The Shumates - We Are Family, ca. 1905

Left to right:
Clay Porter Shumate, Pattie "Sittie" Shumate, Harriette Mary "Hattie Mai" Shumate, Martha Belle "Mattie" Shumate, Francis McLean "Mackie" Shumate, Virginia Shumate, Louise Shumate, Mai Belle Shumate

This is an amazing picture.   When we first saw it about a year ago we didn't know who these people were.  Were they Moran relatives?  Friends?  A club?  But now, after a year of sorting through things it became clear that this was a picture of Virginia Shumate before she was married to Kent's grandfather, James H. Moran III.  She's the third from the right.

What is more amazing is that it became clear that some of the other folks look familiar too.  And then like a light bulb going off over my head it was obvious to me that this was a group picture of Quincy Shumate and Nathan Shumate's children.   

In a nutshell, Quincy and Nathan were brothers, born in Kentucky.  Quincy married Louise "Lou" Elizabeth McLean and had five children: Porter, Pattie, Harriette Mary, Martha Belle and Francis McLean.  Quincy and family moved to Newbern TN sometime in the late 1800's.  His brother Nathan stayed in Kentucky in the Rockcastle County area.  Nathan married Margaret "Maggie" Jane Adams and they had three girls: Mai Belle, Virginia, and Louise.  Their mother died in 1896 and their father married Annie Elizabeth Purcell.  The three Shumate girls were not happy with this arrangement.  We think Virginia, Louise and Mai Belle moved to Newbern to live with Quincy sometime after their father remarried.  The girls did not get on with the new wife.  Nathan died a few years later in 1899.  The 1990 Census records show the girls living with Quincy in Newbern. 

Clay Porter Shumate married Pauline Prather.  He moved to Temecula California and married Mary Ethel Martindell in 1913. He died August 8, 1918.  I don't know where he is buried. **Updated Sept 8, 2014.  He's interred at Mount Hope Cemetery, San Diego California.  It is unknown at this time what happened to Mary Ethel.

Pattie "Sittie" Shumate may have been married to a man with the last name of Newman.  I know that later she was married to Selwyn Dennis Tucker and they lived in Memphis.  

Harriette Mary "Hattie Mai" Shumate was married to Allison M. Tyler.  Allison died in 1914 and Hattie Mai married Charles Bowden Kingry.

Martha Belle "Mattie" Shumate married Harry Lester Baum. They divorced in 1936 and he married another woman.  I have not yet found when or where Martha Belle died and is buried.

Francis McLean "Mackie" Shumate married James Vernon Thomas.  Sometime around 1919 I believe Mackie and James divorced.  She married Thomas Ogilvie MacPherson and lived in California.  A letter from Charles Kingry to Virginia Shumate has a lot of family history in it including the fact that Mackie attended the funeral services of her sister Hattie Mai in 1956 and that Mackie was living Banning, California at that time.  Check out the link for Thomas Ogilvie MacPherson III.  Until now I didn't realize how he fit into the Moran puzzle.

Virginia Shumate Moran married James Henderson Moran III in 1911 in Dresden TN. 

Louise Shumate married Joseph Clay Durway.  You can read a bit more about her here.

Mai Belle Shumate married Newton Temple Harris Sr and lived in Texas.  You can see a picture of Mai Belle here taken on Mother's Day 1952.  She has a vase (one of a pair) that her father Nathan had given to her mother before they were married in 1882.  We have the matching vase, albeit at some point in history it was broken but was still a cherished memento.  It was made by Webster & Brothers and is stamped "hard white metal".  The pattern number is 44.

There is so much more to say about this family and will be!  Some of it has been said before in this blog so if you're interested be sure to use the search function or feel free to browse the archives.  Check back soon, I'm always adding new information.

My Dear Cousins & Uncle...Aug 26 1935

I really enjoyed this letter from Martha Belle FAMULINER a lot.  She was writing to her cousins and Uncle Quincy about their recent visit.  In a way it's a sad letter because the visit was a brief one and Martha Belle had obviously planned for them to stay overnight and had pre-made as much of the dinner as she could have. She is very outspoken as to how upset she was that the visit was cut short but she recovers and goes on to talk about the farm and how they had just finished threshing wheat and barley and how she looks forward to another more lengthy visit from her relatives.

Patti Shumate TUCKER forwarded the letter on to another cousin, Virginia Shumate MORAN, and her comments show who the real culprit was in regard to the short visit, her husband Selwyn Dennis TUCKER.

Letter from Mrs. J.B. FAMULINER (Martha Belle SHUMATE)
to her cousin
Mrs. Selwyn D. TUCKER  (Patti SHUMATE )

Harrisonville Mo
August 26 1935

My Dear Cousins & Uncle,

I was glad to hear that you reached home safely and felt your trip worth while, I have wondered and still am wondering, at what time you reached the Ozarks, and if you spent the night there and found it cool.

Seldom have I been so disappointed that you didn't stay and make us a visit as I had planned so much on your doing so, and had a thousand things I wanted to talk over with you and Uncle Quincy and really get acquainted.

I didn't tell you when you were here, (the time was too short), that I had my supper all prepared, with a dressed chicken ready to fry, in the refrigerator, & I had baked 2 cakes a lovely Angel food and a Devil's food, & we had frozen a freezer of ice cream and had it packed in the basement, waiting serving.  So I would be free to visit with you.  I wished afterwards I had served you ice-cream and cake, but you were in such a hurry to go there wasn't time.

I was so stunned that you couldn't even spend the night that I had a big cry after you left and when James Jr. came back from starting the engine to pump water for the hogs and found you had come and gone he was certainly surprised and disappointed too as well as his Daddy when he came home.  In fact it took me days to get

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over it, if I have yet, the disappointment was so great.

We have had it much cooler the past week, and is cool and raining this morning so the dust is all settled now.

We have been busy with our threshing, Friday and Saturday.  We threshed our wheat, oats, & barley.  If you never lived on a farm, perhaps you don't know what it is like.  We had 23 for dinner each day, I had the girl that you saw here and her sister to help me and we got along fine, but our grain didn't turn out very well.  We had too much rain in the spring and too dry since, besides the army worms ate the heads off the wheat and barley so badly.

I wish you were here today; I am sitting on the front porch writing this on my lap and watching the gentle rain come down.  It feels so delightfully cool and refreshing.

When you come out again, I hope you can come the last week in Aug. or in May.  It is most always cool then, and much more enjoyable to visit.

I hope you and Uncle Quincy will write to me often, I will enjoy hearing from you both and do take good care of yourselves and cousin Selwyn's health.  Hope he gets over the arthritis, it is so miserable.  I want so much for he & my husband to meet, think they would enjoy each other.

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Uncle Quincy looked so much like Papa I loved him the moment I saw him.  Here's hoping we all meet again before too long and have a real visit.  I must close with lots of love to all, I remain
Sincerely, Your Cousin
Martha B. FAMULINER

P.S. Charles Jr's. Grandparents came, shortly after you all left that Friday afternoon and took him back to K.C. with them.  We miss him.   M.B.F.

This part is written in pencil and was added by Patti Shumate Tucker (Mrs. Selwyn Dennis Tucker), the recipient of the letter.  Patti was forwarding the letter on to her cousin Virginia Shumate Moran.

Sat. P.M.
Dear Va, Been so busy cleaning out things preparatory to Fall cleaning past week, haven't written, but am sending this recent letter, which made me feel more than ever that husbands really do mess things up sometimes.  Dad & I were so anxious to spend at least a night in Cuz. MB's home, but my restless husband just wouldn't.  Guess he tho't he'd done his part in bringing us by for our little ghost of a visit, for which was really thankful.  The days past week have been so perfect & the nights good for sound sleep, which have enjoyed, since couldn't sleep in the Rockies.  Too high for my nerves. S. going to a stag picnic this P.M. so a lonesome Sat. & have to cook dinner since T. gone home. Lots love
Devotedly Sittie (Sittie was Patti's nickname)

The FAMULINER and MORAN Connection comes through the SHUMATE line:

The author of this letter is Martha Belle SHUMATE (wife of James Buford FAMULINER), the daughter of Jason Champ SHUMATE and Jennie LACKEY. Martha, or MB,  is writing to her cousin Patti (Sittie) SHUMATE (wife of Selwyn Dennis TUCKER) and Patti's father, John Quincy SHUMATE.  Quincy's wife Louise Elizabeth McLean passed away in 1930.  Patti forwarded the letter to another cousin, Virginia SHUMATE (wife of James Henderson MORAN III), the daughter of Nathan McClary SHUMATE and Margaret Jane ADAMS.

Champ SHUMATE and Martha Jane MCCLARY were the parents and grandparents of the Shumates listed above.

Hattie Mai Shumate, 1881-1956

Harriette Mary (Hattie Mai) Shumate
abt 1881 - 1956

I came across a lovely letter written by Charles B. Kingry to Virginia Shumate Moran regarding the death and funeral of Hattie Mai Shumate.  Virginia was Hattie's cousin and Charles Kingry was Hattie's second husband. It's the kind of letter that genealogist love to find.  It's chatty, informative and a treasure trove of information about Hattie and her family. For instance, until I found the letter we didn't know her full name was Harriette Mary Shumate.  Census records only list her as Hattie.  We didn't know she had married once, let alone twice and we didn't know she had children.  We didn't know what she looked like and now we have several pictures of her and even one of her husband Charles.  So without further ado, here is the transcription of the letter and a few pictures.









Postmarked January 15, 1957
Denver Colorado

333 Ivanhoe St., Jan. 15
Dear Virginia and Family:
Thank you for you kind letter of sympthy (sic).  We were under the impression that Sittie (We haven't identified which person is Sittie but her name appears in several letters.)  would notify promptly all concerned in the Memphis are.

Page 1, Ltr from Charles Kingry

We bought and moved into a one-story English cottage type of house at he(sic) above address last Sept. 4th, to give Hattie Mai a change, after nearly four years of confinement to up-stairs, except when I took her down and up.  Here she could have the range of the house in her walker chair, as well as enjoying the screened back porch on warm days.  And she was refreshed and improved until about Nov. 1st, when the rheumatoid process began to involve her heart.  She suffered no great distress or discomfort, except some degree of nausea when we had to give her Digitalis.  Everything we thought possible was done to help her, but to no avail.  The morning of Nov. 20th her pulse was rapid, but regular, and I went to the office as late as I could, about 10:30, with no inkling that the situation was more critical.  I phoned about noon and Earlene, an excellent negro nurse and maid, said she had taken a little breakfast after I left and thought she was better.
Not long after that Hattie Mai called her, with her little bedside bell, and said "earlene let's change my gown and freshen up the bed".  As soon as that was finished, she patted Earlene on the cheek and said "you have been so good to me" and slumped over.  Earlene called me "Come quickly", and Harriette and Allison (These are Hattie Mai's two children from her first marriage to a man with the last name of Tyler.  Allison is a boy.) and Martha Belle (Martha Belle Shumate Baum is her sister and has a story of her own.  We are still trying to find out when she passed away and where.), and I called her Doctor (Buchanan).  We all got here at about the same time (15 minutes or so), but it was too late.

Hattie Mai Shumate and
Charles Bowdon Kingry

I feel she was ready to go, and that God saw fit to terminate the course of her disability and take her to Heaven where she could be healed.
She was beautiful in her favorite dress, a powder blue lace, with pearl beads necklace and ear rings and a white orchid, and her hair-do was just perfect.  We invited about fifty close friends and twelve honorary pall bearers (mostly Doctors).  An eloquently beautiful and most comforting Service.  "Life is eternal. There is no death of the Divine Spirit. No beginning. No end, insofar as real values are concerned."  We asked that no flowers be sent, but in lieu thereof, that donations could be sent to the Arthritis and Rheumatism Foundation, Colo. National Bank Bldg., as a memorial to her.  But, many beautiful flowers were sent. We placed an arrangement of many red roses (her favorite Happiness rose, something like American Beauty) at either end of the casket, and a blanket of 120 such rosebuds and Lilies of the Valley.
After a brief service at the Chapel in beautiful Fairmount Cemetery, with just the family, her mortal remains were cremated, and the following Saturday afternoon we had a sweet, but brief interment of her remains in a beautiful bronze Grecian urn, placed in a family niche, with glass front and bronze frame and fittings, the floor of the niche draped in her favorite bright red velvet.  She did not want her date of birth or age stated in any of the records, bless her proud soul, -- so the old English style of engraving on the urn
HARRIETTE MARY KINGRY
Died Nov. 20, 1956
Wife of Dr. Chas. B. Kingry
Mother of Harriette and Allison Tyler

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I go to the Mausoleum -- a large beautiful Greek Temple on a gently hill overlooking the Cemetery and toward the Rocky Mountains -- Beautiful White marble interior -- Sundays after Church, and replace the flowers, usually red carnations, and commune with her "Blithe Spirit" which has always been my conception of her, and especially sice she has been released from the cares, suffering and disability of this earthly existence.
We have sold the other house, just recently, and have this house up for sale.  Don't know just what living arrangements I shall make, apartment, at the Club or something -- It doesn't see so important now.

Page 2, Ltr from Charles Kingry

Allisin spends part of the time with me, lunch, dinner, and occasionally sleeps here.  Has his own little house.  He is in the Real Estate business and is managing the sale of the houses.
Harriette divorced Albert Crumbaugh after a long and unsuccessful effort to make a success of their marriage.  Had adopted Dorris, (9), and Charles Michael, (5), now, I mean.  Both wonderful children.  She married James Samuel Gutshall last June.  They are very happy.  He and his brother own a good Tent & Awning business here.
My work keeps me busy, and I try to seize whatever opportunities the Lord reveals to me to be of service to those who need it, over and above purely medical matters.
Macki (Macki is her sister Frances McLean Shumate MacPherson) was here with us for the Services.  She owns a nice little home in a very scenic location in Banning, Calif., and has enough from Gov't. Insurance and Pension to live on.
Martha Belle has a apartment and has one of her widow friends to share it with her.  Address 1225 E. 9th Ave., Apt. 10.
Hattie Mai loved you, in return, and great respect for you and Louise and Maybell.
She was the greatest person I ever knew -- the main works in this organization, Kingry & Co., and all I could possibly be and do were far less than she deserved.  My loss of her physical presence is difficult to bear, but I am resigned to God's will in terminating her illness and disability before it became too much for her to tolerate cheerfully and bravely.  She never gave up.  Her Bible marker, I find, was at the 3rd chapter of The Acts.

Hattie Mai Shumate

The organ music at the Mortuary Service was the instrumental for the Hymns "Just As I am Without One Plea" and "In the Cross of Christ I Glory"
I am enclosing some color prints which show how we looked in our home before she began to have the disabling effects of arthritis.  I would like you to keep whichever one of her you like best and return the others.  She means so much to me that I want all who lover her to know of her as she was, and to have some picture or memento of her.
I do hope to have the pleasure of seeing and getting to know you and all your fine family, and you certainly have my cordial invitation to visit us here if you ever come this way.

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You probably remember Annie Laura (Pretty) Campbell of Dyersburg.  She has lived here for years.  Lost her husband, John, a year ago.  She and Hattie Mai were great friends and she was very kind and attentive during her illness, and has been a great help during these trying times.
Bertha Minning of Dyersburg (Mrs. Nat Green, 4350 Middlesex, San Diego, Calif.) kept in touch with Hattie Mai in recent years.  She lost her husband several months ago.
Harriette and Allison send their love.  She appreciated your letter greatly and will write you soon.  Her address is 2300 Poplar St.

Page 3, Ltr from Charles Kingry

Memorial pamphlet from Hattie Mai Shumate Kingry's funeral.

Hattie Mai, of course, told me much about her childhood and early life down there, and I had the great privilege of know Mr. and Mrs. Shumate (Quincy Shumate and Louise Elizabeth McLean were her parents).  They were great people.  One of my fondest memories is of a visit I had with them in Milltown, in their declining years.  On a trip to Alabama to see some of my family, in 1934, I believe, I stopped off in Lewisburg on the way back and went out to see them for a day.  We went up to Harvey's and had a visit with him and Sister Hattie, who was visiting him at the time, and we had an interesting time going over some of teh McLean family history and lore.  Hattie Mai had the Clan history and pictures of the old Castle of Duarte, on the Island of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland, together with pictures of the then Chief, Sir Fitzroy.  These were taken by one of her friends who visited the Castle and had tea with the old Chief, and she proudly displayed Coat of Arms in the entrance hall of our homes, and it is there now in this present house.  An aristocrat in spirit and manner and deeds, but never lacking in love and human kindness to the lowliest in birth and fortune, was she, oved and respected by all who knew her.
Affectionately,
Chas. Kingry