LETTERS
(Via Email from Kathie Manns) Hello Warren, - I am from the Plemmons family too. I have found this web page very interesting and wanted to let you all know how I was related and who all is in my family. This is the family tree that I know.
Howard Isaac Plemmons & Emma Davis were married and had 6 children. Their names are Eulah (Plemmons) Pemberton, Edward Plemmons, Louise (Plemmons) Chriss, Kenny Plemmons, Ernest Plemmons, and a baby daughter that passed away. My father Ernest Plemmons married Evelyn (Welch) from the Taylor, MI and they have 5 children. Ernest started cutting meat as a boy of 16 years of age and has cut meat for over 50 years. He started preaching at the age of 16 as well and signed up for the Marines. He preached to the boys in the Marines (per orders) and after returning home got married. He has pastored 6 churches and has preached for over 50 years and LOVES it! He is currently pastoring a Bible Methodist Church in Waynesfield, OH. His children are: Cheryl, Donald, Kathie, Ernest Jr., & Paul Daniel (Dan). eeplemmons@juno.com
Cheryl (Plemmons) married Steven Watters, from MI, who passed away in May of 2001 with pancreatic cancer. They have 3 boys Jason Watters who married Karalynne Shiery and resides in Sandford, FL and is a ComAir Pilot. Andrew Watters who married Jennifer Cracker and they reside in Marion, OH with their daughter JeNessa, and is a construction worker. Ryan Watters resides in Adrian with his mother. cherylwatters@hotmail.com
Donald Plemmons married Jeanette Lyons, from IL, and is on medical retirement. Don has severe sugar diabetes and is on dialysis 3 X’s a week. To this union came 3 children. Donald Jr., Ashley, & Holly. All the children are still living at home, which is in Fort Wayne, IN.
Kathie (Plemmons) Manns married Douglas Manns, from Pt Pleasant, WV, in 89 and was divorced in 2000. To this union came four children: Travis, Olivia, Jacynda, & Heidi. Kathie resides in Adrian, MI with her four children and is working on her RN degree. kathiemanns@hotmail.com
Ernest Jr. (Ernie) married Lisa Ellison from OH and soon became Foster Parents. To this union came 5 blessed children. Four of these children are adopted and awaiting the last adoption to go through. They truly are blessed! Ernie is a minister and is pastoring a Bible Methodist Church in Toronto, OH. Ernie also works in the hospitals as Chaplin. onfunnyfarm@juno.com
Paul Daniel (Dan) Plemmons married Leah Sneed, from IN, and to this union came 2 children. Amber & Clayton. Dan is a minister as well and is pastoring a Pilgrim Holiness Church in Rochester Hills, MI. Dan is a courier. Leah home school’s the children. pauldplemmons@yahoo.com - jubileah@yahoo.com
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Hello Kathie, I am very glad to hear from you. And thank you very much for the information that you sent. That is the kind of information that you only get from the close members of the family. The libraries and court-houses can only provide facts up until about the 1930s or so. They don't publish the census information after that date; something to do with privacy of people still living. I have sent your message on to a couple of other family members; Joe Plemons of Indian Head, Maryland, and also to Janet Webb, in Leicester, North Carolina. Janet's mother-in-law's maiden name is Plemmons and she has done a lot of research on the family. In fact she has published a book on the family.
I will try to add all the information that you sent to my records and see where your line leads (and what relation we are).And, if I can provide any information to you, please let me know. A lot of the fun of gathering the info is to be able to help someone to find their lineage.
I have found that most of the time, people are not much interested in who their ancestors are, until it is too late to do much research. By that I mean, after most of the people who could answer their questions have already gone. That is what happened to me. I have wished a thousand times that I had asked more questions and talked to the older members of my family when they were able to tell me family stories. But . . .
Please keep in touch with me and let me know of changes in your close family. It is more than curiosity. I have met a lot of kin that I didn't know existed and have made some life-long friends from doing genealogy research. I hope that you have as much good luck as I have had. It is a very rewarding hobby. - Warren
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Hello again Kathie, - I have found the following information about your family. Please correct me if I am wrong on any of this:
Howard Isaac was born in Hot Springs, Madison County, NC on February 26, 1904. He married Emma Davis, born 1904, on March 22, 1925 in Madison County. I have nothing further back on Emma, but Howard's father is William Adolphus Plemmons, b. September 25, 1872, d. April 17, 1955, in Marion, McDowell County, NC. Howard's mother is Della Jane Roberts, b. August 15, 1879, d. January 23, 1964. He is one of eight children: Violet I., Annie E., Vecie Matilda, William Cavley, Thomas Alonzo, Artha, and Grace.
William Adolphus Plemmons' father is Thomas Lafayette Plemmons, b. June 3, 1847, d. June 30, 1930. William's mother is Sarah Jane Woody, b. February 18, 1847, d. July 29, 1902. William is the second oldest of nine children. They are Robert E. Lee Plemmons, then William, next Mary Della Elizabeth Plemmons, John Edgar Plemmons, Stansberry Ruben Plemmons, Thomas Eli Plemmons, Laura M. Plemmons, Malinda Jane, and Julia Mae Plemmons.
Next generation back is William Jefferson Plemmons, b. December 6, 1823, d. June 2, 1907, who married on January 19, 1847 to Anna Elizabeth Colwell, b. December 6, 1822, d. 1885. They had six children of whom William Adolphus was the oldest. He was followed by William Henry, Sarah Miranda, John Cicero Harrison, Nelson Dock Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin.
Now things become a little harder to find. William Jefferson's father is Thomas Plemmons II, b. 1784, d. 1855. His wife is Anny Parton, b. 1784, d. 1853. They were married in 1811 in Buncombe county, NC and had eight children. The first child was a girl and I assume she died either in birth or before named, although I have no death date, only that she was born in 1812. Next child is James Jesse Plemmons, then Elisha Plemmons, next another girl born in 1820 (no name and no death date), next was William Jefferson, the another girl born in 1825 (no name and no death date), then Lucinda, and Thomas Mayberry.
Thomas II's father was Thomas (of course). He was born in 1760 and died in 1851. He married Elizabeth Roberts in 1779 in Rowan County, NC. She was born in 1762 and died in 1839. They had eleven children: John Jackson Moore Plemmons, Thomas, Marah (Polly), Jane, Rachel, James, Piety, Jacob, Elizabeth, Archibald H., and William (Billy).
Next is as far back and anyone has reliably been able to trace. Thomas Plemmons' father was Thomas Plemin, born in 1728 and died in 1785. His wife's name is unknown. Thomas' children were John, Peter, Thomas, and Mary (Polly). Their birth dates are evenly spaced starting in 1750 for John, and going 1750, 1755, 1760, 1765. If this is correct, it is pretty good family planning for the 1700s.
The name Plemin comes from tax records in Virginia prior to the family moving into the North Carolina area. From there, the family split into North Georgia and Eastern Tennessee. I was born in Monroe County, Tennessee. I have later learned that some of the family that migrated into Georgia gradually moved north. Some of the Tennessee folks moved south. Where they met, everyone could find no common relatives, so they assumed that we are not related. We have since found that this is not true. So here I am - warts and all. By the way, the computer says that we are fifth cousins, twice removed.
I hope that this is some help and I hope that you can add to or correct anything that you see here. I have most of the birth and death dates for the children that I have shown. As I have said, the information that I lack is the later names, dates, etc. For this, I must rely on good people like you to provide.
There is a commercial on TeeVee that says something about the danger of the American family becoming extinct. I believe this to be the case. Very often now, I have trouble finding both parents, or placing children with their correct father (or mother). Very soon, genealogy research will become an extinct hobby. But it certainly is a lot of fun now, and I have made a lot of good friends and met some wonderful relatives along the way. Thanks for your help, Kathie! – Warren
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Hello Cuz! - That is so neat that you have found this information out and sent it to me. My sister is here with me and we were just reading it together. I sent it to my mom too and asked her to read it to my dad. He is having eye surgery this coming Tuesday (he is blind in one eye). He has a film over the eye that the doctors feel may be cancer, but must send it away for testing. Dad would thoroughly enjoy hearing about this! Some of the information that you sent I know is true about my Dad's aunt & Uncles, because I have heard him talk of some of them. Thanks again for sending this to me! It was very interesting!!!!! Kathie
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Dear Family, I don't know if Mother has been able to advise you of Dad's condition or not, so I'm sending you this update.
Dad has been in St. John's hospital for several weeks with a bacterial infection around his heart. Tuesday last week, he went into congestive heart failure. He came out of that with pneumonia in one lung. He had another bout of congestive heart failure on Saturday night, Oct. 11. Mom told me that the doctor's advised that I come up for a visit.
My wife and I came up Sunday. Yesterday, the doctors advised Mother that, unless God provides a miracle - which He has been known to do for Dad and I know He hasn't run out of them - Dad has days or weeks left, not months. This is hard to say, but I know you would want to know.
Dad is in room 480 of St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Illinois. Please pass the word accurately to those who will want to know. Please be in prayer for us. God bless you all for being so faithful to Mom and Dad and us. Paul C. Reese - Proverbs 18:20-21
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Joe, Yesterday, Dad went into congestive heart failure again. He also developed an atrial fibrillation (pardon the spelling if it's wrong). The top part of his heart started beating fast (120 to 140 beats per minute) and out of sync with the rest of his heart. Mom called us at 08:30 and we just dropped everything and went over. He passed over 2 quarts of fluid from 06:30 to 14:00 with the help of some IV Lasix (sp?), and was sitting up and laughing and pretty much himself by the time we left at 15:00. His heart doctor saw him twice yesterday and Mom says he never does that, which is an indication of how serious yesterday was.
Mom says sometimes, like yesterday, Dad doesn't realize how bad his situation is. Sometimes he tells her he knows he is going to die. With the medicine, and the decreased oxygen to his brain due to the heart problems, he's not himself. But with him setting up and laughing and teasing, it's hard to tell exactly what he understands and when.
The phone number to Dad's room (if I didn't give it to you yesterday) is 217-544-6464, extension 22480. I'm trying to keep several people informed, so if I repeat something to you, please forgive me.(Added comment from Joe: "I talked with Joyce tonight, Bob has a private room and they put an extra bed in it soJoyce could just stay in the room with him. She only leaves him to go get a bite to eat.")
Our plan today is to pack up and go over to see Dad one more time, and then go back to Mississippi. Today may be my last time to see him alive, and that thought is so hard to bear. I've not given up hope for a miracle, but I have to look at the possible truth.
My stepchildren's father and two of the firefighters from my dept. are in the 223rd ENG BN, MS National Guard, attached to the 4th INF DIV. They were activated in January, and have been in Iraq since April. Their orders were extended from 11/03 to 04/04. One of our firefighters has a bad night hunting proclivity, which disturbs our local game wardens. With the toys he has access to over there, he may come in one morning with Saddam's head on a stick and ask if they can come home to Mississippi now. Nicki and Chris are upset about their Dad. They were hoping to see him at Thanksgiving. Now Nicki is worried that he may not be back for her graduation in May.
That's all for now. It's 04:00. I woke up at 03:00 and couldn't get
back to sleep. I'm going to try now, because we hope to get our day
started in 2 hrs. Thanks for your prayers and concern. Paul C.
Reese
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Dear Family and beloved friends, My mother called at a little before 5:00 a.m. My father has gone to be with Jesus. The funeral will be at the Niebur Funeral Home in Pittsfield, IL. I'm not sure of anything else at this time. My wife, children, and I will be leaving this morning to go from Mississippi up to Illinois. My cell phone number is 662-417-8971. Thank you for your kind prayers for Daddy. Please pray for us who are now left without him. Paul C. Reese Proverbs 18:20-21
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Warren – I was distressed when I got my “Branches” today and discovered you are still thinking of discontinuing the newsletter. It is SO special to me. I can’t tell you how much I will miss it.
I have some good news for you, though. I have found another member of our family right in my own classroom! Remember when I asked you about an Autumn Plemons who was enrolled in one of my classes last year? It turned out that she dropped the class that semester, before I ever had a chance to meet her. However, she enrolled again this semester and I have talked with her at length about our family. I looked her up in the book and found that she is from our line! In fact, you are a closer relation to her than I am. (I checked us all out with the relationship calculator. What fun!) Anyway, I printed out the information for her and she is making some additions and corrections to what we have. I will send it to you as soon as I have it all.
I also have a question. On page four of the newsletter you mentioned “so much negative information in the local papers about the family…”. What is that? I haven’t heard anything about it from my relatives up your way. I have to admit I am extremely curious, so I guess that answers your question in the next paragraph! I don’t think you are wrong to publish only the good stuff. I think it is your option as the editor to print the things which fulfill your vision for the publication. But I don’t think it would be wrong, either, if you included the rest. I am proud of our heritage, and that won’t change because of a few “bad apples”.
I’d better go. I’ll send that information update soon. And by the way, Autumn was thrilled to discover there was a newsletter. I sure wish I didn’t have to tell her it won’t be around much longer. Take care, Marti
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Warren – About the Revolutionary War: In the North Carolina Archives, they have a record of Peter Plemons enlisting for three months in Lincoln County, North Carolina. That is why he received a land grant in Tennessee. In the 1840 census, Macon County, North Carolina, in the home of Jacob Plemons, page 154, he said he was 80 years old and had served in the American Revolution. I think that Peter and Thomas served together, but there were no papers on Thomas. I had given his last name as Plemons. With the spelling as it was in the records, I should try again and use some other spellings.
Warren, can you tell me how I would have you listed in the book, as Warren and who was your father and grandfather? I think I have asked this before, but I can’t lay my hands on your answer right off.
I have no record of John’s being in the war. I think there must have been another son, unknown name, of Thomas Plemin. We have John, Peter, Thomas, and Mary. Mary’s husband, Jacob Martin, served in the Revolution. In the early census, as you will see, there is a John Plemons that does not fit into the family tree. This is still another mystery to solve. Janet
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Dear Warren – Here is some information for the “Branches”. I’ll go ahead and mail this even though it doesn’t take place till the 18th.
It is a shame somebody won’t take over the “Branches” with all the Plemons’ there are. I have no computer and never will have.
We recently made two quick trips to Illinois. In September, we went for our grandson’s 16th birthday and a millwright picnic. Harold was a millwright when he worked at the steel mill. We went back up for my 45th class reunion on October 3rd and 4th. Collinsville High School of Illinois. Had a ball, as usual.
After the anniversary things should get back to normal for a while. Well, take care!