Image Source: FamilySearch
Ada Evelyn Smith, born 23 January 1879 in Denton Texas, was the daughter of Chilton Lycirgus Smith and Amanda Phelps. She married William Booker Bowen 4 January 1899 in Denton County, Texas. Ada passed away at the age of 50 on 3 June 1929 in Amarillo, Texas. She died of Pellagra, a disease caused by niacin (vitamin D-3) deficiency.
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J. R. Findsen
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Zella Cole Ensor
This lovely lady is Zella Cole Ensor. She was the daughter of Robertson J. Cole and Mary (Mollie) C. Lowe. The Cole and Lowe families are old residents from Carter County, Tennessee.
Zella was born 24 April 1889 in Carter County, Tennessee. During the winter of 1907, at the age of seventeen, Zella married George W. Ensor. Four years later, they had a daughter named Hazel. She was born 15 June 1911 in Carter County, Tennessee.
Sadly, like so many living in the area at the beginning of the 20th century, Zella contracted Tuberculosis during the winter of 1914. A few months later in March of 1915, Zella passed away at the age of twenty-five. She left a husband and a three-year-old daughter.
Image Source: FamilySearch
Thankfully, a picture of Zella Cole still exists to remember by.
Tuberculosis (formerly known as consumption) is not widely talked about today since we can treat it with success. However, only a hundred years ago TB was a major problem. Many individuals lost their lives to the disease.
Some of the symptoms Zella would have suffered from fatigue, night sweats, and “wasting away.” According to the University of Virginia, at least 450 people in America died every day from Tuberculosis. Most victims were between the ages of fifteen and forty-four years old. The disease was so common that it became a synonym for death.
Deaths from TB during 1945. Image Source: University of Virginia
Tuberculosis was rampant in the cities especially among the poor. It was not until the late 1800s/early 1900s doctors used isolation to keep the disease from spreading.
If you would like to learn more about the history of Tuberculosis click here.
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J. R. Findsen
Image Source: FamilySearch
George W. Jackson, born 28 July 1850 in Tennessee, was the son of William R. Jackson and Mahala Cooper. He was the 7th of ten siblings.
According to his death certificate, George was seventy years old at this time of his death on 16 January 1921.
He was a mechanic who was widowed. His residence was in Coalfield which is near the center of Tennessee.
The informant for George’s death certificate was Wiley Jackson also of Coalfield Tennessee.
Cause of death is hard to read. The secondary contributor to George’s death is Nephritis which is an inflammation of the kidneys and can lead to kidney failure.
Interesting to note, the undertaker was an L.G. Jackson.
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J. R. Findsen
Image Source: Familysearch.org
John Randolph Havins was the son of Thomas Tolbert Havins, Sr. and Louise Crawford. In 1873 he married Ann Elizabeth Clary in Texas where they made their home.
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J. R. Findsen
Eliza Jane Lowe, the daughter of George J. Lowe and Jemima Colbaugh, passed away on 27 Apr 1924 in Carter County, Tennessee at the age of forty-seven years old. According to her death certificate, she is buried in the Grindstaff Cemetery in Carter County, Tennessee along with her parents.
Mystery surrounds Eliza Jane. In 1903 when she was twenty-six years old, she married Dr. Robert Ferguson. Two years later they had a daughter named Stella. However, by 1920 when Stella was fifteen years old she went by the name Stella Lowe. Many questions remain unanswered.
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J. R. Lowe
Arabella Bowen Franklin is the youngest daughter of Ahab Bowen and Mary Lyon Easley. She was born on 25 Dec 1856 in Missouri, more than likely in Bolivar, Polk County, where her father Ahab owned the Franklin Hotel. After the Civil War, the Bowen family moved to Texas where Arabella married James B. Franklin in 1882.
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J. R. Lowe
Check out my other blog The Thoughtful Ninja.
Ferdinand Welke was the son of Karl August Welke and Euphrosine Gurke. Ferdinand was born 10 Jul 1896 in what is today Dubeczno, Wlodawa, Lubelskie, Poland. The area where the Welke family lived at the turn of the 20th century was considered part of Russia. After World War I conditions was horrible and paranoia ran rampant. What remained of the Welkes decided that it was time to join their older sister in the United States. In the fall of 1920, Ferdinand immigrated to America, trekking across the continent to arrive in Portland, Oregon. He made his home in Oregon for many years then moved north to Roslyn, Washington, his final home.
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J. R. Lowe
John Thomas Guthrie died 1 May 1962 at Parkview Baptist Hospital in Yuma, Arizona. His usual residence was on College Street in Gadsden Arizona. He was male, Caucasian and widowed. He was 83 years old at the time of death, born 21 Jan 1879 in Arkansas. John was a retired rancher. His father is listed as Samuel T. Guthrie born in Arkansas and his mother, Jane White born in Arkansas. John died of a Cerebral Hemorrhage. The informant for his death certificate was his daughter Margaret M. Blohm.
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J.R. Lowe
