Dear Reader: Do you think you are related to the individuals listed in this post? Please drop me a note! I love hearing from cousins and others researching my family!
Today, July 12, is the anniversary of the death of my second great-grandfather, Benjamin William Franklin Corley in 1891. So, I thought I would list what I know about him:
– While he was born in Kentucky, he spent most of his life in Shelby County, Illinois
– He had a twin brother, Henry William Washington Corley
– His parents were Jonathan Cheatham Corley and Delilah Basham (Delilah’s father, Obediah, is my ticket into the DAR, eventually)
– He was a farmer and a “local preacher” with the Methodist Episcopal Church, but transferred to the Free Methodist Church after a dispute with the local minister of the former church
– He married Lois Wakefield in 1842
– He passed away at his wife’s funeral — here is the story from A Genealogy of Corleys (page 150):
“While the service was being conducted, Mr. Corley leaned his head over on the shoulder of his son Joseph*, and expired. The further service was adjourned, and a joint service for both of them afterwards was conducted.”
*Joseph was my great-grandfather.
Thanks to A Genealogy of Corleys, I have a picture of Benjamin and Lois.
July 12 also is the anniversary of the death of my grandmother Ida Bole (Hill) Corley in 1943. I’ve written about the Hills extensively.
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