Clarence Lee Hoover Dies

Clarence Lee Hoover, age 70, of Asheboro passed Thursday, February 24, 2011 at his home. Wake is Saturday, February 26, 2011 from 6 to 8 pm at Pugh Funeral Home in Asheboro, NC. Funeral services will be held Sunday, February 27, 2011 at 2:30 pm at Central Falls Baptist Church; Rev. Gerald Hussey officiating. Burial will follow at Randolph Memorial Park. Native of Randolph County, preceded in death by his parents, Clarence Roland Hoover and Ruth Hoover Bennett and sister, Betty Lou Burks. Survived by his wife, Joyce Chrisco Hoover; daughters, Donna Wallace and her husband Jeff of Asheboro, Kristie Rich and her husband Randy of Sophia, Denise Warren and her husband Greg of Liberty, Paula Reynolds and her husband Gerry of Cameron; sisters, Frances Strickland and her husband John of Asheboro, Vickie Jones and her husband Charles of Asheboro; 12 grandchildren; 3 great grandchildren.

Nancy Ellen Farlow Hunt Dies

Nancy Ellen Farlow Hunt, age 89, of Sophia passed Thursday, February 24, 2011 at her home. Graveside service will be held Sunday, February 27, 2011 at 4:00 pm at Marlboro Friends Meeting Cemetery; Rev. John H. Sides and Rev. Ricky Sessoms officiating. The family will receive friends following the service at the Marlboro Friends Meeting Family Life Center. Native of Randolph County, born June 6, 1921, the daughter of the late Percy & Majorie Cannon Farlow; preceded in death by her husband, James Lee Hunt. Survived by her daughter: Nancy Ann Hunt Bostic, and her husband, Tommy of Midland, Tx.; son: Tom Hunt of Nebo, NC; granddaughter: Christy Muehlbrad and her husband, Scott of Midland, TX.; great grandchildren, Reagan and Hunter Muehlbrad; sister: Jane Myers of Sophia, NC; brothers: McLain Farlow, Theron Farlow, and Curtis Farlow all of Sophia, NC; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Ruby Lee Hill Coltrain Passes

LEXINGTON-Ruby Lee Coltrain, 87, formerly of Trinity, passed Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at the Hinkle Hospice House in Lexington, NC. Funeral services for Mrs. Coltrain will be held 2:00 p.m. Saturday, February 26, 2011 in the chapel of Cumby Family Funeral Service, Archdale; Reverend Ben Hurley officiating. Interment will follow in Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church Cemetery. The family will greet friends at the funeral home one hour prior to the service. Born, January 15, 1924 in Bush Hill to the late William Allen and Carrie Mae Spencer Hill. Preceded in death by five sisters and four brothers. Survived by her husband of 62 years Spencer E. Coltrain of the home and three children; Larry Coltrain and wife Dru of High Point, Susan Shuler and husband Tommy of Lexington, NC and Debbie Skakle and husband Andrew of Cary, NC. She is also survived by six grandchildren, Chadd Coltrain, Landi Bregman, Lauren Slack, Austin Skakle, Auburn Skakle, Spencer Skakle and three adorable great grandchildren, Mackenzy, Hutton and Colton.

Edna Spencer Williams Dies

Edna Spencer Williams, 94, of Cary, passed Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at Duke Hospice Hock Family Pavilion in Durham. Funeral Services will be 3 PM, Saturday, February 26, 2011 at Jordan Memorial United Methodist Church in Ramseur; Rev. Charles Lindquist officiating. Burial will be in Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church Cemetery outside of Thomasville in Randolph County. Native of Randolph County, the daughter of the late Johnathan S. & Nannie Spencer. Preceded in death by a grandson, Gregory Williams. Survivors: Son, Darrell Williams, and wife, Linda, of Cary, grandchildren, Gary Williams, and wife, Ellen, of Ramseur, John Williams, and wife Teresa, of Wilmington, granddaughter-in-law, Amy Williams, of Raleigh, great grandchildren, Erin Graves, and husband, Bradley, of Killeen, TX, Marc Williams, of Ramseur, Andrew Williams, Spencer Williams, both of Raleigh, Trenton Williams, of Wilmington.

Reatha Leonard Link, 101, Dies

Reatha Leonard Link, 101, passed Monday February 14, 2011 at Lexington Health Care. Funeral Services will be at 1:00 P.M. Friday, February 18, 2011, at Piedmont Funeral Home Chapel; Rev. Dr. Henry McNeill officiating. Burial will be in Forest Hill Memorial Park. Born September 2, 1909 in Davidson County to G.V. and Clara Leonard who preceded her in death, Also preceding her in death was her husband Willie Link ; 1 son Richard Link; 1 brother Ray Leonard; 4 sisters Savannah Craven, Zella Pack, Bertha Cope and Esther Smith. Survived by a daughter- in- law Betty Link; 3 grandchildren, Rick Link ,Bill Link and his wife Missy, Leigh Ann Link Duncan and her husband Charles; 3 great grandchildren, Timothy Link, Danielle Link and Katie Link; 7 great great grandchildren; 2 special nieces Doris Owen and Dianne Dagenhart.

Leona Maie Pierce Jones Dies

Leona Maie Jones, 87, of Julian passed Monday, February 14, 2011 at her home. Graveside funeral service will be held on Thursday, February 17 at 2:00 p.m. at Gilmore Memorial Park officiated by Rev. Jerry Smith. Mrs. Jones is the daughter of the late Walter Brynt and Ila Maie Briles Pierce and was also preceded in death by her son, James Lee Jones and two brothers, Gurney Ray Pierce and Clyde Aron Pierce. Surviving is her husband of 65 years, Foster David Jones; one daughter, Shirley Snider Richardson (LeRoy) of Julian; two granddaughters, Dawn and Kathern Snider of Julian; sister, Dorothy Stanley of Liberty; one brother, Walter Brynt Pierce, Jr. of Danville, VA; and three sisters-in-law, Marie Pierce, Christine Pierce Memory and Ruth Dunlap.

James Franklin "FranK" Arnold Dies

James Franklin "Frank" Arnold, 79, a resident of Silver Valley, passed Thursday, Feb. 10, 2011, at the Hinkle Hospice House of Davidson County. Funeral was held at 3 p.m. Sunday, February 13, 2011 at Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church in Trinity; Revs. Bill Foust and Karen Smith officiating. Interment will follow in the church cemetery. Born Oct. 7, 1931, in Randolph County to Irvin Penn Arnold and Ola Hoover Arnold; preceded in death by his parents and sisters Esther Jarrell, Opal Parrish, Mary Lee Spivey, Golda Green and Ruth Arnold. On Oct. 29, 1954, he married Peggy Christine Parrish, who survives of the home. Surviving in addition to his wife is his son, Tim F. Arnold and wife Cindy of Lexington; his grandson, Travis Arnold; and sisters Ola Mae Pope and husband Luther of Trinity and Jewel Randall of Charlotte.

Lois Gordon Summey Dies

Lois Brown Gordon Summey, 82, passed Friday, February 11, 2011 at Thomasville Medical Center. Funeral service will be held on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at 2:00 PM at Liberty Baptist Church with Rev. David Bowman and Rev. Benn Fleming officiating. Interment will follow in the church cemetery. Born on May 3, 1928 in Randolph County to Ernest Lee Gordon and Lillie Mae Hicks Gordon. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Calvin Lee Summey on September 10, 2003, whom she married August 7, 1947; and 6 sisters and 4 brothers. Surviving are one daughter, Kathy Ernest and husband James of Fort Mill, SC; three sons, Wayne Summey and wife Brenda of Lexington, Kenneth Summey and wife Patsy, and Billy Summey, all of Thomasville; brother, Carl Gordon of Lexington; sisters, Evelyn Lambeth of Thomasville and Lena Kearns of Asheboro; grandchildren, Angie Owens and husband Neil, Ken Summey, Jay Summey, Sam Summey, Allison Lawson, and Cason Lasley; and great-grandchildren, Jeffrey Boles, Preston Owens, Aneil Owens, Kelly Summey, James Lawson, Allison Summey, Nathaniel Lawson, Rhianna Summey, and Trevin Elias.

Late Notice: Kaola Myers Jarrett

Kaola Myers Jarrett, 88, a resident of Thomasville, NC, passed Sunday, January 30, 2011 in the Pine Ridge Healthcare and Rehabilitation. A graveside service was held at 2 PM Wednesday, February 2, 2011 in the Holly Hill Memorial Park Cemetery with Rev. Cris Uren officiating. Born November 6, 1922 a daughter of the late John Myers and Effie Myers; preceded in death by a sister; Irene Yates. On January 29, 1942 she married L.R. Jarrett, Jr. who survives of the home. Surviving in addition to her husband is her son; Craig D. Jarrett of Thomasville, a sister; Clyo Long of Midway, NC, a brother; Robert Lee Myers of Thomasville, NC.

Hepler/Crotts Lineage

Mildred "Mudder" Briles Dies

Mildred “Mudder” Briles, 88, of Vero Beach, FL passed Friday February 4, 2011 at Fort Pierce Healthcare in Fort Pierce, FL. Memorial service will be held at 3:00PM on Saturday, February 12, 2011 at Cox Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home in Vero Beach. Born July 3, 1922, in Youngstown, Ohio. Preceded in death by her husband of 42 years, Walter; son, George; grandson, David Garringer; sisters, Thelma Cleveland and Ruth Spinks.Survivors include her daughters, Mary Jo Garringer of Highland Home, AL, Sandi Powell, Betty Peters and Theresa Howe all of Vero Beach, FL; son, David Briles of Vero Beach, FL; 11 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren and 5 great-great grandchildren.

Pauper's Grave...Word(s) of the Month

In this case it's two words. The word(s) for this month is pauper's grave. A pauper's grave is a free burial for someone that has no money to bury their family. It should be stated that the graves were not cheap, however most are unmarked because the family didn't have money for a marker. You can walk in any cemetery and see temporary markers from funeral homes still in the ground. Due to city and county budgets, the preferred method of disposing the deceased is by cremation. The average cost of a pauper's grave is about $1,325. The cost of cremation averages around $800, however this is a far cry on how much it cost the funeral to perform a cremation. When conducting research in cemeteries, check the death certificate and registry for the cemetery to make sure if the deceased is buried at a specific location, especially if you can't locate a marker.

What is a Daguerreotype?

Recently I was contacted to update a Find a Grave record for James Parsons in Randolph County. Parsons died in 1857, however I did not have the date of birth listed. I logged onto F.A.G. And noticed a picture had been added to the record by Ron Parsons. The photo looked late 20th century, possibly around 1910-1920, so I sent an email to Ron about the date of the photograph since it didn't match the date of death.

Ron responded quickly and although had some reservations about the photograph he did ask if it could be a daguerreotype. Looking at the photograph closely, I would agree with Ron! So I decided to write a short article on what a daguerreotype is, not that I'm an expert in the field of photography.

A daguerreotype is a photograph which is often regarded as the first viable form of photography. Some examples of daguerreotypes can be seen on display in museums and facilities which maintain materials relating to the history of photography, and replications of daguerreotypes are often printed in textbooks. Taking information for Wiki, the process was developed by Louis Daguerre together with Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. Niepce had produced the first photographic image in the camera obscura using asphaltum on a copper plate sensitised with lavender oil that required very long exposures. The image in a Daguerreotype is formed by the amalgam, or alloy, of mercury and silver. Mercury vapor from a pool of heated mercury is used to develop the plate that consists of a copper plate with a thin coating of silver rolled in contact that has previously been sensitised to light with iodine vapour so as to form silver iodide crystals on the silver surface of the plate. Exposure times were later reduced by using bromine to form silver bromide crystals, and by replacing the Chevalier lenses with much larger, faster lenses designed by Joseph Petzval. The image is formed on the surface of the silver plate that looks like a mirror. It can easily be rubbed off with the fingers and will oxidize in the air, so from the outset daguerreotypes were mounted in sealed cases or frames with a glass cover. When viewing the daguerreotype, a dark surface is reflected into the mirrored silver surface, and the reproduction of detail in sharp photographs is very good, partly because of the perfectly flat surface.-End of source.

Daguerreotypes were only made in a limited number of sizes. While they can be as small as 1 3/8 inch by 1 5/8 inch or as large as 6 1/2 inches by 8 1/2 inches, the majority of daguerreotypes one will find are 2 3/4 inches by 3 3/4 inches in size. The time period for daguerreotypes were 1840 and 1855 and sometimes would appear blury due to subjects having to sit for long periods of time while the exposure process takes place. You can tell a daguerreotype by the way it's cased and the obvious way it exhibits the characteristics of a mirror at many angles.

My “Readers Digest” version of daguerreotype is just that, a small smidgin of information about this fascinating art of photography. You can obviously hop on the net and learn about the process of daguerreotype. The most famous daguerreotype is that of Edgar Allan Poe! Enjoy!