For this week’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun brought to you by Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings:
1) Write down which of your ancestors that you have met in person (yes, even if you were too young to remember them).
2) Tell us their names, where they lived, and their relationship to you in a blog post, or in comments to this post, or in comments on Facebook.
This is an easy and short list for me. (I won’t list aunts and uncles, because there were just too many.) Both of my grandfathers died before I was born.
1. My mother, Grace Madeline Moore (1917-1987). Born, grew up, and died in Baylor County, Texas. Also lived in various parts of Southern California, a few other locations in Texas, McKee’s Rocks, Pennsylvania, Palo Alto, California, and Renton, Washington.
2. My father, Junior Varnell Brinlee (1931-1972). Born in Telephone, Fannin County, Texas, died in Victorville, California. Also lived in other parts of Texas, McKee’s Rocks, Pennsylvania, Palo Alto, California, Renton, Washington, and Las Vegas, Nevada.
3. My paternal grandmother, Sallie Frances Norman (Brinlee) (1892-1984). Born in Talladega, Alabama, died in Ivanhoe, Fannin County, Texas, also lived in Hunt County, Texas.
4. My maternal grandmother, Eula Amanda Floyd (1883-1972), born in Lancaster, Dallas County, Texas, died in Torrance, California, also lived in Baylor County, Texas.
Here’s the heart-breaker: I had one other direct ancestor who was alive during my lifetime: Susan Elizabeth Smith (Bonner Brinlee), (1868-1958). She is my great brick wall. I never met her. Although I was very young when she died and certainly wouldn’t have asked her anything about herself, I have memories of other relatives from those early years; had I met her, I know I would have remembered something about her: what she looked like, how she spoke.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
SNGF Treasure Hunt Follow-Up: No Joy
Well, not much, anyway. Randy Seaver’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge on Genea-Musings last Saturday was to go on a scavenger hunt – for our great-great-grandparents (or great-grandparents, etc.) in the census: that is, if there were censuses on which they should have appeared, find them and provide a citation. I had done this work for all of my known great-great grandparents except for the Brinlees, so I looked them up in the census. I forgot to note in my blog post that on the 1850 census Hiram Brinlee appeared as Herand Brendler (no correction had been made, yet), so of course I didn’t find him at first. I was pretty sure he was in Collin County at that time, so I just put in Collin County, born in Kentucky and then Tennessee (both states were reported for him as his state of birth, probably because he was born in the area that was only later clearly divided between the two states), born in 1807 plus or minus two years, and when Herand Brendler appeared on the resulting list of names, I was pretty sure that was him (and the list of names in the family confirmed it). Then I submitted name corrections.
The main ancestors I could not find were my Norman great-grandparents Jack and Sarah in the 1910 and 1920 censuses. I had forgotten that I had actually found Sarah Sisson Norman (as “Sallie Norman”) before on the 1920 census, shown with her son Thomas Frank Norman and his family. For some reason she was shown as his mother-in-law (although no different last name was given for her), but I know the name and dates of birth and death of Thomas Frank’s mother-in-law, and this definitely was not her. Jack Norman was still alive at that time (so why is Sarah shown as a widow?), and I believe Sarah was probably visiting Thomas Frank and his family. Perhaps Jack was, too, but was overlooked by the census-taker, or perhaps he was at home and just didn’t want to talk to the census-taker. Here is the census entry:
1920 US Federal Census, Precinct #3, Fannin, Texas, ED 42, p. 1, 2 Jan 1920
Gray and Orangeville Road Fm 11 14
Norman, Frank Head R M W 37 M Yes Yes AL AL AL Yes Farmer OA 4
Nola Wife F W 34 M Yes Yes TN TN TN Yes
Sallie Mother-in-law F W 64 Wd Yes Yes AL AL AL Yes
Ross Son M W 13 S No Yes Yes TX TN TN Yes
Grady Son M W 11 S No Yes Yes TX TN TN
Thomas Son M W 10 S No Yes Yes TX TN TN Yes
Morgan Son M W 6 S No No No TX TN TN
Geneva Daughter F W 4 S No No No TX TX TX
Oby Son M W 2 S No No No TX TX TX
Sarah Daughter F W 1/2 S No No No TX TX TX No
[Source: 1920 US Federal Census, Texas, Fannin County, Precinct #3, Leonard, 2 January 1920, Frank Norman family, dwelling number 11, family number 14, NARA roll T625_1802, p. 1B, ED 42, image 855, Ancestry.com online database, viewed 25 August 2009.]
I have tried several tricks to find Jack and Sarah on the 1910 census, and even used a neat tool on a website recommended to me by Patti Brown of Consanguinity, The Name Thesaurus.
This leaves Angeline Matlock Floyd on the 1870 census and Lizzie Smith on all the censuses before 1900. Angeline was married to Charles Floyd by 1870 (their oldest child, Oscar, had been born in 1869), and her parents had died, so I cannot think of any other place she might have been (visiting friends?). I believe that the most likely possibility is that the census-taker overlooked her and Oscar.
As for Lizzie, I plan to start soon on pulling together all my information and materials on her for my genealogy society’s brick wall session. Part of this will be a “census survey” – a list of all Smith families in Tennessee with a daughter named Susan, Elizabeth, Lizzie or anything similar of approximately the right age on the 1870 and 1880 censuses in Tennessee (the latter census to include a young girl “working out” with another family; family stories indicate that Lizzie may have been orphaned by that time), with special attention to families in which the parents were born in North Carolina (or South Carolina, since the two were often confused).
The main ancestors I could not find were my Norman great-grandparents Jack and Sarah in the 1910 and 1920 censuses. I had forgotten that I had actually found Sarah Sisson Norman (as “Sallie Norman”) before on the 1920 census, shown with her son Thomas Frank Norman and his family. For some reason she was shown as his mother-in-law (although no different last name was given for her), but I know the name and dates of birth and death of Thomas Frank’s mother-in-law, and this definitely was not her. Jack Norman was still alive at that time (so why is Sarah shown as a widow?), and I believe Sarah was probably visiting Thomas Frank and his family. Perhaps Jack was, too, but was overlooked by the census-taker, or perhaps he was at home and just didn’t want to talk to the census-taker. Here is the census entry:
1920 US Federal Census, Precinct #3, Fannin, Texas, ED 42, p. 1, 2 Jan 1920
Gray and Orangeville Road Fm 11 14
Norman, Frank Head R M W 37 M Yes Yes AL AL AL Yes Farmer OA 4
Nola Wife F W 34 M Yes Yes TN TN TN Yes
Sallie Mother-in-law F W 64 Wd Yes Yes AL AL AL Yes
Ross Son M W 13 S No Yes Yes TX TN TN Yes
Grady Son M W 11 S No Yes Yes TX TN TN
Thomas Son M W 10 S No Yes Yes TX TN TN Yes
Morgan Son M W 6 S No No No TX TN TN
Geneva Daughter F W 4 S No No No TX TX TX
Oby Son M W 2 S No No No TX TX TX
Sarah Daughter F W 1/2 S No No No TX TX TX No
[Source: 1920 US Federal Census, Texas, Fannin County, Precinct #3, Leonard, 2 January 1920, Frank Norman family, dwelling number 11, family number 14, NARA roll T625_1802, p. 1B, ED 42, image 855, Ancestry.com online database, viewed 25 August 2009.]
I have tried several tricks to find Jack and Sarah on the 1910 census, and even used a neat tool on a website recommended to me by Patti Brown of Consanguinity, The Name Thesaurus.
This leaves Angeline Matlock Floyd on the 1870 census and Lizzie Smith on all the censuses before 1900. Angeline was married to Charles Floyd by 1870 (their oldest child, Oscar, had been born in 1869), and her parents had died, so I cannot think of any other place she might have been (visiting friends?). I believe that the most likely possibility is that the census-taker overlooked her and Oscar.
As for Lizzie, I plan to start soon on pulling together all my information and materials on her for my genealogy society’s brick wall session. Part of this will be a “census survey” – a list of all Smith families in Tennessee with a daughter named Susan, Elizabeth, Lizzie or anything similar of approximately the right age on the 1870 and 1880 censuses in Tennessee (the latter census to include a young girl “working out” with another family; family stories indicate that Lizzie may have been orphaned by that time), with special attention to families in which the parents were born in North Carolina (or South Carolina, since the two were often confused).
Friday, August 28, 2009
Family Newsletter Friday: 28 August 2009
Norman
More wonderful pictures and information has come in from Norman cousins. I am still working on the Leatha Norman and Thomas Wiley Huff family, whom I now know to be connected to our Normans. I also compiled a list of Normans buried in Peak Cemetery, Garland County, Arkansas using Findagrave. Also, for Randy Seaver’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun I “rediscovered” Sarah Sisson Norman on the 1920 census (will post on that tomorrow), but where was Jack Norman for that census?
Moore
The final (?) set of obituaries on Moore family descendants and relatives came in. Hooray!
Brinlee
For the above-mentioned Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, I found Hiram Brinlee Sr. and Elizabeth Ann McKinney Brinlee on the 1850 through 1880 censuses, transcribed the information, and provided citations.
Smith
Well, this is the line that may pre-empt research on all of the above for a while. But, isn’t this my brick wall? Yes, it is: Sarah Elizabeth Smith (Bonner Brinlee). Sort of inspired by the same above-mentioned Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (Randy, are you a Svengali or Pied Piper?), I just sort of not-very-seriously did a little looking around for Lizzie Smith on Ancestry. And found a family on the 1880 census (and then on previous censuses) for Tennessee that I think is really, really interesting. I will also be writing about this later. However, since my genealogy society’s brick wall workshop is coming up in September, I need to be preparing all my material on Lizzie Smith Brinlee, so it is time to start putting together information on all my Tennessee Smith “candidate families.”
Blogs
Favorite photo found on a blog this week: an unusual visitor to a bird feeder at Karen’s Genealogy Frame of Mind.
Favorite idea found on a blog this week: Keeping a hair book at Patti Browning’s Consanguinity. I even have cuttings of my own hair and my two daughters' hair to start it with. One of the cuttings from my older daughter consists of a plastic baggie with hair she hacked off into the kitchen trash can when she was four years old. Dad was not far away at the time, but was oblivious to what was going on. Mom walked in and was furious - at Dad.
More wonderful pictures and information has come in from Norman cousins. I am still working on the Leatha Norman and Thomas Wiley Huff family, whom I now know to be connected to our Normans. I also compiled a list of Normans buried in Peak Cemetery, Garland County, Arkansas using Findagrave. Also, for Randy Seaver’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun I “rediscovered” Sarah Sisson Norman on the 1920 census (will post on that tomorrow), but where was Jack Norman for that census?
Moore
The final (?) set of obituaries on Moore family descendants and relatives came in. Hooray!
Brinlee
For the above-mentioned Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, I found Hiram Brinlee Sr. and Elizabeth Ann McKinney Brinlee on the 1850 through 1880 censuses, transcribed the information, and provided citations.
Smith
Well, this is the line that may pre-empt research on all of the above for a while. But, isn’t this my brick wall? Yes, it is: Sarah Elizabeth Smith (Bonner Brinlee). Sort of inspired by the same above-mentioned Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (Randy, are you a Svengali or Pied Piper?), I just sort of not-very-seriously did a little looking around for Lizzie Smith on Ancestry. And found a family on the 1880 census (and then on previous censuses) for Tennessee that I think is really, really interesting. I will also be writing about this later. However, since my genealogy society’s brick wall workshop is coming up in September, I need to be preparing all my material on Lizzie Smith Brinlee, so it is time to start putting together information on all my Tennessee Smith “candidate families.”
Blogs
Favorite photo found on a blog this week: an unusual visitor to a bird feeder at Karen’s Genealogy Frame of Mind.
Favorite idea found on a blog this week: Keeping a hair book at Patti Browning’s Consanguinity. I even have cuttings of my own hair and my two daughters' hair to start it with. One of the cuttings from my older daughter consists of a plastic baggie with hair she hacked off into the kitchen trash can when she was four years old. Dad was not far away at the time, but was oblivious to what was going on. Mom walked in and was furious - at Dad.
Featured Family Friday: Elisha Berry Lewis Family
Elisha Berry Lewis
b. 1813, South Carolina
d. 23 Feb 1889, Anderson Co., South Carolina
& Martha M. Poole
b. 1815, South Carolina
d. bef 1865
m. 3 Feb 1835
|--James West Lewis
|----b. Nov 1835, South Carolina
|----d. 20 Mar 1904
|---& Sophia Adeline Milwee
|----b. 5 Mar 1839, Anderson District, South Carolina
|----d. 30 Dec 1926, Vernon, Willbarger, Texas
|----m. 28 Feb 1867
|--Margaret A. Lewis
|----b. 1839, South Carolina
|--Samuel D. Lewis
|----b. 1840
|----d. 14 Aug 1864, Fussell’s Mill, Virginia
|--Manning P. Lewis
|----b. 1843, Georgia
|----d. 25 Mar 1865
|--Mary R. Lewis
|----b. 1846, Georgia
|----d. 1850, Georgia
|--Martha E. “Mattie” Lewis
|----b. 8 Nov 1848, Franklin Co., Georgia
|----d. 22 Sep 1930, Plano, Collin Co., Texas
|---& Harlston Perrin Moore
|----b. 4 Dec 1845, Anderson Co., South Carolina
|----d. 12 Dec 1921, Lancaster, Dallas Co., TX
|----m. 3 Dec 1865, Anderson Co., South Carolina
|---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
|--Leonora J. “Nora” Lewis
|----b. ca 1854
|--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
|--Cora Lewis
|----b. 1859, South Carolina
|-----d. aft 1870
Elisha Berry Lewis
b. 1813, South Carolina
d. 23 Feb 1889, Anderson Co., South Carolina
& Frances Eleanor Campbell
b. May 1835, South Carolina
d. 29 Jul 1918, Anderson Co., South Carolina
|--Julia M. Lewis
|----b. Sep 1866, South Carolina
|----d. 26 May 1947, San Diego, California
|--Lucy Lewis
|----b. 7 Feb 1868
|----d. 24 Nov 1967, Greenville, Greenville Co., South Carolina
|---& Christopher C. Hindman
|----b. 20 May 1877, South Carolina
|----d. 18 Nov 1947, Greenville, Greenville Co., South Carolina
|--Lillie May Lewis
|----b. 1871, South Carolina
|----d. 1896, South Carolina
|--Alfred P. Lewis
|----b. 1879, South Carolina
This is the family of my great-great grandfather Elisha Berry Lewis, son of Elisha Lewis and Rosannah Dalrymple, who was married first to Martha Poole (my great-great grandmother), daughter of Manning Poole and Mary Milwee, and second to Frances Eleanor Campbell, daughter of Daniel Campbell and Eleanor Sherrill (a family with several connections to the Lewises) who was first married to John Marion Bailey, Sr. (that family is shown at the bottom of this post).
This family and the Moore family are my top research priorities, mainly because they are the families for which I have been able to do the most original research. When a cousin told me that our great-grandfather Harlston Perrin Moore’s wife Martha was reputed to be a Lewis, I started looking for a Lewis family in Anderson County, South Carolina that was in Georgia around the time of the 1850 census, but was in Anderson County before and after that time period; Martha was born in Georgia in 1848 but her parents were born in South Carolina and she had to be back in Anderson County by the 1860s to meet and marry my great-grandfather . And, sure enough, I found the E. B. Lewis family in Anderson in 1840, in Franklin County, Georgia in 1850, and back in Anderson in 1860.
This large family has been a lot of fun to research, but there are obviously still some gaps. The big ones are several of the daughters: Margaret, Leanora “Nora,” and Cora. Nora shows up with brothers John Sloan and William Henry on the 1880 census in Dallas (John Sloan and Carrie Lewis, Harlston Perrin and Martha Lewis Moore, and Nora apparently moved to Dallas County, Texas in 1877, following brother William Henry, who made his way out there in 1873). William Henry served three terms (1886-1892) as sheriff of Dallas County and John Sloan served as a deputy sheriff. Brother James West Lewis also moved out to Texas in the late 1870s but settled in Wilbarger County. Brothers Manning and Samuel died in the Civil War, and two of James’ sons are named for them. I do not have a date of death for Alfred Lewis, but I do know from the obituary of one of his siblings that he lived in Kansas City, Missouri in later years.
If you are researching any of these people or any families related to them in any way, please, please, please contact me (using the button at the left of this blog). I have a lot of information to share.
Family of Frances Eleanor Campbell and John Marion Bailey, Sr.:
John Marion Bailey Sr.
b. ca 1822, Pendleton District, South Carolina
d. 1863
& Frances Eleanor Campbell
b. May 1835, South Carolina
d. 29 Jul 1918, Anderson Co., South Carolina
|--Eliza Eleanor Bailey
|----b. 31 Dec 1856, South Carolina
|----d. 17 Nov 1942, San Diego, California
|---& Walter Quincy “Quince” Hammond
|----b. 8 Dec 1854, Florida
|----d. 7 Mar 1906, South Carolina
|--William Daniel Bailey
|----b. 20 Jan 1860, South Carolina
|----d. 31 Aug 1935, Greenville Co., South Carolina
|--John Marion Bailey Jr.
|----b. 13 Dec 1862, South Carolina
|----d. 24 Sep 1959
|---& Catherine Elizabeth “Lizzie” Maddox
|----b. 15 Mar 1867
|----d. 24 Dec 1959
|----m. 1889
An interesting note: John Marion Bailey, Senior, James West Lewis, and Samuel D. Lewis all served in the same unit in the Civil War, the 4th South Carolina (Palmetto Sharpshooters). I have a poster with tiny thumbnail pictures of all three of them.
b. 1813, South Carolina
d. 23 Feb 1889, Anderson Co., South Carolina
& Martha M. Poole
b. 1815, South Carolina
d. bef 1865
m. 3 Feb 1835
|--James West Lewis
|----b. Nov 1835, South Carolina
|----d. 20 Mar 1904
|---& Sophia Adeline Milwee
|----b. 5 Mar 1839, Anderson District, South Carolina
|----d. 30 Dec 1926, Vernon, Willbarger, Texas
|----m. 28 Feb 1867
|--Margaret A. Lewis
|----b. 1839, South Carolina
|--Samuel D. Lewis
|----b. 1840
|----d. 14 Aug 1864, Fussell’s Mill, Virginia
|--Manning P. Lewis
|----b. 1843, Georgia
|----d. 25 Mar 1865
|--Mary R. Lewis
|----b. 1846, Georgia
|----d. 1850, Georgia
|--Martha E. “Mattie” Lewis
|----b. 8 Nov 1848, Franklin Co., Georgia
|----d. 22 Sep 1930, Plano, Collin Co., Texas
|---& Harlston Perrin Moore
|----b. 4 Dec 1845, Anderson Co., South Carolina
|----d. 12 Dec 1921, Lancaster, Dallas Co., TX
|----m. 3 Dec 1865, Anderson Co., South Carolina
|---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
|--Leonora J. “Nora” Lewis
|----b. ca 1854
|--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
|--Cora Lewis
|----b. 1859, South Carolina
|-----d. aft 1870
Elisha Berry Lewis
b. 1813, South Carolina
d. 23 Feb 1889, Anderson Co., South Carolina
& Frances Eleanor Campbell
b. May 1835, South Carolina
d. 29 Jul 1918, Anderson Co., South Carolina
|--Julia M. Lewis
|----b. Sep 1866, South Carolina
|----d. 26 May 1947, San Diego, California
|--Lucy Lewis
|----b. 7 Feb 1868
|----d. 24 Nov 1967, Greenville, Greenville Co., South Carolina
|---& Christopher C. Hindman
|----b. 20 May 1877, South Carolina
|----d. 18 Nov 1947, Greenville, Greenville Co., South Carolina
|--Lillie May Lewis
|----b. 1871, South Carolina
|----d. 1896, South Carolina
|--Alfred P. Lewis
|----b. 1879, South Carolina
This is the family of my great-great grandfather Elisha Berry Lewis, son of Elisha Lewis and Rosannah Dalrymple, who was married first to Martha Poole (my great-great grandmother), daughter of Manning Poole and Mary Milwee, and second to Frances Eleanor Campbell, daughter of Daniel Campbell and Eleanor Sherrill (a family with several connections to the Lewises) who was first married to John Marion Bailey, Sr. (that family is shown at the bottom of this post).
This family and the Moore family are my top research priorities, mainly because they are the families for which I have been able to do the most original research. When a cousin told me that our great-grandfather Harlston Perrin Moore’s wife Martha was reputed to be a Lewis, I started looking for a Lewis family in Anderson County, South Carolina that was in Georgia around the time of the 1850 census, but was in Anderson County before and after that time period; Martha was born in Georgia in 1848 but her parents were born in South Carolina and she had to be back in Anderson County by the 1860s to meet and marry my great-grandfather . And, sure enough, I found the E. B. Lewis family in Anderson in 1840, in Franklin County, Georgia in 1850, and back in Anderson in 1860.
This large family has been a lot of fun to research, but there are obviously still some gaps. The big ones are several of the daughters: Margaret, Leanora “Nora,” and Cora. Nora shows up with brothers John Sloan and William Henry on the 1880 census in Dallas (John Sloan and Carrie Lewis, Harlston Perrin and Martha Lewis Moore, and Nora apparently moved to Dallas County, Texas in 1877, following brother William Henry, who made his way out there in 1873). William Henry served three terms (1886-1892) as sheriff of Dallas County and John Sloan served as a deputy sheriff. Brother James West Lewis also moved out to Texas in the late 1870s but settled in Wilbarger County. Brothers Manning and Samuel died in the Civil War, and two of James’ sons are named for them. I do not have a date of death for Alfred Lewis, but I do know from the obituary of one of his siblings that he lived in Kansas City, Missouri in later years.
If you are researching any of these people or any families related to them in any way, please, please, please contact me (using the button at the left of this blog). I have a lot of information to share.
Family of Frances Eleanor Campbell and John Marion Bailey, Sr.:
John Marion Bailey Sr.
b. ca 1822, Pendleton District, South Carolina
d. 1863
& Frances Eleanor Campbell
b. May 1835, South Carolina
d. 29 Jul 1918, Anderson Co., South Carolina
|--Eliza Eleanor Bailey
|----b. 31 Dec 1856, South Carolina
|----d. 17 Nov 1942, San Diego, California
|---& Walter Quincy “Quince” Hammond
|----b. 8 Dec 1854, Florida
|----d. 7 Mar 1906, South Carolina
|--William Daniel Bailey
|----b. 20 Jan 1860, South Carolina
|----d. 31 Aug 1935, Greenville Co., South Carolina
|--John Marion Bailey Jr.
|----b. 13 Dec 1862, South Carolina
|----d. 24 Sep 1959
|---& Catherine Elizabeth “Lizzie” Maddox
|----b. 15 Mar 1867
|----d. 24 Dec 1959
|----m. 1889
An interesting note: John Marion Bailey, Senior, James West Lewis, and Samuel D. Lewis all served in the same unit in the Civil War, the 4th South Carolina (Palmetto Sharpshooters). I have a poster with tiny thumbnail pictures of all three of them.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Memory Monday: The New Girl
I was not the only new student at Seymour High School in the fall of 1969. There were a few other kids who had moved to Baylor County, and of these there were even a couple of students who were not through-and-through Texans, so I was not the only kid who didn’t have a Texan accent.
Still, there was a sense of disconnection, unfamiliarity, and uncertainty on my first day in high school. I was the only sophomore who was just starting high school, because in California at that time high school started in the 10th grade, whereas in Texas it started in the 9th grade. My friends from Curtis Junior High School would also be starting high school now, without me. Curtis Junior High School was the school I had attended in 7th grade and I had known a few of those kids since elementary school. I still thought of San Bernardino as my home and felt that I should really be going to school there. But where would we have lived? We had lost our old house, which was sold off to pay debts. We could no longer afford to live there, especially since my mother was separated from my dad. We were living on her salary and tips, which was barely enough to get by on, even in a town as inexpensive to live in as Seymour was.
On the first day of school we all went to a big room where our class assignments were handed out. The school was located in a three-storey brick building and the top floor was occupied by the junior high school, so it was not too difficult to find my classrooms. School started at the end of August and it was still blazing hot. The air conditioners in the classrooms did not help much unless you were sitting near them, and then it was difficult to hear what the teacher was saying.
Going to class was not so intimidating, but lunch was another matter. There were about 70 students in each grade, so the handful of newbies must have stuck out. When I went to find a place in the lunchroom to sit down, there were a few greetings and inquiries that seemed friendly or at least innocuous, plus one that set off subtle alarms.
“You remind me of [so-and-so]. Do you know her?” I shook my head no. There was just the faintest hint of a smile of amusement on the faces of one or two of the girls sitting next to the girl who had asked the question and I had a feeling that her remark was not meant as a compliment. I quickly went through the process of memorizing and mentally filing away the faces of the coterie of girls sprawled at the table where my interlocutor sat, noting them all as possible future sources of harassment, to be avoided when possible and to be treated with caution when avoidance wasn’t possible. After five junior high schools this was a reflex reaction; only at the last school had I suffered from any form of harassment, but it was a useful trick that had developed naturally to deal with the need to continually navigate unfamiliar adolescent environments.
“Are you sure you’re not related to her?” I nodded, using a slight smile and ever so slightly prolonged eye contact to express a confidence I did not feel (and hoping that my quick-to-blush face was not betraying me).
This little “thrust and parry” dance would become familiar to me over the next few years, not as a tool for insulting people, but rather as a regular Texan social ritual for testing out new acquaintances and confirming “in jokes” with established friends. I later met “so-and-so,” and my suspicion that the remark had been meant as an insult was confirmed, even as I realized that there was a certain physical resemblance between “so-and-so” and me.
The girl who had asked the question did not pursue it on later occasions, nor did the other two “alpha females” with whom she tended to hang out. Oh, there were plenty of other testing jabs – with me and with everyone else with whom they came into contact. They did not become friends exactly, but they were friendly enough and I came to appreciate their sharp sense of humor. And I learned how to turn these jabs right back. The trick is not to let on that the arrow may have hit its target, that is, to give no sign of irritation or offense. A reply may be given, but it must be absolutely neutral in tone and expression and must give the impression that you are totally unaware of any malicious intent on the part of your interlocutor. But the most important thing is to look that person in the eye for just a second longer than usual and smile ever so slightly.
Still, there was a sense of disconnection, unfamiliarity, and uncertainty on my first day in high school. I was the only sophomore who was just starting high school, because in California at that time high school started in the 10th grade, whereas in Texas it started in the 9th grade. My friends from Curtis Junior High School would also be starting high school now, without me. Curtis Junior High School was the school I had attended in 7th grade and I had known a few of those kids since elementary school. I still thought of San Bernardino as my home and felt that I should really be going to school there. But where would we have lived? We had lost our old house, which was sold off to pay debts. We could no longer afford to live there, especially since my mother was separated from my dad. We were living on her salary and tips, which was barely enough to get by on, even in a town as inexpensive to live in as Seymour was.
On the first day of school we all went to a big room where our class assignments were handed out. The school was located in a three-storey brick building and the top floor was occupied by the junior high school, so it was not too difficult to find my classrooms. School started at the end of August and it was still blazing hot. The air conditioners in the classrooms did not help much unless you were sitting near them, and then it was difficult to hear what the teacher was saying.
Going to class was not so intimidating, but lunch was another matter. There were about 70 students in each grade, so the handful of newbies must have stuck out. When I went to find a place in the lunchroom to sit down, there were a few greetings and inquiries that seemed friendly or at least innocuous, plus one that set off subtle alarms.
“You remind me of [so-and-so]. Do you know her?” I shook my head no. There was just the faintest hint of a smile of amusement on the faces of one or two of the girls sitting next to the girl who had asked the question and I had a feeling that her remark was not meant as a compliment. I quickly went through the process of memorizing and mentally filing away the faces of the coterie of girls sprawled at the table where my interlocutor sat, noting them all as possible future sources of harassment, to be avoided when possible and to be treated with caution when avoidance wasn’t possible. After five junior high schools this was a reflex reaction; only at the last school had I suffered from any form of harassment, but it was a useful trick that had developed naturally to deal with the need to continually navigate unfamiliar adolescent environments.
“Are you sure you’re not related to her?” I nodded, using a slight smile and ever so slightly prolonged eye contact to express a confidence I did not feel (and hoping that my quick-to-blush face was not betraying me).
This little “thrust and parry” dance would become familiar to me over the next few years, not as a tool for insulting people, but rather as a regular Texan social ritual for testing out new acquaintances and confirming “in jokes” with established friends. I later met “so-and-so,” and my suspicion that the remark had been meant as an insult was confirmed, even as I realized that there was a certain physical resemblance between “so-and-so” and me.
The girl who had asked the question did not pursue it on later occasions, nor did the other two “alpha females” with whom she tended to hang out. Oh, there were plenty of other testing jabs – with me and with everyone else with whom they came into contact. They did not become friends exactly, but they were friendly enough and I came to appreciate their sharp sense of humor. And I learned how to turn these jabs right back. The trick is not to let on that the arrow may have hit its target, that is, to give no sign of irritation or offense. A reply may be given, but it must be absolutely neutral in tone and expression and must give the impression that you are totally unaware of any malicious intent on the part of your interlocutor. But the most important thing is to look that person in the eye for just a second longer than usual and smile ever so slightly.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Great-Greats in the Census
Randy Seaver’s recent SNGFs over at Genea-Musings have had an eerie relevance to my genealogy research of late, particularly the listing of the 16 great-great grandparents, the ultimate genealogy goals, and now the census search for great-great grandparents.
Here are the guidelines for the Scavenger Hunt:
1) Is there someone on your list of 16-great-great-grandparents that you don't have a census record for, and for which one should be available? If you have all of your great-great-grands (or they are not on the census records), what about your great-grands, your grands, or your parents? What about siblings of your great-grands? What about your spouse's family lines? Go find at least one!
2) Tell us about it in your blog, comments to this post, or comments in Facebook. While you're at it, give us a source citation for your census finding too.
After spending my first year in genealogy, during which I just tried to establish what was “out there” on my family lines (though I did make a few new discoveries that I did not see elsewhere), I set out the method that I would use for genealogy research. It is recommended that a researcher stick with a particular family and not hop around from line to line, but I have adopted a generational approach: my parents and siblings, my grandparents and all their children and descendants, my great-grandparents with children and descendants, and so forth. I am now at the great-great grandparent level and am still more or less pursuing an “all known descendants approach”; for the ggg-grandparent level and beyond, I will only use that approach very selectively, although I will still research the siblings of my ancestors and their immediate families (useful for the “cluster” approach). I like the generational approach, because while I do end up “hopping” from family to family, the types of documents, resources, and information available tend to be similar due to the similar time frames.
I am also viewing my research at this point as the “first round” – I am doing the basics and a little more to get the main outlines of these families plus as many details as I can through online resources and resources for which I can send out (state archive and NARA materials, obituaries, books through library loan or at the Library of Congress, microfilm through the Family History Center, etc.). It’s not that I don’t plan on doing any onsite research, it’s just that onsite research probably has to wait until my daughters are both in college and my husband and I have the time and means to take these trips. By that time I hope to be equipped with as much information as I can obtain by other means so that I can devote all my “field” time to finding what I would not be able to find otherwise.
One of the first things I do for each new family in this “first round” of research is to look them up in the census, so I already have that information on most of my great-great-grandparents. I am now on my next-to-last set of great-great-grandparents, Joseph Madison Carroll Norman and Rebecca Monk (not counting the Smiths, because I do not know who they are). The only remaining family is that of Hiram Brinlee Sr. and Betsy Ann McKinney, so I will look them up in the census today to see what I can find. In addition, after I do that, I will take stock of which censuses are missing for my various great-great-grandparents and great-grandparents, give it another try, and list the results. I will also list the gaps that remain, and if any kind soul out there wants to take a stab at those, I will crown you King or Queen of Census Research.
Hiram Carroll Brinlee Sr. and Elizabeth Ann “Betsy” McKinney in the US Federal Census
1850 US Federal Census, Collin County, Texas, pp. 4-5 of 44, 13 Nov 1850
Line 39 28 28
Hiram Brindlee 45 M Farmer $1836 Tennessee
E. A. Brindlee 37 F KY Over 20 cannot read or write
M. L. Brindlee 16 F TX Attended school
R. M. Brindlee 14 M TX Attended school
Geo. R. Brindlee 12 M TX Attended school
Sarah E. Brindlee 10 F TX Attended school
H.C. Brindlee 8 M TX Attended school
Davis F. Brindlee 6 M TX
[Source: 1850 United States Federal Census, Texas, Collin County, Hiram Brindlee family, dwelling number 28, family number 28, viewed 23 August 2009.]
1860 US Federal Census, Precinct No. 2 – Highland P.O., Collin County, Texas, 26 July 1860, p. 155
Line 9 972 1023
Hiram Brinley 52 M Farmer $10,000 $8000 KY
Betsy A. Brinley 45 F KY
George R. Brinley 20 M Farmer TX Attended school
Sarah B. Brinley 18 F TX Attended school
Hiram C. 16 M TX Attended school
David C. 12 M TX Attended school
William H. 10 M TX
[Source: 1860 United States Federal Census, Texas, Collin County, Precinct No. 2 – Highland P.O., p. 155, Hiram Brinley family, dwelling number 972, family number 1023, NARA roll M653_1291, page 46, image 97, Ancestry.com online database, viewed 23 August 2009.]
1870 US Federal Census, Precinct No. 3 – Highland P.O., Collin County, Texas, p. 2, 25 July 1870
Line 2 6 6
Brinlee, Hiram 63 M W Farmer $4500 $1500 KY Male US citizen over 21
Brinlee, Ann 57 F W Keeping house KY Cannot write
[Source: 1870 United States Federal Census, Texas, Collin County, Precinct No. 3 – Highland P.O., p. 2, 25 July 1870, NARA Roll M593_1579, page 417, image 227, Ancestry.com online database, viewed 23 August 2009.]
1880 US Federal Census, Justice Precinct No. 3, Collin County, Texas, p. 7, 3 June 1880
Line 42 44 53
Brinlee, S. H. W M 72 Married Farmer KY VA VA
Brinlee, Betsy A. W F 67 Wife Married Keeping house KY VA VA
[Source: 1880 United States Federal Census, Texas, Collin County Justice Precinct 3, p. 7, 3 June 1880, NARA Roll T9_1296, Ancestry.com online database, viewed 23 August 2009.]
Great-grandparents and great-great grandparents still missing in action on some censuses (did not have time today to “give it another try,” but will attempt to do so this week and report the results):
Great-grandmother Susan Elizabeth Smith (Bonner Brinlee): all censuses from 1870 through 1900 – she should have appeared with husband Hiram C. Brinlee, Jr. on the 1900 census in Britton Township, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma Territory; I have not been able to find her listed separately and believe that Hiram may have just not provided any information other than whoever was outside working at the time (himself, his youngest son by his first wife, and a hired hand). I have not found her before 1900 because I do not know who her parents were.
Great-grandparents William Henry “Jack” Norman and Sara Jane Sisson (Norman) – 1910 and 1920 censuses; on the 1900 census they were in Grayson County, Texas and on the 1930 census they were in Fannin County, Texas.
Great-grandmother Angeline Elizabeth Matlock (Floyd) on the 1870 census – she should be shown with her husband Charles Augustus Floyd because they married in 1867; however, Charles is listed as living in the household of Angeline’s sister Martha and Martha’s husband Emory Gracy. Angeline is not listed in her parents’ household for that census.
And Randy, an extra big thanks to you – you have inspired me to formulate and put down in writing an outline of my research strategy for the coming years!
Here are the guidelines for the Scavenger Hunt:
1) Is there someone on your list of 16-great-great-grandparents that you don't have a census record for, and for which one should be available? If you have all of your great-great-grands (or they are not on the census records), what about your great-grands, your grands, or your parents? What about siblings of your great-grands? What about your spouse's family lines? Go find at least one!
2) Tell us about it in your blog, comments to this post, or comments in Facebook. While you're at it, give us a source citation for your census finding too.
After spending my first year in genealogy, during which I just tried to establish what was “out there” on my family lines (though I did make a few new discoveries that I did not see elsewhere), I set out the method that I would use for genealogy research. It is recommended that a researcher stick with a particular family and not hop around from line to line, but I have adopted a generational approach: my parents and siblings, my grandparents and all their children and descendants, my great-grandparents with children and descendants, and so forth. I am now at the great-great grandparent level and am still more or less pursuing an “all known descendants approach”; for the ggg-grandparent level and beyond, I will only use that approach very selectively, although I will still research the siblings of my ancestors and their immediate families (useful for the “cluster” approach). I like the generational approach, because while I do end up “hopping” from family to family, the types of documents, resources, and information available tend to be similar due to the similar time frames.
I am also viewing my research at this point as the “first round” – I am doing the basics and a little more to get the main outlines of these families plus as many details as I can through online resources and resources for which I can send out (state archive and NARA materials, obituaries, books through library loan or at the Library of Congress, microfilm through the Family History Center, etc.). It’s not that I don’t plan on doing any onsite research, it’s just that onsite research probably has to wait until my daughters are both in college and my husband and I have the time and means to take these trips. By that time I hope to be equipped with as much information as I can obtain by other means so that I can devote all my “field” time to finding what I would not be able to find otherwise.
One of the first things I do for each new family in this “first round” of research is to look them up in the census, so I already have that information on most of my great-great-grandparents. I am now on my next-to-last set of great-great-grandparents, Joseph Madison Carroll Norman and Rebecca Monk (not counting the Smiths, because I do not know who they are). The only remaining family is that of Hiram Brinlee Sr. and Betsy Ann McKinney, so I will look them up in the census today to see what I can find. In addition, after I do that, I will take stock of which censuses are missing for my various great-great-grandparents and great-grandparents, give it another try, and list the results. I will also list the gaps that remain, and if any kind soul out there wants to take a stab at those, I will crown you King or Queen of Census Research.
Hiram Carroll Brinlee Sr. and Elizabeth Ann “Betsy” McKinney in the US Federal Census
1850 US Federal Census, Collin County, Texas, pp. 4-5 of 44, 13 Nov 1850
Line 39 28 28
Hiram Brindlee 45 M Farmer $1836 Tennessee
E. A. Brindlee 37 F KY Over 20 cannot read or write
M. L. Brindlee 16 F TX Attended school
R. M. Brindlee 14 M TX Attended school
Geo. R. Brindlee 12 M TX Attended school
Sarah E. Brindlee 10 F TX Attended school
H.C. Brindlee 8 M TX Attended school
Davis F. Brindlee 6 M TX
[Source: 1850 United States Federal Census, Texas, Collin County, Hiram Brindlee family, dwelling number 28, family number 28, viewed 23 August 2009.]
1860 US Federal Census, Precinct No. 2 – Highland P.O., Collin County, Texas, 26 July 1860, p. 155
Line 9 972 1023
Hiram Brinley 52 M Farmer $10,000 $8000 KY
Betsy A. Brinley 45 F KY
George R. Brinley 20 M Farmer TX Attended school
Sarah B. Brinley 18 F TX Attended school
Hiram C. 16 M TX Attended school
David C. 12 M TX Attended school
William H. 10 M TX
[Source: 1860 United States Federal Census, Texas, Collin County, Precinct No. 2 – Highland P.O., p. 155, Hiram Brinley family, dwelling number 972, family number 1023, NARA roll M653_1291, page 46, image 97, Ancestry.com online database, viewed 23 August 2009.]
1870 US Federal Census, Precinct No. 3 – Highland P.O., Collin County, Texas, p. 2, 25 July 1870
Line 2 6 6
Brinlee, Hiram 63 M W Farmer $4500 $1500 KY Male US citizen over 21
Brinlee, Ann 57 F W Keeping house KY Cannot write
[Source: 1870 United States Federal Census, Texas, Collin County, Precinct No. 3 – Highland P.O., p. 2, 25 July 1870, NARA Roll M593_1579, page 417, image 227, Ancestry.com online database, viewed 23 August 2009.]
1880 US Federal Census, Justice Precinct No. 3, Collin County, Texas, p. 7, 3 June 1880
Line 42 44 53
Brinlee, S. H. W M 72 Married Farmer KY VA VA
Brinlee, Betsy A. W F 67 Wife Married Keeping house KY VA VA
[Source: 1880 United States Federal Census, Texas, Collin County Justice Precinct 3, p. 7, 3 June 1880, NARA Roll T9_1296, Ancestry.com online database, viewed 23 August 2009.]
Great-grandparents and great-great grandparents still missing in action on some censuses (did not have time today to “give it another try,” but will attempt to do so this week and report the results):
Great-grandmother Susan Elizabeth Smith (Bonner Brinlee): all censuses from 1870 through 1900 – she should have appeared with husband Hiram C. Brinlee, Jr. on the 1900 census in Britton Township, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma Territory; I have not been able to find her listed separately and believe that Hiram may have just not provided any information other than whoever was outside working at the time (himself, his youngest son by his first wife, and a hired hand). I have not found her before 1900 because I do not know who her parents were.
Great-grandparents William Henry “Jack” Norman and Sara Jane Sisson (Norman) – 1910 and 1920 censuses; on the 1900 census they were in Grayson County, Texas and on the 1930 census they were in Fannin County, Texas.
Great-grandmother Angeline Elizabeth Matlock (Floyd) on the 1870 census – she should be shown with her husband Charles Augustus Floyd because they married in 1867; however, Charles is listed as living in the household of Angeline’s sister Martha and Martha’s husband Emory Gracy. Angeline is not listed in her parents’ household for that census.
And Randy, an extra big thanks to you – you have inspired me to formulate and put down in writing an outline of my research strategy for the coming years!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Family Newsletter Friday: 21 August 2009
This week’s Family Newsletter will be rather short, as most of my genealogy activities this week have been covered in two previous posts (right below this week’s Featured Family Friday), Cousins to the Rescue Again! and I Love GenWeb.
Norman
Research on the Thomas Wiley Huff-Leatha Norman family heated up this week when I found more online postings by descendants. When I finally sent out an e-mail to other Norman researchers, the results I got opened up the entire Joseph Madison Carroll family, as a reply from a descendant of Thomas and Leatha Huff contained an excellent Norman Family History by Inez E. Cline which does, in fact, confirm that this Leatha Norman was JMC Norman’s daughter. I will be using this history and the online posts in combination with the usual Ancestry/GenWeb/Rootsweb/Family Search, etc. sources to fill in as many blanks as possible. On the basis of descendant interviews, the Cline history actually lists the posited 27 children of JMC Norman, including children who died young. I have glanced at the Cline history enough to confirm much of what it has on my branch of the family, though there are a few details that can be added and altered based on what I know.
I have found an e-mail address for an additional Norman contact that was not on my list, so I plan to go through my notes again and send our more e-mails!
Moore
Again, this was covered in I Love GenWeb: I was startled to find on the Greenville GenWeb site that one of the prominent Greenville Moores, William Spencer Moore (nephew of my guy) had been a prisoner of war in Camp Douglas in Chicago. Since my great-grandfather Harlston Perrin Moore was a guard at the Confederate prison camp known as Camp Sorghum (and probably at its successor, Camp Asylum), I have bought a few books on Civil War prison camps and read some online articles; this will fuel my interest even more. My husband, who is a big Civil War history guy and has tons of books on all aspects of it, is also very interested in this research.
Some time within the next couple of weeks I will probably be getting the 20+ Greenville News obituaries I ordered. These should be the last ones! Maybe.
Norman
Research on the Thomas Wiley Huff-Leatha Norman family heated up this week when I found more online postings by descendants. When I finally sent out an e-mail to other Norman researchers, the results I got opened up the entire Joseph Madison Carroll family, as a reply from a descendant of Thomas and Leatha Huff contained an excellent Norman Family History by Inez E. Cline which does, in fact, confirm that this Leatha Norman was JMC Norman’s daughter. I will be using this history and the online posts in combination with the usual Ancestry/GenWeb/Rootsweb/Family Search, etc. sources to fill in as many blanks as possible. On the basis of descendant interviews, the Cline history actually lists the posited 27 children of JMC Norman, including children who died young. I have glanced at the Cline history enough to confirm much of what it has on my branch of the family, though there are a few details that can be added and altered based on what I know.
I have found an e-mail address for an additional Norman contact that was not on my list, so I plan to go through my notes again and send our more e-mails!
Moore
Again, this was covered in I Love GenWeb: I was startled to find on the Greenville GenWeb site that one of the prominent Greenville Moores, William Spencer Moore (nephew of my guy) had been a prisoner of war in Camp Douglas in Chicago. Since my great-grandfather Harlston Perrin Moore was a guard at the Confederate prison camp known as Camp Sorghum (and probably at its successor, Camp Asylum), I have bought a few books on Civil War prison camps and read some online articles; this will fuel my interest even more. My husband, who is a big Civil War history guy and has tons of books on all aspects of it, is also very interested in this research.
Some time within the next couple of weeks I will probably be getting the 20+ Greenville News obituaries I ordered. These should be the last ones! Maybe.
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