(1) Black male, stillborn on 23 JUN 1938 in Pensacola Hospital, Pensacola, FL. Father was Hilman Chestnut (given as Hillmar Chester on death certificate) born Vernon, FL; mother was Verlina Johnson, born Crestview, FL. The parents’ residence was the Bell Head community of Escambia County, FL. The father was the informant on the death certificate; W.R. Anderson signed as physician. The child was buried at the Escambia County Poor Farm cemetery on June 28 by Morris Funeral Home.
(2) Black female, stillborn on 18 APR 1939 in Pensacola Hospital, Pensacola, FL. Parents were given as Samie Johnson, born Brewton, AL, and Leona McCullough, born Crestview, FL; however, these were the child’s maternal grandparents. The name on the death certificate was “Inft of Hilmer [sic] Chestnut & wife,” which means that the parents were Hillman Chestnut and Verlina Johnson Chestnut. The parents’ residence was given as West Pensacola; W.E. Tugwell signed as the physician. The cause of the stillbirth was shoulder presentation and prematurity. The child was buried at the Escambia County Poor Farm cemetery on April 19 by Morris Funeral Home.
The parents of these children appear in a family tree on Ancestry, so they are not entirely forgotten; however, they do not appear as the children of Hillman and Verlina on that tree. They have been entered into Find-a-Grave and linked with their father’s memorial. Verlina, who died in 1942, does not appear on Find-a-Grave and, as yet, her final resting place is not known. If you do not have access to Ancestry and would like to know more about this family, contact Erin.
SOURCES:
Florida Certificate of Death for Inft Hillmar Chester & Wife (No. 10626), Florida Deaths, 1877-1939. Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.
Florida Certificate of Death for Inft of Hilmer Chestnut & Wife (No. 6873), Florida Deaths, 1877-1939. Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.
Household of Samuel Johnson. Year: 1930; Census Place: Pensacola, Escambia, Florida; Page: 17B; Enumeration District: 0024; FHL microfilm: 2340050. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.
Marriage record of Hillman Chestnut and Verlina Johnson. State Archive, Tallahassee and Clerk of Courts; Various Counties; County Marriages, 1937-1939. Ancestry.com. Florida, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1823-1982 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Marriage Records. Florida Marriages. Various Florida County Courthouses and State Archive, Tallahassee, Florida.
Ancestry.com. Florida, U.S., Death Index, 1877-1998 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: State of Florida. Florida Death Index, 1877-1998. Florida: Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Records, 1998.