Eighth Generation

423. JOSIE ELLEN COMSTOCK was born on 21 December 1916 at the house at Stony Point in Uniontown, Crawford County, Arkansas.¹⁷⁸ She died on 13 September 2008 at the age of 91 in Springdale, Washington County, Arkansas.²¹⁶

Fayetteville (Ark.) Daily Democrat, Thursday, 14 Jan 1932
Plan Founders Day Program Next Month
[apparently the PTA minutes....]
....Two numbers by the high school glee club; a trio by Roberta Roberts, K. M. Comstock and Josie Allen Comstock, accompanied by Nadine Riggs......

JoEllen attended the University of Arkansas but transferred to the teacher's college in Russellville so she could get a teacher's certificate. She taught the youngest grades at Chester, AR. Two of her pupils were the niece and nephew of Ernie Adamson, who was at the time living with his older married sister. They eloped to Nashville, Tennessee in 1939.

JoEllen left Ernie Adamson and returned with two-year-old Kay to Fayetteville to live with her parents. She attended Fayetteville Business College so that she could provide for her little family. One of the very quaint things found among JoEllen's papers was the American Penman Certificate of Proficiency to Jo Ellen Adamson for excellence in Rapid, Legible, Business Writing while a student in Fayetteville Business College under the personal instruction of H. O. Davis, dated 12 Jun 1943.

From the Northwest Arkansas Times, published Fayetteville, AR, 30 Sep 1946, p.3
Joe Ellen Adamson is Married to Joe McKimm
Mr. and Mrs. K. M. Comstock announce the marriage of their daughter, Jo Ellen Adamson, to Joe McKimm, son of Mrs. Paul McKimm. The double ring ceremony was solemnized at 8 o'clock Saturday night at the First Christian Church with the Rev. John P. McConnell officiating.
Mrs. S. C. Bohart, organist, provided the wedding music. Preceding the ceremony, she played I Love You Truly, Ah Sweet Mystery of Life, Because, Always, Dreams, and Clair de Lune. During the ceremony she playing Wonderful One softly. The traditional wedding marches were used. Ira Allen Comstock, brother of the bride, sang At Dawning and To You.
The altar was banked with ferns and baskets of white chrysanthemums with seven-branch candelabra on either side. Candles were light preceding the ceremony by Graydon Comstock, brother of the bride, and Orville Spivey of Tulsa, the ushers.
The bride chose a wedding gown of pale pink lace and net fashioned with a round neckline, cap sleeves and bouffant skirt. She wore a coronet of pink roses and carried a bouquet of the same flowers. Her only ornament was a pearl necklace, gift of the bridegroom.
Mrs. K. M. Comstock, Jr, the matron of honor, wore a gown of light blue brocaced taffeta and a Juliet cap of rhinestones. She carried a bouquet of red roses.
Little Karen Kay Adamson was flower girl. Her dress of white net was fashioned like that of the bride and she wore a white ruffled headband.
Bill Moore of Fort Smith served as best man.
A reception at the home of the bride's parents followed the ceremony. A white satin cloth covered the bride's table, which was centered with an arrangement of pink roses and pink candles in crystal. The three-tiered wedding cake, topped with miniature bride and groom, was served by Mrs. Ira V. Comstock of Van Buren, an aunt of the bride. Another aunt, Mrs. Cy Carney, presided at the punch bowl. Mrs. Bruce Denney had charge of the bride's book.
Mrs. Comstock wore a blue crepe dress with black accessories for her daughter's wedding. Her corsage was of gardenias. Mrs. McKimm, mother of the bridegroom wore a light blue dress with brown accessories, and a gardenia corsage. After a whort wedding trip Mr. & Mrs. McKimm will be at home at 428 North College Avenue.
Our of town guests for the wedding were Mr. & Mrs. Orville Spivey and Mr. & Mrs. Charles C. Yarrington, all of Tulsa; Mrs. T. L. Delzell, Miss Colleen Delzell, Mr. & Mrs. Ira V. Comstock, Mrs. Maude Hudnut and Paul Comstock, all of Van Buren; Mrs. David King of Tahlequah, Okla.; Mr. & Mrs. Cy Carney Jr., Mr & Mrs. William Carney, all of Rudy; and Mr. & Mrs. Wallace B. Greenlee and Mr. & Mrs. Park Moore of Fort Smith.

Joe legally adopted JoEllen's daughter Kay, giving her his surname. They had two more daughters.

JoEllen is buried Friendship Cemetery north of Springdale, AR, next to Joe McKim.

The Morning News, Springdale, AR, September 14, 2008
Josie Ellen McKim
SPRINGDALE -- Jo Ellen McKim, 91, of Springdale died Sept. 13, 2008, at Circle of Life Hospice of Springdale. She was born Dec. 21, 1916 to Kenney and Nora Hays Comstock. She was preceded in death by her husband, Joe McKim, her parents, and three brothers, Graydon E. Comstock, Kenney M. Comstock and John J. Comstock.
Survivors include: three daughters, Kay Haden of Jacksonville, Fla.; JoAnn McKim and husband Allen Carney of Prairie Grove and Laurie Moore and husband Ron of Siloam Springs; and one brother, Ira A. Comstock of Virginia Beach, Va.; seven grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, two nieces and four nephews.
She was a member of the First Christian Church of Springdale for 50 years where she was choir director, a member of the choir and the Joyful Ringers Handbell Choir. She served as deacon, an elder and on the Church Board. She was a member of the Washington Regional Medical Center Auxiliary. Jo Ellen was an avid support of the Rodeo of the Ozarks having attended every year from 1956 to 2008. She supported the Arkansas Razorbacks, holding the same 50-yard-line tickets since World War II. She participated in many other community activities through the years.
Jo Ellen started her working career as a teacher in Chester in 1937. She was the co-owner of Jo McKim L-P Gas Company, Inc. and Joe McKim, Inc.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at the Sisco Funeral Chapel in Springdale.
Funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Sisco Funeral Chapel of Springdale (www.siscofuneral.com) with the Revs. Wendy Henry Feen and Bill Pettigrew officiating. Burial will be at Friendship Cemetery following the service.
Pallbearers will be Ron Moore, Lance Moore, Tyler Moore, Allen Carney, Dylan Brooks, Stuart Haden and Denny Flynn.
Memorials may be made to Circle of Life Hospice, 901 Jones Road, Springdale, AR, 72762.

JoEllen's daughter, Kay, gave the Eulogy at her service:

As her eldest daughter, I knew JoEllen longer than anyone here today. We moved to Springdale in 1948, when I was eight years old. This note has been on her refrigerator for some years - I'm sure it was how she felt about life. It says:
“Cherish Your Yesterday. Dream Your Tomorrows. But Live Your Todays.”

The only daughter of Kenney & Nora Hays Comstock, she was named for her two grandmothers, Josie and Ellen. JoEllen grew up in the center of her four brothers; she would always be the center of her family. As was fitting in that time, she helped her mother with all the chores of the household - at school she wrote on a slate, carried in lunch packed in a pail, and wore her “good” dress everyday, changing into work clothes as soon as she got home. It's very hard for us to imagine those days.

She was always a helpmate to Joe McKim - he was her man and she worked with him side by side throughout their marriage - always supportive. She tithed to her church - she had been a member of First Christian Church, Springdale, for over fifty years, directing and singing in the choir. She gave unselfishly of her time or money, or both, to many local charitable organizations.

Jo Ellen aged with such grace and dignity. She accepted widowhood, downsizing to a smaller house and then smaller apartments, a narrowing world - always saying “this is the best place I've ever lived” and “I'm so happy here”. She always kept herself well-dressed with makeup and jewelry - sometimes a problem in the elderly, but never for her. She was always lovely, sometimes even quite cute. She always kept busy, even though the tasks became less demanding as she aged.

She copied a Preface to a play “The Time of Your Life” written in 1939. She probably saw this play in New York city when she visited her brother in early 1940's leaving me with my grandparents. I believe this best describes her philosophy of life. I would like to read some excerpts:
“In the time of your life, live …so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness.
Seek goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of its hiding-place and let it be free and unashamed! …..
In the time of your life, live …so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it.”

Most of all, Mom was devoted to her three daughters, her seven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. Every one of us has been the recipient of her love and pride. None of us will ever forget her sweet smile. I found this poem - written by my sister JoAnn, quite likely for a school assignment, that best expresses how we three girls fell about our mother.

LOVELINESS

There is a person very close to me
She's good and kind …and full of grace.
A smile is always on her face.

Her arms are so gentle, but strong,
Her eyes are bright and soft brown.
She's always there to quiet my tears,
She's always there thru all her years.

In my eyes she's truly a great woman,
One more lovely than any other.
She gave me another life, but my own,
For she's spent her life, making my home.

I only pray that some day I may
Bring happiness to others that she brought to me.
My Mother.

JoEllen spent the last six years of her life at Arkanshire, a retirement community in Springdale. She was able to live there independently with cleaning services and meals in the common dining room. She made many dear friends, including a gentleman friend, Lee Strickland, who preceded her in death. We had a memorial service in the chapel at Arkanshire on Wednesday, September 17th. One of her friends, Vesta Logue, composed the following poem,
For my beloved Jo Ellen:
God saw her getting tired.
A cure was not to be.
So he wrapped his arms around her, and said
"Come go home with me"
A golden heart stopped beating.
Tired working hands came to rest.
God broke our hearts to prove,
He only takes the best.

JOSIE ELLEN COMSTOCK and WEYMOUTH DONALD "Ernie" ADAMSON were married on 24 August 1939 in Franklin, Simpson County, Kentucky.^178,217,218 They^178,217,218 were divorced on 8 June 1944 in Fayetteville, Washington County, Arkansas.²¹⁷ WEYMOUTH DONALD "Ernie" ADAMSON¹⁷, son of RAY WEYMOUTH ADAMSON and MARY MAY HARRISON, was born on 9 June 1915 in Chester, Crawford County, Arkansas.²¹⁹ He died on 6 August 1982 at the age of 67 in Van Buren, Crawford County, Arkansas.²²⁰

1930 Census. Living with his uncle Clarence Harrison - sister Joan was there, too. Their mother deceased.

According to Ernie's birth/death certificates:
Ernie's Mother: Mary May Harrison, daughter of Elisha and Edith Harrison was born Winslow, Ark. in 1894
Father: Ray Weymouth Adamson was born Pierce City, Mo. in 1884
Ernie died Mountainburg, Ark.; August 6, 1982; Age 67; respiratory failure-had emphysema for 20 years before death; Cremated at Benton County Crematory in Rogers, Ark; interred in Mountainburg. He never remarried; according to his niece, he was a concrete finisher by trade.
Ernie had two sisters- Joan Teague, younger than he and lived in Mountainburg
Bernice Pence who had lived in Kansas, probably Junction City. Bernice had two children, Dale & Sue, that JoEllen taught in school at Chester, Arkansas. He also had a younger brother, Jack, listed in the 1920 census as an infant, although no one seems to know about him - it's likely he died very young.
JoEllen Comstock & Ernie eloped. They lived in Nashville, Tennessee where Kay [author of this genealogy] was born, Van Buren, AR and in Kansas, near his sister Bernice.

Married by Felix J. Sanders, Minister of Methodist Church, Franklin, Simpson Co, KY. Witnesses: Mrs. Alfred Mitchell and Felix J. Sanders, Jr.

JOSIE ELLEN COMSTOCK and WEYMOUTH DONALD "Ernie" ADAMSON had the following children:

+469

i.

KAREN KAY ADAMSON [Adopted legally as McKIM] (private).

JOSIE ELLEN COMSTOCK and Joseph Eugene MCKIM were married on 28 September 1946 in Fayetteville, Washington County, Arkansas.¹⁷³ Joseph Eugene MCKIM²²¹, son of Harry Allen Paul MCKIM and Mary Ida SCHNIEBS, was born on 2 March 1918 in Fort Smith, Sebastian County, Arkansas.¹⁷³ He was adopted on 23 October 1919 in Fort Smith, Sebastian County, Arkansas.¹⁷³ He died on 1 October 1979 at the age of 61 in Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma.¹⁷³

Joe's Birth mother was Maureen Dixon. Born 10 Mar 1901; died Jun 1987. Married name was Redmond at the time of her death although she was married several times. She called one of husbands "Jonesy" in 1925 - she lived in Newark, Ohio then. Maureen was a friend of Joe's older sisters; she had him at age 16. Joe was very sickly, not expected to live and the father had deserted. The McKim's agreed to raise him if they could adopt. That was done. Adoption was kept secret until Joe found his adoption papers as a teenager. He was very distraught and ran away - to Maureen. I believe she sent him back and he reconciled with his adoptive parents.

Child, Joseph Chamberlain, Jr. aged 1 year and 10 months. Mother Maurine Dickson lived in the city of Fort Smith and consented to adoption. Father is Joseph Chamberlain, Sr., whereabouts unknown. George Rye and Espy O'Neal testified.
Certified copy obtained 14 Apr 1942. Adoption from Book K, p.280
Arkansas adoption papers can be obtained only with a court order - obviously at some point, Joe had done so.

Social Security Application dated 6 Feb 1940 for Maurine gives her name as Alice Maurine Dixon Jones, born March 11, 1902 in Vincennes, IN. Living at 9 Court St, Ft. Smith AR. Father Frank E. Dixon; mother Mattie B. Smith. She was unemployed at the time.

Joe's birth father was Joseph Chamberlain who may have gone to Canada, or come from Canada. Said to be a member of the British Chamberlains - black sheep of family or descended from one. According to tradition, Chamberlain went off to war (World War I) and never contacted Maureen again. Copy of Joe's Birth Certificate in JoEllen's safe deposit box gives Joseph Leroy Chamberlain, Jr. as father, age 21; born Chicago, Illinois; occupation Frisco RR. Certificate gives Maureen's place of birth as Vincennes, Indiana. Joe's name on Certificate is Joseph Leroy Chamberlain III. I have found a Joseph Leroy Chamberlain who registered for the draft in Ft. Smith AR, in September of 1917 - he was at that time married and I found the marriage record to Maureen Dixon, in Crawford Co, across the river from Ft. Smith.

Joe was called Eugene when he was growing up; family nickname was "Nookie". He served in World War II in the Seabees and the Navy.
Notice of Separation from US Naval Service: Enlisted 13 Oct 1943. Discharged 15 Mar 1946; served 2 years, 5 months, 3 days. Rank: Storekeeper Aviation First Class; Serial #8446368. Gave his permanent address and address at time of entry into service as Tulsa, OK. Had worked at LongBell Lumber Co in Tulsa from Mar 1939 to Sep 1943 as Accounting Clerk.

Divorce petition from Marie asked for $25 per month child support. Jo Ellen states Joe could prove Marie had been unfaithful and refused to pay. For whatever reason he never paid anything toward the support of the child, although she was named for his mother.

Joe and JoEllen married Sept 28, 1946, Joe's divorce from his first wife became final on that day and could no longer be contested. Joe McKim adopted JoEllen's daughter Karen Kay Adamson and had her surname changed to McKim.

Many years later when Kay was about 17, Joe received a letter from first wife Marie asking that he sign papers so that his daughter Sandra could be adopted by her stepfather, Holland Jones. They were going abroad for a year and she wanted her passport to have her stepfather's name, as she had always gone by Jones.

JOSIE ELLEN COMSTOCK and Joseph Eugene MCKIM had the following children:

+468	i.	KAREN KAY ADAMSON [Adopted legally as McKIM].
+470	ii.	JoAnn MCKIM (private).
+471	iii.	Laurie Lee MCKIM (private).