A few weeks back, Darrell Spencer shared with us a copy of the transcription he completed of the diary of his ancestor, Rev. David Taylor.
The diary, purchased in 1904, contains the names and dates of births, deaths, and tragic events in and around DeKalb County that he was aware of. It also appears that he transcribed notes from earlier diaries into the new one, including family events in the time frame from 1851 into the last 1930s.
Work has been done in formatting and validating some of the events listed to newspaper events that provide more significant details. In comparing the dates he has recorded, you may notice some variances in FindAGrave death dates; however, where death certificates have been reached, his date has been seen to match the death certificate date, and the tombstone is incorrect.
In reviewing the diary, you’ll find many names linked to the profiles of the individual; some have notes from Darrell Spencer, with additional notes noted as (KW-) and other notes specific to the event.
Some of the tragic events he mentions are the tornado that killed 4 school children on 24 January 1928 in the Holmes Creek School, as well as the loss of the entire Cope family due to a misjudgment in crossing the river on the 18th of May, 1921 when the wagon overturned.
Diaries are invaluable as they give us a condensed version of life in a small town over a defined period. Some, such as Rev Waufords, help us see what each day during the year brought and the insight into someone’s inner thoughts to get to see them; others, such as Rev. Taylor, allow us to see the bigger picture of life in a community over the decades.
WikiTree is a collaborative genealogical platform which allows multiple people to work on the same project. When working on the page, we save the update after each new person is linked; this helps reduce the potential overwriting of the work of others.
If you are interested in working on the diary and connecting the names mentioned by Rev. Taylor to profiles and are familiar with WikiTree, please feel free to start anytime. If you aren’t familiar with WikiTree and would like to participate, even if not on WikiTree, simply identify the individuals on Find A Grave or Family Search; this will help make work quicker to link them to WikiTree profiles. Please let us know at dekalb.tennessee.genealogy@gmail.com.
Several DeKalb county ongoing projects include Our First Families, War Veterans from 1812 to current times, and Diaries. DeKalb has a profound history that deserves to be shared.
If you have family diaries, photos, oral or written histories, or other items essential to the history of DeKalb, please let us know; we’d love to work with you and start a project for them.
Photo of Holmes Creek School found by Daphene Willoughby – Nashville Tennessean on 29 January 1928 page 2
Photo of Rev. David Taylor provided by Darrell Spencer
DeKalb County, Tennessee Genealogy Association 