Going through my extensive list of links for Texas genealogy in my efforts to add links to this blog was instructive. There were many broken links and many duplicate links. I’ve pulled out the main remaining ones and listed them below.
These links include websites that are about Texas research in general, and others which are specific to the main counties that I research: Dallas and the “Four Corners” area (Collin, Fannin, Grayson, and Hunt counties).
Texas General
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission – Genealogy
As was the case with South Carolina, the State Archives page is the place to begin. The website also has wonderful resources: searches will either produce the order information you need for certain documents, or digital images of the documents. It has been a few years since I ordered documents from them, but when I did, they were prompt and the prices were not just inexpensive, but cheap.
The Texas GenWeb Project
Lots of wonderful links.
Texas Genealogy Links
Another excellent website for starting research. The main page contains general Texas links, and there is a link prominently featured near the top of the page directing you to individual pages of links for each county.
The Portal to Texas History
This site is sponsored by the University of North Texas Libraries’ Digital Projects Unit. There are links to a number of Texas historical documents. Simply go to the search page, enter your search terms, and choose the type of search you want to do. It’s awesome.
Lone Star History Links
As it says on the page, the pages features “Selected Texas History Primary Source Documents.” The links are done in the form of a general outline of Texas history. Simply click on the era you want to research, and you will be taken to a page with a bibliography and links. This site is put up by the Texas State Historical Association, which also runs the TSHA Press and the Southwestern Historical Quarterly and there are links to the pages for both of these. This is an essential website for Texas research.
Handbook of Texas Online
This is another project sponsored by the Texas State Historical Association. It’s very useful, but a bit of caution should be exercised in using it because the format and content are wiki-like in nature; the articles are written by many different people and vary in quality.
History of the Lone Star State – TEXAS
Another page with an extensive list of links to various research aids, including timelines, primary documents, websites, maps, landmarks, and tons and tons of history by event/era.
The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy
This project was sponsored by the Yale Law School. The Texas page is another excellent set of links to various Texas historical documents.
Published Primary Sources in ACC Learning Centers Having to Do With History of Texas
Here “ACC” refers to Austin Community College. More Texas history links.
Lone Star Junction
All things Texan.
Texas Genealogy Research
Links to some of the main sites for Texas research.
Lone Star Genealogy
Has a good general collection of Texas links plus pictures, interesting facts, and other miscellanea.
Texas Genealogy and History Books
This is part of The Olden Times: Historic Newspapers Online. A good list of books for Texas research (both general and county by county), with a link to Abebooks if you are interested in purchasing a book.
Historic Texas Newspapers Online
The page on The Olden Times for Texas newspapers.
Texas General Land Office
A useful resource for doing research involving various forms of land conveyance in Texas (Spanish titles, bounty, donation, headright, etc.)
Texas Cemetery Records
The Texas page on Interment.net. Not all of the counties are covered.
Texas Census Transcriptions Online
Another of the DistantCousin.com pages with links to free census transcriptions.
Texas Free Genealogy Look Ups from GeneaSearch Lookup Volunteers
Texas Vitals
Free Texas Marriage Records Online
County-by-county links to online transcriptions of marriage books.
Or you can use:
Texas Marriages Search Engine
Texas Divorces Search Engine
Texas Births, 1926-1995
A free, searchable database.
Collin County
Collin County Genealogical Society
Collin County Texas Research
The first link above is the Society’s webpage and the second page contains links to the newsletter, Collin County Chronicles, as well as some of the Society’s projects.
Collin County Historical Records
Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries
A great place to contact people who will do lookups in return for a small donation to the library.
Frisco Genealogical Society
Dallas
Jim Wheat’s Dallas County Texas Archives
The GenWeb website that really got me started; it’s where I found a transcription of the death certificate of my great-grandfather Harlston Perrin Moore. Lots of good links, transcriptions of newspaper articles, maps, and much more.
Texas/Dallas History & Archives Division of the Dallas Public Library
Dallas Historical Society Home Page
Dallas Genealogical Society
Dallas County Pioneer Association
Dallas Morning News – Historical Archive
You can view search results but have to pay for downloads; the Dallas Morning News archive is also available on Genealogy Bank.
Lancaster Genealogical Society
This page has been very useful for me since it focuses on the actual part of Dallas County where my mother’s ancestors lived.
Other Texas Counties and Areas
Baylor County, Texas GenWeb
My home county in Texas!
Fannin County Texas GenWeb
Grayson County, Texas GenWeb
Hunt County, Texas GenWeb
North Texas Genealogical Association
The above list only scratches the surface. There are many more useful websites out there with transcriptions, searchable databases, volunteers, historical background, and much more. I’m so glad that I’m a Texan and that I have Texas ancestors to research.
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
What My Ancestors Did for Entertainment, or: Things You Don’t Want to Read About Your Great-Grandfather
Lawsuits. They loved lawsuits. Or at least the Floyds did. Or at least they sued one another, and other people, a lot. Why do something so much if you don’t derive some sort of pleasure from it?
It must have come from the Floyds’ love of drama; many members of this family are known to have been “high-tempered” or “high-strung.” (Not me, though – my hair-trigger temper comes from the Brinlees.)
After my great-great grandfather George Floyd’s death, my great-grandfather Charles A. Floyd sued his stepmother Elizabeth Floyd for taking possession of a parcel of land that he felt was rightfully his. The court case dragged on for several years and apparently got quite heated.
Things you don’t want to read about in the cross-interrogation of your great-grandfather:
“Cross Interrogatory 4th:
"Mr. C. A. Floyd will please state whether or not he is acquainted with his own general character for truth and veracity in the neighborhood where he lives and if so state whether the same is good or bad; and also state whether or not his testimony has been impeached in any court of justice in the State of Texas; if so when and where and in what court was his evidence so impeached, he will please answer these questions without evasion.”
Answer:
“It was attempted to impeach my veracity and [reputation], but it ignominiously failed. I have a list of one hundred and twenty of the names of some of the best citizens in my neighborhood – good men who live immediately around me, sustaining my character, and impeaching those four who are my bitterest enemies – who tried to impeach my veracity.”
[Charles’ reply appears to address the question, though that “four of my bitterest enemies” part is disturbing in a paranoid kind of way (shades of "the mess boys...").]
“Cross Interrogatory 6th:
Mr. C. A. Floyd will also state how many if any Bills of Indictment have been found against him for theft by the Grand Jury of Dallas County.”
Answer:
“There are one or two. The Court and Juries decided that they were false, and they were not sustained.”
[Only one or two?]
“Cross Interrogatory 7th:
"He will please state also if he has been tried and convicted upon charge of theft in Dallas County and if so how many times at what times where and in what court of Justice.”
Answer:
“I never was convicted on any charge at any time or in any place.”
[But you sure were tried a lot of times.]
“Cross Interrogatory 8th:
"He will also state whether or not he has threatened Elizabeth Floyd with violence if she did not deliver to him the property sued for in this cause, and if he did not threaten her with violence if she attended the trial of this cause.”
Answer:
“I never even thought of making any threats against Elizabeth Floyd at any time, on any account.”
[Never even thought of it? Just a teeny bit?]
And Charles gave the following reply in response to interrogation about not suing his father George Floyd when the latter remained on a parcel of land that was included in the area partitioned among his sons:
“Interrogatories 7th and 8th:
If you did not take possession of all said portion, state why you did not? If because Geo. Floyd objected, state why you respected said objections?”
Answer:
“I did not take possession of said twenty-five acres above-mentioned because my father refused to give it up, and I did not wish to have a law suit with my father, so I humored him.
[Didn’t want to sue his father? Um … then why did he and his brothers do that very thing right after their widowed father married a much younger woman following their mother’s death?]
And my cousin just e-mailed me with the wonderful news that she has 230 more pages of court documents to send me! Maybe those will have a clue as to who Charles A. Floyd’s “four bitterest enemies” were.
[The above excerpts were taken from the Dallas County District Court Case Papers for Case No. 4321, C.A. & A. E. Floyd vs Elizabeth Floyd et al, which my cousin Eunice kindly printed out from microfilm at the Dallas Public Library.]
“Mr. C. A. Floyd will please state…”
It must have come from the Floyds’ love of drama; many members of this family are known to have been “high-tempered” or “high-strung.” (Not me, though – my hair-trigger temper comes from the Brinlees.)
After my great-great grandfather George Floyd’s death, my great-grandfather Charles A. Floyd sued his stepmother Elizabeth Floyd for taking possession of a parcel of land that he felt was rightfully his. The court case dragged on for several years and apparently got quite heated.
Things you don’t want to read about in the cross-interrogation of your great-grandfather:
“Cross Interrogatory 4th:
"Mr. C. A. Floyd will please state whether or not he is acquainted with his own general character for truth and veracity in the neighborhood where he lives and if so state whether the same is good or bad; and also state whether or not his testimony has been impeached in any court of justice in the State of Texas; if so when and where and in what court was his evidence so impeached, he will please answer these questions without evasion.”
Answer:
“It was attempted to impeach my veracity and [reputation], but it ignominiously failed. I have a list of one hundred and twenty of the names of some of the best citizens in my neighborhood – good men who live immediately around me, sustaining my character, and impeaching those four who are my bitterest enemies – who tried to impeach my veracity.”
[Charles’ reply appears to address the question, though that “four of my bitterest enemies” part is disturbing in a paranoid kind of way (shades of "the mess boys...").]
“Cross Interrogatory 6th:
Mr. C. A. Floyd will also state how many if any Bills of Indictment have been found against him for theft by the Grand Jury of Dallas County.”
Answer:
“There are one or two. The Court and Juries decided that they were false, and they were not sustained.”
[Only one or two?]
“Cross Interrogatory 7th:
"He will please state also if he has been tried and convicted upon charge of theft in Dallas County and if so how many times at what times where and in what court of Justice.”
Answer:
“I never was convicted on any charge at any time or in any place.”
[But you sure were tried a lot of times.]
“Cross Interrogatory 8th:
"He will also state whether or not he has threatened Elizabeth Floyd with violence if she did not deliver to him the property sued for in this cause, and if he did not threaten her with violence if she attended the trial of this cause.”
Answer:
“I never even thought of making any threats against Elizabeth Floyd at any time, on any account.”
[Never even thought of it? Just a teeny bit?]
And Charles gave the following reply in response to interrogation about not suing his father George Floyd when the latter remained on a parcel of land that was included in the area partitioned among his sons:
“Interrogatories 7th and 8th:
If you did not take possession of all said portion, state why you did not? If because Geo. Floyd objected, state why you respected said objections?”
Answer:
“I did not take possession of said twenty-five acres above-mentioned because my father refused to give it up, and I did not wish to have a law suit with my father, so I humored him.
[Didn’t want to sue his father? Um … then why did he and his brothers do that very thing right after their widowed father married a much younger woman following their mother’s death?]
And my cousin just e-mailed me with the wonderful news that she has 230 more pages of court documents to send me! Maybe those will have a clue as to who Charles A. Floyd’s “four bitterest enemies” were.
[The above excerpts were taken from the Dallas County District Court Case Papers for Case No. 4321, C.A. & A. E. Floyd vs Elizabeth Floyd et al, which my cousin Eunice kindly printed out from microfilm at the Dallas Public Library.]
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Surname Saturday: Lee Elmo Campbell and Etta Marie Moore
Lee Elmo Campbell
b. 21 Feb 1873, Dallas Co., Texas
d. 18 May 1935, Dallas Co., Texas
& Etta Marie Moore
b. 5 Jun 1875, South Carolina (probably Anderson Co.)
d. 12 Jan 1959, Garland, Dallas, Texas
m. 1894
|--Beatrice Ursula Campbell
|----b. Aug 1895, Texas
|--Minnie Campbell
|----b. Sep 1896
|--Roberta Campbell*
|----b. 6 Sep 1897, Hutchins, Dallas, Texas
|----d. 16 Feb 1970, Garland, Dallas, Texas
|---& Phillips
|--Roberta Campbell*
|----b. 6 Sep 1897, Hutchins, Dallas, Texas
|----d. 16 Feb 1970, Garland, Dallas, Texas
|---& Harmer
|--Ruby Campbell
|----b. Mar 1900
|--Uhl Ray Campbell*
|----b. 1902, Texas
|---& Grace Ragland
|----b. 1909, Texas
|--Uhl Ray Campbell*
|----b. 1902, Texas
|---& Elizabeth Jackson
|--Taylor Campbell
|----b. 23 Mar 1905, Hutchins, Texas
|----d. 21 Feb 1969, Garland, Dallas, Texas
|---& Juanita Andrews
|----b. 1914
|----m. 1929
|--Eula May Campbell
|----b. 1907, Texas
|---& Walter P. Simmons
|----b. 1907
|----m. 1927
|--Lloyd Campbell
|----b. 1910
|--Leon Campbell
|----b. 1912
This is the family of my grandfather Kirby Runion Moore’s sister Etta Marie Moore and her husband, Lee Elmo (also seen as “Elmore”) Campbell. Etta’s parents were Harlston Perrin Moore and Martha E. Lewis.
I would love to share information with anyone related to/researching this family; you can contact me at my e-mail address, which can be found by going to my profile page (there is a link to that page in the About Me section to the left).
b. 21 Feb 1873, Dallas Co., Texas
d. 18 May 1935, Dallas Co., Texas
& Etta Marie Moore
b. 5 Jun 1875, South Carolina (probably Anderson Co.)
d. 12 Jan 1959, Garland, Dallas, Texas
m. 1894
|--Beatrice Ursula Campbell
|----b. Aug 1895, Texas
|--Minnie Campbell
|----b. Sep 1896
|--Roberta Campbell*
|----b. 6 Sep 1897, Hutchins, Dallas, Texas
|----d. 16 Feb 1970, Garland, Dallas, Texas
|---& Phillips
|--Roberta Campbell*
|----b. 6 Sep 1897, Hutchins, Dallas, Texas
|----d. 16 Feb 1970, Garland, Dallas, Texas
|---& Harmer
|--Ruby Campbell
|----b. Mar 1900
|--Uhl Ray Campbell*
|----b. 1902, Texas
|---& Grace Ragland
|----b. 1909, Texas
|--Uhl Ray Campbell*
|----b. 1902, Texas
|---& Elizabeth Jackson
|--Taylor Campbell
|----b. 23 Mar 1905, Hutchins, Texas
|----d. 21 Feb 1969, Garland, Dallas, Texas
|---& Juanita Andrews
|----b. 1914
|----m. 1929
|--Eula May Campbell
|----b. 1907, Texas
|---& Walter P. Simmons
|----b. 1907
|----m. 1927
|--Lloyd Campbell
|----b. 1910
|--Leon Campbell
|----b. 1912
This is the family of my grandfather Kirby Runion Moore’s sister Etta Marie Moore and her husband, Lee Elmo (also seen as “Elmore”) Campbell. Etta’s parents were Harlston Perrin Moore and Martha E. Lewis.
I would love to share information with anyone related to/researching this family; you can contact me at my e-mail address, which can be found by going to my profile page (there is a link to that page in the About Me section to the left).
Thursday, September 30, 2010
From the Will to the Estate Packet - Part 4: "Should He Be Living"
In the next document that appeared on the screen, Preston Moore granted power of attorney to Commodore W. Moore.
Preston had been found. He was living in Izard County, Arkansas.
I kept cranking, through settlement papers and Commodore Moore’s Petition for Final Settlement, Discharge, Etc. (that's the actual name of the document). The amounts ultimately paid out to the heirs were not large. Legal fees, of course, ate up much of the proceeds. The date was March 7, 1878, more than six years after the death of William Spencer Moore. Bleak Farm.
There was one last, small section. The section heading paper simply said: “Margaret A. Moore.” Who was she? The document, dated 17 October 1878, was Margaret A. Moore's application for guardianship over the estate of minors William B. Moore, Charles K. Moore, “in the sum of Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars, with W. H. Lewis, H. P. Moore, J. S. Lewis, J. B. McCurdy and R. S. Guy as sureties.”
She was the widow of Preston E. Moore, and these were his children. Apparently in the course of the years it took to settle the estate, Preston E. Moore had died.
One last page – Taxation of Cost – and words I never thought I would be glad to see at the end of the microfilm strip: “End of This Estate Packet.” There were 90 pages of documents in all, not counting all the extra printouts that had to be made in order to capture some of the larger pages.
I spent another full day on Wednesday doing research, and on Wednesday night read through the estate packet; we were to leave Greenville the next morning. The document on delivery of the mortgage indicated that it was “recorded in office of Register Mesne Conveyance of Anderson County, December 10th 1874 in Book No. 4 Page 634:635.” There should be a record of this in the land documents! To my husband: “Um, dear, one last short trip to the library.”
At 9:00 sharp the next morning I ran up to the Hughes Library's South Carolina Room, pulled the microfilm with the land document index, and began to scroll. It wasn’t indexed. Then I pulled the roll that covered the date. The paging was different, so I went by date; just when I thought it would take all day, there it was: the last document, ceding the property. I printed it out and added it to the fat folder containing the William Spencer Moore estate packet.
Parties in this case:
Commodore Worth Moore – Born 17 February 1848. He graduated from Lutheran College, Walhalla (later Newberry), South Carolina (I believe he was the only one of the siblings to attend college) and was a teacher, merchant and farmer. According to his obituary, he was also connected with Alabama Polytechnic Institute, which later became Auburn University. He died on 22 December 1923. His death certificate contains an interesting error: the name of his father is given as “Perry Moore.” A book of abstracts of newspaper articles contained this item from the June 28, 1877 issue of The Anderson Intelligencer: “Married: On Thursday the 21st inst., at the residence of Col. T. J. Roberts, the bride’s father, by Rev. W. H. Strickland, Mr. C. W. Moore and Miss Nora Roberts, all of Anderson County.”
Harlston Perrin Moore – Born 4 December 1845. During the Civil War he served in the Second Battalion, South Carolina Senior Reserves. He married Martha E. Lewis, whose brothers W. H. Lewis and J. S. Lewis signed together with H. P. Moore “as sureties” for Margaret A. Moore. He was a farmer. He moved to Texas in 1877 with his wife, children, and his wife’s siblings. He never again owned land – in Texas he was a tenant farmer, and based on testimony in his Confederate Soldier’s Application for a Pension and family memories, the family was quite poor. He died 12 December 1921.
William Brewster Moore – He was born 9 May 1851. During his life he was a farmer and also worked in a cotton mill. The book of newspaper abstracts contained this Anderson Intelligencer article from around the time of the final settlement of the estate: “Obituary, Thursday, August 22, 1878: We regret to announce the death of Mrs. Elizabeth Moore, wife of Mr. Bruce Moore of Hopewell Township, which occurred on last Sunday after an illness of several weeks from fever. Her remains were interred at Hopewell on Monday in the presence of many friends and relatives who mourn the departed one.” This confirmed something I had suspected, that Bruce Moore had been married before his marriage to Mary Elizabeth Shirley. William Brewster “Bruce” Moore died on 27 July 1924.
Anna Jerusha Moore – Born on 12 January 1854. She married William Riley Cartee and they had seven children. She died on 17 September 1889.
Preston E. Moore – He was born in 1843. He served in the Second South Carolina Rifles and later the 37th Virginia Cavalry in the Civil War and suffered from illness during both terms of service. At the time of William Spencer Moore’s first will (25 July 1865) he had not returned home. He must have returned at some point; the family must have learned that he was alive and have had some way of knowing that he had been in Texas.
And here is the continuation of the Preston Moore story:
I found Preston and Margaret A. Moore in the 1870 census for Izard County, Arkansas, with children William B. Moore and Ulysses Moore. (A strange name for the child of a Confederate veteran? There is another story here – the story of the Moore family’s Unionist sympathies, which were pointed out to me by another researcher who is not related to the family.) So Preston Moore was not even a “reverse orphan.”
The census indicates that Margaret and her parents were from South Carolina. It also shows that Preston was a schoolteacher; it seems the Moore boys were evenly divided into farmers and teachers. By 1880, Margaret was a widow living with her three sons (William, Charles, and Edgar) in Dallas, Texas. By 1900, she is living with Edgar, and the census indicates that she had given birth to five children, of whom two were living – in addition to Ulysses, one of the other three known sons must have died by this time.
During my research in Greenville, one of the “brick walls” I had resolved was the fate of Martha E. Lewis Moore’s youngest sister, Cora, for whom I found a death notice indicating that she had died at the age of 18. That left only two of Martha’s sisters – Margaret and Lenora/Nora – with “fate unknown.” But the fate of one of them, Margaret A. Lewis, may soon be found – I believe she married Preston Moore. Not only did two Lewis brothers sign as sureties for her, but on the 1880 census she is shown living very near J. S. Lewis. I am in the process of searching for proof of this relationship.
The estate packet contains many small details about the estate and the legal proceedings; the facts that it revealed about the family were huge. Did the estate packet help me resolve any brick walls?
It has brought me closer to learning the ultimate fates of Preston Moore and Margaret A. Lewis. You might also say that my entire view of this family was a brick wall, one that I didn’t even know existed, created by my own overactive imagination and lack of facts.
And the estate packet definitely crushed that brick wall.
Sources:
Death Certificates
Commodore Worth Moore, Certificate of Death No. 19836 (1923), State of South Carolina, Bureau of Vital Statistics, State Board of Health.
Harlston Perrin Moore, Standard Certificate of Death No. 33259 (1921), Texas State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
William Bruce Moore, Certificate of Death No. 12082 (1924), State of South Carolina, Bureau of Vital Statistics, State Board of Health.
Pension Application
H. P. Moore, Soldier’s Application for a Pension, File No. 24304, filed January 25, 1913. Reproduced from the holdings of the Texas State Archives.
Extracted marriage and death information:
Early Anderson County, S.C. Newspapers, Marriages and Obituaries 1841-1882. Abstracted by Tom C. Wilkinson, Index prepared by Mrs. Colleen Morse Eliott. (Death of Elizabeth Moore – p. 238; marriage of C. W. Moore – p. 212; death of Cora Moore – p. 209)
Will and Estate Packet
Will and Estate Packet of William Spencer Moore, No. 2838, microfilm. 90 pages. Accessed at Hughes Main Library, Greenville, South Carolina.
Obituary
Obituary of C. W. Moore, The Greenville News, 24 Dec 1923, p. 3, “C. W. Moore Dies at Vaughnville.”
Census
P. E. More household, 1870 U.S. census, Izard County, Arkansas, population schedule, Rocky Bayou Township, dwelling 62, family 63; National Archives microfilm publication M593, roll 55. Accessed via Ancestry.com.
Maggie A. Moore household, 1880 U.S. census, Dallas County, Texas, population schedule, Enumeration District 66, dwelling 16, family 17; National Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 1299, p. 291B. Accessed via Ancestry.com.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Submitted for the 98th Carnival of Genealogy, "Document Analysis," hosted by Jasia at Creative Gene.
Preston had been found. He was living in Izard County, Arkansas.
I kept cranking, through settlement papers and Commodore Moore’s Petition for Final Settlement, Discharge, Etc. (that's the actual name of the document). The amounts ultimately paid out to the heirs were not large. Legal fees, of course, ate up much of the proceeds. The date was March 7, 1878, more than six years after the death of William Spencer Moore. Bleak Farm.
There was one last, small section. The section heading paper simply said: “Margaret A. Moore.” Who was she? The document, dated 17 October 1878, was Margaret A. Moore's application for guardianship over the estate of minors William B. Moore, Charles K. Moore, “in the sum of Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars, with W. H. Lewis, H. P. Moore, J. S. Lewis, J. B. McCurdy and R. S. Guy as sureties.”
She was the widow of Preston E. Moore, and these were his children. Apparently in the course of the years it took to settle the estate, Preston E. Moore had died.
One last page – Taxation of Cost – and words I never thought I would be glad to see at the end of the microfilm strip: “End of This Estate Packet.” There were 90 pages of documents in all, not counting all the extra printouts that had to be made in order to capture some of the larger pages.
I spent another full day on Wednesday doing research, and on Wednesday night read through the estate packet; we were to leave Greenville the next morning. The document on delivery of the mortgage indicated that it was “recorded in office of Register Mesne Conveyance of Anderson County, December 10th 1874 in Book No. 4 Page 634:635.” There should be a record of this in the land documents! To my husband: “Um, dear, one last short trip to the library.”
At 9:00 sharp the next morning I ran up to the Hughes Library's South Carolina Room, pulled the microfilm with the land document index, and began to scroll. It wasn’t indexed. Then I pulled the roll that covered the date. The paging was different, so I went by date; just when I thought it would take all day, there it was: the last document, ceding the property. I printed it out and added it to the fat folder containing the William Spencer Moore estate packet.
Parties in this case:
Commodore Worth Moore – Born 17 February 1848. He graduated from Lutheran College, Walhalla (later Newberry), South Carolina (I believe he was the only one of the siblings to attend college) and was a teacher, merchant and farmer. According to his obituary, he was also connected with Alabama Polytechnic Institute, which later became Auburn University. He died on 22 December 1923. His death certificate contains an interesting error: the name of his father is given as “Perry Moore.” A book of abstracts of newspaper articles contained this item from the June 28, 1877 issue of The Anderson Intelligencer: “Married: On Thursday the 21st inst., at the residence of Col. T. J. Roberts, the bride’s father, by Rev. W. H. Strickland, Mr. C. W. Moore and Miss Nora Roberts, all of Anderson County.”
Harlston Perrin Moore – Born 4 December 1845. During the Civil War he served in the Second Battalion, South Carolina Senior Reserves. He married Martha E. Lewis, whose brothers W. H. Lewis and J. S. Lewis signed together with H. P. Moore “as sureties” for Margaret A. Moore. He was a farmer. He moved to Texas in 1877 with his wife, children, and his wife’s siblings. He never again owned land – in Texas he was a tenant farmer, and based on testimony in his Confederate Soldier’s Application for a Pension and family memories, the family was quite poor. He died 12 December 1921.
William Brewster Moore – He was born 9 May 1851. During his life he was a farmer and also worked in a cotton mill. The book of newspaper abstracts contained this Anderson Intelligencer article from around the time of the final settlement of the estate: “Obituary, Thursday, August 22, 1878: We regret to announce the death of Mrs. Elizabeth Moore, wife of Mr. Bruce Moore of Hopewell Township, which occurred on last Sunday after an illness of several weeks from fever. Her remains were interred at Hopewell on Monday in the presence of many friends and relatives who mourn the departed one.” This confirmed something I had suspected, that Bruce Moore had been married before his marriage to Mary Elizabeth Shirley. William Brewster “Bruce” Moore died on 27 July 1924.
Anna Jerusha Moore – Born on 12 January 1854. She married William Riley Cartee and they had seven children. She died on 17 September 1889.
Preston E. Moore – He was born in 1843. He served in the Second South Carolina Rifles and later the 37th Virginia Cavalry in the Civil War and suffered from illness during both terms of service. At the time of William Spencer Moore’s first will (25 July 1865) he had not returned home. He must have returned at some point; the family must have learned that he was alive and have had some way of knowing that he had been in Texas.
And here is the continuation of the Preston Moore story:
I found Preston and Margaret A. Moore in the 1870 census for Izard County, Arkansas, with children William B. Moore and Ulysses Moore. (A strange name for the child of a Confederate veteran? There is another story here – the story of the Moore family’s Unionist sympathies, which were pointed out to me by another researcher who is not related to the family.) So Preston Moore was not even a “reverse orphan.”
The census indicates that Margaret and her parents were from South Carolina. It also shows that Preston was a schoolteacher; it seems the Moore boys were evenly divided into farmers and teachers. By 1880, Margaret was a widow living with her three sons (William, Charles, and Edgar) in Dallas, Texas. By 1900, she is living with Edgar, and the census indicates that she had given birth to five children, of whom two were living – in addition to Ulysses, one of the other three known sons must have died by this time.
During my research in Greenville, one of the “brick walls” I had resolved was the fate of Martha E. Lewis Moore’s youngest sister, Cora, for whom I found a death notice indicating that she had died at the age of 18. That left only two of Martha’s sisters – Margaret and Lenora/Nora – with “fate unknown.” But the fate of one of them, Margaret A. Lewis, may soon be found – I believe she married Preston Moore. Not only did two Lewis brothers sign as sureties for her, but on the 1880 census she is shown living very near J. S. Lewis. I am in the process of searching for proof of this relationship.
The estate packet contains many small details about the estate and the legal proceedings; the facts that it revealed about the family were huge. Did the estate packet help me resolve any brick walls?
It has brought me closer to learning the ultimate fates of Preston Moore and Margaret A. Lewis. You might also say that my entire view of this family was a brick wall, one that I didn’t even know existed, created by my own overactive imagination and lack of facts.
And the estate packet definitely crushed that brick wall.
Sources:
Death Certificates
Commodore Worth Moore, Certificate of Death No. 19836 (1923), State of South Carolina, Bureau of Vital Statistics, State Board of Health.
Harlston Perrin Moore, Standard Certificate of Death No. 33259 (1921), Texas State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
William Bruce Moore, Certificate of Death No. 12082 (1924), State of South Carolina, Bureau of Vital Statistics, State Board of Health.
Pension Application
H. P. Moore, Soldier’s Application for a Pension, File No. 24304, filed January 25, 1913. Reproduced from the holdings of the Texas State Archives.
Extracted marriage and death information:
Early Anderson County, S.C. Newspapers, Marriages and Obituaries 1841-1882. Abstracted by Tom C. Wilkinson, Index prepared by Mrs. Colleen Morse Eliott. (Death of Elizabeth Moore – p. 238; marriage of C. W. Moore – p. 212; death of Cora Moore – p. 209)
Will and Estate Packet
Will and Estate Packet of William Spencer Moore, No. 2838, microfilm. 90 pages. Accessed at Hughes Main Library, Greenville, South Carolina.
Obituary
Obituary of C. W. Moore, The Greenville News, 24 Dec 1923, p. 3, “C. W. Moore Dies at Vaughnville.”
Census
P. E. More household, 1870 U.S. census, Izard County, Arkansas, population schedule, Rocky Bayou Township, dwelling 62, family 63; National Archives microfilm publication M593, roll 55. Accessed via Ancestry.com.
Maggie A. Moore household, 1880 U.S. census, Dallas County, Texas, population schedule, Enumeration District 66, dwelling 16, family 17; National Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 1299, p. 291B. Accessed via Ancestry.com.
Maggie A. Moore household, 1900 U.S. census, Dallas County, Texas, population schedule, Justice Precinct 5, dwelling 137, family 139; National Archives microfilm publication T263, roll 1626.
e-mail message
Kim Wilson, “Re: Will of William Spencer Moore of Anderson County,” to author, 5 June 2006.
e-mail message
Kim Wilson, “Re: Will of William Spencer Moore of Anderson County,” to author, 5 June 2006.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Submitted for the 98th Carnival of Genealogy, "Document Analysis," hosted by Jasia at Creative Gene.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
The Mushroom Factor
The term “mushroom” factor refers to a phenomenon associated with older (and some not-so-old) houses in which repair projects “mushroom” into far bigger and more expensive projects. (Yes, we live in an old house.) Now I am beginning to think that term can be applied to certain areas of my research.
Did you ever have one of those families that was so big, and had so much information available on it, that the research on it just sort of … mushroomed?
That is what has happened with my Norman family. This is my paternal grandmother’s family – to be precise, the family of her paternal grandfather – Joseph Madison Carroll Norman. He had three wives and is reputed to have had 27 children (he had well over 20, that’s for sure).
Grandma Sallie Norman Brinlee’s parents – William Henry “Jack” Norman and Sarah Jane Sisson – were the last set of great-grandparents I found when I first started researching. In the beginning, I didn’t have a lot of sources of information, and research on this family was slow to pick up steam.
Somewhere along the line, that changed. Radically. I could account for many of those 27 children based on census records as well as cemetery records, but my research was still spotty and it was difficult to trace what had happened to some of the children.
So I adopted a research plan and stuck with it. Part of that plan was to contact as many fellow Norman researchers as I could find. I used e-mail addresses that I found through various forums and had some decent success. Norman researchers are a very generous group, and soon I had information on their families, a number of scanned photographs, and, very important, a copy of the Inez Cline Norman Family History. As I mentioned previously, it is a solid work representing many interviews with JMC Norman's descendants as well as a good bit of legwork.
Now my research was really “cooking with gas.” The Garland County Arkansas History and Heritage book arrived in the mail. Each bit of new information pointed to more sources of information.
Until recently, I felt I was keeping up with all of these different sources. Then this weekend I realized that, for many of the Normans who ended up in Texas, I had forgotten to look up Texas Death Records (images) for them on Family Search Record Search. So there was a lot more information to input. Then I tried inputting some Arkansas Normans to see what came up. Marriage records! Lots of them, also with images.
I thought I had hit the final stretch (i.e., children of the last wife – there are still 10 of them), but now I see I have to go back and make sure I have “touched all the bases” for each member of this gigantic family.
Not that I am whining about having “too much information” – would that all of us suffered from this problem in all of our research – but sometimes it makes it difficult to prioritize projects. For instance, my Lizzie Smith brick wall project needs to get a bit more attention, especially if I attend the FGS Conference in Knoxville in August, where I can find out about and possibly use some Tennessee resources. There are other projects that need to be attended to as well.
Yet I have interrupted Norman research twice before, only to return and be totally at sea: where was I, who was I researching, what had I found, and what was left to do? (I did make notes about this before I stopped, but they didn’t make complete sense to me after a long break.) On one hand, I’m afraid of losing momentum again if I take a break, but on the other, this could take a long, long time and cause all my other research to suffer. Perhaps research worksheets will help.
Time to take a big breath, quit dithering, and get to work. Besides, I now have a scientific reason to choose to remain with the Normans for the time being. I just found a picture of one of my great-grandfather’s brothers on Ancestry, with information on that family – a little known one – apparently provided by a descendant. And that’s a sign.
Did you ever have one of those families that was so big, and had so much information available on it, that the research on it just sort of … mushroomed?
That is what has happened with my Norman family. This is my paternal grandmother’s family – to be precise, the family of her paternal grandfather – Joseph Madison Carroll Norman. He had three wives and is reputed to have had 27 children (he had well over 20, that’s for sure).
Grandma Sallie Norman Brinlee’s parents – William Henry “Jack” Norman and Sarah Jane Sisson – were the last set of great-grandparents I found when I first started researching. In the beginning, I didn’t have a lot of sources of information, and research on this family was slow to pick up steam.
Somewhere along the line, that changed. Radically. I could account for many of those 27 children based on census records as well as cemetery records, but my research was still spotty and it was difficult to trace what had happened to some of the children.
So I adopted a research plan and stuck with it. Part of that plan was to contact as many fellow Norman researchers as I could find. I used e-mail addresses that I found through various forums and had some decent success. Norman researchers are a very generous group, and soon I had information on their families, a number of scanned photographs, and, very important, a copy of the Inez Cline Norman Family History. As I mentioned previously, it is a solid work representing many interviews with JMC Norman's descendants as well as a good bit of legwork.
Now my research was really “cooking with gas.” The Garland County Arkansas History and Heritage book arrived in the mail. Each bit of new information pointed to more sources of information.
Until recently, I felt I was keeping up with all of these different sources. Then this weekend I realized that, for many of the Normans who ended up in Texas, I had forgotten to look up Texas Death Records (images) for them on Family Search Record Search. So there was a lot more information to input. Then I tried inputting some Arkansas Normans to see what came up. Marriage records! Lots of them, also with images.
I thought I had hit the final stretch (i.e., children of the last wife – there are still 10 of them), but now I see I have to go back and make sure I have “touched all the bases” for each member of this gigantic family.
Not that I am whining about having “too much information” – would that all of us suffered from this problem in all of our research – but sometimes it makes it difficult to prioritize projects. For instance, my Lizzie Smith brick wall project needs to get a bit more attention, especially if I attend the FGS Conference in Knoxville in August, where I can find out about and possibly use some Tennessee resources. There are other projects that need to be attended to as well.
Yet I have interrupted Norman research twice before, only to return and be totally at sea: where was I, who was I researching, what had I found, and what was left to do? (I did make notes about this before I stopped, but they didn’t make complete sense to me after a long break.) On one hand, I’m afraid of losing momentum again if I take a break, but on the other, this could take a long, long time and cause all my other research to suffer. Perhaps research worksheets will help.
Time to take a big breath, quit dithering, and get to work. Besides, I now have a scientific reason to choose to remain with the Normans for the time being. I just found a picture of one of my great-grandfather’s brothers on Ancestry, with information on that family – a little known one – apparently provided by a descendant. And that’s a sign.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Memory Monday: The Texas Telephone Call
The phone rings. You pick it up. “Hello?” “Hello, is this ….?” The question ends in a name, and it is not yours.
But that is of no importance. Your immediate instinct – to reply “No, this is ….” with your own name - is short-circuited. Because you have heard something in that voice, something that has immediately aroused your interest and curiosity.
A Texas accent. You do not live in Texas any longer, you may even have lost your own Texas accent, but you recognize it right away. And the response immediately comes out of your mouth.
“Are your from Texas?”
This starts a conversation. You exchange home towns, perhaps a few stories about these towns and what it was like growing up in them, then information about any visits you have made since moving away. There may also be stories about how people “up North” or “back East” or “out West” react to your Texas accent, if you still have it.
An hour or two later, after wishing one another well, you finally hang up.
You have just experienced The Texas Telephone Call.
The Texas Telephone Call may have regional equivalents, but not all parts of the United States produce people who are so willing and open to talking to strangers from their home state. Moreover, I believe that the era of The Texas Telephone Call, if not exactly over, has definitely passed its peak. With modern types of telephones that have answering machines and Caller ID, we are less inclined to pick up the phone every time it rings. Occasionally, in our household, the nearest phone is one of our “old telephones” and we don’t want to run to check the Caller ID on another phone, so we just pick it up. 95.5 percent of the time it’s a nuisance call, 4 percent of the time it’s actually a friend, relative, or business associate, and the other .5 percent of the time it’s a wrong number, so a Texas Call could still happen, but it’s not likely.
The only time I remember receiving a real, true Texas Telephone Call was when I was in graduate school in Boston. The only Texas voices I expected to hear were relatives.
The caller had one of those sweet little lady voices. She was very apologetic about dialing the wrong number, but I laughed and said that I never minded hearing a Texas voice and accent, gambling that I had pegged her home state.
“Oh, my, how did you know that?” Only, it sounded more like “Oh, mah, haow did yew know thayut?”
“That’s where I’m from. Seymour. It’s near Wichita Falls.” My conversation-starting instincts were automatically firing up.
“Yew don’t sound like a Texan.”
“Oh, just wait a few minutes; that’ll change.” Laughter on the other end.
We exchanged a some pleasantries and a few stories and then hung up. The call was probably no more than 30 or 40 minutes long. But by the end, the accent actually did start to creep back. Five years of college in Washington, D.C. and another year in Boston had erased the Texas overlay on my California accent, but not permanently. A phone call with another Texan can restore it in a few minutes.
My most recent equivalent of the Texas Telephone Call is actually genealogy-related. I have had telephone conversations with three research contacts that started as online exchanges. One lady is a fifth cousin through my South Carolina Lewises, the second contact is a cousin of my half-brother, and the third is a descendant of the wife of a great-great uncle (by a different husband). And all three are from Texas.
And I have had some really looong telephone calls with them. Texans must have extra talking genes. The conversation with the descendant of the great-great-uncle’s wife lasted for over two hours, and we’re not even related. But we managed to piece together the fascinating life of the great-great uncle’s wife, who had had three husbands. He was descended from the first husband, the one who was hanged for horse-stealing. The descendants of the first and third husband did not even know of the existence of the second husband, my great-great uncle, and I was happy to fill them in on the details. We exchanged quite a few bits of juicy information on these families and, of course, on our respective backgrounds in Texas.
I still have an automatic response when I hear "that accent," but the experience is now limited to in-person meetings. Over at What's Past Is Prologue my friend Donna's post tonight deals with how changes in telephone technology have changed our lives. Based on Donna's list at the end, not only am I "at least as old as" she is, I am older, though only because I remember party lines (we weren't on one but we knew people out in the country who were). And one of the hallowed traditions of that long-ago age that has been eliminated by modern improvements in telephony - the prank call - I also remember fondly (and, as in Donna's case, it was my brother and his friends who made these calls). Of course, such modern conveniences as Caller ID were made necessary by the increasingly invasive and pervasive nature of telemarketing and other nuisance calls. But I would never consider a wrong-number call from a fellow Texan to be a nuisance call.
But that is of no importance. Your immediate instinct – to reply “No, this is ….” with your own name - is short-circuited. Because you have heard something in that voice, something that has immediately aroused your interest and curiosity.
A Texas accent. You do not live in Texas any longer, you may even have lost your own Texas accent, but you recognize it right away. And the response immediately comes out of your mouth.
“Are your from Texas?”
This starts a conversation. You exchange home towns, perhaps a few stories about these towns and what it was like growing up in them, then information about any visits you have made since moving away. There may also be stories about how people “up North” or “back East” or “out West” react to your Texas accent, if you still have it.
An hour or two later, after wishing one another well, you finally hang up.
You have just experienced The Texas Telephone Call.
The Texas Telephone Call may have regional equivalents, but not all parts of the United States produce people who are so willing and open to talking to strangers from their home state. Moreover, I believe that the era of The Texas Telephone Call, if not exactly over, has definitely passed its peak. With modern types of telephones that have answering machines and Caller ID, we are less inclined to pick up the phone every time it rings. Occasionally, in our household, the nearest phone is one of our “old telephones” and we don’t want to run to check the Caller ID on another phone, so we just pick it up. 95.5 percent of the time it’s a nuisance call, 4 percent of the time it’s actually a friend, relative, or business associate, and the other .5 percent of the time it’s a wrong number, so a Texas Call could still happen, but it’s not likely.
The only time I remember receiving a real, true Texas Telephone Call was when I was in graduate school in Boston. The only Texas voices I expected to hear were relatives.
The caller had one of those sweet little lady voices. She was very apologetic about dialing the wrong number, but I laughed and said that I never minded hearing a Texas voice and accent, gambling that I had pegged her home state.
“Oh, my, how did you know that?” Only, it sounded more like “Oh, mah, haow did yew know thayut?”
“That’s where I’m from. Seymour. It’s near Wichita Falls.” My conversation-starting instincts were automatically firing up.
“Yew don’t sound like a Texan.”
“Oh, just wait a few minutes; that’ll change.” Laughter on the other end.
We exchanged a some pleasantries and a few stories and then hung up. The call was probably no more than 30 or 40 minutes long. But by the end, the accent actually did start to creep back. Five years of college in Washington, D.C. and another year in Boston had erased the Texas overlay on my California accent, but not permanently. A phone call with another Texan can restore it in a few minutes.
My most recent equivalent of the Texas Telephone Call is actually genealogy-related. I have had telephone conversations with three research contacts that started as online exchanges. One lady is a fifth cousin through my South Carolina Lewises, the second contact is a cousin of my half-brother, and the third is a descendant of the wife of a great-great uncle (by a different husband). And all three are from Texas.
And I have had some really looong telephone calls with them. Texans must have extra talking genes. The conversation with the descendant of the great-great-uncle’s wife lasted for over two hours, and we’re not even related. But we managed to piece together the fascinating life of the great-great uncle’s wife, who had had three husbands. He was descended from the first husband, the one who was hanged for horse-stealing. The descendants of the first and third husband did not even know of the existence of the second husband, my great-great uncle, and I was happy to fill them in on the details. We exchanged quite a few bits of juicy information on these families and, of course, on our respective backgrounds in Texas.
I still have an automatic response when I hear "that accent," but the experience is now limited to in-person meetings. Over at What's Past Is Prologue my friend Donna's post tonight deals with how changes in telephone technology have changed our lives. Based on Donna's list at the end, not only am I "at least as old as" she is, I am older, though only because I remember party lines (we weren't on one but we knew people out in the country who were). And one of the hallowed traditions of that long-ago age that has been eliminated by modern improvements in telephony - the prank call - I also remember fondly (and, as in Donna's case, it was my brother and his friends who made these calls). Of course, such modern conveniences as Caller ID were made necessary by the increasingly invasive and pervasive nature of telemarketing and other nuisance calls. But I would never consider a wrong-number call from a fellow Texan to be a nuisance call.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Restore My Name – Slave Records and Genealogy Research
This is my first "Friend of Friends" Friday post and also my submission for the First Carnival of African-American Genealogy (CoAAG).
I wish I could say that I am going to be providing names of slaves in this first post, but unfortunately I have not yet located any. As I progress with my research on my 19th-century ancestors and move backward in time, that will change. One of my first research goals is to find the names of the slaves of the two families at the great-great grandparent level that I am positive to fairly sure owned slaves: the Brinlees and the Floyds.
Today’s posts will cover what I know about the slaves of Hiram Brinlee. Unfortunately, that is not very much. At this point I do not know any more than can be found out from the Slave Schedules for the 1860 US Census.
Hiram Brinley, Precinct 2, Collin, Texas
Age---Gender----Race
22----Male--------Black
19----Female-----Mulatto
15----Male--------Black
10----Female------Black
6------Male---------Mulatto
This is no more than someone could find from looking this up on Ancestry, but for me it is a starting point. I cannot find any record for Brinlee slaves on the 1850 census, so I am guessing that I should started looking at whatever Collin County records I can find for the 1850-1860 time period.
To address the points for discussion proposed by Luckie:
- What responsibilities are involved on the part of the researcher when locating names of slaves on a record?
PUT THE INFORMATION OUT THERE, AS SOON AS YOU CAN AND IN AS MANY FORUMS AS APPROPRIATE.
For us GeneaBloggers, that means as soon as we can get the document transcribed, it should go onto the blog. I have created a Black History Page on this blog with links to all relevant articles.
After that, there are a few other places where the information can be posted; some that I can think of are:
- The relevant surname and location-based forums on websites such as GenForum and the Rootsweb/Ancestry message boards
- The Afrigeneas Slave Data Collection (www.afrigeneas.com/slavedata/)
- Websites for African-American genealogy societies and the relevant local genealogy societies, GenWeb pages
Any other suggestions to add to this list?
- Does it matter if the records are related to your ancestral line or not?
Nope. As a matter of fact, a lot of my research on my South Carolina families involves nosing around in various land records and wills that can be found on the Greenville County Government Historical Records and South Carolina Department of Archives and History websites to find out if certain families that have associations with my families are actually related. Sometimes I transcribe these documents for future reference, and when they contain slave names, they can be posted.
- As a descendant of slave owners, have you ever been pressured by family not to discuss or post about records containing slave names?
No. Oddly enough, the fact that I am aware that some of my ancestors were slave owners has come down in family stories and a family history done by a second cousin (and for the family in question, I still have not found any actual records of slave ownership, yet). Family members have been aware that both of these sets of ancestors had “feet of clay” – the Brinlee brothers were tried for murder during the Republic of Texas days, and the Floyds had a fondness for reckless land speculation.
And one aspect that I would like to add:
Advantages of researching the slaves owned by my ancestors:
- The whole principle of Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness applies – help one another out when we can, and while someone may benefit from your assistance today, the person benefiting from assistance tomorrow may be you.
- The benefits that generally follow from doing “cluster genealogy” apply, that is, learning more about your own ancestors and their lives. And you really never know what you are going to turn up by studying the people close to your ancestors. I can see a parallel with the time that I was so curious about why a great-great uncle and his wife were shown on two censuses as boarders with another family, and the uncle was then shown as the head of that household on a third census. Contacting a descendant of that other family led to my discovery that my great-great uncle was not just a real estate agent, as the census indicated – he had been Sheriff of Dallas County! If your ancestors owned slaves and you know nothing of those slaves, you do not know all there is to know about those ancestors.
Thanks to Luckie of Our Georgia Roots for hosting the Carnival of African-American Genealogy!
(If all goes as planned, my next “Friend of Friends” post should be on the Floyd family – what information has been passed down on Floyd family slaves and some clues from the 1870 census.)
I wish I could say that I am going to be providing names of slaves in this first post, but unfortunately I have not yet located any. As I progress with my research on my 19th-century ancestors and move backward in time, that will change. One of my first research goals is to find the names of the slaves of the two families at the great-great grandparent level that I am positive to fairly sure owned slaves: the Brinlees and the Floyds.
Today’s posts will cover what I know about the slaves of Hiram Brinlee. Unfortunately, that is not very much. At this point I do not know any more than can be found out from the Slave Schedules for the 1860 US Census.
Hiram Brinley, Precinct 2, Collin, Texas
Age---Gender----Race
22----Male--------Black
19----Female-----Mulatto
15----Male--------Black
10----Female------Black
6------Male---------Mulatto
This is no more than someone could find from looking this up on Ancestry, but for me it is a starting point. I cannot find any record for Brinlee slaves on the 1850 census, so I am guessing that I should started looking at whatever Collin County records I can find for the 1850-1860 time period.
To address the points for discussion proposed by Luckie:
- What responsibilities are involved on the part of the researcher when locating names of slaves on a record?
PUT THE INFORMATION OUT THERE, AS SOON AS YOU CAN AND IN AS MANY FORUMS AS APPROPRIATE.
For us GeneaBloggers, that means as soon as we can get the document transcribed, it should go onto the blog. I have created a Black History Page on this blog with links to all relevant articles.
After that, there are a few other places where the information can be posted; some that I can think of are:
- The relevant surname and location-based forums on websites such as GenForum and the Rootsweb/Ancestry message boards
- The Afrigeneas Slave Data Collection (www.afrigeneas.com/slavedata/)
- Websites for African-American genealogy societies and the relevant local genealogy societies, GenWeb pages
Any other suggestions to add to this list?
- Does it matter if the records are related to your ancestral line or not?
Nope. As a matter of fact, a lot of my research on my South Carolina families involves nosing around in various land records and wills that can be found on the Greenville County Government Historical Records and South Carolina Department of Archives and History websites to find out if certain families that have associations with my families are actually related. Sometimes I transcribe these documents for future reference, and when they contain slave names, they can be posted.
- As a descendant of slave owners, have you ever been pressured by family not to discuss or post about records containing slave names?
No. Oddly enough, the fact that I am aware that some of my ancestors were slave owners has come down in family stories and a family history done by a second cousin (and for the family in question, I still have not found any actual records of slave ownership, yet). Family members have been aware that both of these sets of ancestors had “feet of clay” – the Brinlee brothers were tried for murder during the Republic of Texas days, and the Floyds had a fondness for reckless land speculation.
And one aspect that I would like to add:
Advantages of researching the slaves owned by my ancestors:
- The whole principle of Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness applies – help one another out when we can, and while someone may benefit from your assistance today, the person benefiting from assistance tomorrow may be you.
- The benefits that generally follow from doing “cluster genealogy” apply, that is, learning more about your own ancestors and their lives. And you really never know what you are going to turn up by studying the people close to your ancestors. I can see a parallel with the time that I was so curious about why a great-great uncle and his wife were shown on two censuses as boarders with another family, and the uncle was then shown as the head of that household on a third census. Contacting a descendant of that other family led to my discovery that my great-great uncle was not just a real estate agent, as the census indicated – he had been Sheriff of Dallas County! If your ancestors owned slaves and you know nothing of those slaves, you do not know all there is to know about those ancestors.
Thanks to Luckie of Our Georgia Roots for hosting the Carnival of African-American Genealogy!
(If all goes as planned, my next “Friend of Friends” post should be on the Floyd family – what information has been passed down on Floyd family slaves and some clues from the 1870 census.)
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Timeline Portrait of Lizzie Smith: Stitching the Gaps Together
Lizzie with husband Hiram Brinlee, Jr. and sons Odell and Austin ca 1918 (courtesy of Edna S.)Up until the time when Lizzie Smith Bonner married my great-grandfather Hiram Carroll Brinlee, Jr., every single bit of information about her – every single date – is a guess and an estimate.
It starts with her birth. If you go to the entry for her tombstone at Findagrave, you will see that the date given in the transcription section is April 4, 1860, whereas if you look at her tombstone, the year of her birth is given as 1856.
I don’t believe either one. The first date comes from her obituary and the second may have appeared in a family Bible. The age given on her marriage license and the age indicated on the earliest census on which I have been able to find her (1910) contradict these dates and indicate something closer to 1868 or 1869; the 1920 census age is consistent with this. And the birth of her youngest child Cecil Odell in 1908 makes those early dates a real stretch.
Lizzie’s age starts creeping up on her Application for a Confederate Widow’s Pension and continues through the 1930 census to her death in 1958. The Findagrave entry gives Knoxville as the place of Lizzie’s birth; I would love for that information to be accurate, so that I would at least have a starting point for my research, but I don’t know whether or not I can trust that piece of data, either.
As indicated by the note shown below, Lizzie was probably not trying to inflate her age for the pension application but had genuinely forgotten how old she was:
“leonard tex sep 10th, 1929
dear sir i will wright to yu in regard to my pension i have lost my corect age i am some where in 60 i am not 75 if you can help me any way i shure wood be glad i have no help a tall.
yore friend
susan E. Brinlee”
This uncertainty and confusion continues throughout her early life. You can see how often I have mulled this information over and run through the various permutations in two of my previous articles on Susan Elizabeth Smith “Lizzie” Bonner Brinlee: Lizzie Smith Timeline, which I will reproduce below for reference in this article, and Brickwall Workshops by the Fairfax Genealogical Society, which was a reproduction of the write-up I submitted to the brickwall workshop panel.
Based on a total of 24 Smith-tagged articles, you would think that I have covered Lizzie thoroughly enough; time to drop it for a while! But I will never feel I have done enough and I cannot drop it.
There are several bits of information about Lizzie that help keep this obsession alive. One is the date of her death: July 29, 1958. I was a little girl then. She was still alive when I was born – the only one of my great-grandparents who was – and yet she is the only brickwall great-grandparent.
The second piece of information that haunts me is this item, hidden among some online genealogies as a Post-It note submitted by a second cousin based on information she had heard from her grandmother (Cecil Odell Brinlee’s wife): Lizzie “was from Tennessee and had lived with a family that had taken her in to help work, where she washed dishes by standing on a bucket. Therefore, she had to have been fairly young.” This reveals an additional mystery for Lizzie: Why was she working out as a young child? Was she an orphan or a child of a very poor family?
The third item is merely a family rumor – that Lizzie was part Native American. It’s one item of family lore that I have always cherished and fervently hoped was true. But the genealogical myth-buster in me triumphed and after checking out the Dawes and Guion Miller Rolls with no success, I abandoned that avenue of research. However, at the Brick Wall Workshop sponsored by the Fairfax Genealogical Society that I attended, the first response I got was: What is she doing in Indian Territory in 1891? And especially with a name like Smith? Check those Rolls! So even though I had no success in finding her the first time around, there is a legitimate reason to suspect some Native American connection.
The timeline work for Lizzie has been particularly useful in following a possible lead on her first marriage (“to a Mr. Bonner” according to family researchers, probably based on her name as “Mrs. S. L. Bonner” on the marriage license with Hiram Brinlee). If she was born in 1868-69 and married at age 17 as indicated by the 1930 census, this would give a year of 1885-86 for her first marriage, and there is an 1886 Tennessee marriage record for a Lizzie Smith and a W. T. Banner (I have found no Banner families but did find Bonner families at the location given).
Some time between those years and Lizzie’s marriage to Hiram Brinlee, Mr. Bonner died. And Lizzie ended up in Indian Territory. Were the Bonners Sooners, or did her presence have something to do with Lizzie’s (possible) Native American background?
Between the first “known” date on the timeline, the date of Lizzie’s marriage to Hiram Brinlee, and her death in 1958, all the information falls into three categories: the births of her children, census information, and information provided on her pension application.
And between the birth of daughter Cordelia in 1895 and the birth of son Austin in 1904, there is a gaping hole right where the 1900 census should be. Oh, I have located where the family was, then – Britton Township in Oklahoma Territory – because Hiram, son Louis from his first marriage, and a hired hand are shown living there. But I can’t find Lizzie and the children anywhere else and I suspect they were actually living there, too. So my best hope for nice, juicy information on Lizzie’s month and year of birth is dashed. And one of the most tantalizing things is that, according to the 1910 census, Lizzie had had a total of seven children, of whom only four were living in 1910. Might one or two of those children have been alive in 1900 and have appeared on this census?
The gap in the early years, when Lizzie probably spent time working for another family, and the gap during which she probably gave birth to the children who died, haunt me the most. Why did her maiden name have to be Smith? Why didn’t she appear on the 1900 census? Why couldn’t someone have asked her more questions about her past when she was still alive? I am still trying to stitch those gaps together.
Lizzie with sons Odell, Austin, and Lawrence, sometime in the 1930s? (Courtesy of George B.)Timeline
4 April 1868: Birth of Susan Elizabeth “Lizzie” Smith in Tennessee (state from US Federal Censuses 1910, 1920, 1930 and Susan E. Brinlee’s Widow’s Application for Confederate Pension, day and month by hearsay from family Bible, now believed to have been burned, and year based on age reported on marriage license of H. C. Brinlee and Mrs. S. L. Bonner).
1885/1886: According to the 1930 census, Lizzie first married at the age of 17; I would guess this happened in Tennessee. [According to Tennessee marriage records, a W. T. Banner married a Lizzie Smith in October 1886 in McMinn County, Tennessee.]
3 December 1891: Lizzie marries Hiram Carroll Brinlee, Jr., in White Bead Hill, Chickasaw Nation, Oklahoma.
29 January 1893: Son Lawrence Carroll Brinlee born in String Town, Atoka, Oklahoma (Paul’s Valley is given as his place of birth on his WWI Draft Registration Card).
8 June 1895: Daughter Cordelia Lee “Cordie” Brinlee born in Oklahoma.
25 June 1900: Hiram appears on the 1900 US Federal Census for Britton Township, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma Territory; Lizzie and the children may be living with him.
1902: The year Hiram and Lizzie may have moved from Oklahoma to Texas, as reported by Lizzie on her Confederate Widow’s Pension Application.
6 April 1904: Son Austin Franklin Brinlee born in Farmersville, Collin County, Texas.
23 September 1908: Son Cecil Odell Brinlee born in Collin County, Texas.
4 May 1910: Hiram and Lizzie appear on the US Federal Census for Justice Precinct 2, Hunt County, Texas.
22 August 1913: Hiram Brinlee files Confederate Soldier’s Application for a Pension in Grayson County, Texas.
30 January 1920: Hiram and Lizzie appear on the US Federal Census for Farris, Atoka Co., Oklahoma. Hiram had died on 20 January, but the census-taker must have been following the instructions, which indicated that “individuals alive on 1 January but deceased when the enumerator arrived were to be counted.”
27 July 1925: Lizzie files her Confederate Widow’s Pension application from Collin County, Texas.
10 Sep 1929: Lizzie writes a letter requesting assistance with her Pension application; the location is given as Leonard, Texas (Leonard is in Fannin County).
21 April 1930: Lizzie appears on the US Federal Census living with her son Austin in Fannin County, Texas.
9 April 1953: Lizzie’s son Lawrence Brinlee dies.
29 July 1958: Lizzie dies in Plano, Collin County, Texas. She apparently had lived for some years with her youngest son, Cecil Odell, who signed the application for her mortuary warrant and her death certificate. Her death certificate indicates her stay in Plano as “several years.”
Sources
- Marriage License of H. C. Brinlee and Mrs. S. L. Bonner, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, 1 December 1891. Photocopy.
- Certificate of Marriage of H. C. Brinlee and Mrs. S. L. Bonner, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, 3 December 1891. Photocopy.
- Widow’s Application for a Confederate Pension No. 41103 for Susan Elizabeth Brinlee, Collin County, State of Texas, 27 July 1925.
- World War I Draft Registration Card of Lawrence Carroll Brinlee. Registration Location: Fannin County, Texas. Roll 1953353. Accessed via Ancestry.com.
- Certificate of Death of Lawrence Carroll Brinlee, 11 April 1953, State of Texas, State File No. 24235. Digital image accessed via Family Search Record Search.
- Certificate of Death of Cordie Lee Clinton, 25 May 1961, State of Texas, State File No. 26177. Digital image accessed via Family Search Record Search.
- Certificate of Death of Austin Franklin Brinlee, 17 November 1976, State of Texas, State File No. 82039. Digital imaged accessed via Family Search Record Search.
- Application for Social Security Account Number of Cecil Odell Brinlee, 454-26-3341, 6 January 1940. Photocopy.
- Hiram C. Brinlee household, 1900 US Federal Census, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma Territory, population schedule, Britton Township, dwelling 191, family 191, Roll T623_1340, Page 10B, Enumeration District 158. Accessed via Ancestry.com.
- Harm [Hiram] C. Brinlee household, 1910 US Federal Census, Hunt County, Texas, population schedule, Justice Precinct Two, dwelling 283, family 288, Roll T624-1566, Page 19B, Enumeration District 119. Accessed via Ancestry.com.
- Hiram C. Brinlee household, 1920 US Federal Census, Atoka County, Oklahoma, population schedule, Farris Township, dwelling 295, family 297, Roll T625-1452, Page 15B, Enumeration District 7. Accessed via Ancestry.com.
- Austin F. Brinlee household, 1930 US Federal Census, Fannin County, Texas, population schedule, Precinct 3, dwelling 295, family 302, Roll 2331, Page 14B, Enumeration District 18. Accessed via Ancestry.com.
The above is submitted for the 91st Carnival of Genealogy, “A Tribute to Women!” March is women's history month and a great time to honor the women on our family trees. This is will be the 4th annual edition on this topic so we're going to change it up just a bit to keep it fresh... Write a biography about a woman on your family tree starting with a timeline of their life. Thank you to Jasia at Creative Gene for hosting and to footnoteMaven for the beautiful poster.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Two New Pages Added to This Blog!
I'm so excited - I actually accomplished a technogeek thing today (thanks to Thomas Macentee's easy-to-follow instructions on GeneaBloggers) and added two new pages to Greta's Genealogy Bog: The Texas Team and The South Carolina Crew. These pages contain lists of blogs that have a Texas or South Carolina connection. If your blog has that connection and you do not see it on the list, let me know in a comment to this post or by using the Contact button on the left of this blog and I will add it. The South Carolina Crew in particular could probably use an update. The next page to be added will probably be a list of the families that I am researching.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Featured Family Friday: Jessie Daniel Sisson and Jennie Reece Denison
Jessie Daniel Sisson
b. 10 Sep 1869, Alabama
d. 12 Aug 1952, Wichita Falls, Wichita, Texas
& Jennie Reece Denison
b. 1 Sep 1881, Tennessee
d. 28 Jan 1921, Floydada, Floyd Co., Texas
m. 15 Apr 1896, Leonard, Fannin Co., Texas
|--Oral Tompson “Bill” Sisson
|----b. 19 Aug 1899, Texas
|----d. 4 Dec 1973, Floydada, Floyd, Texas
|---& Virginia Lucille Barbee
|----b. 18 Aug 1912, Henderson Co., TX
|----d. 5 Sep 2001, Falls Church City, Virginia
|----m. 8 Jun 1930, Clovis, New Mexico
|--George Roy Sisson
|----b. 22 Nov 1902, Fannin Co., Texas
|----d. 3 Mar 1935, Floydada, Floyd Co., Texas
|---& Bessie Shockley
|--Lois Hassie Sisson
|----b. 17 Mar 1904, Fannin Co., Texas
|----d. 29 Nov 1980, Denver, CO
|---& Clyde Lester Falls
|----b. 25 Aug 1902, Stevenville, Texas
|----d. 13 Nov 1983, Denver, CO
|----m. 22 Sep 1923, Floydada, Floyd, Texas
|--Cleavie Ella Sisson
|----b. 17 Sep 1906, Texas
|----d. 14 May 1981, Wilbarger, Texas
|---& Edmond Farrington Handley
|----b. 25 Sep 1908, Childress, Texas
|----d. 16 Mar 1991, Vernon, Wilbarger Co., Texas
|----m. 2 Apr 1928, Floydada, Floyd, Texas
|--Valley P. Sisson
|----b. 19 Jun 1908, Texas
|----d. 20 Jan 1999, Portales, Roosevelt, New Mexico
|---& Bonnie Houston Shultz
|----b. 23 Mar 1906, Myra, Cook, Texas
|----d. 10 May 1980, Floydada, Floyd, Texas
|----m. 4 Dec 1926, Floydada, Floyd, Texas
|--Laudie Olean Sisson
|----b. 29 Jul 1910, Texas
|----d. 17 Jan 1984, Potter Co., TX
|---& James Charles King
|----b. 31 Mar 1909, Gasoline, Briscoe Co., Texas
|----d. 1 Jan 1994, Amarillo, Potter, Texas
|----m. 19 Aug 1928, Floydada, Floyd, Texas
|--Jessie L. Sisson
|----b. 15 Apr 1912, Texas
|----d. 24 Jan 1942
|--Goldie V. Sisson*
|----b. 15 Jan 1915, Texas
|----d. 30 Oct 1970, Plainview, Hale, Texas
|---& William Hatley Jackson
|----b. 19 Apr 1912, Temple, Oklahoma
|----d. 1 Feb 1962, Lubbock Co., Texas
|----m. 2 Feb 1936, Floydada, Floyd, Texas
|--Goldie V. Sisson*
|----b. 15 Jan 1915, Texas
|----d. 30 Oct 1970, Plainview, Hale, Texas
|---& Jessie Hayward Pace
|----b. 16 Feb 1968, Glasscock, Texas
|--Bob Hasty Sisson
|----b. 1916, Texas
|--Jennie Mae Sisson
|----b. 25 Feb 1918, Floyd Co., Texas
|----d. 2 Jan 1993, Bakersfield, Kern, California
|---& Roy William Dorety
|----b. Dec 1918
|----d. 6 Dec 1976, Bakersfield, Kern, California
|----m. 12 Jan 1942, Yuma, Arizona
This is the family of my great-grandmother Sarah Jane Sisson’s half-brother, Jessie Daniel Sisson, and Jennie Reece Dennison. Jennie’s parents were Archie William Denison and Comfort L. Kelley. Her sister was Nolie King Denison, who married Thomas Franklin Norman, Sarah Jane Sisson’s and William Henry “Jack” Norman’s son (that is, sisters married an uncle and nephew). Jessie and Jennie Sisson, like Sarah and Jack Norman, moved from Alabama to Texas, whereas most of the other Sisson siblings remained in Alabama.
I would love to share information with anyone related to/researching this family; you can use the “Contact” button on the left side of this blog to get in touch with me.
b. 10 Sep 1869, Alabama
d. 12 Aug 1952, Wichita Falls, Wichita, Texas
& Jennie Reece Denison
b. 1 Sep 1881, Tennessee
d. 28 Jan 1921, Floydada, Floyd Co., Texas
m. 15 Apr 1896, Leonard, Fannin Co., Texas
|--Oral Tompson “Bill” Sisson
|----b. 19 Aug 1899, Texas
|----d. 4 Dec 1973, Floydada, Floyd, Texas
|---& Virginia Lucille Barbee
|----b. 18 Aug 1912, Henderson Co., TX
|----d. 5 Sep 2001, Falls Church City, Virginia
|----m. 8 Jun 1930, Clovis, New Mexico
|--George Roy Sisson
|----b. 22 Nov 1902, Fannin Co., Texas
|----d. 3 Mar 1935, Floydada, Floyd Co., Texas
|---& Bessie Shockley
|--Lois Hassie Sisson
|----b. 17 Mar 1904, Fannin Co., Texas
|----d. 29 Nov 1980, Denver, CO
|---& Clyde Lester Falls
|----b. 25 Aug 1902, Stevenville, Texas
|----d. 13 Nov 1983, Denver, CO
|----m. 22 Sep 1923, Floydada, Floyd, Texas
|--Cleavie Ella Sisson
|----b. 17 Sep 1906, Texas
|----d. 14 May 1981, Wilbarger, Texas
|---& Edmond Farrington Handley
|----b. 25 Sep 1908, Childress, Texas
|----d. 16 Mar 1991, Vernon, Wilbarger Co., Texas
|----m. 2 Apr 1928, Floydada, Floyd, Texas
|--Valley P. Sisson
|----b. 19 Jun 1908, Texas
|----d. 20 Jan 1999, Portales, Roosevelt, New Mexico
|---& Bonnie Houston Shultz
|----b. 23 Mar 1906, Myra, Cook, Texas
|----d. 10 May 1980, Floydada, Floyd, Texas
|----m. 4 Dec 1926, Floydada, Floyd, Texas
|--Laudie Olean Sisson
|----b. 29 Jul 1910, Texas
|----d. 17 Jan 1984, Potter Co., TX
|---& James Charles King
|----b. 31 Mar 1909, Gasoline, Briscoe Co., Texas
|----d. 1 Jan 1994, Amarillo, Potter, Texas
|----m. 19 Aug 1928, Floydada, Floyd, Texas
|--Jessie L. Sisson
|----b. 15 Apr 1912, Texas
|----d. 24 Jan 1942
|--Goldie V. Sisson*
|----b. 15 Jan 1915, Texas
|----d. 30 Oct 1970, Plainview, Hale, Texas
|---& William Hatley Jackson
|----b. 19 Apr 1912, Temple, Oklahoma
|----d. 1 Feb 1962, Lubbock Co., Texas
|----m. 2 Feb 1936, Floydada, Floyd, Texas
|--Goldie V. Sisson*
|----b. 15 Jan 1915, Texas
|----d. 30 Oct 1970, Plainview, Hale, Texas
|---& Jessie Hayward Pace
|----b. 16 Feb 1968, Glasscock, Texas
|--Bob Hasty Sisson
|----b. 1916, Texas
|--Jennie Mae Sisson
|----b. 25 Feb 1918, Floyd Co., Texas
|----d. 2 Jan 1993, Bakersfield, Kern, California
|---& Roy William Dorety
|----b. Dec 1918
|----d. 6 Dec 1976, Bakersfield, Kern, California
|----m. 12 Jan 1942, Yuma, Arizona
This is the family of my great-grandmother Sarah Jane Sisson’s half-brother, Jessie Daniel Sisson, and Jennie Reece Dennison. Jennie’s parents were Archie William Denison and Comfort L. Kelley. Her sister was Nolie King Denison, who married Thomas Franklin Norman, Sarah Jane Sisson’s and William Henry “Jack” Norman’s son (that is, sisters married an uncle and nephew). Jessie and Jennie Sisson, like Sarah and Jack Norman, moved from Alabama to Texas, whereas most of the other Sisson siblings remained in Alabama.
I would love to share information with anyone related to/researching this family; you can use the “Contact” button on the left side of this blog to get in touch with me.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Transcription Tuesday: The Exciting Streets of Dallas, Texas in the 1890s
The following articles report on a couple of incidents in the streets of Dallas in 1892 and 1893 in which my great-great-uncle William Henry Lewis was involved. One centered around a run-away buggy in which he was riding and the other around the pursuit of a criminal in which he took part. Our modern-day equivalent of the second incident, which also involved an exchange of gunfire, would be the police car chase. It’s fascinating to consider that my not-so-distant ancestors (Henry Lewis did not die until 1946) lived during times when there were still horse chases and shootouts in the streets.
From the Dallas Morning News, 7 March 1893:
“Thrown From a Buggy
While County Treasurer Coe and ex-Sheriff Lewis were buggy-riding yesterday near the new cemetery, south of the city, their team took fright and ran away. Mr. Coe was thrown from the buggy and found in an unconscious state. He soon, however, recovered from the shock and was last night reported to be doing well.”
From the Dallas Morning News, 4 October 1892:
“A VERY EXCITING CHASE.
HOW A SWIFT HORSE TRADER LED A VAN OF PURSUERS.
The Sad Plight of an Ellis County Farmer Who Became a Self-Constituted Deputy.
“Yesterday was horse traders’ day on the public square. The first Monday in every month is the legal day for disposing of strayed animals at public outcry, but by far the largest business is transacted by horse traders, who congregate to exchange, buy and sell. Among those who were trading horses yesterday was Mr. Sid Williams, a gentleman who lives a short distance west of Oak Cliff. He traded with a stranger for a mule and afterward he said that he discovered that the party with whom he traded did not have a clear title to the animal. Mr. Williams laid the case before Sheriff Lewis. Mr. Lewis sent Deputies Henry Tanner and John Bolick after the party who traded with Mr. Williams. The found him, and at the sheriff’s office a short while previous he gave the name of J. J. Jackson to Deputy Carson, who wrote a bill of sale for him. Mr. Jackson told the deputies that he could be easily identified in the city. He started with them to Sanger Bros.’ store about 1:30 in the afternoon, where he said he was known, but before they left Jefferson street, on the public square, he suddenly wheeled his horse and started at race horse speed down Jefferson street toward the jail. The deputies pursued and they were joined by an Ellis county farmer by the name of Harris, who was on a swift horse. Mr. Jackson led the trio down to Market street. He crossed over to Houston, back on Houston to Commerce and out on Commerce and across the Trinity bridge, leaving a cloud of dust behind like the wake of a cavalry company. Crossing the bridge, Mr. Harris’ horse seemed to forge ahead and get in the lead and as the object of the chase reached the west abutment of the bridge he turned and fired five times toward his pursuers. Mr. Tanner replied with five shots from his pistol.
“It was along here that Mr. Harris dropped out of the race. He fell and the conclusion of everybody watching was that he was shot. When Messrs. J. W. and J. T. Tucker picked him up, covered deep in dust and found clotted blood over his left eye and a small hole in his right arm, they felt sure that he was shot and fatally wounded. So the report flashed over the city that a man had been killed. Mr. Harris was carried in an express wagon to a drugstore on Jefferson street where his wounds were dressed. All of the bullets missed him and his injuries were caused by falling on small pebbles. In addition to the places over his eye and on his arm his hip was cut, necessitating one stitch, and after that was done he was out on the streets. He told a News reporter that his name was J. T. Harris and that he was a farmer living nine miles south of Waxahachie, near Forrest’s store. “I don’t remember much about the race,” he said, recounting his experience of a short while back. “I didn’t trade horses with the fellow and I don’t know who he is. I never saw him before and I don’t know anything about him. I saw some deputy sheriffs coming towards me running him, and I hollered to them to deputize me that I could catch him. I started in, and going across the bridge my horse ran away with me. He went the wrong direction. He went towards them bullets as hard as he could go, and it kept me d---d busy dodging them. I could see that pistol belching fire and I thought I was a goner. I tell you, partner, if I had had my old winchester with me I would have mixed it with him, but I didn’t have a thing and my horse was running right into them bullets. He carried me up almost by the side of that pistol and then my horse fell. I went down and that’s all I know about it, but you see me here.”
“Public interest centered on Mr. Harris for the time being, while Sheriff Lewis, John Bolick and Henry Tanner continued after the flying horseman. After the shooting at the bridge he proceeded to reload his pistol. Mr. Lewis followed to the foot hills of West Dallas. The horse he was riding was not fleet and he was compelled to turn back. Messrs. Tanner, Henry Jacoby and Bolick kept up the chase over the pike road toward Fort Worth. Red Stewart was watching from the courthouse tower and he said the time made broke the record. Over the hills and out of sight went the horse trader and his pursuers, who never came nearer than 200 yards of him after he crossed the bridge until near Kidd Springs, when the horse trader threw his pistol back and fired one shot toward Bolick. The latter returned the fire and the horse trader jumped from his now jaded nag and took to the bushes afoot. He disappeared in the underbrush before the officers came up. They captured the horse he was riding, which was the one he had traded from Mr. Williams. Mr. Bolick’s shot evidently hastened the horse trader in taking leave of the saddle. The bullet went through a slicker which was tied behind and entered the saddle. An effort was made to get dogs on this party’s trail, but they could not trail him, and about 5:30 the two deputies returned to the city leading the race horse which carried the fugitive beyond their reach.
“He left behind him a gray mare which he had with the mule when he struck the square for a trade. He was a stranger to the horse traders on the square. None of them seemed to know him. While the chase was in progress, Deputy Sheriff Tom Carson received the following wire message dated Krum, Tex., and signed by G. D. Witt, who was unknown to any of the sheriff’s force: “Arrest a man about 23 years, light complexion, light mustache, riding gray mare about fifteen and one-half hands high, branded LU on left thigh, leading black 3-year-old horse mule, no brand. Advise at Sanger, Tex.”
“Sheriff Lewis and Mr. Carson stated that the description of the mare and mule tallied exactly with that of the animals left behind by the horse trader. His description also was correctly given as far as it went. He was five feet ten or eleven inches high and he wore a black shirt, black soft hat and his pants were stuffed in his boot tops.”
From the Dallas Morning News, 7 March 1893:
“Thrown From a Buggy
While County Treasurer Coe and ex-Sheriff Lewis were buggy-riding yesterday near the new cemetery, south of the city, their team took fright and ran away. Mr. Coe was thrown from the buggy and found in an unconscious state. He soon, however, recovered from the shock and was last night reported to be doing well.”
From the Dallas Morning News, 4 October 1892:
“A VERY EXCITING CHASE.
HOW A SWIFT HORSE TRADER LED A VAN OF PURSUERS.
The Sad Plight of an Ellis County Farmer Who Became a Self-Constituted Deputy.
“Yesterday was horse traders’ day on the public square. The first Monday in every month is the legal day for disposing of strayed animals at public outcry, but by far the largest business is transacted by horse traders, who congregate to exchange, buy and sell. Among those who were trading horses yesterday was Mr. Sid Williams, a gentleman who lives a short distance west of Oak Cliff. He traded with a stranger for a mule and afterward he said that he discovered that the party with whom he traded did not have a clear title to the animal. Mr. Williams laid the case before Sheriff Lewis. Mr. Lewis sent Deputies Henry Tanner and John Bolick after the party who traded with Mr. Williams. The found him, and at the sheriff’s office a short while previous he gave the name of J. J. Jackson to Deputy Carson, who wrote a bill of sale for him. Mr. Jackson told the deputies that he could be easily identified in the city. He started with them to Sanger Bros.’ store about 1:30 in the afternoon, where he said he was known, but before they left Jefferson street, on the public square, he suddenly wheeled his horse and started at race horse speed down Jefferson street toward the jail. The deputies pursued and they were joined by an Ellis county farmer by the name of Harris, who was on a swift horse. Mr. Jackson led the trio down to Market street. He crossed over to Houston, back on Houston to Commerce and out on Commerce and across the Trinity bridge, leaving a cloud of dust behind like the wake of a cavalry company. Crossing the bridge, Mr. Harris’ horse seemed to forge ahead and get in the lead and as the object of the chase reached the west abutment of the bridge he turned and fired five times toward his pursuers. Mr. Tanner replied with five shots from his pistol.
“It was along here that Mr. Harris dropped out of the race. He fell and the conclusion of everybody watching was that he was shot. When Messrs. J. W. and J. T. Tucker picked him up, covered deep in dust and found clotted blood over his left eye and a small hole in his right arm, they felt sure that he was shot and fatally wounded. So the report flashed over the city that a man had been killed. Mr. Harris was carried in an express wagon to a drugstore on Jefferson street where his wounds were dressed. All of the bullets missed him and his injuries were caused by falling on small pebbles. In addition to the places over his eye and on his arm his hip was cut, necessitating one stitch, and after that was done he was out on the streets. He told a News reporter that his name was J. T. Harris and that he was a farmer living nine miles south of Waxahachie, near Forrest’s store. “I don’t remember much about the race,” he said, recounting his experience of a short while back. “I didn’t trade horses with the fellow and I don’t know who he is. I never saw him before and I don’t know anything about him. I saw some deputy sheriffs coming towards me running him, and I hollered to them to deputize me that I could catch him. I started in, and going across the bridge my horse ran away with me. He went the wrong direction. He went towards them bullets as hard as he could go, and it kept me d---d busy dodging them. I could see that pistol belching fire and I thought I was a goner. I tell you, partner, if I had had my old winchester with me I would have mixed it with him, but I didn’t have a thing and my horse was running right into them bullets. He carried me up almost by the side of that pistol and then my horse fell. I went down and that’s all I know about it, but you see me here.”
“Public interest centered on Mr. Harris for the time being, while Sheriff Lewis, John Bolick and Henry Tanner continued after the flying horseman. After the shooting at the bridge he proceeded to reload his pistol. Mr. Lewis followed to the foot hills of West Dallas. The horse he was riding was not fleet and he was compelled to turn back. Messrs. Tanner, Henry Jacoby and Bolick kept up the chase over the pike road toward Fort Worth. Red Stewart was watching from the courthouse tower and he said the time made broke the record. Over the hills and out of sight went the horse trader and his pursuers, who never came nearer than 200 yards of him after he crossed the bridge until near Kidd Springs, when the horse trader threw his pistol back and fired one shot toward Bolick. The latter returned the fire and the horse trader jumped from his now jaded nag and took to the bushes afoot. He disappeared in the underbrush before the officers came up. They captured the horse he was riding, which was the one he had traded from Mr. Williams. Mr. Bolick’s shot evidently hastened the horse trader in taking leave of the saddle. The bullet went through a slicker which was tied behind and entered the saddle. An effort was made to get dogs on this party’s trail, but they could not trail him, and about 5:30 the two deputies returned to the city leading the race horse which carried the fugitive beyond their reach.
“He left behind him a gray mare which he had with the mule when he struck the square for a trade. He was a stranger to the horse traders on the square. None of them seemed to know him. While the chase was in progress, Deputy Sheriff Tom Carson received the following wire message dated Krum, Tex., and signed by G. D. Witt, who was unknown to any of the sheriff’s force: “Arrest a man about 23 years, light complexion, light mustache, riding gray mare about fifteen and one-half hands high, branded LU on left thigh, leading black 3-year-old horse mule, no brand. Advise at Sanger, Tex.”
“Sheriff Lewis and Mr. Carson stated that the description of the mare and mule tallied exactly with that of the animals left behind by the horse trader. His description also was correctly given as far as it went. He was five feet ten or eleven inches high and he wore a black shirt, black soft hat and his pants were stuffed in his boot tops.”
Friday, January 8, 2010
Follow Friday: Two New Texas-Linked Connections
Two blogs have been added to the list of Texas-linked blogs:
ABT UNK by Amanda. Love the name, which comes from abbreviations commonly seen in family trees. Though only a couple of months old, the blog has a strong start with a roster full of Advent Calendar posts.
Moore History – Deep in the Heart of Texas – by Laura Leigh. How could I not be irresistibly drawn in? It’s about Texas, it’s about Moores. OK, they’re not my Moores, but still…. A recent post deals with library resources in Williamson County, Texas. (I’m hoping someone will do the same for Baylor, Dallas, Collin, Hunt, Grayson, and Fannon.)
Looking forward to reading more from these bloggers!
ABT UNK by Amanda. Love the name, which comes from abbreviations commonly seen in family trees. Though only a couple of months old, the blog has a strong start with a roster full of Advent Calendar posts.
Moore History – Deep in the Heart of Texas – by Laura Leigh. How could I not be irresistibly drawn in? It’s about Texas, it’s about Moores. OK, they’re not my Moores, but still…. A recent post deals with library resources in Williamson County, Texas. (I’m hoping someone will do the same for Baylor, Dallas, Collin, Hunt, Grayson, and Fannon.)
Looking forward to reading more from these bloggers!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Transcription Tuesday: “They Want These Things”
In an effort to stick to my resolution to do more transcriptions this year, I will try to feature a transcription a week for “Transcription Tuesday” (when I don’t do an Amanuensis Monday a la John Newmark of TransylvaniaDutch in place of Memory Monday).
The following Dallas Morning News article from Christmas 1891– a satirical wish list for Santa on behalf of various Dallas, Texas luminaries of the 1890s – seemed an appropriate place to start since it reminded me a bit of all the letters to Santa posted by GeneaBloggers recently. The targets include my great-great uncle, Sheriff William Henry Lewis. Apparently Sheriff Lewis’ prospects for re-election to a fourth term as sheriff in were not so promising; he did not get re-elected, although he did end up coming in a fairly close second. Sheriff Lewis was in many respects popular sheriff and much admired man, but his popularity suffered somewhat when he prevented a couple of racially tinged lynchings.
I believe the last person on the list, J.E.G. Bower, was the same Bower who was Henry Lewis’ partner in a real estate company in later years. S. B. “Bev” Scott had held several offices in Dallas County: deputy sheriff in the 1870s, tax assessor, and county clerk. Alderman Briggs was known to be a strong advocate for building a crematory. Connor was the mayor of Dallas in the late 1880s and early 1890s, including during the 1893 depression. He faced accusations of misuse of city funds, had problems keeping the city afloat during these lean times, and himself owed the city a large sum in back taxes.
From the Dallas Morning News, 25 Dec 1891
THEY WANT THESE THINGS.
What Old Santa Should Put in Some Men’s Stockings
Sam Klein – Chairmanship of the water commission and Dennis Mahoney’s scalp.
Bev Scott – Well, two or three thousand would do for me.
Chief Arnold – More policemen.
Henry Lewis – A way to get re-elected sheriff.
Joe Stewart – More fees.
Nat Turney – Nomination for county judge.
Tom Nash – Me, too.
J. H. Webster – More vitality to the mayoralty bee.
Barry Miller – A call to run for county attorney.
Harry Trace – Some new sub-alliances.
Mayor Connor – Peace.
Alderman Briggs – I sing a song of a crematory.
The fair committee – A quorum of stockholders.
Ed Gray – A black eye for Cleveland.
Brock Robertson – Smoother sailing for James Stephen Hogg.
Dick Scurry, Sid Reinhart and John Alderhoff (in chorus) – An assurance of less fire now and hereafter.
J. E. G. Bower – A boom for the judgeship of the new court to be established.
The following Dallas Morning News article from Christmas 1891– a satirical wish list for Santa on behalf of various Dallas, Texas luminaries of the 1890s – seemed an appropriate place to start since it reminded me a bit of all the letters to Santa posted by GeneaBloggers recently. The targets include my great-great uncle, Sheriff William Henry Lewis. Apparently Sheriff Lewis’ prospects for re-election to a fourth term as sheriff in were not so promising; he did not get re-elected, although he did end up coming in a fairly close second. Sheriff Lewis was in many respects popular sheriff and much admired man, but his popularity suffered somewhat when he prevented a couple of racially tinged lynchings.
I believe the last person on the list, J.E.G. Bower, was the same Bower who was Henry Lewis’ partner in a real estate company in later years. S. B. “Bev” Scott had held several offices in Dallas County: deputy sheriff in the 1870s, tax assessor, and county clerk. Alderman Briggs was known to be a strong advocate for building a crematory. Connor was the mayor of Dallas in the late 1880s and early 1890s, including during the 1893 depression. He faced accusations of misuse of city funds, had problems keeping the city afloat during these lean times, and himself owed the city a large sum in back taxes.
From the Dallas Morning News, 25 Dec 1891
THEY WANT THESE THINGS.
What Old Santa Should Put in Some Men’s Stockings
Sam Klein – Chairmanship of the water commission and Dennis Mahoney’s scalp.
Bev Scott – Well, two or three thousand would do for me.
Chief Arnold – More policemen.
Henry Lewis – A way to get re-elected sheriff.
Joe Stewart – More fees.
Nat Turney – Nomination for county judge.
Tom Nash – Me, too.
J. H. Webster – More vitality to the mayoralty bee.
Barry Miller – A call to run for county attorney.
Harry Trace – Some new sub-alliances.
Mayor Connor – Peace.
Alderman Briggs – I sing a song of a crematory.
The fair committee – A quorum of stockholders.
Ed Gray – A black eye for Cleveland.
Brock Robertson – Smoother sailing for James Stephen Hogg.
Dick Scurry, Sid Reinhart and John Alderhoff (in chorus) – An assurance of less fire now and hereafter.
J. E. G. Bower – A boom for the judgeship of the new court to be established.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Follow Friday: The Texas Team
A Land of Deepest Shade - Stephen Mills
ABT UNK - Amanda
All My Ancestors - Debra Osborne Spindle
All My Branches, The Graveyard Rabbit of South Denton County – Wendy Littrell
BeNotForgot – Vickie Everhart
Beyond Fiction – Ken Spangler
Blanton Family Roots and Branches – Debbie Blanton
Bluebonnet Country Genealogy - Ruth Stephens
Blue Eyes and Blue Bonnets
Branching Out Through the Years – hummer
Consanguinity – Patti Browning
Family Stories, Texas Family Stories, Family Stories in Stone – Caroline Pointer
Family Tales – Andrea Christman
GeneaBlogie – Craig Manson
Genealogy Traces – Judith Richards Shubert
Herstoryan – Herstoryan
Kinfolk News – Regina
Linsecum Lineage – Stephanie Lincecum
Moore History - Deep in the Heart of Texas - Laura Leigh
Mopsie Rabbit's Cemetery Memoirs - Mopsie Marilisa
MyFamilyRootsRunDeep – Life Goes On
Our Family History - Dana Huff
Our Twigs - Louise Bernero
Stephen's History and Genealogy - Stephen Mills
Texas History & Genealogy Blog - Teri
The Graveyard Rabbit of Wichita County, Texas - Robin
The Hopes and Dreams of a Texas Grandma – Tina
The Internet Genealogist – Leah
TransylvanianDutch – John Newmark
Untangled Family Roots – Amy Crooks
We Tree – Amy Coffin
Where I Come From - Robin
Wood County, Texas Genealogical Society Bulletin
In Today’s Follow Friday I would like to feature the “Texas Team” of genea-bloggers. I was almost going to call this group “The Texas Mafia,” simply because we Texans seem to be everywhere in the genea-blogging world. My initial criterion for inclusion in this group was a strong focus on Texas research, but it was hard to figure out exactly what level of involvement in Texas research made it “strong,” so perhaps we could just say there is a strong Texas connection. That also covers people who currently live in Texas (such as Patti Browning of Consanguinity) but do not have much or any genealogy research that involves Texas. I am sure I have not included all genea-bloggers with a Texas connection, so if you have that Texas connection and do not see your name here, please add a comment or contact me using the “Contact” button on the left and I will print a post with corrections and additions.
I was also going to write up a brief description of each of these blogs (some I have reviewed before: Judith Shubert’s Genealogy Traces , Amy Coffin’s We Tree, and Patti Browning’s Consanguinity), but it turned out that the group is larger than I thought, so I’ll try for individual posts for each blog on Follow Friday.
I have to admit that I feel so honored to be among this group – there are so many talented writers, storytellers, artists, and even techies in it. I will try to refrain from making the claim that it’s a Texas thing, but it won’t be easy.
ABT UNK - Amanda
All My Ancestors - Debra Osborne Spindle
All My Branches, The Graveyard Rabbit of South Denton County – Wendy Littrell
BeNotForgot – Vickie Everhart
Beyond Fiction – Ken Spangler
Blanton Family Roots and Branches – Debbie Blanton
Bluebonnet Country Genealogy - Ruth Stephens
Blue Eyes and Blue Bonnets
Branching Out Through the Years – hummer
Consanguinity – Patti Browning
Family Stories, Texas Family Stories, Family Stories in Stone – Caroline Pointer
Family Tales – Andrea Christman
GeneaBlogie – Craig Manson
Genealogy Traces – Judith Richards Shubert
Herstoryan – Herstoryan
Kinfolk News – Regina
Linsecum Lineage – Stephanie Lincecum
Moore History - Deep in the Heart of Texas - Laura Leigh
Mopsie Rabbit's Cemetery Memoirs - Mopsie Marilisa
MyFamilyRootsRunDeep – Life Goes On
Our Family History - Dana Huff
Our Twigs - Louise Bernero
Stephen's History and Genealogy - Stephen Mills
Texas History & Genealogy Blog - Teri
The Graveyard Rabbit of Wichita County, Texas - Robin
The Hopes and Dreams of a Texas Grandma – Tina
The Internet Genealogist – Leah
TransylvanianDutch – John Newmark
Untangled Family Roots – Amy Crooks
We Tree – Amy Coffin
Where I Come From - Robin
Wood County, Texas Genealogical Society Bulletin
In Today’s Follow Friday I would like to feature the “Texas Team” of genea-bloggers. I was almost going to call this group “The Texas Mafia,” simply because we Texans seem to be everywhere in the genea-blogging world. My initial criterion for inclusion in this group was a strong focus on Texas research, but it was hard to figure out exactly what level of involvement in Texas research made it “strong,” so perhaps we could just say there is a strong Texas connection. That also covers people who currently live in Texas (such as Patti Browning of Consanguinity) but do not have much or any genealogy research that involves Texas. I am sure I have not included all genea-bloggers with a Texas connection, so if you have that Texas connection and do not see your name here, please add a comment or contact me using the “Contact” button on the left and I will print a post with corrections and additions.
I was also going to write up a brief description of each of these blogs (some I have reviewed before: Judith Shubert’s Genealogy Traces , Amy Coffin’s We Tree, and Patti Browning’s Consanguinity), but it turned out that the group is larger than I thought, so I’ll try for individual posts for each blog on Follow Friday.
I have to admit that I feel so honored to be among this group – there are so many talented writers, storytellers, artists, and even techies in it. I will try to refrain from making the claim that it’s a Texas thing, but it won’t be easy.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Featured Family Friday: Hiram Brinlee and Diza Carolina Boone
Hiram Carroll “Dink” Brinlee Jr.
b. Sep 1844, Red River County, Texas
d. 20 Jan 1920, Collin County, Texas
& Eliza Caroline “Diza/Disey” “Linie” Boone
b. 2 Jan 1845, Kansas Twp., Jackson Co., MO
d. 19 Dec 1885, Anna, Collin, Texas
m. 16 Apr 1863
|--James Edward Brinlee*
|----b. 3 Apr 1864, Collin County, Texas
|----d. 11 Feb 1908, Pauls Valley, OK
|---& Mary Ann Sims
|----b. 19 Aug 1863
|----d. aft 11 Mar 1900
|----m. 21 Oct 1884, McKinney, Collin County, Texas
|--James Edward Brinlee*
|----b. 3 Apr 1864, Collin County, Texas
|----d. 11 Feb 1908, Pauls Valley, OK
|---& Ida Rosalee Brock
|----b. 2 Jul 1871, Georgia
|----d. 27 Dec 1940, Aubrey, Denton, Texas
|----m. 26 Aug 1901
|--Elizabeth Anne “Doll” Brinlee*
|----b. 9 Jul 1866, Bates County, Missouri
|----d. 20 Sep 1950, Dallas, Dallas County, TX
|---& Leander Scott
|--Elizabeth Anne “Doll” Brinlee*
|----b. 9 Jul 1866, Bates County, Missouri
|----d. 20 Sep 1950, Dallas, Dallas County, TX
|---& Harvey “Harve” Mulder
|----b. Feb 1852, Alabama
|----d. 19 Nov 1934
|----m. 25 Dec 1887
|--Laura Lee Brinlee
|----b. 17 Jan 1871, Missouri
|----d. 10 Dec 1937, Anna, Collin County, Texas
|---& James Larkin “Jim” Arrington
|----b. 27 Feb 1866, Collin Co., Texas
|----d. 17 Sep 1962, Collin County, Texas
|----m. 1890
|--William Leon “Hoss” Brinlee
|----b. 27 Oct 1873, Blue Ridge, Collin Co., Texas
|----d. 5 Jan 1952, Collin County, Texas
|---& Myrtie Short Wison
|----b. 23 Sep 1879, Texas
|----d. 27 Apr 1961, Wolfe City, Hunt, Texas
|----m. 10 Jun 1897
|--John Ewing Brinlee
|----b. 18 Dec 1875
|---& Dovie Edna McDonald
|----b. 27 Feb 1881
|----d. 15 Sep 1970, Temple, Cotton, Oklahoma
|----m. 24 Sep 1905
|--Ambert Hatler Brinlee*
|----b. 17 Apr 1878, Bowie Co., Texas
|----d. 19 May 1964, Anna, Collin County, Texas
|---& Susie Howard
|----m. 1898
|--Ambert Hatler Brinlee*
|----b. 17 Apr 1878, Bowie Co., Texas
|----d. 19 May 1964, Anna, Collin County, Texas
|---& Rosa Ella Roper
|----b. 22 Aug 1878, Collin County, Texas
|----d. 25 Mar 1946, Anna, Collin County, Texas
|----m. 4 Jan 1906
|--Ambert Hatler Brinlee*
|----b. 17 Apr 1878, Bowie Co., Texas
|----d. 19 May 1964, Anna, Collin County, Texas
|---& Lydia Ellen Stroud
|----b. 1895
|----d. 27 Jan 1989, Grayson Co., TX
|----m. 4 Aug 1954
|--Louis Boone Brinlee
|----b. 13 Oct 1882, Collin County, Texas
|----d. 27 Jul 1957, Madera, California
|---& Mary Jane “Mollie” Bennett
|----b. 26 Jun 1884, Odessa, Texas
|----d. 8 Apr 1952, Madera, California
|----m. 17 Apr 1906
|--Geneva Helen “Sis” Brinlee
|----b. 19 Jan 1884, Van Alstyne, Grayson Co., TX
|----d. 20 Oct 1957, Fannin County, Texas
|---& James Thomas Wicker
|----b. 9 Aug 1877, Tennessee
|----d. 15 Mar 1962, Terrell, Kaufman, Texas
|----m. 27 Oct 1906, Collin Co., Texas
This is the family of my great-grandfather (my father’s father’s father), Hiram Carroll Brinlee, Jr., and his first wife, Diza Carolina Boone. Hiram was the son of Hiram Carroll Brinlee, Sr., and Elizabeth Ann “Betsey” McKinney, a niece of Collin McKinney. Diza was the daughter of Alonzo Havington Boone, the granddaughter of Daniel Morgan Boone, and the great-granddaughter of Daniel Boone. On the 1870 census Hiram and Diza are shown in Bates County, Missouri, and on the 1880 census they are back in Collin County, Texas.
Missing information: I would like to find more information on “Doll” Brinlee’s first husband, Leander Scott, and Ambert Brinlee’s first wife, Susie Howard.
I would love to share information with anyone related to/researching this family; you can use the “Contact” button on the left side of this blog to get in touch with me.
b. Sep 1844, Red River County, Texas
d. 20 Jan 1920, Collin County, Texas
& Eliza Caroline “Diza/Disey” “Linie” Boone
b. 2 Jan 1845, Kansas Twp., Jackson Co., MO
d. 19 Dec 1885, Anna, Collin, Texas
m. 16 Apr 1863
|--James Edward Brinlee*
|----b. 3 Apr 1864, Collin County, Texas
|----d. 11 Feb 1908, Pauls Valley, OK
|---& Mary Ann Sims
|----b. 19 Aug 1863
|----d. aft 11 Mar 1900
|----m. 21 Oct 1884, McKinney, Collin County, Texas
|--James Edward Brinlee*
|----b. 3 Apr 1864, Collin County, Texas
|----d. 11 Feb 1908, Pauls Valley, OK
|---& Ida Rosalee Brock
|----b. 2 Jul 1871, Georgia
|----d. 27 Dec 1940, Aubrey, Denton, Texas
|----m. 26 Aug 1901
|--Elizabeth Anne “Doll” Brinlee*
|----b. 9 Jul 1866, Bates County, Missouri
|----d. 20 Sep 1950, Dallas, Dallas County, TX
|---& Leander Scott
|--Elizabeth Anne “Doll” Brinlee*
|----b. 9 Jul 1866, Bates County, Missouri
|----d. 20 Sep 1950, Dallas, Dallas County, TX
|---& Harvey “Harve” Mulder
|----b. Feb 1852, Alabama
|----d. 19 Nov 1934
|----m. 25 Dec 1887
|--Laura Lee Brinlee
|----b. 17 Jan 1871, Missouri
|----d. 10 Dec 1937, Anna, Collin County, Texas
|---& James Larkin “Jim” Arrington
|----b. 27 Feb 1866, Collin Co., Texas
|----d. 17 Sep 1962, Collin County, Texas
|----m. 1890
|--William Leon “Hoss” Brinlee
|----b. 27 Oct 1873, Blue Ridge, Collin Co., Texas
|----d. 5 Jan 1952, Collin County, Texas
|---& Myrtie Short Wison
|----b. 23 Sep 1879, Texas
|----d. 27 Apr 1961, Wolfe City, Hunt, Texas
|----m. 10 Jun 1897
|--John Ewing Brinlee
|----b. 18 Dec 1875
|---& Dovie Edna McDonald
|----b. 27 Feb 1881
|----d. 15 Sep 1970, Temple, Cotton, Oklahoma
|----m. 24 Sep 1905
|--Ambert Hatler Brinlee*
|----b. 17 Apr 1878, Bowie Co., Texas
|----d. 19 May 1964, Anna, Collin County, Texas
|---& Susie Howard
|----m. 1898
|--Ambert Hatler Brinlee*
|----b. 17 Apr 1878, Bowie Co., Texas
|----d. 19 May 1964, Anna, Collin County, Texas
|---& Rosa Ella Roper
|----b. 22 Aug 1878, Collin County, Texas
|----d. 25 Mar 1946, Anna, Collin County, Texas
|----m. 4 Jan 1906
|--Ambert Hatler Brinlee*
|----b. 17 Apr 1878, Bowie Co., Texas
|----d. 19 May 1964, Anna, Collin County, Texas
|---& Lydia Ellen Stroud
|----b. 1895
|----d. 27 Jan 1989, Grayson Co., TX
|----m. 4 Aug 1954
|--Louis Boone Brinlee
|----b. 13 Oct 1882, Collin County, Texas
|----d. 27 Jul 1957, Madera, California
|---& Mary Jane “Mollie” Bennett
|----b. 26 Jun 1884, Odessa, Texas
|----d. 8 Apr 1952, Madera, California
|----m. 17 Apr 1906
|--Geneva Helen “Sis” Brinlee
|----b. 19 Jan 1884, Van Alstyne, Grayson Co., TX
|----d. 20 Oct 1957, Fannin County, Texas
|---& James Thomas Wicker
|----b. 9 Aug 1877, Tennessee
|----d. 15 Mar 1962, Terrell, Kaufman, Texas
|----m. 27 Oct 1906, Collin Co., Texas
This is the family of my great-grandfather (my father’s father’s father), Hiram Carroll Brinlee, Jr., and his first wife, Diza Carolina Boone. Hiram was the son of Hiram Carroll Brinlee, Sr., and Elizabeth Ann “Betsey” McKinney, a niece of Collin McKinney. Diza was the daughter of Alonzo Havington Boone, the granddaughter of Daniel Morgan Boone, and the great-granddaughter of Daniel Boone. On the 1870 census Hiram and Diza are shown in Bates County, Missouri, and on the 1880 census they are back in Collin County, Texas.
Missing information: I would like to find more information on “Doll” Brinlee’s first husband, Leander Scott, and Ambert Brinlee’s first wife, Susie Howard.
I would love to share information with anyone related to/researching this family; you can use the “Contact” button on the left side of this blog to get in touch with me.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Featured Family Friday: John Sloan Lewis and Carrie Lanora Orr
John Sloan Lewis
b. 12 May 1856, Anderson Co., South Carolina
d. 7 Jul 1940, Dallas County, TX
& Carrie Lanora Orr
b. 21 Nov 1858, South Carolina
d. 7 Jul 1934, Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
m. 1875
|--William B. Lewis
|----b. 31 Aug 1875, South Carolina
|----d. 27 Feb 1928, Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
|--Eddie Brennon Lewis Sr.
|----b. 13 Oct 1877, South Carolina
|----d. 2 Apr 1970, Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
|---& Blanche Hansford
|----b. 28 Aug 1884, Ohio
|----d. 29 Aug 1967, Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
|----m. 1902
|--Roy Henry Lewis
|----b. 21 Dec 1880, Texas
|----d. 10 Jan 1959, Pauls Valley, Garvin Co., OK
|---& Bessie Lee Scrivner
|----b. 1 Oct 1884, Indian Territory, Oklahoma
|----d. 5 Jan 1963, Pauls Valley, Garvin Co., OK
|----m. 8 Jun 1904, Chickasaw Nation, Ardmore, Oklahoma
|--Kemp Lewis
|----b. 21 Feb 1883, Lancaster, Texas
|----d. 11 Sep 1957, Houston, Harris County, Texas
|---& Shirley May Whilden
|----b. 11 Dec 1892, Indianapolis, Indiana
|----d. 9 Feb 1949, Galveston, Galveston, Texas
|----m. 30 Oct 1912, Dallas County, TX
|--Oscar Lee Lewis
|----b. 8 Aug 1885, Texas
|----d. 21 Sep 1972, Grand Prairie, Tarrant, Texas
|---& Sarah Alston
|----b. 13 Jun 1885, Texas
|----d. 31 Jan 1975, Arlington, Tarrant, Texas
|----m. 2 May 1905, Cliff Temple Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas
|--Howard Guy Lewis
|----b. 23 Mar 1888, Lancaster, Texas
|----d. 3 Aug 1969, Temple, Bell, TX
This is the family of the youngest brother of my great-grandmother Martha E. Lewis (Moore). John Sloan Lewis’ parents were Elisha Berry Lewis and Martha Poole. Carrie was the daughter of Captain William and Jane Orr. Below is John Sloan Lewis’ obituary, taken from the Dallas Morning News, 9 July 1940, Section II, p. 9:
Early County Peace Officer, Mule Driver Passes; Funeral Tuesday for J. Sloan Lewis
“A mule driver from the days when freight wagons rumbled between Dallas and Lancaster, deputy sheriff who went after outlaws with saddle and sixgun, will be laid away with the body of J. Sloan Lewis, 84, Tuesday.
Hit by a sudden stroke at 10:30 p.m. Saturday, the man who owned the third telephone ever installed in Oak Cliff managed to drag himself from his apartment at 816 East Ninth Street to the door of a son and ask that a doctor be called. He made his way back to his room before he lost consciousness forever.
Mr. Lewis died Sunday night. He will be buried in Laurel Land Memorial Park following funeral services at the Sparkman-Brand Chapel at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
In County Sixty-Three Years
Dallas County had known the 6-foot 2-inch 235-pound frame of Irishman John Sloan Lewis for sixty-three years. When he first to Oak Cliff, he sometimes shot squirrels with a six-shooter on Ewing, and no more than 3,000 people lived on the bluffs across the river. When he first installed his telephone, it was such a curiosity that the neighbors came for miles to use it.
He first settled in Lancaster in 1877, coming there from his native city, Anderson, S.C. He hired out as a cotton buyer to R. P. Henry, Lancaster private banker. Part of his job was to run the mule train that hauled Lancaster cotton into Dallas and took groceries back to the Lancaster stores. On some trips he carried thousands of dollars of the Henry bank’s money hidden away under his load.
A short time afterward, his brother, W. Henry Lewis, became sheriff of Dallas County, and Mr. Lewis went to work as deputy at Lancaster.
Mr. Lewis moved to Oak Cliff in 1893 and settled down on the lot where he died. Until he retired some ten years ago, he was joint special claims agent for half a dozen railroads under the direction of the Texas & Pacific. Since his retirement, he had devoted his time to managing his rent properties and real estate.
Familiar Oak Cliff Figure
He remained one of the Cliff community’s familiar figures. Still weighing more than 200 pounds, he had lost little of his vigor. At 84, his teeth were still sound. He never used spectacles except when he was reading. Until three years ago, he drove his own automobile.
The Rev. Leo Johnston and the Rev. Bertram Smith will conduct the funeral service. W. R. Carnihan, J. C. Simmons, Charles H. Tosch, Sam J. Smith, I. G. Etheridge and L. A. Stacey will be pallbearers.
The survivors include five sons, E. B. Lewis, Roy H. Lewis, Oscar L. Lewis and Guy Lewis of Dallas and Kemp Lewis of Houston; two sisters, Miss Julia Lewis of Los Angeles, and Mrs. C. C. Hindman of Greenville, S.C., and his brother, W. Henry Lewis of Dallas.”
I would love to share information with anyone related to/researching this family; you can use the “Contact” button on the left side of this blog to get in touch with me.
b. 12 May 1856, Anderson Co., South Carolina
d. 7 Jul 1940, Dallas County, TX
& Carrie Lanora Orr
b. 21 Nov 1858, South Carolina
d. 7 Jul 1934, Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
m. 1875
|--William B. Lewis
|----b. 31 Aug 1875, South Carolina
|----d. 27 Feb 1928, Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
|--Eddie Brennon Lewis Sr.
|----b. 13 Oct 1877, South Carolina
|----d. 2 Apr 1970, Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
|---& Blanche Hansford
|----b. 28 Aug 1884, Ohio
|----d. 29 Aug 1967, Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
|----m. 1902
|--Roy Henry Lewis
|----b. 21 Dec 1880, Texas
|----d. 10 Jan 1959, Pauls Valley, Garvin Co., OK
|---& Bessie Lee Scrivner
|----b. 1 Oct 1884, Indian Territory, Oklahoma
|----d. 5 Jan 1963, Pauls Valley, Garvin Co., OK
|----m. 8 Jun 1904, Chickasaw Nation, Ardmore, Oklahoma
|--Kemp Lewis
|----b. 21 Feb 1883, Lancaster, Texas
|----d. 11 Sep 1957, Houston, Harris County, Texas
|---& Shirley May Whilden
|----b. 11 Dec 1892, Indianapolis, Indiana
|----d. 9 Feb 1949, Galveston, Galveston, Texas
|----m. 30 Oct 1912, Dallas County, TX
|--Oscar Lee Lewis
|----b. 8 Aug 1885, Texas
|----d. 21 Sep 1972, Grand Prairie, Tarrant, Texas
|---& Sarah Alston
|----b. 13 Jun 1885, Texas
|----d. 31 Jan 1975, Arlington, Tarrant, Texas
|----m. 2 May 1905, Cliff Temple Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas
|--Howard Guy Lewis
|----b. 23 Mar 1888, Lancaster, Texas
|----d. 3 Aug 1969, Temple, Bell, TX
This is the family of the youngest brother of my great-grandmother Martha E. Lewis (Moore). John Sloan Lewis’ parents were Elisha Berry Lewis and Martha Poole. Carrie was the daughter of Captain William and Jane Orr. Below is John Sloan Lewis’ obituary, taken from the Dallas Morning News, 9 July 1940, Section II, p. 9:
Early County Peace Officer, Mule Driver Passes; Funeral Tuesday for J. Sloan Lewis
“A mule driver from the days when freight wagons rumbled between Dallas and Lancaster, deputy sheriff who went after outlaws with saddle and sixgun, will be laid away with the body of J. Sloan Lewis, 84, Tuesday.
Hit by a sudden stroke at 10:30 p.m. Saturday, the man who owned the third telephone ever installed in Oak Cliff managed to drag himself from his apartment at 816 East Ninth Street to the door of a son and ask that a doctor be called. He made his way back to his room before he lost consciousness forever.
Mr. Lewis died Sunday night. He will be buried in Laurel Land Memorial Park following funeral services at the Sparkman-Brand Chapel at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
In County Sixty-Three Years
Dallas County had known the 6-foot 2-inch 235-pound frame of Irishman John Sloan Lewis for sixty-three years. When he first to Oak Cliff, he sometimes shot squirrels with a six-shooter on Ewing, and no more than 3,000 people lived on the bluffs across the river. When he first installed his telephone, it was such a curiosity that the neighbors came for miles to use it.
He first settled in Lancaster in 1877, coming there from his native city, Anderson, S.C. He hired out as a cotton buyer to R. P. Henry, Lancaster private banker. Part of his job was to run the mule train that hauled Lancaster cotton into Dallas and took groceries back to the Lancaster stores. On some trips he carried thousands of dollars of the Henry bank’s money hidden away under his load.
A short time afterward, his brother, W. Henry Lewis, became sheriff of Dallas County, and Mr. Lewis went to work as deputy at Lancaster.
Mr. Lewis moved to Oak Cliff in 1893 and settled down on the lot where he died. Until he retired some ten years ago, he was joint special claims agent for half a dozen railroads under the direction of the Texas & Pacific. Since his retirement, he had devoted his time to managing his rent properties and real estate.
Familiar Oak Cliff Figure
He remained one of the Cliff community’s familiar figures. Still weighing more than 200 pounds, he had lost little of his vigor. At 84, his teeth were still sound. He never used spectacles except when he was reading. Until three years ago, he drove his own automobile.
The Rev. Leo Johnston and the Rev. Bertram Smith will conduct the funeral service. W. R. Carnihan, J. C. Simmons, Charles H. Tosch, Sam J. Smith, I. G. Etheridge and L. A. Stacey will be pallbearers.
The survivors include five sons, E. B. Lewis, Roy H. Lewis, Oscar L. Lewis and Guy Lewis of Dallas and Kemp Lewis of Houston; two sisters, Miss Julia Lewis of Los Angeles, and Mrs. C. C. Hindman of Greenville, S.C., and his brother, W. Henry Lewis of Dallas.”
I would love to share information with anyone related to/researching this family; you can use the “Contact” button on the left side of this blog to get in touch with me.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Featured Family Friday: William Henry Lewis and Julia Mister
William Henry Lewis
--b. 11 Mar 1851, Franklin Co., Georgia
--d. 21 Feb 1946, Baylor Hospital, Dallas, Dallas Co., Texas
& Julia Mister
--b. 12 Oct 1871, Grenada, Mississippi
--d. 22 Sep 1945, Dallas County, TX
--m. 1893
Julia Mister and William Henry Lewis – aka “Dearest” and “Duse” – are one of my favorite families. They had no children of their own, but they helped to raise the children of Julia’s best friend Bettie Curtice Rosser, who died when the children were still young, and Bettie’s husband Virgil Rosser, who had to travel a great deal on business (you can read more about them in Uncle, Uncle – William Henry Lewis: A Little Man Who Stood Tall.
W. H. Lewis was the son of Elisha Berry Lewis and Martha Poole of Anderson County, South Carolina; his sister, Martha E. “Mattie” Lewis (Moore) was my great-grandmother. Henry and Martha were born in Franklin County, Georgia, where the E. B. Lewis family lived in the late 1840s and early 1850s. Julia Mister was the daughter of Wilbur Fiske Mister and his first wife, Corinne Campbell.
The picture at the top shows Dearest and Duse at their home in Dallas and was probably taken in the early 1940s. The second picture shows a young Julia on the right and one of her friends (or possibly her half-sister or cousin) on the left sitting on mules; it may have been taken near the Grand Canyon.
Below are the obituaries of William Henry and Julia Mister Lewis; they are transcribed from the materials of the William Henry and Julia Mister Lewis Collection of John R. Hornady, III, privately held by Greta K.
Obituary of William Henry Lewis, handwritten date 2-22-46, negative photocopy from the Dallas Morning News, 22 Feb 1946, entitled “Early-Day Officer Dies in Dallas”
William Henry Lewis, 95, colorful early-day peace officer and the first Dallas County sheriff to hold office for three terms, died Thursday afternoon at Baylor Hospital. He lived at 1520 South Boulevard.
One of fourteen children, Lewis was born in Franklin Co., Ga., and spent his early boyhood on a farm in Anderson County, South Carolina. He had a constant ambition to come to Texas and at the close of the Civil War spent his savings of $45 on a railroad ticket.
He split rails at 1 c each to replenish the funds and later did survey work for the railroad along the route. He got to Dallas in 1873 and located on a farm near Lisbon,.
Long Time Deputy Sheriff.
His first public office was as Deputy Tax Assessor of Dallas County under Dod Rollins. Under Sheriff Ben Jones, he became a deputy. He continued in this job under Sheriff W. H. W. Smith.
He then held the office of Constable of Precinct 1, Dallas County, and in the fall of 1886 was elected Sheriff. He was re-elected in 1888 and 1890.
Many stories of Lewis’ remarkable character and quiet courage are told of his days as Sheriff.
One relates how Lewis, while unarmed, induced one of the infamous Starr brothers to follow him meekly to jail after he had shot up a downtown saloon.
Retiring from office he entered the real estate business with the late Col. O. P. Bowser. They formed the firm of Bowser & Lewis and Lewis continued in this business until his death.
Active in Masonry.
He was a member of the Presbyterian Church York Rite and Scottish Rite degrees of Masonry, the Shriners, the Knights of Pythias, the Knights of Honor and the Elks.
At one time he served as a member of the city’s equalization board and was frequently called in to help on various real estate condemnation and valuation committees.
He was interested in navigation of the Trinity River. He was one of the founders of the Oakland Cemetery and helped keep the Texas State Fair operating in the days before the city assumed the debt.
Surviving are two half-sisters, Miss Julia Lewis, San Diego, Calif., and Mrs. C. C. Hindman, Greenville, SC, and two nephews, Roy Lewis and Ed Lewis, both of Dallas.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p. m. Saturday at Sparkman-Brand Funeral Chapel, 2113 Ross.
Obituary of Mrs. William Henry Lewis [nee Julia Mister], clipping from unidentified newspaper, entitled “Lewis Rites Set Monday.”
Lewis Rites Set Monday
Funeral services for Mrs. William Henry Lewis, who died Saturday at her home, 1520 South Boulevard, were to be held at 4 p. m. Monday at the Sparkman-Brand Funeral Chapel,2115 Ross Ave. Rev. Philip Sarles, pastor of the Central Congregational Church, was to officiate.
Mrs. Lewis was born in Granada, Miss., but moved to Plano, Tex. with her parents as a child, in 1883. Her father was the late Prof. Wilbur H. Mister, founder of Plano Institute and later connected with Polytechnical College at Fort Worth. Her mother, the late Corinne Campbell Mister, was born in Charleston, S.C.
In 1893 she became the bride of William H. Lewis of Dallas, where Mr. Lewis was active in real estate and business circles.
Mrs. Lewis had been prominent in Dallas literary and civic activities. She was a member of the Southern Memorial Association, Pierian Club, Browning Club, and in early years she was one of the leading Dallas musicians.
Among friends from out-of-town who attended the services were Mrs. Jack R. Hornady of Tarrytown, N.Y.; Mrs. Rosser Zoll of New York, N.Y.; Dr. and Mrs. Virgil O. Rosser Jr. of Graham, Tex.; Mrs. V.O. Rosser, Sr., of Graham, Tex., and Mrs. Francis M. Black of Kincaid, Kan. Mrs. Wilbur Hawkins was soloist and Mrs. A. A. Cocke paid a tribute at the service.
Pallbearers were Dr. Curtice Rosser, Roscoe P. DeWitt, J.E. Gamble, Gwynne S. Curtis, J.W. Shepard, Jr., and Roy H. Lewis.
[Mrs. Francis M. Black is Edna, Julia’s half-sister.]
Friday, September 4, 2009
Featured Family Friday: James West Lewis and Sophia Adeline Millwee
James West Lewis
b. Nov 1835, South Carolina
d. 20 Mar 1904
& Sophia Adeline Milwee
b. 5 Mar 1839, Anderson District, South Carolina
d. 30 Dec 1926, Vernon, Willbarger, Texas
m. 28 Feb 1867
|--Sophia Caroline Lewis
|----b. 2 Dec 1868, South Carolina
|----d. 1932
|---& James A. Puckett
|----b. Oct 1861, Texas
|----d. bef 1930
|----m. 1888
|--Samuel Millwee Lewis
|----b. 2 Feb 1871, South Carolina
|----d. 19 Apr 1942
|---& Edith Cederia Sparks
|----b. 29 Dec 1880, Alabama
|----d. 21 Feb 1975, Slaton, Lubbock, Texas
|----m. 1908
|--Robert Lewis
|----b. 3 Mar 1873, South Carolina
|----d. bef 1880
|--Blake Henry Lewis*
|----b. 10 Jun 1875, South Carolina
|----d. 20 Jan 1962, Vernon, Wilbarger Co., Texas
|---& Mary Nancy “Mollie” Starr
|----b. Nov 1877, Missouri
|----d. 20 Jul 1917, Vernon, Wilbarger Co., Texas
|----m. 3 Mar 1900, Vernon, Wilbarger Co., Texas
|--Blake Henry Lewis*
|----b. 10 Jun 1875, South Carolina
|----d. 20 Jan 1962, Vernon, Wilbarger Co., Texas
|---& Florence Belzora Osborne
|----b. 29 Feb 1884, Callihan, McMullen Co., Texas
|----m. 22 Aug 1925
|--David J. Lewis
|----b. 22 Apr 1877, Texas
|----d. 7 Jul 1961, Los Angeles, California
|---& Alice A. McKinney
|----b. 26 Feb 1882, Texas
|----d. 11 Dec 1966, Los Angeles, California
|--Manning Hyson Lewis
|----b. 17 Oct 1879, Texas
|----d. 21 Oct 1964, Wichita Falls, Wichita, Texas
|---& Myrtle Mae Kincheloe
|----b. 10 Apr 1886, Hamilton Co., Texas
|----d. 2 Dec 1961, Vernon, Wilbarger Co., Texas
|----m. 15 Aug 1905, Vernon, Wilbarger Co.,
This is the family of my great-grandmother Martha E. Lewis’ oldest brother, James West Lewis. I initially did not know if this James West Lewis was the same as the James W. Lewis I had identified as her brother, but when I saw that one of his sons was named Manning, I knew he was the correct person. This Manning was named for James’ and Martha’s brother Manning, who died in the Civil War. (The latter was named for his grandfather, Manning Poole, whose given name was his mother’s maiden name.) I suspect that son Samuel was named for another Lewis brother who also died in the Civil War and who served in the same unit as James, the 4th Regiment, SC Infantry, Company B.
This Lewis family probably moved from South Carolina to Texas in the same year as the other Lewis siblings who moved (1877, possibly earlier in the year, however), but settled first in Travis County and then in Wilbarger County instead of Dallas County, where the other Lewis siblings settled. Wilbarger County is only one county over from Baylor County, where James’ nephew Kirby Runion Moore, my grandfather, moved in 1917, so I wonder if the cousins were aware that they lived so near to one another.
Sophia Adeline Millwee was a cousin of James West Lewis; if I remember correctly, she was his first cousin once removed.
If you are researching this family, please contact me (using the button at the left of this blog).
b. Nov 1835, South Carolina
d. 20 Mar 1904
& Sophia Adeline Milwee
b. 5 Mar 1839, Anderson District, South Carolina
d. 30 Dec 1926, Vernon, Willbarger, Texas
m. 28 Feb 1867
|--Sophia Caroline Lewis
|----b. 2 Dec 1868, South Carolina
|----d. 1932
|---& James A. Puckett
|----b. Oct 1861, Texas
|----d. bef 1930
|----m. 1888
|--Samuel Millwee Lewis
|----b. 2 Feb 1871, South Carolina
|----d. 19 Apr 1942
|---& Edith Cederia Sparks
|----b. 29 Dec 1880, Alabama
|----d. 21 Feb 1975, Slaton, Lubbock, Texas
|----m. 1908
|--Robert Lewis
|----b. 3 Mar 1873, South Carolina
|----d. bef 1880
|--Blake Henry Lewis*
|----b. 10 Jun 1875, South Carolina
|----d. 20 Jan 1962, Vernon, Wilbarger Co., Texas
|---& Mary Nancy “Mollie” Starr
|----b. Nov 1877, Missouri
|----d. 20 Jul 1917, Vernon, Wilbarger Co., Texas
|----m. 3 Mar 1900, Vernon, Wilbarger Co., Texas
|--Blake Henry Lewis*
|----b. 10 Jun 1875, South Carolina
|----d. 20 Jan 1962, Vernon, Wilbarger Co., Texas
|---& Florence Belzora Osborne
|----b. 29 Feb 1884, Callihan, McMullen Co., Texas
|----m. 22 Aug 1925
|--David J. Lewis
|----b. 22 Apr 1877, Texas
|----d. 7 Jul 1961, Los Angeles, California
|---& Alice A. McKinney
|----b. 26 Feb 1882, Texas
|----d. 11 Dec 1966, Los Angeles, California
|--Manning Hyson Lewis
|----b. 17 Oct 1879, Texas
|----d. 21 Oct 1964, Wichita Falls, Wichita, Texas
|---& Myrtle Mae Kincheloe
|----b. 10 Apr 1886, Hamilton Co., Texas
|----d. 2 Dec 1961, Vernon, Wilbarger Co., Texas
|----m. 15 Aug 1905, Vernon, Wilbarger Co.,
This is the family of my great-grandmother Martha E. Lewis’ oldest brother, James West Lewis. I initially did not know if this James West Lewis was the same as the James W. Lewis I had identified as her brother, but when I saw that one of his sons was named Manning, I knew he was the correct person. This Manning was named for James’ and Martha’s brother Manning, who died in the Civil War. (The latter was named for his grandfather, Manning Poole, whose given name was his mother’s maiden name.) I suspect that son Samuel was named for another Lewis brother who also died in the Civil War and who served in the same unit as James, the 4th Regiment, SC Infantry, Company B.
This Lewis family probably moved from South Carolina to Texas in the same year as the other Lewis siblings who moved (1877, possibly earlier in the year, however), but settled first in Travis County and then in Wilbarger County instead of Dallas County, where the other Lewis siblings settled. Wilbarger County is only one county over from Baylor County, where James’ nephew Kirby Runion Moore, my grandfather, moved in 1917, so I wonder if the cousins were aware that they lived so near to one another.
Sophia Adeline Millwee was a cousin of James West Lewis; if I remember correctly, she was his first cousin once removed.
If you are researching this family, please contact me (using the button at the left of this blog).
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