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Willis Sizemore (abt. 1813 - bef. 1880)

Willis Sizemore
Born about in Clay County, Kentuckymap
Ancestors ancestors
Son of [father unknown] and [uncertain]
Brother of [half], , [half], , [half], [half], [half] and [half]
Husband of — married about 1830 [location unknown]
Descendants descendants
Father of , and
Died before before about age 67 in Kentucky, United Statesmap
Problems/Questions
Profile last modified | Created 28 Sep 2015
This page has been accessed 931 times.

Biography

Willis was born about 1813, based on his age in the 1850 census (see below); he was dead by 1880 (and one source claims he died in 1872).

A previous version of this profile claimed he was son of William Richardson Combs and Rhoda Sizemore. We seek a source for this identification.
His Find-a-Grave profile indicates he was son of Rhoda by an unnamed Begley man (per DNA).
He should not to be confused by a younger man by the same name who was born about 1830 and died in 1931 in Oklahoma.


1850 US Federal Census for Clay County, KY

Name Sex Age Occupation Birth Place
Willis Sesemore 37
Nancy Sesemore 35
Cyntha Sesemore 18
Eliza Sesemore 16
Jane Sesemore 8
Marthe Sesemore 6
Lether Sesemore 4
Farmer Sesemore 3
Margaret Sesemore 0
John Sesemore 31
Jane Sesemore 30
Mary Sesemore 11
Nancy Sesemore 6
Mahulda Sesemore 4
Rachael Sesemore 2

Research Notes

A previous version of this profile had changed his data to match that of the Willis D. Sizemore (1830-1931) on Find-a-Grave, shown to be son of Henry Sizemore and Rachel Jones with wife Arra aka Ira Roberts (b 1832) and children:

  • Thomas J Sisemore (1855–1940)
  • Elhanon W Sizemore (1858–1941)
  • Mary Sizemore Ivie (1865–1902)
  • Elizabeth Sizemore Murphy (1874–1936)

But the Willis Sizemore (enumerated as Sesemore) in the 1850 census (see table above) was 37 (therefore born about 1813, not 1830); married to Nancy, 35 (therefore born about 1815, not 1832), and with a completely different set of children born between 1832 and 1848.

This Willis Sizemore appears to be represented by a different Find-a-Grave memorial which theorizes that he was son of Rhoda Sizemore and a Begley per DNA. This resonates with research of Joy W. King, DNA researcher of the Sizemore line. See Family Mysteries] (DNA section). This Willis was married to a Nancy with the children that match the 1850 census above.

The Willis and Nancy enumerated in 1850 as tabulated above can be found in 1860 in Clay County:

"United States Census, 1860," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9B9F-QW72?cc=1473181&wc=7QXT-G6K%3A1589426984%2C1589424777%2C1589422206 : 24 March 2017), Kentucky > Clay > Not Stated > image 43 of 160; from "1860 U.S. Federal Census - Population," database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing NARA microfilm publication M653 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

Meanwhile, the Willis Sizemore born closer to 1830 can be found in the 1860 census with wife Ora and the children represented by this Find-a-Grave memorial.

There are two different Find A Grave memorials for Willis Sizemore.


Sources






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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Willis by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Willis:

Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.



Comments: 8

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Smith-32867 Jillaine Smith
I'm confused by the opening text in the narrative. It appears that the profile was originall for someone born in 1813 and died in 1880 but was changed to born 1831 and died 1931 "to avoid software conflicts." Please explain.

There is a find-a-grave memorial for someone of this name with the latter vitals, but with different parents and spouse and children:

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34315356/willis-d-sizemore: accessed 18 December 2022), memorial page for Willis D Sizemore (1830–12 Apr 1931), Find a Grave Memorial ID 34315356, citing Floral Haven Memorial Gardens, Broken Arrow, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, USA; Maintained by scott97172773 (contributor 46798626).

Is it possible that two different Williams were conflated into one, inaccurately?

posted by Jillaine Smith
Smith-32867 Jillaine Smith
His age in 1850 calculates back to an 1813 birth year.
posted by Jillaine Smith
Smith-32867 Jillaine Smith
I've done some more analysis of both Find-a-Grave and 1850 and 1860 census records.

If this profile is intended to represent the son of Rhoda (I question the father), the husband of Nancy, and the father of Emily Jane Sizemore Asher, then we need to change his vitals back to born about 1811-1813, and his death back to before 1880 (Find-a-Grave says he died in 1872).

posted by Jillaine Smith
Combs-1687 Matthew Combs
I did not make the changes in question, so I have no idea what the “software conflicts” refers to. The site informed me that Willis was born after the death of his mother with the current year of birth, so that’s certainly an issue.
posted by Matthew Combs
Smith-32867 Jillaine Smith
I'm going to go ahead and fix the data fields, because this profile clearly represents the man born in 1813, not 1830.
posted by Jillaine Smith
Smith-32867 Jillaine Smith
What is the source for the identification of his parents, please? Many thanks.
posted by Jillaine Smith
Combs-1687 Matthew Combs
There are no attached sources. As such, I have modified the parental relationships to uncertain.
posted by Matthew Combs
Smith-32867 Jillaine Smith
And update (to close the loop); through a separate communications, I asked and you agreed that it was okay to detach William Combs as spouse of Rhode and father of Russell. I've completed that task. Thanks for your support, Matthew.
posted by Jillaine Smith

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Categories: Russell-Moore Cemetery, Clay County, Kentucky