Bakersmith Family

Thanks to a recent e-mail from Alice Louise BAKERSMITH, I was able to extend the information about her immediate family. Alice is the daughter of William Edward BAKERSMITH, Jr., and Mary Louise KARNES and the granddaughter of William Edward BAKERSMITH, Sr., and Mary Elizabeth JAMES. (See descendants of Elizabeth HARRIS and William R. JAMES.) I will be adding her information soon to:
http://www.seventyyearsinthecoalmines.org/syitcmappendixe2.htm and appendix E of "Seventy Years in the Coal Mines: The Annotated Edition".

New Arrivals

Gareth Scott Francis & Holden Scott Francis were born today, 12 June 2010, in Cumming, Forsyth County, GA, to Gregory Scott and Mary Rebecca (Wiseman) Francis. Mary is the daughter of Edward Houston and Linda Marie (Hime) Wiseman. They are the newest great great great grandchildren of Philip Francis, author of "Seventy Years in the Coal Mines".

Changes To Fraterville Memorial Page

The links to Philip Francis' account of the Fraterville rescue effort, the Fraterville original program, and the 100th anniversary program, have been moved from the Fraterville Memorial Page to the Links page.

Thanks to Linda Slover Lindsay

Today, I received a very nice note from Linda Slover Lindsay about the Fraterville Memorial Page. She brought an error to my attention which I corrected. She also provided some additional information about her relatives who were killed in the Fraterville and Cross Mountain mine explosions.

Thank you so much, Linda.

I have begun work on a Cross Mountain mine explosion Memorial Page which I hope to have completed later this year. Next year will be the 100th anniversary of that event.

Introducing the Fraterville Memorial Page

I have launched my Fraterville Memorial Page and associated links today in advance of the 108th anniversary of the Fraterville Mine explosion that occurred on 19 May 1902 near Briceville, Anderson County, TN.

The link is now active on my home page.

I welcome comments, additions, and corrections.

New Home Page

Starting this afternoon, my website has a new home page. I have reorganized the content of the website into themes. These include coal mining, family history and genealogy, miscellaneous other topics, and previous and current blogs. I have placed a temporary introductory paragraph on the home page to explain some of the changes. This paragraph will remain on the home page for a few months and then will be removed. I hope that these changes will highlight the varied content on the site. The link to the Fraterville page will be activated on or before the anniversary date of May 19th.

LOOKING FOR DESCENDANTS OF ELIZABETH HARRIS AND THOMAS THOMAS

On my home page at: http://www.seventyyearsinthecoalmines.org, there are four descendant lineages that are also included as appendices B, C, D, and E in “Seventy Years in the Coal Mines – the Annotated Edition”. The four lineages are connected by two Welsh immigrant sisters, Rebecca and Elizabeth HARRIS.

We think that Elizabeth HARRIS accompanied her sister and brother-in-law, Rebecca and Philip FRANCIS, to the USA from Glamorgan, Wales ca. 1851. Rebecca and Elizabeth were two of the children of James HARRY and Elizabeth OWEN, who were married 4 March 1819 in Pendoylan, Glamorgan, Wales. We think that Elizabeth HARRIS met and married Thomas THOMAS, also from Wales, in PA. By the 1860 census, both sisters were widowed, and Rebecca had re-married. Elizabeth re-married 2-3 years later. Both sisters had children by each of their husbands. This resulted in two blended families. Both families endured severe hardships.

I am a descendant of Philip FRANCIS and Rebecca HARRIS. I have been able to contact and share family information with a descendant of Rebecca HARRIS and David P. JAMES and a descendant of Elizabeth HARRIS and William JAMES. I have been unable to contact a descendant of Elizabeth HARRIS and Thomas THOMAS. I was able to create their family tree with census and other information. However, it is very sketchy and incomplete. The URL for the lineage is shown below.

http://www.seventyyearsinthecoalmines.org/syitcmappendixd.htm

One of my many reasons for creating the website was the hope that one or more descendants of Elizabeth HARRIS and Thomas THOMAS might visit the website and contact me. They had three sons: James, Thomas, and Daniel R. THOMAS.

James THOMAS married Sarah A. TAYLOR and raised a large family. James died 12 March 1921 in Coal Township, Northumberland County, PA. Their children were: George W., William, Arthur, Ralph, unknown female, Ruth, and Harold THOMAS.

I was not able to trace Thomas THOMAS after the 1870 census.

Daniel R. THOMAS married Elizabeth SAGER and raised a family in Luzerne County, PA. Daniel died 19 November 1920 in Nanticoke, Luzerne County, PA. They had five children: Arthur S., Archibald, Elizabeth, Sterling R., and Daniel S. THOMAS.

I remain hopeful.