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Hale Family Research |
This is a picture of James Polk Acuff |
Brickwalls are frustrating. I guess thats an understatement. I have two that have been a source of frustration in my genealogical research for about 12 yrs. my Acuff Brickwall......and my Hale Brickwall. This page is about my Hale Brickwall.
I am kin to Hales thru my maternal grandmother, Minnie Acuff Luna(Oct 26, 1899- July 5, 1957). She was the daughter of James K Polk Acuff(Jan 12, 1872-Nov 23, 1939) and Emma Frances Hale(Nov 5 1875-Sept 5 1939).
Although I'm at a stand still on the Acuff line I know quite a bit more about the McElroys and Shropshires(J.K P Acuff's mother's lines). Emma's parents I know very little about. I do have a copy of Emma Frances "Fannie" Hale Acuff's death certificate. It just list her father as William "Bill" Hale and whoever was giving the info did not know the name of her mother. Finding out that Emma's father was named Wm. Hale was not much help to me as Hale was a popular name in that area..and I guess many of the families decided that they needed a son named William.
I believe that I have figured out at least some of the mystery of Wm. Hale although there are still many questions...
April 2, 2001
Last week I decided to join the Madison Co. AL mailing list and see if I could find someone who knew where I might find the obituary of Emma Frances Hale Acuff. She died in Madison Co. so I guessed that it might have been carried in the HUNTSVILLE TIMES or what ever paper was active in that area for that time period. From the obituary I hoped to find out if Emma had any surviving brothers or sisters so it would help to narrow down and pinpoint her and her father in the census records. I posted my message to the mailing lists and waited. I had a birthday party for my daughter who was turning 4 yrs old so my genie research was pretty much on hold for the weekend. Monday morning held a big surprize for me. I received an email from a lady who was a subscriber to the Madison Co. AL list. She had been to the Huntsville Library and gotten copies of my great grandparents obituaries which she sent to me. My spirits were soaring. As I had hoped....my gr grandmother's obituary contained the names of two surviving brothers --Sam and Charles Hale both of McMinnville TN(Warren Co.) I looked thru my notes and saw that one of the Wm. Hales who had a daughter named Emma or Frances also had sons named Charles and Sam. This Wm. Hale was the one who married Nancy Arminda Hitchcock. My next move was to send a post to the Warren Co. TN mailing list to try to determine for sure that these Hales were my connection. Again my prayers were answered when I received an email from a subscriber to the list who had located in Cemetery Records Emma's brother's Sam and Charles Hale. This listing also noted that they were the sons of William P Hale and Nancy Arminda Hitchcock Hale although it did list Sam as the son of Wm and Hettie Ann Hitchcock Hale. I believe that the two Wm Hales are one and the same.
Nov. 5, 2001
I had purchased the LDS's 1880 Census Cds and had gotten most of the families of my direct line who
were around for the census recorded. I had never been able to tie the two Wm Hales together nor find
BOTH of them in a census year but I was fairly certain that the Wm. Hale son of Wm. T and Eliza Adeline Hale were the same person. I had already placed Wm. Hale husband of Nancy A. Hitchcock in the 1880
Census of Bledsoe Co. I decided to look at his neighbors as I was aware that he was living near his
in-laws. Imagine my surprize when I saw that Mary Hale Johnson(sister of the other Wm Hale) was living
next door to this Wm. Hale. I now feel that these two Wm.'s are the same given that they were the same age and also never appear in the same census. Just a reminder of a belief I have always had about research. When you are checking out census records always look at the neighbors because 9 times out of 10 they are family and if they aren't they may well be by the next census. My next step is finding the brothers of Emma Frances Hale in the 1900 1910 and 1920 census records. I need to do this so that
I can determine the date of death for their parents as well as figure out if her father did marry again.
April 9, 2002
Have worked a bit today getting together the census records of William
Hale for the years 1900, 1910 and 1920. From these I've been able to conclude that Wm was indeed married twice. I am pretty certain that Wm Hale son of Wm. T and Adeline Hale is the same William Hale who married first to Nancy Hitchcock and second to Mary/Hettie.
I want to also note here that some of the info in the obits is incorrect and there are many errors in the Census records probably stemming from poor communication by both the census takers who were asking the questions and those answering the questions not fully understanding what was being asked.
There are several different Hale Mailing lists at Rootweb. The Main Hale Mailing list and then two state specific lists which I had created and am list administrator for-- Hale-TN and Hale-NC These last two lists deal with Hale research in the US states of Tennessee and North Carolina. There is also a Hale Genealogy Message Board on which you may post Hale queries. This message board also has classifications for many Hale Data Form Posts such as Hale Census, Cemetery, Military, Immigration or other data.
To join any of these Hale mailing lists click on the link below. If for some reason this subscription link doesn't work for you you may subscribe by sending an email from the email account you want to subscribe to xxx-l-request@rootsweb.com substitute list name for xxx and if you want the digest mode substitute d for l. Send the word subscribe as the subject in an email to that address and you should be set. Subscription is free.
In the table below I have listed my transcriptions of Hale households from the census records. It is important to note that Van Buren Co TN wasn't formed until 1840 and inhabitants of the area which was to become Van Buren Co. would have been listed under the parent counties of White and Warren Co. in the 1830 Census. Below I have listed Hale Census Records in the TN counties of Bledsoe, Dekalb,Warren and Van Buren. If the census record for the county you are looking for isn't posted please check back later as I am adding as time allows.
The following info was gleened from a letter which was written by Phoebe York Hale McMormick( Daug of John Nathanel Hale)
I believe the letter was to Oletta Cope. The letter its self tells more about the John Nathaniel Hale. John Nathaniel Hale(he married Nan Ward Daughter of Rufus and Birdie Odell Ward.)
John Nathaniel Hale was from England--a carpenter, he came over and settled in North Carolina. He had a son named Wm. Taylor Hale who met and married Eliza Adeline Elzie who was the daughter of William Elzie, a blacksmith who also came from England to North Carolina.
Wm. Taylor Hale (1822-1861)39 yrs old
Married June 29 1843
Eliza Adeline Elzie(April 15 1820-April 20 1906)
Children:
1. Sis Hale** Married a Mr. Bishop and later Mr. Davis
2. Bill He married Hettie Russ.
3. James "Jim" married Mary "Polly" Hillis
4 Mary ++ married a Mr. Johnson
5 John Nathaniel Hale(named after his grandfather) he married Nan Ward.
** Notes on Lucinda Hale married a Mr Bishop and had a son Monroe Bishop who was 14 in 1880 Census.
Also married Mr. Davis and is listed as still being married in the 1880 census although
we don't see her husband she does have a three yr old son by him named Luther.
++Mary Hale married John Johnson and is in the 1880 Bledsoe Co. census(near Wm. Hale her brother) with husband and daughter
Eliza E. age one.
William T. Hale drowned in the Collins River in 1861 when his skift capsized as he was crossing the river on his way to the mill. It was nine days before his body was found by Adeline who was on her way to the store and came across it lodged in a drift of brush. Wm. Taylor Hale is buried in Shellsford Cem. Adeline never remarried and at the time of her husband's death was pregnant with their son John.
First of all I want to thank Lillian Herrin from the Madison Co. AL mailing list for sending me copies of my great grandparents' obituaries. This was the moment I knew my "Brickwall" was starting to crumble. Thank you so much.
Mrs James Acuff, 63
Died at residence 319 Rison Ave
Survivors:
Husband (James Polk Acuff)
son-- William Acuff
daughters--Mrs. Minnie Luna, Mrs Ovena Sharp, Sara Acuff all of Huntsville and Mrs. Emma Sanders of TN
Brothers-- Sam and Charles Hale of McMinnville, TN.
Funeral Services: conducted by Homer P. Reeves
Burial: Charity Cemetery
Arrangements: Womack
Pallbearers: John McBride, Bob Knowles, H.P. Patton, Lloyd Polk, Raymond Smith, Horace Anderson.
The Huntsville Times
Sept 5 1939 Page 8
Mrs. James Acuff is Emma Frances Hale Acuff. Based on finding out the names of her surviving brothers, I was able to conclude that she is the daughter of William and Nancy Arminda Hitchcock Hale. I have a copy of her death certificate but it lists the cause of death as natural causes. Minnie Luna who is listed as one of her surviving daughters is my maternal grandma. It's interesting to note that James P. Acuff, Emma's husband died just two months after she passed on.
Thanks to Elsie Jones, a subscriber of Rootsweb's Warren Co. TN mailing
list for sending me the following information. Thank you so very much.
Warren Co. Cemetery Book No. 4 page 276 Shellsford Cemetery
Hale, Sam 20 Apr 1884-17 March 1947
[Son of William and Hettie Ann(Hitchcock) Hale, husband of Della Harrison, married 20 Dec. 1903.]
Warren Co. Cemetery Book No. 3 page 64 Mt. Vernon Cemetery
Hale, Charles F. Born 16 Nov. 1872 died 9 May 1956
Son of William P. and Nancy Armenda(Hitchcock) Hale.
Hale, William P. no birth or death dates given. Husband of 1) Armenda Hitchcock and 2)Mary Hillis
Hale, James Buchanan. Born 13 Feb. 1880 died 28 July 1947. Son of William P. and Nancy Armenia (Hitchcock) Hale. Single
Betty M. Majors a Warren Co. TN researcher along with Martha Bouldin Holt and Almetia Dunn Cunningham has compiled several books on Warren Co. TN and Betty has done books on various TN subjects. You can learn more about her books at
Mountain Press and
Warren Co. Genealogical Association's Book Page
James Buchannan Hale age 67
Born: Bledsoe Co. TN; Feb 13, 1880
Died: McMinnville TN; Mon. July 28, 1947
Parents: William P. and Nancy Hutcheson Hale
(Nancy's maiden name is listed wrong, it should be Hitchcock)
Survivors:
His step-mother(name not given)
Brother--Charlie Hale, Campaign TN
Sisters--Mrs. America Hillis, Rossville GA; Mrs. J. W. Wilson, Mississippi
Funeral Services: 11am Wed. July 30 1947
High Funeral Co. John W. High officiating.
Burial: Mt. Vernon Cem. Warren Co. TN
Southern Standard McMinnville, TN
Aug 1st 1947 edition page 4
Sam Hale age 63
Born: Bledsoe Co. TN April 20, 1883
Died: McMinnville TN 1st Dist Mon. March 17, 1947
Parents: William Hale(mother's name not given)
Survivors:
Wife--Della Hale
Sons--George Hale, Clyde Hale and Clarence Hale all
of McMinnville.
Sisters--Mrs Lee Hillis, Chattanooga; Mrs. James Wilson, Dallas, Texas; Mrs. Polk Acuff, Huntsville, AL
( Mrs. Polk Acuff my gr grandmother and should not be listed as a survivor as she herself died in 1939)
Brothers--Bush(prob. James "Buch" Buchannan) Hale, McMinnville, TN; Charlie Hale, Campaign, TN.
Funeral Services: Tues. March 18, 1947
Rev. W. J. Thompson officiating. High Funeral Co. in charge of arrangements.
Burial: Shellsford Baptist Church Cem. Warren Co. TN
Southern Standard McMinnville, TN
Mar 21st 1947 edition page 13
Charles F. Hale, age 83
Born: Nov. 16, 1872(in Bledsoe Co. TN)
Died: May 9, 1956 Magness Home
Parents: William P. & Nancy Armenda Hitchcock Hale
Survivors:
Sister--Mrs. Gladys Lewallen, Wildwood, GA believe this is wrong as
Glathias Hillis Lewallen was his niece, and daughter of America Hale
Hillis(1873-1963)
Nieces & Nephews.
Funeral Services: Fri. May 11, 1956
Friendship Church of Campaign
John W. High officiating
Burial: Mt. Vernon Cem.
Southern Standard McMinnville, TN
May 15th 1956 edition
Claude Hale, age 88
Died: March 27 1998
Resident of Oliver Springs Community
Native of Van Buren Co. TN
Member of Madison St. Baptist Church
WWII Vet(Army)
Parents: Bill & Mary Hillis Hale
Preceded in Death:
Wife--Lila Jane Hillis Hale(1984)
Son--Claude Edward Hale(1971)
Survivors:
Daughter--Joy Pryor, Oliver Springs
Seven Grandchildren--Barry Wayne Pryor, Greg Pryor, Renee Clowers, Harlan Hale, Denise McManus, Chrissy Pryor & Nikki Pryor.
Three Great Grandchildren--Logan Clowers, Aaron & Matthew Hale.
Arrangements: High Funeral Home
Rev. Carl Smith officiating
Burial: Mt. View Cemetery
Southern Standard McMinnville, TN
May 29th 1998 edition
Mrs. Mary Martina Hale age 71
Born: Aug. 4, 1887
Died: Wed. Sept 29, 1948
Parents: Ike & Nancy McBride Hillis
Preceded in Death:
Husband--William Hale
Survivors:
Mrs. Jesse McGuire
R. L. Hillis
Claude Hale
Rebeccah Davis
Funeral Services: Sat. Oct 2, 1948
Crain Hill Church
John W. High officiating
Burial: Crain Hill Church Cemetery
Southern Standard McMinnville, TN
Oct 8th 1948 edition
John Nathanel Hale, age 85
Born: Van Buren Co. TN July 4, 1861
Died: Campaign, TN Mon. Dec. 9, 1946
Parents: William Taylor Hale & Adaline Elzie Hale
Survivors:
Son--Arvil Hale
Daughters--Mrs. Eliza Payne, Mrs Willie White, Mrs.
Phoebe McCormick & Mrs. Agnes Breedlove
Funeral Services: Tue. Dec 10, 1946
Tabernacle in Campaign
Rev. Sam Lawson officiating
Arrangements by High Funeral Co.
Burial: Church of God Cem. (Tabernacle)
Southern Standard McMinnville, TN
Friday Dec 13th 1946 edition page 12
Descendants of William Taylor Hale
1. William Taylor Hale b: 1820 d: 1861 |
