Another day, another brick wall. Neoma, the wife of Spencer Pearce, was my 4th great grandmother. She’s the latest edition to my family tree. I’ve known the name “Neoma” for some time. The inventory of her estate appears in a book of probate records from Lawrence County, Tennessee. It’s been collecting dust on my bookshelf. No other information about Neoma appears in said book. So I needed court records on microfilm to help me connect the dots – and that’s pretty much what happened. When Neoma died sometime before January of 1831, she left four children behind: Washington, Evelina (or Anna), Edward and Samuel. Barnabas Gabel, a neighbor to the Pearces, became the guardian of Neoma’s minors. For the next year five Barnabas went to court and filed the necessary paperwork for the “heirs of Spencer and Neoma Pearce”. I’ve already established that Spencer was the father of my 3rd great grandmother, Harriet Pearce, who was legally an adult when her mother Neoma died. She didn’t need a guardian. Two years later, Harriet was married to Absalom Boren. The tragedy in this is that neither Spencer nor Neoma died with a will which tells me their deaths – about five years apart – were unexpected. History has a cruel way of repeating itself sometimes. Spencer and Neoma died leaving small children behind and so did their grandson, John S. Boren and his wife, Mary Emma. And then their daughter, my great grandmother Lula Betty, died at the age of 32 leaving six small children behind.

Brick walls are fun to knock down but frustrating at the same time. One comes down and two more rise to take it’s place. Now begins the hunt for Spencer and Neoma’s parents. Hugh McIntyre was appointed Executor of Neoma’s estate. Could he be related? A brother, a brother-in-law or a cousin? Or, was he just an upstanding guy in the community who volunteered? I checked my DNA matches on Ancestry.com to see if McIntyre blood might be flowing through my veins. Maybe, but not enough to convince me that Hugh is a blood relative.

Oh, Neoma. Who are you?

Kenfolk: Trantham
Relationship: 4th great grandmother
Common ancestors: Neoma’s mysterious parents????????