Our Somers Family Heritage

Willliam Henry Somers WWI US Army Photo

Son of William Henry and Lillian Mae Somers. Taken from Jesse Somers private family photo collection. Wm. Henry Somers Sr. with son Clyde Freeman Somers Image Source: Find A Grave Memorial BIRTH  6 Mar 1931 DEATH  4 May 1962 (aged 31) BURIAL Williams Cemetery Corning, Clay County, Arkansas, USA Source:  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/100169851/clyde-freeman-somers Spouse: Beatrice Brown Somers Married  October 19, 1956 BIRTH  6 Aug 1932 DEATH  9 May 2007 (aged 74) BURIAL Williams Cemetery Corning, Clay County, Arkansas, USA Source:  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19499292/beatrice-somers *As recorded in Lillian Somers Family Bible ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Aunt Bea, Uncle Clyde and Bea's younger sister Geraldine Here's a cute story about Uncle Clyde and Aunt Bea as told to me by Wallace Somers: Before Aunt Bea and Uncle Clyde married she worked at a resta...

3rd Great Grandmother Mary Ann Jones, 2nd Great Grandmother Nancy Jones Wright, Great Grandmother Maggie Lenoa Wright Weaver, Grandmother Lillian Mae Weaver Somers with oldest daughter Mamie Irene. Taken in the 1920's, Clay Co, Arkansas By Angela Wittman Some of my earliest memories are of my parents talking about our native ancestry, and I grew up with stories of being part Cherokee and how my Grandfather lied about his native ancestry to avoid discrimination. It was always taken for granted by my cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. on the Somers side that we are part Native American. So, when a cousin (now deceased) and I began looking for a “paper trail” of the Cherokee ancestry approximately 25 years ago and we couldn’t find documentation, I continued the research. I believe there is evidence that will lead to our native ancestry and I hope to present some of that evidence here. Henry Francis Somers I’ll begin with physical appearance: My Great Grandfather, Hen...

Grandfather William Henry Somers (43 yrs. old) with my father, Jesse Cecil, (2 yrs. old) riding his horse named "Sunday." This photo was taken in May or June of 1937 at their farm in Neelyville, Missouri.

Amazon  A friend and I have been discussing the book " Cracker Culture " by author Grady McWhiney which has some controversy surrounding it, mostly due to his theory that the Southern states culture before the Civil War was based on the Celtic culture of it's settlers and the Northern states of the English Puritan founders and that these differences were destined to collide. According to some reviews I've read, the author reportedly states the Southerners were more pastoral and did not have the same Protestant work ethic as the Northerners: "According to Grady McWhiney, the North and the South were destined to develop incompatible lifestyles because of each regions’ unique ethnic roots. Whereas the North came from the stock of industrious hard working Englishmen, the South spawned from the pastoral and primitive society of the British Isle’s Celtic people. Written in 1988, Cracker Culture presented the broadest attempt at surveying the common white man o...

By Angela Wittman For my dear friend Dee Galyon who recently reminded me the importance of keeping our loved ones memories alive and my dad who patiently cultivated a love of family history in me. My soon to be 80 year-old father called me yesterday and while his reason was to relay some family news, he soon began reminiscing about his years in the Air Force and travels to England and Scotland while in the service. And even though I was right in the middle of preparing dinner, I didn't mind the call or the stories. You see, I love my dad and my earliest memories are of him telling me family stories. I cannot help but think that the stories of my grandfather and his family helped shape my character. My grandfather was the "black sheep" of his family due to a tragic divorce between his parents and the circumstances of his father's accidental death. My grandfather blamed his mother, (a strong, independent woman), for both the divorce and death of his dad. S...

William Henry Somers My grandfather entered the Army at the young age of 23 years. He had been born in Tuckerman, Arkansas in 1894 and spent his childhood on the family farm in Stringtown, Butler County, Missouri. He was the oldest child of Henry Francis and Cotna Lisbeth (Cole) Somers. World War I Montage from Wikipedia One can only imagine the feelings of excitement mixed with loneliness for family and loved ones he felt as he left his small hometown for military service in Europe. But Grandfather was already a man, one who had matured at a young age when his father was killed in a work accident. He knew how to shoot, hunt for food and possessed a good amount of common sense. He was used to rough conditions and hard work from the years spent on the family farm. Little did he know when he joined the Army and was sent to the frontline of the conflict in Europe that those skills would prove to be valuable and help...

As recorded in the Somers Family Bible: Father's Name: William Henry Somers (Born August 2nd, 1894 - Tuckerman, Jackson Co., Arkansas - Passed Away March 7, 1976, Poplar Bluff, Butler Co., Missouri) His Father: Henry Francis Somers (Recorded as Henry Summers in the 1860 Jackson Co. Tennessee Census) His Mother: Cotna (Cotney) Lisbeth (Elizabeth) Cole (also listed as Harris and Tidwell) Henry Francis Somers Family Line Father - Abraham Somers (Birth: Approximately 1820, Jackson County, Tennessee) Mother - Darcus Somers (Birth: Approximately 1824, Listed as both Alabama and North Carolina) Grandfather - John Somers (Birth: Approximately 1782, Caswell County, North Carolina - Death: Approximately 1856, Jackson County, Tennessee) Grandmother - Rebecca Wright (Birth: Before 1786) Great Grandfather - Captain John Somers (Revolutionary War) (Birth: September 7, 1750 - Death: April 1, 1803 Caswell County, NC) Great Grandmother - Catherine Arden (Birt...

Marriage Record: Husband: William Henry Somers Birth Date: August 2nd, 1894 Wife: Lillian Mae Weaver Birth Date: September 24, 1903 Date of Marriage: February 5th, 1920 Performed by: O.A. McKeney, Justice of the Peace at Poplar Bluff, Missouri