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 There are links to a number of Texas historical documents.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 Dallas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dallas. 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).
Friday, March 19, 2010
Friend of Friends Friday: The Floyd Family
My initial Friend of Friends posts will not involve posting names of slaves found in wills, etc., that would not otherwise be known since my research and data inputting is currently at the great-great grandparent level, and the slaveholders among these ancestors were still alive at the end of the Civil War. Their slaves would therefore appear in the 1870 census unless they died before then. I am starting with the family stories because they may contain clues as to who these slaves were and also because it could possibly add a little information for descendants who may be researching them.
There are at least a couple of different stories among descendants of George Floyd indicating that the family owned slaves. As it turns out, the second story involves the members of a Black family who had been slaves or were descended from slaves of the Taylors, a family that was related to the Floyds by marriage. That second family had a close connection to my grandmother, and I will write about them in a later post.
Today’s post is on the family of Samuel Floyd of Dallas County, who is shown on the 1870 census living next to the George Floyd family:
1870 US Federal Census, Precinct No. 2, Dallas, Texas, p. 70, 26 July 1870
Line 13 Dwelling 431 Family 430
Floyd, George Male White Farmer $1660 $1500 VT Father of foreign birth Male citizen over 21
---------Elizabeth J. 36 Female White Keeps house MO Cannot write
---------Mary E. 3 Female White TX
---------Harriett Female White 1 TX
---------Alfred B. 21 Male White IL Male citizen over 21
Brown, William S. 24 Male White TX
---------Eliza A. 20 Female White TX
---------Mary E. 1 Female White TX
Line 21 Dwelling 432 Family 431
Floyd, Samuel 45 Male Black Farmer $200 GA Cannot read or write Male citizen over 21
---------Martha 26 Female Black Keeps house MO Cannot read or write
---------George 6 Male Black TX
---------Mattie 4 Female Black TX
---------James 2 Male Black TX
Young, Granville 34 Male Black Farmer $100 VA Cannot read or write Male citizen over 21
---------Paulina 27 Female Black Keeps house VA Cannot read or write
---------Robert 9 Male Black MS
---------Mary F. 10/12 Female Black TX Born July
The last name and proximity of the families on the census seem to indicate that this Floyd family had most likely been slaves of the George Floyd family. I am not sure whether or how the Granville Young family is related to them; perhaps Granville was Martha’s brother or Paulina was Samuel’s or Martha’s sister. The story related to me by a second cousin does not seem to be consistent with either Samuel’s or Granville’s family status; however, there are other inconsistencies in the story:
“The story is that George Floyd had a slave and after the war he gave him to Alfred [after the war the man in question would no longer have been George’s to give, and at any rate Alfred was still quite young, as he was born in 1849] and Alfred built him a little house behind his and he lived there til he died – never married. [The cousin goes on to say that she thinks Alfred’s oldest brother David would be more likely to have been the Floyd involved in this story.] One of Alfred’s granddaughters told me she remembered seeing him.”
The discrepancies in the story are not the fault of the cousin who related this story but are simply typical of all of the “Floyd family myths” – there are quite a few Floyd family stories, but very few of them hold together when you look at all the facts.
For one thing, both Samuel and Granville are family men. Sooo – if there was a confirmed bachelor who had also been a Floyd family slave, I do not know who or where he was at this time.
And I still have not been able to find any record of George Floyd’s slaves on the 1850 or 1860 Slave Schedules. There is a George Floyd from Texas on the 1860 schedule, but he is in Madison County; my George Floyd lived in Dallas County.
Here are the Samuel Floyd and Granville Young families on the 1880 census:
1880 US Federal Census, Precinct No. 5, Dallas County, Texas, ED 65, p. 24, 9 June 1880
Line 4 Dwelling 202 Family 204
Floyd, Sam Black Male 60 Married Farmer Cannot read or write GA GA GA
---------Martha Black Female 35 Wife Keeping house Cannot read or write MO VA VA
---------George Black Male 16 Son Single At home TX GA MO
---------Mattie Black Female 14 Daughter Single At home Cannot read or write TX GA MO
---------Jimmie Black Male 13 Son Single At home TX GA MO
---------Lou Black Female 9 Daughter Single TX GA MO
---------Effie Black Female 8 Daughter Single TX GA MO
---------Ardella Black Female 5 Daughter Single TX GA MO
---------Minnie Black Female 2 Daughter Single TX GA MO
---------Infant Black Female 9/12 Sept. Daughter TX GA MO
1880 US Federal Census, Precinct No. 5, Dallas County, Texas, ED 68, p. 52, 19 June 1880
Line 5 Dwelling 430 Family 435
Young, Granville Mulatto Male 50 Married Laborer Cannot read or write VA – VA
---------Polina Black Female 35 Wife Married Keeping house Cannot read or write VA VA VA
---------Francis Mulatto Female 10 Daughter Single At home Attended school Cannot write
TX VA VA
---------Eliza Mulatto Female 8 Daughter Single TX VA VA
---------Alfred Mulatto Male 6 Son Single TX VA VA
---------Martha Mulatto Female 3 Daughter Single TX VA VA
Johns, Robert Black Male 20 Stepson Laborer MS VA VA
If any descendants of these families read this, I’d love to exchange information. Perhaps your family stories are more reliable than the ones I have for the Floyds!
There are at least a couple of different stories among descendants of George Floyd indicating that the family owned slaves. As it turns out, the second story involves the members of a Black family who had been slaves or were descended from slaves of the Taylors, a family that was related to the Floyds by marriage. That second family had a close connection to my grandmother, and I will write about them in a later post.
Today’s post is on the family of Samuel Floyd of Dallas County, who is shown on the 1870 census living next to the George Floyd family:
1870 US Federal Census, Precinct No. 2, Dallas, Texas, p. 70, 26 July 1870
Line 13 Dwelling 431 Family 430
Floyd, George Male White Farmer $1660 $1500 VT Father of foreign birth Male citizen over 21
---------Elizabeth J. 36 Female White Keeps house MO Cannot write
---------Mary E. 3 Female White TX
---------Harriett Female White 1 TX
---------Alfred B. 21 Male White IL Male citizen over 21
Brown, William S. 24 Male White TX
---------Eliza A. 20 Female White TX
---------Mary E. 1 Female White TX
Line 21 Dwelling 432 Family 431
Floyd, Samuel 45 Male Black Farmer $200 GA Cannot read or write Male citizen over 21
---------Martha 26 Female Black Keeps house MO Cannot read or write
---------George 6 Male Black TX
---------Mattie 4 Female Black TX
---------James 2 Male Black TX
Young, Granville 34 Male Black Farmer $100 VA Cannot read or write Male citizen over 21
---------Paulina 27 Female Black Keeps house VA Cannot read or write
---------Robert 9 Male Black MS
---------Mary F. 10/12 Female Black TX Born July
The last name and proximity of the families on the census seem to indicate that this Floyd family had most likely been slaves of the George Floyd family. I am not sure whether or how the Granville Young family is related to them; perhaps Granville was Martha’s brother or Paulina was Samuel’s or Martha’s sister. The story related to me by a second cousin does not seem to be consistent with either Samuel’s or Granville’s family status; however, there are other inconsistencies in the story:
“The story is that George Floyd had a slave and after the war he gave him to Alfred [after the war the man in question would no longer have been George’s to give, and at any rate Alfred was still quite young, as he was born in 1849] and Alfred built him a little house behind his and he lived there til he died – never married. [The cousin goes on to say that she thinks Alfred’s oldest brother David would be more likely to have been the Floyd involved in this story.] One of Alfred’s granddaughters told me she remembered seeing him.”
The discrepancies in the story are not the fault of the cousin who related this story but are simply typical of all of the “Floyd family myths” – there are quite a few Floyd family stories, but very few of them hold together when you look at all the facts.
For one thing, both Samuel and Granville are family men. Sooo – if there was a confirmed bachelor who had also been a Floyd family slave, I do not know who or where he was at this time.
And I still have not been able to find any record of George Floyd’s slaves on the 1850 or 1860 Slave Schedules. There is a George Floyd from Texas on the 1860 schedule, but he is in Madison County; my George Floyd lived in Dallas County.
Here are the Samuel Floyd and Granville Young families on the 1880 census:
1880 US Federal Census, Precinct No. 5, Dallas County, Texas, ED 65, p. 24, 9 June 1880
Line 4 Dwelling 202 Family 204
Floyd, Sam Black Male 60 Married Farmer Cannot read or write GA GA GA
---------Martha Black Female 35 Wife Keeping house Cannot read or write MO VA VA
---------George Black Male 16 Son Single At home TX GA MO
---------Mattie Black Female 14 Daughter Single At home Cannot read or write TX GA MO
---------Jimmie Black Male 13 Son Single At home TX GA MO
---------Lou Black Female 9 Daughter Single TX GA MO
---------Effie Black Female 8 Daughter Single TX GA MO
---------Ardella Black Female 5 Daughter Single TX GA MO
---------Minnie Black Female 2 Daughter Single TX GA MO
---------Infant Black Female 9/12 Sept. Daughter TX GA MO
1880 US Federal Census, Precinct No. 5, Dallas County, Texas, ED 68, p. 52, 19 June 1880
Line 5 Dwelling 430 Family 435
Young, Granville Mulatto Male 50 Married Laborer Cannot read or write VA – VA
---------Polina Black Female 35 Wife Married Keeping house Cannot read or write VA VA VA
---------Francis Mulatto Female 10 Daughter Single At home Attended school Cannot write
TX VA VA
---------Eliza Mulatto Female 8 Daughter Single TX VA VA
---------Alfred Mulatto Male 6 Son Single TX VA VA
---------Martha Mulatto Female 3 Daughter Single TX VA VA
Johns, Robert Black Male 20 Stepson Laborer MS VA VA
If any descendants of these families read this, I’d love to exchange information. Perhaps your family stories are more reliable than the ones I have for the Floyds!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Transcription Tuesday: Letter from A. C. Thurman, a Representative of the Black Community of Dallas, to Sheriff William Henry Lewis
Below are the scanned images and transcript of a letter, dated May 26, 1892, from A. C. Thurman, a representative of the Black community of Dallas, to Sheriff William Henry Lewis.
Context of the letter:
The letter was written in response to Sheriff Lewis’ actions in preventing the attempted lynching of an African-American man named Henry Miller. The information I have on this case comes from two main sources. One is my copy of an article written in tribute to Henry Lewis by Jack Hornady, husband of one of the children Henry and his wife Julia helped to raise after the children’s mother, Julia’s good friend Bettie Curtice Rosser, died. The other source consists of several newspaper articles, some transcribed at Jim Wheat’s Dallas County Texas Archives and others downloaded from the archives of the Dallas Morning News.
In 1892 Henry Miller was being held for the murder of Police Officer O. C. Brewer when a large mob, estimated at 2,500, attempted to seize and lynch Miller. According to Jack Hornady’s article, Dallas Times-Herald publisher Edwin J. Keist told the story of “how when he first reached Dallas as a young newspaperman out looking for a career, he got off the train and saw a large crowd surrounding the courthouse and jail. He worked his way through the crowd until he reached the gate to the jail yard. By then he realized that this was a mob bent on taking a prisoner from the jail and lynching him.
“Mr. Keist saw a slender little man sitting on the jail steps with a rifle across his knees. Then he heard this man say to the crowd: “I will shoot the first man who comes through that gate – even if he’s my brother.” And no one dared go through the gate because they knew he meant it. Soon the crowd dispersed.”
This is the event to which Mr. A. C. Thurman was referring in his letter.
Jim Wheat’s Dallas County Texas Archives also contains a reference to A. C. Thurman on a page of transcripts of newspaper articles on African-Americans in Dallas. There are also several other articles on the Henry Miller case that can be located by going to the Dallas Archives page and searching for “Henry Miller.”
United States Post Office,
Dallas
Dallas County
State of Texas
May 26, 1892
Mr. Henry Lewis (Sheriff)
Sir your actions in the preventing the collard man Henry Miller the murderer of Policeman Brewer from being takend from Jail and hanged at the hands of an infuriated mob certainly meets the approval of all colared citizens of Dallas.
Not because the colared people desire for him to escape punishment but mainly because it is claimed, especially by men at the north that colored men here are mobbed without trial and the officers and the leading white citizens all in favor of mob law. Dallas put herself on record Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans all have alike let mobs disgrace their good names.
Allow me again to congratulate you and all the better element of our white citizens for the suppression of the mob.
Dallas should feel proud of so noble such an officer.
I am very Sincere
A.C. Thurman
a colard man
Context of the letter:
The letter was written in response to Sheriff Lewis’ actions in preventing the attempted lynching of an African-American man named Henry Miller. The information I have on this case comes from two main sources. One is my copy of an article written in tribute to Henry Lewis by Jack Hornady, husband of one of the children Henry and his wife Julia helped to raise after the children’s mother, Julia’s good friend Bettie Curtice Rosser, died. The other source consists of several newspaper articles, some transcribed at Jim Wheat’s Dallas County Texas Archives and others downloaded from the archives of the Dallas Morning News.
In 1892 Henry Miller was being held for the murder of Police Officer O. C. Brewer when a large mob, estimated at 2,500, attempted to seize and lynch Miller. According to Jack Hornady’s article, Dallas Times-Herald publisher Edwin J. Keist told the story of “how when he first reached Dallas as a young newspaperman out looking for a career, he got off the train and saw a large crowd surrounding the courthouse and jail. He worked his way through the crowd until he reached the gate to the jail yard. By then he realized that this was a mob bent on taking a prisoner from the jail and lynching him.
“Mr. Keist saw a slender little man sitting on the jail steps with a rifle across his knees. Then he heard this man say to the crowd: “I will shoot the first man who comes through that gate – even if he’s my brother.” And no one dared go through the gate because they knew he meant it. Soon the crowd dispersed.”
This is the event to which Mr. A. C. Thurman was referring in his letter.
Jim Wheat’s Dallas County Texas Archives also contains a reference to A. C. Thurman on a page of transcripts of newspaper articles on African-Americans in Dallas. There are also several other articles on the Henry Miller case that can be located by going to the Dallas Archives page and searching for “Henry Miller.”
United States Post Office,
Dallas
Dallas County
State of Texas
May 26, 1892
Mr. Henry Lewis (Sheriff)
Sir your actions in the preventing the collard man Henry Miller the murderer of Policeman Brewer from being takend from Jail and hanged at the hands of an infuriated mob certainly meets the approval of all colared citizens of Dallas.
Not because the colared people desire for him to escape punishment but mainly because it is claimed, especially by men at the north that colored men here are mobbed without trial and the officers and the leading white citizens all in favor of mob law. Dallas put herself on record Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans all have alike let mobs disgrace their good names.
Allow me again to congratulate you and all the better element of our white citizens for the suppression of the mob.
Dallas should feel proud of so noble such an officer.
I am very Sincere
A.C. Thurman
a colard man
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.”
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, 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.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Family Fun: The Old-Time Settlers’ Reunion
Research an event your ancestor may have attended. Did your ancestor live within a few blocks of the parade route for the annual Fourth of July parade in the town where they lived? If your family lived in a rural area, perhaps they attended a county or state fair. If they lived in a big city, perhaps they attended a play or movie opening. Was there an amusement park or traveling carnival near the area your family was from, one they might have visited? Were there fireworks displays in the town your family was from? How much do you know about the types of entertainment your ancestors might have enjoyed? This "fun" edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is hosted by Jasia at Creative Gene.
The first family I “discovered” on my own at the beginning of my research back in 2005 was the family of my grandfather Kirby Runion Moore. His parents were Harlston Perrin Moore and Maratha E. Lewis. They came to Dallas County, Texas, from South Carolina in 1877. H. P. Moore was a tenant farmer, and that meant a pretty hardscrabble life, which may not have left a lot of time for entertainment or attending events. However, when the Twenty-Sixth Reunion of the Dallas County Old Settler’s Association was held practically on the Moores’ doorstep – in the nearby town of Hutchins (the Moores are listed on the Hutchins mail delivery route) – this must have been something too good to pass up. “H. P. Moore and wife” are listed among the attendees at the Reunion, as are a number of other people who are among my Dallas ancestors or are associated with them: Emory A. Gracey, the husband of my great-grand aunt Martha Amanda Matlock, and his brother M.D.L. (Marquis de Lafayette) Gracey; Dr. C. M. Rosser, the founder of Baylor Medical School and brother of Virgil O. Rosser, whose children Henry and Julia Lewis helped to raise; and Harvey Taylor “and wife,” aka Sarah Alcina Harris Taylor, my great-great-grand aunt. The Graceys came to Texas in the late 1850s and the Matlocks and Harrises came in 1852; the first of my ancestors to arrive in Dallas were the Floyds, who came here between 1846 and 1848.
An article from the Dallas Daily Times Herald (2 August 1903 issue, p. 16, col. 1-4, transcribed on Jim Wheat’s Dallas County Texas Archives) provides a good description of the area where the Moores lived at the time, as well as a snapshot of the area’s history up to that time:
“It was fitting that he pioneers should meet at Hutchins. It is a pretty spot, with its green fields, beautiful groves, substantial buildings of brick, well-kept lawns and comfortable homes. Not a mile away, are the lakes of the fishing clubs, where the fur, fin and feather enthusiasts of Dallas pass their leisure moments. Hutchins is an old town, and a small town. Thirty-one years ago, the Central built a passenger station there and "in the good old times," two saloons flourished, horse racing was a recognized sport, and now and then, men came to blows. This was long ago. Hutchins is a local option precinct now, and artesian water is the only intoxicant to be found by the thirsty in the village. It's a beautiful country, as fertile as the Mississippi delta and dotted here and there with homes of prosperous tillers of the soil. Four miles away is the thrifty town of Lancaster, "the best town in Dallas county" its admirers say, and this alone, tells the story why Hutchins has never spread out. More than sixty years ago, settlers from Illinois and Tennessee poured into the country where the town of Lancaster now stands.”
“Hutchins had made elaborate arrangements for the reception and entertainment of its guests. Clark's grove is an ideal spot for a picnic or reunion. It is a short distance from town and overlooks a stretch of meadow, and in the distance, is a beautiful lake. At 10 o'clock, a goodly crowd had assembled, Dallas and Lancaster sending the largest delegations. It was, point of number, the largest reunion held in recent years, and in point of hospitality, equal to any reunion held since the birth of the organization.”
The article mentions the four states in which the Peters Colony investors (the Peters Colony was an area in North Texas granted to these investors by the Republic of Texas) did most of their advertising for settlers: Illinois (where my Floyd and Finley families originated), Kentucky (where the Matlocks and Harrises originated), Tennessee, and Missouri.
I remember old-time settlers’ reunions being held in Seymour at the park near our house and how much my mother enjoyed attending these reunions, where she was able to get together with many people she had grown up with. These old-time settlers reunions in Seymour actually grew out of the old settlers’ reunion and rodeo, which originated in the cowboys’ reunion first held in Seymour in 1896. Apparently the second Cowboys’ Reunion, held in 1897, set the standard for the event:
“In August of 1897 the second Cowboy’s Reunion was held at Seymour, and this reunion was a greater affair than the first and still stands out in the minds of the old timers as unequalled in the annuals [sic] of Seymour Rodeos. This time there were in attendance Quanah Parker and his band of Comanche Indians, from 300 to 500 strong. The Indians were one of the principal attractions. One night they staged a regular Indian War Dance under the direction of their chief, Quanah Parker, all in full regalia and lighted by a huge camp fire. People came from great distances to see that spectacular event. Better preparations were made for the 1897 reunion, and more cowboy contestants were here. A circular race track was prepared on the hill east of Seymour one mile long, and the arena for cowboy contests was the ground inside of that race track. Most spectators came in wagons and buggies and lined up around the race track, thus forming an enclosure. Bronc riding, steer roping, horses racing, and steer bulldogging were the principal contests, with tournament riding and baseball games filling in the gaps.” [Baylor County Historical Society: Salt Pork to Sirloin: The History of Baylor County, Texas from 1879 to 1930, Nortex Offset Publications, Inc., 1972, p. 147.]
Genealogists love to play the “If I had a time machine” imagination game; well, if I had a time machine, these reunions were definitely events that I would attend. We could not only meet our ancestors, but the people they knew, and we could hear their stories of the old days. If only….
The first family I “discovered” on my own at the beginning of my research back in 2005 was the family of my grandfather Kirby Runion Moore. His parents were Harlston Perrin Moore and Maratha E. Lewis. They came to Dallas County, Texas, from South Carolina in 1877. H. P. Moore was a tenant farmer, and that meant a pretty hardscrabble life, which may not have left a lot of time for entertainment or attending events. However, when the Twenty-Sixth Reunion of the Dallas County Old Settler’s Association was held practically on the Moores’ doorstep – in the nearby town of Hutchins (the Moores are listed on the Hutchins mail delivery route) – this must have been something too good to pass up. “H. P. Moore and wife” are listed among the attendees at the Reunion, as are a number of other people who are among my Dallas ancestors or are associated with them: Emory A. Gracey, the husband of my great-grand aunt Martha Amanda Matlock, and his brother M.D.L. (Marquis de Lafayette) Gracey; Dr. C. M. Rosser, the founder of Baylor Medical School and brother of Virgil O. Rosser, whose children Henry and Julia Lewis helped to raise; and Harvey Taylor “and wife,” aka Sarah Alcina Harris Taylor, my great-great-grand aunt. The Graceys came to Texas in the late 1850s and the Matlocks and Harrises came in 1852; the first of my ancestors to arrive in Dallas were the Floyds, who came here between 1846 and 1848.
An article from the Dallas Daily Times Herald (2 August 1903 issue, p. 16, col. 1-4, transcribed on Jim Wheat’s Dallas County Texas Archives) provides a good description of the area where the Moores lived at the time, as well as a snapshot of the area’s history up to that time:
“It was fitting that he pioneers should meet at Hutchins. It is a pretty spot, with its green fields, beautiful groves, substantial buildings of brick, well-kept lawns and comfortable homes. Not a mile away, are the lakes of the fishing clubs, where the fur, fin and feather enthusiasts of Dallas pass their leisure moments. Hutchins is an old town, and a small town. Thirty-one years ago, the Central built a passenger station there and "in the good old times," two saloons flourished, horse racing was a recognized sport, and now and then, men came to blows. This was long ago. Hutchins is a local option precinct now, and artesian water is the only intoxicant to be found by the thirsty in the village. It's a beautiful country, as fertile as the Mississippi delta and dotted here and there with homes of prosperous tillers of the soil. Four miles away is the thrifty town of Lancaster, "the best town in Dallas county" its admirers say, and this alone, tells the story why Hutchins has never spread out. More than sixty years ago, settlers from Illinois and Tennessee poured into the country where the town of Lancaster now stands.”
“Hutchins had made elaborate arrangements for the reception and entertainment of its guests. Clark's grove is an ideal spot for a picnic or reunion. It is a short distance from town and overlooks a stretch of meadow, and in the distance, is a beautiful lake. At 10 o'clock, a goodly crowd had assembled, Dallas and Lancaster sending the largest delegations. It was, point of number, the largest reunion held in recent years, and in point of hospitality, equal to any reunion held since the birth of the organization.”
The article mentions the four states in which the Peters Colony investors (the Peters Colony was an area in North Texas granted to these investors by the Republic of Texas) did most of their advertising for settlers: Illinois (where my Floyd and Finley families originated), Kentucky (where the Matlocks and Harrises originated), Tennessee, and Missouri.
I remember old-time settlers’ reunions being held in Seymour at the park near our house and how much my mother enjoyed attending these reunions, where she was able to get together with many people she had grown up with. These old-time settlers reunions in Seymour actually grew out of the old settlers’ reunion and rodeo, which originated in the cowboys’ reunion first held in Seymour in 1896. Apparently the second Cowboys’ Reunion, held in 1897, set the standard for the event:
“In August of 1897 the second Cowboy’s Reunion was held at Seymour, and this reunion was a greater affair than the first and still stands out in the minds of the old timers as unequalled in the annuals [sic] of Seymour Rodeos. This time there were in attendance Quanah Parker and his band of Comanche Indians, from 300 to 500 strong. The Indians were one of the principal attractions. One night they staged a regular Indian War Dance under the direction of their chief, Quanah Parker, all in full regalia and lighted by a huge camp fire. People came from great distances to see that spectacular event. Better preparations were made for the 1897 reunion, and more cowboy contestants were here. A circular race track was prepared on the hill east of Seymour one mile long, and the arena for cowboy contests was the ground inside of that race track. Most spectators came in wagons and buggies and lined up around the race track, thus forming an enclosure. Bronc riding, steer roping, horses racing, and steer bulldogging were the principal contests, with tournament riding and baseball games filling in the gaps.” [Baylor County Historical Society: Salt Pork to Sirloin: The History of Baylor County, Texas from 1879 to 1930, Nortex Offset Publications, Inc., 1972, p. 147.]
Genealogists love to play the “If I had a time machine” imagination game; well, if I had a time machine, these reunions were definitely events that I would attend. We could not only meet our ancestors, but the people they knew, and we could hear their stories of the old days. If only….
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, April 3, 2009
Featured Family Friday: Harlston Perrin Moore and Martha E. “Mattie” Lewis
I am so excited to be starting a series of posts on my Moore family (and ultimately the Lewis family as well). These families are my #1 research focus – not because I love them more than my other families, but because so little research had been done on them, or at least on my particular branch in the case of the Lewises. I have recently been contacted by a 3rd cousin on the Floyd side, so I am hoping my blog posts on the Moores may produce similar results. Another element in this strategy will be to post queries on these families in the genealogy discussion boards such as GenForum and the Rootsweb boards.
Harlston Perrin Moore
b. 4 Dec 1845, Anderson Co., South Carolina
d. 12 Dec 1921, Lancaster, Dallas Co., TX
& Martha E. “Mattie” Lewis
b. 8 Nov 1848, Franklin Co., Georgia
d. 22 Sep 1930, Plano, Collin Co., Texas
m. 3 Dec 1865, Anderson Co., South Carolina
|--William H. Moore
|----b. 1869, South Carolina (probably Anderson Co.)
|----d. bef Oct 1950
|--Mary M. Moore
|----b. 1871, South Carolina (probably Anderson Co.)
|-----d. bef Oct 1950
|--Etta Marie Moore
|----b. 5 Jun 1875, South Carolina (probably Anderson Co.)
|----d. 12 Jan 1959, Garland, Dallas, Texas
|--& Lee Elmo Campbell
|----b. 21 Feb 1873, Dallas Co., Texas
|----d. 18 May 1935, Dallas Co., Texas
|----m. 1894
|--Rosalie/Rosa Lee Moore
|----b. 24 Aug 1877, South Carolina (probably Anderson Co.)
|----d. 22 Nov 1953, Kern County, California
|--& Clifton Randolph “Cliff” Brownlee
|----b. 14 Jan 1878, Lancaster, Texas
|----d. 19 Jan 1932, Lubbock Co., Texas
|----m. 1905
|--Kirby Runion Moore
|----b. 29 Apr 1880, Lancaster, Dallas Co., TX
|----d. 1 Oct 1950, Baylor County Hospital, Seymour, TX
|--& Eula Amanda Floyd
|----b. 3 Sep 1883, Lancaster, Dallas Co., TX
|----d. 9 Jun 1972, Torrance, CA
|----m. 14 Nov 1907, Oak Cliff, Texas
|--Claude Moore
|----b. 12 Nov 1882, Dallas County, TX
|----d. 24 Feb 1955, Wichita Falls, Wichita, Texas
|--& Dona Pearl Philips
|----b. 10 Apr 1887, Texas
|----d. 2 Sep 1955, California
|----m. 1906
|--Luther Lee Moore
|----b. 31 Mar 1885, Dallas County, TX
|----d. Mar 1967, 85009 Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona
|--& Ethel Clara England
|----b. Nov 1895
|----m. 1914
|--Clyde Harlston Moore
|----b. 3 Aug 1889, Dallas Co., Texas
|----d. 18 Aug 1970, Allen, Collin County, Texas
|--& UNNAMED
|----Preston Earl Moore
|--b. 24 Nov 1891, Dallas County, TX
|----d. 18 Oct 1963, McKinney, Collin County, Texas
|--& UNNAMED
From the above two-generation descendant report you can see that there are a lot of gaps, but there aren’t nearly as many as I started out with. This is my mother’s father’s family (he is the Kirby Runion Moore), and when I began, I only knew part of his father’s name: Perrin Moore. You can read about how I began finding his family in my Getting Hooked on Genealogy series of posts.
Harlston Perrin Moore was the son of William Spencer Moore and Emily Tarrant of Anderson County, South Carolina, and Martha E. Lewis was the daughter of Elisha Berry Lewis and Martha Poole of Anderson County, South Carolina. During the Civil War H. P. Moore served in Company G, 2nd Battalion, South Carolina Reserves, one of the “old men and little boys” units (he was about 17 years old when he enlisted in the unit). Most of Private Harlston Perrin Moore’s duty would have consisted of guarding Union officers who were prisoners at Camp Sorghum (described at http://www.geocities.com/cmp_csa/index.html), located outside of Columbia and so nicknamed because the main rations there consisted of cornmeal and sorghum molasses. The prison was actually “an open field, a five-acre track of cleared ground without walls, fences, buildings, a ditch, or any other facilities.” There were many escapes. Conditions were poor for both inmates and guards. The witnesses on H. P. Moore’s Confederate Pension Application state that he served through the end of the war, so he probably also saw duty when the prison camp was moved to a mental asylum in Columbia, South Carolina which came to be called Camp Asylum (also Camp Lunacy).
The date of H. P. Moore’s and Martha Lewis’ Marriage is given as 3 December 1864 (“while on furlough”) in H. P. Moore’s Confederation Pension Application; however, on the 1910 US Federal Census for Justice Precinct 5, Dallas Co., Texas (Enumeration District 94, Sheet No. 13A, 3 May 1910) H. P. and Martha indicate that they have been married 42 years, which would point to 1867 or 1868 as the year of their marriage. 1877 is the year cited in the pension application as the year they moved to Texas and this is consistent with the states of birth listed for their children in the censuses. H. P. Moore’s name appears on an 1877 map of Hopewell Township, Anderson County, South Carolina; the farm (this would have been the farm he inherited from his father William Spencer Moore) is slightly to the south of Twenty-Six Mile Creek.
The main gaps in my information for the children of H. P. Moore and Martha Lewis are for the two oldest, William H. Moore and Mary M. Moore. The 1900 census indicates that one of their nine children had died by then, and I have been unable to determine whether it was William or Mary. I am working on the possibility that a Mary M. Harvey, shown on the 1900 census for Dallas County as the wife of Thomas Harvey, may be this Mary M. Moore. The month and date given for her birth, December 1870, would be consistent with the calculated year of 1871 from the 1880 census for Dallas County, and South Carolina is given as the state of her and her parents’ birth. The October 1950 obituary for my Grandfather Kirby Moore does not list either William or Mary, so I am guessing that both had died by 1950. I would also like to find the names of the wives of Clyde Harlston Moore and Preston Earl Moore. I did not know that either of them had married until I found their death certificates on the Family Search pilot site. The informant for both death certificates was given as Mrs. Clyde Moore, and she indicated on Preston Earl Moore’s certificate that he was divorced.
If any descendant of this family or other person researching this family reads this, please contact me.
Harlston Perrin Moore
b. 4 Dec 1845, Anderson Co., South Carolina
d. 12 Dec 1921, Lancaster, Dallas Co., TX
& Martha E. “Mattie” Lewis
b. 8 Nov 1848, Franklin Co., Georgia
d. 22 Sep 1930, Plano, Collin Co., Texas
m. 3 Dec 1865, Anderson Co., South Carolina
|--William H. Moore
|----b. 1869, South Carolina (probably Anderson Co.)
|----d. bef Oct 1950
|--Mary M. Moore
|----b. 1871, South Carolina (probably Anderson Co.)
|-----d. bef Oct 1950
|--Etta Marie Moore
|----b. 5 Jun 1875, South Carolina (probably Anderson Co.)
|----d. 12 Jan 1959, Garland, Dallas, Texas
|--& Lee Elmo Campbell
|----b. 21 Feb 1873, Dallas Co., Texas
|----d. 18 May 1935, Dallas Co., Texas
|----m. 1894
|--Rosalie/Rosa Lee Moore
|----b. 24 Aug 1877, South Carolina (probably Anderson Co.)
|----d. 22 Nov 1953, Kern County, California
|--& Clifton Randolph “Cliff” Brownlee
|----b. 14 Jan 1878, Lancaster, Texas
|----d. 19 Jan 1932, Lubbock Co., Texas
|----m. 1905
|--Kirby Runion Moore
|----b. 29 Apr 1880, Lancaster, Dallas Co., TX
|----d. 1 Oct 1950, Baylor County Hospital, Seymour, TX
|--& Eula Amanda Floyd
|----b. 3 Sep 1883, Lancaster, Dallas Co., TX
|----d. 9 Jun 1972, Torrance, CA
|----m. 14 Nov 1907, Oak Cliff, Texas
|--Claude Moore
|----b. 12 Nov 1882, Dallas County, TX
|----d. 24 Feb 1955, Wichita Falls, Wichita, Texas
|--& Dona Pearl Philips
|----b. 10 Apr 1887, Texas
|----d. 2 Sep 1955, California
|----m. 1906
|--Luther Lee Moore
|----b. 31 Mar 1885, Dallas County, TX
|----d. Mar 1967, 85009 Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona
|--& Ethel Clara England
|----b. Nov 1895
|----m. 1914
|--Clyde Harlston Moore
|----b. 3 Aug 1889, Dallas Co., Texas
|----d. 18 Aug 1970, Allen, Collin County, Texas
|--& UNNAMED
|----Preston Earl Moore
|--b. 24 Nov 1891, Dallas County, TX
|----d. 18 Oct 1963, McKinney, Collin County, Texas
|--& UNNAMED
From the above two-generation descendant report you can see that there are a lot of gaps, but there aren’t nearly as many as I started out with. This is my mother’s father’s family (he is the Kirby Runion Moore), and when I began, I only knew part of his father’s name: Perrin Moore. You can read about how I began finding his family in my Getting Hooked on Genealogy series of posts.
Harlston Perrin Moore was the son of William Spencer Moore and Emily Tarrant of Anderson County, South Carolina, and Martha E. Lewis was the daughter of Elisha Berry Lewis and Martha Poole of Anderson County, South Carolina. During the Civil War H. P. Moore served in Company G, 2nd Battalion, South Carolina Reserves, one of the “old men and little boys” units (he was about 17 years old when he enlisted in the unit). Most of Private Harlston Perrin Moore’s duty would have consisted of guarding Union officers who were prisoners at Camp Sorghum (described at http://www.geocities.com/cmp_csa/index.html), located outside of Columbia and so nicknamed because the main rations there consisted of cornmeal and sorghum molasses. The prison was actually “an open field, a five-acre track of cleared ground without walls, fences, buildings, a ditch, or any other facilities.” There were many escapes. Conditions were poor for both inmates and guards. The witnesses on H. P. Moore’s Confederate Pension Application state that he served through the end of the war, so he probably also saw duty when the prison camp was moved to a mental asylum in Columbia, South Carolina which came to be called Camp Asylum (also Camp Lunacy).
The date of H. P. Moore’s and Martha Lewis’ Marriage is given as 3 December 1864 (“while on furlough”) in H. P. Moore’s Confederation Pension Application; however, on the 1910 US Federal Census for Justice Precinct 5, Dallas Co., Texas (Enumeration District 94, Sheet No. 13A, 3 May 1910) H. P. and Martha indicate that they have been married 42 years, which would point to 1867 or 1868 as the year of their marriage. 1877 is the year cited in the pension application as the year they moved to Texas and this is consistent with the states of birth listed for their children in the censuses. H. P. Moore’s name appears on an 1877 map of Hopewell Township, Anderson County, South Carolina; the farm (this would have been the farm he inherited from his father William Spencer Moore) is slightly to the south of Twenty-Six Mile Creek.
The main gaps in my information for the children of H. P. Moore and Martha Lewis are for the two oldest, William H. Moore and Mary M. Moore. The 1900 census indicates that one of their nine children had died by then, and I have been unable to determine whether it was William or Mary. I am working on the possibility that a Mary M. Harvey, shown on the 1900 census for Dallas County as the wife of Thomas Harvey, may be this Mary M. Moore. The month and date given for her birth, December 1870, would be consistent with the calculated year of 1871 from the 1880 census for Dallas County, and South Carolina is given as the state of her and her parents’ birth. The October 1950 obituary for my Grandfather Kirby Moore does not list either William or Mary, so I am guessing that both had died by 1950. I would also like to find the names of the wives of Clyde Harlston Moore and Preston Earl Moore. I did not know that either of them had married until I found their death certificates on the Family Search pilot site. The informant for both death certificates was given as Mrs. Clyde Moore, and she indicated on Preston Earl Moore’s certificate that he was divorced.
If any descendant of this family or other person researching this family reads this, please contact me.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Featured Family Friday: Caswell Floyd and Mary Miller
Caswell Floyd was the second youngest of the five sons of George Floyd and Nancy Finley. A few things are known about him among the Floyd researchers I am aware of (we are all descended from Charles Augustus Floyd, the second oldest brother), but there are still gaps. Caswell’s middle initial was “B”, and on one census his name is given as “Biankin.” This is a sort of “mini-mystery” among Floyd researchers, as we have never seen this name elsewhere and wonder if this is what it actually was.
Floyd researchers knew of five sons (George Albert, William Henry, Joseph Ira, Ollie B., and Charles Alford), and I found two additional children, Alice Floyd and Alvin Cletus Floyd. There were apparently two more children who died in early childhood.
Caswell and Mary are buried in Kleburg Cemetery, Kleburg, Dallas County, Texas. According to cousins Pat and Jim Dodd, “Caswell was a deacon in the Christian Church here on the Geo. Floyd land that was partitioned to him in 1867. After he sold the land to Charles A., he moved to Kleburg and became a Church of Christ preacher. (Church of Christ broke away from the Christian Church in about 1887 - 1st one in Texas was in Lancaster, TX.).” After Caswell’s death in 1890, Mary remarried to a Charles A. Long and had son Emmett, born 24 Feb 1893, who married Pearl Hall.
Caswell Biankin “Cass” Floyd
b. 1845, Greene Co., IL
d. 26 Oct 1890, Kleburg, Texas
& Mary E. Miller
b. Jan 1848, Illinois
d. 1916, Texas
|--George Albert Floyd
|----b. Mar 1870, Texas
|----d. bef 1900, Texas
|----& Ella America Dowdy
|----b. 8 Feb 1874, Texas
|----d. 6 Sep 1923, Kleburg, Texas
|----m. 4 Jun 1890, Kaufman Co., Texas
|--William Henry Floyd
|----b. 14 Jun 1873, Texas
|----d. 5 Dec 1942, Kleburg, Texas
|----& Anna Laura Myers
|----b. 10 Nov 1876, Daviess Co., Indiana
|----d. 12 Apr 1911, Kleburg, Texas
|----m. 1894
|----& Winnie Beatrice Prewitt
|----b. 8 Sep 1886, Texas
|---- d. 9 Feb 1932, Kleburg, Texas
|--Joseph Ira Floyd
|----b. 31 Aug 1875, Texas
|----d. 21 Jul 1948, Kleburg, Texas
|----& Minnie A.
|----b. 4 Mar 1880, Texas
|----d. 13 Dec 1963, Kleburg, Texas
|--Ollie B. “Bee” Floyd
|----b. 8 Jan 1877, Texas
|----d. 16 Apr 1957, Kleburg, Dallas Co., Texas
|----& Evalena “Lena” Osborne
|----b. 30 Aug 1883, Tennessee
|----d. 12 Dec 1958, Kleburg, Texas
|--Charles Alford Floyd
|----b. 7 Feb 1880, Texas
|----d. 5 May 1922, Kleburg, Texas
|----& Reina Hildebrand
|----b. 1889, Texas
|--Alice Floyd
|----b. 26 Jan 1882, Texas
|----d. 17 Oct 1918, Kleburg, Dallas Co., Texas
|----& Thomas Ezell
|----b. Feb 1869, Alabama
|----d. bef 1910
|----m. 1898
|----& Thomas Henry Bibb Jr.
|----b. 4 Nov 1868, Holmes Co., MS
|----d. 17 Oct 1918, Kleburg, Dallas Co., Texas
|----m. 1904
|--Alvin Cletus Floyd
|----b. 7 Feb 1888, Kleburg, Texas
|----d. 28 Dec 1970, Roswell, Chaves Co., New Mexico
|----& Essie Maples
|----b. 3 Mar 1890
|----d. 13 Mar 1977, Roswell, Chaves Co., New Mexico
I would welcome any additional information on this family and would be happy to share the information I have with descendants and researchers.
Floyd researchers knew of five sons (George Albert, William Henry, Joseph Ira, Ollie B., and Charles Alford), and I found two additional children, Alice Floyd and Alvin Cletus Floyd. There were apparently two more children who died in early childhood.
Caswell and Mary are buried in Kleburg Cemetery, Kleburg, Dallas County, Texas. According to cousins Pat and Jim Dodd, “Caswell was a deacon in the Christian Church here on the Geo. Floyd land that was partitioned to him in 1867. After he sold the land to Charles A., he moved to Kleburg and became a Church of Christ preacher. (Church of Christ broke away from the Christian Church in about 1887 - 1st one in Texas was in Lancaster, TX.).” After Caswell’s death in 1890, Mary remarried to a Charles A. Long and had son Emmett, born 24 Feb 1893, who married Pearl Hall.
Caswell Biankin “Cass” Floyd
b. 1845, Greene Co., IL
d. 26 Oct 1890, Kleburg, Texas
& Mary E. Miller
b. Jan 1848, Illinois
d. 1916, Texas
|--George Albert Floyd
|----b. Mar 1870, Texas
|----d. bef 1900, Texas
|----& Ella America Dowdy
|----b. 8 Feb 1874, Texas
|----d. 6 Sep 1923, Kleburg, Texas
|----m. 4 Jun 1890, Kaufman Co., Texas
|--William Henry Floyd
|----b. 14 Jun 1873, Texas
|----d. 5 Dec 1942, Kleburg, Texas
|----& Anna Laura Myers
|----b. 10 Nov 1876, Daviess Co., Indiana
|----d. 12 Apr 1911, Kleburg, Texas
|----m. 1894
|----& Winnie Beatrice Prewitt
|----b. 8 Sep 1886, Texas
|---- d. 9 Feb 1932, Kleburg, Texas
|--Joseph Ira Floyd
|----b. 31 Aug 1875, Texas
|----d. 21 Jul 1948, Kleburg, Texas
|----& Minnie A.
|----b. 4 Mar 1880, Texas
|----d. 13 Dec 1963, Kleburg, Texas
|--Ollie B. “Bee” Floyd
|----b. 8 Jan 1877, Texas
|----d. 16 Apr 1957, Kleburg, Dallas Co., Texas
|----& Evalena “Lena” Osborne
|----b. 30 Aug 1883, Tennessee
|----d. 12 Dec 1958, Kleburg, Texas
|--Charles Alford Floyd
|----b. 7 Feb 1880, Texas
|----d. 5 May 1922, Kleburg, Texas
|----& Reina Hildebrand
|----b. 1889, Texas
|--Alice Floyd
|----b. 26 Jan 1882, Texas
|----d. 17 Oct 1918, Kleburg, Dallas Co., Texas
|----& Thomas Ezell
|----b. Feb 1869, Alabama
|----d. bef 1910
|----m. 1898
|----& Thomas Henry Bibb Jr.
|----b. 4 Nov 1868, Holmes Co., MS
|----d. 17 Oct 1918, Kleburg, Dallas Co., Texas
|----m. 1904
|--Alvin Cletus Floyd
|----b. 7 Feb 1888, Kleburg, Texas
|----d. 28 Dec 1970, Roswell, Chaves Co., New Mexico
|----& Essie Maples
|----b. 3 Mar 1890
|----d. 13 Mar 1977, Roswell, Chaves Co., New Mexico
I would welcome any additional information on this family and would be happy to share the information I have with descendants and researchers.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Jim Wheat's Dallas County Texas Archives
Jim Wheat's Dallas County Texas Archives (see link at left) is one of my favorite genealogy websites. During the first couple of weeks of my initial dabbling in genealogy, I made my first real "find" on this website: a transcription of the death certificate for my great-grandfather Harlston Perrin Moore (my mother's paternal grandfather). Until this point the only information I had for him was "? Perrin Moore" in a genealogy for my mother's mother's family. It did not seem right that there was so little information on him. In addition to his full name, Harlston Perrin Moore, the transcript gave the names of his parents -- Spencer Moore and Emily Tarrant -- and his date of death, 12 December 1921. It also provided Lancaster, Texas as the place of death/local address. This was the clue that made me certain that this was the correct Perrin Moore, because I knew that my mother's family came from this part of Dallas County. Recently I have been able to look at a digital image of the death certificate at the Family Search pilot site and fill in additional information not contained in the transcript.
Since then my research has brought me back to this site many times. There are many different categories of information to be found here, including transcripts of newspaper articles, cemetery listings, maps, pioneers, recollections, city directories, obituaries, and much more.
Since then my research has brought me back to this site many times. There are many different categories of information to be found here, including transcripts of newspaper articles, cemetery listings, maps, pioneers, recollections, city directories, obituaries, and much more.
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