Notes of Births, Marriages and Deaths

   On April 6, 1886 Belle's sister Mary Bernice, died "after a long and painful illness."  Her obituary and the obituary of her infant son Edwin Clyde Pierce, who had died November 17, 1883, were glued together and pinned into the family bible. 

Obituaries of Edwin Clyde Pierce, 1883,
and Mary Bernice Tisdale Pierce, 1886.

Mary Bernice Tisdale Pierce c1870

Mary Tisdale married William Talbot Pierce on January 16, 1877. They had five children: Ruth, William, Mary Catherine, Lillie May, and Edwin Clyde. William died in infancy and Edwin died before he was 18 months old.

They were two of the many deaths in the family between 1875 and 1890.  Besides dozens of obituaries the old bible also held many yellowed newspaper clippings, telegrams, and handwritten notes with cryptic clues to family births, deaths and marriages. 

Perhaps it was during this time that Belle became interested in recording her family history. There were certainly many events to record.

In this note pinned to one of the pages she noted each of her children's births. It's interesting to see that she wrote after Belle's birth "She will be our last."

Funeral Notices

Bernice Connely Pratt and William Pratt c1870

Belle's Grandpa Pratt died on November 27, 1880 at the age of 78.  His obituary read:

DIED

November 27^th, 1880, at his residence, Oakland plantation, five miles East 

of the city of Baton Rouge, WILLIAM PRATT, aged 78 years 10 months.

The friends of the family are respectfully requested to attend his funeral 

to-morrow (Sunday) at 2 P. M.

Minneola, Texas, New Orleans, La., Georgetown, Ky. And Delphi, Indiana, 

papers will please copy.

Belle's mother and youngest siblings were living with Grandma Pratt in Baton Rouge and the family remained in touch with the Pratt and Connelly relatives back in Kentucky. 

Among the local obituaries and clippings in Belle Tisdale's papers were these two funeral notices for Mrs. Susan Hopkins and Mrs. Ann E. Moore.

Susan Pratt Hopkins (1804-1881) and Ann Elizabeth Pratt Moore (1800-1893) 
were William Pratt's sisters.