Today is the 68th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  I’ve posted the obituary of my great grand uncle, John Cameron “Jack” Parsons, which was featured in the 11/23/1989 edition of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.  “Big Jack” was married to my great grand aunt, Erby Katheryn Parsons (Davis) and a Pearl Harbor survivor. He served with the United States Navy during World War II and the Korean War.  Erby was a “Rosie the Riveter”, a term used to describe the women who worked in the maufacturing plants during World War II, bulding munitions and materiel, in Fort Worth, Texas:

 John Cameron (Jack) Parsons, 73, died November 21, 1989 at his residence.

He was a member of the Lily Baptist Church of Lily, Kentucky.

Mr. Parsons had been a resident of Corpus Christi since 1953.  He was a veteran of WWII and the Korean Conflict and retired from the Navy with the following decorations: American Heart Defense Medal, American Theatre Medal and the Korean Service Ribbon.

He was the President of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, Member of the Fleet Reserve Association in Flour Bluff, Member of American Legion Bill Roper Post #364, Past Commander of American Legion Gragg-Sherrill Post #248, and a member of the Mayor’s Veterans Council.

He is survived by his wife, Erby Parsons, his son, Jack Cameron Parsons, his daughter, Carolyn Jean Sullivan, all of Corpus Christi, two brothers, Bill Parsons of Fairfield, Ohio and Harold Parsons of Hamilton, Ohio, four sisters, Lucy Hopkins of Lily, Kentucky, Evelyn Martin of Oceanside, California, Doris Jean Grimes and Allie [illegible] of Hamilton, Ohio, one stepdaughter, Janice Pate of Mexia, Texas, 11 grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. Thursday evening, November 23, 1989 at the Everhart Chapel.  Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Friday, November 24, 1989 at the Everhart Chapel with Chaplain Richard C. Hettish, Dr. Loren White, Rev. Richard D. Worden and Chaplain Abel Chapa officiating.

Members of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association will act as Honorary Pallbearers.

For those wishing to make donations, the family has designated the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, Local Chapter #5, c/o A.J. Dunn, Treasurer, 3105 Seafoam, Corpus Christi, Texas 78418.

Brian Davis – James Michael Davis – James Nead Davis – Sherman Harry Davis (brother-in-law of John Cameron Parsons)

Recently, I used the “find famous relatives” tool on ancestry.com and these were the results:

Davis Family

George Wythe (1726-1806) Virginia Representative. 3rd cousin 10 times removed
Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003) American Actress. 7th cousin 3 times removed
Chester Alan Arthur (1830-1886) 21st President of the United States. 6th cousin 5 times removed
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American Author. 5th cousin 7 times removed
Sam Bass (1851-1878) American Outlaw. 6th cousin 5 times removed
William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951) Newspaper Magnate. 6th cousin 6 times removed
Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) 28th President of the United States. 6th cousin 7 times removed
Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957) American Author. 8th cousin 3 times removed
Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor (1788-1852) First Lady. 4th cousin 11 times removed
Robert Penn Warren (1905-1989) American Poet and Novelist.  7th cousin 5 times removed
John Peters Ringo (1850-1882) American Outlaw. 8th cousin 3 times removed
Pretty Boy Floyd (1904-1934) American Outlaw.  8th cousin 3 times removed
Gregory Peck (1916-2003) American Actor.  9th cousin 2 times removed
William Lamb (1779-1848) Politician.  7th cousin 6 times removed
William Wordsworth (1770-1850) English Poet.  7th cousin 6 times removed
Clyde Barrow (1909-1934) Infamous American Robber.  8th cousin 4 times removed
Edwin Hubble (1889-1953) American Astronomer.  10th cousin
Bette Davis (1908-1989) American Actress.  10th cousin 1 times removed
John Cage (1912-1992) American Composer.  9th cousin 3 times removed
Walt Disney (1901-1966) American Animator.  9th cousin 3 times removed
Butch Cassidy (1866-1908) American Outlaw.  7th cousin 8 times removed
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) Scottish Novelist and Poet.  8th cousin 7 times removed
Button Gwinnett (1735?-1777) Georgia Representative.  7th cousin 11 times removed
Elizabeth Browning (1806-1861) English Author and Poet.  10th cousin 5 times removed
Bob Hope (1903-2003) American Actor.  7th cousin 13 times removed
William Charles Wentworth (1790-1872) Early Settler. 12th cousin 5 times removed

Williams Family

Harriet Lane (1830-1903) First Lady (niece of bachelor President James Buchanon).  3rd cousin 7 times removed 
John Allerton (1591?-1920) Mayflower Passenger.  12th great grand uncle
Isaac Newton (1643-1727) Scientist and Mathematician. 1st cousin 14 times removed
William Brewster (1567-1644) Mayflower Passenger. 1st cousin 15 times removed
Thomas McKean (1734-1817) Delaware Representative. 6th cousin 6 times removed
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) English Poet. 5th cousin 10 times removed
Lucy Ware Webb Hayes (1831-1889) First Lady.  7th cousin 6 times removed

Davis and Williams Families (Yikes!)

Zachary Taylor (1784-1850) 12th President of the United States.  4th cousin 7 times removed 

Maybe I can get a discount at Disney World from cousin Walt?  Click here if you need help understanding the various “cousin” relationships.  It basically means if you go back far enough, these famous people and I have a common ancestor.

Davis Family Christmas 2009 Portrait

Click here to view the complete Christmas portrait picture set.  Pictured above are: Kaylyn Michelle Davis (daughter), Charlyn Davis (Cajipe/wife), Brian Michael Davis (me), and Jackson Scott Davis (son).

Thanksgiving 2009 - Lufkin, Texas

Click here to view the complete set of Thanksgiving 2009 pictures taken at my parents’ house in Lufkin, Texas.  Pictured are: Charlyn Davis (Cajipe/wife), Brian Michael Davis (me), Jackson Scott Davis (son), Christine Davis (Williams/mother), Kaylyn Michelle Davis (daughter), James Michael Davis (father), Kathleen Sui (future sister-in-law), and Scott Williams Davis (brother).

Annell Dorsett (Davis), my great grand aunt, was born 1/16/1903  in Mexia, Texas.  She died of complications from a miscarriage at the Baptist Sanitarium in Dallas, Texas on 6/3/1921.  Annell was 18 years-old at the time of her death.  She had recently married R. Dorsett.  I am still searching for information on her husband.  Her gravesite is located at Forest Glade Cemetery in Mexia, Texas, alongside other members of the Davis family.

Brian Davis – James Michael Davis – James Nead Davis – Sherman Harry Davis (brother of Annell Davis)

Mike and Allan Davis Portrait

My father, James Michael “Mike” Davis, and his brother (my uncle), Kenneth Allan Davis.  Many thanks to Margie Richardson (Hargrave) for sending the picture.

Brian Davis – James Michael Davis (brother of Kenneth Allan Davis)

Woody Burl Davis, my grand uncle, was born 9/26/1925 in Mexia, Texas, to Sherman and Margie Davis (Kirkpatrick.)  The oldest of four children, Woody served as a Private with the United States Marine Corps during World War II (see earlier post.) 

“W. B.” married Marjorie Ann Johnson and had three children: Judy Kay, Cheryl, and John.  He worked for the Mexia State School, a residential facility for those with developmental disabilities.  Woody passed away on June 22, 2001, in College Station, Texas.  He was buried in Point Enterprise Cemetery, located in Mexia.

I remember visiting the Point Enterprise Cemetery while living in College Station.  My wife and I took a short road trip to visit Woody’s gravesite and took the pictures just before sunset. 

Brian Davis – James Michael Davis – James Nead Davis (brother of Woody Burl Davis)

Micky and Beth Cross Wedding Picture

Many thanks to Beth Cross (Hargrave) for providing this photo of the Davis family, taken at her wedding to Micky Cross on 5/21/1977.

Front Row:  Steve Jackson, James Davis, Bobby Harris, Mike Davis (Brian Davis on knee), Johnny Davis, Allan Davis, Mike Hargrave, Paul Hargrave

Middle Row:  Pat Davis, Lynda Hargrave, Virginia Bauer (Davis), Georgia Davis (Barlow), Judy Kay Harris (Davis), Chris Davis (Williams), Annell Hargrave (Davis),  Anna (Hargrave family), Margie Hargrave, Beth Cross (Hargrave), Micky Cross, John Hatridge (groomsman)

Third Row:  Stew Bauer,  Dolly Jackson (McClinton), Ivan Neal Jackson Sr., Woody Davis, Margie Davis (Johnson), Mary Voight (Hargrave family)

James Isaac Kirkpatrick Military Headstone

James Isaac Kirkpatrick, my 4th great grandfather, was born 10/13/1827 in Tennessee.  He later moved to Cherokee County, Texas and married Martha Margaret Fulton there on 12/9/1949.  “Isaac”, as he was known, lived in Cherokee County the rest of his life.  He prospered as a farmer, and, according to the 1860 United States Federal Census, owned a 12 year-old female house slave.

Isaac served as a Private in the 17th Texas Cavalry (Confederate States of America) during the Civil War.  He passed away on 4/15/1912 at the age of 84 and was buried in Union Grove Cemetery in Jacksonville, Texas. 

To this point, I have been unable to locate any information on his lineage.  I hope to visit the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research in the near future, with the hopes of uncovering more information.

Brian Davis – James Michael Davis – James Nead Davis – Marjorie Leaine Davis (Kirkpatrick) – Woodie Tarrant Kirkpatrick – John Marion Kirkpatrick – James Isaac Kirkpatrick

My wife and I recently returned from a cruise aboard the Disney Wonder.  We had a “wonderful” time aboard the ship and visiting Blue Lagoon Island and Castaway Cay in the Bahamas.  Click here to view the picture set from our vacation.  I’m refreshed and ready to do some genealogy!