Nat Hartwell Godbold -- Nuclear Engineer

 

 

 

 

Nat Hartwell Godbold was born on January 31, 1908 in Comanche, Texas.  He was the youngest of three children born to Sanctus Wilbur Godbold and Mollie Evelyn Moore.  His father, Sanctus, was a proprietor of a hotel in Long Beach, California.  Mollie Evelyn Moore was a granddaughter of Stanley Thomas of Trigg County, Kentucky.  Nat's siblings were Sanctus Wilbur, Jr., born in 1899 and Mary Ida, born in 1904.

Nat grew up in Comanche and attended the local schools.  He enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin where he received his doctorate in physics in 1932. For two years in the late 1930s, he taught physics at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.  He then moved to Fort Worth where he became the head of the electrical engineering department at Freese & Nichols, an engineering, planning and consulting firm founded in 1894 and served clients across the southwest and southeast United States.  He worked with the firm from 1940 to 1942.

During World War II, Nat worked on numerous governmental projects.   He worked at the Pantex Nuclear Weapons Facility located 17 miles northeast of Amarillo, Texas.  The Pantex plant was America’s only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility.  He went on to work at the Harvard Underwater Sound Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  The sound lab was established in 1941 to research and design new equipment to improve underwater detections systems.  Also during the war, he worked at the Los Alamos Scientific Lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico. This lab was one of the world’s largest and most advanced scientific institution and was best known for its central role in helping develop the first atomic bomb. Nat’s  respected knowledge in the field of physics was critical in the nation’s war effort.

Following the war, Nat moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho where he lived until 1956 when he moved back to Fort Worth and worked as a nuclear engineer with the General Dynamics Corporation.  The company’s Fort Worth branch was involved primarily in aircraft production and became a part of Lockheed in 1993.  Nat worked at the company until his retirement.

While a student at the University of Texas, Nat met Evelyn Claudia Padgett of Houston, Texas. On March 27, 1932, Nat and Evelyn were married in Austin, Texas.  Evelyn was born on February 18, 1909 in Houston and was the daughter of Thomas Henry Padgett and Claudia Virginia Sullivan Padgett.  Nat and Evelyn became the parents of five children, Neil Hartwell, born in 1932; Mollie Jane, born in 1936; Virginia Lee, born in 1938; Sheryl Ann born in 1950 and Gary Thomas, born in 1951.

Nat died on June 5, 1993 at a nursing home in White Settlement, Texas at the age of 85. He was buried in the Laurel Land Memorial Park Cemetery in Fort Worth.  Evelyn died on August 8, 1995 at a nursing home in Fort Worth at the age of 86 and was buried in the Laurel Land Memorial Park Cemetery next  to her husband.

 

Nat and Evelyn tombstone

LINEAGE: (Nat Hartwell Godbold was the son of Sanctus Wilbur and Mollie Evelyn Moore Godbold and the grandson of Thomas Oscar and Sarah Adelie Thomas Moore.  Sarah Adelie was the third child of Stanley and Sarah Thompson Rothrock Thomas.  Stanley was the seventh child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Ted and Beulah Sumner Thomas -- Farmer and County Magistrate

 

Ted Thomas was born September 25, 1901 on Donaldson Creek in Trigg County, Kentucky.  He was the oldest of seven children born to Dallie Brown Thomas and Willie Mae Thomas Thomas.  Both of his parents were natives of Trigg County.  His father was a farmer.  His siblings were Elmer Rowden Thomas, born in 1904 and married Marie E. Lance; Stella Grace Thomas, born in 1906 and married Chester Allen Sumner and then married Ernest Clyde Finley; Lula Maude Thomas, born in 1908 and married James Preston Sumner and then married Charles Dell Taylor III; Edna Ruth Thomas, born in 1912 and married Lloyd Seldon Downs and then married Meredith Simmons Christian; Bessie Mae Thomas, born in 1915 and married Herman Taylor Adams; and James Amos Thomas, born in 1918 and married Virginia Frances Futrell.  He had two half-brothers, Dallie Brown Thomas, Jr., born in 1923 and married Virginia Lucille Gardner and Earl Benard Thomas, born in 1925 and married Mary Ann Sumner.  Their mother was Ollie Mae Downs, his father’s second wife.

Ted grew up in the Donaldson Creek community and attended the Upper Donaldson School.  But he only attended school for a few years. Ted worked as a sharecropper for many years He also worked in timber along with his farming.

On November 14, 1920, Ted married Beulah Sumner in Dover, Tennessee. Beulah was also born on Donaldson Creek on September 21, 1900.  She was the oldest child of Thomas “Tommie” Darnell Sumner and Lula Bell Thomas Sumner and was a descendant of Drury Bridges.  Her siblings were Bessie Marie Sumner, born in 1903 and married D. B. Redd; James Preston Sumner, born in 1906 and married Lula Maude Thomas and then married Marie Eakers; Thomas Herbert Sumner, born in 1909 and married Edna Lucille Thomas; and Bayliss Hugh Sumner, born in 1914 and married Ruby Helen Calhoun. Beulah grew up on Donaldson Creek and first attended Lower Donaldson School, but later attended Upper Donaldson School.

Ted and Beulah bought a rundown farm in the Oakland community of Trigg County, where they built their home.  They had to build a tobacco barn, a stock barn and all of the other outbuildings that were required to operate a farm.  And at that time there were no modern conveniences.  In 1945 they also built a county store which they operated until they sold it in 1963.

Ted became interested in the government of his county and in 1962, he was elected county magistrate to serve on the Trigg County Fiscal Court as the representative from the Sixth District. The Fiscal Court was the legislative body for the county.  Ted ended up serving five terms on the court, stepping down in 1982, after 20 years of service. His decision not to continue to serve was because of his age and his wife’s health.  Ted did not consider himself a politician even though he held one of the most influential positions in the county.  He loved Trigg County and served it well by supporting the county government, the roads, the local hospital and his church.

Ted and Beulah were the parents of four children, Wilford Allen Thomas, born in 1921, who married Vonnie Lorene Wallace; Wallace Hugh Thomas, born in 1923 and died in 1925 at the age of 2; Mildred Blanche Thomas, born in 1925, who married Thomas Catlett Carney; and Geneva Gray Thomas, born in 1927 and married Raymond Jackson Futrell.

Beulah died on October 27, 1982 in Trigg County at the age of 82 as a result of a heart condition. She was buried in the East End Cemetery in Cadiz.  Ted died the following year on November 4, 1983 in Cadiz at the age of 82 after a battle with cancer.  He was buried in the East End Cemetery next to his wife.

Ted and Beulah Thomas tombstone

LINEAGE: (Ted Thomas was the son of Dallie Brown and Willie Mae Thomas Thomas and the grandson of Rufus King and Alvie Adeline Dunn Thomas.  Rufus King was the fifth child of Perry and Elizabeth Bridges Thomas.  Perry was the third child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

(Beulah Sumner was the daughter of Thomas “Tommie” Darnell and Lula Bell Thomas Sumner and the granddaughter of James Edmond and Mary Louisa Bridges Sumner.  Mary Louisa was the second 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.)

Lynda Jane Hargrove Showalter -- Waitress

 

Lynda Jane Hargrove Showalter

Lynda Jane Hargrove was born on January 20, 1941 in Cadiz, Kentucky.  She was the only child of Herbert Clifton Hargrove and Virginia Mae Daniel Hargrove. Both Herbert and Virginia were natives of Trigg County, Kentucky and Herbert was a great grandson of Charity Bridges Battoe.  Herbert worked as a truck mechanic and died in November 1940, two months before Lynda was born.  Lynda’s mother, Virginia subsequently remarried to Sherman Cothran of Trigg County and moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1942.

Lynda had three half-sisters, Aelia Jean Cothran, Betty Cothran Lizyness and Peggy Cothran Hayse, with whom she was very close.

Lynda grew up in Michigan and in 1957 at the age of 16, she married her first husband, Kenneth Locke.  The marriage did not last very long and they were soon divorced.  She and Kenneth had one child, Kenneth Deryl Locke, Jr.  Lynda’s first job was working at a Woolworth Drug Store in Detroit, but later began a career as a waitress.

Lynda worked as a waitress at Darby’s, a popular Detroit restaurant. One of the cooks at the restaurant was Herbert Showalter.  Lynda and Herbert became friends along with many other folks in the popular restaurant.  Darby’s was considered one of “Detroit’s finest Restaurant” and was “the place to be seen,” according to historical records on the establishment.

In 1965, Lynda and Herbert were married.  They both continued to work at Darby’s until the historic restaurant burned in 1968. Lynda and Herbert were the parents of three children, Scott Anthony Showalter, Lora Lisa Showalter and Kimberly Dawn Showalter. 

Over the years, Lynda worked as a waitress in a number of the Detroit area’s popular and respected restaurants including the Stage Deli Restaurant in West Bloomfield, Michigan, The Book Cadillac Hotel in downtown Detroit, Mr. B’s Roadhouse Restaurant in Clarkston, Michigan and the Sing Along Lounge Restaurant in Detroit. These are just a few of the fine restaurants that Lynda worked up in until 1970 when she was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis.

Over the years, Lynda became an avid seamstress and loved to knit, crochet, embroider and sew.  She made clothing for herself and her family.  In the mid-1970s, Lynda was featured in an article in the Detroit News showcasing the costumes she had made for her three younger children for Halloween.

Herbert died on May 2, 2010 at the age of 78 and was buried in the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, Michigan.  Lynda died on July 17, 2019 at the age of 78 and was also buried in the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly.

Herbert Showalter

Lynda Hargrove Showalter tombstone

Herbert Showalter tombstone

LINEAGE:  (Lynda Jane Hargrove Showalter was the daughter of Herbert Clifton and Virginia Mae Daniel Hargrove and the granddaughter of John Henry and Dora Ellen Battoe Hargrove.  Dora was the third child of John Edwin and Malinda Hawkins Battoe.  John Edwin was the first child of James J. and Charity S. Bridges Battoe.  Charity was the tenth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)

Ira Clifton and Flo Bridges -- Construction Worker

 

Ira and Flo Bridges

Ira Clifton Bridges was born on August 15, 1897 on Beechy Fork Creek in the Maple Grove community of Trigg County, Kentucky.  He was the third of five children of Durwood Stanley Bridges and Jane “Jennie” Thomas Bridges.  Stanley was a successful farmer and a native of Trigg County and Jennie was also a native of Trigg County. Stanley was a son of Drewry Bridges and Jennie a granddaughter of Starkie Thomas.

Ira’s siblings were William Durwood Bridges, born in 1891 and married Ruth Alida Cunningham; Homer Dorris Bridges, born in 1895 and died at the age of one; Hubert Prentice Bridges, born in 1901 and died at the age of two; and Jane Ernestine Bridges, born in 1906 and married Sidney Gordon Bridges.

Ira grew up in the Maple Grove community and on February 11, 1917, he married Flo Templeton Bridges in Bumpus Mill, Tennessee. The couple had traveled to Bumpus Mills on a bitter cold day by horse and buggy to obtain their marriage license.  They returned the following week and were married while seated in their buggy.  Flo was born on March 8, 1897 in the Maple Grove community and was the second of five children of Mark Dale Bridges and Mallie Mae Lancaster Bridges.  Both Mark and Mallie were natives of Trigg County and Mark was a son of Cullen T. Bridges.

Flo’s siblings were Nellie Cleveland Bridges, born in 1892 and married Mark McCarty; Preston Dale Bridges, born in 1899 and died at the age of one and one-half years; Percy Dillard Bridges, born in 1902 and married Edna Pearl Thomas; and Douglas Eugene Bridges, born in 1909 and married Katherine Edwards and then married Dixie Minton and a third wife, Letha Plumbee.

Ira was a farmer for the first few years of his career and then went into the construction business.  He worked in Jacksonville, Florida in 1926 and then returned to Kentucky to build houses and barns in the resettlement projects in Christian County in the 1930s. He worked on several dams being built on the Ohio and Cumberland rivers in Kentucky and Tennessee and was the second carpenter hired for the construction of Kentucky Dam in 1938.  The family moved around several times to be near the construction jobs where Ira worked.

Ira and Flo were the parents of four children, Morris Dale “M.D.” Bridges, born in 1918 and married Lora Dean Cunningham; Barbara Mae Bridges, born in 1920 and married William Eugene McBride; Ira Clifton Bridges, Jr., born in 1923 and married Margaret Frances Church; and Frieda Nell Bridges, born in 1933 and married Eugene Lewis Sumner.

Ira and Flo made their final home in the Maple Grove community in a house built by Flo’s father, Mark Dale in the early 1900s that had been named “Woodlawn.”  While remodeling the house, Flo was stricken with a heart attack and died on March 3, 1955 at the age of 57.  She was buried in the East End Cemetery in Cadiz.

Ira lived with his daughter, Frieda and her family after Flo’s death and continued to do construction work.  He died of cancer on November 2, 1960, at the age of 63.  He was buried in the East End Cemetery next to his wife.

 A young Ira and Flo

 

Ira and Flo's tombstone

LINEAGE: (Ira Clifton Bridges was the son of Durwood Stanley and Jane “Jennie” Thomas Bridges and the grandson of Drewry and Peachie Ann Tart Bridges and William Bridges and Nancy Jane Rogers Thomas.  Drewry was the fourth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  William Bridges Thomas was the first child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas. Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

(Flo Templeton Bridges was the daughter of Mark Dale and Mallie Mae Lancaster Bridges and the granddaughter of Cullen T. and 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.  Virginia was the third child of Peyton and Sarah Ethridge Thomas.  Peyton was the third child of Cullen and Elizabeth Futrell Thomas.  Cullen was the first child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)