Charles Hiram Tisdale

   Belle's youngest brother, Charles Hiram Tisdale,  was born 30 May 1874 in New Orleans. He was always known as Harry. Grandpa and Great Aunt Noo always called him Uncle Harry. I always called him The Beautiful Uncle Harry.

Charles Hiram "Harry" Tisdale
1874-1913

   A lot of the clippings tucked into the Booksh Bible refer to him. The earliest clipping was from the  June 11, 1889 Baton Rouge Daily Advocate saying that School Superintendent Tunard awarded "the gold medal offered by Dr. J. W. Dupree to the scholar most proficient in physiology...to Master Harry Tisdale."

  The Aug. 15, 1894 New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that the Police Jury "...selected Harry Tisdale beneficiary cadet at the State University and A. and M. College. Young Tisdale is a bright youth, who has given evidence of fine intellectual qualities. It is thought that he will reflect credit upon the parish."

   The next clipping mentioning Harry is from the New Orleans Times Democrat announcing the marriage of Harry Tisdale and Miss Lucy Vaughan on January 3, 1906:

  "Special to The Times-Democrat. - Brusly Landing, Jan.3 - Harry Tisdale and Miss Lucy Vaughan two popular young people were married here yesterday morning. The ceremony took place at St. John the Baptist Church, Rev. Father Buquet officiating. Immediately after the ceremony they left for Tuscaloosa, Ala., their home."

Harry and Lucy's marriage license was among Belle's papers. We thought that was odd until we realized that Lucy had died on  just a little over a year after they were married.

TRANSCRIPTION

From photocopy of newspaper clipping in the West Baton Rouge Sugar Planter

MRS. LUCY VAUGHAN TISDALE

The parish at large, and particularly the Brusly community, was shocked beyond measure to learn of the sudden death of Mrs. Lucy Vaughan Tisdale, third daughter of Mrs. Henry Vaughan, of Brusly and wife of Harry Tisdale. Mrs. Tisdale died suddenly at Chattanooga, Tenn., on Friday last. The announcrment of the dreadful news was totally unexpected. Mrs. Tisdale was married only a little over a year ago. Shortly after leaving home she was in delicate health for some months, but she quite recovered her health and appeared to be thriving in the Tennessee climate. Mr. Tisdale, her husband, was employed by the Government in some engineering work at Chattanooga.

Prior to her marriage, as Miss Lucy Vaughan, the teacher of the Levert school for several terms, she was known and loved and honored as are few teachers. And when she left to cast her lot with that of her chosen husband, patrons and pupils alike mourned her departure and felt that “Miss Lucy” could not be replaced. And this is the strongest tribute that can be paid in her memory, for to be so deeply loved and honored by the children shows the possession of the finest and truest attributes of character.

Mrs. Tisdale's remains were brought home, reaching Brusly Sunday, and at the funeral held on Monday morning a large concourse of friends from different parts of the parish followed the bereaved mother and sisters, and to the grief-stricken husband, the Planter extends its deepest, most heartfelt sympathy.

1904-1905 Arithmetic Classes

There were three clues for this post. The first was a Home Institute Night School Certificate of Merit for Arithmetic dated 06 June 1904 awarded to W. T. Booksh. He would have been 18 years old. 

The second clue was a newspaper clipping headlined MEDALS AND AWARDS:  

              

Wilton Booksh's name is on line 4 of the Arithmatic paragraph.

The third clue was a collection of undated pages with what appears to be arithmatic homework.

By searching on the Genealogy Bank website I was able to find the whole newspaper article "Sophie Wright's Free Night School Holds Its Annual Commencement at Greenwall Theatre" on page 12 of the June 2, 1905 Times-Picayune paper. It was a very long article. The MEDALS AND AWARDS portion that Belle Tisdale clipped was about three-aquarters of the way through it.

1903 Telegram from Kate McCaughey

 

"Ma died this evening. Kate B. McCaughey"

On September 14, 1903 Belle's mother, Eliza Tisdale received a telegram from her niece, Kate McCaughey, telling the family that Kate's mother had died. 

Frances Ann Augusta Pratt McCaughey Anthoine was Eliza's sister  and Belle's Aunt France. She was 77 years old, born 19 September 1825 in Scott County, Kentucky. She was 11 years older than Eliza. In 1846  not long after the Pratt family had moved from Arkansas to Louisiana she married  William McCaughey. She had two children, Emilius Valerius and Catherine Bernice "Kate." It is presumed that Emilius died young as he is never mentioned again. William died 28 Maarch 1850 when Kate was six months old.  His obituary read:   "1850 Mar 26 William H. McCaughey, #412, Baton Rouge, Husband of Frances Ann Augusta Pratt"

About five years later Frances married  Henri Anthoine, emigre from Trieste, Italy to Nw Orleans in 1855. He is listed as a clerk in several New Orleans City Directories.  They are listed in the 1880 Census at 249 Treme St. He is 46 years old and a Book Keeper, born in Italy. Francis, his wife, is 48, born in Kentucky.  His step-daughter Kate McCaughey, age 36, widowed, born in Louisiana, father born in Virginia, Mother born in Kentucky. Henri is listed in the City Directory in 1897 as Secretary of the Italy-American Homestead Association at 521 Royal St. Frances is listed in the 1903 New Orleans Death Index as a widow. Frances and her daughter Kate are buried in Greenwood Cemetery.

ANTHOINE - On Monday, Sept. 14, 1903 at 3:45 p.m, Mrs. F. A. Anthoine, aged seventy-seven years. 

McCAUGHEY - On Tuesday, September 8, 1917, at 8 p.m. KATE B.McCAUGHEY, age 68 years, a native of Louisiana and a resident of this city many years. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend the funeral this (Wednesday) afternoon at 3:20 o'clock from the Fink Asylum, 3045 Cadiz Street.

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1903 A FUNERAL AND A WEDDING

 

Photocopies of clippings 1903

     Clippings among Belle Tisdale's papers tell the story of  a drowning, a funeral and a wedding at Magee's Farm in Kushla, Alabama, former home of Belle Tisdale's aunt, Mary Tisdale (1810-1882) and her husband, Jacob Magee (1811-1883). 

The Tisdale family has another connection to the Magee Farm in addition to Aunt Mary Tisdale Magee. In 1898 the property was bought by Alfred Henry Sturdevant and his wife Harriet Morse of Illinois. They had six children, among them daughter Helen Morse Sturtevant who was 21 years old at the time. At a dance in Mobile Helen met a young man named Marion Eugene Tisdale, Belle's brother. They eventually became engaged to be married. It was Helen's younger brother,  Bradford Sturtevant, whose drowning and funeral are reported in the first two clippings. Helen and Marion's wedding five days later is the subject of the third clipping.

          TRANSCRIPTIONS:

DROWNED NEAR KUSHLA

SAD ENDING OF YOUNG BRADFORD STURTEVANT

Sunday afternoon Bradford Sturtevant, a young man, was drowned while bathing in Chickasabogue creek near Kushla. The waters of the creek were high and the current swift. It is supposed that he got out of his depth and was unable to swim out. The body was rrecovered some hours after. The Sturtevant family have been living in Kushla five years. Bradford Sturtevant was of both moral and social worth, a right manly fellow, and courteous to all. His parents are much afflicted by their loss.          M. D. B.

Oak Grove, August 10, 1903

                         Necrological.

FUNERAL OF BRADFORD STURTEVANT

The funeral of Bradford Sturtevant, who was drowned while bathing in Chicasabogue creek on Sunday morning, took place from the residence of his parents at Kushla Monday morning at 11 o'clock. Dr. D. A. Planck conducted the services, which were largely attended. The interment was in the family burial ground at Kushla, where the new made grave was covered with handsome floral designs. The pallbearers were B. C. Davis, Jr., W. M. Davis, H. L. Davis, M. L. Davis, Jr., Chas. A. Sturtevant, J. M. Sturtevant.

WEDDING AT KUSHLA

Saturday, August 15, at the home of the bride's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred H. Sturtevant, of Kushla, Ala., Mr. Marion Eugene Tisdale and Miss Helen Morse Sturtevant were married by Rev. D. A. Planck of Mobile. Owing to recent bereavement, the ceremony which was hastened by the ill health of the groom, was witnessed only by the immediate family.     Mr. and Mrs. Tisdale left Saturday evening over the Southern for the mountains of North Carolina.

 

    Marion Eugene Tisdale, Jr. wrote, “After the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom along with Alfred Henry and Harriet Sturtevant and the groom's mother Eliza Pratt Tisdale went out to the family cemetery where the bride placed the flowers she had carried on the newly made grave of her brother Bradford, near the grave of Benjamin Franklin Tisdale, Eliza's late husband...” “...Marion Eugene Tisdale evidently had an early stage brain cancer and was destined to live less than 11 years after the wedding...”

For more information about the house see my blog post of March 30, 2018. A Visit to the Magee Farm

Magee-Tisdale Cemetery, Kushla, Alabama          Photo by Vera Zimmerman 2010