John Franklin Cloud born 1868
John F. and Emma
John Franklin Cloud was born in 1868 in Biggsville, Henderson County, Illinois. He moved to Marion, Williamson County, Illinois where he married Emma McBride in 1896. They had eight children who were:
Bess Cloud, born in Marion, Illinois in Jan 1897. She married Claude Berry and lived most of her life at Houghton Lake, Michigan. She died after 1981 in Bradenton, Florida,
Ruth Cloud, born in Marion, Illinois in Mar 1899. She married Ray Titus and lived most of her life in Michigan. She died after 1981 in Arizona.
James Claud Cloud, born
in Marion, Illinois on 21 Sep 1901. He married Hazel Odell Reynolds
and lived most of
his life in Missouri. He died and was buried in Charleston, Missouri.
John F. and Emma
William Cloud, known as Willy, was born 29 Jul 1904 in Marion, Illinois. He married Lorene Dial and lived most of his life in Tiptonville, Tennessee. He died 4 Oct 1979 in Dyersburg, Tennessee and is buried in the Tiptonville City Cemetery.
Mazie Cloud, born 11 Feb 1907. She married Mr. Jarred and later Mr. Stuber. She lived most of her life in St. Louis and Piedmont, Missouri. She died 26 Jul 1994 in Mount Olive, Illinois and is buried at Lake Memorial Garden near Tiptonville, Tennessee.
Carl Cloud, born March 1910 in Tiptonville, Tennessee. He was unmarried and lived most of his life in Tiptonville and in St. Louis and Piedmont, Missouri. He died in Bradenton, Florida 17 Mar 1981 and is buried at Lake Memorial Garden near Tiptonville.
Maude Lou Cloud, born in Lilbourn, Missouri on 15 Apr 1914. She married Willard Raymond Kendall and lived most of her life in St. Louis and Piedmont, Missouri. She died in Poplar Bluff, Missouri on 20 Nov 1990 and is buried at Lake Memorial Gardens near Tiptonville.
Laverne Cloud, born in Tiptonville, Tennessee on 23 Feb 1919. She married James McCoy and lived most of her life in St. Louis, Missouri. She died in St. Louis after 1981 and was buried there.
John F. and Emma with Laverne, Carl and Claud at Bessie around 1937
John Franklin was living in Lake County, Tennessee, near Tiptonville,
in the census of 1910. While living in Bessie, in Lake County, Emma was
Postmistress of the Bessie Post Office before it closed September 15, 1913.
In 1914 they were living in Lilbourn, New Madrid Co., Missouri. This is where
their daughter Maude Lou was born. It is across the Mississippi River from
Lake Co. In 1920 they were back at Bessie in Lake County. I remember his
farm at Bessie in Lake County, Tennessee. It was in the Kentucky Bend of
the Mississippi River and he lost acreage every year due to the eroding effects
of the river. The town of Bessie had previously been washed away in the flood
of 1937 when the dikes failed. There was a bridge on the way from Tiptonville
to their farm near Bessie that Carl would speed up for each time we went
out to the farm and the effect was like a gentle, short roller coaster ride.
There was no electricity on the farm, so in the evenings we would all gather
in one room, lighted with kerosene lamps, and Carl would play his guitar
and sing. I remember watching Grandma churning butter and sometimes spinning
heads off the chickens before cleaning and cooking them. Mom told me that
once Grandma was gored by a cow they had and Grandpa was so mad that he killed
the cow and butchered it for meat. My main
jobs at the farm
were climbing the tree in back, absorbing the sights, smells and sounds,
and of course, eating the chocolate pie Grandma always made for me. I enjoyed
my trips to the farm.
John and Emma later moved to Tiptonville, near Reelfoot Lake, where they lived most of the rest of their lives. After Emma died, John lived with his daughter, Maude Lou and her family, in St. Louis for a short time until he died 8 Jan 1953.
John F., Ruth, Laverne, Lorene (Dial), Allene, and Ray Titus
Laverne's daughter, Nancy, remembers Grandma being sick and Grandpa sitting in a rocking chair by the window listening to the St. Louis Cardinals on the radio. When he came to St. Louis he enclosed their backporch to make an extra room which became Nancy's bedroom.
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