There I said it. Now I feel better. Oh wait I didn't tell you what kind did I?
I am a family history "picture" junkie. Now that's better and I'm glad that is now out in the open. I'm told it is a good thing to air these sort of things out.
Now on a serious note, I have always received great pleasure in seeing and collecting pictures of my family, cousins and such. I never worry about an original or that sort of thing, but the electronic kind work just for me.
But the real treat is a picture of an ancestor. Now that is the ultimate family history experience. These are the people who are responsible for me being here. Their DNA is in me and they have touched my life like no other ever can.
In the 35 years I have been doing research I have put a premium on locating a picture of my ancestors and I get to brag a bit, I have done quite well. If you would like to see some of my handy work, you can view the collection in my public family tree at Ancestry at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/6838/family.
I have pictures of all four of my grand parents, all eight of my great grandparents, seven of my 16 great-great grandparents, and the ultimate prize five of my 32 great-great-great grandparents.
My latest two 3rd great grandparent picture acquisitions came as a result of my public tree and a leaf hint at Ancestry. In February 2011 I got one of those cute little leafs at Ancestry. When I opened that bad boy up and saw the hint I had tears in my eyes. For the first time ever I was seeing a picture of my 3rd great grandparents Rev. Elijah Witt and Hannah Clark-Witt. Wow, was I ever blown away. I knew there had to be a story here so I wrote the person who posted the photo Angela Beth Jameson. She responded with the following:
The Witt/Clark families are in my husband's ancestry and my father-in-law is in possession of the Witt Family Bible, which has a publishing date of 1849. Elijah and Hannah Witt are my husband's 3rd great grandparents, as well. The picture was inside the Bible, along with handwritten information about births, marriages and deaths of immediate family members, starting with the marriage of Elijah Witt and Hannah Clark. The Bible is very old and falling apart, so I have to be very careful with it.
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This is what is written in the Bible under the Marriages heading (spelling/grammar faithful to the writing):
Elijah Witt and Hannah Clark was marriade Oct the 19th-1848
Rachel E. Witt daughter of Elijah & Hannah Witt was marriad to Mike Custer Sept the 10th 1868 (Rachel Elizabeth)
MA Witt Maride to AE Dobbs December the 30-1879 (Mary Agnes)
Marthy An Witt was mariade to JS Brown Nov 17-1880 (Martha Ann and James Stevens Brown---this is my husband's line)
JC Witt Son of E and H Witt was marriad to Henrettah Lang 1882 (Not 100% sure of spouses name---ink is faded)(John Christopher Witt)
SF Witt daughter of E and H Witt was marriad to CW Bush nov 15-1883 (Sarah Forest)
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Under the Births heading:
Elijah Witt was born Dec the 15th 1824
Hannah Clark was born August the 7th-1830
Rachel Elizabeth Witt was born january the 26th-1850
Nancy Michael Witt was born January 28-1852
John Christopher Witt was born February the 8th 1854
Mary Agnes Witt was born Sept the 16th-1856
Marthy An Witt was born july the 22 1860
The infant was born Feb the 24 (?not sure it's a 4) 1865
(Note: After closer inspection and looking at death dates, I believe the death date is supposed to be Feb 2 and what I couldn't make out was a scratch out mark...and the year is 1863, not 1865. There is a crease right at the top of that number, as well as an ink spot, which is why I thought it was a 5. Hopefully, I am correct with a 3!)
Hannah (unreadable) Witt was born January 26-1864
(Note: I think the middle name for Hannah (daughter) is Rebeccah, but I'm not 100%.)
Sarah Forest Witt (no date)
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Under the Deaths heading:
Nancy Michail Witt Departed this life Sept the 30th-1861 She was The daughter of Elijah & Hannah Witt
The infant daughter of Elijah & Hannah Witt Departed This life February the 2nd 1863
Mr. E. Witt Died Dec. 30, 1898
___________________________
Then there is the picture Rev Elijah Witt and Hannah Clark-Witt. It is in pretty good shape considering its age. Here is that lovely picture below.
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| Rev. Elijah Witt and Hannah Clark-Witt of Tennessee/Texas. Picture courtesy of Angela Beth Jameson and family. |
Angela wrote:
The picture is on a cardboard that is stamped "Cabinet Portrait""T.B. Latham, Court Square, Union City, Tenn." There is no date on the picture.
As you can see it needed some work and since I'm handy at photo digital restoration I went to work on the picture and also made singles of them. So here for the first time are the digitally restored singles of Elijah and Hannah.
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| Rev. Elijah Witt of Tennessee digitally restored by Larry Van Horn |
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| Hannah Clark-Witt of North Carolina digitally restored by Larry Van Horn |
Rev. Elijah Witt was a Methodist minister who was born 15 December 1824 in Henry County, Tennessee, to Rev John D. Witt (1802-1851) and Rachel Meek (1802-1827). He died 30 December 1898 in Center Point, Kerr County, Texas and is buried in the Center Point Cemetery.
3rd great grandfather Elijah married Hannah Clark who was born 7 Aug 1830 in Anson County, North Carolina, to Christopher Clark (1791-1853) and Elizabeth Wilson (1789- ). She died 8 Jul 1908 in Center Point, Kerr County, Texas and is also buried in the Center Point Cemetery.
They were married 19 Oct 1848 in Henry County, Tennessee.
They were the parents of seven children:
1. Rachel Elizabeth Witt (1850-1948) married Michael Custer.
2. Nancy Mitchell Witt (1852-1861)
3. John Christopher Witt (1854-1925), a private in the Texas Ranger Frontier Battalion married Henrietta Elizabeth Lange. These are my second great grandparents.
4. Mary Agnes Witt (1856-1953) married Adam Everett Dobbs.
5. Martha Ann Witt 91860-1938) married James Steven Brown.
6. Infant Witt (1863-1863)
7. Sarah Forrest Witt (1864-1949) married Columbus Washington Bush.
So if you are related to any of the above, I would love to hear from you. Maybe you haven some pictures you can share with me.
