The Mystery of Emma Bella Lawrence's Parents

My Granddad Wise died when my mom was a teenager and I was never able to meet him. My Nana didn’t talk a lot about his ancestors and when she died, I had no idea where to begin. I knew three things about my Granddad’s family:

•  They were from the South, namely South Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana.
• Nana converted to the Catholic religion when she married Granddad.
• We were somehow related to Jimmy Carter’s wife. 

As I looked through Nana’s notes, I saw that she wrote down Grandad’s relatives. The Wise side was very well documented, but the Clohecy side was not. Nana said that her mother in law was Corinne Clohecy and her parents were Mark Andrew Clohecy from New York and Emma de la Vergne from New Orleans.  Clohecy is an Irish name and de la Vergne sounded French.

My normal searches turned up nothing. Ancestry and Family Search had nothing on an Emma de la Vergne. A collegue pointed me to Findagrave.com and I was able to find their graves in Atlanta, Georgia. The name on the grave was not de la Vergne, it was Lawrence, Emma Bella Lawrence! Imagine my surprise. 

This was her obituary-“MRS. MARK CLOHECY OF ATLANTA PARISH DIES. Member of Leading Louisiana and Georgia Families. ATLANTA – Mrs. Mark Clohecy, one of the oldest and best loved members of the Sacred Heart parish, died here recently after a long illness. Born in New Orleans, a member of the well known de la Vergne family, she passed her girlhood and young married life in that city. In 1914 she, with her family, came to Atlanta, where she lived in the Sacred Heart parish until the time of her death. Until age and infirmity prevented, she engaged in all parish activities. Her deep piety and lovable character endeared her to all. She is survived by three daughters: Mrs. Dan Wise of New Orleans, and the Misses Viv and Aimee Clohecy of Atlanta. Her funeral took place from the Sacred Heart Church, Rev. Edward McGrath, S.M., pastor, officiating. The interment was at Great Lawn Cemetery.” She is buried next to her husband and one of her daughters. 

Marriage License  and Date-1876

I was thrilled! Now I knew her name and her birth date, it should be easy to find her parents!!! WRONG. The dates began to be inconstant. Emma was born in 1865, but her marriage certificate is dated November 28, 1876. That would have made her 11 or 12. She did not have children until 1883. She had 4 daughters. Two remained unmarried, one died in 1929 and Corinne, my Great Great Grandmother outlived everyone by living until 1972. Emma died on March 6, 1934. Census records have different birth years for both Emma and Mark. One year it said she was born in 1860 and another stated 1855.  

When I found Emma’s Death Certificate, the math added up that she was born in 1865. However, it did not include the name of her mother or her mother’s birthplace. The one piece of evidence it included was the name of her Father- John Lawrence. Do you know how many John Lawrence’s were in Louisiana at the end of the Civil War? Hundreds. 

Death Certificate

I am not sure what to do next. I wish I could find Emma’s Mom. Perhaps one day there will be more evidence to paint a clearer picture.

  

George Calhoun Wise and Frannie Coogle-3rd Great Grandparents

George Calhoun Wise

Frances "Frannie" Coogle

When George Calhoun Wise was born on April 17, 1844, in South Carolina, his father, David, was 34 and his mother, Rosannah, was 23. They had 11 children-seven sons and four daughters. Two of their sons, Tyre and William died during the Civil War. George also fought in the Civil War and lost a leg in the Battle of the Wilderness.

 No one was ever supposed to mention his peg leg. They all migrated to Georgia around 1870 and settled around the town of Plains, and George died on May 25, 1898. 

George and Frannie with the children. Daniel is the boy on the far left.

George married twice. His first wife's name was Rhodella Etheridge. She died as a young mother on May 22, 1875, in Webster County, Georgia. She was  22. They had three children but only one survived. His name named Allen and he married a girl named Martha Cobb. 

George then married Frannie Coogle in 1877 and they had 8 children-five sons and three girls. Their names were Walter, George, William, John, Rosa, Hattie Belle, Mellie Mae and my great great grandfather Daniel. Frannie died on November 24th, 1942. Census records suggest that she lived part of her life with Hattie after he husband died.  

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.

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