Eliza Jane Wright Houston Bentley

Eliza Jane Wright Houston Bentley

Eliza Jane
Eliza Jane


Ma Murphy (Glenn Murphy's mother - Glenn married Vera Mullins daughter of James Mullins and Cora Wright), Mr Perkins (a neighbor) and Eliza.



David Bentley and his great aunt Eliza. David is the son of Lonnie and Ival Collier Bentley. Lonnie was the son of Cora Wright.

I have talked about Susan Wright. She was the first child of William Jesse Wright. Her mother was Mary Brummett. Jesse had no children with his first wife, Elizabeth Moore. When he married the third time to Maggie Perdue they had two children: Cora Emmazetta, my grandmother and Eliza Jane Wright.

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Eliza Jane was born on July 4, 1886.

She first married Oliver Denton "Denton" Houston. Denton was the son of Thaney and Betsy Houston. Denton was a brother to Annie Houston who married Joshua Mullins and Olvin Houston who married her sister, Susan.

I guess in our mixed up family this means that since Annie and Joshua were the parents of James Mullins who Cora married that Cora's sisters, Susan and Eliza were her aunts by marriage.

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Druscilla "Siller" Houston was born on May 27, 1903. Maggie Elizabeth was born May 10, 1905. Susan T. Houston was born on July 24, 1907.

Little Susan died on August 23, 1907. She is buried up on the hill behind Denton's house at Goose Creek. She is one of the little graves that was supposed to be beside Janie McCray's grave. It was not marked with a stone, though we could tell the area it was in.

Maggie had an illness when she was a baby that left her deaf. They took her all over for treatment, but she never regained her hearing.

Eliza was not a faithful wife, and she and Denton divorced. Maggie and Siller stayed with Denton.

.. Maggie and Siller Houston

Eliza next married Samuel Bentley. He was the son of Solomon and Mary Jane Bentley Bentley. Samuel was the brother of Ermon Bentley. Ermon was Cora Bentley's first husband. So again, now Cora's sister, Eliza was also technically her sister-in-law. If we work at it a little we can probably fit that song "I'm My Own Grandpa."

With Sam, Eliza had seven more children: Ola Mae, Lona Mae, Cora L., Nora Hazel, Samuel L. Lola Bernice and Viola.

Ola Mae married Martin Holbrook. I haven't done a lot of work on them, but so far I know that they had three children: Woody, Marty and Joe.

Lona Mae was born in 1913. She died on August 19, 1915. The death certificate said she died of an accidental gun shot round in the head. The death was at 6 a.m. The information was provided by Ermon Bentley, Sam's brother. Alma said that Lona pulled a shotgun out of the closet and it went off killing her. The part I didn't get on the death certificate was that it was marked as a suicide. Accidental I can buy, but I don't understand a two year old having "suicide" on their death certificate.

Cora married Luther "Red" Anderson. They moved to Arizona. I don't know that she ever suffered with TB as her siblings had, but they never returned to live in the mountains.

Eliza's husband, Sam, died of pulmonary tuberculosis in 1934.

Nora Hazel married Leon Sturgill. She was only 19 when she died of pulmonary tuberculosis in 1936.

Samuel L., Jr. married a Crennia. He died of pulmonary tuberculosis in 1941 when he was 21.

Lola Bernice married Chester Patterson. She had a daughter Eliza F. Patterson. Lola died when she was 16 of pulmonary tuberculosis. Her baby was a year old.

Viola married a Holland.

Siller Houston holding baby Sam Bentley, Maggie Houston, Cora Bentley Anderson in front of Siller and Nora Hazel Bentley next to Cora.

Siller had 8 children with R. B.: George Earl, Mac, Earl, Denton, Archie, Lorean, Douglas & Esti. Archie is the one who described the Houston Cemetery to me so that I could locate Thaney and Betsy's graves. Siller lived to be 83. She died in 1986.

Maggie never married. She lived most of her life with Siller and R. B. Her obituary read:

Maggie Elizabeth Houston passed away Friday, April 27, 2001 at the
Whitesburg Applaachian Regional Health Care Center. Maggie is the daugther of Denton and Eliza Jane (Wright) Houston. She was born May 10, 1905 being 95 years, 11 months and 17 days of age at the time of her passing.
Surviving are 7 nephews: George Meade of Potters Fork, Denton Meade
of Ohio, Archie Meade of Fleming and Mac Meade of Louisville, Woody Holbrook,
Marty Holbrook and Joe Holbrook all of Mayking, 1 niece Loraine Armstrong of
Lorain, Ohio and 1 half sister Ola Mae Holbrook of Mayking along with a host of
great nieces, great nephews. Other relatives and friends to mourn her passing.

Maggie was prededed in death by 5 sisters: Siller Meade, Viola Holland, Cora Anderson, Lola Bentley and Nora Hazel Bentley and 1 brother, Samuel Bentley.
Funeral services for Maggie Elizabeth Houston were held on May 1, 2001 at the Fleming Church of God. Officiant Marvin Sherlin. Concluding services at the Green Acres Cemetery, Ermine, KY. Letcher Funeral Home of Whitesburg, KY in charge of the arrangements.

Eliza went to Arizona to visit Cora and Red. She, too, decided to stay and never lived in the mountains again. Viola followed her and lived and died in Arizona, too.