Mariba Adeline Beard

The parents of Mariba Adeline Beard
Mariba Adeline, called "Addie" by her friends and family, was born on 4 April 1838 in Marshall County, Tennessee. She married William Zachariah Gant on 21 October 1860 in Marshall County. He was the son of John M. and Temperence Simmons Gant, and he was born on 1 August 1836 in Marshall County. John Gant was a preacher in the Christian Church in his later years. William's cousin, Sarah W. Gant, had become the wife of Mariba's brother Joseph Patton Beard on 20 May 1855 in Marshall County. In 1870, William and Mariba Gant lived in Lewisburg, Marshall County, Tennessee with three young children. In 1880, still in Marshall County, they had five children. 1900 finds them in Marshall County with one son still at home and five of their eight children still living. William Gant died on 6 January 1902 in Marshall County. He was buried at the Short Cemetery at Spring Place in Marshall County. In 1910, Addie Gant lived as a widow with her married eldest daughter, Clementine "Tinie" Gant Massey and her family in Marshall County. Mariba Adeline Beard Gant died in Lewisburg, Marshall County, Tennessee on 15 September 1916 and buried at Short Cemetery beside William. Her death certificate was signed by her daughter Mrs. William Massey. The eight children and the descendants of William Zachariah and Mariba Adeline Gant were:
1. Clementine E. "Tinie" Gant was born 2 July 1863 in Marshall County, Tennessee. About 1887 or 1888, she maried William A. Short Massey, the son of John Wesley Massey and Louisa Short. He was born on 15 August 1856 in Marshall County. Twelve years later, William and Tinie Massey lived in Sharon Grove, Todd County, Kentucky, where they had moved after January 1896, when their daughter was born in Tennessee. They had two children. Tinie's paternal grandfather, John M. Gant, had been a minister of the Christian Church in Elkton, Todd County, Kentucky, before he died there in 1887. By 1910, the Massey family had moved to Fayetteville, Lincoln County, Tennessee. There they lived with their married son and his wife and their daughter, and Tinie's mother Addie Gant was in their home. Next door was the family of William Gant, Tinie's brother. In 1920 the Masseys were again back in Marshall County, Tennessee, with both their children and several grandchildren in their home. On 6 June 1928, William Massey died in Marshall County and was buried at Short Cemetery in Spring Place, Marshall County. In 1930, Tinie was a widow living in the home of her married daughter Rachel Rainey in Marshall County. She passed away two years later, on 16 June 1932, in Marshall County and was buried beside William at the Short Cemetery.
: 2. John Thomas Massey, born 23 September 1888 in Ostella, Marshall County, Tennessee, married there 5 November 1909 at the age of twenty to John Annie Pack. The daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Mary Frances Gilliam Pack, Annie was born 8 January 1890 in Tennessee. The next year, they were listed on the census in Fayetteville, Lincoln County, Tennessee, living with his parents. In 1918 John registered for the draft in Marshall County. He was 29, born in Ostella and lived in Cornersville with a wife and three children. He was employed by Overall, Bond Hdr? Company of Cornersville. John Annie Pack Massey died on 16 February 1919 in Marshall County. We do not know a burial place yet. On the 1920 census, John was a widower with three young boys; a fourth son had died in 1918. They were listed in the home of his parents in Marshall County. About 1926, John married a widow named Annette. Born about 1887 in Tennessee, she had two young boys. In 1930, listed far from home in Glenrock, Converse County, Wyoming, John worked as a telegraph operator for the railroad, and he and Annette had two of his sons and two of her sons in the family home. Her boys were listed with the Massey surname, so no clues as to her identity that way. John died on 27 June 1964, we do not know where. According to a death record, he lived in Missouri at some time before his death. No further records are found for Annette Massey.
: 2. Rachel E. Massey was born 12 Janary 1896 in Marshall County, Tennessee. She married about 1916 to James Raudon Rainey, son of Alexander Greene "Sandy" Rainey and Sarah M. "Tiney" McCoy. He was born on 3 August 1893 in Marshall County. In 1920, James and Rachel and their toddler daughter lived in the home of Rachel's parents in Marshall County. In 1930, still in Marshall County, they lived with two children and Tiny Massey, Rachel's widowed mother. James Rainey died in February 1974 in Lewisburg, Marshall County, Tennessee. Rachel Massey Rainey died in February 1985, last residence listing in Smyrna, Rutherford County, Tennessee. We do not know burial places yet.
1. Geneva Ada Gant, born 22 August 1867 in Marshall County, Tennessee, married Willis Lively Luna there on Christmas Eve of 1889. He was the son of Peter Grancer Luna and wife Margaret A. Neill. The Luna/Looney family line is a very old Tennessee family that goes all the way back to the Shenandoah Valley in the same place, same time frame as our Beards. Another Luna, Jeremiah, married Martha E. Beard, the daughter of John B. and Lucinda Ann Welch of Marshall County, and Jeremiah was also a descendant of Peter Grancer Luna. This was the second marriage for Willis Luna, as he married Lizzie Madden in about 1879 and appeared with her on the 1880 census. In 1900 (on an almost unreadable census page), Willis and Geneva had five of their five children living at home in Marshall County. In 1910 Marshall County, they had eight children. In 1920, still in Marshall County, four children were still at home. Two of their grown children lived in Nashville boarding houses and had jobs there. Geneva Ada Gant Luna died 29 April 1927 in Marshall County and was buried at Short Cemetery there. In 1930, Willis lived in Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama and was a worker at a foundry. Four of his grown children were in the home with him. Willis passed away on 12 February 1933 in Marshall County and was buried at Short Cemetery with Geneva.
: 2. Lela Mai Luna was born 30 November 1890 in Marshall County, Tennessee. She married on 23 August 1911 in the same to Earnest Lee "Ernie" Twitty, the son of Leonard Henley and Mary Matilda Harper Twitty. He was born 15 March 1887 in Lewisburg, Marshall County. In 1918, Earnest filled out a draft registration in Marshall County and claimed a wife and one child. In 1920, Ernie and Lela lived there with one son. 1930 finds them with a son and daughter, farming in Marshall County. Earnest died on 8 September 1959; Lela passed away 23 December 1986 in Lewisburg. We are not certain of a burial location.
: 2. Lennis Bell Luna was born on 24 August 1892 in Marshall County, Tennessee. In 1920, Lennis lived in Nashville, Tennessee with her aunt Mary Elizabeth Gant Bishop and family. Lennis worked as a dressmaker there, along with her cousin Nola Ruth Bishop. She was 26 on that census. In 1930 after her mother died, Lennis was in Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama with her father and brothers. She apparently never married and lived in Birmingham many years. She died there on 11 August 1972 and was buried at the Short Cemetery back in Marshall County, Tennessee.
: 2. Flossie Claire Luna was born 23 June 1894 in Marshall County, Tennessee. She married Thomas Cleophus Holly on 15 July 1916. Thomas completed a draft card in 1918 in Marshall County, stated that he had a wife and a child, and he soon served in that war as a PFC in the United States Army. In 1920 they lived in Marshall County with a small son; in 1930, still there, they had two sons and twin girls who were named Ada and Alice after their grandmothers. Thomas died in Marshall County on 30 June 1961. Flossie died there on 17 December 1974. They are at rest at the Lone Oak Cemetery in Lewisburg, Marshall County.
: 2. Lucius B. Luna was born on 6 August 1896 in Marshall County, Tennessee. He completed his draft registration for World War I in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, where he lived at the Park Hotel on Third Avenue North. His nearest relative was listed as his father in Cornersville, Marshall County. On the 1920 census he was in a hotel list in Nashville and he was a worker at a storage yard. We do not find any further records for Lucius Luna.
: 2. Bonnie Ruth Luna was born 23 May 1899 in Kentucky, the only one of the family who was born in Kentucky. This must have been a short stay or a visit to relatives, as she was with her parents in 1900 in Marshall County, Tennessee. Bonnie married Roy Allen Rhodes in probably Marshall County in about 1919. Roy was born on 8 July 1897 in Cornersville, Marshall County, Tennessee, the son of John Posey and Susie Rhodes. Just before his marriage, he registered for the draft in Marshall County, where he lived in Cornersville, worked for L & N Railroad, and his mother Susie was his nearest relative. In 1920, Roy and Bonnie lived in Tullahoma, Coffee County, Tennessee, where he was a rate clerk for the railroad. By 1930, they were listed in Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama with three children. Roy still worked as a billing clerk for the railroad. Bonnie Ruth Luna Rhodes died in August 1981 in Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama. Roy Allen Rhodes passed away in December of the next year, 1982, in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee. We do not yet know a burial place for either.
: 2. Addie Margaret Luna was born on 5 April 1903 in Marshall County, Tennessee. She married an unknown Savoy. She is buried at the Short Cemetery, Spring Place, Marshall County, Tennessee, with a death date of 28 March 1983. Her last place of residence was St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, Florida. We have no further information at this time.
: 2. Willis Everett Luna was born on 14 November 1904 in Marshall County, Tennessee. He married on 22 November 1935 in Jefferson County, Alabama to Lucille Hale McDonald. No further information is known but for a death date for him of 30 June 1968, last residence Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama. No burial place is yet known for either.
: 2. Emmett Loyd Luna was born on 20 August 1906 in Marshall County, Tennessee. He married Carolyn C. Unknown before 1943 in probably Alabama. On 13 April 1943, he enlisted at Fort McClellan, Alabama, for service in World War II. He was married and a signalman for the railroad and lived in Jefferson County, Alabama. Records show that he died on 29 April 1975, last residence Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama.
: 2. Joseph Paul Luna was born on 28 July 1910 in Marshall County, Tennessee. He married before 1944 to Catherine Massey. She was born on 5 July 1917 in Tennessee. On 6 April 1944, Joe P. Luna enlisted at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Georgia, for service in World War II. He was married and worked as a purchasing agent. Joseph died on 4 December 1982 in New Castle, Jefferson County, Alabama and Carolyn passed away 26 April 2004 in same. They are both at rest at the Short Cemetery, Spring Place, Marshall County, Alabama.
1. J. T. Gant was a son born in 1869 who was not listed on the 1880 census.
1. Charles Bishop Gant was a son born about 1871 who died before 1880.
1. William E. Gant, who was born in July 1893 in Marshall County, Tennessee, married an unknown wife before 1896, probably in Marshall County. He married Lillie May Ealy about 1898 in Marshall County. She was born on 6 October 1873 in Marshall County, the daughter of Francis Marion and Mary Elizabeth "Bettie" Trigg. In 1900, Will and Lillie Gant lived in Marshall County, married two years with no children. In 1910 they were in Fayetteville, Lincoln County, Tennessee, living next door to his sister Clementine "Tinie" Massey and her family; their mother Addie Gant lived with Clementine Gant Massey. William and Lillie had a small son. They had another child who died before 1910. In 1920, they are found in Lewisburg, Marshall County, Tennessee with the one son, James Carl. In 1930 they lived in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee with their married son , his wife, and two granddaughters. Lillie Ealy Gant died on 26 March 1936 in Nashville. According to ther death record in Tennessee, she was buried at the "Spring Place Graveyard". This is now called Short Cemtery in Spring Place, Marshall County, Tennessee. William Gant died in 1963 in Marshall County. We do not know his burial place for certain, but it is probably Short Cemetery as well.
: 2. James Carl Gant was born on 16 November 1907 in probably Lincoln County, Tennessee. He married about 1926 to Ethel Morse. She was born about 1907 in Tennessee, but no information is presently known about her family. In 1930, James and Ethel and two very small children lived in the home of his father in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee. At some point, this family was back home in Marshall County, Tennessee, as James died there in June 1973 with last residence listed as Chapel Hill, Marshall County.
1. Phineas L. "Phinney" Gant was born in September 1877 in Marshall County, Tennessee. He married Tellie Mae Cathey in Marshall County on 13 November 1901. She was born on 24 July 1880 in Marshall County, the daughter of Alfred E. and Mary E. Cathey. On 16 feb 1908, Tellie Mae married James Edgar Davis in Marshall County. We believe that Phinney must have died before this date, as we find absolutely no further record of him. We have no burial record, but his father William was buried in 1902 in the Short Cemetery, as were many other Gant family members, so it is probable that Phineas was buried there, as well. On the 1910 census, Tellie Mae Davis lived in Marshall County and there are no Gant children with her. She and James Davis had a family, and she died in Lewisburg, Marshall County, Tennessee in November, 1978. Tellie is buried at Lone Oak Cemetery, Marshall County, Tennessee.
1. Mary Elizabeth "Bettie" Gant was born in February 1880 in Marshall County, Tennessee. She married in 1897, probably at home in Marshall County, to a man twenty years older than she was. It was her first marriage and his third. He was Charles Thomas Bishop, the son of Addison H. and Louisa M. Clark Bishop. Charles was born on 10 December 1860 in Madison County, Alabama. We think that Charles or someone in his family may have been an old family friend, for in 1871, Mary Elizabeth's brother was christened "Charles Bishop Gant". In 1900, married three years, they lived a few households away from her parents and had a seven month old son. In 1910, living in Fayetteville, Lincoln County, Tennessee, they had two children. A newspaper account told of the death of his sister Eliza at his home in Fayetteville in April 1911. By the time of his draft registration in 1918, their son Homer said that the family home was at 704 Woodland in Nashville. The census of 1920 lists them in Nashville, Davidson County, where Charles was a furniture maker for a furniture company. Mary worked as a dressmaker at a dress company. Their son and daughter were both in the home, and Lenis Luna, Mary's niece, lived with them and also worked at the dressmakers. (Lenis was the daughter of Willis Lively Luna and wife Geneva Ada Beard.) Charles Bishop died in Nashville on 4 November 1927. On his death record, his occupation was given as a ticket collector. He was buried at Short Cemetery back in Marshall County, Tennessee. In 1930, Bettie Bishop was listed as a widow in Nashville, living next home to her brother William E. Gant and his wife Lillie. No death date or burial place is yet known for her.
: 2. Homer Carlton Bishop was born on 28 November 1899 in Tennessee. On one death record, his name was listed as Homer Howard Bishop, but all other records give Carlton as his middle name. In 1918 he filled out a draft card in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, where he lived at 704 Woodland. He was a shipping clerk for the National Casket Company in Nashville. His closest relative was listed as his father at the same address. Homer married on 6 November 1922 in Tennessee to Ella Mae Waggoner, the daughter of Benjamin Walter Waggoner and Atlanta Adeline Spencer. Ella was born on 4 January 1902 in Franklin County, Tennessee. Homer died at the age of 33 on 18 December 1932, in Nashville. He was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery there. Ella remarried on 31 March 1939 to John Goodloe Spencer. She died too young also, on 17 July 1939, last residence listed Tullahoma, Coffee County, Tennessee. Ella was buried at the Lynchburg City Cemetery in Moore County, Tennessee.
: 2. Nola Ruth Bishop was born about 1903 in Tennessee. No further information is known.
1. Unknown Child was born who died before the 1900 census was taken.