Corinne Clohecy and Daniel Wise- 2nd Great Grandparents

Corinne with Glenn

Corinne's Wedding Dress

Daniel on his wedding day

Daniel Joseph Wise Sr. was born on August 3, 1888, in Plains, Georgia. His father, George Calhoun Wise was a Civil War Veteran and his mother was Frannie (Francis) Coogle. He married Corinne Caroline Clohecy on January 29, 1908, in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Corinne Caroline Clohecy was born in 1890 in New Orleans, Louisiana, to her father Mark Clohecy and her mother Emma B. Lawrence. 

Jerry and Hilton

Daniel, Hilton, Jerry

Daniel was number 6 of 9 siblings. He was the only one to leave Georgia. Corinne was the oldest of four sisters. They had 5 children, the first were twins and they died when they were young.  The next son was Gerard (he hated Gerald) and he was called Jerry.  His full name was Gerard Buckley Clohecy Wise he was originally named Daniel.  Somehow when he was very young her sisters Olivia (Viv) and Aimee (Mae) took him to Atlanta and raised him until he was about 9 or 10 according to photos I have. They then changed his name!

Top: Corrine with Jerry. 
Jerry and Hilton

The next two sons were Hilton and my Grandad Daniel Joseph Wise.

They moved all over Texas and Louisiana. After their sons had grown, Corrine adopted two more boys named Robert and Glenn. Both had mental and physical disabilities. Robert died when he was two. Glenn became an elevator bell hop an at a hospital.

Daniel Jr  married Esther Young. Daniel "disappeared" in 1937. Family legend suggests that someone (I have heard that it was the Sheriff, but do not know for sure) wanted to buy Daniel's land. Daniel refused and was never seen again. Some in the town thought that Daniel ran away but Corinne and her sons believed he was murder because he refused to sell his land.

Corrine at 44

Corinne passed away on March. 9, 1972 and it buried in Metairie, Jefferson Paris, Louisiana.

Special thanks to Marla H. for the photos of her father. 

Jerry, Hilton and Daniel

Jerry with the family dog

Jerry was an Alter Boy

Daniel Joseph Wise Jr.- My Grandad.

Daniel Joseph Wise Jr was born on July 16, 1915 in Denison, Texas. His father was Daniel Joseph Wise Sr. and his mother was Corrine Caroline Clohecy. He had two brothers, It was Gerard (he hated Gerald) and he was called Jerry and Hilton and two adopted brothers named Robert and Glenn. Both Robert and Glenn had mental disabilities. His father            "disappeared" in 1937. He married Esther Berle Young on September 18, 1937 and they had two daughters-Bonita and Sandra. Daniel served in the Navy during World War 2 and was an engineer by trade. 

Grandad and his brothers

After the war, he and my Nana moved their family to Alaska. My grandma remembers the dirt roads that they took from Texas to finally arrive in Alaska. Daniel loved to socialize and enjoyed country line and partner dances. They survived the great earthquake of of 1964. When Daniel retired, he and Nana moved to Arkansas and built their forever home.  Daniel was diagnosed with cancer and passed away on August 2, 1972 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He was buried in Opelousas, Louisiana.

I never knew my great-grandfather (Grandad) but this is how my mother remembers him: "I always knew he loved me. He left this life (and me) far too early. I loved spending the summers with him and my Nana in the south after he retired from Alaska. We'd drive the 11 miles on a country road, in his pickup with the windows down, as we went to town. Our destination? Sonny's Oldsmobile Dealership. We'd get a 'cold drink' and Grandad would visit with the dealers. I'd walk around the shiny new cars and pretend they were mine. Sometimes, we'd stop at the Avoca One Stop. (It should have been called the 'only stop'!) It was a one pump gas station with an ice cream freezer. He would sit and chat with the mechanics while my ice cream melted in the heat. My grandad could make a friend of anyone he ever met. I'm lucky he was my best friend and I get to see him again someday. He's my hero."

Pictures from top to bottom: Daniel as a young man, Daniel in the Navy (2 pictures) a note he wrote to Esther and him with my mother when she was a baby. 

Ester Berle Young- My Nana

Esther Berle Young was born on May 13, 1915 in St. Landry Louisiana. Her mother was Frances Emma Walker and her father was Luther Dutch Young. She had two siblings, Luther Dutch Young Jr (LD) and Elsie. She married Daniel Joseph Wise Junior on September 18, 1937. They had two daughters- Bonita and Sandra. They moved to Alaska after World War 2 and then retired to Arkansas. They were married for 41 years. Daniel died in 1979 and Esther continued to live alone in Arkansas until she moved in with her daughter Sandra in Bellevue, Washington. She died on April 11, 2010. She was 94 years old and was buried next to Daniel in Opelousas, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana.  

Esther was my great grandma and we called her Nana. She was a small woman with dark hair and beautiful eyes. She was such a huge inspiration in my life. When I was little, she would write me letters from Arkansas. She had beautiful handwriting and her letters were filled with details about her life. We visited her in Arkansas when I was a child. Nana lived in a home all alone. There were pictures of her dogs and my Grandad. There was a winding staircase to the basement and the basement was filled with every movie you could think of. This made us children VERY happy. She had a tree outside that Eric would climb. 

When she moved to Washington in high school she told me more of her life. She would tell me stories about her jewelry, her TV shows, her dogs and Grandad. I remember that she opened her ring case and told me the story of each ring. Nana loved beautiful things and she was the kindest soul. Nana was Catholic and once a week the local priest would come visit her. I am grateful for that. She also loved Pepsi.

 Nana never got ill, she just got old. By the end of her life she could not really see, hear or speak. I remember the last time I saw her. She was so tiny. She couldn't see or hear and was just lying in bed. I was leaving the country and went to say goodbye. She was lying in her bed and her eyes were shut. I held her hand, kissed her cheek and told her that I loved her and I thanked her for everything she had done for my grandmother, mother and me. I cried a little, but was reassured that I would see her again in the next life. She passed away a few weeks later. Nana was a huge part of my life.

 Pictures from top to bottom- Nana as a baby with LD. Nana as a teenager. Nana as a young woman. Nana and Grandad planning a project. Nana, Grandad and my mother.

Welcome!

Welcome to my family history blog. I intend to post discoveries relating to genealogical and family history research.