John Thomas and Mary Sumner Bridges -- Farmer and Carpenter

 

 John Thomas Bridges

 Mary Sumner Bridges

 

John Thomas Bridges was born on July 23, 1915, in the Mount Pleasant community of Trigg County, Kentucky. He was the sixth of eight children born to Drew Manley Bridges and Lena Mae Guier Bridges. Both Drew Manley and Lena Mae were natives of Trigg County, Kentucky and Drew worked as a farmer. Drew was a son of Starkie Bridges and a grandson of William Bridges.  John’s siblings were Lola Jo Bridges, born in 1901 and married Andrew Abner Gray; Robbie Bell Bridges, born in 1904 and married George Clyde Cunningham; Sidney Gordon Bridges, born in 1906 and married Jane Ernestine Bridges; Sarah Elizabeth Bridges, born in 1907 and married Henry Cullen Thomas; Clifton Earl Bridges, born in 1910 and married Inez Lorene Lancaster; Clovis Manley Bridges, born in 1918 and married Ruby Helen Huddleston; and Mosco Doris Bridges, born in 1919 and married Myra Dean Sumner.

John grew up on a farm that his parents owned in the Maple Grove community.  He would later in the 1940s buy his own farm on the Old Dover Road about four miles south of Cadiz.  There he would build a home for him and his family to reside. In addition to farming, John also worked as a carpenter, working on many construction projects throughout Trigg County.

On December 24, 1937, John married Mary Henrietta Sumner.  Mary was born on May 3, 1919 in Trigg County.  She was the seventh of eleven children of John Calvin Sumner and Lucy Ethel Lawrence Sumner.  Both John Calvin and Lucy were natives of Trigg County.  John Calvin was a farmer and was a descendant of Drewry Bridges.  Lucy was a homemaker and was a descendant of Starkie Thomas. Mary’s siblings were: William Odell Sumner, born in 1907 and married Julia Ruby Cameron; Lacy Calvin Sumner, born in 1909 and married Lorena Farmer and later married Mary Bryant; James Woodson Sumner, born in 1911 and married Myra Lorraine Thomas; an unnamed infant, who died in infancy; Martha Alberta Sumner, born in 1915 and married George Lewis Gothard; George Robert Sumner, born in 1917 and married Dorothy Mae White; John Lawrence Sumner, born in 1921 and married Belva Marie Compton; Myra Dean Sumner, born in 1924 and married Mosco Doris Bridges; Sarah Frances Sumner, born in 1926 and married Forrest Lanston Matthews and a second marriage to John Franklin Phillips and a third marriage to Clarence Noble P’Pool and Perry Cullen Sumner, born in 1927 and married Lorena Farmer.

John and Mary were instrumental in forming the Thomas-Bridges Association as both were charter members of the organization.  Both served on the Board of Directors and on many committees.  John served as President of the organization from August 1, 1980 to August 1, 1982.  Mary was also a member of the James Thomas Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

John and Mary were the parents of seven children, Ethel Mae Bridges, born in 1940 and married Boyd Alton Simmons; Dorothy Nell Bridges, born in 1941 and married Elbert Franklin Moore; Mary Jean Bridges, born in 1943 and married Larry Jacob Marthaler; John Drew “J. D.” Bridges, born in 1944 and married Rachel Juanita Gallegas and then married Vicki Elaine Wilson Dockery; Beverly Kay Bridges, born in 1948 and married Charles Ray Powell; Jerry Sumner Bridges, born in 1950 and married Betty Sue Lawson and then married Virginia Lee Plawecki; and Thomas Randall Bridges, born in 1957 and married Cynthia M. Duncan and then married Judy Fay Sumner.

John died on November 27, 1998 at the Jennie Stuart Medical Center in Hopkinsville, Kentucky at the age of 83.  He was buried in the East End Cemetery in Cadiz.  Mary died on June 22, 2016 at the Trigg County Hospital in Cadiz at the age of 97.  She was buried in the East End Cemetery next to her husband.

 

 

 John and Mary tombstone

LINEAGE: (John Thomas Bridges was the son of Drew Manley and Lena Mae Guier Bridges and the grandson of Starkie T. and Elizabeth W. Lawrence Bridges.  Starkie was the second child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges. William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)

(Mary Henrietta Sumner was the daughter of John Calvin and Lucy Ethel Lawrence Sumner and the granddaughter of Benjamin Miles and Henrietta Gabrella Bridges Sumner and James H., II and Lucy Thomas Lawrence.  Henrietta was the first child of Drewry and Peachie Ann Tart Bridges.  Drewry was the fourth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges. William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  Lucy was the eighth child of Stanley and Emily Ann Light Thomas. Stanley was the second child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.  Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

John Quincy Adams -- Timberman and Farmer

 

John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams, who bore the same name as the sixth president of the United States, was born on August 7, 1875, in the Roaring Springs community of Christian County, Kentucky. He was the second of seven children born to John Wylie Adams and Martha Jane Coleman Adams. John Wylie was a native of Trigg County, Kentucky and worked as a farmer. Martha Jane was also a native of Trigg County, worked as a homemaker, and was a descendant of Perry Thomas.  John Quincy’s siblings were Lucy Agnes Adams, born in 1874 and married Robert Henry Williams; Alfred Sidney Adams, born in 1877 and died at the age of 12; James Sterling Adams, born in 1880 and married Hattie Grace Bell and then married Mary Docia Atkins; Willie Helen Adams, born in 1884 and married John Sherman Bell; Martha Gertrude Adams, born in 1887 and married James Pascal Hendon and Eulis Franklin Adams, born in 1892 and died at the age of 4.

John grew up in the river bottom area near Linton, Kentucky in Trigg County.  As a young man he helped to clear the river bottom land where he and his neighbors lived.  He helped to cut the virgin timber and then had log rollings along with his neighbors to roll the logs into large piles to be burned in order that new ground could be cultivated.  He farmed in both Trigg and Christian counties.  He traveled by steamboat from Linton down the Cumberland River to Nashville where he took the train to Union Grove, Alabama where he again worked as a timberman, cutting tall pine trees from the mountainside, hewing them and then using a broadax making them into crossties. He also worked to clear land in the Missouri Delta.

John returned to Kentucky where he worked in the tobacco factories in Hopkinsville.  He then worked in the steel mills in Alton, Illinois and later lived in Akron, Ohio where he worked at the Saalfield Publishing Company and the East Ohio Gas Company. He returned again to Trigg County in 1930 and bought a farm in the Donaldson Creek community where he settled down as a farmer and lived longer there than any other place during his life.

On December 1, 1894, John married Suphronia (Sophronia) Adeline Williams in Stewart County, Tennessee.  Suphronia was born January 24, 1875 in Trigg County, the daughter of Lessenberry Nance and Cynthia Ann Vinson Williams. Nance was a native of Trigg County and Cynthia was a native of Stewart County, Tennessee.

John and Suphronia were the parents of eleven children, most who were born in Trigg County and raised in the river bottom area near Linton.  They were, Lou Bess Adams, born in 1895 and died at the age of 3 years; John Troy Adams, born 1897 and married Nova Mae Sumner, a second marriage to Maurine Sumner and a third marriage to Ora Monico Gordon; James Floyd Adams, born in 1899 and married Maggie Belle Hargroves; Hattie Bell Adams, born in 1901 and married Perry Amos Thomas; Willie May Adams, born in 1904 and married Oscar Err Thomas; Sammy Ray Adams, born in 1905 and died in early childhood; Thomas Odell Adams, born in 1906 and married Helen Anne Moore and later married Betty Earle Ford; Herbert Truman Adams, born in 1909 and married Mary Thomas; Herman Taylor Adams, born in 1912 and married Bessie Mae Thomas; Plomer Douglas Adams, born in 1914 and died at the age of 1 year and Daphane Estelle Adams, born in 1921 and died at the age of 11 years.

John Quincy died on June 13, 1961 at his home in the Donaldson Creek community at the age of 85.  He was buried in the Lancaster Cemetery located on the South Road in Trigg County.  His wife, Suphronia had died on February 4, 1950 and was also buried in the Lancaster Cemetery.

 Suphronia Williams Adams

John and Suphronia's tombstone

LINEAGE:  (John Quincy Adams was the second child of John Wylie and Martha Jane Coleman Adams.  Martha Jane was the second child of Alfred Boyd and Alpha Thomas Coleman.  Alpha was the second child of Perry and Elizabeth Bridges Thomas.  Perry was the third child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Albert Dale Cunningham -- World War II Casualty

 

Albert Dale Cunningham

Albert Dale Cunningham was born on August 30, 1925 in Trigg County, Kentucky the second of six children of George Clyde Cunningham and Robbie Bell Bridges Cunningham. , His father was a farmer and a native of Trigg County, Kentucky, who died in a tragic tractor accident in 1973.  His mother was also a native of Trigg County and was a homemaker.  His siblings were Aubrey Hershell, born in 1923; Alfred Leslie, born in 1927; Dolly Mae, born in 1930, Martha Rhea, born in 1934 and Mava Dale, born in 1946.

Albert grew up on Beechy Fork Creek in the Maple Grove Community of Trigg County.  He attended school at the Lower Donaldson School and the Maple Grove School.

Albert reached the age of 18 during the height of World War II.  On November 15, 1943 he entered the US Army and was sent to Camp Blanding near Starke, Florida for his basic training. Following his basic training he was given a furlough from March 28, 1944 to April 7, 1944 before being sent to Fort Meade, Maryland where in May 1944, he was shipped overseas.

On May 18, 1944 he landed in Naples, Italy where he was assigned to the Company G, 143rd Infantry Regiment,  36th Infantry Division, which was part of the US 5th Army under the command of General Mark Clark.  The 36th was the Texas Division and the men of the 36ths were known as “T+Patchers” because their insignia was made up of an arrowhead with a capital T in the middle.  Albert’s job was an assistant gunner on an 81 mm mortar.

During the summer of 1944 Albert fought with his unit in numerous locations across Italy and Southern France.  He had been promoted to private first class.  Several of his letters home during that summer were of such interest that they were published in the local Cadiz Record newspaper. 

During the late fall, his unit was involved in a battle fighting the German 19th Army in an effort to hold the Vosges Mountain passes in France when Albert was killed in action on November 28, 1944 while crossing the Moselle River.  Albert, age 19, was buried with full military honors in the Epinal American Cemetery near the village of Dinoze, France.  The cemetery was on a plateau 100 feet above the Moselle River in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains.

In April 1948, Albert’s body was brought home to the United States with his final resting place being the Allen-Cunningham Cemetery in Trigg County.  Again, he received full military honors at his burial.  A special tribute was given in October 1991 to the memory of Albert Dale Cunningham during the dedication of the historical marker for Lower Donaldson School when he was recognized as the only student from the school to pay the supreme sacrifice in military service.

Albert Dale Cunningham tombstone

Epinal American Cemetery, France

LINEAGE: (Albert Dale Cunningham was the son of George Clyde and Robbie Bell Bridges Cunningham and the grandson of Elmer Elsworth “Ell” and Rosa Lee Bridges Cunningham.  Rosa Lee was the seventh child of Cullen T. and Martha Virginia Thomas Bridges.  Cullen was the twelfth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  Robbie Bell was the second child of Drew Manley and Lena Mae Guier Bridges.  Drew was the seventh child of Starkie T. and Elizabeth Lawrence Bridges.  Starkie was the second child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Mary Cohoon Bridges.)

Hubert Jackson "Tige" Thomas -- Auto Body Repairman

 

Hubert Jackson "Tige" Thomas

Hubert Jackson “Tige” Thomas was born on August 14, 1909 in Trigg County, Kentucky.  He was the second of six children of Lucian M. Thomas and Inez B. Crews Thomas.  His father Lucian, was a farmer and a native of Trigg County and Inez was also a native of Trigg County and had taught school during the early 1900s. Hubert was a descendant of Starkie Thomas.  Hubert’s siblings were John Alex Thomas, born in 1907 and married Mary Louise Sumner; Homer Blane Thomas, born in 1911 and married Beulah Louise Bridges; Mary Julia Thomas, born in 1914 and married Alvin Arthur Pfermann; William Boyd Thomas, born in 1917 and married Geneva Simmons and then married Eunice Grace Thomas; and Maurice Alton Thomas, born in 1923 and married Stella Mae Gray.

Hubert grew up in the Oak Grove community of Trigg County.  He farmed with his father and brothers  on the family farm on land which had been in the Thomas family since the early 1800s when the family first settled in Trigg County.

On December 25, 1933, Hubert married Vada Helena Wallace.  Vada was born on November 24, 1913 in Dover, Tennessee, the daughter of Henry Austin Wallace and Sarah Elizabeth Lancaster Wallace. Her parents were both natives of Stewart County, Tennessee where her father had worked as a farmer. Hubert and Vada were the parents of six children: Carolyn Sue Thomas was born in 1934 and only lived one day; Billie Joe Thomas was born in 1935 and married Carolyn Raquel Williams; triplets Andrew Thomas was born in 1937 and married Frances Carol Bridges; Bruce Thomas, born in 1937 and married Joyce Ann P’Pool; Charles Thomas, born in 1937 and married Martha Ann Myers and then married Clara Ellen McKinney; and Dennis Glynn Thomas, born in 1944 and married Linda Dale Hancock.

Hubert and Vada left the farm in 1937 and moved with their family to Detroit, Michigan.  There he worked in an automobile dealership where he was trained in auto body repair.  He worked in a defense plant during World War II.  After the war, Hubert and his family moved back to Trigg County and using the talents he learned in Detroit, opened his own business, the Thomas Body Shop, which was located near the west city limits of Cadiz.  In 1955, Hubert built a new body shop on his property located about five miles west of Cadiz.  He operated the body shop in this location until his health failed in 1965 and he retired from the business.  At that time, he turned over operation of the business to his son, Charles.  After her sons were grown, Vada worked as a practical nurse at the Shady Lawn Nursing Home in Cadiz and as a private duty nurse at Trigg County Hospital.

On January 2, 1967, Hubert died at his home outside of Cadiz at the age of 57.  He was buried in the Lucian Thomas Family Cemetery in Trigg County.  Vada died on October 22, 1997 at the age of 83 in the Trigg County Hospital.  She was buried in the Lucian Thomas Family Cemetery next to her husband.

Vada Thomas with her five sons

 

Young Hubert with his older brother John Alex

 

Hubert and Vada tombstone

LINEAGE: (Hubert Jackson “Tige” Thomas was the son of Lucian M. and Inez B. Crews Thomas and the grandson of Jonathan Starkie and Julia Dyer Thomas.  Jonathan was the third child of William Bridges and Nancy Jane Rogers Thomas.  William was the first child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.  Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standly Thomas.)

Milton Roger Thomas -- Real Estate Developer and Community Leader

 

Roger Thomas

Milton Roger Thomas was born on July 2, 1938 in Trigg County, Kentucky.  He was the second of three children of Milton Ward “Chuck” Thomas and Martha Elizabeth Crawford Thomas.  His father Chuck, was a prominent civic leader and farmer and a native of Trigg County and Martha was also a native of Trigg County and had worked as a director of a servicemen’s center. Roger was a descendant of Starkie Thomas.  Roger’s siblings were Norma Gail Thomas, born in 1936, and married Robert Clive Gold and then married Richard Lawrence McKillip and a third husband, Ernest Linwood Hardy, Jr.; and John Ward Thomas, born in 1944, and married Patricia Ellis and then married Patsy Melanie Davis and a third wife, Stacy Winders.

Roger grew up on his family farm located near Canton and attended the Canton Grade School.  He moved to Hopkinsville in 1952 and attended Hopkinsville High School for two years before transferring to Columbia Military Academy in Columbia, Tennessee where he graduated.  He then attended Murray State University where he graduated with a degree in engineering.

Roger began his career as a chemistry and math teacher at Trigg County High School in Cadiz. He left the teaching profession after seven years and devoted his full-time attention to his real estate business, the Century 21-Thomas Real Estate Company.  He became a founding member of the Trigg County Industrial Development Committee and actively sought new industry and growth in the community.  He also was involved in promoting tourism for the county. As a member of the Trigg County Tourist Commission, he helped to organize and promote boat races and bass tournaments which increased the number of tourists in the area.  In 1970, Roger was one of the founding directors of the Bank of Cadiz.  He served as a director until near the end of his life.

On June 4, 1957, Roger married Margaret Joyce “Peggy” Allen at the Cadiz Baptist Church in Cadiz.  Peggy was born October 27, 1934 and was the daughter of William Orville Allen and Ruth Moorefield Allen.  Peggy was a descendant of Drewry Bridges.  Roger and Peggy were the parents of two sons, Allen Ward Thomas, born in 1958 and married Shelia Lane Littlejohn Jones and Mark Crawford Thomas, born in 1960 and married Maranita Kathleen Roberts and later married Lisa Fuller Oliver. Roger and Peggy’s marriage subsequently ended in divorce.

On November 8, 1975, Roger married his second wife, Elizabeth Ann Rogers.  Ann was born on August 27, 1944 in Trigg County and was the daughter of Kenneth L. Rogers and Alberta Lyons Rogers.  After their marriage, Ann obtained her real estate license and worked with her husband in his real estate business. Roger and Ann had no children, but Roger had two stepchildren, Treav Tooke and Carla Tooke from Ann’s previous marriage.

Roger died at his home in the Canton community on June 24, 1984 at the age of 45.  He had been diagnosed with cancer.  He was buried in the Lawrence Cemetery in Trigg County. Posthumously, Roger was honored by having a street leading into the Industrial Park named the Roger Thomas Drive.

 

Roger Thomas tombstone

LINEAGE: (Milton Roger Thomas was the son of Milton Ward “Chuck” and Martha Elizabeth Crawford Thomas and the grandson of William Robert “Willie” and Emma Rogers Thomas.  William Robert was the second child of Robert Allison and Emma Nora Cunningham Thomas.  Robert Allison was the fifth child of Stanley and Emily Ann Light Thomas.  Stanley was the second child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.  Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standly Thomas.)

Ira Clifton Bridges, Jr. -- Merchant Marine

 

Ira Clifton Bridges, Jr.

Ira Clifton Bridges, Jr. was born on April 17, 1923 in the Maple Grove community of Trigg County, Kentucky.  He was the third of four children of Ira Clifton Bridges, Sr. and Flo Templeton Bridges Bridges.  Ira, Sr. was a construction worker and a native of Trigg County and Flo was also a native of Trigg County. Ira, Sr. was a grandson of Drewry Bridges.  Ira, Jr.’s siblings were Morris Dale “M. D.” Bridges, born in 1918 and married Lora Dean Cunningham; Barbara Mae Bridges, born in 1920 and married William Eugene McBride; and Frieda Nell Bridges, born in 1933 and married Eugene Lewis Sumner.

Junior, as he was called, attended grade school in the one-room Maple Grove School and one year of school in Hamburg, Tennessee.  He spent three years at Trigg County High School and went one to graduate from Marshall County High School in 1942.  He went on to attend Murray State College (now University).

World War II was at its height and rather than being drafted, Junior chose to join the Merchant Marines where he attended the Merchant Marine Academy at King’s Point, Long Island, New York. He was assigned to serve on several escort ships to convoys that carried arms and supplies to the European War zones.  The escort ships were not armed and some of their sister ships were sunk during their voyages.
After the war ended, Junior continued his career as a civilian merchant seaman and worked as a deep sea engineer from 1945 to 1970.   He shipped out of many U. S. ports including New York, New Orleans, Galveston, Houston, Panama City and other Atlantic seaports.

For many years, Junior lived in the French Quarter in New Orleans and it was there me met and married his wife, Margaret Frances Church.  They were married on December 18, 1952 at Gulfport, Mississippi.  Frances was born June 11, 1916, the daughter of William Harry Church and Lola Theora Bish Church.  Harry worked as a mechanic and was a native of Wisconsin.  Lola was a housewife and a native of Indiana. Frances had served in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II.  Junior and Frances had no children.

In 1961 Junior returned to his home state of Kentucky and purchased a house in Cadiz in where he lived until his death.  Junior had a tragic death on February 5,1970.  He was returning from an intercoastal voyage from California to Morrisville, New Jersey. He was driving on the New Jersey Turnpike near Edison, New Jersey when he was stricken with a fatal heart attack His body was returned to Trigg County and he was buried in the Drury Bridges Cemetery in the Maple Grove community.  He was 46 years old at the time of his death.  Frances died on June 26, 1980 at the age of 64 and was buried in the Drury Bridges Cemetery.

Frances Church Bridges, wife of Ira, Jr.

Ira Bridges, Jr. tombstone

Ira, Jr. military tombstone

Frances Bridges military tombstone

LINEAGE: (Ira Clifton Bridges, Jr. was the son of Ira Clifton, Sr. and Flo Templeton Bridges Bridges and the grandson of Durwood Stanley and Jane “Jennie” Thomas Bridges.  Durwood Stanley was the sixth child of Drewry and Peachie Ann Tart Bridges. Drewry was the fourth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)

Elaine Baker Sanders -- Cafeteria Manager

 

Elaine Baker Sanders

Eris Elaine Baker was born on March 8, 1923 in Cadiz, Kentucky.  She was the oldest of four children of Samuel Lee Baker and Vera Evelyn Cunningham Baker. Sam and Evelyn were Trigg County natives of the Rockcastle community who had moved to Cadiz where Sam was a clerk for the F. B. Wilkerson Co. department store for 40 years.   Elaine’s siblings were James Minos “Jimmie” Baker, born in 1925 and married Lyla Morrison; Cora Mae Baker, born in 1927 and married George Atkinson and Mary Ann Baker, born in 1929, and married Thomas Julius Carr.

Elaine attended schools in Trigg County and graduated from Trigg County High School in 1941. On December 14, 1940, Elaine married Eura Elvis “Mutt” Sanders in Crofton, Kentucky.  Mutt was born in Trigg County on March 23, 1920, the son of Clarence Murl Sanders and Annie Ruth Morris Sanders. Murl was a farmer in the Wallonia community of Trigg County.  Elaine and Mutt became the parents of two children, Jack Elvis Sanders, born in 1941 and married Carla Lea Roach, his first wife and Jackie Mays Beasley, his second wife; and Joyce Annette Sanders, born in 1945 and married Danny Green Bozarth.

Mutt lived his entire life in Trigg County except for the time spent serving his country in World War II.  He served with the 491st Armored Field Artillery Division of the U.S. Army from June 1942 to November 1945, with fifteen months of that time in the European Theatre.  He was in the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, Mutt began working as a rural letter carrier with the U.S. Post Office in Cadiz in 1945.  He retired from that position in 1977. Elaine spent her early married years raising her two children and in the mid 1950s, began working for the Trigg County School system as a cafeteria manager.  She was active in federal, state and district lunchroom associations while serving as cafeteria manager.  She was a familiar face to many local students who dined daily over the years in the school cafeteria.  Elaine retired as cafeteria manager in 1978 after working for 21 years for the school system.

After her retirement, Elaine became very active in local community and church activities.  She was a member of the Trigg County Homemakers, the Trigg County Hospital Auxiliary Club as well as the Trigg County Business and Professional Women’s Club. She served as an officer in all these organizations. In October 1980 she was named as the B&PW Woman of the Year which is the highest honor given to a local club member, which is a tradition of the organization to honor outstanding women in the community.  Elaine was also active in the fundraising for the County Heart Fund.

Mutt and Elaine lived on a farm in the Wallonia community where Mutt was born.  They purchased the farm in 1955.  The farm had been in the Sanders family since 1908 when it was purchased by Louis Sanders, the grandfather of Mutt. They raised crops on the farm as well as maintaining a herd of cattle.

Mutt died on May 16, 2000 in Nashville at the age of 80.  He was buried in the Wall Cemetery in the Wallonia Community of Trigg County.  Elaine died on May 15, 2014 in Cadiz at the age of 91.  She was buried in the Wall Cemetery next to her husband.

Elaine Sanders

Elaine and Mutt

Mutt, Elaine and son, Jack, circa 1944

Elaine and Mutt's tombstone

LINEAGE:  (Eris Elaine Baker was the daughter of Samuel Lee and Vera Evelyn Cunningham Baker and the granddaughter of Mark Smith and Mattie Mae Ricks Baker.  Mark Smith was the second child of Samuel Freeman and Sarah Adeline Thomas Baker.  Sarah was the first child of Stanley and Emily Ann Light Thomas.  Stanley was second child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.  Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)