Memorials & Notices

In Memoriam

It is customary at each annual meeting of the Assembly, the names of departed cousins are read. Memories may also be shared about the departed. Short obituaies are also included here of those members who have helped to shape our organization.

View of St. Catherine's Creek

where settlers stayed for a while.

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75th Reunion - 2014

Natchez Democrat Obituaries Legacy Obituary Finder

Memorial Lists Read at Annual Assembly

Names to be read at 2019 Assembly

  James Edward Barley, Barbara Swayze Carter, Virginia Dean Crisp, Jim Dunn, Naomi Opal McCraine Flowers, William Pilant “Bill” Hewes, Jr., Wyatt Lee Russell, Cheryl Ann Swayze, Ruth Marie Britten Swayze, Harold Dempsey White, Calvin Cole Young, Jr. Marion Naomi Zeisset

Names read at 2018 Assembly

Catherine Bolls "Claire" Carter, Annie Laurie Poole Cassels, Henry Louis Farrar, Ardis Carter Geter Cobb, Charles Owen Johnson, Malcolm “Mac” Lyle, Sandra Louise Mitchell, Leslie Irving Nims, Harrison Taylor Pendley, Charles Franklin Pinkston, Marion Ogden Roma, Stephen Barrett Smith, Terry Marie Whitney Stromberg, Maggie Cannon Thomas, Katie Belle Vick Thompson, Isobel Gardner Vick, Mildred Marie Davis Vick

Names read at 2017 Assembly

Charles Daniel “Danny” Carter, David E. Carter, Mary Estelle Flowers Carter, Vernon Henry Chadwick, Parnell Farrar, Thornton Hardy Farrar, Robert Sharp Forster, Norma Diane Little, Robbie Randall McMillin, Thomas Lilley "Tom" Mills IV, Joseph Hirem Mitchell, Virginia Lee Isaacs Nedden, Sidney Swayze Stubblefield Neyland, Lucien Bland Noble, Sr., Florence Pippin Rivette, Nancy Nims Tasi, Jeff P. Truly, Elizabeth Nance Foules Wier, Kenneth Zeisset

Names read at 2016 Assembly

Grace Ramona Carter Beall, Kristopher Robert Beall, Isaac "Ikey" Abraham Carter, Jr., Milton Ketchen "Bill" Cassels, Helen Pauline Hallett, William Dwight Harrigan, Magruder G. "Mac" Hays, Dale D. Laney, Nancy Jones Netterville, Melida Louise Wilson Patterson, Dora Darlene Smith Pendley, Winafred Sisson Nims Schoeffler, Mary Louise Netterville Kendall Goodrich Shields, Reginald Trenton Simmons, Leonard Lester Stockett, Douglas A. Swayze II, Thomas Randolph Swayze, Sr., Mary Margaret Coleman Vick, Robert Martin Vick, Naomi Ruth Flowers Carter Welsh

Names read at 2015 Assembly

Emma Jean Amodt, Terry Lee Britt, Pauline Swayze McCorvey, Winifred Loudon Severance, George David Tarver, Melanie Tiffee White, Mignonne Yancey White

Names read at 2014 Assembly

John Inge (Jack) Foules, Jr., Norman Neyland, Betty Jean Walley Tarver, Irene Booker Brewer, Richard Marion Truly, Jr., Raymond Cassels, Ruby Ray Boyett Burkett, Raphael Leonard (Lennie) Schuchs, Andrew "Andy" Duane Britt

Names read at 2013 Assembly

Nolan Clyde Cavin, Earline Flowers Carter, Annie Lee Rabb Netterville, Mary Saucier Drane, Hayward Benton Drane, Jr., Jean Truly Sichi, Cecil Gill Smith, Jr., Mary Theresa Zuccaro Smith, Josephine McCaleb Akeman, Marcus Desha Swayze, Marcus D. Swayze, Jr., Alyne Swayze Gray, Norma Peters Enete, John Louis Swayze, Paul Eugene Hallett, Lyndell Sorells Cassels, Dorothy Seale Sojourner, Richard Bruce Swayze, Anna Jordan Swayze, Reuben E. Carter, Richard E. Carter, Dulcie Ruth Geter Merritt, Clifton L. Merritt, Wardy L. Daniels, Freddie Geter, Hazel Geter Vines

Names read at 2012 Assembly

Elaine Parker Carter, Hazel Swayze Hopwood, Kathleen Hartung Kraft, Willie Ray Scott McCarstle, David Lindsay McCraine, Geri Lynn Simonton McKowan, Anthony A. Miller, Chizuko Okazawa Miller, Philip Augustus Miller, Robert Jay Nance, Buff Swayze Rank, George Shumaker, Boatner Swayze, Merl J. Swayze, Sr., Rubie Lange Swayze, Arthur Palmer Vick, Katherine Netterville Welch

Names read at 2011 Assembly

Wilson Cassels, Mary Farrar Everett Clemmer, Stanford Fong, Lynne McCraine Gardner, Swayze Walker Gardner, Farrar Best Johnson, Charles Joseph Langlois, Ruth Fletcher Latham, Lillie Mae Carter Moak,Sidney Briscoe McCaleb Jr., Betty Swayze McInnis, Alice Swayze Rigby, John Todd Scharnberg, Walter Thompson Scott, Jr., Shelton Glenn Smith, Hugh Wilton Tedder, Jr., Catherine Power Swayze Wallace, Robert Lewis Whitehead, Billy Stewart Williams, Larry Ray Williams, Roberta Kenny.

Names read at 2010 Assembly

Harry Eugene Anderson, Mary Jo Emerson Branch, Edna Grey Mann Broocks, George Travis Broocks, Isaac Abraham Carter, Aaron Joseph King, Roland Lee McCraine, Jane Stewart Moritz, Mazie Phipps Netterville, Maxwell Davis Noble, Sarah Rose Murray Shumway, Patrick Swayze, Charles Arthur Trum, Ralph Douglas Warren, and Ruby Ottomese Cassels Wilson, Roy Ussery Swayze.

Names read at 2009 Assembly

Marian Prestbo Beckham, Hugh F. Boyd Jr., Edna Mann Brooks, Dannie H. Carter Jr., June Smith Carter, Lizzena Carter Smith, Bobbie Sue Swayze Corley, Routh Willard Crowell, Richard C. Daggett, Cordell Farrar, Curtis Leroy Freeman, Jim Heath, Elizabeth McIlwaine Preston Kraft, Mary Elizabeth Carter Matthews, Raymond Sidney McCorvey, Alice Nix McCraine, Nolan Christopher McCraine, Robert Osborne McCraine, Cherry Smith McCraine, Joseph Samuel "Joe Sam" Moritz Sr., Lillian Debray Foster Moritz, Robert Lavelle Netterville, Sophronia Swayze Pippin, Thelma Brown Pollock, Mattie Clara Carter Reed, Jimmy Reed, Sammy Reed, Joseph Reiss, Charles Edward Severance Jr., Robert Paul Shumway, Mary Hart Parker Sojourner, Mildred White Stockett, Lila Gordon Smith, Ilene B. Swayze, Carla S. Trum, James M. White Sr., Frances "Patty" White, Elaine Campbell Whitney, Frances Brown Williams.

Names read at 2008 Assembly

Albert Stuart Burley, James Isaac Carter, Lena Donetta Carter, Ronald Stanford Fong, Mary Elizabeth Carter Geter, Billy King, Harrison Carter Leak Jr., Dorothy Bland Noble Malik, Martha Clyde Coleman Mitchell, Jean Campbell Tarver Moore, Robert Nelson Ogden, Leona Moritz Smith, Leon William "Lee" Stockfelt, Jr., Elizabeth Knox Swayze, John Wesley Swayze, Jr., Frances "Patty" Corbin White.

Names read at 2007 Assembly

Florence Powell Barrett, Edgar M. Branch, David J Cassels, Sandra Leigh Griffing Fisher, Alice Farrar Storm Gaden, John William Griffing, Sr., Leroy Hunter Howell, George Y. Latham, Jr., Freddie Leake, Thomas L. Magee, Martha Mitchell, Mary Ruth Rhodes Noble, Alton J. Ogden, Sr., Marjorie Foster Ogden, Mary Louise Kendall Robinson, David Ogden Wickliffe.

Miscellaneous Deaths

2006 John William Griffing, 2003 James Norman Chaffin; 2001 Louisa Catherine Drane Burnett, Mary Evelyn Farrar Joseph, Marie Miller Sojourner; 2000 Deane Farrar, Annis Neva Bell Laird, Everette Geoffrey Truly, Jr.; 1997 Geraldine Adelaide Tooley

While every passing relative is missed no less than these, we have reserved this section for the recording of the passing of those
members who have helped to shape our organization.

George David Tarver 1941-2015	George was a Natchez native and descendant of the Swayze and King lines. His parents were Roy Howard Tarver and Mary McCaleb Tarver. He served in the Marine Corps as an automotive and heavy equipment mechanic. He was owner and operator of Tarver Oil Company. He was a deacon at the Cliff Temple Baptst Church where he taught a Men's Sunday School class. He and his wife Betty Jean have owned the "Smithland" Plantation, that is on the National Register of Historic places south of Natchez. George has served as a cemetery trustee for over ten years. Survivors include three sons, Roy David Tarver and wife Tahnya, John Dlynn Tarver all of Natchez, and James Richard Tarver of Vidalia; two brothers, William John Tarver of Pearl, MS and Daniel Howard Tarver of Natchez; two sisters, Betty Ann Tarver Britt and Polly Tarver Scott, both of Natchez.
Alyne Swayze Gray 1926-2012	Alyne Swayze Gray who, as one of the Swayze sisters with her sisters Minnie and Betty Jo, was a vital contributor to DJS reunion festivities, particularly those held during the Saturday night banquets, passed away in Baton Rouge on June 27, 2012. Alyne was born in Jonesville, Louisiana, in Catahoula Parish, on April 9, 1926, the eldest child of Allen Davis Swayze and Elnor Ussery Swayze. She was a direct descendant of the Reverend Samuel Swayze. After graduating from Block High School in Jonesville, she worked at Camp Livingston in Alexandria, Louisiana, and was very active in the USO. She married J. S. Gray on June 14, 1926, at the Jonesville United Methodist Church. Thereafter, the couple moved to Baton Rouge where J. S. attended LSU and Alyne worked at Gulf States Utilities. They had two sons, Jeffery Scott Gray and Joe Carlton Gray, both residents of Baton Rouge. In addition to their long-term active membership in Zoar Baptist Church, Alyne and J. S. were members of the Red Stick Chapter of American Ex-Prisoners of War, with Alyne serving as Chapter Commander for several years. She often spoke to various groups about J. S.'s experiences as a POW of Japan and his survival of the Bataan Death March. Alyne also was a past member of the Governor George Harlan Chapter of the Colonial Dames XVII Century in Natchez, and the Isaac Monet Chapter in Baton Rouge. Having loved music and dancing from her early years, Alyne also loved playing the piano and entertaining. Her remarkable ability to play an almost inexhaustible number of musical selections on the piano, by ear, was enjoyed by very many through the years. As for her entertainment contributions, at one point during a DJS reunion, her sister Minnie remarked that, "When Alyne was born, our parents didn't give her a pacifier - they stuck a microphone in her mouth." Alyne was preceded in death by her husband, by her brother, Roy Ussery Swayze, and her sister Betty Jo Swayze Scott. She is survived by her sister, Minnie Swayze Smith and her brother-in-law Steve B. Smith, by her son Jeffery Scott Gray and his wife, Mary Holthaus Gray, by her son Joe Carlton Gray, by three grand-children and a great-granddaughter. Alyne was interred beside her beloved J. S. in the churchyard of Zoar Baptist Church, Baton Rouge. Alyne was loved by all who were privileged to meet her during life's journey, and she will be profoundly missed.
Ruth Latham 1933 - 2010	Ruth Fletcher Latham, editor of The History of the Descendants of the Jersey Settlers, Adams County, Mississippi, Volume III died November 29, 2010, in Natchez. She was born December 28, 1933, in Ville Platte, Louisiana, the daughter of Evan Corbett Fletcher and Alma Carter Fletcher, and was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, George Y. Latham, Jr. Mr. Latham was a descendant of the Jersey Settlers through Frank A. Jones, who was a descendant of the Reverend Samuel Swayze and Penelope Swayze Coleman, and of Ellen Olivia Wailes, who was a descendant of Richard Swayze. Ruth was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and was descended from Major James Scarborough through Leona Mae Corbitt and George Howe Fletcher. Ruth attended Mississippi College at Clinton, and was a tour guide at The House on Elicott Hill, one of the historic homes in Natchez, Mississippi. She was a member of the Mississippi Historical Society and the Natchez Art Association, and was an avid amateur painter and photographer. She owned a large collection of arrowheads and other Indian artifacts and, after extensive research, she painted the Masters of Ceremonies for Funerals and the Sun Woman. For approximately twenty-five years, these two very large paintings hung in the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians. Frances Preston Mills, editor of the first two volumes of The History of the Descendants of the Jersey Settlers, died in 1992 while research on Volume III was underway. At the time, in addition to having worked on the book with Frances for some time, Ruth was Secretary of the DJS, and volunteered to continue the project. She continued as Secretary for another term while working on Volume III, and carried on the work of this extraordinary history to its completion. Ruth was known as a gentle, unassuming, and very talented person whose sense of humor enriched the lives of those around her. Her survivors include her daughter, two grandchildren, and her three brothers. ~ Frank Swayze
Lynne Gardner 1942 - 2010	Lynne McCraine Gardner (1942 - 2010) was first elected as Recording Secretary in 2004, and continued to serve in that capacity until prevented by her health. Her father, Swayze Elwyn McCraine, was a descendant of Reverend Samuel Swayze, and her mother, Martha Farrar McCraine, descended from Richard Swayze. Her maternal grandfather, Aleck Farrar, was elected Secretary/Treasurer at the first meeting of the Descendants of the Jersey Settlers, and her father also was a Board member. A retired dietician, she received her Bachelor�s Degree from Louisiana State University, and a Masters Degree from Auburn University. She was head of food services for Women�s Hospital in Baton Rouge, and later moved to the Hattiesburg, Mississippi, area where she also was employed by a hospital. Lynne is buried at Evergreen Cemetery, Woodville, Mississippi. From the Baton Rouge Advocate, August 6, 2010 A retired dietitian, she died Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010, at her home in Purvis, Miss. Born April 13, 1942, in Baton Rouge, she was 68. Visiting at Woodville United Methodist Church, Woodville, Miss., was Thursday, Aug. 5, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Visiting continues at the church Friday from 10 a.m. until religious service at 11 a.m., conducted by the Rev. Will Dowling. Interment in Evergreen Cemetery. Survived by two sons, William Nathan Gardner and wife Roxanne, of Woodville, and Swayze Walker Gardner and wife Renee, of Panama Beach, Fla.; sister, Maellen Langlois, of Tallahassee, Fla.; brother, Swayze Elwyn McCraine Jr., of Prescott, Ariz.; and three grandchildren. Preceded in death by her parents, Swayze Elwyn McCraine and Martha Farrar McCraine; and a sister, Brenda McCraine. She was a member of Woodville United Methodist Church, 4-H and the American Dietetic Association. Arrangements by Newman Funeral Home, Centreville, Miss.
Sidney McCaleb 1922 - 2010	Sidney Briscoe McCaleb, Jr. (1922 - 2010), was first elected to the Board of Trustees in 1999. He resigned during his fourth term, shortly before his death in May, 2010. He was born in Wilkinson County, Mississippi, the son of Sidney Briscoe McCaleb and Anne Farrar McCaleb, and grew up on Smithland Plantation in Adams County, Mississippi. Sidney was descended through the Swayze/King lines with the allied lines of Dougherty/Sojourner. A graduate of the Wilkinson County Agricultural High School, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, and resided more than 50 years in the Los Angeles area with his late wife, Rose Silletti McCaleb. He was a carpenter, a general contractor, and a Realtor. He returned to Smithland Plantation in 1998, attending Kingston United Methodist Church and serving as a two-term President of the Natchez Scottish Heritage Society. His survivors include his sister, Co-Chaplain Ella McCaleb Young.
Everette Truly 1918 - 2000	Everette Geoffrey Truly, Jr., was legal counsel to the organization for over 50 years. A few of the many services Everette rendered to the DJS include a successful 2-year lawsuit for right-of-way into the King - Farrar Cemetery, instrumental in setting up the ownership of our two cemeteries, and served continuously on the Board of Trustees from its inception until 1999. Born April 30, 1918, died September 20, 2000. Everette loved his heritage and the organization, and the DJS will miss him dearly. ~ Jim Swayze
Annis Laird 1906 - 2000	Annis Neva Bell Laird served as editor for a portion of our genealogy books. She was born in 1906 at the Rialto Plantation on the Yazoo River in Mississippi. Annis was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. P. B. Bell and married Cecil Laird in Brookhaven, MS, on July 25, 1928. She was the editor of the Samuel Swayze lines for the Descendants of the Jersey Settlers book. This photo was taken at the 1994 DJS reunion banquet in Natchez when Annis was the "This is Your Life" designate. Annis died January 2, 2000.