Fannie Martha Thomas was born Oct. 7, 1847, in Palmyra, Missouri, to Horace Lacels Thomas and Hannah Francis Hawkins. On Jan. 22, 1868, she married Thomas Jefferson Pate in Miami, Missouri. They had five children. Fannie was an active campaigner for women’s rights. When the family moved to Colorado in 1889, Fannie was so sick with asthma that she rode on a stretcher in the baggage car. She was 42 at the time and people in Missouri never expected to see her alive again. Even though she was never very healthy, she lived to the age of 82. She died of tuberculosis on November 24, 1929. She is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Denver. The second photo is Fannie at 16-years-old.

His name was, Thomas Taylor Farrow (my 4th great-uncle), the brother of my 3rd great-grandfather, Ransom. Tom was in the 14th Alabama Infantry, Company H, Jackson's Avengers. 

I am so lucky that he told his Civil War stories to his grandson, Frank Farrow. He said he traded tobacco with Yankee soldiers by floating it across on bark and leaves while guarding the Chickahominy River. He said that in or around Fredericksburg, they were in a big snow. They cut Cedar trees and lay them under their blankets to use as a mattress so when the snow covered them, it wasn’t quite as bad. He said in the mornings, you could rise up and see little holes all around where the men were breathing. 

This is a historic image, if you notice his buckle is "AVC" for Alabama Volunteer Corps, which is seen here backwards (as a negative) because it appears here in an ancient ambrotype or tintype. 

The knife he is holding was known as an “Alabama Toothpick”.

Two of his other brothers, George and Wesley also served in the 14th and, Ransom served in the 1st Alabama Conscripts.

Thomas Taylor Farrow ~ 1841-1926 

Henry Clay Burnett's family home near Una in 

Antioch, Tennessee

This is the home of my great-grandparents, Henry Clay Burnett 1850-1929 and Willie Dici (Greer) Burnett 1871-1906. That’s Willie sitting on the front porch and her mother, Valeria (Mitchell) Greer 1847-1921 in the yard with Willie’s three children, Robertson, Virginia and the baby, Kate. Willie was born in September 1871 in the Antioch area of Nashville, Tennessee. She married, Henry Clay Burnett on Dec. 24, 1893. Henry was 21-years her senior. He was a widower and already had seven children. Their marriage brought three more kids into the family of which one was my grandfather, Robertson Clay Burnett. 

Willie struggled with some unknown demons, ie., depression, etc., and at some point was admitted to the Davidson County Asylum. Her sisters rallied for her release and they succeeded. Upon her emancipation, she ended her own life on Dec. 6, 1906, at the young age of 35. So many advancements have been made in years since in the medical field. Could a depression medication have saved her? We shall never know. I have read about treatments that were administered during this era and they are heartbreaking. The physicians didn't really know what to do with people who had a mental illness. 

I am sad for her struggles. Every story can't be a happy one. I only hope she had some happy days in her life and I thank her for giving me, the chance to be me. 

https://www.savefamilyphotos.com/?s=debbie+smartt

She is the reason for my obsession for family history. My great-aunt was Helen Elizabeth (Pate) Ross. 

Birth:	Feb. 22, 1925 Clinton DeWitt County Illinois, USA
Death:	Aug. 10, 2008 Maryville Madison County Illinois, USA
Helen was a homemaker whose greatest joy and love was her family. She had a passion for genealogy and had published six books based on her research. She was always excited when she found a "new" cousin. She was a very positive person who had an effect on the life of everyone she came in contact with. She was married to her husband Jim for 61 years and had three children, eight grandchildren and 6 great- grandchildren. She had friends all over the country because of her genealogy work. People who were researching their families were always glad to find her because she was a goldmine of information. She would have not wanted us to be sad, but celebrate her life as she celebrated her ancestors. Thank you, Auntie, for all your hard work and dedication. I am keeping your research and your story alive.

What a great family! It is hard to know where to start. I have many photos and stories about these great people who made me who I am, who we are. Follow along, I promise there will be something for all the branches and some roots on our huge tree! Thank you!