Claybourn Genealogical Society

Shirley Eleanor Nash, R.I.P.

2010-03-22T07:32:00.001-06:00

If you read it all the way through to the end, I think you will find this to be one of the best obituaries ever written, in large part because the life it details is incredible.

Operating Statement / Statement of Activities

2010-01-02T13:15:00.002-06:00

The 2009 operating statement / statement of activities for the Claybourn Genealogical Society is now available here. For information about becoming a member click here.

The Genealogies of Christ

2009-12-23T09:44:00.000-06:00

Prof. Grant Osborne, writing in Christianity Today, provides a fascinating synopsis of what the two genealogies of Christ, found in Matthew and Luke, are really trying to say. The article should be particularly intriguing for genealogists during this Christmas season.

Few aspects of the Bible seem less relevant to daily life than genealogies. Yet for Gospel writers Matthew and Luke, they were absolutely essential for understanding Jesus.

Genealogies fulfilled multiple purposes in the ancient world. Society was organized around kinship patterns, so every family needed lists that described their ancestral pedigree. Such family trees determined a person's social relationships. For instance, two families planning the marriage of their children would compare family lines to check kinship ties to ensure the two were "compatible." And rulers used genealogies to justify their power, rank, and status.

So why are the genealogical trees in Matthew and Luke so different? Matthew begins his Gospel with Jesus' genealogy, while Luke places it, strangely, between Jesus' baptism and temptation. Matthew has an ascending list, moving from Abraham up to Jesus, while Luke has a descending list, moving from Jesus down to Adam. Matthew's list is partial; Luke's is complete. And most significantly, while the two lists are virtually identical from Abraham to David, they diverge greatly from David to Jesus.

Click here to read the rest.

This Day in History

2009-10-08T08:50:00.007-05:00

On this day 147 years ago, our ancestors James Harrison Claybourn and Pleasant T. Claiborne (both cousins) took part in the Battle of Perryville. Over 20% of those engaged in the battle were either killed, wounded or went missing, making it one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War.

The Union victory there marked a turning point in the War. Confederate forces retreated into Tennessee, and Kentucky remained in Union possession for the remainder of the War. Just as important, the victory stalled Europeans from recognizing the Confederacy and rejuvenated Northerners enough to continue supporting the War in the 1862 elections.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this battle for our family is that cousins James and Pleasant fought on opposite sides of the line. James participated on the Union side with Company H of the 80th Illinois Infantry, and Pleasant with Company H of the 25th Arkansas Infantry Regiment. It isn't known if Pleasant and James ever realized or discovered they were fighting each other in this battle.

Pleasant ultimately died in the War about a year later in July of 1863. James, however, survived and lived to be nearly 77 years old. He had ten children and hundreds of descendants, including yours truly and the family's initial historian, Harriette Pinnell Threlkeld. One great irony is that had Pleasant or any of his Confederate compatriots succeeded in killing James, the family's genealogical information might never have been compiled. Thus, Pleasant would have survived the battle, but any historical evidence of his very existence would have died.

Updates

2009-10-07T21:34:00.003-05:00

The biography of Patsy and Joe E. Richards, available here, has been updated in light of information available in their 65th wedding anniversary announcement.

Additionally, biographical information for Garrett Harrison Claybourn and his soon-to-be wife Tera are available here, having been updated in light of their engagement announcement here.

"Doc" Claybourn

2009-08-04T20:09:00.001-05:00

Thanks to contributions from Delores ("Dee") Claybourn Wills, the biographical information of Ephraim Smith Claybourn (1851 - 1909) and his descendants have been updated and revised.

Updates from Mt. Vernon, Illinois

2009-07-07T08:57:00.007-05:00

I recently traveled to the home of Bob Dulaney, a widower to Paula ("Polly") McCracken, in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Polly was the granddaughter of Birtie May Claybourn and quite proud of her Claybourn roots. Polly died in July of 2008 and, left with a large empty house, her husband Bob has decided to move to smaller living quarters. Therefore Bob and his two sons - Rick and Mike - were cleaning out the home and preparing for an auction to sell quite a number of items.

The family wanted certain historic documents and heirlooms with Claybourn ties to be given to the Claybourn Genealogical Society for preservation and safe keeping. Among other things, there were numerous genealogical records, historic books, old photographs, and even a relatively lengthy diary. Of particular interest was some of the original research of Harriette Pinnell Threlkeld, one of the first and most significant family historians.

Over the next several months and years we will be working to digitize the documents and provide accounts of everything on the CGS website. The additions will be a great asset to the family history and I have no doubt that future generations will be thankful for their preservation.

Although not related to the Claybourn family, I was intrigued by an antique hand push cultivator that was in great condition, pictured to the right. It's precise age is unknown but I would suspect it to be at least 100 years old, and most likely even older.

Luticia Achea Claiborne

2009-05-17T18:10:00.002-05:00

A significant amount of biographical information has been added for Luticia Achea Claiborne (1824 - 1891), the seventh child of Ephraim Claybourn, and Luticia's nine children. The vast majority of the information was provided by Lutitia's descendants Evelyn Spradlin and Lynda Cook.

CGS an Official Nonprofit Entity

2009-03-25T07:59:00.006-06:00

Prior to yesterday, the Claybourn Genealogical Society (CGS) operated as an unincorporated entity. But in order to provide tax advantages to contributors and members, CGS is now a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. All donations to CGS are therefore deductible with receipts provided upon request. Click here for more information on becoming a member.

In the interest of transparency I have also posted a statement of revenue and expenses for 2008 (pdf). The current expenses of CGS are primarily web hosting expenses and fees for research tools such as Ancestry.com. However, as our contact with relatives grows, we are constantly learning of headstones of ancient family ancestors that are dilapidated and in need of repair. Thus, a future project of CGS may be to ensure that these memorials are repaired to a respectable condition.

Newest Permanent Member

2009-03-25T07:57:00.001-06:00

The newest CGS permanent member is Billy James Claybourn, the son of Wesley Vance Claybourn. Please take a moment to check out Billy's biography and that of his four children. Click here if you're interested in becoming a CGS member.

A Tech Geek's Delight

2009-03-20T08:13:00.007-06:00

[Note: This post is likely to only appeal to web design geeks like me.]

An important part of any genealogical or historical research is offering proper footnotes and citations. Thus, in the last several months I've made a concerted effort to start adding footnotes to the biographical entries on CGS, and though we have merely made a dent in that effort, it continues full steam ahead.

But the web design geeks out there (like myself) will know that footnotes, which are well suited for word processors like Microsoft Word, do not always translate well into web pages. This page gives a good account of the common HTML options available to people hoping to incorporate footnotes into their web publishing. The most common method, which this website used until very recently, is to simply put footnotes in brackets (e.g. [3]) with the number linking to the corresponding footnote below, and the footnote at the bottom likewise linking back to the original number in the main text.

Although this system is straight forward and relatively easy to do, each footnote has to be manually entered, both in the main body and at the bottom. Therefore anytime additional footnotes are added in the middle of the page, all of the subsequent footnotes have to be re-numbered...twice, once in the text and then again at the bottom. As the number of footnotes on a page grows this can get to be a big pain.

Therefore I set out on an exhaustive search to find a better web design answer, and I even considered hiring a web programmer. I wanted to find a script which allowed me to enter the footnote once and then have the full footnote at the bottom automatically generated, just as it's done when editing a Wikipedia entry. Luckily, I eventually found this post published by Brand Spanking New. There the author offers a javascript which provides an incredibly easy way to incorporate footnotes that are automatically numbered just as I wanted. Citations are handled "inline" and double entries are no longer necessary. Any updates and additions are handled seamlessly and with little effort. You can see the new system in action on Joshua Clyburn's biography.

As I noted at the outset, this find will only appeal to web design geeks like me, but given that it took me well over a week to find the right solution, I wanted to publish it here in case other web wanderers are looking for something similar. There appears to be very few adequate solutions for footnoting on the web, but this is certainly one of them.

CGS Happenings

2009-03-13T17:07:00.008-06:00

Leland Meitzler of the GenealogyBlog has penned a flattering post about the Claybourn Genealogical Society. Be sure to check it out.

Such kind words about the quality and uniqueness of this website provide a good opportunity to recognize two recent members who help make it possible:

William Freddy Curtis, grandson of William H. and Matilda Clayborn and great-grandson of James Thompson and Melinda Clayborn, has recently become a member and continues to provide invaluable assistance in researching his line.
Jennifer Claybourne-Torkelson, great-granddaughter of Mourten Franklin and Nellie Claybourne and great-great-granddaughter of John Bethel and Mary Ellen Claybourn, has also become a member and provided helpful information about her family.

Membership with CGS allows the Society to continue its work in researching, gathering and archiving data and artifacts of the family. Membership fees help pay for, among other things, web hosting expenses (which are $10 a month) and fees for researching tools such as Ancestry.com which are integral to ongoing research. Click here for more on becoming a member.

William H. Clayborn

2009-03-09T17:36:00.002-06:00

A new page has been added for William H. Clayborn and his descendants following the discovery of additional information via William Freddy Curtis, William H.'s great-grandson. Additions will continue to be made to this line, as with all others, as research continues.

John H. Claiborne

2009-03-06T21:57:00.005-06:00

A new page has been added for John H. Claiborne and his descendants in light of a number of census record discoveries and other data which warranted an expansion of space.

John's biography is notable for a number of reasons. John fought in the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy, but was captured and brought North. After being released from prison he spent some time at his uncle's house, whose family was fighting on the side of the Union. After returning to Arkansas John would go on to marry three times and have fifteen children. Shockingly, his third marriage occurred at the age of 64 years old when he married a 24 year old woman named Ethel. His last child with Ethel was born and conceived when he was 70 years old.

Joshua Clyburn's Daughters

2009-02-27T22:07:00.003-06:00

Some updates to the daughters of Joshua Clyburn (c. 1758 - c. 1799) have been made following the discovery of census records and tombstone pictures which have provided a clearer and more accurate picture of certain details of their lives.

DNA Research Update

2009-02-25T09:16:00.004-06:00

A new link has been added to the menu bar to cover and summarize DNA research pertaining to a study organized and coordinated by Alex Waldrup III of The National Society of the Claiborne Family Descendants using Family Tree DNA. Click here to read that page.

The 1890 Census

2009-02-23T17:45:00.001-06:00

Tamie Dehler of the Terre Haute Tribune-Star has penned an insightful and interesting article on the 1890 census, long considered lost to fire/water.

Claybourn Coat of Arms

2009-02-05T23:13:00.032-06:00

The coat of arms previously featured on the front page, pictured to the right, has been replaced by the more commonly accepted version on the left. The coat of arms on the right was the original coat of arms granted to the family of Cliburn, of the City of Cliburn in the County of Westmorland, in c. 1584-1585. This is the family from which our ancestor Joshua Clyburn descended.

The arms were argent, three chevronels interlaced in base and a chief sable. The crest features a demi wolf proper, rampant and regardant. Click here for descriptions and definitions of these heraldry terms.

According to the ancient English rules of heraldry, only one person could use the arms at a time, usually the father as the head of the family. Other members of the family would have to use slightly modified versions until the father died, at which point the original arms would be inherited. Typically the modifications would involve a slight color change or the addition of a new "charge" or field.

Over time, due to these modifications, a new "charge" of an "engrailed cross" was added to the Cliburn shield and eventually became the more commonly used version. The word engrailed is distantly related to grill, implying protection. The feature of the engrailed cross for Christians is its spikes, which represent the thorns piercing Jesus' head during His crucifixion. The engrailed crosses in the newer version were drawn by Harriette Pinnell Threlkeld, one of the original researchers of Claybourn family history.

The motto in Saxon is "Lofe clibbor na sceame", which means "Tenacious of what is right, not of what is shameful." The motto in Latin is "Confide recti agens", which means roughly the same thing.

As an aside, William Claiborne - the Secretary of Virginia born c. 1600 - used the Cliburn coat of arms on his official documents, and the Cliburn heraldic emblem is on numerous Claiborne family gravestones, especially in Virginia. Descendants of this William include fashion designer Liz Claiborne and William C.C. Claiborne, first governor of Louisiana, as well as a number of political figures from Tennessee and Virginia.

Given the similarities in name and coat of arms, it was long suspected that the Claybourn family was related to this William. But in the 1940s, a Virginia genealogical researcher dispelled Claiborne's Westmorland lineage after determining that Claiborne was the son of Thomas Clebourne, a Kent, England, native who once served as mayor, alderman and justice of the peace in King's Lynn, a Norfolk, England, village. More recent DNA studies have confirmed that William is not related to the Claybourns and did not descend from the Cliburn family of Westmorland. Thus, William's use of the coat of arms is a mystery.

Nevertheless, descendants of the Claybourn family can rest assured that this coat of arms is their own.

The Barack Obama Connection

2008-11-12T19:16:00.007-06:00

It's been said that if you go back far enough in your genealogy, everyone on the planet is related. Of course, that's true, but 99.99% of the time you have to go back further than records allow. For the Claybourn family and President-elect Barack Obama, that is not a concern. We have been able to determine that, through marriage, all Claybourns are related to the 44th President of the United States.

James Verner Marvin Claybourn (known simply as "Vern") had a daughter named Mary Adelais. She married a Herbert Edward Allred. Herbert is a direct descendant John Allred, who was born in 1772 in Richmond County, North Carolina and died in 1850 in Newton County, Arkansas. This John Allred is also a direct ancestor (on his maternal grandmother's side) of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States.

Polly Dulaney

2008-07-16T23:33:00.002-05:00

Paula "Polly" Dulaney passed away on Monday, July 14th. Her biographical information on the CGS website can be found on the page of her grandmother, Birtie May Claybourn. The Mt. Vernon Register-News has published her obituary here.

Various Updates

2008-07-09T13:10:00.002-05:00

I have greatly revised and expanded the biographical sketch of Joshua Clyburn, our first known ancestor. Among other things, I have revised portions relating to his parentage and Revolutionary War experience, as well as expanded upon possible siblings.

Updates

2008-04-06T23:07:00.001-05:00

All of the biographical information for Reuben Cicero Claybourn and Candace Frances Frost Claybourn, as well as all of the information available regarding their descendants, has been fully uploaded to the CGS website.

Judith Claybourn Howard

2007-12-02T15:42:00.000-06:00

The biographical sketch of Judith Claybourn Howard has been added, as have images of her interment at Arlington National Cemetery.

Updates

2007-12-01T22:01:00.000-06:00

All of the biographical information for William Pratt Claybourn and John Bethel Claybourn, as well as all of the information available regarding their descendants, has been fully uploaded to the CGS website.

William Divine Pedigree

2007-08-02T10:16:00.000-05:00

We have now updated the records for Mary Catherine Claybourn and Sarah Jane Claybourn, both being the oldest daughters of William Divine Claybourn.