26 From Ashburn to Poe to Brown - And Back Again To Poe

 Martha Tennessee Ashburn Poe Brown

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 26 – June 23, 2025

Prompt: Favorite Name 

The name Martha Tennessee caught my attention long before I knew the full story of her life. A middle name like Tennessee practically guarantees a closer look when researching ancestors from that state. And the more I discovered about Martha Tennessee Ashburn Poe Brown, the more I realized her name wasn’t the only thing that stood out.

Martha was my 1st cousin 4x removed, the daughter of Sally Sarah McCorkle Ashburn, sister to Moses, Robert, Samuel Sr., and Stephen McCorkle. She had at least two sisters, Mary and Louisa. By 1850, Martha was a young woman with one young daughter, living in Warren County, Tennessee. That year she filed for divorce from Elijah Poe, stating that he had cursed and abused her, abandoned her with no support, admitted to adultery, and forcibly taken their daughter. The court agreed to dissolve the marriage, restore her rights as a single woman, and ordered that the child be returned to her.

And yet, sometime later, Elijah and Martha reconciled. A marriage license dated November 11, 1853 was issued but never returned—perhaps they didn’t complete the ceremony, or perhaps the paperwork was simply never filed. By 1860, however, they were living together again, listed in the census with four children.

Elijah Poe’s name comes up repeatedly in the Warren County court records—and not in a good way. In 1858, he was the victim of an attempted murder. Stephen McCorkle, one of Martha’s uncles, was indicted for assaulting Elijah with a pistol “with malice aforethought,” intending to kill him. Carroll McCorkle, another of Martha’s uncles, was also named in the same court session. We don’t know the details of the assault, but we can guess that tensions were running high. Remarkably, Elijah and Stephen are buried next to each other in Mt. Sinai Baptist Church Cemetery in McMinnville.

Elijah served in the Mexican-American War and later in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He was part of Company H, 16th Tennessee Regiment, alongside Samuel McCorkle Sr., Samuel Jr., and Stephen McCorkle. A Confederate parole document confirms that Elijah was released as a prisoner of war in 1863. He died in 1865 and is buried at Mt. Sinai with a military headstone acknowledging his service in the 1st Tennessee Infantry during the Mexican War.

After Elijah’s death, Martha continued to live with her widowed mother. In 1870, the two women were living together with three children. The following year, on January 19, 1871, Martha married Alexander “Buck” Brown. They had one child, but their marriage did not last. Court records show that in October 1870—just months before their wedding—Buck and Martha were both indicted by the Grand Jury in Warren County. By 1880, Martha was again listed as a widow, but the truth is more complicated. In 1888, she filed for divorce from Buck Brown, testifying that he deserted her within a year of marriage, fled the state to escape arrest on a theft charge, and failed to support her in any way for sixteen years. The court granted her a divorce and restored her name to Martha Poe.

Martha’s mother, Sally Sarah McCorkle Ashburn, lived with her daughter until her death. Both are buried in Mt. Sinai Cemetery, as is Sam McCorkle Sr., another central figure in this extended family saga. It seems Mt. Sinai holds more than just their remains—it holds the tangled story of a family full of bold personalities, complicated relationships, and deep Tennessee roots.

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25 Martha McCorkle's Fan Club: A Census-Based Revelation

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 25 – June 17, 2025

Prompt: Fan Club

Ancestor: Martha MNU McCorkle (b. ca. 1812, TN)

In genealogical circles, a FAN club doesn’t mean autograph signings or celebrity meet-and-greets—it refers to Friends, Associates, and Neighbors. Tracking the people who lived near your ancestor can often lead you to the truth about your ancestor’s origins. In the case of my third great-grandmother Martha McCorkle, it was three censuses and a wide cast of familiar surnames that revealed her likely place in the Overturf family.

Image created by ChatGPT

Martha appears as head of household in Warren County, Tennessee in the 1850, 1860, and 1870 federal censuses. In 1850, she’s listed with six children, including Daniel (b. ca. 1842) and Samuel (b. ca. 1849). No husband is present, and none of the children carry a middle name or suffix that might hint at a father’s identity. In each census, the household is modest, but it’s the neighborhood that matters most.

Back in 1850, I noticed a pattern. Just a few doors away were Stephen McCorkle, a possible younger relative, and several households with surnames that had shown up in my research before—Overturf, Cluck, and Roberts. In fact, a Sarah M. McCorkle appeared in one nearby home, living with a Roberts family. By 1860, Sarah Rea Overturf, a widow, was living next door to Martha. In 1870, Martha’s sons and daughter were living in close proximity to known McCorkle and Overturf descendants.

I began treating the neighborhood like a cast list, charting where each person lived and whether they connected to each other across decades. These families weren’t just neighbors—they intermarried, co-signed land records, and witnessed each other’s wills. I compiled “FAN Club” documents for each census year, mapping the movement and relationships of those clustered near Martha.

But what moved this from speculation to strong hypothesis was DNA. I already suspected that Martha was a McCorkle by marriage, not birth. The FAN club suggested a connection to the Overturf family, and my DNA results confirmed it: I now have 19 matches to known descendants of Philip Overturf and Delilah Barr, including lines through their children Margaret, Henry, Mary Polly, and Adam Jefferson.

Martha’s estimated birth year, ca. 1812, fits neatly into a 12-year gap between two of Philip and Delilah’s documented children: James (b. 1806) and Levina (b. 1818). She is the right age, in the right place, surrounded by the right people. And now, with the help of her FAN club and a growing DNA network, she may finally be in the right family.

This post doesn’t yet answer the question of which McCorkle Martha married—that’s still under investigation—but it does highlight how powerful census neighbors and quiet clues can be. Sometimes, all it takes is sitting down with three census pages, a highlighter, and an open mind.

And a fan club—because our ancestors didn’t live in isolation. They lived among kin, by blood or bond, and if you pay close enough attention, they will lead you home.

24 Peggy's Poems: The One About The Goat

 Mother Peggy Wallis

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 24 – June 9, 2025

Prompt: Artistic

Some artists paint with a brush. Others paint with words — and my mother, Peggy Wallis, knew how to spin real-life chaos into perfectly timed poems, never hesitating to embellish a story if it made it better. She knew how to hold a room, and her poems often left people laughing through tears.

This one, Our Dog Died, starts with a simple wish for a pet goat and ends… well, you’ll see. It’s a vivid portrait, painted entirely in her words.

Peggy and her "two dollar goat" Ivan - the beginning of a very real and very funny story. 

Page 1

                                                                        OUR DOG DIED

We needed a pet, a goat I had in mind.

So I searched but one I couldn’t find.

I called the Livestock Auction and said if they had one for sale,

To bid me in on it and then give me a yell.

I had in mind a nanny goat that was sweet and clean —

’Cause I had heard that “Billy” goats got smelly and real mean.

Well, the telephone rang the next morning at eight,

And they said come on down and they would open the gate.

It turned out the little “Kid” was just one day old,

And if not for my bid it would not have been sold

It couldn’t stand up; it wobbled and shook —

And I fell in love with “her” at the very first look.

They said it would need to be fed from a bottle —

For just a few days ’til it learned to toddle.

You might need to give it a few oats from a pan,

And be sure the milk is rich and comes from a can.

I stopped by the store for a bottle and nipple —

It started to suck but could get not a ripple.

So I made two more holes right in the top,

“She” drank and drank and wouldn’t stop.

I bought Quaker Oats cause that seemed best,

But I’ll tell you Quaker didn’t pass the test.

I named her Ivy, after the song,

From “Mares Eat Oats” but I was wrong.

The two things behind that looked like an “udder” —

Just looked that way ’cause I was her mudder (mother).

Feeding Ivan by bottle - before the surprise discovery that "she" was actually a "he". 

I held her and fed her for a day or two,

And then I learned something shocking and new.

My husband came out and took one look,

And what he said really got me shook!

The udders I saw were really male balls,

And when I saw for sure I climbed the walls!

I went to the library and got a book,

And “she” was a Billy the more I looked!

I decided to enter him in the County Fair,

But found out “no Billy’s” when I got there!

They gave me the message that he could be “fixed”,

And my emotions were really mixed!

I called the Vet to get his advice —

For nine dollars he “altered” him but he was nice!

I took him there in the new T-Bird,

And such a loud yell you never have heard!

Not from the goat but from the Vet’s new wife,

She assisted him when he took out the knife.

A few days on the bottle wasn’t quite right,

’Cause I was feeding him morning, noon, and night!

Seven weeks went by and I was still his mother,

He would take the bottle but nothing other.

Page 2

But one night I came home and what should I see?

He was eating a leaf from a redbud tree.

Well, his “balls” didn’t grow, but his horns sure did,

So I called the vet to see if they should be rid.

He said not to worry ’til it became cool weather —

’Cause horns and goats really go together.

So from “Ivy” to Ivan his name became.

The neighbor kids came to see me, 

But I knew it was Ivan they wanted to see.

I read in a book that goats like company.

So at a garage sale I bought rabbits, but only three.

They got along well, as I had been told, 

But you can guess what I should have knowed!

The three rabbits soon turned out to be eight!

They were cuddly and really great.

The eight soon turned into sixteen,

And the sight of them you can never dream.

“Ivan” got too big to sit on my lap,

And I had to clean up a lot of crap!

Well, the weather got cold and I got lazy,

And taking care of those animals drove my poor husband crazy.

Besides, the feed bill was out of sight,

’Cause we had to feed them morning, noon and night!

Ivan got big and could block and butt like a pro,

And my husband came in and said, “these pets must go!!”

I called all my friends and advertised in the paper,

And would you believe I had not one taker?

It was January and getting colder and colder,

And old Ivan kept getting bolder and bolder!

At last I called the "Wilderness Zoo",

To see if there was anything they could do.

They were very excited and wanted them all - 

And thanked me and thanked me for my call.

They promised to come the very next day —

And give them a lovely place to stay.

So here I sit all sad and broken hearted,

To think what a two dollar goat was how it all started.

P.S.

Would you believe it’s after 8:00 p.m. –

The zoo people didn’t show – not one sign of them.

We had caught all the does and put in with the buck –

And all they’ve done is fuck and fuck!

So instead of getting rid of my zoo –

I’m starting multiplying two by two.

Thirty-eight years of marriage I have on the line,

I’ve got a problem and running out of time!

Page 3

I called a radio show called “Dial a Trade”,

’Cause I’d heard of some good deals they had made.

The first caller wanted to trade a rooster and hen,

I said, “no deal”, I just couldn’t win!

The next one wanted to know the price,

And I’ll tell you this, I didn’t think twice!

“I’ll take ten bucks for the lot of them”,

(This seemed better than a rooster and hen.)

“They are all yours if you come today,

And promise to take them all away!”

He came driving up with ten “bucks” okay –

But they were white and furry and this was his pay!

“You told me ten bucks on the phone!” he repeated,

And I knew right then I was gonna be cheated!

So we talked and haggled and our toes in the snow,

But I knew, and he knew, those pets had to go.

Well, finally I said you can have them all,

I don’t want a penny, just start to haul!

He rented a “Jar Tram” and as he drove out of sight,

I knew it was nearly the end of my plight!

Just Ivan the goat is left to go -

But it’s dark and cloudy and starting to snow.

My husband came home and said “we’ll keep him awhile,”

It was the first time in a week he had seen me smile!

        “Just one other thing I want to tell you,

        You’re grounded from auctions and garage sales too!”

        But it’s okay with me, he didn’t get my goat,

        And it’s because of Ivan this poem was wrote.

                                        January 19, 1983 – Robert E. Lee’s Birthday

                                        By Peggy Wallis

23 A Golden Reunion

Paternal Great Grandparents: Benjamin Logan Wallis and Sophia McCool

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 22 May 27, 2025

Prompt: Reunions

Anniversary celebrations are a special kind of reunion, gathering family and friends across generations to honor lasting love and shared history. Whether it’s five years or fifty, these milestone gatherings offer a moment to reflect on the past, reconnect with loved ones, and celebrate the bonds that endure.

One such gathering took place on July 4, 1915, when my great-grandparents, Benjamin Logan Wallis and Sophia McCool Wallis, celebrated their golden wedding anniversary at their home in LaHarpe, Kansas. Their fiftieth anniversary was a true family reunion, attended by children, grandchildren, and friends who came from near and far.

Benjamin Logan and Sophia Wallis with their children, 1898 in Iola or LaHarpe, Allen County, Kansas.

 

Seated in front are Benjamin Logan Wallis and his wife Sophia McCool Wallis.

Standing behind them, from left to right:

Charles Lewis "Lew" Woten and Gertrude “Gertie” Mae Wallis Woten;

behind and between them is Charles Bertrum Wallis;

center are Calvin Luther "Cal" Morrison and Emma Maud Wallis Morrison;

and on the right, Scott Adelma Wallis and Julia “Dollie” Daniels Wallis.

Absent from the photo is their son, William Clinton Wallis.

Sophia’s dress, with its modest high neck and wide ribbon-like sashes, may have been her wedding dress or a special garment worn for the marriage celebration of her son Scott earlier that spring — a subtle reminder of family ties and traditions. Sophia holds a small dog on her lap, with another dog seated beside Benjamin.

Seventeen years after this photograph was taken, Benjamin and Sophia gathered many of the same faces to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary as reported in the Iola Register, July 7, 1915.

CELEBRATE GOLDEN WEDDING

MR. AND MRS. B.L. WALLICE WEDDED JULY 4, 1865

Wedding Day Was Spent On Tippeecanoe Battle Ground Listening to News of Lee’s Surrender

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Logan Wallis celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding at their home in LaHarpe Sunday afternoon.

The two oldest sons and their families of Oklahoma were unable to be present, but the youngest son, C. B. Wallis, wife and little daughter, also of Oklahoma were present. The oldest daughter, Mrs. Morrison and husband of Moran, and Mrs. Woten and family of Iola were present also. Aside from the family, these friends did their best to make the bride and groom forget they were on the down grade of life and as an aside did ample justice to the more than bountiful dinner to which they sat down and it was claimed that one lady ate so much of the extra fine ice cream that she had an icicle hanging on her chin.

Mr. and Mrs. Wallis received some handsome presents. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold and Mr. and Mrs. George Baker of Iola, gold cuff buttons and gold broach; Mr. and Mrs. Abe Mason, souvenir spoons; Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, picture; Mr. and Mrs. C. L. Woten of Iola, Bible; Mr. and Mrs. Huck of Iola, gold thimble; Mrs. M. Stroud, hand embroidered handkerchief and hand embroidered center piece; Mr. and Mrs. Cal Morrison of Moran, handmade portière and handmade mantel lambrequin; Mr. C. B. Wallis of Oklahoma, two 2½ dollar gold pieces; Mrs. C. B. Wallis, handmade bed spread which occupied four months in making; Mrs. Correll, bon-bon dish; Mr. and Mrs. Gladfelter and daughter of Iola, ___; Mrs. Carner of Iola, gold edged glasses; Miss  Eva Faddis, doiley; Mr. and Mrs. Mueller of Indiana, dollar bill; Harold and Alene Woten, dozen carnations; Mrs. Fritz and Mrs. Walker; Mrs. Swartman. These friends who were not present sent tokens of remembrance: Mrs. A. A. Tinker, of Ohio, dollar bill; Mrs. Joseph Ross of Indiana, guest towel embroidered with gold; Mrs. Geo. Wallis and daughter Alta of Indiana, bath towels embroidered in gold.

The dining room and large front porch were gay with Fourth of July decorations, and after dinner, Mr. Spradley came up and took a picture of the crowd in front of the house.

For souvenirs there were cards of Mr. and Mrs. Wallis printed in gold with little gold bells attached.

Late in the evening, the friends departed wishing the bride and groom many more as merry anniversaries as this one had been.

As part of the day’s celebration, Benjamin Logan Wallis read an original poem he had written for Sophia:

To my Wife on Our 50th Wedding Anniversary, July 4th, 1915.

Dear wife, on this our golden day,

Our hearts with ardor glow,

As when we first joined heart and hand,

Just fifty years ago.

The silken tie, that bound us then

To each, for good or ill,

Hath closer drawn as years have sped

And finds us lovers still.

Of joys that fall to mortals here,

We’ve surely had our share;

And sorrow, too, but when they come,

We still found strength to bear.

We’ve sought each others joys to share,

Each others griefs to bear;

And found in each our comfort still,

As life sped year by year.

The Lord, and blessed be His name,

Hath lengthened out our days.

The night now spreads your silver tent,

Your hair displays God’s praise.

We’re drawing fast toward eventide,

Our numbered years grow slow;

But still I clasp my bonny bride

Of fifty years ago.

And still looks with brightening ray,

Our early toast,

Our happy goal,

Our life in endless day,

And endless joy, at last.

Among the keepsakes from that celebration, one treasure has been passed down through the generations. My Aunt Gladys Wallis White — the little girl mentioned in the newspaper article — attended the anniversary celebration with her parents in 1915. In 1995, Aunt Gladys gave me her souvenirs from that day: a honeycomb red, white, and blue streamer and one of the gold-printed cards with a little bell attached for display at my parents golden anniversary.  I placed them in a shadow box before the celebration of my parents' fiftieth wedding anniversary — Ralph David Wallis and Margaret Ella Nolen Wallis. After the party, Aunt Gladys smiled and said they were mine to keep — a tangible connection to two golden anniversaries, eighty years apart.

The shadowbox displayed at my parents Golden Anniversary celebration in 1995. 

Honeycomb streamer from the 1915 Golden Anniversary. 

22 A Wedding Amid the End of War

Paternal Great Grandparents: Benjamin Logan Wallis and Sophia McCool

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 23 June 3, 2025

Prompt: Wedding Bells

Some weddings are grand celebrations; others are marked by the historical moment in which they happen. For my great-great-grandparents, Benjamin Logan Wallis and Sophia McCool, their marriage was woven into the fabric of a nation just emerging from civil war.

Benjamin Logan Wallis and Miss Sophia McCool were married in Lafayette, Indiana, on July 4, 1865, after spending the day at Tippecanoe battle ground where an immense crowd of people, estimated at 10,000, gathered to rejoice over the news of Lee’s surrender. They listened to speeches of the governors of the different states, and in the evening went into the city and were married at a hotel, Mr. Wallis having recently returned from the war.

Wedding Dress as imagined by ChatGPT.

Before their wedding, Sophia McCool sat for a portrait dressed in the prevailing style of the day: a plain, tight waist paired with an immense hoop skirt and a dress skirt five or six yards around. The fashion of the time reflected both formality and elegance — a fitting choice for a young woman about to embark on a new life after years of national hardship.

Married on the Fourth of July, Benjamin and Sophia’s life together began with the same spirit of hope and renewal that the day represents. Their marriage would become the foundation of a patriotic family, with soldiers in every generation, honoring the values they quietly celebrated from the very start.