 of 52...Berney Jack Thomason SR...

Berney Jack Thomason Sr was my great grandfather.  I called him Afaw because I couldn't say Grandpa when I was little.  I had the opportunity to get to know him growing up.  He passed when I was living abroad in Japan and unable to make it back to the funeral.  It was very difficult for me to process his death without being able to attend the funeral.  It was a hugely emotional time for me.  Afaw had a crazy sense of humor.  He was fun.  I hear there was a different side to him, but I never saw that.  

He was a security guard at a bank and later at a car dealership.  I believe at one point he may have been a sheriff deputy but I'm not sure.  I remember seeing his pistol on the table growing up and knowing that we weren't allowed to touch it unless he was holding it.  It had a pearl handle I believe.

Berney Jack Thomason Sr was born 29 June 1937 to David Luther Thomason and Emma Lois Allen in Covington, Newton County, Georgia.  He was their third child and only son.  

He had the following sisters. 

      1). Helen Louise Thomason (1924-2013)

      2). Dorothy Mae Thomason (1926-1990)

Berney Jack Thomason Sr. married Shirley Lucille Ivey 28 Feb 1954 in Porterdale, Newton County, Georgia.  It was his second marriage, but her first.  He did not have any children with his first wife. 

Together Jack and Shirley had the following children.

1). Berney Jack Thomason JR (1955-2003)

2). Donna Jane Thomason (1957-2006) **my mother

3). Janet Elaine Thomason (living)

4). Beverly June Thomason (living)

5). Julie Shirlene Thomason (living)

#32 of 52...3rd Great Grandparents

32 weeks into 52 weeks of the year!  I'm of course writing this well after the 32nd week as I got behind during the summer break with the kids.

Did you know that each of us have thirty two 3rd great grandparents?  Thirty two!  Out of my thirty two I have names for all but four.  Also out of thirty two, I have four with the last name Allen!  They are all four on my mama's paternal side.  I wonder if they are related to each other?  I've not found that to be true yet; however Allen is not exactly an unusual name.  Below each one is listed along with their parents names (if known) and their family information.

1). Lucinda Francis Allen (09 May 1841-20 Dec 1925)
     Born in Georgia.
     Parents: David Richmond Allen and Nancy Mayo
     Married: 22 April 1857 in Walton County, Georgia to William Lewis Thomason
     Children: John William Franklin Thomason (1859-1886)
                   James David Thomason (1867-1937) *my 2nd great grandfather
                   Lewis Everit Thomason (1869-  )
                   Benjamin Martin Thomason (1871-1953)
                   Thomas A. Thomason (1873-1911)
                   Nancy E Thomason (1879-1921)

2). Martha Jane Allen (abt 1850-abt 1879)
     Born in Georgia.
     Parents: supposed to be John Allen and possibly Katherine Thomason, though I've not seen enough evidence to declare this to be certain.
     Married: 11 Dec 1867 in Putnam County, Georgia to John Fields Chapman.
     Children: Martha Jane Chapman (1870-1960) **my 2nd great grandmother
                   William M. Chapman (1872-1944)
                    Maggie Chapman (abt 1874-   )
                    John T. Chapman (1875-1963)

3). John Edgar Allen (abt 1833- unknown)
     Born in Georgia.
     Parents: unknown
     Married:   21 April 1857 in Spalding County, Georgia to Mary Elizabeth Wigers.
     Children: John W. Allen (1858-1919)
                   James Christopher Allen (1859-1942)  **my 2nd great grandfather
                   Louisa Allen (abt 1863-     )
                   Singleton William Allen (abt 1865-     )
                   Walter T. Allen (1868-1923)
                   Thomas Jefferson Allen (1869-1926)
                    Minnie B. Allen (abt 1873-   )
                    Effie Estelle Allen (1879-1958)

4). Emily Catherine Allen (1839-1931)
     Born in Crawford County, Georgia.
     Parents: unknown
     Married: 5 January 1866 in Spalding County, Georgia to John Wesley Welch SR
     Children: Walter Welch (1866-1892) *died of accident gunshot wound
                    Claudia Vandora Welch (1869-1971) **my 2nd great grandmother
                    Beresford "Ressie" F. Welch (1872-1939)
                    Sallie Dovie Welch (1878-1929)
                    John Wesley Welch JR (1882-1942)
                 
It's interesting to have so many Allens on one branch.  I also have an Allen or two on another branch of the tree, but it's further back and one comes from England directly.  Do you know all of your thirty two third great grandparent's names?


                 

#29 of 52...David Luther Thomason

One of my maternal great grandparents is David Luther Thomason.  David Luther was born 24 December 1896 to James David Thomason and Martha Jane Chapman.  He had the following siblings.

1). Baby Boy Thomason (1886-unknown)
2). Willie Thomason (1888-1962)
3). Charlie Woodson Thomason (1890-1956)
4). Mary Lou Thomason (1892-  )
5). Henry Grady Thomason (1894-1980)
6). David Luther Thomason (1896-1967) **my great grandfather
7). Susie Thomason (1899-1983)
8). Ludie Bea Thomason (1903-1988)
9). Howard Thomason (1908-1952)
10). Sallie Cleo Thomason (1911-2003)
11). Baby Girl Thomason (1913-   )
12). Claude L Thomason (1915-1990)


David Luther (I'm told he went by Luther) married Emma Lois Allen.  I just realized that I do not have their marriage date or any documentation about it.  I will add that to my research goals for the next year.
Luther and Lois had the following children.

1). Helen Louise Thomason (1924-2013) *We called her Aunt Ease, because saying Louise was hard sometimes for us kids.
2). Dorothy Mae Thomason (1926-1990)  *She was killed in a car accident.  I remember when this happened and it was awful.
3). Berney Jack Thomason SR (1931-2003) **This is my Grandfather, I called him "Afaw" which is my baby way of trying to say Grandpa and it stuck.

I did not get to meet David Luther because he passed 10 years before I was born.  I don't know much about him at all other than the facts I've gathered.  I remember my Mama spoke of him as being "Big Daddy" but I don't recall many stories about him.  I'd like to find out more about him as a person.

#27 of 52...John Colvin Bussey

UPDATED:  24 Dec 2020  Updated links and added information for Esther Alley Bussey Smith

John Colvin Bussey is my great-grandfather.  He is my grandmother Alice's father.  He died the year before I was born so I never got an opportunity to know him in person.  I did hear lots of fabulous stories about him though.  I also was able to hear his voice because my daddy made a cassette recording of him when he was a teenager.

John Colvin Bussey was born 19 November 1892 in Atlanta, Georgia to Samuel T. Bussey and Louella "Ella" Ledbetter.  He was their 3rd child.  His mother was 19 years old when he was born.  The children of Samuel T. and Ella Bussey were:

1). Willis Collier Bussey SR (1887-1966)
2).  Samuel T. Bussey JR (1890-1905)
3).  John Colvin Bussey (1892-1976)
4).  James Jefferson Bussey (1898-1959)

John Bussey grew up in Atlanta, Georgia.  His father was a stable boss for many years.

John spent some time in the Army in WWI.  He was drafted.  Below is a snippet from his service card.

WWI Statement of Service Summary Cards, CLM-396, Ancestry.com

John first married Esther J. Alley, daughter of William and Lizzie (Brown) Alley, 19 December 1919 in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia.  They were divorced 9 October 1928 in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia.  As far as I've been able to ascertain there were no children from this marriage.  Esther married T.M. Smith by 1930 as I found them together in the census.  Unfortunately, Esther died of suicide on, Tuesday 10 Dec 1935.  She was 32 years old.  

Second John Bussey married my great grandmother Troy Eugene Waller 17 August 1934 in Decatur, DeKalb County, Georgia.  It was a second marriage for both of them.  John adopted Troy's daughter Cora as his own.  John and Troy had the following children together.

1). Ella Alice Bussey (1935-2022)
2). Colvin Troy Bussey (living)

John Colvin was an artist.  He created stained glass windows in churches in the Atlanta area.  He had a fabulous vegetable garden and kept chickens.  He sustained an injury to his left eye rendering him blind.  He was left-handed.

He passed away at home of a massive heart attack on Jan 4, 1976, he was 83 years old.

John Colvin Bussey, unknown date, original owned by Alice Bussey Curran

#18 of 52...Samuel Groom SR...

Samuel Groom SR,
(1874-1942)
copy of photo sent to me by Marion Schaal

This is my husband's Great Great Grandfather.  My husband's grandma sent me this photo last month and I was very happy to receive it.  He looks quite dapper, doesn't he?

Samuel Groom SR was born 9 April 1874 in Belleville, Illinois to James Groom and Hannah Tate.  James and Hannah had the following known children.

1). William Groom (1865-1939)

2). John Groom (abt 1871-1935)

3). Richard Groom (1872-unknown)

4). Samuel Groom (1874-1942) **my husband's great great grandfather

5). Isaac Groom (abt 1876-1952)

6). Rachel Groom (abt 1877-1933)

7). Alexander Groom (1880-1946)

8). Thomas Groom (1883-1951)

9). Elizabeth Groom (abt 1886-1940)

10). Ann Groom (1887-1925)

Samuel Groom SR married Katherine "Katie" Haas 6 June 1896 in Belleville, St. Clair County, Illinois. They had the following known children.

1). Viola Groom (1899-1956) **my husbands great grandmother

2). Leona Groom (abt 1902-unknown)

3). Samuel Groom JR. (1903-1956)

4). May Groom (1909-2002)

Samuel Groom followed in his family's footsteps and was a coal miner.

#17 of 52...Martin Dial...Oldest direct male ancestor...

I wrote about the oldest direct female ancestor in the previous post. Now we are going to talk about the oldest male.  I found Martin Dial, my 6th great grandfather and he lived to be 98 years 11 months and 27 days old; almost 99 years old.  

Martin Dial was born 30 Dec 1744 in North Carolina (though some stories say it was England) to Henry Arthur Dial and Isabella May Hastings.  Henry and Isabella had the following known children.

1) Hastings Dial (1732-1809)
2) James Dial (1734-unknown)
3) Martin Dial (1744-1843)

There are ten years between Martin and his next oldest sibling, which usually indicates that there were other children born.  I have not seen any information regarding other siblings, though I would not be surprised if there certainly were more, sisters even.

It is said that Martin Dial served in the Revolutionary War for America while his brothers were indeed Torries.  There have been many stories written about Martin Dial and genealogical books such as "Martin Dial and Related Families" by Hastings Harrison.

Martin married Chrystie Abercrombie in 1775.  They had the following children that I've found.  I am missing many dates for these children.

1) John Hastings Dial (abt 1882-aft 1860)
2)Isaac Dial (1791-1864) ***my 5th great grandfather
3) Jonathan Dial
4) Martin Dial Jr
5) James Dial
6) Hannah Dial
7) William Dial
8) Colvill Dial

There are many, many Dial descendants. Martin passed away in Gray Court, Laurens County, South Carolina on 26 Dec 1843.
Almost 99 years old!