Clearman Family Tree: Almeda Clearman

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Project ID#: 133

Birth Information

The only birth information I currently have for Almeda comes from the federal census records of 1870 and 1880. Both records indicate her birth year was approximately 1852, though the place of birth is given as either Tennessee or Mississippi. I have not yet spent much effort trying to track down her parents, but common belief around the community researching the Clearman line is that she was a Harris and was a sister to the other Harris members that married into the Clearman family.

Residence

John and Almeda Clearman appear as a family in the 1870 federal census in Newton County. However, by 1880 they had moved to Neshoba County. It is unknown how long the family stayed there, but John and his second wife, Tempa, appear in the Perry County, MS, for the 1900 federal census.

Spouse/Children

John and Almeda married sometime between 1860 and 1869. Their son, William Washington Clearman, was 10 months old for the Newton County census recorded July, 1870. Unless they had earlier children who died before the 1870 census, which is doubtful given the couple's young age in the 1870 census, they probably married a year or so before William's birth. If this hypothesis is true, then the marriage likely took place in Newton County sometime around 1868. However, I have not yet found a marriage record for the couple. By the 1880 federal census, John and Almeda had added several more children: Riogrande, Marcus, James, Mary, and Sarah.

The loss of the 1890 federal census leaves a large gap in the timeline for this family, but it seems that Almeda died sometime between 1880 and 1885, since John had three daughters (Emma, Amanda, Viola) with his second wife, Tempa. (From the response in the 1910 federal census, it seems that Tempa had only 3 children.) The oldest daughter with his second wife was born about 1885, so it appears that Almeda had died and John had remarried by this date. Based on this reasoning, John's children Emma, Amanda, and Viola were not born to Almeda.

Census Records

MS 1870

p. 123 (485), Line 23 (household 22) Newton County
head of household: John T. Clearman

MS 1880

p. 8, Line 28, Neshoba County
head of household: John Clearman

Death/Burial

As mentioned above in the spouse/children section, it appears that Almeda died between the 1880 census and 1885, probably in Neshoba County. However, cemetery books for Newton County and Neshoba County make no record of her tombstone.

References

A * indicates a book is part of my private collection.

Our Links to the Past 1833-1996 Cemetery Records of Neshoba county, MS, ed. Theresa T. Ridout. 1998, Philadelphia: Neshoba County Public Library.*
This book can be purchased by contacting the Neshoba County Library by mail or by phone at

Neshoba County Public Library
Attention Mrs. Theresa Ridout
230 Beacon Street
Philadelphia, MS 39350
(601) 656-4911


Smith, Bonnie Addy, Jackson Eliot Smith, and Robert Ervin Smith, Newton County Mississippi: A Cemetery Census 1782-1995. 1997, Decatur: EBRS Publishing Company.
This book was privately published and is available from the authors at one of the following addresses:
18970 Highway 14 North
Decatur, MS 39327
phone: (601) 635-2149 		100 Woodville Drive
Natchez, MS 39120
phone: (601) 442-3084 		P.O. Box 529
Washington, MS 39190

Baker, Ola Grace, Flowers of the Field. 1974, Montgomery: Paragon Press.
This book is out of print.
It is part of the collection at the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, IN. *





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