Fourth Generation 
Fourth Generation 
8. Harold Frederick YANKLE, son of Henry J. W. YANKLE and Susanna GOOD , was born on 7 May 1896 in Flint, Michigan, died on 8 Jun 1983 in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, at age 87, and was buried in Millington Cemetery, Millington, Michigan.
These notes were compiled by David Scott Yankle in his genealogical research of the Yankle family.
The second child of Henry and Susanna YANKLE. Harold lived in Flint, Michigan, the majority of his life. He attended Hazelton School through the eighth grade. He served in the Army Ambulance Corp in World War I. Prior to the war, he worked at the Chevrolet Motor Co., and after the war he worked at the Buick Motor Car Co. as a draftsman. He worked there 43 years (that, plus his two years at Chevrolet represented 45 years at General Motors), retiring in 1961. He was active in the local Boy Scout organization as a Scoutmaster. Harold married Marian PALMER on July 20, 1920. They married in Tuscola Co., Michigan and honeymooned in Port Austin, Michigan. The couple had three children and lived in the Civic Park area of Flint. Harold and Marian divorced on July 22, 1945. Marian lived in Flint until moving to Traverse City prior to her death in 1988.
Harold married Lillian "Andy" Anderson in 1945. They lived in Flint until her death in 1967.
Harold then married Docas THWING in 1969; Dorcas' family lived in Millington, Michigan. Harold and Dorcas lived in a cottage Harold had at Lake George in northern Michigan. They lived there until Harold's death in 1983.
Harold enjoyed the outdoors, hunting, fishing and camping. He and Dorcas traveled throughout Florida and other parts of the United States. He loved golf and played up to the end of his life. Harold is buried at Millington Cemetery in Millington, next to his last wife, Dorcas.
** Reflections of David Yankle on his grandfather Harold **
In his youth my grandfather's nickname was "Sonny". He was smiling in every picture I've ever seen of him. In an age when people looked do dour in photographs, there's Grandpa with a big, happy-go-lucky grin.
I have so many fond memories of my grandfather; his sense of humor, his golf, and giving me "Dutch rubs" when saying goodbye. We would go to his cottage at Lake George during some summers. I can still remember the screened porch, which held the old bamboo, cane fishing poles and the Adirondack chairs. To this day, I can still smell the smell of that cottage.
My Dad and I hunted with Grandpa when I was young; he had hunted and fished his entire life, passing the love of the outdoors onto my Dad, Dick, and then to me.
While he could be stern or gruff, Grandpa still had that infectious smile in his later years. I miss both Harolds: "Sonny" from the pictures, and the grandfather I knew and loved.
** Reflections of Bob Yankle (Robert Palmer Yankle II) on his grandfather Harold **
I never realized before beginning work on the Family Tree, how much Grandfather Yankle had influenced my Dad, Bob Yankle, and by practical progression, me. My father and my grandfather had a major falling out upon the divorce from my Grandmother, Marian Yankle. But Dad followed so closely in his father's footsteps I'm amazed he kept so much distance between them. My father was a brilliant draftsman, which I assumed he learned from his father. My father, too, was a Scoutmaster, and installed in me a love of Scouting that had a predictable result: my position as an Assitant Scoutmaster when I retired from the Navy. I have always had a love of the outdoors, but am more of a hiker and a canoeist than a hunter or fisherman.
I got in trouble with the law one night, and ended up in jail. I called my father to tell him that I wouldn't be home for while. His reply was "You got yourself in there. You get yourself out.", then hung up. When I related this story to my Uncle Dick (Richard Yankle), he replied that that phrase was vintage Harold, who often told his sons "If you get yourselves in trouble, you'd better get yourselves out."
I noted that both my Great Grandfather and Grandfather worked at Buick. To this day, I drive Buicks. I, too, stayed at Grandpa's cabin on Lake George as a young boy. I have the same recollection as Dave about the smells on the front porch. In fact, I used to sleep out on the front porch on a cot.
In 1981, I visited Grandpa at his cottage at Lake George. My Dad told me to call first, or Grandpa would meet me at the door with a shotgun. I called. Grandpa greeted me with that big grin David has talked about. He was most gracious, especially when I introduced my first wife, Nancy. Grandpa had a reputation for being a ladies man, and he paid of lot attention to Nancy. The thing that amazed me was how alert, energetic, and engaging was this man who was in his late 80s at the time we met.
I was at sea with the Navy when Grandfather died. Otherwise, I would most certainly have paid my final respects and said my goodbye's.
Harold married Marian Lucille PALMER in 1920 in Tuscola Co., Michigan.
The child from this marriage was:
9. Marian Lucille PALMER, daughter of William Allen PALMER and Lida Cady SMITH , was born on 6 Oct 1899 in Flint, Michigan, died on 17 May 1988 in Traverse City, Michigan, at age 88, and was buried in 1988 in Sunset Hills Cemetery, Flint Township, Michigan.
These notes were compiled by David Scott Yankle in his genealogical research of the Yankle family.
b. Oct. 6, 1899, d. May 17, 1988, place of birth is noted as Flint, Michigan. Her parents were William Allen PALMER, b. Jun. 7, 1853, d. Jul. 3, 1924 and Lida Cady (SMITH) PALMER, b. Mar. 27, 1861, d. Jan. 7, 1917. She had two older sisters, Kathryn BRABYN and Edith LAING, and a brother, Willie, that died very young. She attended the Walker and Doyle schools and graduated from Flint High School in 1917 or 1918. She worked in a drug store for a period of time. She married Harold F. YANKLE in 1920 in Tuscola Co., Michigan, and had three children. The family lived on Humboldt St. in the Civic Park area of Flint. Harold and Marian divorced in 1944. Marian worked for the city of Flint, in the Assessor's office, as a clerk. She retired in 1964, at the age of 65. Marian loved to travel and went on many trips, including a trip to Hawaii. She died in 1988 from "Heart Failure". She is buried at Sunset Hills Cemetery in Flint Township, Michigan, Section 11, Row 121, adjacent to her granddaughter, Cynthia YANKLE.
** Notes on Marian Yankle by her grandson, Bob Yankle **
Boy! If "Matriarch of the Clan" ever needed a figurehead, Marian Yankle would have fit the role perfectly. She was a bright, clever, and alert person to the very end of her life. She saw life in "black and white" only though ...... when she divorced Harold Yankle, she divided people into two camps: those that sided with Harold and those that sided with Marian. This spilled over into Christmas celebrations when we'd have one Christmas with Grandpa Yankle and his wife, Andy, and another with our Grandma Yankle.
Grandmother Yankle was known for her perfect penmanship, which she used to good effect when she hand-wrote letters to people throughout the world. I used to get letters from her when I was at sea with the Navy, and she wrote to Cindy in Hawaii, and many other old friends. I suspect I got my writing ability from her, as she was very precise with words. To illustrate this, I once stated I "loved" ice cream. She got indignant, stating "You can't love food! You can only love people!"
Marian married Harold Frederick YANKLE in 1920 in Tuscola Co., Michigan.
10. Glenn Lee HOLLER, son of Frank Milton HOLLER and Lola Dell JOHNSON , was born on 9 Jun 1894 in Saltillo, Indiana, died on 12 Dec 1960 in Flint, Michigan, at age 66, and was buried on 19 Dec 1960 in Sunset Hills, Flint, Michigan.
Glenn Holler grew up in Indiana, but at the age of 13 hopped a freight car and headed out to Idaho. At one point he owned his own cattle ranch, a true cowboy. When World War I started, he tried to enlist in the Army. He was staying in Clinton, Iowa at the time, in the home of Lena Asmussen, sister of Anna Marie Asmussen. When Anna Marie visited her sister and first set eyes on Glenn Holler, she thought to herself, "There's the man I'm going to marry." In fact, she did.
There is some question about the birthdate of Glenn. Robert and Evelyn Yankle and their children, Bob and Svona, visited Frank Holler, Glenn's father, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Robert and Frank were talking about Glenn's age, and Robert mentioned his birthdate. His father exclaimed that Glenn was much younger than Robert had mentioned. When Robert questioned this, Frank averred "I ought to know, son. I was there at his birthin!" When Robert returned to Flint, Michigan, he brought up Glenn's age in front of Anna Maria. When Anna Maria heard how old Glenn really was, she said "I'd never have married you if I knew you were that young!"
Glenn's Mother, Lola Dell Johnson, committed suicide when Glenn was only 5 years old. It's rumored that he didn't get along too well with his step-mother, Nannie Lou Corman, which may have been the reason he left home so early.
Glenn married Anna Maria ASMUSSEN on 15 Nov 1918 in Rockford, Illinois.
The child from this marriage was:
5 i. Evelyn Lauryne HOLLER (born on 9 May 1921 in Flint, Michigan)
11. Anna Maria ASMUSSEN, daughter of Jens Nicolas ASMUSSEN and Anna Catharina JACOBSEN , was born on 15 Jul 1888 in Lyons, Iowa, died on 4 Feb 1977 in Flint, Michigan, at age 88, and was buried in Sunset Hills, Flint, Michigan.
Anna Maria Holler was a bird watcher. While living on Frank Street in Flint, Michigan, she had a bird feeder attached to the window sill, just outside of her kitchen breakfast nook. This feeder attracted cardinals, sparrows, nuthatches, tufted titmouse, chickadees, and bohemian waxwings.
She was also an excellent cook, and everybody commented about "Grandma's rolls", hand-made yeast rolls.
Anna Maria was struck by a cable car and lost her left leg. She wore a prosthesis which she strapped on, and walked with canes for most of her adult life.
Anna Maria and Glenn housed students from General Motors Institute in Flint, Michigan. One of those students, Lloyd Conn married their daughter, Dorothy.
** Notes from Richard D. Asmussen:
I always thought Anna was very pretty as a young lady but for some reason, in her pictures at least, she had a sour, unhappy look and usually had her arms crossed like she was angry.
She was injured by a street car while she was trying to cross the street in late 1929, about time of stock market crash, I understand. She lost her leg and wore a prosthesis she strapped on, sometimes removed. Some grandchildren were scared by her "leg" when it was off standing by the bed while she napped.
Noted events in her life were:
• Occupation: Anna was a salesperson in a store
• Chronic med: Anna had her leg amputated above the knee and wore a prosthesis
Anna married Glenn Lee HOLLER on 15 Nov 1918 in Rockford, Illinois.
12. Robert Lee CHAPMAN, son of John A. CHAPMAN and Sarah Jane KILE , was born on 26 Jun 1885 in Paulding County, Georgia and died on 8 Sep 1966 in Cobb County, Georgia, at age 81.
From information gathered by Denise Chapman:
Robert Lee is buried is Powder Springs Cemetery in Georgia. Charles Chapman (grandson to "Bob") remembers his grandfather always having chewing gum, not just one piece but a mouth full. Charles also remembers that Bob didn't have any teeth, which gave him more room for his beloved chewing gum. Ruth remembers her father being very protective of his family, which is a polite way of saying he was strict.
From information gathered by Faye (Chapman) Harrington on Robert Lee Chapman:
O.B. was the second child of five children born to Robert Lee Chapman and Nancy Emaline (Morrow) Chapman. A census record from June, 1880 of Cullman, Alabama shows in Township 11 a family of Morrows. They were listed as follows;
Age Occupation
Jasper 34 Farmer
Martha 34 Housewife
Mary 11
Sarah 18
Dollie 8
Dicy 7
Jackson 3
Cena 1
*Nancy Emaline Morrow was not on this list as she was born later, in 1887*
We know Bob, as he was called, and Emaline were both from Cullman. We know Emaline's brothers and sisters were named as above. The census was too early to show Emaline listed but we know this was her family. We think Bob Chapman's father's name was John. We do know he died in 1925 and due to family finances Bob was the only one who cloud attend the funeral. Not much is remembered of John. We do have a picture of him taken November 1, 1916.
We know that Cullman was formed by merging 4 other towns or townships about 1877. A railroad was built and we know Bob Chapman worked on that railroad for .50 cents a day, (a day being about 12 hours long). Bob then bought 2 big, strong mules and a mule-drawn scoop and proceeded to make $13.00 a day. Bob's father we know was a farmer and was reported to have walked to Cullman from some 200 miles away but we do not know from which town he walked.
Bob and Emaline moved from Cullman after their first son, Lonnie Hobart was born in 1911.
Alabama began keeping formal vital records in 1905. Prior to that, records were kept in each individual family's Bible and were recognized as legal documentation of births, deaths and marriages. Often someone would have to be found who could read and write to record events in these Bibles. The Chapman Family Bible was inherited by Ruby Hackill Chapman, sister to O.B., but after her death it could not be located.
Ruth Mae Chapman Griffin, born November 21, 1921, sister to O.B. recalls her mother Emaline relating that Jasper, when he married Martha, Emaline's mother. Martha taught him to read with the Bible and to write enough to sign his name. Bob Chapman worked as a farmer , a carpenter and for a short while at Bell Aircraft in Georgia. Clarence Lee, the second son born July 23, 1918 and Hobart both worked for Lockheed Aircraft for over 25 years. We believe Lockheed grew from Bell Aircraft. We know it is in the same location Clarence formed in addition to his job at Lockheed and Hobart was in home construction in addition to his regular job.
As Bob and Emaline moved often to find farm work there were many, harsh hardships. O.B. recalls moving 13 times in a one-year period. We believe Emaline was in a constant state of packing , unpacking, raising her family and helping when she could with the farming. Clarence, O.B. and the baby of the family, Ruth, all recall Emaline squatting down in the fields to pick beans for hours and could still do this until shortly before she died. Emaline also suffered from pellagra. This is a disease resulting from a deficiency of miacin characterized by scaly dermatitis, especially of the skin exposed to the sun.
Another daughter of Bob and Emaline was Ruby. She also is in ill health. She did develop diabetes later in life and perhaps she had it long before it was diagnosed. When Ruby died on December 18, 1983, the Chapman family lost their historian. Ruth reports Ruby knew aunts, uncles, cousins, where they were, who they had married and when. She had trouble with commonplace, everyday events but had a remarkable memory for family history…
Robert married Nancy Emeline MORROW on 18 Nov 1906 in Paulding County, Georgia.
The child from this marriage was:
6 i. Otta Boyd CHAPMAN (born on 13 Dec 1916 in Douglas County, Georgia)
13. Nancy Emeline MORROW, daughter of Jasper MORROW and Martha SANDLIN , was born on 5 May 1886 in Cullman, Alabama and died on 25 Jun 1969 in Cobb County, Georgia, at age 83.
Ruth (Chapman) Griffin remembers her mother as a women that never raised her voice. She also remembers that her mother never ate meat. Charles remembers his grandmother sitting on the front porch with his mother (Annie Pearl) and both of them dipping snuff. Faye remembers the brand as being Tube Rose snuff. She also remembers walking into her grandmother kitchen and thinking that you could eat off any surface in there. Faye stated "Lord that lady could make the best lemonade."
From notes by Denise A. Chapman
Nancy married Robert Lee CHAPMAN on 18 Nov 1906 in Paulding County, Georgia.
14. Avery G. PAYNE, son of I. A. PAYNE and Margaret HICKS , was born in Greenville, South Carolina.
From information gathered by Faye (Chapman) Harrington about Avery Payne:
O.B. Chapman believes Avery, Mellie, and Esther Lee moved to the present location at 112 Main St, Conestee when Esther Lee was about 18-19 months old. The original house on this site was 2 stories with an enormous front porch complete with a porch swing. Mary McLemore can recall as a child that her uncle Avery would come to pick her up from Piedmont in a horse and buggy so she could go visit her Aunt Mellie and cousin Esther Lee. She recalls fond memories of her and Esther Lee in the front porch swing and of Uncle Avery cutting her hair. He was a barber and had one barber chair in a building to the left and in front of the house. He also ran a small grocery store here. O.B. Chapman remembers Esther Lee and Mellie recalling how on Saturdays Mellie would make sandwiches to sell in the store. They used the proceeds and what Avery made as a barber and grocer to pay for their property. Mellie would walk a little over a half mile to the Conestee Post Office which was located in the Conestee Mill to make these mortgage payments.
Mellie didn't tell us, her grandchildren, much about Avery but we believe his store was a meeting place for many of the people in the Conestee Community which grew from the Conestee Woodlem Mill. This building stood until 1992 when, after several attempts at repairs failed, it collapsed. We feel like one part of Mellie and Avery's history collapsed with it. Jim Chapman has a small piece of wood from this building on which his sister Faye painted a scene depicting the store building, the house and grounds from when they were children.
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Avery is buried in Bethual Baptist Church cemetery off of highway 25 near Donaldson Center. His marker is about waist high with the open gates of heaven depicted at the top and an inscription at the bottom reading…"PRECIOUS IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD IS THE DEATH OF HIS SAINTS". To Avery's left is his first wife of which nothing at this time is known. Her marker reads…
HATTIE WILLIAMS
PAYNE
JUNE 27, 1879
MAY 24, 1918
TWAS HARD TO GIVE THEE UP
BUT THY WILL, O GOD, BE DONE
To Avery's right is Mellie. To date she has no marker. Plans are under way to remedy the unmarked grave of Mellie Payne. Avery and Mellie are located in the lower left side toward the back of the cemetery surrounded by other members of Avery's family. We believe the Payne family, at one time, owned the land where the church and cemetery now sit.
Avery married Mellie Josephine SMITH .
The child from this marriage was:
15. Mellie Josephine SMITH, daughter of Samuel Thomas SMITH and Alethia Albertha HODGENS , was born on 22 Apr 1883 in Piedmont, South Carolina.
From information collected by Faye (Chapman) Harrington about Mellie Smith, daughter of Samuel and Alethia Smith:
One of their daughters was Mellie Josephine Smith, born April 22, 1883 and died November 1, 1967. O.B. Chapman reports that Mellie was one of the oldest girls of Samuel and Alethia, which is coorborated by her position on their list of children. She was consequently called upon to help with the other children and we believe she only attended school through the 3rd or 4th grade. Not much is known of Mellie's early life in Piedmont but we feel she worked very hard and we know she attended Piedmont Methodist church. We believe before her marriage she did work in the Piedmont Mill.
We do not yet have documentation of Mellie's marriage to Thomas F. McHugh nor do we know anything about their life together. We do know they resided in Piedmont. We know they had 3 children.
Eva Edward Braker
Born September 28, 1915 July 25, 1912 November 23, 1908
Died March 16, 1917 July 21, 1913 March 7, 1910
Died 16 Months 11 Months 1yr 4mts
Mellie was 32 Mellie was 29 Mellie was 25
Thomas F. McHugh also died on January 30, 1917. He and the three babies are buried in Rose Hill, midway from the front and slightly to the right. We can only imagine the total devastation and pain Mellie must have felt. We believe a type of flu was the cause of all their deaths. Faye Harrington recalls being rebuffed whenever, as a child, she would ask Mellie anything about her first family and it would always bring tears to Mellie's eyes anytime it was mentioned.
South Carolina did not begin keeping formal birth records until 1915. We feel our on-going search will unearth more documentation of what is known now. If there were any pictures or momentous of Mellie's first family they were destroyed by fire in about 1931.
Faye Harrington can recall only three items that survived that fire:
1) a red Kerosene globe lamp with marble base
2) a bluish-white rectangular dish with ridges
3) a small, white, round dish with ridges around the top to suggest a lid
Mellie used #2 for her jewelry which consisted of one or two pieces and she used #3 for straight pins and safety pins. Faye Harrington, Jim Chapman, and Lynne Yankle, Mellie's three grandchildren, all recall from childhood a severe threat of punishment if any of the three items were touched. Mellie was very loving and accommodating, (often in excess!), to her grandchildren except for these 3 items and the contents of her trunk. A picture, on glass, of Mellie in her late teens or early 20's always stayed in this trunk but cannot now be located.
After the complete devastation of Mellie's first family we know she did re-marry in either 1919 or 1920. She married Avery G. Payne and they had only one daughter - Esther Lee Payne. She was born on Sept.2, 1921 when Mellie was 38 years old. You cannot help but think that Mellie ruly cherished this late child who certainly helped fill the hole left in Mellie's heart from Barker, Edward and Eva. Esther Lee was born in a 2-story house on what is now Mauldin Road, about halfway between Conestee and Mauldin. We believe they rented this house from Smith relatives who owned this section of land and still do.
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We do know Mellie attended the McBee Methodist Church. The church was and still is about .3 miles from Mellie's home. Faye can recall Mellie donning her "Sunday" shoes which were plain, black lace-ups with a 2" squat heel, nylon stockings instead of the everyday cotton ones, either her navy blue dress with the white collar or a black one, pulling on her black coat with the leaf pin on it and "striking out" for church on Sunday mornings. Mellie much preferred to walk wherever she was going - riding in a car made her sick. One of Mellie's granddaughters, Lynne, was first married in this same church in about 1974. The marriage did not last more than a year but we feel the church had nothing to do with it.
In 1934 Mellie suffered another great loss. Avery died from a heart attack as Esther Lee was just entering her teens and Mellie was just past 50. The years from 1931-1934 had to have been hectic because they were trying to rebuild the house which had burned. One of Avery's brothers, Lawrence, helped to rebuild the house that now stands. Some of its rock supports were from the original house. Huge gobs of melted glass from the fire can still be found under the house.
Mellie married Avery G. PAYNE .