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A Newsletter of the Plemons/Plemmons/Plemone/Plemon/Plemens Family – Spring 2004

William Alexander Plemmons and Synthia L. Axley Plemmons
taken in Elk City, Beckham County, Oklahoma Date of picture early 1915

Third-great grand parents of Helen Parker

STORY

William Alexander Plemmons married Syntha Lumima Axley February 22, 1860 according to Synthia’s obituary dated December 1915. Obituary states:

Syntha Lumima Axley was born and raised in Monroe County, East Tennessee and was there married to W. A. Plemmons, February 22, 1860, where she lived until 1876, then moved to Texas with a family of six children, three boys and three girls. The they moved to Chickasaw Indian Territory and then to the western part of Custer County and six years ago to Elk City, where she died at her home, December 29, 1915, at 8 AM at the age of 72 years, 10 months an 29 days, leaving a husband, six children and seventeen grand-children to mourn her loss. All were present: Mrs. Maranda Roach, who made her home with her parents and her daughter, Mrs. Jimmie Van Alstine; Mr. Robert Plemmons of Elk City; Mr. Willie Plemmons, wife and son and daughter of Stafford, Oklahoma; Mrs. Addie Adkins, husband, and two daughters of Marlow, Oklahoma; Mr. Joe Plemmons and wife of Duncan, Oklahoma; Mrs. Josie Burke and husband of Elk City and Mr. Frank Leeper who has made his home with Mr. and Mrs. Burke for seventeen years.

She became a member of the ME Church South at the age of twelve years and had been a faithful member ever since. Her father was a presiding elder for a number of years of Monroe, Tennessee. She has been a dear wife and loving mother through these many years. She has never known death in her family, as she as the first to be called to God from her family circle. We mourn her loss but it was God’s wish that she be taken from us to her place in Heaven, where she will join her granddaughter, Bessie, who was called a short time past, and other grandchildren and friends that have gone before.

We cannot call her back, but we can live a life so that we can meet her when God calls us to our home above. It is sad to see her vacant chair and hear no words of comfort from her, but we are left with the fond recollection of knowing that she was ready to meet her Savior and died that sweet death that brought peace and comfort to her.

She was laid to rest in the Elk City Cemetery December 30, 1915. Funeral services were held at the ME Church South, on Thursday, December 30.

According to a document that I found on the Indian-Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma, William Alexander Plemmons and family moved to Indian Territory in 1887.

Van Alstine, Jimmie (Mrs.) Interview

Field Worker’s name: Ethel Mae Yates

This report made on April 19, 1938

Name: Mrs. Jimmie Van Alstine

Post Office Address: Elk City, Oklahoma

Residence address or location: 1600 West Broadway

Date of Birth: February 20, 1881

Place of Birth: Riverside, Texas

Name of Father: Jimmie Roach

Name of Mother: Randy Roach Place of Birth: Tennessee

Indian Pioneer History – S-149

Interview with

Mrs. Jimmie Van Alstine

Elk City, Oklahoma

Jimmie Roach Van Alstine and Son Phonie and wife

Picture in the possession of Helen Parker

The story following has been taken from an Interview with Jimmie Roach Van Alstine, daughter of Martha Maranda Plemmons, grand daughter of William Alexander Plemmons and Great-grand daughter of John James Plemons of Monroe County, Tennessee

My parents are Jimmie and Randy Roach. They were married in Tennessee and came to Texas, in which state, at Riverside my father died before I was born.

I came to the Chickasaw Nation with my grandfather and grandmother Plemons, and my mother. There were also two aunts and three uncles in our group. This was in the year 1887. We came in covered wagons and Grandfather brought one yoke of oxen. He took a lease on Rush Creek, on what was then known as the McDowell place, and he farmed with the oxen. One day my uncle, Joe Plemmons, had hooked these oxen to the wagon and started to the field, when they ran away and upset the wagon with him in it.

Our post office was Purcell and that was where we took our chickens, eggs, and butter to market, and bought our supplies. I don’t know just how many miles it was, but it usually took four days to make the trip.

Our living quarters consisted of one log room and a two room dugout. The log room had one door, a half window and a dirt floor. The dugout was just dug down in the ground and covered with dirt. We went down dirt steps like those of the old storm cellars.

We had good ash wood to buy, so Grandfather made Grandmother an ash hopper out of a barrel. He fixed a small log at one side and a larger one opposite, so it would tilt, and they would fill it with ashes and keep them wet with water and when it started to drip, Grandmother would catch the lye, and when the lye was strong enough to hold up an egg or would singe the feather off the stem, it was strong enough to make soap. She would take old leftover meat crackling and put it in this solution, making soft soap to wash our clothes with. She cooked her soap in an iron kettle in the fire-place and one morning, when we got up, there was a large rat in her soap. The rats were so bad that they almost undermined our dugout. Grandfather had an ingenious contrivance of a barrel half full of water into which the rats would be thrown by its tilting when they got on it, and with this he destroyed lots of rats.

There were some deer and lots of quail here when we first came, and lots of grapes and plums. There was one kind of plum, large blue plums, which grew on large trees but didn’t get ripe until fall and were they fine!

I well remember the first school that I went to. I had to walk three miles, my teachers name was Anna Nesberry. We went by a little store and one day some of us girls stopped in this store and these girls were picking out some stockings for themselves. These stockings were made with bright stripes that ran cross-ways. They picked theirs and I started to pick out a pair for myself, and when I did, I fell through a hole in the floor, and I know that I never was so scared in my life as I was that time. There was a man who pulled me out, and years later, when we came west, I met this man and he recognized me and told me that he was the man who pulled me up through the hole in the floor, when I was a little girl.

We planted corn, cotton, and oats, and made fine crop. We lived here several years, then moved up Rush creek to within about eight miles of Marlow. There we lived in a large box room and a dugout. Before we left the other place Grandfather had gotten some milk cows and we owned a pet horse named Brandy. I kept begging Grandfather to let me ride Brandy, so he let me ride him for the first time, to help drive these cows. There was one cow that kept straying behind and this horse got mad at her and grabbed her in the back with his mouth and ran her plumb to the front of the herd. I thought it was funny and was laughing. Grandfather thought the horse was running away and he was hollowing as loud as he could.

We lived here near Marlow and farmed, and in the meantime had accumulated quite a herd of cattle. When the Cheyenne and Arapaho Run was made Grandfather made the run and got a claim two and a half miles south of old Hammon. He then rented a place on the Washita River which had a two-room half dugout on it, walled up with logs, and covered with dirt and logs. He then came back after us. When we left Rush Creek we left with three covered wagons and a herd of cattle. Some of the men fold slept on pallets on the ground while others kept watch. Something came through the herd and caused two or three stampedes on our way, and we were caught out in a sleet storm one night, when we were camped away up on a high hill. The next morning the cowboys; pallets were frozen stiff and Grandfather wouldn’t let Mother and me out of the wagon, so we drove all day and didn’t get to stop and cook anything to eat until supper. When we got down on Cache Creek, my Uncle Willie Plemons….wagon, so I then had a wagon to drive. This wagon had no brakes, but we had an extra horse along, and we tied it to the back of my wagon, which proved a great help to me, for we had to cross a canyon, the banks of which were very steep and when I started down, the horses couldn’t possibly hold the wagon, but the horse tied to the back sat down and that helped to slow the wagon. I guess that was all that saved me. When I got up the other side there sat two men in a hack. They had been watching me and said they just knew that I would get my neck broken. There were strangers to me then but in later years one of them became my husband. Mother drove the chuck wagon, with a span of little mules. Her wagon was the back one. One morning they started out before she had the pots and pans in the wagon, and her team started too. She had to run to catch up and lost one of her shoes. Our cooking vessels on this trip was a black iron kettle and a bake oven. We would boil potatoes, onions and meat together, and bake sour dough, or baking powder bread, cook on a stick fire and my would we eat! Sometimes we would have to bake bread two or three times.

We came to our rented place, and let our cattle run down on the river as everything was free range. Rathbone was just across the river from us on the south and Edwardsville was west of us two miles and across the river. It was between us and Foss. We lived here about two years. There was a saw-mill put in on the river and Grandfather cut logs and hauled them to the mill and had them split, and built a one-room house for us, stockade fashioned, that is the split logs stood up endways, and covered with slabs, which was the back side that was split off the logs.

I was married on the 7^th August, 1898, to Mr. J. Van Alstine, and moved to his claim, where we had a two-room cottonwood house with a hall. It was built with twelve inch planks and then the cracks stripped and how it would warp when it would rain and the sum would come out.

My grandmother gave me a little half-gallon churn that was large at the bottom and small at the top. I went down on the river and cut some limbs and made a little churn dash and took a piece of board and whittled out a lid to fit the churn and with this I did all my churning.

A little later, we bought my grandfathers pace and moved over there. I am the mother of seven children, all born on this place but one. When we traded out there, we moved over to Foss but didn’t stay there long, until we moved to Arkansas. We moved in a covered wagon and did we travel over some rocky roads. My husband got a job in the mill camps, six or eight miles east of Nunley. Later we left the mill camps and went to Mena, Arkansas, and there I lost my husband on the 22^nd day of October, 1912. We brought him back to Stafford and buried him in the Murphy Cemetery. Then on March 22, 1913, our little Nellie died. I took in washing to support my children while living at Mena, and also at Wellington, Texas, where I moved sometime later. When my health became bad, I moved to Clinton and lived for some time. My mother was living there at Elk City, and she got in poor health, so I came here and took care of her until she died, March 19, 1930. Both my grandparents also died here in Elk City and are buried here. I still make Elk City my home.

LETTERS

From: Donald Plemmons

To:Helen@compgenie.net

Date: December 19, 2003

We are Donald K. and Annette Plemmons- Don retired from the Justice Department in Fort Worth, TX in 1983 and we moved to the ranch and have a herd of Registered Texas Longhorn cattle. We know Joe Plemons and Janet Webb and have both of her books. We trace back to; the original Thomas.

Glad to know that you are picking up on the branches newsletter. We look forward to it. We stay very busy with the cattle, Chairman and Sec./Treas. of the county historical commission, work with the Canton, TX Main Street Program, Canton Museum, Crime Stoppers, and on the board o f directors for the Camp Ford Confederate History museum in Tyler, TX, and on the Board of Directors for the Lakes Trail area of the Texas Heritage Tourism Program. Both of us are Texas Certified State Peace Officers. Our Longhorn cattle are our real true love. They are very special and exceptionally intelligent over other cattle.

Are you aware of the Plemmons connection with the Texas rangers (not the baseball team) and with one relative who died in the Alamo, and another who went down on the Arizona, when the Japanese hit Pearl Harbor in 1941?

Later on, when things are not so busy, we can tell you some tales of heroic Plemmons during WWII.

Best wishes for a Happy Christmas and New Year. Welcome aboard.

Don and Annette Plemmons

Ken
kcsweep@postmark.net

Hello Helen, I thought that I would drop you a short line and say hello, also to welcome you to your new task of the newsletter. I when talking to Joe on the telephone, we both thought how great that it is to have the newsletters continue.

A short history on me, I trace back to Thomas Plemmons (1760), then William Jefferson Plemmons, Thomas Lafayette Plemmons, William Adolph Plemmons, Isaac Howard Plemmons, then Kenneth Plemmons. My parents Howard and Emma Davis Plemmons moved to Michigan in May of 1943 and I was born after their arrival on May 2 1943. I'm married and my wife is
a computer teacher in the special ed. department. I am a former teacher but now I am an Arabian Horse Trainer.

I understand that you live in Texas, I also lived in Houston from 1981 thru 1987 and I do miss Texas very much.

In closing if there is any way that I can assist you please let me know, and welcome aboard.

I do visit North Carolina at least once a year and plan on returning the week of 12/18/03 I still have one aunt their who will be turning 98 this coming March 26th. Each year I visit the counties that we all started from and visit the old grave sites to make sure the graves are kept in good order.

In closing I would like to welcome you aboard and if there is anything that I can do to help please let me know.

Ken Plemmons/Michigan

Hello Warren, Janet, Helen, and Joe:

Thanks for the information on the new web location.

Your records probably show me in Cincinnati. I have retired from broadcasting and made a permanent move to our adopted home state of Rhode Island.

So many letters and emails! I want to thank those of you who have sent donations to the newsletter. They will come in handy to help with the printing and adding things to the Web page. Enclosed in this webpage is an announcement for the Plemmons/Plemons Reunion. Ya’ll Come!!!

Deaths found in Social Security Death Index

Mary Plemmons b. 13 Apr. 1916 d. 28 Jan 2003 Glynn, GA

George L. Plemons b. 9 Aug 1934 d. 8 Jan 2003 Kent, WA

Martin V. Plemmons b. 23 Dec 1909 d. 12 Jan 2003 King, NC

Ruth J. Plemmons b. 2 Apr 1921 d. 14 Jan 2003 Torrington WY

Anne A. Plemmons b. 2 Sep 1926 d. 17 Jan 2003 Denison, TX

Glen H. Plemons b. 7 Aug 1939 d. 25 Feb 2003 Morton, TX

Mary Plemmons b. 13 Apr 1916 d. 9 Mar 2003 Saint Simons Island, GA

Louise R Plemmons b. 27 May 1916 d. 9 Mar 2003 Asheville, NC

Shirley A. Plemons b. 18 Oct 1942 d. 28 Apr 2003 Sweetwater, TN

Vernon E. Plemons b. 4 Oct 1954 d. 9 May 2003 Philadelphia, TN

Carl M. Plemmons b. 19 May 1927 d. 14 May 2003 Osage Beach, MO

Hazel R. Plemmons b. 19 Jan 1915 d. 18 May Blythe, CA

Woodrow W. Plemmons b. 23 Oct 1917 d. 9 Jun 2003 Sweetwater, TN

Woodrow Wayne Plemmons
06-09-2003
Woodrow Wayne Plemmons (June 9, 2003) Woodrow Wayne Plemmons of Sweetwater, passed away Monday, June 9, at Sweetwater Hospital. He was of the Baptist faith. He was a veteran of World War II, having served in the U.S. Army and was a survivor of Pearl Harbor. He was 85. Preceded in death by: parents, Mack and Bessie Plemmons; brothers, Marvin and Eugene Plemmons; step-grandson, Joe Guffey. Survivors include: wife of 54 years-Christine Wilson Plemmons; Sons and daughter-in-law-Richard Wayne Plemmons and fiancée Nancy Youngblood and Jimmy Mack and Amy Plemmons, all of Sweetwater; Sisters and brother-in-law-Dorothy and Charles Sloan of Madisonville; and Cookie McGinnis of Coral Springs, Fla.; Sisters-in-law-Wanda Johnson of Sweetwater; Cathleen Strickland and Sue Plemmons of Madisonville; Step-grandson and wife-Leslie and Jeff Sloan of Sweetwater; Several nieces and nephews. The body is at Kyker Funeral Home, where the family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m., Wednesday. Graveside and interment will be 11 a.m., Thursday, in the Sweetwater Valley Memorial Park, with the Rev. R.L. Davis officiating. Kyker Funeral Home, Sweetwater, in charge of arrangements

Jack A. Plemons b. 11 Nov 1939 d. 9 Jun 2003 Seymour, TN

Clinton D. Plemons b. 23 Mar 1931 d. 12 Jun 2003 Mcloud, OK

Barbara J. Plemmons b. 12 Mar 1947 d. 17 Jun2003

Esta M. Plemmons b. 15 Jun 1911 d. 17 Jun 2003 Forest City, NC

Dorothy J. Plemons b. 1 Nov 1938 d. 18 Jun 2003 Paso Robles, CA

Edgar J. Plemons b. 13 Dec 1925 d, 5 Jul 2003 Waco, TX

William F. Plemons b. 11 Feb 1934 d. 5 Jul 2003 Wheat Ridge, CO

Dannie P. Plemons b. 30 Jan 1922 d. 6 Jul 2003 Walla Walla, WA

Kathryn S. Plemons b. 16 May 1942 d. 24 Aug 2003 Madisonville, TN

Troy B. Plemons b. 2 Jun 1942 d. 12 Sep 2003 Murfreesboro, TN

Karen K. Plemon b. 23 Nov 1969 d. 29 Oct 2003

Leeree Plemons b. 16 Mar 1915 d. 3 Nov 2003 Mesa, AZ

James M. Plemons b. 2 Jun 1929 d. 6 Nov 2003 Smyrna, TN

Royce A. Plemmons b. 6 Nov 1929 d. 15 Nov 2003

Willene Plemmons b. 12 May 1927 d. 17 Nov 2003 Canton, NC

Dessa Plemmons b. 21 Mar 1915 d. 19 Nov 2003 Atlanta, GA

Robert W. Reese b. 9/3/1928 d. 10/31/2003 Pittsfield, IL

Settlement papers for Peter Plemmons; sent by Janet Webb for newsletter

Peter Plemmons, born 1786, Morgan Dist. Burke Co., NC, died Sept. 1877, Spring Creek, Madison Co., NC. His wife, Susan Jane L G, born 1 Nov. 1796, VA, died 2 Jan. 1897, buried Old Flats Cemetery, Madison CO., NC. They married about 1811. They had 8 children: Andrew, Susan, Deliza, Sinah, Jesse, Elizabeth Mary, Sarah, & Solomon.

His home was listed as Buncombe Co., NC until 1851, when Spring Creek became Madison Co., NC. His census data was for the years: 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, and 1870.

The extract of his settlement papers, I am listing only the names, not the inhertaince; Nov. 1877 - May 1885, in Madison CO., NC probate court.

... Estate of Peter Plemmons, deceased ... Solomon F Plemmons, administrator ... heirs ...

Andrew Plemmons heirs: Elvira M Woody, Nancy Duncan, Solomon G Plemmons, James L Plemmons, Andrew Henry Plemmons, Joh O Plemmons, Bailey B Plemmons (these died before 1877, Peter, Laura Jane, Thomas, Susan).

Deliza Smith heirs: Peter Smith, Rhoda Millender, Louisa J Smith, Thomas C Smith, grandchildren of deceased daughter, J N Davis, J M Davis, grandchildren of deceased son, Sarah M Smith, J E Smith.

Sinah Hoppis

Jesse Plemmons heirs: David P Plemmons, James Plemmons, Nancy E Waldroup.

Elizabeth Woody heirs: L M Woody, Nancy Woody, Thomas E Woody, Mary M Woody, Peter Woody, S J Plemmons.

Sarah Woody heirs: Susan Plemmons, J F Woody, Nancy Evans, C J Woody, Mary Evans.

Solomon F Plemmons

Rhoda Davis heirs: grandchild, N J Messer.

Janet Webb

janetw@mcsinternet.net

Names on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC are

PLEIMAN, James Edward, A1C US Air Force, born 15 Jan 1944, died 14 Mar 1966, Russia, OH, panel 6E line 7

PLEMMONS, Norman Lee, SGT US Army, born 28 Mar 1947, died 4 May 1969, Mt Holly, NC, panel 25W, line 1

PLEMMONS , Robert Colquitt, HM3, US Navy, born 30 Aug 1947, died 12 Mar 1968, Huntsville, TX, panel 44E, line 30

Joe Plemons
403 Blair Rd
Indian Head, MD 20640

I will be adding another paper to this newsletter for the information on the Plemons/Plemmons Reunion held in Oct of this year. Ya’ll come!

PLEMMONS/PLEMONS REUNION 2004

By William Harvey "Bill" Plemmons
Phone: 256-582-5460

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, October 15, 16, and 17th will be the dates for a Plemmons/Plemons & Family annual reunion at the air condition Guntersville Recreation Center. Early Bird get together at my home in Guntersville on Friday. Sunday morning breakfast at location to be announced later. (Directions to different locations are shown below.)

Sponsors will be:

Guntersville is located in North Alabama at the Southern most point of the Tennessee River, South of Knoxville and Chattanooga Tennessee. Guntersville, itself is almost an island within Guntersville Lake, a TVA impoundment that has 9XX miles of shoreline. Gadsden and Birmingham, Alabama are to our South 45 and 85 miles respectively, on US 431 and 79. Huntsville, Alabama is to our North on US 431 about 45 miles.

The Guntersville Recreation Center is to be our family reunion site and is located at 1500 Sunset Drive. Phone (256) 571- 7590--Sandra Tucker

There will be an early-bird get together, Friday 15, at my home, located on US 79 N., from Guntersville, about 10 miles, where US 79 branches from 4321 N., another 1 mile across Seibold Creek Causeway, which has a steel guardrail. When the guardrail stops on the left side that will be my driveway.

Motel accommodations are plentiful, if made early enough. A total of 7 are located inside our city limits on Spring Creek embankment at the foot of Sand Mountain, all air condition. Reservations in lot of 20 are offered a a gracious discount. Other motels are located in the adjoining city of Albertsville just to our South. Cut rate motels are in the list that will be provided soon.

Motels:

Covenant Cove. 700 Val-Monte Drive, 256-582-1000, 52 rooms (Bill says this is the best, if 20 or more parties book the same time it will be half price)
Days Inn- Hwy 431 Guntersville, 256-582-3200, 51 rooms
Holiday Inn, Gunter Avenue (this is also US 431) 256-582-2220, 100 rooms, access on their American wide 800 number is available
Lake Guntersville Hampton Inn, 1445 Hwy 431, 356-582-4176, - 79 rooms
Lakeview Inn 2300 Gunter Ave, 256-582-3104- 24 rooms
Overlook Mountain Lodge. 6223 Hwy 431 South 256-582-3256- 33 rooms
Super 8, Hwy 431 Guntersville, 256-582-8444- 39 rooms
All discounts have to be requested and made at the time reservation is made.

Plemmons is the code word

Campgrounds:

Honeycomb 256-582-7529
Lake Guntersville State Park phone: 256-571-5455 or 800-548-4553. These facilities may be closed by reunion time, for renovations
Ossawintha 256-582-4595
Riverview 256-582-3014
Seibold Creek 256-582-0040

The 2 bold listing above are within 1 mile of my home, but securing camping facilities during summer season are most difficult. Try early!!

Please note ********

All essentials except food will be furnished and everyone attending are requested to furnish enough vittles for him or herself and one more person.

In Guntersville there are 3 delis that offer this type of food.

Wal-Mart
Piggly Wiggly
Food World

Other places for Guntersville information are:

Chamber of Commerce, 200 Gunter Ave., PO Box 557, Phone 1-800-869-

www.lakeguntersville.org

gcc@lakeguntersville.org

There will not be any pre-registration, but a call or E-mail to any of the above listed sponsors, as to your attendance, will be greatly appreciated.

This is the 5 Branches Newsletter for the Spring Issue.

We want to continue with the newsletter, but as some of you know Warren Plemmons decided to stop after the Winter Issue of 2003. I have decided to keep the Newsletter up by publishing it on the internet as well as in print. For those of you that like the newsletter and want to see it continue, donations to the newsletter would be grateful. Warren and Joe both took pride in the Newsletter and footed most of the bill for the Newsletter to be published.

We are also asking for pictures and stories that can be published in the newsletter. I have donated the two pictures of this newsletter from my little trove of pictures. I have taken great pride in locating these pictures through relatives and the information that went along with them. I have researched my family for over 30 years, and want all to know the people in the pictures.

Please take pride in your heritage and share your stories and pictures. We have plenty of room on the new website for some pictures. I would be happy for any of you to share your pictures. I have a great scanner and would be happy to scan any pictures or documents. All I ask is that if you want the pictures back to send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your pictures so that I can return them to you.

Sincerely

Helen Parker

5branches Coordinator

www.5branches.net

PO Box 1103

Springtown, Texas 76082