Two for one: Help connect jazz great Miles Davis and actress Cicely Tyson to the tree

Question

Jazz great Miles Davis and actress Cicely Tyson were married in the 1980s, and neither of them is connected to the global tree. If you want to collaborate on building their trees and connections, we can use this post to share research, brick walls, or profiles who need more profiles created from them.

Comments

WikiTree+ updated - this cluster is now tree151 and shows with 222 profiles in that system. As you pointed out Isabelle, it's still not "current", but at least I'm glad to see it's closer. Big jump though from tree2543 to tree151, so it's obvious we're making good progress. :)

---

Isabelle quote> about the number of profiles in the tree, I don't use WikiTree+ (which only updates once a week) but something different. The tree size is 247 per this count (updated daily, so not exactly current).

Can you please tell me how to see this daily kind of tree size ? Thanks

---

Unfortunately, no, I can't. I'm not free to share it, sorry. (Edited to add: it's a glutton for resources and has to be used sparingly, so, we can't share it).

---

Isabelle, you're such a tease! (just kidding with you...)

But seriously, the "count" of profiles is fun to look at, but has little bearing on the actual connection. I'll try to restrain myself.

---

I think we've got a connection! The existing profile I hit (William Zigrang) is about 22 steps from Miles Davis (whew!) but if everything goes well, it should populate in the connector by tomorrow.

---

Awesome news! Fingers crossed for tonight's connection update.

---

“Tutu” by Miles Davis was one of the first DNA-saved files to be added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Archive in 2017.

https://www.seeker.com/health/biotech/music-was-just-encoded-on-dna-and-retrieved-for-the-first-time

---

Erin - I think you did it! 

At least the profiles I was working on appear to be connected today, so I can only assume that Miles and Cicely are both connected as well. Great job!

---

Miles is definitely connected, and it's a LONG distance connection, but it's there.

---

On the upside, having a long connection like that means many different names and families, so more people have a chance of easily finding their own connection point if they're new to WikiTree or creating new profiles! And plenty of potential for it to get filled in and bring people more tightly together.

Answer 1

Mark Mosley (Moseley, Mosely, spelled a few ways), born 1901 in Mississippi, needs his parents and plenty of siblings added: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Mosley-1945

Comments

Parents and siblings added.

---

Thanks, Sharon!

Answer 2

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Davis-7200

Transcription error-surname-document has DAVIS

Name: Miles Davis Gender: Male Race: Black Marital status: Married Age: 72 Birth Date: 28 Aug 1870 Birth Place: Macon Georgia Death Date: 14 May 1943 Death Place: Pine Bluff, Jefferson, Arkansas, USA Father: Monroe Dauts Mother: Georgia Ann Dauts Spouse: Ivy Davis Certificate Number: 574 Source Citation Arkansas Department of Vital Records; Little Rock, Arkansas; Death Certificates; Year: 1943; Roll: 2

Answer 3

Name: Mr Miles D. Davis Race: Colored (Black) Marriage License Age: 48 Record Type: MarriageLicense Birth Date: abt 1875 Marriage License Date: 29 Dec 1923 Marriage License Place: Arkansas, USA Marriage Place: Jefferson, Arkansas, USA Spouse: Ivy N. Lewis Source Citation Arkansas Department of Vital Records; Little Rock, Arkansas; Marriage Certificates; Year: 1923; Film: #4

Name: Miles Davis Gender: Male Age: 24 Birth Year: abt 1871 Residence: Noble Lake, Jefferson, Arkansas Spouse's Name: Mary F Brown Spouse's Gender: Female Spouse's Age: 23 Spouse's Residence: Noble Lake, Jefferson, Arkansas Marriage Date: 18 Feb 1895 Marriage License Date: 16 Feb 1895 Marriage County: Jefferson Event Type: Marriage FHL Film Number: 983668 Source Information Ancestry.com. Arkansas, U.S., County Marriages Index, 1837-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Answer 4

For Cecily's ancestors, you may find much by emailing a question to the Nevis Archives

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP794

Email is 

http://customer-services@bl.uk

this is the British Library. You need to tell them it concerns the Nevis Archives

Answer 5

Hannah Irving Lucas, born 1895 in Missouri, needs her parents and siblings added: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Irving-7183

Answer 6

Ocie Douglas Lucas, born 1894 in Missouri, needs relatives added. He was living with his parents and grandparents in 1900: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lucas-11047

Comments

Added his parents and siblings, left "Needs Profiles Created" categories on those who had spouses.

Answer 7

Urissa Rhone Brown ( https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Rhone-137 ), born about 1901 in Texas, needs her parents and siblings added. They're an interesting group of people who valued education and a lot of the children became teachers.

Here's some information about them from the Briscoe Center For American History: https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/00024/cah-00024.html

And an article about finding the papers in the homestead, and letters from Calvin Rhone to his sweetheart (and later wife), Lucia: https://bluebonnet.coop/Community/News/articles/2017/Magazine-Stories/THE-RHONES-ROOTS-A-century-of-one-Round-Top-family

Comments

I've added her parents and siblings, as well as any spouses that could be confirmed. Now I'm going to work on her mother Lucia's parents and siblings.

---

The descendants of Ben Knotts have been exhausted, and spouses with easy to add family members have been added to this post. Time to pick another path to follow!

Answer 8

Eanious Esco Ellison, born 1902 or 1903 in Mississippi, needs his parents and siblings added. I think Esco's brother Joseph was the Joe Ellison married to his wife Marjorie's sister Otha. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ellison-3904

Answer 9

Ulysses Wilson, born 1913 in Mississippi, needs his parents and siblings added: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wilson-82774

Answer 10

Kermit J. Jeffers, born 1919 in Illinois, needs his parents and siblings added: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Jeffers-1789

Comments

Returning to the top - added Kermit's mother's parents and now working on the Larkins family.

Jefferson "Jeff" Larkins

Frances Majors

---

Added the 7 siblings of Kermit's mother - the children of Jefferson Larkins and Frances Majors. Working on their spouses and children now.

---

Husband of Evalina Larkins, Noah Hardy, has been added, as have his father and grandfather.

---

Spouses of other siblings created:

Edward Chester, second husband of Evaline Larkins

Mabel Blanton, wife of Clarence Larkins

McKinley Catlett, husband of Nonie Larkins

Moving on to children of these families.

---

Hardy family entered, including son of Noah and Evaline, their son's wife Rachel Dewills Jones, and their 5 children who have passed away (there were other children but I could not confirm they had passed).

---

Entered the 2 children of Clarence Larkins. Kind of hit a stop on the Larkins line for now. Moving on to the Stubblefields.

---

Entered mother and father of Hurley Stubblefield, and his 4 siblings. Adding spouses and the families of the siblings now.

---

Spouses and children added - only 1 child that I couldn't find a reasonable date of death, so she was left out. New names from the spouses:

Bertha Wynn, 1st wife of Claudie Stubblefield

Curmet Harper, 2nd wife of Claudie Stubblefield

Helen Baxter, 3rd wife of Claudie Stubblefield

John Gardner, husband of Myrtle Stubblefield

Twig Fields, husband of Ruby Stubblefield

Alverna Allen, not sure if she was wife of Arthur Stubblefield, or just the mother of his child, but I've added her as wife for now.

Several children have recorded marriages, so will add those names next and any deceased children from those marriages, although I don't recall that there were any that I have found so far.

---

Finished with marriages - added the following new lines for research:

Joe Davis Murdock, 1st husband of Edna Jane Gardner

John Maxwell McKinney, Jr., 2nd husband of Edna Jane Gardner

Louis Williams, 4th husband of Edna Jane Gardner

Mable Tolbert, wife of Lardell Gardner

Denolda Bray, wife of John Gardner

Raymond Murdock, husband of Odella Deloris Gardner

Walter A. Chapman, husband of Mildred Josephine Gardner

---

I think that exhausts the Stubblefield line and direct extensions.

Passed by Vernina Lewis (wife of Gromer Jefferies) previously, but no decent sources or connections to pursue with her.

Returning to husband of Wanda Madelene Stubblefield - Loren Claypool and beginning Claypool line.

Answer 11

William Blue, born 1906 in Tennessee, needs his parents, siblings, daughter, and daughter's mother added: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Blue-1566

Answer 12

Zenobia Huggins Troy, born 1904 probably in Oklahoma (but maybe Missouri or Kansas), needs her parents and siblings added: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Huggins-2153

Answer 13

Claudius Troy, born 1913 in California, needs his parents and siblings added: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Troy-911

Answer 14

Cecelia Spencer Troy, born 1913 in California, needs her parents and siblings added. There's a death date of 2004 for her in a Family Search tree, but that date is probably incorrect. (A quick look around on Ancestry made it more likely that the Cecelia Spencer who died in 2004 was Cecelia Elizabeth Gottsponer, who married a Claude Spencer.)

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Spencer-23028

Comments

Added her parents and siblings, now I'm going to switch over to Ella Nehrt and see if a connection pops up.

Answer 15

Preston Killings, born 1900 in Texas, needs his parents and sister added. (His parents were living with other family members in the 1900 census as well)

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Killings-2

Answer 16

Eunice Washington Dickerson, born 1910 in Texas, needs her parents and siblings added: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Washington-2861

Answer 17

Frazier Whittington, born about 1899 in South Carolina, needs his parents and siblings added: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Whittington-1952

Answer 18

Erma Eggleston Kindred, born 1924 in Texas, needs her parents and brother added: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Eggleston-2876

Answer 19

Alvis Hodge, born 1914 in Texas, needs his parents and siblings added: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hodge-5516

Answer 20

Leroy Kindred, born 1899 in Texas, needs his parents, siblings, and other relatives who appear on the 1900 census added: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Kindred-342