Descendants of Milton Eastman Bouldin & Sarah A. Knight of Franklin County, TN

 

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[see Endnotes at end of document]

Descendants of Milton "Madison" Eastman Bouldin & Sarah A. Knight

Generation No. 1

1. MILTON "MADISON" EASTMAN2 BOULDIN (JAMES W. OR B.1 BOWLING)1 was born Jul 1844 in TN2, and died 1915-1920. He met (1) UNKNOWN. He married (2) SARAH A. KNIGHT3 01 May 1865 in Franklin Co., TN4.

Notes for MILTON "MADISON" EASTMAN BOULDIN:

>>> Called "Grampa East"

>>> Milton's Name on his daughter Mollie's Death Certificate (Mrs. Mollie Conn) in 1933: East Bolton

>>> Milton's Name on his son Tom's Death Certificate (Thomas Henry Bolden) in 1933: E.M. Bolden

>>> 1880 Census, Franklin Co, TN

En. Dist. 92, 8th Civil District, Vol. 10, Sheet #1, Line 22: Milton E. Boling, 43, [head], Sarah, 30, wife, Willie, 14, son, Margaret, 11, dtr, Haret, 7, dtr, Madison, W, M, 5, son, Thomas, 1, son

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BETWEEN 1880 AND 1900: NAME CHANGE FOR MILTON BOWLING

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[see transcriber notes at end of document]

[as written on page 1]

Starting in 1850 and then 1860-70 and 1880, the names changed a little in spelling but phonetically remained about the same with Bowling - Bowlin - Bowlin & in 1880 Boling, for which only the W was dropped.

Speculating on why the big change occurred in 1900 census Eastman Madison Bouldin - This is the first written example of the "D" in the last name -

In 1880, Thomas's father was Milton E. The E. was probably for Eastman: So Eastman became the 1st name & the Milton part was eliminated and the name Madison became the middle name and the last name became Bouldin -

The middle name Madison probably was taken from Thos's brother four (4) yrs. Thomas' senior. Perhaps he'd passed and the taking of his name helped to perpetuate his memory. After 1900 most everyone referred to Thomas' father simply as "East."

East would have had no reason to change his name but Thomas would have had some excellent reasons. His big brother Willie was killed while working on the R.R., when he was only 23 yrs. old. Thomas was only about 10 yrs. old at this time but he could probably remember it vividly. Probably Willie was a hero in eyes of Thomas. He had such an exciting job. He traveled all over. 'Twas more exciting than the hum-drum jobs in the mines, sawmills or farming. Thos. wanted to be a part of this R.R. work. Perhaps the fact that Willie was killed in R.R. accident, there was some reluctance to hire another from the same immediate family. That would fit right in with the perfect reason to prevail upon his father to change the name so much, there would not be any reason to suspect any connection. The accident was 11 yrs. ago. Willie was married, had one child, & another was on the way. So this new family was probably the one listed, not the one from which he came. So Thomas' father's name would not seem to have any connection to Willie's father as 1-2nd & last names were all different. Thomas wanted that R.R. job real bad.

[as written on page 2]

Bowling-Bolin - Bowlin - Boling - Bouldin

He not only got Milton, now Eastman, to change his name, but he had to falsify his age also. He gave the yr of birth as 1880, instead of 1879 (true year)

His tombstone lists B. as 1880, but a check of death certificate reveals true date 1879 - Thos was actually 31 when he began R.R. work, instead of the recorded 30. Prob. Co. had a begin age limit of 30 - It was a lot of work, getting hired by the R.R. but Thomas was persistent and finally got his dream job the R.R. - No more boring jobs like farming - mining or sawmill. Travel - Excitement of new places all the time. That was the life. Other young men could be very envious of his occupation now. He was working at something they could all admire.

The other two brothers, Andrew and Walter were 27 and 20 respectively when Thos began work in 1910 - They cooperated in the name change which by the time Thos began work in 1910, Bouldin had become Bolden, a far cry from the original Bowling of 1850.

The reason for discrepancy of age on tombstone & true age on Death Cert., very simple. Thos' wife received survivor benefits check, approx � of Thos. pension, as long as she lived. Surviving would have been very difficult for her in 1933 w/o this assistance.

[Transcriber Notes: Transcribed Sept. 11, 2000 from a handwritten document written by Thomas Edward Bolden, Sr. Original is in my possession.]

Notes for SARAH A. KNIGHT:

Sarah's Name on (step?)-daughter Mollie's death certificate (Mrs. Mollie Conn) in 1933: Serrah Knight

Sarah's Name on son Thomas's death certificate in 1933: Sarah Knight

Sarah disappears from census records after 1900, and Milton shown as widowed on 1910 census.

Children of MILTON BOULDIN and SARAH KNIGHT are:

i. WILLIAM BRYANT3 BOWLIN, b. 28 Feb 18665,6; d. 31 Oct 18897,8; m. NANCY CAROLINE WHITE, 18 Apr 18879.

Notes for WILLIAM BRYANT BOWLIN:

>> Index card of W.B. Bowlin prepared by Thomas Edward Bolden, Sr.

(side one)

Bowlin, W.B. Wm Bryant (Rachel Mancuso's Grandfather)

b. 28 Feb 1866, d. 24 Oct 1889

married Nancy Caroline White 18 Apr 1887

Nancy b. 6 Sept 1868

(side two)

Confirmed: In 1880 Franklin Co., Tenn. Census [Milton E. Boling]

Lists Milton and Sarah's family which includes my grandfather Thomas. No wonder Rachel knew so much about my grandfather Tom's family.

Confirmed: Milton Bowlin & Sarah (Knight) Bowlin to be the parents of Wm. Bryant Bowlin.

Ref: 1870 Census, Franklin Co, Tenn, Reel T386, L-1, p. 14,

Dwelling 95, Fam 98 [Milton Bowlin]

Dwelling 96, [Fam 99] Henry Bowlin is Bro. [of Milton]

Dwelling 97, [Fam 100] Jeramiah is Father - Margaret mother [of Milton]

>> Sat, May 16, 1992: Stopped in Coalmont to see Rachel Mancuso (nee Bowlin). She is very ill. Copied some important Bowlin family dates.

W.B. Bowlin b. 28 Feb 1866, d. 24 Oct 1889 William Bryant }

md 15 Apr 1887 N.C. White b. 6 Sept 1868 Nancy Caroline } grandparents

Arthur Lee Bowlin (Rachel's father) b. 23 Feb 1888

Nellie Beatrice Bowlin (Rachel's dad's sister) b. 24 Mar 1899

W.B. Bowlin (Rachel's uncle) b. 20 June 1880 W. Bowlin d. 20 Oct 1928?

Henry Estill Bowlin (Rachel's dad's bro) b. 18 Nov 1894

 

ii. MARGARET "MOLLIE" BOWLING, b. Abt. 10 Jun 1869; d. 16 Jan 1933, Decherd, Franklin Co., TN10; m. WILLIAM OLIVER "DOCK" CONN, 05 Oct 1889, Franklin Co, TN11.

Notes for MARGARET "MOLLIE" BOWLING:

>>> 1880 Census, Franklin Co, TN

En. Dist. 92, 8th Civil District, Vol. 10, Sheet #1, Line 22: Milton E. Boling, 43, [head], Sarah, 30, wife, Willie, 14, son, MARGARET, 11, dtr, Haret, 7, dtr, Madison, W, M, 5, son, Thomas, 1, son

 

 

iii. DOLLIE BOULDIN, b. 16 Oct 187212; d. 31 Jan 193813; m. MARSHAL "WAMPUS" HOLLIDAY, 1894-1895.

 

iv. MADISON BOWLIN, b. Abt. 187514.

 

v. THOMAS HENRY BOLDEN, b. 15 Dec 1879, Franklin or Coffee Co., TN15,16; d. 08 Nov 1933, Estill Springs (Spring Creek Community), Franklin Co., TN17,18,19,20; m. LOU ELLA SMITH, 14 Jul 1898, Altamont, Grundy Co., TN21.

Notes for THOMAS HENRY BOLDEN:

[1933 newspaper clipping]

Tom H. Boling Dies In Estill Springs

Tom H. Boling, 55, died Wednesday, Nov. 8, at his home in Estill Springs. He was a member of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics.

The funeral was held at 2 o'clock Thursday, and burial was in the Decherd cemetery.

He is survived by his widow, three sons, Henry, Tillman and Edward, and four daughters, Mrs. Lucille Armstrong, Annie May, Irene and Vera Boling.

[see notes below]

--Name should read THOMAS H. BOLDEN

--Transcription from copy of 1933 newspaper clipping (from an unknown Tennessee newspaper) of the obituary of my great-grandfather, Thomas Henry Bolden, which is in my possession.

--I have a copy of his death certificate to confirm this is the same person.

 

Notes for LOU ELLA SMITH:

Obituary of Lou Ella (Smith) Bolden - 1959

[1959 newspaper clipping - see transcriber notes below]

Mrs. Bolden Dies at Age of 76 Years

Mrs. Lou Ella Bolden, of 204 _est Weaver Street, widow of Thomas H. Bolden, died Friday morning at Queen City Infirmary after a long illness. She was 76 years old.

Mrs. Bolden was a native of Grundy County and had made her home here many years. She was a member of the Methodist Church.

She is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Marie Cobb, of Tullahoma, and Mrs. Louise Cobb, of Detroit, a son, Tilman Bolden, of Tullahoma; a sister, Mrs. Mary Yarworth, of Warrior, Ala.; eight grandchildren, and 20 great grandchildren.

Funeral services were held Sunday afternoon at Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home. Emmett J. Allen officiated. Burial was in Mount Garner Cemetery, Decherd.

[Transcriber notes: This is a transcription of a photograph of Lou Ella's obituary. Photograph of obituary was taken by Lou Ella's grandson, Thomas Edward Bolden Sr. (my father).

It is unknown which Tennessee newspaper the obituary appeared in.]

 

vi. ANDREW JACKSON BOLDEN, b. Sep 1882, Franklin Co., TN; d. Abt. 1957, Franklin Co. or Coffee Co., TN22; m. (1) NANNIE HERMAN, 21 Feb 1904, Franklin Co., TN23; m. (2) FLORENCE L. BARTLETT, 19 Jun 1909, Franklin Co., TN24.

Notes for ANDREW JACKSON BOLDEN:

Listed on 1910 Census Franklin Co., TN (Roll T624 1499, Page 11, L-27) as:

Andrew J. Bolin (age 27)

along with Florence L. as wife (age 15)

and Madison E. as father (age 64)

Listed on 1920 Census Franklin Co., TN (Soundex Roll 1739, Sheet 10, Line 22) as:

A.J. Boldin (age 40 years)

along with Florence as wife (age 27)

along with Willie as son (age 7)

along with Earnest as son (age 4)

along with Andrew as son (Age 1 1/2) (who is this son? there seems to be a conflict)

Notes for FLORENCE L. BARTLETT:

See story of family auto accident in Chattanooga under Notes of daughter Louise.

vii. MARY "NANNIE" BOWLING, b. Jan 1887; d. Deceased, Winchester, Franklin Co., TN; m. (1) WILLIAM H. "WALTER" NEAL; m. (2) BOB BRASHEAR, 05 Jul 190225.

Notes for MARY "NANNIE" BOWLING:

Nannie, the youngest sister. Had 6 children with Bob: Clarence, Henry, Joe, Geo., Edd, and one girl Mabel who moved to Hazzard, KY. Uncle Bob worked in the coal mines. All children born in Hazzard, KY. Aunt Nanny returneded to TN in about 1937. Before return, Uncle Bob died. Nannie married Walter Neal, and had one child by Walter: Horace Neal. Mabel was about 12 when the family returned from KY, and Horace was about 2-3. Horae is now living in Phoenix, AZ. Aunt Nannie is buried in Winchester cemetery (so states Warren Bolden in September of 1981).

viii. WALTER BOULDIN, b. Nov 1889; d. Unknown; m. BETTY HASTINGS.

Notes for WALTER BOULDIN:

Walter, intoxicated, burned up in woods.

 

Endnotes

1. TN Dept of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, Death Certificate of Thomas Henry Bolden, Line 13 - Father: E.M.BoldenLine 17 - Informant: Mrs. T.H. Bolden Address: R-4 Tullahoma, Tenn.

2. TN Dept of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, Death Certificate of Thomas Henry Bolden, Father born in TN: Line 13: Name of Father: E.M. Bolden Birthplace: Tennessee LIne 17. Informant: Mrs. T.H. Bolden Address: R-4, Tullahoma, Tenn.

3. TN Dept of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, Death Certificate of Thomas Henry Bolden, Line 15. Mother's Maiden Name: Sarah KnightLine 17 - Informant: Mrs. T.H. Bolden Address: R-4 Tullahoma, Tenn.

4. Marriage Records of Franklin County, Tennessee 1838-1875, pg. 260, Melton Bolin to Sarah A. Knight isd May 1st 1865.

5. Cemetery Records of Franklin County, Tennessee, Revised Edition, pg. 334, #176, Payne's Church Cemeter tombstone reads (per book) William B. husband of Nannie Bolin Feb 28 1866 - Oct 31, 1889.

6. Index card of W.B. Bowlin prepared by Thomas Edward Bolden, Sr., Bowlin, W.B., Wm Bryant (Rachel Mancuso's grandfather), b. 28 Feb 1866, d. 24 Oct 1889, married Nancy Caroline White 18 Apr 1887, Nancy b. 6 Sept 1868.

7. Cemetery Records of Franklin County, Tennessee, Revised Edition, pg. 334, #176, Payne's Church Cemeter tombstone reads (per book) William B. husband of Nannie Bolin Feb 28 1866 - Oct 31, 1889.

8. Index card of W.B. Bowlin prepared by Thomas Edward Bolden, Sr., Bowlin, W.B., Wm Bryant (Rachel Mancuso's grandfather), b. 28 Feb 1866, d. 24 Oct 1889, married Nancy Caroline White 18 Apr 1887, Nancy b. 6 Sept 1868.

9. Index card of W.B. Bowlin prepared by Thomas Edward Bolden, Sr., Bowlin, W.B., Wm Bryant (Rachel Mancuso's grandfather), b. 28 Feb 1866, d. 24 Oct 1889, married Nancy Caroline White 18 Apr 1887, Nancy b. 6 Sept 1868.

10. Death Certificate of Mrs. Mollie Conn.

11. Franklin County, TN Marriage Records 1884-1894 (transcription of abstract), pg. 166, W.O. Cohn to Mollie Bowling 5 Oct 1889.

12. Cemetery Records of Franklin County, Tennessee, Revised Edition, pg. 163, #1490, Winchester City Cemetery, Franklin Co, TN Tombstone reads: Dollie Holliday Oct 16, 1872 - Jan 31, 1938 [next to Marsh Holiday #1489].

13. Cemetery Records of Franklin County, Tennessee, Revised Edition, pg. 163, #1490, Winchester City Cemetery, Franklin Co, TN Tombstone reads: Dollie Holliday Oct 16, 1872 - Jan 31, 1938 [next to Marsh Holiday #1489].

14. 1880 Census, Franklin Co, TN, En. Dist. 92, 8th Civil District, Vol. 10, Sheet #1, Line 22: Milton E. Boling, 43, [head], Sarah, 30, wife, Willie, 14, son, Margaret, 11, dtr, Haret, 7, dtr, MADISON, W, M, 5, son, Thomas, 1, son.

15. TN Dept of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, Death Certificate of Thomas Henry Bolden, Line 6: Date of Birth: Dec 15, 1879Line 7: Age 54 years, 10 months, 23 daysLine 12: Birthplace: Tennessee.

16. Tombstone photo taken Aug 1978 by Thomas Edward Bolden, Sr., Date of birth on tombstone: 15 Nov 1880.Tombstone should read 15 Dec, 1879 to correspond with date of birth on Death Certificate.

17. TN Dept of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, Death Certificate of Thomas Henry Bolden, Line 1. Place of Death - County: Franklin Civil Dis. 17.

18. Obituary of Tom H. Boling, 1933, copy of newspaper clipping in the genealogy records of Thomas Edward Bolden, in my possession since 1998.

19. Tombstone photo taken Aug 1978 by Thomas Edward Bolden, Sr., Date of death on tombstone: 8 Nov 1933.

20. Family Group Sheet of Thomas Henry Bolden prepared by Thomas Edward Bolden., Thos. Henry Bolden Death: 8 Nov 1933 - Age 54 yrs/10 mo 23 days.

21. Family Group Sheet of Thomas Henry Bolden prepared by Thomas Edward Bolden., Thomas Henry Bolden Lou Ella Smith Married 14 July 1898.

22. Warren Bolden, Warren Bolden stated to Thomas Edward Bolden, Sr. that Warren's father, Andrew Bolden, was born "about 1890" and died "about 1957" when he was about 67 years old.

23. Franklin County, TN Marriage Records 1903-1905 (transcription of abstract), pg. 156, Andrew Bouldin to Nannie Herman 21 Feb 1904 - signed Andrew Bowling.

24. Franklin County, TN Marriage Records 1908-1910 (transcription of abstract), pg. 353, Andrew Bolen to Florence Bartlie 19 June 1909.

25. Index card of Madison Eastman Bouldin prepared by Thomas Edward Bolden, Sr., side 2, Mary N. Bowling md R.L. Brashear 5 July 1902.