Beech Tree News Network

Clyde Jeril Deweese 66, died Oct. 6, 2016, at his residence.  He was the husband of Bonnie Parrish Deweese.  He will be laid to rest at the Bonnie and Clyde Deweese Cemetery, Region Road in Roundhill, KY, which he founded.

Clyde grew up real poor.  His dad died when he was 9, and his mom died when he was 2.  Clyde was raised by his grandpa Clyde E. Deweese, a hard-core military man. 
Clyde left school and started working when he was 14 his life wasn't perfect, but by 16 he was working full time.  He was a true self-made man.  He learned carpentry from his grandpa and was a hard worker.  He married Bonnie Parrish when he was 21 and says it was the making of him.  He loved being a provider.  His grandpa had taught him that you have to work to make something of yourself, so he was quite young when he joined the Carpenters Union. He was a union member for 20 years.
Clyde had a big heart according to his wife, Bonnie.  He enjoyed motorcycle riding, photography, and raising two grandchildren.  Some of Clyde's photos has been published in magazines.  A favorite was one of a perfect heart in the snow on a pond that Clyde and his grandaughter Lillian Grace Deweese discovered on a winter day.  His mentor was Maxine Phelps Minton, he was an avid NASCAR fan, Bill O'Riely fan, loved Rev. Joel Osteen and some called Clyde a local historian.
He was always hospitable and would make room for anyone but he strongly believed in taking responsibility for your actions, and that your word was your bond.  He told me once that his grandpa told him if you borrow as little as a dollar you should walk if you had to, to repay the debt.  Bonnie told me he was a better person that he gave himself credit for; he was always very modest.
After he had been injured at work, he had to spend a year recovering, so he got interested in running the family tree back to see what kind of people his ancestors were.  His father, Woodrow Deweese's Clan, was from Amsterdam, and his mother Elsie Marie Renfrow Clan was from Scotland, as was his grandmothers Ella Jane Douglas and Mary Lois Reynolds.  He was proud to know that among the earliest settlers in America were Garrett Hendricks DeWees, b. 1641: Amsterdam, Netherlands, and his wife Zytian, b. 1644: Friesland, Netherlands.  He found it ironic that the name "Deweese" was originally  "de Wees" meaning the orphans.
His Grandpa: Clyde E. Dewees Clan,
September 20: 1777: General Howe's Army
British light infantry and cavalry arrived at Valley Forge in time to find a small group of American soldiers under the supervision of Colonel William Dewees, George Washington's young Aide-de-Camp, Alexander Hamilton, and Harry Lee (the father of Robert E. Lee), actively removing the army supplies.  The Americans were forced to escape by barge across the Valley Creek as the British forces approached and it is said that Colonel Dewees' horse was shot out from under him as he crossed the creek.  The British forces then burned the forge sawmill, two large stone dwelling houses, two coal houses and 400 loads of coal, and 2,200 bushels of wheat and rye in the sheaf.
Descent to Valley Forge Deweeses the Dewees family owned the house and forge at Valley Forge, PA, stem from Gerret Hendrick De Wees's third son, Willem: Gerret Hendrick Dewees Willem Dewees (Papermaker) William Mehls Dewees Sr. (Sheriff) Lt. Col. William Farmer Dewees Jr., who married Sarah Potts, daughter of Joseph Potts, the original owner of the forge.  Descent to Benjamin H. Latrobe, architect Benjamin Henry Latrode 1764: 1820: the Father of American Architecture, descends from a granddaughter of Willem Dewees (Papermaker).  Put a different way, Latrobe's mother, Anna Margareta Antes, was the niece of William Dewees Sr., the Sheriff of Philadelphia, PA, and a first cousin to William Dewees Jr., the owner of the forge at Valley Forge: Ancestry Clyde's DNA Genetic Ethnicity: Central European 58%, British Isles 29%, Scandinavian 8%, Patawomeck Tribe 5%.
It is of Holland Dutch origin and is said to have come into use as a surname about the eleventh century.  AdeianDewees of Amsterdam, Holland who died in the thirteenth century, is said to have descended from the ancient lords of Kessel in Guilderland.  His oldest son, Garrard (Garrett) settled in England during the reign of Henry VII, and there established the English D'Ewes family, which is the surname of the Earl of Warwick, whose coat of arms dates to 1709. 
His Grandma : Ella Jane Douglas Clan,
Sir James Douglas Bruce's preserved heart was placed in a silver casket, which Sir James Douglas then carried on a chain around his neck.  Douglas was killed in battle during the siege of Teba in August 1330 while fulfilling his promise.  His body and the casket containing the embalmed heart were found together upon the field.  They were both conveyed back to Scotland by Sir William Keith of Galston.  In accordance with Bruce's written request, the heart was buried at Melrose Abbey in Roxburghshire.  Even so long ago, and up to the present, a Deweese's word was his bond.
Clyde was a man of another era, and will be missed.
His mother Elise Marie Renfrow Clan,
The Baird family ancestry tradition tells us that the farm of William and Elizabeth Rentfro was located next to that of the Washington Family.  That young George Washington and young William Rentfro, the 6th child of William and Elizabeth played together as children; fishing and hunting over the farms.  Both wanted to become land surveyors and learned the trade from William's older brother, James.  James and William were brothers of our ancestor, Pete, Jr. William later fought in the various Indian Battles necessary to help protect the settlers in outlaying areas, and he was usually following his boyhood friend, George.  According to this tradition, William Rentfro spent the winter at Valley Forge and was present at the surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown.  This is documented by William's application for a pension that states he returned from the Battle of Yorktown at about the same time he returned from his Revolutionary service.  This substantiates the fact that William was in the battle.  William received payment for militia duty in South Carolina, for militia duty since the fall of Charleston in Blandon's Regiment of Anderson's Return.  Also, there is a William who signed the Oath of Allegiance in Henry Co., VA, in 1777. To further substantiate this story, various records show William Rentfro was a surveyor in VA., during the decades from 1754 until the Revolution.  Additionally, George Washington, A Biography, Vol. 1, page 197, states that young George Washington learned to survey from an unnamed neighbor.  The Rentfro property boarded the Washington property, and James Rentfro was known to be a surveyor.  He was appointed surveyor in Jan. 1781 and deputy surveyor in Feb. 1783 and Daniel Boone was appointed surveyor on August 19, 1783.  From 1780 and 1787 surveyors were in great demand because of the immense bodies of land taken up.  It is even rumored that a Renfrow woman bore an illegitimate child by George Washington.
His Grandma Mary Lois Reynolds Clan, Cecil Reynolds Clyde's 10th Great Grandma.
Cecily Reynolds her dad Thomas Reynolds, her brother Christopher, came to Jamestown in 1610 aboard the Swan.  Her Uncle Captain William Pierce, with his wife Joan, served as the chaperon on her voyage.  At the age of 14, Cicely Reynolds married Samuel Jordan.  The Jordans neighbors were John Rolfe, who married Matoaka Pocahontas Powhatan.  After her death, Rolfe married Captain William Pierce's daughter, Jane Pierce.
Cicely survived the Jamestown Massacre in 1622 by, as the story goes, standing firmly at her front door and refusing to move.  The Powhatan Indians were impressed with her fortitude and beauty and let her live.  That story seems a little far-fetched, but who knows.
Soon after the Massacre, Samuel Jordan dropped dead, marrying Cicely may have seemed like a death sentence.  But in Jamestown death was common.  Within three or four days of Samuel death, Cicely Reynolds agreed to become the wife of Rev. Greville Pooley.  She was pregnant with Samuel's child, so she asked that the engagement be kept a secret.
Clyde Jeril Deweese, his father Woodrow Deweese, his dad Clyde E. Deweese, his wife, Mary Lois Reynolds.  Clyde's mother Elsie Marie Renfrow, her dad Leburn Renfrow, his wife, Ella Jane Douglas.

Clyde and Bonnie Deweese had three children: Chad, Jennifer, and Misty.
Child 1: Jeremy Chad Deweese, wife Anesha Dawn Clark "divorced, Children2:
Child 1: Audrey Chavaughn Deweese, Audrey boy Lawson Hunter Deweese
Child 2: Lillian Grace Deweese
Jeremy Chad Deweese, fiance Michele Kylene Woosley, daughter Kinzi Len Deweese

Child 2: Jennifer Marie Deweese, husband Jackie Wayne Jones, 3 children Jakob, Kelsie, and Katie
Child 1: Jalob Colby Jones, wife Angle Marie Wisdom, 2: children: 1 Easton Colby Jones and Madalynn Shea Marie Jones, Jakob's third child Leah Grace Smith Jones.
Child 2: Kelsie Marie Jones, husband Cody Alan Smith,preceeded in death, child 1: Jayce Alan Smith and Kendrick Smith
Child 3: Katie Lynn Jones, fiance Stephen Smith, Child 1; Khole LaChaye Smith, child 2: McKenlie PaeLynn Smith, Marleigh Smith, Caleb Smith

Child 3: Misty Darlene Deweese, husband Anthony Warren Embry, 3 children Shiana, Zachery, and Savannah.
Child 1; Shiana Paige Embry, fiance Chase Mudd, children Konnor Hardesty and Kira Mudd
Child 2: Zachery Makiah Embry
Child 3: Savannah Sky Embry

Clyde's brother Woodrow Deweese Jr., wife Doris Duvall, 3 children, Joseph Earl Deweese, wife Shirley Kessinger, 3 children, half sister Marcia Deweese, 3 children and husband Yondell. 
Graveside services will be held on Friday, October 7, 2016, at 1:00 pm at the Deweese Family Cemetery with Bro. Kenny Raymer officiating.  Arrangements are under the direction of the Jones Funeral Chapel.  Please share any phots, memories, condolences or light a candle in memory of Clyde at www.jonesfuneralchapel.com

Obit was written by Christine Bratcher and Clyde J. Deweese