I was always told that Bessie Woody-Bingham was a large part Cherokee, Native American, but I've never been able to find any tangible proof of that.

I had no knowledge of Bessie's paternal or material grandparents (other than the names) or where they might possibly be buried until recently. I have researched her family history and traced the Woody's back to the 1700's and Ireland. Her maternal side is Wallis/Wallace; from Scotland, by way of Ireland. I recently traced her Scottish Ancestry back to 11th century Scottish Royalty (May 2020).

What little I do know about Bessie's parents is that her parents (George S. & Lessie B. Wallace-Woody) died when she was still a child. I do know that Bessie's parents are buried in Bath Springs in unmarked graves (sandstone markers) and there is what appears to be several children's graves lined up beside their graves, also with smaller sandstone makers. So, the assumption within the family is that these graves may contain the earthly remains of some of Bessie's sibling? I found proof of one sibling named Nevada Woody.

*Della, her sister (Bessie Woody-Bingham), her brothers (Bob {possibly Robert} Woody & Vester Woody), were orphaned at a young age and were took-in by their Father's Brother (James Walter "Jim" Woody) and his wife (Ann "Aunt Anner" Reddin-Woody).
(*Credit given to my Mother [Irene Bingham] for providing a lot of this information.)

"Bessie Jane" (a family nickname) married John Gideon (Gid) Bingham when she was still very young. She was still just a child herself when she and Gid were married. They went on to have a large family; some of whom never made it to adulthood. At least seventeen children were born to this union.

My Mother (Bessie's Daughter-In-Law) told me (4/26/2015) that Bessie was a "sweet woman" and she was "good natured." She was very easy going. (I would think with that many kids one would need to be laid back and easy going. :-) [just my opinion])

Lessie (1907-1909) and Lexie (1908-1908) are buried at Brasher Cemetery in Bath Springs; these two infant daughters were the second and third of Bessie and Gid's children. Bessie and Gid had them laid to rest with Gid's Dad (Gid's Mother was still living when these babies died), siblings, aunts, uncles, and grandparents at Brasher Cemetery in Bath Springs, Decatur County, Tennessee.

After losing the babies, there was more loss for Bessie and Gid. Ruby Edna (1919-1933) and Alvie (1924-1931) were young when they passed away and were buried at Ebenezer Cemetery, Henderson County, Tennessee, near Scotts Hill, just down the road from where Bessie and her family lived.

Later tragedy would strike again. Cleo, now a young man, found a hidden jug (I thought it was a stone jug? Mother told me it was actually a whiskey bottle) and decided to sample the contents. It was to be a fatal mistake. Poison (bug poison for the garden) had been placed in the jug and the jug then hidden, because of its toxic content. This mistake would cost Cleo his life. Cleo too, was laid to rest just down the road in the Ebenezer Church Cemetery. (1914-1937)

As for Bessie and Gid's other children:
George married Minnie E. (Moody)and raised a family, then they divorced and he later married, his 2nd wife, Minnie Pearl (Ballard) and had two more sons (1906-1992).

Charles S. "Uncle Charles" (as us kids called him) was seemingly dotted on by Bessie; I suppose because he was hurt and had permanent physical abnormalities because of a childhood injury, and because he never married. When Charles was a child he and some other children were playing in a barn. Charles fell out of the hay loft. As a result of that fall his back was broken. Charles' back did not heal properly and he had a large hump on his back and walked bent over the rest of his life. He lived with Bessie and Gid his entire life. At the age of 60 Charles S. would die as the result of a gun shot wound (1910-1970).

Woodrow married Otha (Lomax) and moved to Alabama where he and his wife raised two sons. Woodrow would die of the same cancer as the one that took the lives of his sister (Liness) and his brother (L.E.). (I also believed, but it was never diagnosed, that Bessie may have died from this disease also. The facts that cause me to believe this were told to me by the person [Howell Taylor Powers] that embalmed Bessie)

Clyde Served in WWII. He married Jewel Frances (Ross) and they raised their children in the Ebenezer community. Clyde and Jewel would divorce years later when their children were grown or nearly grown, Clyde would later meet and marry his 2nd wife, Pauline (Watson), and moved to Sardis, Henderson County, Tennessee. Shortly thereafter Clyde was killed on his farm in Ebenezer, in a farming accident where his tricycle-front end tractor rolled over, pinning him underneath it (1912-1969).

Liness married Lonzo (Moody) and they raised four children in Scotts Hill. She was a good natured woman who loved children and spent her life raising children for other mothers while they went to work to make a living for their families. When Liness was in her late 70's/early 80's she would die of the same cancer that took the life of her brothers, L.E. & Woodrow. (1918-2000)

Flossie married Coy (Houston). Coy served in WWII. Flossie and Coy had a large family which she would go on to raise alone after the untimely, accidental death of her husband. Flossie never remarried. She died of colon cancer. (1921-2013)

L.E. (who, I was always told, was named after his Granddad, Leonidas E. Bingham) would marry and have four children with his wife. He eventually settled in Sardis where he bought a house and farm in 1966. He passed away after a six year battle with cancer and the complications that went along with it. (1926-1992) (later his sister (Liness) and his brother (Woodrow) would have the same type cancer take them from us)

James "Jim" married and had two sons. After he and his first wife divorced he would meet and later married, his 2nd wife, Norma (Ross) and they raised her two daughters in Bessie and Gid's house (after Bessie and Gid had passed) When Jim passed away it was cold and snowy on the day of his funeral. While we were waiting for the service to start, in the chapel, the power went out. After a short delay the pastor held Jim's service by coal oil lamp light. I couldn't help but think of the irony; he may have been born in a lamp lit room and here was, his family gathered to say "Good-bye" to him, in a lamp lit room. He had respiratory problems that took him from us. (1930-2009)

Another sister would marry James Freeman Fields and move to Saltillo, Tennessee where she would raise their family with her husband and they would live there together until his death. She still resided in the home she shared with Freeman when he was alive until her death (8/15/2016). She died of the same cancer that took her brothers, L.E., Woodrow, & her sister, Liness.

The youngest daughter married Charles Brice (Creasy) and moved to Sardis. There she and Charles raised one daughter. I don't know all the jobs she may have held, but I do remember she worked in the garment factory (HIS) at Saltillo for many years.

The youngest son, Bob (1933-2023), married Glydis. He moved up North, to Michigan, to work and he and Glydis raised their four children there. When he retired he moved back to the Reagan/Ebenezer area. Since retiring he has lost his only surviving son (Robbie), his wife (Glydis), and his youngest daughter in June 2015. Later his eldest daughter, Peggy (1959-2021) would pass from the same illness that took her Mother, sister and brother.

I remember Bessie was always in the kitchen when I was small. There was always food in the kitchen. She raised a garden and cooked and canned the vegetables she grew. I remember there was always a yard full of genies, chickens, and geese (that would chase you) roaming the yard. It was not unusual to find an egg out in the yard. She would gather those eggs and use them in her daily cooking. I was often amazed at how much she cooked and how much time she spent in the kitchen. But then again, I can't imagine how it must have been to cook for such a large family. It had to be a full time job within itself. She was what most of her counterpart were, or wished they were during her day, I suppose. she was a wife with lots of children, a nice home, self-sustaining farm; she must have had a full life.

Sometime during the late 1960's to 1970 Bessie fell off the front porch of her home and broke her hip. Her hip mended without any complications (that I am aware of), I never knew of her complaining with it afterwards, but she did slow down considerably after that.

When Bessie got older and could no longer manage the way she used to; her son Jim left his job at the factory in Lexington and moved in with Bessie and Gid. Jim cared for Bessie and Gid during the last year or so of their life.

Bessie left this life in 1973. (shortly after the death of her husband Gid) It was sad, now they were both gone and life would never be the same. There would be no more playing under the very large, very old oak tree out in the front yard; no more finding eggs in the tall grass; no more playing with cousins out in the yard. As for her children, it's a sad day when you lay your remaining parent to rest.

(I know one of her sons never seemed quite the same after Bessie [his Mother] died too. It was a sadness that never completely went away. It leaves an emptiness in a person's life to lose both their parents. I've seen it in other people too.)

*(Some names were left out intentionally, because those people are still living.

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United States Census, 1930
Name - Bessie Bingham
Event Type - Census
Event Date - 1930
Event Place - District 7, Henderson, Tennessee, United States
Gender - Female
Age - 38
Marital Status - Married
Race - White
Race (Original) - White
Relationship to Head of Household - Wife
Relationship to Head of Household (Original) - Wife
Birth Year (Estimated) - 1892
Birthplace - Tennessee
Father's Birthplace - Tennessee
Mother's Birthplace - Tennessee
Sheet Letter - B
Sheet Number - 11

Household - Role - Sex - Age - Birthplace
J Gid Bingham - Head - M - 50 - Tennessee
Bessie Bingham - Wife - F - 38 - Tennessee
George L Bingham - Son - M - 20 - Tennessee
Charles A Bingham - Son - M - 18 - Tennessee
Clyde Bingham - Son - M - 16 - Tennessee
Cleo Bingham - Son - M - 15 - Tennessee
Woodrow W Bingham - Son - M - 14 - Tennessee
D Liness Bingham - Daughter - F - 12 - Tennessee
Ruby E Bingham - Daughter - F - 10 - Tennessee
Flossie Bingham - Daughter - F - 8 - Tennessee
Avie Bingham - Daughter - F - 6 - Tennessee
L E Bingham - Son - M - 4 - Tennessee
Marea Bingham - Daughter - F - 2 - Tennessee
James Bingham - Son - M - 0 - Tennessee

Citing this Record - "United States Census, 1930,"
Bessie Bingham,
District 7, Henderson, Tennessee, United States;
citing enumeration district (ED) ED 15, sheet 11B, line 68, family 238,
NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2254; FHL microfilm 2,341,988.

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United States Census, 1940
Name - Bessie Bingham
Event Type - Census
Event Date - 1940
Event Place - Civil District 7, Henderson, Tennessee, United States
Gender - Female
Age - 48
Marital Status - Married
Race (Original) - White
Race - White
Relationship to Head of Household (Original) - Wife
Relationship to Head of Household - Wife
Birthplace - Tennessee
Birth Year (Estimated) - 1892
Last Place of Residence - Same House

Household - Role - Sex - Age - Birthplace
Gideon Bingham - Head - M - 57 - Tennessee
Bessie Bingham - Wife - F - 48 - Tennessee
Charles Bingham - Son - M - 27 - Tennessee
Clyde Bingham - Son - M - 25 - Tennessee
Woodrow Bingham - Son - M - 23 - Tennessee
Flossie Bingham - Daughter - F - 18 - Tennessee
L E Bingham - Son - M - 14 - Tennessee
Marie Bingham - Daughter - F - 11 - Tennessee
James Bingham - Son - M - 10 - Tennessee
Bob Bingham - Son - M - 8 - Tennessee
Helen Bingham - Daughter - F - 5 - Tennessee

Citing this Record - "United States Census, 1940,"
Bessie Bingham, Civil District 7, Henderson, Tennessee, United States;
citing enumeration district (ED) 39-18, sheet 1A, line 39, family 11,
Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627.
Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.:
National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 3904.

Last revised/updated 3/14/2017.

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Bessie A. Woody-Bingham is the daughter of George S. Woody (1870-1905) & Lessie B. Wallace-Woody (1873-1905). George & Lessie were married 2 April 1891 in Decatur County, Tennessee, USA

Bessie A. Woody-Bingham was one of five known children born to George & Lessie. 1. Bessie A. Woody (1895-1973) 3. Vester L. Woody (b.1894) 4. Della Mae Woody (1894-1969) 5. Nevada Woody (1897-1905) 6. Robert Bob Woody (unknown). I believe there may have been more who died in infancy.

George S. Woody is the son of Joshua Anderson Woody & Angeline Stanfield-Woody. Joshua & Angeline were married in 1856

Lessie B. Wallace-Woody is the daughter of Isham Wallace (b.1833) & Eliza Flippo-Wallace (1831-1909). Isham & Elisa were married 29 May 1851 in Hickman County, Kentucky, USA.

A SPECIAL "THANK YOU!" TO RECORD HUNTER! For letting me have Grandma Bingham's memorial. Thanks! :-)

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This person is a part of my Family - Please post NO PHOTOGRAPHS w/o asking first. Thank you for your cooperation. m.g