Submitted by
Daniel O'dell
Gregory
©2001 - Additions added 2003
& 2007, 2008
Note from the submitter: Thanks to Charles
Hayden Honeycutt and Mayzell Ragland
who have contributed a great deal to collecting this
information.
Benjamin Moses Franklin Gregory, son of George Moses Dallas Gregory and Mary Ann Eunice (Hughes) Gregory was born on October 23, 1869. On February 5, 1891 he married Marinda Ellen Dixon, daughter of Steven Jeremiah Dixon and Matilda (Brawner) Dixon. Marinda was born on March 5, 1874. Ben died on February 26, 1944 and Marinda died on December 17, 1943. He is buried in the Halltown Cemetery and she is buried at Old Brush Cemetery, both of which are in Sumner County, Tennessee.
They had 14 children:
1. Wesley Odell Gregory, born January 1, 1892. On September 30, 1911 he married Maggie Harriet Dudney. He died on July 7, 1976. They are buried in the Old Brush Cemetery. Additional information below.
2. Johnny Gregory, born June 20, 1894. Died as an infant and buried in Old Bottom Cemetery in Macon County, Tennessee.
3. Henry Gregory, born March 16, 1896. Died as an infant and buried in Old Bottoms Cemetery in Macon County, Tennessee.
4. Jesse Gregory, born March 4, 1897. Died as an infant and buried in Old Bottoms Cemetery in Macon County, Tennessee.
5. Lena Myrtle Gregory, born July 25, 1899. She married 1st, Leo Stanley 2nd, Hershal Briley. She died in 1968 and is buried in the Old Brush Cemetery.
6. Alvin Lee Gregory was born September 11, 1900. On October 30, 1921 he married Pearl Cummings. He died on October 3, 1957. They are buried in the Greenlawn Cemetery in Simpson County, Kentucky.
7. Annie Gertrude Gregory was born on December 10, 1903. She died in December of 1905 and is buried in the Kilgore Cemetery in Cross Plains, Robertson County, Tennessee.
8. Ola Lee Gregory was born on January 27, 1906. On November 15, 1923 she married William D. Honeycutt. She died on May 2, 1986. They are buried in the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Davidson County, Tennessee.
9. Ewing Gregory was born on March 26, 1908. On September 24, 1938 he married Daisy Biggs. He died on May 4, 1959. He is buried in the Lamont Cemetery in Robertson County, Tennessee.
10. Herbert H. Gregory was born on December 9, 1909. On December 11, 1927 he married Nannie Honeycutt. He died on September 5, 1985. He is buried in Springfield, Robertson County, Tennessee.
11. Clarence Benjamin Gregory was born on November 29, 1911. He married Christine Pirtle. He served in WWII. He died on January 31, 1987. He is buried in Simpson County, Kentucky.
12. Robert Lee Gregory was born June 6, 1914. On September 14, 1935 he married Flossie Gregory. He died on December 17, 1973. He is buried in Simpson County, Kentucky.
13. Lula Mai Gregory was born on April 3, 1916. She married James W. Bush. She died on December 6, 1989. They are buried in Davidson County, Tennessee.
14. Raymond Odell Gregory was born January 13, 1921. He married Mary Rose Butler. He died on May 19, 1969. He is buried in the Old Brush Cemetery in Sumner County, Tennessee.
* Wesley Odell Gregory (son of Benjamin and Marinda Ellen Dixon) was born on Jan. 1, 1892. On Sept. 30, 1911 he married Maggie Harriet Dudney, daughter of Frank Kenner Dudney and Mary Etta Haile (or Hale). Maggie was born on July 25, 1891. Wesley died on July 7, 1976 and Maggie died on November 21, 1965. They are buried in the Old Brush Cemetery in Sumner County, Tennessee.
They had nine children:
1. Veria Ellen Gregory born August 16, 1912 died of diptheria in 1913 and is buried in the Lamont Cemetery in Robertson County, Tennessee.
2. Ella Devada Gregory was born April 26, 1914 and died in 1917. She is buried in the Lamont Cemetery in Robertson County, Tennessee.
3. Mary Earline Gregory was born 4 April 1916 and died on February 16, 1918. She is buried in the Lamont Cemetery in Robertson County, Tennessee.
4. Lerlie B. Gregory was born July 12, 1917. She married James Ragland. She died on Jan. 24, 1976 and is buried at Old Brush Cemetery in Sumner County, Tennessee.
5. Flavil Odell Gregory was born on November 28, 1919 in Lamont, Robertson County, Tennessee. He died February 5, 2008 in Manchester, Coffee County, Tennessee. His burial was at Old Brush Cemetery in Portland, Sumner County, Tennessee. He married Mamie Ruth Summers on June 2, 1951. Mamie Ruth Summers Gregory was born on July 25, 1928 and died on April 26, 2005. She is buried in the Wesley Gregory family plot at Old Brush Cemetery.
Stories told by my grandmother, Mamie Ruth Summers Gregory:
After the death of John, Laura married Tom Goodman whom she outlived. Laura lived two weeks after my marriage to my second husband Flavil Odell Gregory (my first husband Horace Covington had died from illness). Around that time I asked my grandmother, "Who will be your husband after the resurrection, Pap or Tom?" She immediately replied, "Who will be yours Horace or Flavil?" Whereupon I dropped the conversation!
A couple of stories about Mamie Ruth as a kid:
When she was little she and her siblings hung up thier stockings for Christmas. She recieved goodies so she hung it up again the night after Christmas - again she woke up to goodies. This continued for several days until her older brother, Mitchell, decided enough was enough and he filled the entire stocking with coal. She got up that morning and patiently removed each and every coal and when she removed the last one and saw that was it - she screamed to the very top of her lungs. She said she must have been around 3 years old as she didn't remember that but her family liked to recall that story.
On another occasion as a small child she was playing with her mother and they were pretending that her mom, Maybelle, was a baby and they were laying in bed. The ice cream truck come by and Mamie was given money to run out and buy a popsicle. When she got back her mom, Maybelle, said "baby would like a bite of popsickle, to which Mamie replied, "no popsickle will make baby sick!"
Mamie also recalled how hard times were in the Depression. Once her aunt gave her eggs so she could go to the store and get money for candy. She was excited and ran and stepped in a hole and fell which broke the eggs. She sat there and cried as that meant no candy - money was so hard to come by. Another time she had milk in a cracked pitcher which she accidentally dropped and broke losing the precious milk. She recalled her mom didn't whip her but she hated it so bad nonetheless. She also recalled how whenever her younger brother Eddy was whipped she would hide but he would always find her and just stand there wanting her to see the teardrops falling from his face.
Lastly, she recalled to me her going to her first funeral and burial. Wesley Rogers (1895-1934) was buried at Jake Link Cemetery. The people sang, "I am bound for the promised land". The body laid in it's coffin in a grove of cedar trees. People sang and viewed the body. She was six years old.
6. Elsie Mae Gregory was born on July 12, 1921. She married Lex Upchurch. She died on Aug. 16, 1957. She is buried in the Old Brush Cemetery
7. Mayzell Gregory was born on March 21, 1923. She married Charles Ragland.
8. Mildred Gregory was born October 5, 1924. She never married. She died on December 6, 1957. She is buried in Old Brush Cemetery.
9. Elster Lee Gregory was born on December 9, 1927. He died of whooping cough in April of 1928. He is buried in the Lamont Cemetery in Robertson County, Tennessee.
*Old Notes found:
Marinda Dixon
Gregory
"Mrs. Rinda Gregory was born Oct. 1, 1873. She
was married to Ben Gregory in the year 1890. To this union was born fourteen
children ten of which survived their mother. She is survived by her husband.
She became a member of the Church of Christ in 1906. To the best of the knowledge
of her friends she was faithful to the Lord for the remainder of her life.
After a lingering illness she departed this earth at nine o'clock, Dec. 17,
1943. She was loved and trusted by all those associated with her and her
memory will long be close to the hearts of her relations and friends."
Ben Gregory
Ben Gregory lived for a while in Florida. May have been one of the first
Gregory's of his generation to see the ocean. Anyway, while down there he
once was fishing off a dock along with several others - all of which were
strangers to one another. One woman who was fishing had her feet dangling
off the dock and were submerged in the water. Unbeknownst to every one a
shark swam up and grabbed the woman by one of her legs and tried to pull
her in. She screamed and held on to the dock for her life. Ben and two or
three other men grabbed her and she was pulled like a tug of rope with the
shark on one end and the men on the other. The shark finally relented and
when the woman was finally pulled up to the dock her leg was very maimed.
Story told by Flavil Odell Gregory
Wesley Gregory
In 1917, during WWI, Wesley Gregory worked at the Powder Plant at Old Hickory
in Nashville, Tennessee. His job was to sharpen tools for the carpenters.
While employed and living thus the world infamous Flu Epidemic of 1917 hit
Nashville. Wesley never got the flu but it seemed everyone else did. He later
recalled that so many people died that the funeral homes could not process
them all. Corpses laid on the sidewalk for as far as the eye could see beside
the funeral homes. Wesley was later laid off from this job and went back
to farming. After a while the plant asked him to come back but he decided
against it even though it would have been good money for him. Story told
by Flavil Odell Gregory.
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