Fred Thomas "Tommy" Ratchford, Jr. -- Attorney and Band Leader

 

Tommy Ratchford

Fred Thomas “Tommy” Ratchford, Jr. was born on October 31, 1948 in San Diego, California, the son of Fred Thomas Ratchford Sr. and Ina Ruth McGuffee.  His father was a Chief Warrant Officer in the U.S. Navy.  His family first moved to Pensacola, Florida in the 1950s, but because of being in a military family, Tommy moved quite often spending parts of his childhood in Cairo, Egypt and Guam. His family finally settled in Pensacola in July 1964 and Tommy graduated from Escambia High School in 1967.

Tommy went on to attend the University of Mississippi and later graduated from Florida State University Law School with a law degree.  Like his father, Tommy served in the U.S. Navy, being commissioned as a Lieutenant, Junior Grade on September 5, 1971 and a full Lieutenant on July 1, 1974.  After the completion of his education and military service, he settled down in Pensacola where he became a longtime and well recognized attorney. 

On June 7, 1975, Tommy married Charleyn Palmer “Polly” Swinford in Pensacola.  Polly was a native of Pensacola and was born on February 26, 1949, the daughter of William McKinley Swinford and Eleanor Anne Jones. The couple continued to live in Pensacola and on November 14, 1978 they became the parents of a daughter, Amanda Ratchford, their only child. Tommy and Polly were divorced on April 19, 2001. Tommy went on to marry his second wife, Suzy Brumfield.

Tommy’s legal skills became well known in the Florida panhandle when he became a regular on a local Pensacola’s Blab TV’s “Justice for All” show focusing on legal issues. Blab Television is a broadcast station in Florida which reaches from the Florida panhandle to the broader Gulf Coast region including Alabama. Tommy continued his legal career until his retirement from his law practice on May 31, 2018.

As a teenager, Tommy became a rock ‘n’ roll band leader.  He became part of his first band, called The Xenos, in November of 1964. Tommy wrote, “It was truly what you would call a garage band.” Friends often gathered at the Ratchfords’ home, where he had added a music room complete with stage, sound equipment and lighting, decorated with photographs from his many band performances. Music from those many parties could be heard throughout the neighborhood on weekend nights.

Ratchford was known by many Escambia County residents as lead singer and keyboard player for Gallery Night trio, The Song Byrds, with friends Jeff and Andree Byrd. Across the decades, he was a leading member of such local rock ‘n’ roll bands as Soul-7, Laymen, George Emmanuel Trio and Six T’s. He also was founder of The Pensacola Super Band, which performed at opening weekends for Pensacola Beach Bands on The Beach.

Tommy died on June 3, 2018 in Pensacola after a brief illness and he was cremated. Following his death, his former band members held a musical celebration of his life in downtown Pensacola. A traditional funeral service was held at the Olive Baptist Church.

LINEAGE:  (Fred Thomas “Tommy” Ratchford, Jr. was the son of Fred Thomas and Ina Ruth McGuffee Ratchford, Sr., grandson of William Thomas and Minnie Viola McCasland Ratchford, great-grandson of Thomas Jesse and Mary Stanley Thomas McCasland and great-great 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 Thomas, Jr. was the sixth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Hugh McCorkle McElrath -- Dentist

 

Hugh McCorkle McElrath was born in Murray, Kentucky on May 21, 1888, the son of John Calvin McElrath and Fannie Nold McElrath. His father was a merchant in Murray and his mother’s father was the first principal of the Murray Male and Female Institute, which opened in 1872 and was one of the first schools in Murray. His mother was one of the first teachers of the school.

Hugh attended the Murray Male and Female Institute and in 1905 to 1908 he was a student at Bethel College in Russellville, Kentucky.  During the school years of 1909 to 1911 he attended the Louisville Dental College, now the School of Dentistry of the University of Louisville He then enrolled at Northwestern University Dental School in Chicago where he received his D.D.S degree in 1912.

After his graduation from Northwestern University, he entered the practice of dentistry in Murray in October 1913.  His thriving dental practice was interrupted from July 1918 to July 1919 because of World War I.  Hugh was in the US Army and was a member of the American Expeditionary Forces and was overseas from September 1918 until June 1919.  He was attached to the Evacuation Hospital No. 18.  Upon completion of his army service, he returned to Murray and resumed the practice of dentistry.

On October 27, 1920, Hugh married Gladys M. Thomas, who was the daughter of Monroe A. Thomas and Mary Susan Graham Thomas.  Monroe was a farmer and real estate operator in Calloway County, Kentucky.  Gladys was a graduate of Georgetown College, having been a member of the Class of 1920.

Hugh and Gladys were the parents of four children. Their first child, Hugh Thomas McElrath was born on November 13, 1921 and graduated from Murray State Teachers College in 1943. A daughter, Miriam McElrath was born July 25, 1923 and a second daughter, Mary Frances McElrath was born on August 4, 1924.  Their last child, William Nold McElrath was born on March 1, 1932.

Dr. McElrath was active in the affairs of various associations and organizations, both professional and social.  He was a member of the Kentucky State Dental Association, which elected his its president in April 1924.  He had served as the chairman of the Kentucky representatives for the program of the International Dental Congress, which met in Philadelphia in 1926.  He was made a Fellow of the American College of Dentists in 1931.

Hugh was a member of several literary, dental and honorary fraternities and was a charter member and past president of the Murray Rotary Club.  He was a deacon in Memorial Baptist Church in Murray and he and Gladys were active in the church affairs.

On the afternoon of March 8, 1963, Hugh and Gladys were enroute to Nashville to have dinner with their son, the Rev. William McElrath.  They were sixteen miles south of Clarksville, Tennessee on the two lane US highway 41A when they were involved in a horrendous two-car collision.  Both Hugh and Gladys were dead on arrival at the Clarksville hospital. The accident occurred less than a mile and a half north of the site of a violent crash the previous week that claimed five lives. Dr. McElrath was the oldest practicing dentist in Murray at the time of his death.

Hugh was 74 years old and Gladys was 64 at the time of their deaths.  Both were buried in the Murray City Cemetery in Murray Kentucky.

 Tombstone of Hugh and Gladys McElrath

LINEAGE:  (Hugh McCorkle McElrath was the husband of Gladys Matia Thomas.  Gladys was the daughter of Monroe A. and Mary Susan Graham Thomas and the granddaughter of Starkie Duprey and Sarah Frances Pugh Thomas.  Starkie was the eleventh child of Perry Thomas and Elizabeth Bridges Thomas.  Perry was the third child of James Thomas and Mary Standley Thomas. Elizabeth was the sixth child of Drury Bridges and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)

Miyoko Sugano Blackford – Japanese Translator

 

Miyoko Sugano Blackford was born on March 6, 1922 in Japan.  She was the daughter of Yoshiyuki and Mitsu Sugano, descendants of the Samurai family. Miyoko was the youngest of the three children and the family lived in the southwest area of Japan.

Miyoko was educated at a finishing school where she learned the Japanese culture of tea ceremony. This quiet celebration of the service is performed with grace and beauty, skills that Miyoko acquired and illustrated throughout her life. In her young adult life, Miyoko became an accomplished ice-skater and was on the Japanese Olympic team. Her team was unable to compete due to World War II, but they ultimately did perform for an audience after the war that included General Douglas A. MacArthur.

As was her family’s custom, Miyoko first married Takashi Fukuyama in an arranged marriage. Later after immigrating to the United States, her second marriage was to Ethell Moore Blackford, Jr.  Ethell was born in Trigg County, Kentucky on December 8, 1919, the son of Ethell Moore Blackford, Sr. and Ella Mae Thomas Blackford. Ethell and Miyoko were the parents of one child, Nancy Sugano Blackford.

Miyoko and Ethell settled in Hopkinsville, Kentucky in April 1956. Miyoko worked as a seamstress for Arnold’s, a high-fashion women’s clothing store in Hopkinsville, for many years. When the store closed, she worked at The Showcase, a bridal and formalwear store.

During her many years living in Hopkinsville, Miyoko was frequently called upon to serve as a Japanese language translator by the Japanese industries that located in Hopkinsville. In addition to serving as a translator, she also assisted the wives and children of the company employees as they acclimated to the community. Further, she frequently made herself available to provide a sense of familiarity for Japanese exchange students attending local high schools.

Ethell Blackford, Jr. died on October 3, 1975 and was buried in the East End Cemetery in Cadiz, Kentucky.  Miyoko continued to live in Hopkinsville until 2016 when she moved to Kingwood, Texas to be near her daughter’s family.

Miyoko died on May 5, 2019 in Kingwood, Texas. Her remains were returned to Kentucky and she was buried in the East End Cemetery with her husband.

Tombstone of Ethell and Miyoko Blackford
 

LINEAGE:  (Miyoko Sugano Blackford was the wife of Ethell Moore Blackford, Jr.  Ethell was the son of Ethell Moore, Sr., and Ella Mae Thomas Blackford, grandson of Richard Ellis and Nannie Hendricks Thomas and great-grandson of Carroll and Margaret Jane Reid Thomas.  Carroll was the second child of James, Jr., and Margaret Ethridge Thomas. James, Jr. was the son of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)