Think back to the days of your youth. What kinds of family photographs did your parents have stationed around the house? If you're anything like me, you'll remember these frozen fragments of your family's past calling out to you. Hanging on hallway walls like a museum exhibit, situated in well-chosen frames on a pine coffee table, or placed within the stiff pages of an album inviting visitors to take it into their laps to peruse its contents. There they were, waiting to tell us stories of how things really were, waiting for us to listen.
In the house where I lived for most of my pre-adult life, there was a large oval-framed photograph of my mom's maternal grandparents. It was taken at the time of their wedding, or shortly thereafter. (Pardon the distorted quality of this image as it was cropped from a larger picture from the late 70s. I'll update it as soon as I can.) Seated on the left is the woman I knew as Grandma Tanksley (Frances Anna Byrd) and standing next to her is Vernon Ernest Tanksley. As a young boy rollicking about the house, I only gave this relic an occasional glance. Time went on, as time always does, and I recall Mom having to remind me more than |
once as to the identity of these two "ancient" figures staring out at me each time I passed the oval on the wall. I have fairly palpable memories of my great grandmother from the two or three times I got to visit Indiana when I was in elementary school. But Vernon had passed away in 1977. I was three at the time. Sad to say, I never got to be around him, although he probably was able to see me as an infant. The old portrait that once rested patiently on the wall as a mere curiosity now speaks volumes to me as a student of my ancestral story.
It is now my intention to present some of the particulars of Vernon Tanksley's life in this short series of articles. Thankfully, his daughter Wanda was so sweet to share with me her own sharp recollections of her father's history. Most of what follows is based upon her copious notes, which I now have in my possession. |
Vernon was the son of a carpenter and farmer named David Andrew Tanksley (1866-1943) and Hattie Belle Daniels (1872-1950). He was the youngest of four brothers, born on April 20, 1901 in Mitchell, Indiana. His brother Clyde died as an infant. The other two were named Fred and Ralph. The 1910 federal census shows the family assembled in Lawrence County with the older boys already involved in manual labor.
When Vernon was sixteen years of age, the Great War was already well underway. It was not uncommon for young men to be less than honest about their age in order to be accepted into the service. And this is what Vernon did. Declaring himself to be eighteen, he enlisted in the U.S. Army on August 1, 1917. According to Aunt Wanda, he was on "a troop train ready for deployment overseas when the Armistice was signed." She says he was abundantly proud of his status as a veteran, and I assume he would happily have fulfilled his duty if the war had carried on. Thankfully, it didn't, and Vernon was discharged on January 18, 1919.
Vernon appears to have been stationed at Fort Custer (Custer Camp) in Battle Creek, Michigan. At present, I have no documents confirming this as his location for training, but
Vernon appears to have been stationed at Fort Custer (Custer Camp) in Battle Creek, Michigan. At present, I have no documents confirming this as his location for training, but
we do have census records indicating that he was living in Battle Creek with his first wife in 1920. According to Michigan marriage records, Vernon Tanksley and Blanche Arnold were wedded there on November 6, 1918, just a couple months before Vernon was released from his military obligations. The couple had two children together, Chester an Evelyn, both of whom died as infants. They are buried in Mitchell, Indiana. |
Beyond this, I can't say what the reason for their separation was. Could it have been that the death of both children was too much of an emotional strain on Vernon's and Blanche's relationship? Whatever the case, by 1930 Vernon was living in Illinois with his second wife Frances. From this union came my grandmother Annis and her sister Wanda. We'll continue from there in the next post. Stay tuned!