PARTHENIA'S OBITUARY

"Nodaway Democrat" 2 May 1879

Death of Parthenia B. Richards.  

Last Sunday afternoon a large concourse of people gathered at the home of James
E. Alexander to pay last tribute of affection to Mrs. Parthenia Richards, mother of James E. Alexander & brothers, who departed this life Saturday April 26, 1879 at 8:30am, after an illness of six weeks.  

Mrs. Richards was born in Halifax VA, on 12 Jun 1813, & was nearly 66 years of age at the time of her death.  She was the mother of 12 children, 10 of whom are now living and seven (six sons and a daughter) are now living in Nodaway County.

Mrs. Richards united with the Baptist Church in the winter of 1850 and was baptised in the Chariton River on a cold winter day when a coating of ice had to be removed in order that she might be immersed.  Her life was a consistent, zealous one, and her daily walk and conversation a sermon to all who came in contact with her.  All who knew her bear testimony to her Christian character and kindness of heart.

She died in the full assurance of immortality, her last words being, 

"Pray for my children; Jesus Christ has washed me clean."


The friends and kindred are not left to mourn without hope, but have the blessed assurance of meeting her in the letter land if they will.  The funeral services were conducted by Rev. LaTour of Maryville assisted by Rev. D.C. O'Howell.  The sermon was preached from Rev. 11-14, and attentively listened to by the throng in attendance.

The mortal remains were interred in Oak Hill Cemetery, there to await the resurrection morn, in the presence of a large concourse of friends and relatives, showing the strong hold she had on their affections.  The relatives desire to return thanks to the neighbors who so kindly assisted in caring for the deceased and were present at her burial.

THE MYSTERY OF THE CHEROKEE WIDOW

Our Cherokee Ancestor

So everybody in our family knows that when Daddy says something about the mistreatment of HIS PEOPLE, he's talking about Native Americans.  And the specific Native American ancestor his comments point to is this one, born Parthenia Byrd Jones.

The Business of Being Born

Grandma Jesse indicated in the family history that her great grandmother Parthenia was born in 1812, and was Cherokee from Tennessee or West Virginia.
Some have her birthday as 12 June 1813 in Halifax, Virginia, but I have not been able to confirm that, (yet).

Parthenia Byrd Jones

Parthenia Byrd Jones

What's Up With Her Name?

Colonel William Byrd,
not exactly the
outdoorsy type, is he?

I always thought Parthenia was a strange name... little did I know that it was quite a common first name in the 1800's, Greek for "maiden" or virgin" (like the Parthenon, which refers to Athena), and it's my impression that in VIRGINia (named after the Virgin Queen), it was more common than elsewhere.

Which brings us to Byrd.  Native, right?  Byrd is actually an old Virginia name from Britain: the gentleman who surveyed & established the Virginia/North Carolina border (hopefully quelling rather than fueling disputes) in 1728 was Colonel William Byrd of Westover.

I've only recently come across some of our distant cousins who have been able to find Parthenia's parents, Woodford Jones, Sr., and Mildred "Millie" Byrd.  More on them in another post.

The Bane of Genealogists Everywhere

Since her name doesn't appear to be Cherokee, she may have been adopted (records of such adoptions are scarce and were rarely done through the courts, but I haven't looked yet).  It's apparently really common for people doing family history to say, "Oh, but my ancestor had such high cheekbones, she MUST be Native American!"
Facial structure is not proof of lineage, apparently.

How Many Husbands Does a Girl Need?

With a name like Parthenia Byrd Jones Alexander Shoemaker Richards, I've heard a few times that she had SEVEN husbands.  Yowza.  That may have been a bit of an exaggeration.

As far as we know, her husbands were:

1.  Parthenia Jones married William Frances Alexander

in about 1827 in Louisiana (she was 14).

• son, Woodford Jones Alexander
• daughter, Mary Span Alexander
• son, Thomas J Alexander
• son, James Ervin Alexander
• son, John Lafayette Alexander
• son, William Chelsey Alexander

According to one story, 

• William and Parthenia were married by Father Francis Joseph Alexander about 1827.
• It is reported that William killed Parthenia's brother because he beat her for marrying a white man.
• Parthenia was a Cherokee Indian. 
• William fled to the next slave ship to Africa to avoid revengeful killing. 
• William may have owned a plantation in Louisiana. 
• William was a school teacher and a native of Louisiana.

William died 3 September 1840 in Washington Co., Illinois, aged 38.

2.  Parthenia Alexander married Thomas Shoemaker 

Rattlesnake image courtesy of
TigerHawkVok at
Wikimedia Commons
See this site for what to
do if you are bitten!

13 December 1842 in Washington County, Illinois (she was ~30 by this time).

(Washington County IL Marriage Records 1831-1858, Published by the Marissa Historical & Genealogical Society, page 8 (1842))

• daughter, Milla A Shoemaker
• son, Absalom Shoemaker
• son, Cornelius Shoemaker (Jessie's grandfather)
• son, Jasper Shoemaker
• son, Rufus Shoemaker

Thomas died 7 June 1865 near Centerville, Appanoose County, Iowa of "a rattle snake bite while getting wood to saw."  He was 60 years old.

3.  Parthenia Shoemaker married Isaac Richards

on 26 December 1865 (she was 52).

So Was She Really Cherokee?

Grandma Jessie sure thought she was.  Look here and here to see the words she wrote about Cornelius -- Parthenia & Thomas's son.

May She Rest In Peace

Parthena Byrd Richards died 28 April 1879, and was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery, Maryville,
Nodaway County, Missouri (plot: Sec 3, Row 9, n-s).

Parthena, wife of Isaac Richard
died Apr 26, 1879
aged 65ys 10ms &14ds
Blessed... (I can't read any more text)

Oak Hill Cemetery is just north of Maryville on Main Street.

Anyone have source material on this information (or additional stuff) that I don't?  Please share. :)

--ally