The quoted statement below is a description of how Isaac and his Son, Jim, died. The source document was signed by Claudia Johnson, and given to Jim and Ovie Sims.

"My name is Claudie (Nabors) (Walker) Johnson. I am the 6th child of Manly Lee & Viola (Sprouse) Nabors. 1 was born in Pickens Co, Ala on Mar 21, 1919 and lived there until Jan 1, 1930 when we moved to Lowndes Co, Ms. I remember a story that my mother told to me and my sister many times while we were growing up.

My Grandparents, Issac and Louisa Nabors lived in Lamar Co, Ala somewhere west of Millport. I don't know the exact location. Grandpa Issac was sick. Uncle Jim (James W, Grandpa & Grandmas oldest son) was living with them and he was also sick. Uncle Jim's wife had died about 3 years earlier. Their only child, Leander, about 25 YO, was married. He and his wife had a son, J.C., about 4 YO.

Grandpa Issac and Uncle Jim were both sick in bed in the front room of the house. Uncle Jim died. I don't remember hearing what day. Grandma Louisa and the womenfolk were going to put up a curtain to divide the room. Grandpa Issac told them 'There is no need for you to put up that curtain. I know that Jim is dead.' Grandpa Issac died the next day.

Uncle Jim was buried beside his wife at Springhill Cemetary, Lamar Co, Ala and Grandpa Issac was buried beside them.

Claudia Johnson" (signed)

The death dates of Isaac and Jim support the veracity of the above statement. Their deaths were one day apart.

Isaac's tombstone has the following inscription:
ISAAC THOMAS
NABORS
BORN
MAR. 4 1841
DIED
JUNE 7, 1918
God gave. He has taken.
He will love. He doeth
all things well.

Louisa has several conflicting given names in source documents as follows:
Louisa American Sidney Lee - Bible listing
Louisie Sidney - tombstone
Louisa - census 1900, 1870
Louise - census 1910
Lousia C. - Baker database
Louisa Sidney Christian is the name used in this database.

Information regarding Louise's birthplace and her Parent's, Thomas and Phebe (McMillian) Christian, is from the Baker database. Louisa is the 5th of 11 children of Thomas and Phebe, and is shown in the database as married to Isaac Nabors. Her birth year in the Baker database is the same shown on her tombstone and on other documents.

Louisa's tombstone in Meadow Branch Cemetery has the following inscription:
LOUISIE
SIDNEY
NABORS
WIFE OF
I. T. NABORS
SEPT. 8, 1849
AUG. 3, 1929
I KNOW THAT MY
REDEEMER LIVETH
JOB XIX.25

"Louisie" on the tombstone appears to be a spelling error for Louise or Louisa.

The Bible listing lists Louisa as, "Louisa American Sidney Lee Christian," and her birth date as Aug. 28, 1854. Louisa's birth year on her tombstone is 1849. The same shown on the census report of 1900, and in the Baker's database. Ages in earlier census confirm the birth year of 1849. See Reference Note #4 for more on Louisa's names.

Louisa is not buried with her husband, Isaac, because she wanted to be buried in the same cemetery with her child, Isaac Thomas (Tommy) Nabors, Jr., that died very young. Tommy has a tombstone that is located a couple of grave spots over from Louisa. Isaac is buried in Springhill cemetery.

James Wylie Nabors is listed in Isaac's Bible with the identical birth date that is on his tombstone.

B. E.'s and James' tombsone has the following inscription:
B. E. NABORS------------------------------------J. W. NABORS
FEB. 11, 1868 ------------------------------------ OCT. 4, 1866
JAN. 14, 1914
How sweet it is to think--------------------------Kind father of love
of her in her new home--------------------------Thou hath gone to thy rest

William B. Nabors' tombstone has the following inscription:
FATHER
W. B. NABORS
MAY 21, 1869
NOV. 23, 1933

Martha's footstone has the following inscription:
MARTHA ANN TATE
MAY 18, 1870
JUNE 21,1918
AT REST

Martha Ann Nabors was Henry Gibson Tate's second wife. His first wife, Emily Johnson, died in 1893, and Henry married his second wife, Martha, in 1894. Information provided by Nettie Carnevale copied from Roy Tate's Bible.

John R. & Elisa Ann Nabors have the following inscription on their tombstone:
-------------------NABORS
JOHN R--------------------------ELISA ANN
1871----1938------------------- 1861----1950
My love goes with you and my soul wants
to join you.

The unnamed infant listed in Isaac's Bible is assumed to have died at birth, and is assigned the name Zachariah in this genealogy file. Zachariah is a name that several descendants of Isaac say was a son of Isaac and Louisa, but no one seems to know any of Zachariah's vital genealogy data. The birth date of 1873 is a guess based on the fact that the "Infant" is listed between John R. Nabors born in 1871 and Isaac T. Nabors, Jr. born in 1875.

The other child that died early is Isaac Thomas (Tommy) Nabors, Jr. who is buried in Meadow Branch cemetery. See Ref. Note #12

For many years Isaac Thomas (Tommy) Nabors did not have a tombstone. There was a rock next to Louisa's tombstone without an inscription that was his only marker. In May, 1999 J. C. Nabors placed a tombstone beside the rock.

The tombstone inscription is as follows:

"Tommy"
Isaac Thomas, Jr.
Nabors
Aug. 15, 1875
Sept. 3, 1882

The inscription is based on Isaac's Bible listing. He would have been 7 years old when he died. The son is referred to as Tommy, or Jr., just to keep from confusing him with his Father. The "Jr." is not shown in the Bible listing. Two people at the 1998 reunion said the person buried under the rock was "Tommy" which appears to fit with the Bible listing since "Tommy" is a nickname for "Thomas." He was probably known as Tommy because of his age, and in order to have a name for daily use different from his Father's name.
See Reference Note #6 for more information.

Elizabeth's name on Isaac's Bible listing is Miranda Ovella Nabers; Born June 4, 1881. One wonders when the name changed.

The quoted notes below regarding this issue and others, were recieved from Jim and Ovie Sims:

"The enclosed marriage license of Zella Nabors and Bartee Neal shows her name change. We would say the name change came in her late teens. Vera Miller told me that Miranda Orilla was definitely a part of her mothers name. Vera said 'she changed her name', as did some of the other family members. I told her we were interested because we wanted to be sure we were talking about the same relative. She assured me that there was knowledge of this in her family. She also said that she was told about the family conflict that came about when Great Aunt Zella and Mr Neal separated and she married Mr Jackson. Apparently, Zella was sick. Mr Jackson had a sister who lived at Plant City. Mr Jackson, Zella and the children lived near Detroit, Al in north Lamar Co. Mr Jackson put Zella and the children on the train and sent them to live with his sister until he could get them a house. She also says they were not allowed to correspond with any of their Ala relatives when they growing up, and they did not see their Grandparents any more, After they grew up and had their own families, some of the children came back to visit. The reason for this analogy is just to help us understand the situation better, and perhaps we do.

We have looked for any grave marked Neal at Walnut Grove Cemetary and have found none, but there are many unmarked graves, or marked with rocks. In the enclosed letter from Vera she mentions her oldest sister , Rose, who was buried in Ala. This would be Bartee and Zellas firstborn. Perhaps some other family member has information to add to this."

Reference Note #14

Manley Lee Nabors was buried at:
Beersheba Cumberland Presbyterian Church
1736 Beersheba Rd., Loundes Co., Columbus, MS.

"Carl" may be a nickname, since the only birth date and name in Issac's Bible that fits is "Christopher Cornelius Nabers," 17 Feb. 1886. He probably was known as "Carl" because his legal names were both very long. The 1900 Census lists him as "Cornelius." Carl is named "Christopher (Carl) Cornelius Nabors" in this genealogy file.
His tombstone reads:
Christopher Carl
Feb 17 1886 - Feb 4 1948

Earlie and Angeline Nabors' tombstone has the following inscription:
EARLIE C. NABORS------------ANGELINE NABORS
OCTOBER 31, 1888--------------NOV. 10, 1893
DECEMBER 21, 1955------------JAN. 26, 1957
HE LIVED BY FAITH