It has been a little while since I have posted anything and wanted to post something to keep everyone updated. Here is a picture of my grandfather, Harry Clemmons, the picture was taken about 1928 (he would have been about 10). If anyone has a picture that they would like to share, send me an email!
The Times of North West Indiana had an article about how my little brother (Joe Clemmons) is using social media to connect to the students in the Hobart Schools. Joe is a policeman in Hobart and is the Schools Resource Officer. It is a great write up on what he is doing.
Here is the text of it:
One of the first things police Officer Joe Clemmons did as the School City of Hobart’s new public school resource officer was to set up a Facebook.com account.
“That’s what kids are using these days,” Clemmons said.
Resource officers at schools in communities such as Crown Point and Merrillville haven’t created job-related Facebook pages. But that doesn’t mean officials aren’t tuned in to what students are involved in, such as social networking websites.
Brad Best, director of security for Merrillville Community School Corp., said students’ Facebook use is bringing more issues to the table for schools.
“The main problem we see is kids throwing empty threats back and forth on Facebook,” Best said. “They don’t realize the consequences.”
Clemmons, a nine-year police veteran, said Hobart school administrators were sold on the idea of his opening a Facebook account when he brought it up during his interview.
In addition to posting information on the school resource officer site, Clemmons also hopes to receive feedback from students.
“If they see any suspicious activity, they can send me an email. … It’s an accessibility issue, and I want kids to contact me if they need something,” Clemmons said.
Students and parents have linked to Clemmons’ page.
“They add me. It’s their choice,” he said.
Best said Merrillville might be looking at the possibility of starting up a school resource officer account.
“It’s something we’d like to explore,” he said. “It could be a good idea, but there’s pros and cons.”
That doesn’t mean Merrillville school district and police officials aren’t monitoring incidents related to the Internet.
Earlier this year, two Merrillville district students were charged with disorderly conduct in Lake County Juvenile Court after a videotape of two girls fighting off campus was posted on YouTube.com.
Two adults, who were shown encouraging the girls to fight, also were charged.
Milan Damjanovich, the director of safety and security for Crown Point Community School Corp., agreed with Merrillville schools’ caution toward Facebook.
“Crown Point doesn’t have a Facebook website,” he said. “It could be a negative. All it takes is one misinterpretation.”
He believes texting and Facebook use have led to negative outcomes.
“It’s easy to type things in,” Damjanovich said. “There is no face-to-face contact.”
Negative behavior includes not only taunting between students but other problems such as bullying and even the posting of false information.
Crown Point’s school resource officer doesn’t have a Facebook account, but there are emergency numbers and an e-mail address students can use to leave tips.
Although computer use has prompted more problems for schools, old problems such as drug use still remain, Damjanovich said.
“They’ll never go away,” Damjanovich said.
Damjanovich, Crown Point’s school resource officer since 1999, said schools are a microcosm of society.
“You’re not being a kiddie cop. You’re working. Believing it’s not a busy job is a false perception,” Damjanovich said.
Clemmons, new to the job, agreed. And he doesn’t just monitor students by computer.
Clemmons walks through the schools, he attends weekend sporting events, and he even monitors students while working security at the mall.
“The biggest thing is to be accessible,” Clemmons said.
The below picture is a picture of the twins of John Porter and Pearl (Donnell) Clemmons. On the left is John Wilson Clemmons (1912-2001) and on the right is James Porter Clemmons (1912-1994). They are descendants of Etheldred Clemmons Sr.
Photo from Jo (Clemmons) Smith
John Porter Clemmons was born May 12, 1888 and died February 10, 1912. He was the son of James Allen Clemmons and Elizabeth France Wynne. He was a descendant of Etheldred Clemmons Sr. John married Pearl Donnell on January 26, 1909. She was born November 15, 1887 and died February 20, 1985.
Nancy Lucinda (McGuire) Clemmons was born (according to the death certificate) on November 21, 1871 in Arkansas. According to the 1900 census, she was born in January. She died November 23, 1945, just a few minutes after midnight. Cause of death was Influenza but she had been bed ridden for many years.
She is buried in the Barnhill Cemetery in Barnhill, Illinois. Click on the image below to see a larger version.
James Clemmons was the 8th oldest child of Samuel Thompson and Martha (Coggin) Clemmons. James married Demaris Parton on May 10th, 1825 in Wilson County, Tennessee. They had a total of 10 children. 5 of them fought in the Civil War and two of them died during the war.
The image below (click on it for a larger version) is the death certificate for my Great Great Grandfather, William Keaton Clemmons. He died on April 17th, 1924 in Bertrand, Mississippi County, Missouri. They were living in Morehouse, Missouri at the time.
The cause of death is Angina Pectoris, this is the medical term for chest pain or discomfort due to coronary heart disease. Angina is a symptom of a condition called myocardial ischemia. It occurs when the heart muscle (myocardium) doesn’t get as much blood (hence as much oxygen) as it needs. This usually happens because one or more of the heart’s arteries (coronary blood vessels that supply blood to the heart muscle) is narrowed or blocked.
Right before the reunion last weekend I obtained Samuel Thompson Clemmons’ Rev. War Pension file. Some of this was published in Thelma Landrum’s book (1981). He book only contained a few of the pages from the 14 page pension file. Also, what was in her book was copies of copies, the images that I have are nice clean scans.
The image below shows the second page of the file and is dated April 6th, 1833. He was due to be paid a total of $75. $60 for arrears from the date the pension act was started and then a semi annual allowance of $15 for the rest of his life.
Page 2 of the Pension File
Willa was the daughter of John Franklin and Kate (Wooodall) Clemmons. She was born 30 Mar 1904 and died in July 1967. She was married to Edward Winburn.
Below is a picture of Earl Green Clemmons (1895-1965). Picture was taken about 1898 in Lebanon, Wilson County, Tennessee. At the time, Earls father, William Keaton Clemmons, was working at Haley’s Saloon on Cedar Street.
Clemmons Family History 