Our Somers Family Heritage

  Mose and Mary Ann Jones have been somewhat of a mystery to me. As you can see in this image of Grandma's Bible, she didn't have much information to record. However, due to today's interest in genealogy and technology, I have found some additional information on her great grandparents. According to Geni.com , Mary Ann's maiden name was Ballard. She was born on July 13, 1839 in Henry, Tennessee  and died December 13, 1929 in Ripley (County?) Missouri . (See also:  Mary A Ballard Jones (1839-1929) - Find a Grave Memorial ) She was the wife of J. Malachi Jones (Mose?) who was born March 26, 1826 in North Carolina and died in Ripley (County?) Missouri August 17, 1897 at 71 years of age. (You can view his gravesite at:  J. Malachi Jones (1826-1897) - Find a Grave Memorial ) Their daughter Nancy E. Wright was my grandmother's grandmother. Nancy's daughter Maggie Leona Weaver was grandma's mother.  I remember as a young child grandma telling me that we were Bla...

Great, Great Grandparents George and Nancy Wright Source: Great Grandson Jess Somers' collection of family photos. Wiki Family Tree Links: George Washington Wright Jr. (1857 - 1937) Nancy Elizabeth Jones (1860 - 1934) Somers Family Tree For additional information, please see: George Washington Wright Jr. (RootsWeb) Obituary for George Washington Wright Jr.: PIONEER PASSED AWAY HERE LAST WEDNESDAY - 30 Apr 1937 George W. Wright, aged 79, highly respected pioneer citizen of Clay Co., passed away here last Wednesday at 6:20 p.m., at the home of his daugher, Mrs. W. F. Barnes. Mr. Wright was born on 22 June 1857 near Paragould, and removed to Randolph county when he was two years of age. He had resided in Clay county during the past 35 years. His funeral services were held Wednesday afternoon by Rev. R. L. Powell and internment was made in Williams cemetery. Mr. Wright was devout christian & a member of the Methodist church. Surviving are six ...

Grandmother Lillian Mae Weaver/Somers Grandmother Lillian Mae Weaver/Somers told me as a child our ancestry was "Black Welsh" and "Blackfoot Indian."  I remember asking her what is a "Black Welsh"? And Grandma replied that it simply meant we had dark hair and dark eyes. Here are my notes regarding Grandma's family surnames and their origin: Weaver - English origin. (Father's surname) Wright (Mother's surname) - English or Scottish origin. Casteal or Casteel (paternal Grandmother) - Dutch or Spanish origin. Jones (maternal Grandmother) - Welsh origin. Burdett (paternal Great Grandmother) - French or English origin. The Jones name certainly points to our Welsh ancestry, but what does "Black Welsh" mean?  Wikipedia has a stub article which says: Black Welsh people are inhabitants of Wales who have an African or a Caribbean background. Wales is home to one of the United Kingdom's oldest Afro communities, an...

Image is from the Clay County Courier, Corning, Arkansas, March 28, 1968 * The article states that a strong family resemblance is noted, and the strong family resemblance continues today in 2015 (90+ yrs. since this photo was taken) for the descendants of these lovely women. ** This article states the mother of Nancy (Jones) Wright as Nancy Jones, but the Somers Family Bible, as recorded by Lillian Mae (Weaver) Somers, states Mary Ann Jones as the mother of Nancy Wright.  I have found that Lillian's records in the Family Bible are accurate in other matters and believe the name used in this article for the 85 year old Mrs. Jones may be a misprint.