The inscription says Frances McLean Thomas, Age four months and three weeks however this cute little baby is also known as Marion Frances THOMAS. She was the daughter of James Vernon THOMAS and his first wife Frances McLean (Mackie) SHUMATE, 1887 -1965. Mackie was born in Tennessee and died in California. At this time the location of where she is buried is unknown. She was the daughter of Quincy SHUMATE and Louise Elizabeth McLean. Mackey was a shortened version of her middle name, McLean.
Her daughter Frances was born in 1913 and died in 1972. We think that in all likelihood the divorce was acrimonious and perhaps Mackey was even painted as being an unfit mother since her daughter remained in the custody of her ex-husband, James Vernon THOMAS. It's also very likely that her name was originally Frances McLean Thomas just as it's written above but after the divorce which occurred before 1919 as that's when he remarried, was changed to Marion Frances Thomas. Of course this is all just speculation on our part and we could be wrong. Frances married Collin Lyle DURHAM. She is our second cousin, once removed.
Mackie and James were married in 1909. After the divorce he married Rebecca SPICER and they had three children James Thomas Jr, Robert Spicer and Elizabeth Ann.
 |
| Thomas Ogilvie MacPherson III, half brother of Frances McLean THOMAS |
Mackie's second husband was Thomas Ogilvie MACPHERSON II. They lived in California and had one child, Thomas Ogilvie MACPHERSON III. His father was listed as an "inmate" at the Patton State Hospital for the Insane in the 1940 Census. His father died in Riverside California on March 2, 1982. Sadly, I discovered today that Thomas the third died at the age of 23 from head injuries sustained in an automobile accident. He had enlisted in the Air Force Jan. 12, 1951. He re-enlisted on February 9, 1952 and was stationed at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. He died on July 1, 1952. He was a 2nd Lieutenant.. Interestingly enough on the South Carolina Death Certificate for Thomas the third it indicates that his father was deceased when in actuality he was very much alive and would survive his son and wife. We speculate that back in the fifties the stigma of mental illness was probably so great that he would not have been a suitable candidate for the military, particularly since he was an officer. So it seems probable that he and his mother had lied about his father being dead.
UPDATED Nov 12, 2022
I recently came across an obituary for Thomas Jr which had a picture of him in uniform. I recognized it as a picture I had scanned some years ago but didn't know who the young man might be.
Hi Mary. I have been trying to research my mothers biological father and came across this. My mothers name is Yvette Francis Enid LaCount. She is the child of Thomas Ogilvie MacPherson III. Her mother Gislaine Poffe who passed away in May 2019 at the age of 93 had an affair with Thomas and my mother was a product of that affair. My mother was born August 19, 1952. The story has was that Thomas got into a head on collision on his way to California to be there for the birth of my mother. We did not know much about my great grandparents, as it was hush hush about my mothers birth. My grandmother was a very mean lady and kept a lot from my mother. My mother is still alive and I am getting ready to have her take a DNA test to see if I can find out any more about my family history. Would love to connect with you if you are willing. I look forward to hearing from you.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Teressa Baldwin-Fleming
I've sent you a message on ancestry.
Delete