James William Izor DeFoe (1877 - 1958)

Born 24 Apr 1877 in Township of Range 2, Morgan, Alabama

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Nettie (Hunt) DeFoe — married 8 Mar 1899 in Gibson, Tennessee, United States

Husband of Martha Belle (Bryant) DeFoe — married 24 Dec 1927 in Dyer, Gibson, Tennessee, United States

Died 2 Jun 1958 at age 81 in Dyersburg, Dyer County, Tennessee

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Susan DeFoe [send private message]

Genealogically Defined

Biography

The son of John DeFoe and Mary (Kelley) DeFoe, James William DeFoe was born in Morgan County, Alabama^{[citation needed]} in 1877, residing with his family in Beat 9.^[1]

He married Nettie (Hunt) DeFoe, the daughter of George W. Hunt and Sarah Emeline Hayes, marrying in Gibson County, Tennessee on March 8, 1899, having five children together. They made their home in Gibson County, farming.^[2][3][4][5]

Billy Jim DeFoe registered for the World War I draft at the age of 42, registering in Trenton, Tennessee on September 12, 1918.^[6] He stated that he lived in Trenton, Tennessee, where he farmed and operated a jitney. William was described as a man of medium height and build with black hair and brown eyes. He did not enlist and, by1920, he operated a general store in Trenton.^[7]

His wife died of tubercular meningitis at the age of 46, on May 4, 1926, and Billy Jim remarried, marrying Mattie (Bryant) DeFoe, the daughter of Henry Polk Bryant and Susan Ella Magee, on December 24, 1927.^[8] They made their home in Humboldt, Tennessee, where Billy Jim began to sell furniture, working on his own account.^[9] By 1940, he and his family had moved to Dyersburg, Tennessee, where William owned and operated a retail furniture store.^[10]

William James DeFoe passed away in Dyersburg, Tennessee^[11] at the age of 81 is buried at Poplar Grove Cemetery in Dyersburg, Tennessee.^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4VH-3KL : 13 January 2022), James A. Defoe in household of John Defoe, Morgan, Alabama, United States; citing enumeration district ED 267, sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1900", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MS8F-VVN : 9 March 2022), James Defoe, 1900.
3. ↑ "Tennessee State Marriages", 1780-2002. Nashville, TN, USA: Tennessee State Library and Archives. Microfilm.Original data: Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002. Nashville, Tennessee.
4. ↑ "1910 US Federal Census"; Year: 1910; Census Place: Civil District 7, Gibson, Tennessee; Roll: T624_1499; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 0043; FHL microfilm: 1375512.
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MG6Y-9WG : accessed 3 April 2023), Jim W Defoe, Civil District 7, Gibson, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 43, sheet 3B, family 38, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1499; FHL microfilm 1,375,512.
6. ↑ "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZ6C-H74 : 24 December 2021), James William Defoe, 1917-1918.
7. ↑ "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNGJ-YRT : 3 February 2021), James W Defoe, 1920.
8. ↑ "Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKHQ-CTXH : 10 March 2021), J W Defoe and Mattie Bell Bryant, 24 Dec 1927; citing Dyer, Tennessee, United States, Marriage, p., Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville and county clerk offices from various counties; FHL microfilm 1,011,421.
9. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SPWY-8R3 : accessed 3 April 2023), James W Defoe, Humboldt, Gibson, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 5, sheet 7B, line 77, family 188, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2247; FHL microfilm 2,341,981.
10. ↑ "1940 US Federal Census"; Year: 1940; Census Place: Dyer, Tennessee; Roll: T627_3889; Page: 28A; Enumeration District: 23-13.
11. ↑ "Tennessee Deaths, 1914-1966," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKM9-T9XG : 23 February 2021), James Izor Defoe in entry for James William I Defoe, 2 Jun 1958; Death, Dyersburg, Dyer, Tennessee, United States, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
12. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVF-573W : 22 November 2022), J W DeFoe, Burial, Dyer, Gibson, Tennessee, United States of America, Poplar Grove Cemetery. Find A Grave: Memorial #16262839