His parents: Isaac Darnell Gore and Sarah Alexander
Her parents: John Hall and Amy (unknown maiden name)
The family bible, identified herein as the T. L. Gore Bible, has an entry about James's birth stating, "James M Gore was born the 31 of August 1840." He was enumerated with Isaac's family on federal censuses in 1850 and 1860.
Since James M. enlisted in a military unit from Fayette County, TN, for the Civil War, it is quite possible that he had left home to join his grandfather, James C. Alexander, and his uncle, William Alexander, in that county between the 1860 census date and the date of his enlistment. In any case, he was in the same unit as Labon Morris, who died in the battle of Murfreesboro, 31 December 1862. After the war, he married Labon Morris's widow Minerva, the daughter of John and Amy Hall, who were married in North Carolina before coming to Tennessee.
Both James and Minerva seem to have died before 1880 since their three children Amy(1), William, and James had been relocated from Fayette County to Henry County to be part of the family of their aunt, Eliza Jane Thomason, for the census that year. Amy's notes confirm that her parents died young but do not provide a date.
Amy's full name as revealed in her notes was Amy John Frances Gore, named for her Hall grandfather and grandmother. She was born in 1868. My notes, unsourced except as coming from a descendant, provided her married name, Riggs, and it was easy to find more information about Amy John Frances Riggs on-line. I have found no marriage record for Amy, but federal censuses from 1900 through 1920, all in Denton County, Texas, reveal her husband's name as George Davis Riggs. Amy visited Gore and Alexander relatives in Henry County, Tennessee, in her adulthood and wrote about the relatives, some of whom I knew, in her notes. She died in 1962 at the age of 94.
James Isaac married Julia Romine in Indian Territory Oklahoma, where they lived their lives. They had several children including Ziona (daughter), Clifton J., Edna, William O., Clarence J., and Corrine
William T. Gore married Margaret "Maggie" A. Brown in Indian Territory Oklahoma. Although I found no marriage record for them, William signed for their under-age daughter Bessie to marry Earl Autry, and a Social Security Administration Claim named Bessie Lina Autry's parents as Margaret A. Gpre amd William Brown, clearly getting the parents' surnames reversed. William's and Maggie's other children included Hattie Mae, Goldie Ethel, William Houston, Jesse Lee, Edward Sylvester, Hurton (who probably died young), Thomas P., Ruby Virginia, and Rochester (who seems to have died young). Thomas P. was Thomas Pryor Gore, undoubtedly named in honor of the blind U. S. senator from Oklahoma, who, if a relative, was a very distant one.
Isaac Gore's bible states, "Eliza Jane was bornd April the 18 1844."
Eliza Jane's first marriage was to James H. Turner, who apparently died not long after their marriage since Eliza Jane married George W. Thomason after they obtained the license 15 September 1862. The exact date is not recorded since the marrying official didn't sign. The initials recorded for Mr. Thomason were J. W. instead of G. W.
Eliza Jane's and George's children included Lavanda Wilma, Minerva, Semantha E., James F., Isaac W., Lucy, Ardenia, George W., and Seth, all born in Tennessee, and Minnie Belle, born in Oklahoma. There appear to be no reliable records of Samantha after adulthood unless she was the S. E. Thomason who provided the information for the death certificate of her sister Lavanda. Someone has claimed she married Charles L. Wallace, brother of Frederick Tillman and Douglas L, and had two sons, but those interested will have to look at records and make their own decisions.
Lavanda Wilma married married Seth Pashcall in Henry County at age 14 and he died by the time she was in her early twenties. She married Frederick Tillman Wallace,
Minerva married George Thomason, Jr, who was, I believe, a cousin although a fairly distant one.(4)
Although I have found no marriage record for him, James Franklin Thomason's death certificate in Hall County, Texas, states that he was widowed and that his wife's name was Jula Martha Brown. A daughter's certificate in the same county lists her mother's name as Julia Ellen Brown and her father's name as James Frankin Thomason.
Isaac Wilson Thomason Thomason married Lillie George. Isaac and Lillie share a gravestone in Abilene Municipal Cemetery, Abilene, Texas.
Lucy Jane married Douglas "Dug" L. Wallace, who was a younger brother of Lavanda's husband Frederick Tillman Wallace.
Ardenia "Denia" appears to have been married first to William O. Pirtle in Denton County, TX, 1898, but he died in 1900. They had two sons, William Lafayette and Otho. Otho Pirtle was born after his father's death. Denia and her second husband Robert E. Lewis had sons George, Seth, Clyde, and Lloyd.
George W. died at age 23, apparently unmarried.
Seth Enos was married to Lillian E. Gwinn. Both died in the early 1940s and they share a plot in a cemetery in Hall County, Texas.
Minnie Belle was married to James L. McBrayer, and, although they died in California, they are in Hall County, Texas.
Entry number 47 in the marriage book Marriage Licenses, Henry County, 1862 lists 15 September 1862 as the date that J. W. Thomason and Eliza Jane Turner obtained a license to marry. The entry does not include a note by the official who performed the marriage.
Federal Censuses
1850FayetteTNp372A: John Hall, 54 NC, Amy, 59? NC, Malissa, 19 NC, Eliza, 17 NC, Elizabeth T., 14 TN, Almon C., 12 TN, Manera H., 8 TN. (Note: I apparently couldn't distinguish between 39 and 59 for Amy's age since 59 is too old to be the mother of at least one, probably three, of the children.)
1860HenryTNp227 (445 stamped): Isaac D. Gore 41 SC, Sarah M. 23, William T. 21, James M. 19, Eliza J. 16, Richard J. 14, Benjamin F. 12, Joshua T. 10, Isaac N. 8, Louisa I. 7 Mary E. 6, Francis M. 2 (Sarah is Sarah Ann Margaret called Margaret.)
1870FayetteTNp273B: James M. (indexed as Gose, but I read it as Gore), 30; Minerva, 25, Amy J., 2, William, 1.
1870HenryTNp386 (stamped) 131 (penned): G. W. Thomason 33, Jane 25, Wilma 6, Minerva 3, Samantha 1
1880HenryTNp179D (stamped) 12 (penned): George W. Thomason 46, Eliza J. 35, Minerva 13, Semantha E. 11, James F. 8, Isaac W. 6, Lucy J. 3, Ardenia 1, Amy J. Gore 12 (niece), William T. Gore 10 (nephew) 9, James J. Gore 9 (nephew)
1900DentonTXp43A (stamped) 8 (penned): Elihu Gollihugh Feb 1841 59, Eliza Jane Apr 1844 56 6 yr married 13 children 10 living,(2) George W. Thomason Mch 1882 18, Seth Thomason Mch 1882 18, Minnie B. Thomason July 1885 14
1900DentonTXp288B (stamped) 14 (penned): William W. Pirtle 63, William O. 23, Dena (daughter-in-law) 20, Layfaett 9mo
1910HallTXp31 (stamped) 7A (penned): Elihugh Gollihugh 68, marriage 2, 16 y, Jane 66, marriage 3, 16 y, 13 children, 7 living, Minnie McBriar (dau) 23, James L. McBriar (son-in-law) 26, Otha Thompson (gramdson) 11 (Note: Minnie's birth state was given as Texas.(3))
Ancestry.com. 1910 U.S.Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT,
99
Data found: Ancestry.com. Kansas, U.S., City and County Census Records, 1919-1961 [database on-line]. Provo, UT,
Henry Co, Tennessee, Marriages, 1853-1867, Mrriage Books A and B, transcribed by W. O. Inman, Paris, TN, 1974, page 80: James H. Turner to Eliza J. Gore, 6 December 1860, performed by W. H. Diggs, MG
Henry Co, Tennessee, Marriages, 1853-1867, Marriage Books A and B, transcribed by W. O. Inman, Paris, TN, 1974, page 78: J. W. Thomason to Eliza J. Turner, 6 December 1860. No return by marrying official
Fayette Co, Tennessee, Marriages, page 29, item 116: Mr L H Morris to Miss Minerva Hall, 19 Dec 1860, Fayette Co, TN, performed by Wm Rhodes JP
Fayette Co, Tennessee, Marriages, page 81, item 323: James M. Gore to M. H. Morris, 2 Nov 1866, Fayette Co, TN, performed by B. J. Love JP
Death Records
Texas Certificate of Death, 1962, Howard County, #37156: Death 6 June 1962, Amy John Frances Riggs, born 24 March 1968, Mississippi; widowed, spouse name not provided, parents James Isaac Gore and Sarah (Note: although some of the birth information is incorrect, it corresponds to data in Amy's notes.)
(Note 1): Reproductions and my efforts at transcription of some of Amy Gore's notes on our web site , and I have addressed her history as Amy viewed it as a child and as an adult in my Alexander history.
(Note 2): Unless Eliza Jane counts her brother James M.'s and Minerva's children among her 10 living children, there are reasons to doubt the number. Only ten children are listed on federal censuses althouogh several could have been born and have died between censuses.
(Note 3): Minnie (Thomason McBrayer's birth state was listed as Texas on the 1910 census but listed as Oklahoma in her obituary. In support of Oklahoma, Amy states that the family lived there for a while.
(Note 4): I have not, in general, provided sources for the marriages of Eliza Jane's and George's children. Anyone with a special interest in one or more can easily find the records I viewed on line.