Joe "J. A." Sharp has a family again

Continuing on the trail to find cousin Sharp, among the first generation of 13 children, they mostly married and had children...fortunately not quite as many as their parents.  But I'm looking for Dialtha Rogers Mullendore's grandson J. A. Sharp, so now I have to check each of the children's children.  I've been hours plugging away.

1. Oldest Mullendore son, Abraham had 8 children, but only 4 were girls, and none married anyone named Sharp.  I'm skipping much of the information that Ancestry provided...after all, I want to find this today!

2. Mary Amanda Mullendore Brown had 3 children, the oldest daughter never married, and her second daughter has only a birth and death date without any census records even in her 80 years...strange.

3. Dr. Elijah Leonidas Mullendore had 7 offspring, 5 of whom were female.  and none married a person named Sharp.

4. Robert Bruce Mullendore, unmarried.

5. Suzanne (Kate) Katherine Mullendore Montgomery, who had 9 children, but only 3 were female.  So I'll check them out to see if anyone married a person named Sharp.  I must admit I'm miffed at this point because Ancestry is doing some kind of upgrade, which means I can't get the information on other people's trees about my ancestors to download.  I called them, and the assistant did not do anything, but it started to work on my 5th try.  Then a couple of people later, and when I wanted to add children to a person's site, it started asking me for their emails instead of their date of death.  I kid you not!  So with a grain of patience, I'll continue to look for J. A. Sharp's parents.

Her first daughter Mary Amanda Montgomery married an Enloe.
But her second daughter, Alice Dialtha Montgomery married Walter Alexander Sharp.

See that didn't take a lifetime, after all!  There were all those more Mullendore children which I now don't have to check out!  When I spoke to the Ancestry representative, I told her I was just trying to find out where a cousin was connected to my line.  I also emphasized that I am on Ancestry at least 5 hours a day (probably closer to 8) and have been adding cousins daily, through the hint process.  It was to clarify that I knew what I was doing.  Then I thought, I guess I add about 20 new relatives an hour...so that's close to a hundred a day.  Whew.

J. A. was also Joseph Alexander Sharp, with a nickname of Joe.  Born "about 1904 in Tennessee" (that's actually what it says on Ancestry about a man who did genealogy research!) and died 26 June 1971 in Sevierville, TN.

That makes me think that he wasn't a serious genealogist, but did claim to have various papers that would be of interest to family members who were serious genealogists! But wait, he was known as a Sevier County historian! So maybe he intentionally hid his origins from Ancestry! I've had that mood many a time when dealing with them!

From a story (submitted to Ancestry):

Born Aug. 9, 1903, in the Pine Grove Community, Joseph Alexander “Joe” Sharp was one of three children of Walter Alexander Sharp and Alice Montgomery Sharp. Along with his sister, Katherine, and his brother, Grady, he attended Pine Grove School and graduated from Murphy College.

[he was]...officially appointed Sevier County historian in 1950...He served a term as president of the East Tennessee Historical Society, served as chairman of the Sevier County Democratic Party, and served as secretary of the Shiloh Memorial Cemetery Association.

The historical markers situated at roadsides and in fields throughout Sevier County are the work of Joe Sharp. He was commissioned by the state of Tennessee to research and direct in placing the markers.

The Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection at the East Tennessee History Center in Knoxville and the Rel and Wilma Maples History Center at the King Family Library in Sevierville both contain a valuable collection of articles written by Joe Sharp, which are available for research. His collection at the King Family Library contains 18 roles of microfilm.

In June 1932, he married Dorothy Weatherly, whom he met while they were attending Maryville College. They moved to Covington, Tenn., where he was teaching history.

Their children, David and Mary Jean, attended Sevierville Elementary School and Sevier County High School...[and went on to obtain higher degrees as well.]  

Since David and Mary Jean Sharp are still alive, their details aren't public knowledge on Ancestry.

 On Saturday morning, June 26, 1971, Joe Sharp died suddenly as a result of a heart attack. He was 67. His unexpected death brought an abrupt end to an unparalleled research effort on the history of Sevier County and its citizens.

Authored by:
Carroll Mcmahon, the special projects facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce and Sevier County historian.  


So that gives me a better sense of a man who taught history for many years, then after retiring he spent a lot of time weaving the events of ancestors to the place where he lived.  I take back my impression that he might not have known what a legitimate researcher would know.

He actually had a "delayed birth certificate" made in 1954, based on his father's statement and the Family Bible. I wonder if any of the other Sharps had written records of their births.  These were mountain people, and to hear that he went to college says that education was more important to his family than to many other people in the 1930s.  He also worked to put himself through college.

I am glad to have some cousins that are related to this man.