James Ezekiel McCasland -- Died Young in an Unusual Horse Accident

 

James Ezekiel McCasland was the son of Thomas J. and Mary Stanley Thomas McCasland.  His mother, Mary, grew up on Donaldson Creek in Trigg County, Kentucky. She married Thomas J. McCasland from Hardin County, Tennessee and the family moved to Marshall, Searcy County Arkansas where James was born on March 6, 1882. His family later moved to Indian Territory in Maud, Pottawatomine County, Oklahoma, where he was living at the time of his death on January 7, 1911 at the age of 28.  He died as a result of a very unusual accident.  His obituary, which follows, explains it all:

James E. McCasland is Crushed to Death Under Animal

Death at all times and under all circumstances is sad, but when the Grim reaper stalks into our midst, and by means of a horrible accident; removes the flower of manhood just blossomed into maturity, then indeed is His visit the cause of much sadness and sorrow: The people of Maud and the entire community were shocked by the disastrous accident that happened last Saturday afternoon, resulting in the death of J.E. McCasland, son of Mr. and Mrs. T.J. McCasland who resides near the city.

The young man was riding a horse in a gallop and in turning a corner in the suburbs of the town his horse collided with that of a companion. The horse in falling caught young McCasland under the saddle and his head was crushed, causing concussion of the brain. He died at 8:35 the same evening, having never regained consciousness after the accident.

Deceased was a member of the W.O.W. order and was interred in the Cummings Cemetery Sunday afternoon, the local lodge conducting the burial ceremonies. The Monitor joins the many friends of the family in extending sympathy and condolence to the bereaved family and relatives.
Maud Monitor, January 13, 1911


THE LINEAGE:

(James was the son of Thomas Jesse and Mary Stanley Thomas McCasland and the grandson of James Clark “Muck” and Mary Elizabeth Josephine Lawrence Thomas.  James Clark was the fourth child of James Jr., and Margaret Ethridge Thomas.  James Jr., was the sixth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.  Mary Lawrence was the daughter of Ezekiel and Polly Sholar Lawrence.  Polly was the second child of Allen and Jemima Bridges Sholar.  Jemima was the first child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)

Thomas Chappell Aldridge -- Soldier Buried at Arlington National Cemetery

 

Thomas Chappell Aldridge was the first member of the family to be interred at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington, D. C.

Thomas Chappell Aldridge was born in Trigg County, Kentucky on June 24, 1922, the son of Willie Gordon and Rosa Crenshaw Thomas Aldridge He graduated from Trigg County High School in 1940 (after earlier attending school in a one-room school house). After graduation, with the help of the R.O.T.C. (Reserve Officers Training Corp), he found his way to Western Kentucky University. There he was a member of a unit known as the “Pershing Rifles.”  After Pearl Harbor, they all joined the Army together.  Known by his middle name, Chappell ended up in the 42nd Rainbow Division, Infantry.  He was wounded in World War II [stepped on a “shoe mine”] but never received a Purple Heart.  When asked about it later, [kids wanted to know “What are those blue marks on your knee, knuckles and face?”] he said he was too busy “pulling bodies out of trees” to travel to the aid station to submit the proper paperwork.  However, he did receive two Bronze Stars.  After the war and a short stint as part of the Army of Occupation in Austria, he returned to Bowling Green, Kentucky to finish his degree in Physics, thanks to the G.I. Bill.   While there he met and married Navy veteran Martha Jane Morrison.

Back in the Army, Chappell was sent to Korea and later Okinawa.  After that, he earned a second Bachelor’s degree, this time in Nuclear Physics, at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.  He reached the rank of Major before retiring in 1964 after 22 years of active duty service. He had a second career with the Navy as a civilian Nuclear Effects Engineer.  During the 22 years as a Navy civilian, he earned an MBA from the University of Arkansas.  In August 1990, he attended the 50th reunion of his Trigg County High School class of 1940 at Kenlake State Resort Hotel.

Chappell died only one year later, on August 15, 1991.  On August 21, 1991, he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His services at the cemetery included a caisson, a small marching band and a riderless horse.  His widow, and his two children, Eileen Aldridge Shropshire and Thomas Chappell Aldridge, Jr. were present, as well as one nephew, Robert Earl Hite.  His son, Thomas Chappell Aldridge, Jr., gave the eulogy in Ft. Meyers Chapel before the burial.

His wife, Martha Morrison Aldridge, died on January 13, 2011 and was also buried in Arlington National Cemetery. 

 

 

 

THE LINEAGE:

(Thomas Chappell Aldridge was the son of Willie Gordon and Rosie Crenshaw Thomas Aldridge, grandson of Robert Allison and Emma Nora Cunningham Thomas and great-grandson 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.  Mary was the seventh child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges)

James Thomas Rainbolt -- Pearl Harbor Casualty

 

Actual photo of the USS Shaw exploding in Pearl Harbor

 

 In 1941, John Thomas Rainbolt was a F1c, or Fireman First class serving in the US Navy, aboard the USS Shaw, a naval destroyer.  The USS Shaw was among several dry docked ships in the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard on the morning of December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked.  Fireman First class Rainbolt was on duty aboard the ship that morning.  The ship attracted the unwelcome attention of several Japanese dive bombers and took three direct hits:  two bombs through the forward machine gun platform and one through the port wing of the bridge.  The resulting fires proved uncontrollable and the ship was ordered abandoned.  As efforts were underway to flood the dry dock, her forward ammunition magazines detonated in a spectacular blast, which provided one of the most iconic photographs of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  However, the ship did not sink. Temporary repairs were made at Pearl Harbor and the ship was steamed back to San Francisco in February 1942 where repairs were completed and she continued to serve on many missions during World War II.

In addition to John Rainbolt, twenty four other Navy personnel died as a result of the attack on the ship. John’s remains were laid to rest in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri in plot section 82, site 116-117.  His birth date is listed as unknown with a death date of Dec. 7, 1941.

In November 1942, the American Legion named a post in Little Rock after John.  The post was officially named the Thomas Rainbolt Post, No 198 in honor of a native of the state who was killed at Pearl Harbor.

John Thomas Rainbolt was one of three children of Mark L. Rainbolt  and his wife Naomi Nettie Myatt, who were residents of Searcy County, Arkansas and it is assumed that this is where John grew up.  His mother died on December 29, 1935, but his father lived until January 1963.  


THE LINEAGE:

(John Thomas Rainbolt was the son of Marcus Laudermilk and Naomi Nettie Myatt Rainbolt and the grandson of James Hardy and Permelia Emily Vinson Myatt.  Permelia was the third child of Thomas Allison and Alpha Gemima Sholar Vinson.  Alpha Gemima was the ninth child of Allen and Jemima Bridges Sholar.  Jemima was the first child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges)

James Thomas, Sr. -- Revolutionary War Patriot

 

Our ancestor, James Thomas, Sr. became a Revolutionary War patriot when he joined the North Carolina Continental Army.  The date was May 12, 1781.  He was 19 years old.

James was one of more than 17,000 men from North Carolina who enlisted to fight the British.  He was assigned to General Nathaniel Greene’s army.  Colonel Abraham Shepherd was in overall command of the troops, and James served in the 10^th Regiment of Captain Thomas Donoho’s company.

At the time of his enlistment, young James had been spurred by news of the Battle of Cowpens on January 16 of that year, which had been fought just across the line in South Carolina.  Then on March 15, the war came to North Carolina for real when General Greene fought a losing battle at Guilford Court House.

Much of young James’ service was with General Greene in skirmishes against the British in South Carolina.  It has been said that General Greene’s contribution to bringing the war to an end was his army’s conquest of most of South Carolina and Georgia that perilous but decisive year of 1781.

The war had begun at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775 when James was only 13, an action since called “the shot heard ‘round the world.”  It ended officially at Yorktown, Virginia on October 19, 1781 with the surrender of General Cornwallis’ army to General George Washington.

The surrender did not officially end hostilities however, and James remained in the army until May 12, 1782 at which time he was discharged and returned home to the family plantation on the Cashie River in Bertie County, North Carolina, at the age of 20.

 

By Edison Thomas, The TBA Newsletter, October, 1981.

 

THE LINEAGE:

(James Thomas, Sr. is the trunk of this family tree.)

Family Member is a Victim of a Terrible Crime

 

 

 

A senseless tragic event occurred in our family on the evening of January 16, 1986.  That evening Seldon Thomas Dixon, Sr. of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, died outside his home at the hands of a ruthless robber.

Seldon and his wife, Ann, operated a small grocery store known as Dixon’s 21st Street Market that they had opened in 1953 in Hopkinsville.  They operated one of the few remaining “mom and pop” groceries in the community, and they were not a stranger to violence.  Several years before, Seldon was robbed and beaten outside his 21st Street Grocery.  Since then, he had been known to carry a gun when heading home from the store each night.

On the evening of January 16, the couple closed their grocery around 10 p.m. and drove to their rural home on Pembroke Road about five miles southeast of Hopkinsville.  Dixon was attempting to open the carport door after he and Mrs. Dixon had pulled their car up to the house to light the area with the vehicle’s headlights.   The gunman came out from behind the house and asked him for his money.  During the confrontation, Dixon dropped a grocery sack that contained a money bag.  Evidently, the robber reached down to pick it up as Mr. Dixon stepped back.  Dixon, who also was armed with a .38 caliber pistol that was being carried in a holster, was shot seconds later, It was not known if he went for his gun or not.  The gunman then approached Mrs. Dixon, and demanded additional money and the keys to the store.  The gunman then fled the scene on foot, running behind the house.   In addition to the money band and store keys, the robber also apparently stole the victim’s pistol since only the holster was found at the crime scene. Dixon was still alive after the shooting.  His wife got him up and drove him to the hospital.  He walked into the hospital on his own with assistance from his wife.  Mrs. Dixon was able to give authorities an eyewitness account of the crime.  He had a mask or stocking on his face.  Although Mrs. Dixon did not recognize the gunman’s voice, she said he had some type of accent. Dixon was immediately taken into surgery, but unfortunately he died at 1:45 a.m. during the surgery.

As news of Dixon’s death spread through his neighborhood the following morning, there were reactions of shock and anger.  At the victim’s home, where a tree-lined driveway leads to the comfortable ranch-style brick residence, horses were grazing in a back field and a worker was feeding the livestock.  It was difficult for friends and neighbors to grasp the reality of the terror that filled the previous night.  But the evidence was inescapable. Remaining beside the carport door was a spilled, torn bag of groceries and a pair of glasses and shoes.  At the front door, a pane had been broken out by the son later in his effort to get inside the house after the robber had jammed all the locks.  

The following day the Hopkinsville Sheriff’s investigators arrested Marvin Eugene Francis, 26, for the crime and he was charged with first degree murder and first degree robbery.  Sheriff Deputies said Dixon’s assailant was described on a sheriff’s department report as a white male, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, thin in build, possibly having a mustache and wearing a light colored windbreaker, light colored trousers, ski mask and billed cap.  Francis fit that physical description.  Dillard said an anonymous tip led to his arrest. Francis was subsequently tried for the crime and was sentenced to life in prison. 

 Seldon Thomas Dixon was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Hopkinsville.  He was 57 years old. A native of Trigg County, born November 22, 1929, was the son of the late Albert and Etna Thomas Dixon.  He was a member of the Church of Christ.  In addition to his wife, Elizabeth Ann Gray Dixon, survivors included a son and a daughter. His wife died on May 26, 2012.


THE LINEAGE:

(Seldon Thomas Dixon, Sr. was the son of Albert Carlton and Etna Lee Thomas Dixon, grandson of Robert Henry and Virginia Lee Ezell Thomas and great grandson of Rufus King and Alvie Adeline Dunn Thomas. Rufus King was the fifth child of Perry and Elizabeth Josephine Bridges Thomas.  Perry was the third child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.  Elizabeth Josephine was the sixth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)

Perry Thomas -- Early Trigg County Kentucky Pioneer

 

Perry Thomas was the second oldest son and third child of James Thomas and Mary Standley Thomas.  He was born on May 25, 1797 in Trigg County, Kentucky.  He was small of stature, of sanguine temperament, quick spoken and of active movement.  His manner was prepossessing and his countenance pleasing.

He was a farmer by occupation, but much of his time was given to the service of the public in some public capacity.  For twenty-one years he was County Assessor, and he was the enumerator of the census of 1870 and 1880, and no man in the county was better qualified for the discharge of these arduous and responsible duties than he was, for he always discharged his duties and met his obligations faithfully.  The positions he filled brought him in contact with the people of the entire county, and no man in the county knew so many people and so much about them through this period of more than a quarter of a century.

His long continuance in official positions was abundant evidence of his business qualities, his honor and his industry, and he went down to his grave without a stain upon his reputation, dying at his old homestead on Donaldson Creek in 1886, in his 89^th year. His progeny were numerous, having raised nine sons and four daughters.  These sons and daughters and their children largely lived in Trigg County.  His oldest son, Albert, became a physician and was said to be the oldest practitioner in Trigg County.

 

By Cyrus Thompson, as published in The Kentucky Telephone in the 1890’s

 

THE LINEAGE:

(Perry Thomas was the third child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)