Mam-ma's Southern Family

Eliza Kirby was born in Faulkner County, Arkansas on 12 November 1876 to Robert R. Kirby and Sarah Cathrine Howard. [1] She had two brothers and four sisters; all four sisters died in infancy. In 1880, the family was living in Hardin Township in Faulkner County. [2] Their household included her grandmother, Francis Howard and an aunt, Eliza Hinsley. Is it possible she was named after this aunt? When Eliza was just seven years old, her father died in 1883. [3]   Her mother remarried 23 Oct 1887 to James J. Robinson. [4] Eliza married George Alonzo “Lon” Loveless on 20 Jan 1898. [5] They were both of 21 years of age and living in Linder, a community in Faulkner County. P.H. Glover, the minister at the Greenbrier Baptist Church married them. Faulkner County, Arkansas, marriage between GL Loveless and Eliza Kirby  Lon and Eliza had three children, all who grew to adulthood and married: Doyle Elbin Loveless Meda Orthal Lovelss Gladys Loveless Lon purcha...

I just love visiting and researching in small towns and counties. This past month I had the chance to conduct research in Conway, which is the county seat for Faulkner County in Arkansas. The total population for the county is 113,237 and Conway is the largest city at about 60,000. [1]  It is not far from Little Rock but had a very small-town feel. Research opportunities abounded in town. I first visited the Faulkner County Museum , where director, Lynita Langley-Ware, assisted me. I found county maps, funeral home records, and more. One great find was a history of the Needs Creek Baptist Church which mentioned my great-great grandfather as a minister. I also visited the two county offices: County Clerk in the Courthouse where the probate and vital records were stored, and the CountyCircuit Clerk where the land and court records were stored. We checked both offices, looking for the book which had the filed credentials of my minister gg-grandfather. It had been filed...

I'm planning a road trip to Arkansas, specifically Faulkner County and Little Rock, to do some genealogy research on my grandmother's Loveless line. Places I plan to visit: Ouachita Baptist University, Special Collections, in the Riley-Hickingbotham Library . Here I hope to learn more about my great-great-grandfather, Ebenezer Loveless, who was a Baptist minister. They're open 8 to 5 and an archivist will be there to help me. University of Central Arkansas where the Faulkner County Historical Society has their holdings. Not only did the Loveless family move to Arkansas from Georgia, but so did the Rodgers and Nixon families. Hendrix College has a genealogy library and the Faulkner County Library has a genealogy section. T he Faulkner County Museum will also be a great place to stop to learn about local history. This museum is open Monday through Thursday from 9 to 4. I contacted the director of the museum and she plans to be there the day I arrive to help m...

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has created a new theme called 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks . I think it’s a great way to write about one person. This will help me see what I have and what I’m missing for additional research. My first ancestor to write about is Elizabeth Nixon (1810-?) .  She is my third great-grandmother on my mother’s side. I know very little about her: Elizabeth Nixon was born around 1810 in South Carolina. I know this from several census records: 1850 in Cass Co, Georgia; 1860 in Cass Co, Georgia; and 1870 in Chattooga Co, Georgia. [1]   Elizabeth Nixon married Jesse Loveless around 1828 perhaps in Greenville Co, South Carolina and their first eight children were also born in South Carolina. They moved to Georgia sometime between 1843 (birth of Elizabeth Loveless) and 24 Jan 1848 when their ninth child, Jesse M. Loveless was born. (There is a big gap between these two children so there might be other children born and died before the 185...

George Alonzo “Lon” Loveless was my great-great uncle, an older brother of my great-grandmother, Lela Ann Loveless. He was born 11 January 1876 probably in Faulkner Co, Arkansas to Ebenezer Loveless and Eliza A. Rogers. [1]  He married first to Eliza Kirby on 20 January 1898 in Faulkner Co. They had three children. She passed away on 18 April 1906. Lon then married Nancy “Nannie” MacPherson on 30 Dec 1906 in Faulkner Co. [2]  Lon and Nannie had 2 children. Here is the image of the marriage record. The transcription follows. This marriage record has five parts: the bond, the affidavit, the license, the marriage certificate, and certificate of record. They were all on one page in the Faulkner County Marriage Book K, page 272.  I have divided up the page so the transcription follows the image. THE STATE OF ARKANSAS, }             BOND FOR MARRIAGE COUNTY OF FAULKNER.     } SS Know all Men by Thes...