Leaves of the Tree

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week 5

2012-01-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

Week 5 – Life Experiences: Sometimes the challenges in life provide the best learning experiences. Can you find an example of this in your own family tree? Which brick wall ancestor are you most thankful for, and how did that person shape your family history experience?

One of my brick wall ancestors - Elias B. Hays - is found in the Tippah County, Mississippi, census in 1850. His mother was likely the widowed Delitha Hays in the same place. They both moved to Arkansas within two years of that census. When I first started my quest to find his father's name, I found a second cousin online. The resulting collaboration and friendship led me to go back home and take my mother to a family Reunion - at that time she was one of the oldest living family members. Mom and I were both able to connect to family members we had never met. Mom is gone now and I will not likely be back to that place, so I am very thankful for that opportunity. During the years since that occasion, I have found other cousins of this family - we've never been able to knock down that Wall in the past, but we've opened many doors to information about the family that would not have been possible without sharing. This Hays family did not leave many tracks but comparison of our family stories has been important in learning all we could - not everything can be found in the record books.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week 4

2012-01-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

Free Offline Genealogy Tools
For which free offline genealogy tool are you most grateful? How did you find this tool and how has it benefitted your genealogy? Describe to others how to access this tool and spread the genealogy love.

My favorite offline tool is my genealogy program, RootsMagic which has a free version, but I think that may not count here!

A small free tool that I have found extremely useful is Transcript. When you are attempting transcription or an abstract from a digital document, Transcript calls up dual windows with the image across the top and a basic word processor at the bottom - both windows are adjustable to your preferred size. You can zoom in on the image and control the brightness and other qualities to clarify the image. There are shortcut keys for scrolling back and forth if the whole image isn't visible as enlarged for easy reading, so that you don't have to stop typing and use the mouse. And there are arrow keys to go back and forth to other images in a folder without having to open a new image - great if you are working on an entire pension file. It saves your transcript as a rich text file.

I have found it very useful particularly for hard-to-read images. The program also will communicate directly with your scanner, although I have never used it in that way, only for images already downloaded to my hard drive. Disadvantages: Although Transcript will open several types of common image files to include jpg, bmp, tif, some [but not all] PaintShop and PhotoShopfiles, it cannot open pdf files. It is also exclusively a Windows program.

I first heard about Transcript from Lisa Louise Cook's Genealogy Gems podcast, sometime ago, and have been a user of the tool since then.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week 3

2012-01-15T18:45:00.000-05:00

Week 3 – Free Online Genealogy Tools: Free online genealogy tools are like gifts from above. Which one are you most thankful for? How has it helped your family history experience?

It isn't just a genealogy tool - but what would I do without Google - Google Search, Google Books, Google Alerts, Google Reader, Blogspot, etc. I have found so much data that I would never have found without Google, I have found so many recommendations and learned so much about furthering my research process. My own iGoogle page is my dashboard for my own personal organization as well as providing easy links to many of my favorite genealogy places.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week 2

2012-01-08T12:56:00.000-05:00

Paid Genealogy Tools: Which paid genealogy tool do you appreciate the most? What special features put it at the top of your list? How can it help others with their genealogy research?

I will have to say that although it is a love-hate relationship, Ancestry is the most valuable paid site in my opinion. Yes, more and more records can be found without paying but so many can be accessed via Ancestry. The features I use the most are the censuses and the books, with newspapers not far behind. Some of these cannot be found elsewhere. And, although there is much wrong with so many of the family trees - I have found extremely useful information that enabled me to go forward with my own research. I believe the variety of options for research may be the most valuable asset. I think it would be difficult for anyone to NOT find something helpful somewhere on Ancestry.com it's a bit like shopping at WalMart. On the other hand ....I really, really prefer Old Search and sometimes wish I could make the Shaking Leaf understand that it's found the wrong person!

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week 1

2012-01-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

Week 1 – Blogs: Blogging is a great way for genealogists to share information with family members, potential cousins and each other. For which blog are you most thankful? Is it one of the earliest blogs you read, or a current one? What is special about the blog and why should others read it?

Sorry, I can't pick just one.... And I have to admit that I read blogs for the genealogy news and discussions - I haven't really found new cousins or a blog that was helpful with any specific family. I have found new ideas about the research process.

I have to say that Geneabloggers has been the most helpful to me - it is one of the earliest I read and helped me to get started in blogging. Thomas MacEntee keeps us all right on top of everything - new blogs, the best blogs of the week, ideas for blog posts, the Blogiversarys. I really can't image the genealogy blogging world without it.
http://www.geneabloggers.com/

Dick Eastman's EOGN - which is really a newsletter but written as a blog is so valuable to me because of his helpful techie information. He's always there to describe the latest gadgets and really cool utility programs that I would never find on my own.
http://blog.eogn.com/

And just because I always like what she has to say ...about anything! I love her sense of humor - Amy Coffin of We Tree. I hope to meet Amy at RootsTech this year - we might be kindred souls.
http://wetree.blogspot.com/

Documentation Needed on the Family of Edward Gabbard (1798-1885)

2011-11-03T12:28:00.000-04:00

Looking for information and documentation regarding the family of Edward Gabbard, born about 1798, probably in Carter County, TN. He was the son of Jacob Gabbard and Margaret "Peggy" Smith - this relationship proved when his father gave permission for his son Edward to marry Sarah "Sally" Bowman, daughter of Elijah Bowman. Edward and Sarah married 8 Mar 1818, Clay County, KY. Sarah's father also gave his permission, so apparently both were underage.

Edward and Sallie Gabbard were living in Jackson County, KY in 1880 with their daughter Susan and her husband Thomas Lakes. They are not found after that date and I do not have a date for when either of them died - I do not believe graves ever actually been found, although new markers have been placed by descendants in the Roberts Cemetery, Jackson County, KY and a death date of circa 1885 has been added. Edward Gabbard's marker has the nickname "Ned" but I've not found his name that way in any actual record.

Both Edward Gabbard's father Jacob Gabbard, and his maternal grandfather, Edward Smith, are approved DAR patriots and I would like very much to add them to my own supplemental patriots. I have all the documentation necessary for both EXCEPT for adequate proof that Edward Gabbard was the father of a daughter Sarah Ann "Sally" Gabbard, born about 1825 - Sally married Nathaniel M. "Nathan" Harrison, 20 Feb 1845, in Madison County, KY and Nathaniel's father, Elisha Harrison, gave permission indicating Nathaniel was not yet 21, but Sally must have already been 18 and no permission was necessary as none exists in the Madison County records - or the permsission has been lost. If I cannot find direct evidence of the relationship between Edward Gabbard and his daughter Sally, perhaps I will eventually be able to build enough circumstantial evidence.

Since Sally married prior to 1850, she does not appear as a named person in any census in the household of Edward and Sarah Bowman Gabbard. Nathaniel & Sally Harrison were living next door to Edward Gabbard in 1850 in Madison County. I also have the Kentucky Land Grant records showing their surveys were adjoining and that Edward Gabbard, his son John Wesley Gabbard, and Nathan M. Harrison, shared in the chain carrier & marker duties at the time of the surveys. The 1840 census reveals an uncertainty because there were two Gabbards living in Madison County and both have daughters of the right age to be Sally [between the ages of 10 and 16]. Edward did have a daughter of that age in 1840. John Gabbard, an older brother of Edward, had three females in his household of that age - if I could find out enough about them to eliminate any of them as being Sally, that would also be helpful. Lists of his family online do not indicate any daughter for John that was named Sally, but neither do they offer proof documents.

John Gabbard's household in 1850 seems to indicate that his daughter under 5, and three daughters ages 10-15 back in 1840, were all still at home. In 1850 there is a possible extra fifth daughter, born between 1830-1836, plus a 13-year-old who would have under 5 ten years earlier. These daughters were Margaret, Eliza, Mary, Susan, and Elizabeth. The four older girls are all so close together, it would not seem there could have been a daughter Sally in there anywhere. The Madison Co marriage records show no marriages for any daughter of John prior to 1850.

I can find no deeds of gift from Edward Gabbard to his children, nor does he seem to have left any sort of property that was divided among his heirs. The genealogies online have less information that I have on this family, although the children are seen as I have them. I was given much of the Gabbard data by an Ira Gabbert some years ago, but documentary proof was not provided, nor have I found anything since.

Here are the children as I believe them to be, but I would welcome additional documentary proof for any of them. Birth years, are primarily from census records or correspondence with descendants of a particular line. Those for which I have some sort of proof document [mostly marriage permissions] are starred. The only child listed for which I find nothing to indicate a relationship is a suggested daughter, Mary.

1. Elijah G. Gabbard, b. 14 Mar 1818, married Sarah Stevens, 1836, Madison Co and died 1901 in Johnson Co, AR. Edward Gabbard was bondsman for the marriage and signed consent but did not specifically state he was the father. Most state laws even today specify consent by a parent or guardian. Elijah named a son Edward, a daughter Sarah, and the information was shared with me by a descendant. He seems to have been born a bit early but dates are often "off" a year, plus there is a difflugity in the marriage documents of Edward & Sarah Bowman Gabbard - one is dated 1818, another 1817.

** 2. John Wesley Gabbard, b. Sep 1822, married Alitha Harrison, Madison Co. His father Edward Gabbard gave consent for his son to marry. Alitha was a sister to "my" Nathaniel Harrison. He married a 2nd time, had a total of at least 20 children. John W. died 1909, Jackson Co KY. The grandfather, Jacob Gabbard, age 80 was living with John W. & "Alithy" in 1850 - although it of course doesn't state the relationship, the implication is there. John Wesley Habbard's obit did not name his parents. His grave marker apparently has his birth as 1812, but I believe that to be an error, as it is not consistent with the census data.

** 3. Nancy Gabbard, born 1823, married John Lakes, 1848, Owsley Co. Her sister married Thomas Lakes on the the same day, Edward Gabbard, father of the brides, gave permission for both to marry.

4. Jacob B. Gabbard, b. Aug 1824, married Mahala Marcum, 1845, Owsley Co KY. In 1850 they were living in Madison Co KY; Jackson Co KY in 1860 and 1870. Jacob named his first two sons John Wesley and Edward. This family moved to Crawford Co AR where Jacob received a land patent in 1890. He applied for his Civil War pension and is buried Crawford Co; he died in 1907. Mahala received her widow's pension after his death. His service was Company A, 47th Kentucky Infantry, Union.

5. My lady - Sarah Ann "Sally", born circa 1825, married Nathaniel Harrison, 20 Feb 1845. they were next door to Edward Gabbard in 1850, but by 1860 had moved to Schuyler Co IL. Nathan Harrison's death was noted in the "Rushvile Times" newspaper in 1880, but no family was named - her death is unknown. One of their sons, my gg grandfather, moved to Crawford Co AR.

** 6. Susan Jane Gabbard, b. 26 Dec 1829, married Thomas Lakes, 1848, the same day as her sister Nancy married John Lakes. Edward Gabbard gave permission for both daughters. Edward & his wife were living with Susan in 1880, Jackson Co - Susan and Thomas Lakes both died in Jackson Co KY.

7. Siretha Gabbard, b. 3 Feb 1830, married Jacob Sebourn, 1849, Laurel Co KY, as Cyntha Gabbard. They are found living next door to Nathan & Sally Harrison in Schuyler Co IL in 1860 - Iowa in 1870 - but Crawford Co AR in 1880, where both are buried. It is true that John Wesley Gabbard later named a daughter Cynthia. Siretha/Cyntha did not use Gabbard given names for her children except for daughters named Sarah and Nancy were are so very common anyway. There was a son named Jacob, but of course that was her husband's given name as well.

** 8. Elizabeth Gentry Gabbard, b. 23 Apr 1833, married William C. Harrison, younger brother of "my" Nathaniel Harrison, 1849, Madison Co. Edward Gabbard, father of the bride gave consent for the marriage. This family also moved to Crawford Co AR. Three Harrison siblings married three Gabbard siblings.

9. Mary Gabbard, born maybe 1834, said to have married James Brandenburg. There is no James Brandenburg of proper age in Kentucky in 1850, nor was there a daughter Mary still at home with Edward in 1850. I have not found additional proof that this daughter actually belongs here - the age given is the same as Margaret and I doubt there were twins. There really doesn't seem to be a place for a daughter this age based on the known ages of the others. Another version of the daughter Mary, places her born in 1831 which would fit better in the family - but then this database gives her 1st husband as James Brandenburg, a second husband as John M. Peters. Unreliability is high as this database found on Ancestry has Mary and both husbands attached to widely random and impossible census records - none of which seem to apply as most relate to Marys of varying ages who are married to Gabbards, not Brandenburg or Peters.... There is one census, 1870, Owsley Co KY when a John J. Peters, age 24 [born 1846] has a wife Mary J., 22, born (1848) which cannot possibly be this Mary since her mother would have been past childbearing years.

** 10. Margaret E. Gabbard was age 16 in 1850 and still living at home with her parents - and she was still there as Margaret Gabbard, age 23 in 1860, with a possible son Elijah, age 1. She is thought to have married a Sebourn. There were Sebourns in the area in Kentucky and later in Crawford Co, AR. I have no further information, after 1860. [I have wondered if she and Mary were confused and they are the same daughter]

** 11. Eliza Jane, b. 9 May 1839, age 14 in 1850, which indicates she was older than born 1839, and at home with her parents. Married George M. Baker, 1860, Jackson Co KY. Only the two youngest daughters were still at home with Edward Gabbard for the 1850 census.

I would welcome correspondence with anyone about any members of either the family of Edward Gabbard or his older brother John who married Elizabeth Loar. I do have more information, children for the couples above, some exact dates, etc. that I would be happy to share.

My email address can be found by clicking on my name to my photo on the right hand side of this page. Any posted comments are monitored and might not appear for a few days.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - The Ancestors GeneaMeme

2011-10-15T20:02:00.002-04:00

The GeneaMeme just looked like too much fun to pass up!
The Ancestors' Geneameme
The list should be annotated in the following manner:

Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (colour optional)
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type
You are encouraged to add extra comments in brackets after each item

1. Can name my 16 great-great-grandparents [Andrew Jackson Adamson, Rachel Ann Garner, William Alexander Harmon, Emma Elizabeth Miller, Nathaniel M. Harrison, Sarah Ann Gabbard, Ira Perrin Irwin, Elisabeth Ann Avery, Elijah Thomas Comstock, Miranda Jane Brown, Joseph Christopher Wood, Letitia Ann Mayberry, Elias B. Hays, Martha Frances Crutcher, Peter Buell Allen, Mary Rowena Hoskins. I can name my husband's 16, too...]

2. Can name over 50 direct ancestors [Absolutely! Ahnentafel reveals 59 by the end of the fourth generation - one of my German lines has been traced back about 14 generations.]

3. Have photographs or portraits of my 8 great-grandparents [Have only the 4 on my mother's side. My mother left my father when I was two - she cut up all the pictures of him.]

4. Have an ancestor who was married more than three times [Have a sister who's been married 4 times ...does that count? One of my gg grandma's had a sister that married 5 times - each one was a neighbor and she got his land when he died.   Hmmm.... ]

5. Have an ancestor who was a bigamist   [YES - my ggg grandfather Ephraim Comstock left a wife in Kentucky and married another in Tennessee - the abandoned wife married again, too. No divorce.]

6. Met all four of my grandparents [My birth father's mother died at age 32 of pneumonia - I never knew his father who had gone off to California and never, no he never, returned.]

7. Met one or more of my great-grandparents   [Two. My maternal grandmother's father lived until I was 11; my maternal grandfather's mother lived until after my first child was born. She died in 1963 - we had five generations.]

8. Named a child after an ancestor   [All three of my children have a middle name from an ancestor.]

9. Bear an ancestor's given name/s    [I wish.... My mother heard my name, Karen Kay, from a total stranger the day before I was born and stuck me with it.]

10. Have an ancestor from Great Britain or Ireland   [Most of them....]

11. Have an ancestor from Asia   [No]

12. Have an ancestor from Continental Europe   [Germany - two family lines]

13. Have an ancestor from Africa [No]

14. Have an ancestor who was an agricultural labourer   [Lots of farmers - some were storekeepers and schoolteachers, too, but they had farms.]

15. Have an ancestor who had large land holdings (what's large? Larger than 40 acres? Yep. Larger than 640 acres? Probably.)       [Just small farms....]

16. Have an ancestor who was a holy man - minister, priest, rabbi   [My gggg grandfather Richard Jones was a Union Baptist Minister in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. I had lots of Quaker ancestors - they could all preach if they wanted.]

17. Have an ancestor who was a midwife    [Doubt it.]

18. Have an ancestor who was an author   [had some wannabees...]

19. Have an ancestor with the surname Smith, Murphy or Jones     [YES - all three, Smith, Murphy, and Jones and two families of Brown that are not related!]

20. Have an ancestor with the surname Wong, Kim, Suzuki or Ng   [No]

21. Have an ancestor with a surname beginning with X   [No]

22. Have an ancestor with a forename beginnining with Z    [No. My gg grandma Wood has asister Zella.]

23. Have an ancestor born on 25th December    [I'm cheating - my husband's grandfather, James Frank Pippin, was born on Christmas day, 1892]

24. Have an ancestor born on New Year's Day    [I was born on Janury 4th - almost New Year's....]

25. Have blue blood in your family lines (supposedly if Royal Descendants book is right)     [We thought for awhile my husband did, but the line is faulty.... Even though it goes through a person approved for Colonial Dames ...DNA indicates not! I never could make the line work out anyway, I always thought something was very wrong - people just not in the right places at the right time.]

26. Have a parent who was born in a country different from my country of birth   [Nope]

27. Have a grandparent who was born in a country different from my country of birth    [Nope]

28. Can trace a direct family line back to the eighteenth century   [all but a few]

29. Can trace a direct family line back to the seventeenth century or earlier [several]

30. Have seen copies of the signatures of some of my great-grandparents   [The best one is my great grandfather Mon Comstock's permission for my grandfather to marry my grandmother. It's written on his store letterhead.]

31. Have ancestors who signed their marriage certificate with an X    [Yes. And everything else. My Samuel Brown in Old Pendleton couldn't sign his name - he was the only one of five Sam Browns living there, that could not sign his name, so I was able to separate and identify him.]

32. Have a grandparent or earlier ancestor who went to university   [Likely not - I don't know of any]

33. Have an ancestor who was convicted of a criminal offence   [The same ggg grandfather that was a bigamist was also convicted of forgery in Breckinridge Co, KY, and sentenced to a two to four year prison term, but was found to be "not in that Commonwealth". I know where he was, but I'm not tellin'.]

34. Have an ancestor who was a victim of crime   [They say an ancestor isn't an ancestor unless they are direct. But I have two uncles of sorts who were murdered in the same family line. My 2nd great granduncle James Irving/Ervin Comstock was poisoned in October of 1893 - either by his second wife or his stepson.  They were never convicted. He was a brother to the criminal & bigamist above. My great grandfather's brother, Hardy Comstock, was shot & killed by his neighbor Chester Lemon who turned himself in. Lemon was acquitted because Hardy was reported to have been seeing Lemon's wife - made the killing justified in 1936.

35. Have shared an ancestor's story online or in a magazine [Both in Blogs and in local genealogical publications.]

36. Have published a family history online or in print [Just online]

37. Have visited an ancestor's home from the 19th or earlier centuries   [Most of my ancestor's homes were burned during the Civil War. I would like to visit Providence, RI where the Comstocks came from, even though there is no home there now.

38. Still have an ancestor's home from the 19th or earlier centuries in the family [One of my husband's family homes is still owned by descendants of a different child - homesteaded in 1848. The house has been added on to, but the original part is still there.]

39. Have a family bible from the 19th Century   [They burned in the fires during the Civil War. My husband's great grandma was reported to have a Bible, but it disappeared and no one will own up to having it.]

40. Have a pre-19th century family bible   [I wish!]

Who was Mary Rowena Hoskins?

2011-09-04T14:41:00.001-04:00

Mary, Mary, where were you born?   Who were your parents? Mary Rowena Hoskins is my great, great grandmother on my matrilineal line. Since I cannot find her parents, I can go no further back. I have recently had my mtDNA full sequence test and I have a perfect match - but that lady can go back one less generation than I can so we are stuck at one of those brick walls.

Here is what I know.

Mary Rowena Hoskins was born 15 Sep 1815 in New York. In 1880, she stated her parents were born in New York. That is as specific as I can be for her place of birth. Her husband was born in Ontario County, New York, and I know his Allen family well, but there don't seem to be any Hoskins that lived there.

Mary Hoskins married Peter B. Allen in Vigo County, Indiana, 28 Dec 1836, when she was age 21 and Peter was 25. The Allens had been there since about 1820. Peter's older sister Amanda married a Silas Hoskins, 14 Mar 1825, some eleven years earlier. Silas was age 30-40 in the 1830 census - the only census he appears in because he was likely deceased by 1840. That would make him born between 1790 and 1800 so it is possible he could have been Mary's father - especially if he was closer to age 40. In that 1830 census, there were several older children including a daughter between the ages of 10 and 15 - the age of Mary Rowena in 1830, and they could not have been the children of Amanda Allen Hoskins because she was born in 1807, plus they were born before the 1825 marriage of Amanda and Silas. Presumably Amanda was the second wife of Silas Hoskins.

But no record exists suggesting more about the relationship of Mary and Silas Hoskins. Father/daugher, brother/sister, cousins, who knows...     In 1840, Amanda Hoskins was head of household, but there was a male age 40-50 present - strange, but true. I've suspected that Silas had perhaps died that year, but the enumerator counted him as living past a certain date. I've found no evidence of exactly when Silas died - no probate, etc. I have found nothing to suggest where Silas Hoskins was born. Amanda moved to Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, along with her brother's family and some of her children. I have only been able to identify one child - Peter A. Hoskins born probably about 1826. The 1840 census indicates others, including several daughters. There are three Hoskins marriages in Vigo County, Indiana in 1848 - Clarissa married Andrew Newcomb, Eliza married William Mars, Martha Jane married Artemus Gilbert. Were they daughters of Silas?   Are were some of them daughters of Joseph Hoskins who also lived in Vigo County at that time?

Here is the other Hoskins family in Vigo County. They appeared just before Mary and Peter B. Allen married, circa 1835 or so. Some researchers have assumed Joseph to be Mary's father, but I think not. Joseph Hoskins was head of this household and he apparently lived out the rest of his life in Lost Creek Township. He rests in the Hoskins Cemetery outside Seelyville along with what I believe was his second wife, and several children who died as infants or in young adulthood. Joseph Hoskins was born 1796, making him about age 19 the year my Mary Rowena was born. Joseph Hoskins alternately gave his place of birth as Tennessee or Kentucky but never New York.   I believe he was married at least three times: (1) Nancy Thompson, 25 Feb 1817, Shelby Co KY (2) Sarah Sweet, 20 Aug 1838, Vigo Co, IN   (3) Nancy Morris, 13 Sep 1855, Vigo Co IN. I believe he had children by all three wives, several of whom married in Vigo Co. One of the daughters buried Hoskins Cemetery, married in Vigo Co in December of 1835, effectively placing the family there at that time. Jos. Hoskins was in the 1830, Shelby Co KY census. I've never found Joseph Hoskins in the 1840 census in Vigo, but I do believe he was there and just missed or has been indexed in some very obscure way - he is in the censuses 1850 through 1870 in Vigo Co. He died 27 Oct 1870.

Because he was born in either Kentucky or Tennessee and did not marry until two years after Mary Rowena Hoskins was born in New York, I think Joseph Hoskins is not part of her family in any immediate way. Joseph Hoskins and family did not live in the same part of Vigo County, nor did they interact with the Allens that remained there.

Mary Rowena Hoskins and Peter B. Allen left Vigo County soon after their marriage and moved to Arkansas. They seemed to have gone on this adventure without benefit of friends and relatives, locating first on the Red River in Sevier County in 1839, moving two years later to Polk County, near the town of Cove where they spent the rest of their lives. There were nine children. None of the information that has survived in any of the families provides any hints about Mary's parents or birthplace other than "New York".

Mary died 15 Mar 1885, and is buried Pleasant Grove Cemetery, about 1/2 mile southeast of Cove, Polk County, Arkansas. Peter Allen lived until 1901 and is buried beside her.

Are there any Hoskins, born in New York, out there? Do you have any ideas that I could pursue? Can you help me find Mary's parents?

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Ahnentafel Roulette!

2011-09-03T21:13:00.000-04:00

I haven't participated in Saturday Night fun for a long time, but I decided to do so tonight.

My great-grandfather, James Monroe "Mon" Comstock, was born 23 Feb 1860, so he would be 151 years old. Divided by 4 and rounded off that would be number 38 in my Ahnentafel.

Number 38 is William Miller, a third great grandfather and here are three facts about him.

William Miller was born 30 May 1781, in North Carolina. The exact place and his parents are unknown to me. He married Nancy Meek probably about 1808. William and Nancy moved to Boone County, Indiana, about 1830, settling in the Eagle Creek coomunity as one of the first settlers. Birth places of their children indicate they probably lived somewhere else in Indiana as early as 1815 - and they quite likely spent a few years in Tennessee after leaving North Carolina.

There were at least ten children - the ninth of which was my 2nd great grandmother, Emma Elizabeth Miller, born 10 Jul 1825.

William and Nancy (Meek) Miller are buried in the Eagle Village Cemetery, Zionsville, Boone County. William Miller died 25 Aug 1844, aged 63 years, 2 months, and 26 days. Nancy died four years later. Their graves, including pictures of the stones, can be found on FindAGrave.

Comstock DNA Project News

2011-07-31T14:36:00.000-04:00

The  Comstock DNA Project is proceeding slowly. There is one new test in progress at FamilyTree DNA - the gentleman in question also descends from Samuel Comstock of Rhode Island so is expected to match the two tests that have been done.

Since no other Comstocks are in the Project at FamilyTree, I entered the results of one of the men already tested at GeneTree. You can register and do this manually at that site, even if you have been tested by another company. Although the markers tested are not all the same, enough of them are to get indications of matches. Another Comstock did reveal to be a match - 26 markers out of 28 - which is not a bad match at all considering this new individual goes back to the son Daniel of the immigrant William Comstock and William would be the nearest possible common ancestor. The person at GeneTree did not wish to be contacted and did not provide an email address, but he did include a GEDCOM file showing his descent from Daniel, which can also be found in John A. Comstock's book, A History and Genealogy of the Comstock Family in America, 1949. The two descendants are at least 11 generations from William.   This is a very good indicator that both Daniel and Samuel are from the same family of Comstocks - Y-DNA is not precise enough to tell us the exact relationship.

Daniel Comstock (1630-1683) is a proved son of the immigrant William Comstock who died in New London, CT about the same year that Daniel died in the same place.

The American Genealogist, 1933, Vol. 10, p.169
New London CT Probate Records:
Comstock,Daniel, of New London. File #1392. Inventory taken 13 Nov 1683 by Daniel Witherell and Charles Hill, Townsmen. Proved and administration granted his widow Paltiel, she to improve the whole estate for the bringing up of the children.

Quoted in E. B. Comstock's, The Comstock Family in America, 1938
William had sons John & Daniel as shown by deed of 4 Dec 1694 in which grandsons William Comstock of Lyme [son of John] and Daniel Comstock of New London [son of Daniel] conveyed land at Nyantik which said land was given to our grandfather William Comstock, deceased, by the town of New London, 20 acres. This is the 20 acres granted 21 Jun 1647:
12 Jun 1647. William Comstock was granted a lot at Pequot [later New London] by the town, also 10 acres of upland, 10 acres on East side of River Thames

It has been assumed by most researchers, that Samuel Comstock (1628-1657) was also a son of William because of his close association with Daniel, but the proof was circumstantial. Now that a descendant of Daniel has matching DNA to descendants of Samuel, the relationship is further substantiated.

A third son of William was John Comstock, proved by the same deed above.   There is a fourth possible son - a Christopher Comstock who lived at Norwalk in Fairfield Co. CT. There has been some dispute based on research abroad that no one since has been able to duplicate, that Christopher might have a different lineage. That he might have been of German heritage. Subsequent researchers, including the author John A. Comstock, did not agree.

The naming of sons in Daniel and Christopher's family is somewhat notable. Daniel had sons named for himself and for Samuel; he had a grandson named Christopher. Christopher Comstock had among his sons, a Samuel and a Daniel; he also had a grandson named Christopher.

Y-DNA testing of a direct descendant of Christopher Comstock, who still carries the Comstock surname, is important to shed further light regarding his family connection. Testing by a descendant of John would also be helpful and important to the project. The more men that consent to the test, the better the predictions can be.

If you are unfamiliar with Y-DNA testing - the 37-marker test is recommended for reasonable genealogy purposes. It is a simple and painless cheek swab. The test is non-medical. It has no resemblance to DNA testing for law enforcement purposes and does not reveal any health conditions, nor paternity. There is no "chain of custody" with DNA testing by the companies testing genealogy DNA - there is no way for anyone to track or access your results and use them for any other purpose. The tests are as private as you want them to be. Sharing your email address does allow communication with your matches, but you do not have to do so.

To join the Comstock DNA project, simply follow the link at the beginning of this Blog, where you can find more information. There is a "Join Project" tab. Feel free to email me for more information:
My Email Address

My Own DNA

2011-07-28T23:18:00.000-04:00

I have just received the results of my own FamilyFinder DNA test at FamilyTree DNA. I had quite a few matches and several of them have already led to the discovery of new cousins, particularly among the Gabbard-Baker-Smith-Bowman families that lived in several Kentucky coutines - Madison, Clay, Owsley, Jackson, etc. Some of new cousins are related in two or more ways.

Then there are those intriguing matches which don't seem to match - some of these are at the 3rd cousin level which suggests we share great, great grandparents ....but we can't find any surnames at all in common, much less great, great grandparents. One really starts to wonder what some of our ancestors were up to!

At any rate, I've been busy all day, comparing notes and discovering new information and new friends. The above families in Kentucky were all quite far back and I've not included them on my webpage in the past, but after today, I will be doing just that.

I don't pretend to understand all the ramifications of the results of the test, but I do know this: my DNA is "out there" for comparison. I have also ordered a mtDNA test because I can only go back five generations on my direct female line to a lady named Mary Rowena Hoskins. She seemingly had no family, but I'd really like to find one for her.

I wish I had a crystal ball and could see what the future holds regarding DNA studies.

Comstock DNA Project - Sale at FamilyTree DNA

2011-07-15T20:00:00.010-04:00

This post is for any male Comstock descendant who still carries the Comstock surname.

There is a one-week sale at FamilyTree DNA. The 37 marker Y-DNA test is the cheapest it has ever been and this is the test most often recommended for genealogy purposes. If you have considered having your DNA tested to help prove the lineage of the four proposed sons now would be the time to do so. So far only two descendants of Samuel Comstock of Rhode Island have been tested.

The sale is from today, Friday, July 15th, 2011, through Thursday, July 21st, at 11:59 PM CST. The “regular pricing” shown below is already a project group price and is less than ordering directly from the FamilyTree DNA homepage

• Y-DNA37 for $119 (Regular price would be $149)

• Y-DNA67 for $199 (Regular price would be $239)

• Family Finder for $199 (Regular price would be $289)

• Family Finder + Y-DNA37 for $318 (Regular price would be $438)

• Family Finder + mtDNAPlus for $318 (Regular Price would be $438)

• mtDNA Full Sequence for $219 (Regular Price would be $299)

• SuperDNA for $418 (Regular Price would be $518, includes Y-DNA67 and mtFullSequence)

• Comprehensive Genome for $617 (Regular Price would be $797, includes Y-DNA67, mtFullSequence and Family Finder)

In addition, existing Family Tree DNA customers may order the Family Finder add-on for $199

Unfortunately these are also the dates of my vacation, and much of the time I will not have computer access to answer any questions. However, ordering a test is easy to do. The test should be ordered through the Comstock project for you to be a part and have your DNA compared there with other Comstock descendants. Results are posted by a Kit number, not by name - privacy is respected. Here is the Comstock DNA Project home page

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/comstock/

At the top of the page is a “Join” tab, which leads to a page with the option to “Purchase a Test to Join This Project”. Follow the instructions.

Any questions about the test – what it consists of, etc – can be answered by going to the FamilyTree DNA homepage and checking the FAQs found there.

http://www.familytreedna.com/

This is the first time prices have been this low since last summer and the opportunity to puchase tests at these prices may be come again.

Adamson Obituaries

2011-07-09T12:53:00.001-04:00

Today is a genealogy Happy Dance day. I recently discovered the obituary of a grandaunt, Blanche Adamson - now I have access to the obituaries of her parents, my great grandparents, Enoch Reuben and Mary Elizabeth (Harmon) Adamson.

This is the situation. My mother divorced my birth father - she left him before I was age two.  At age six, I was adopted by my stepfather and legally given his name. My birth family, the Adamsons, were effectively erased from my life - to be rediscovered when I began family research. I have had no traditions, no family stories, to further this research or give it depth. On the other side of the coin, each tidbit of information about the Adamsons is always fresh and new.

Enoch was a Union Army Civil War Pensioner, so I had a copy of his very large file, which included a date and place of death, but no particulars. He had not died at home in Benton County, Arkansas, but curiousily, in Oklahoma. I knew that after his death, Mary was counted twice in the 1910 census - once in Rogers, Benton County, Arkansas, and also in Chester, Crawford County, Arkansas, some fifty or so miles and two counties away.  I had no more records about Mary after about 1912, so assumed she had also passed away. I knew that Blanche had died as a young woman because I found her listed in USGenWeb in the Rogers Cemetery, but knew absolutely nothing else about her.

The following obituaries are some of the richest in detail that I have seen - Enoch's even offers the explanation of why Mary was counted twice in the 1910 census. The obituaries can also be found on FindAGrave.com, Rogers Cemetery, Benton County, Arkansas.  The contributor has given me permission to use them in this Blog. The Rogers Democrat was the local newspaper.

Rogers Democrat
Rogers, AR
March 08, 1905
ADAMSON, Blanche – A telegram was received yesterday announcing the death that morning of Miss Blanche Adamson of Cherry Lynn, 8 miles from Denver. The body will be brought to Rogers for burial and while no word has yet been received from Mr. and Mrs. Adamson regarding the funeral arrangements it is thought they will reach here tomorrow night or Friday morning. Miss Adamson's death was the result of consumption and her condition had been such since Christmas that her death had been almost daily expected. It will be two years in April since Miss Adamson went to Colorado with the hope that the change of climate would cure her and it was thought at times she was on the road to recovery. It was too deep seated and death alone could give her relief. None of the young ladies of Rogers of recent years have been more deservedly popular than Miss Adamson and she had a wide acquaintance in this part of the state. Born in Kansas she came with her parents, E.R. Adamson and wife, to Rogers 16 years ago and resided here until she went to Colorado. She had always been prominent in local social circles, her pleasant manners and lovable traits of character making her a general favorite. During the years that her father had the control of the Commercial Hotel here the active management of the same was handled by Miss Blanche and she made a most capable landlady. The Democrat joins with the many Rogers friends in extending sympathy to the bereaved family.

Rogers Democrat
Rogers, AR
March 15, 1905
Mr. and Mrs. E.R. Adamson, accompanying the body of their daughter, Miss Blanche, who died a week ago near Denver, arrived in Rogers Friday noon. Funeral services were held Sunday afternoon at the Congregational church at two o'clock and were conducted by Rev. J.G. Bailey, assisted by Rev. Alling. The church was crowded with friends of the deceased and of the family and many were unable to gain admission; an eloquent tribute to the popularity of Miss Blanche. Interment was in the local cemetery. All of the funeral arrangements were carried out in accordance with the wishes of Miss Adamson, who planned them a short time before her death.

Rogers Democrat
Rogers, AR
January 13, 1910
ADAMSON, E.R. - E.R. Adamson died Friday, January 7th in the hospital at McAlester, Okla. the result of pneumonia and complications. The body was brought to Rogers and funeral services were held Monday afternoon at two o'clock at the Presbyterian church and were conducted by the pastor, Rev. Arnett. Interment was in the Rogers cemetery. Mr. Adamson had been in charge of a Rock Island bridge gang the past three months with headquarters at Haileyville, Okla. Christmas Day he was sent to Shawnee to assist in clearing away the wrecked machine shops where a number of men were killed by the explosion of a locomotive boiler. He caught a severe cold and was ordered to the hospital January 1st. He rapidly grew worse and died before any of the family could reach him. "Col" Adamson, as he was familiarly known, was born February 19, 1854 at Kokomo, Howard county, Indiana. He grew to manhood there served four years in the Civil War in an Indiana regiment. After the war he went to Missouri and October 12, 1870 was married to Miss Mary E. Harmon of Oregon, Mo. To them were born seven children, four of whom with their mother survive him. They are Mrs. E.E. Musselman of Rogers and Lee, Ray, and Clarie, who have been the past year at Quanah Texas. Two children died at Peirce City, Mo. and Miss Blanche died here several years ago. Mr. Adamson had been a Frisco employee for twenty-seven years, commencing about the time the Frisco company began work on the line south from Monett. He had always been in the bridge and carpenter department and in charge of a regular crew. The family moved to Rogers from Peirce City in 1890. In 1897 Mr. Adamson took charge of the Commercial Hotel of Rogers and owned it for about three years, although he was himself in charge and off the road for only one year. He was elected mayor of Rogers that spring and served with credit to himself and the town. For a number of years Mr. Adamson had owned a large fruit farm near Chester and a little over two years ago they moved down there to give it their personal supervision. Mrs. Adamson and the boys will retain the farm this year at least. Mr. Adamson was one of the most popular men that ever lived in Rogers and his list of friends was only limited by the number of his acquaintances. Big, jolly and with a hearty welcome for everyone, he was known from one end of the division to the other and the news of his sudden death will be learned with much regret by all. Mrs. Adamson and children request us to thank the friends who so kindly assisted her in preparing and conducting the funeral and for other kindnesses shown.

Rogers Democrat
Rogers, AR
September 19, 1912
ADAMSON, Mary Elizabeth HARMON - Mrs. E.R. Adamson died Saturday morning [September 13th - the 19th was a Thursday in 1912] at Dr. Love's sanitarium after a prolonged and painful illness. There had been but little hope for her recovery for several months and death came as a welcome relief from her sufferings. Funeral services were held at the Presbyterian church Sunday afternoon at three o'clock and were conducted by the officers of the Eastern Star, under the direction of District Deputy Worthy Matron Addie L. Bartlett. A large number of friends gathered at the church and cemetery to pay their last sad tribute to the memory of the deceased. Mary Elizabeth Harmon was born in Indiana July 14th, 1850 and was married to Enoch R. Adamson on October 19, 1868. They moved from Indiana to Bremer county, Iowa in 1869 and lived also in Kansas and Missouri before coming to Rogers twenty years ago from Pierce City, Mo. Mr. Adamson died Jan. 7, 1910 and Mrs. Adamson is survived by four children, Mrs. E.E. Muesselman, Lee H. Adamson, and Ray and Clair Adamson, all of this city. A daughter, Miss Blanche, died a number of years ago. The deceased also leaves two brothers and a sister. Mrs. Adamson had been a member of the Presbyterian church of Rogers for twenty years and was always one of its most conscientious and faithful workers. She was one of the best beloved Christian women of the city and none stood higher in the esteem of our people. She was a member of the Woman's Study Club and took an active interest in all matters that pertained to the welfare of her town and her neighbors. Her death is a loss not only to her own immediate family but to the entire community.

There is one very interesting fact from the above obituary - Mary seemed to always maintain she was born in July of 1850 - also indicated in the obit. However, in the 1850 census, she was listed with her parents as being 11/12. The census enumerator was there on 19 Sep 1850. Perhaps he intended to list her as 1/12. In 1860, the informant declared Mary to be age 12 - so that didn't help solve the problem. Other dates related by Mary or by Enoch, such as in the various pension applications and forms, have been quite accurate. I can only conclude that she certainly understood her birth year to have been 1850.

I was curious, too, about Love's Sanitarium. Ah, the Internet is truly a wonderful place. It was a small private hospital run by Dr. George M. Love in Rogers, Arkansas. There is even a picture!

Love's Sanitarium

Happy Dance!

Memorial to a Veteran

2011-05-30T14:59:00.000-04:00

My husband and I both had several uncles that served in World War II. His Uncle John Haden was a true hero and fought in two wars. He was a recipient of the Distinquished Flying Cross. I have seen his medal and his citation, but, alas, that was before the days of digital cameras and I have no photos. I would like to remember John on this Memorial Day, 2011.

John Haden was born 7 Feb 1921 in Ladonia, Fannin County, Texas - the youngest of three brothers. His oldest brother William, born 7 Apr 1910, was my father-in-law. I have articles from The Ladonia News - John graduated from Ladonia High School in the Class of 1938. The "socials" column notes that he was studying at the University of Texas in Austin in 1929 and 1940.

John married as Lt. John Haden of the Marine Air Corps in December of 1942, in Houston, Texas, and it was noted in the local newspaper that the couple would be living in Corpus Christi, where the groom received his commission and was stationed temporarily.

On the same day of his wedding announcement there was a second article in The Ladonia News:
Friday Dec 11, 1942.
John Haden Wins Coveted Medal
John Haden, son of Mr. & Mrs. R. C. Haden, Ladonia, recently was awarded the coveted "Navy Wings of Gold" and commissioned 2nd Lieut. in the U.S. Marine Corps at the Naval Air Training Center, Corpus Christi.
Lieut. Haden received his wings with the designation of a Naval Aviator from Rear Admiral E. A. Montgomery, USN, Commandant of the training center, at an impressive class graduation ceremony.
Haden volunteered for flight training in March, 1942, and received preliminary instructions at the US Naval Aviation Base, Dallas. Upon successful completion of this training he was transferred to Corpus Christi for intermediate and advanced training at the "University of the Air" the world's largest naval aviation training center.

In addition to flight instruction, Haden completed a thorough ground school course, including navigation, radio code, gunnery, and bombing theory, communications, and other aeronautical subjects. He is a former student of the University of Texas.

During World War II, the Marines were part of the Navy. John flew the bent wing F4U Corsair. On 1 Jun 1945, he was shot down in the Pacific and flown to a hospital in Guam with a badly broken foot. Family letters related that he was sent on to a hospital in Honolula and then eventually home. He remained in the reserves and was called back into service during the Korean War.

He received the Distinquished Flying Cross:

"For heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight as Pilot of a Plane in Marine Fighter Squadron 214 during operations against enemy aggressor forces in Korea on 6 October 1951. Responding to an urgent call for close air support when friendly ground forces were subjected to concentrated fire from a hostile battalion command post and four heavily defended artillery emplacements, Captain Haden skillfully led his flight over hazardous terrain to the target area in reduced visibility and initiated a series of daring attacks against the enemy. Despite intense hostile automatic-weapons fire, he continued to press determined bombing, napalm and strafing assaults, inflicting many casualties on the enemy and destroying the command post together with the artillery pieces. By his courage, skilled airmanship and devotion to duty, Captain Haden struck a damaging blow to the enemy and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."

For the President, C. S. Thomas, Sect of the Navy.

John was the humblest of heros. I was part of the family for years before I even knew he had served in two wars. He was a delightful and gracious gentleman - it was my good fortune to have known him. John Haden passed away on 12 October 2010; he had lived with his beloved wife Merle in Bedford for many years. John and Merle had celebrated 68 years of marriage. As of the posting of the Blog, his wonderful obituary is still available online and has a small picture of John in his uniform. I have seen the picture at his home, but have no copy. You can see it here.

Except for some small family pictures made when John was just a boy in the 1930's, I have only a single photo. This one was made in Dallas on the occasion of my second son's wedding, March of 1990. The man on the left is William Haden, my father-in-law who died two years after the picture was taken ...the man on the right is Uncle John with a twinkle in his eye. To me, this picture is a true portrait of a great man with a great sense of humor. Our true American heros live among us as ordinary men, although they are anything but ordinary.

Clip Art

Civil War Ancestors - Andrew Pippin

2011-05-05T08:00:00.005-04:00

One should never say never... I thought I had told the last of the Civil War ancestor stories, but that was not quite so.

Another of my husband's great, grand grandfathers was Andrew Pippin, born 1 Mar 1825 in Jackson County, Tennessee, and lived there all his life. Andrew married Mary "Mollie" Goolsby about 1845 and they had seven children born before the War, a daughter born during the War, and one more son in 1866. Mollie died before 1870, and Andrew married again in 1871 to Lucinda Hutcheson by whom he had at least ten more children for a total of nineteen, eighteen of whom reached adulthood.

Andrew's Civil War story is told through his pension application.

Andy enlisted in Co. B, 28th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry at Murfreesboro, on 23 Dec 1862 [Stated 1862 in his pension application but the enlistment must have been in 1861 based on other events.] and served as a private. His Regt was merged with the 84th TN on Mar 8 1863 and designated as the 28th Consolidated; he was in Company K. His commanding officers were his his first cousin Capt. Alfred C. Pippin and Col. P. D. Cunningham. [Cunningham was killed 2 Jan 1862 at the Battle of Murfreesboro and Alfred Pippin died in a skirmish 13 Jan 1864.]

Andrew stated he was in the Battle at Murfreesboro, Missionary Ridge and Chickamauga where he received a gunshot wound in the upper right arm and was taken to the hospital. [This may be an error as the Missionary Ridge battle occured a couple of days following Chickamauga; his unit was certainly there at the Ridge, but I believe Andrew was already in the hospital.] He was released from the hospital as "unable for military service" by a nurse. He was captured by the Yankees on the way home and imprisoned at Nashville and held there for about two months, very ill and growing worse.

Andrew received no medical aid and was advised he would die if he remained in prison. He was offered transportation home on Jan 3 1864, provided he sign the oath of allegiance to the United States. He signed the oath, so he could go home. After arriving home he was bedfast and helpless for sometime. It was more than a year before he gained much use of his arm. His brother Simeon "Sim" testified that he was with Andrew in the Battle of Chickamauga, and with him when he was released from the hospital, very ill with his wound. He was with Andrew when he was captured and was carried with him to prison in Nashville and knew that Andrew grew worse while there.

Just as an aside: Regimental history reveals that at Chickamauga, Pippin's unit sustained 34% casualties. Very few men remained to surrender by 1865.

Andrew was denied his Confederate pension for signing the oath. A document dated, 7 Aug 1908 "War Records Report" says: Took the oath at Nashville, Jan 4 '64. The board hold a soldier had no right to take the oath, but must go to prison. Independent of this, he was on his way home when captured."

Examination of the file sent from the Tennessee Archives included a letter from Mr. T. C. Fuqua, dated 17 Dec 1914, stating that Mr. Pippin is dead [the cemetery record states that Andrew died 17 Dec 1913] and his widdow is "just to mercies of charity" He states further that Pippin was evidently entitled to a pension but lacked some in proving his claim and all correspondence has been lost; please send proper papers for re-application & instructions for doing so.

Application was first made 1 Jul 1908 and the letter from Mr. Fuqua about his death is the last dated document found in the file. Strangely the outside of the pension jacket is stamped "Accepted" - I believe Andrew was accepted as a pensioner but the notice arrived after his death.

Lucinda applied for her Widow's Indigent Pension on 8 Sep 1926. She was living with her son-in-law S. R. [Silas Redmon] Jackson and had no property of any kind; she was totally blind. She named all the children and gave their ages. She did not remember the company & regiment Andrew served in. John Tucker was named as a friend who would be willing to furnish more information.

D. B. Flatt and Willis Meadors were her witnesses. Flatt said he'd known her for 40 years and known her husband since he was a child. They did not know anything about his military service except what they'd been told. They knew he had been born in Tennessee and that they had cohabitted together and recognized as husband and wife. She had no property nor had conveyed any in the past two years as she had none to convey and she was blind.

Algood Moore, Clerk of the Putnam County Court, certified that the court house was destroyed by fire in 1898 and if the record of the marriage of Andrew Pippin and Lucinda V. Hutchison ever existed, it had been destoyed by said fire.

An inquiry was sent to see if Andrew Pippin had served in the 8th Regisment of the TN Cavalry. The reply came back that "one Andrew Pippin, who enlisted at Murfreesboro, residence Jackson Co., served in Co. B, 28th Tenn. Inf., C.S.A. which became Co K, 18th (Consolidated) Tenn. Inf. C.S.A.

Apparently her friend, John Tucker was contacted as there's a typed letter from him. His letterhead reads: John Tucker, General Merchandise, Coffins and Caskets. Double Springs, Tenn. It's dated 2 Oct 1926, and he offers to try to find old people who can testify to the marriage of Andrew & Lucinda by their living together, but says there is no one living who was present at their marriage. He is willing to assist her anyway he can at no charge as he lost his father in the Confederate Army.

The Pension card has the following note: No proof of marriage. No Trustees certificate. Can't file. Perhaps this was all eventually corrected as it's also stamped ACCEPTED. The Tennessee pension records do not give the amount awarded.

Civil War Ancestors - William Franklin Haden

2011-05-04T08:13:00.001-04:00

Today's post is the last of the Civil War ancestor stories. William Franklin Haden was my husband's great, great grandfather, born 30 Sep 1817 in either Logan or Warren County, Kentucky. According to dates passed down in the family, he was born about seven months after his father died from being thrown off a horse. William had one brother about two years older. The half-orphaned boys were raised by a stepfather with the guardianship of their Haden uncles. William's brother, John, moved from Kentucky to Mississippi and then Missouri, dying there in Jasper County in 1852. The picture was made in 1859 - it is a daguerrotype.

William married first Mary Martha Ann Gaines in 1837 and had two daughters. The family left Kentucky bound for Greene County, Missouri, where cousins were living, probably about 1843. It isn't known whether Mary Martha died in Kentucky or on the journey, or soon after their arrival in Missouri. William married again to Mary Jane Perkins, 16 Dec 1845, in Greene County - he had known her back in Kentucky, as both of their families had lived in Logan County.

By the time the Civil War started, the area of Greene County where the Hadens lived had become Christian County. Their home was near the Wilson Creek battlefield. William was a bit old for the service - he was about 44 when the war began. It is doubtful that he actually served as a soldier. But William was captured by the Yankees and put into prison in Fort Smith, Arkansas. For some years I searched for proof that this was more than a family story. Then I came into possession of letters written by his son Joseph Benjamin Haden, who was my husband's great grandfather, and found the following letter written in 1924 to his older brother, James or "Jimmie".

Let me explain a bit more. Joe B. Haden spent most of his long life in Ladonia, Fannin County, Texas. He died in 1953 at age 93. For many years he wrote articles both for his local newspaper and the Dallas newspaper; he also kept up correspondence with many of his friends and relatives. He had a very old typewriter which I actually saw in the house some years ago and he made carbon copies of everything he wrote - both the articles and the letters. The letter certainly confirms the family story that William was in prison, but does not say why. Family tradition is that he was accused of spying for the Confederacy. At that time in place in southern Missouri, the Union forces needed little reason, so likely "spying" was as good as any.

Unfortunately, Joe didn't tell us which of his sisters made that incredible ride. There are three possibilities. One of the half-sisters, Sarah Mildred, was already married, the other half-sister, Elizabeth Margaret, was in her early 20's. Joe's oldest full sister, Marietta, would have been about age 16. Let me describe a bit about this journey. It is about 175 miles and over the Boston Mountains, a range of the Ozarks. Although they might have been able to travel on some roads and trails, including the Butterfield stage route, even today this area is heavily forested and much of it quite unpopulated. Throughout the duration of the War the whole area of southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas was the haunt of bushwhackers and guerillas - it was a war zone. Today it would take some three and a half hours in a good vehicle to make this trip through the mountains. Although the Pony Express could cover 100 miles a day, at normal speeds and with no fresh horses along the way, the girls likely covered about 20 miles a day, which meant they surely had to sleep along the way. Did they camp out? Did they beg lodging from strangers? What courage to have made this difficult and frightening journey!

And, yes, I have the postcard:

William's daughters were not able to get him released, so they would have had to return home by the same long, dangerous route.

The story doesn't end there. Mary Jane was left in Missouri with her step-daughters and seven children of her own, ranging from their early 20's to an infant girl. I have no choice but to rely on the family traditions about this time period, but remember that Joe B. Haden lived to be 93 and my husband knew him. His mother, Mary Jane, lived to be 91. They were around to tell these stories for a very long time. Because the guerillas took horses, wagons, anything they might be able to use, the Hadens had hidden a horse in the woods and had dismantled the wagon and buried it. Mary Jane had pity on any of the soldiers, regardless of their uniform, and fed all who came to her door, although she may have spit in the food of the Yankee boys. Since she had shown kindness, the Union soldiers warned her that her home was to be burned. Mary Jane and the older children dug up the wagon, reassembled it, and left for Texas, as did so many other Missourians. Joe remembered looking out the back of the wagon and seeing the plume of smoke that had been his home.

William was still in prison, so Mary Jane stopped at every crossroads and country store to explain which way she was going, so that William could retrace their travels and find them should he be released. He was released at the end of the War and did find them. The family settled first in Lamar County, then moved to Fannin County, where they would remain for the next three generations. William and Mary Jane and several of their children are buried in the Ladonia city cemetery - I have visited their graves several times, as well as the house where Mary Jane lived following William's death in 1880. I have the copy of the deed when she gave the house to my husband's grandfather.

Mary Jane outlived William by so many years and I do not have a picture of her when she was young. This one was made circa 1895-1900. I have one other remembrance of Mary Jane. On my backporch in Florida is a cast iron wash pot - large and very heavy - it traveled with Mary Jane and children in that wagon from Missouri to Texas. I wish that pot could tell it's story!

Civil War Ancestors - Holderness Brothers

2011-05-03T08:00:00.001-04:00

Another of my husband's great, great grandfathers was Robert Charles Holderness, born 11 Oct 1827, in Caswell County, North Carolina. He was a physician, having attended the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Holderness, his widowed mother, and all but one of his siblings moved to Calhoun County, Arkansas, just after the 1850 Census. Robert married Virginia Elizabeth Thomas there in Calhoun County, 2 Nov 1854, but he had known her family back in North Carolina. In October of 1863, Robert and Virginia along with three young children and a six-week-old baby [Elizabeth "Bettie" my husband's great grandmother] left Arkansas for Hopkins County, Texas.

Dr. Holderness joined the Confederate Army in Black Jack Grove (Cumby), in Hopkins County, and was attached to Company K of the 9th Texas Cavalry (Ross Brigade). However, because of the great need for medical service, he was assigned to civilian practice at Primm Hill (another small town that would be part of Cumby) and did not see any actual military service.

From Civil War Shadows in Hopkins County, Texas, by June E. Tuck, 1993:

p.38 "The 4th of March 1864, the County exempted the following doctors from military duty: Robert Holderness of Tarrant .... The Commissioners thought they were needed at home more than the military needed them.

p.90 "On June 24, 1893, Col. Dillahuntz of Mt. Pleasant, TX, met with ex-Confederates at Black Jack Grove (Cumby) Hopkins Co, TX to organize a new chapter to be known as "Dud Jones Camp, U.C.V. Dr. R. C. Holderness [was elected] Surgeon."

However, Robert had six brothers.

His eldest brother William Henry, had bought out the shares of his mother and siblings and remained in North Carolina. Documents on Footnote.com reveal that William worked as a sub-agent for the collection of taxes for the benefit of the Confederacy and received reimbursement for office space, pens, paper, glue, and the labor of a slave.

When Presidential Pardons [Amnesty] was offered, William Henry Holderness was quick to reply:
"Case Files of Applications from former Confederates for Presidential Pardons [Amnesty Papers] 1865-67 M1003, NARA

Caswell Co NC
June 17, 1865
Dear Sir,
I was a citizen of Caswell County NC about 45 years. I was appointed Title Agent for this county which office I accepted for the Sole purpose of avoiding conscription in the Confederate Service As I was not able or willing to go into the Army.
I was very anxious to have Civil Government established in the State & see peace, prosperity reign over this Country, and I am now Very anxious to take the oath proscribed by your Amnesty Proclamation and to become a good true and loyal citizen of the United States. Upon a statement of the above facts I ask your Excellency to grant me a full and free pardon.
Very respectfully your,
Obet. Servt.
W. H. Holderness

A copy of a printed form with the blanks filled in:
I, W. H. Holderness, of Caswell County, State of North Carolina, do solemnly swear or affirm, in presence of Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Union of the States thereunder; and that I will in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all laws and proclamations which have been made during the existing rebellion with reference to the emancipation of slaves. So help me God.
W. H. Holderness
Sworn and subscribed to this the 23 day of Augt, A.D., 1865, before
A. A. Pattillo, J.P.

Two of the brothers, James and Thomas, born between William and Robert, seemed to have avoided involvement in the War. James suffered from rheumatism for many years and may have not been physically able. The next to the youngest of the Holderness boys, Jonathan Iverson, born 1832, also seems not to have served in the War. All three of these men were Texas ranchers, James & Jonathan in Palo Pinto County, Thomas in Jones county. None of them ever married. It is always possible they did serve in the War and their records have been lost to time - none of them would have needed to apply for a pension, nor did they have widows that would have done so.

George W. Holderness was two years younger than Dr. Robert. Chances are excellent his middle name was Washington, but that is not proved. George was a merchant in Monticello, Arkansas, a single man. He had remained in Arkansas when several of his brothers had moved to Texas. He was enlisted in the Confederacy by Capt. J. A. Owens at Monticello on 8 Feb 1862 for one year, later extended to three years, or the War. George served as Sergeant Major in Owens Battery or Monticello Battery (Light Artillery) of the Arkansas Volunteers. This unit served East of the Mississippi throughout the War. On 19 Oct 1864 he was admitted to Ross Hospital in Mobile, Alabama. He died there on Nov 19th of acute diarrhea. His effects were listed simply as "sundries" and he was owed back pay of $91.75.

The youngest of the Holderness brothers was Algernon Sidney Holderness, born a few months after the death of their father. He, too, was a physician, also receiving his degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Like his brother George, he remained in Arkansas.

Confederate records from National Archives state A. S. Holderness was enlisted 16 June 1862 by J. M. O'Neill at Hampton, AR to serve three years or the War, in Company B of the 1st Regt. Arkansas Cavalry (Monroe's Regt.) Apparently following the battles in northwest Arkansas, A. S. was left at the hospital in Fayetteville to care for the wounded. On 18 Apr 1863, he was detailed as Asst. Surgeon and left at Fayetteville with 1 horse. His papers include a Parole for A. S. Holdiness (sic) of Calhoun Co, Ark. aged 29 years, 5' 9 1/2 " high, eyes blue, hair light, complexion fair; dated 23 Apr 1863 at Fayetteville, Ark. He promises not to give information to the enemies of Government of the United States or harbor any spies of the so called Confederate Army or communicate to any members thereof. Handwritten on the parole is "and that I will not go beyond the Hospital Limits of the Town of Fayetteville, Ark., nor bear arms whilst on duty". Signed with his signature: A. S. Holderness, Ass. Surgeon, CSA, Monros Regt.

A biography in Biographical & Historical Memoirs of Southern Arkansas (1890) The Goodspeed Publishing Company, pp. 723-24, states this about Algernon Sidney Holderness's Civil War Service: "He was nearly all through the war, in the Confederate army, as assistant surgeon of the First Arkansas Cavalry, and operated in Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Texas. For a short time he held the rank of first lieutenant of Company B. He was discharged in Texas, May 27, 1865, and the same year was married..."

Civil War Ancestors - Andrew White

2011-05-02T13:18:00.000-04:00

One of my husband's great, great grandfathers, Andrew B. White, was born 20 April 1820 in Tennessee, most probably the son of Thomas and Martha White. Placing him in this family is documented by considerable circumstantial evidence. The "B" in his name is a mystery - if I knew it, therein might lie a clue to his mother's maiden name. [A nephew was named Andrew Burris White so that is at least a possibility.] Andrew and some of his brothers moved to St. Francois County, Missouri, probably a year or two following the 1840 census.

Andrew White married Elizabeth Sebastian, daughter of Martin and Mourning (Smith) Sebastian, on 17 Dec 1844, in St. Francois County, and they moved to Fannin County, Texas, with her family. Andrew first appears on tax rolls in Fannin County in 1848 with 160 acres of preemption land. In March of 1859, Elizabeth died, leaving Andrew with six young children. He married again before the year was over, to Sarah Williams who had been a Missouri neighbor.  Sarah was a daughter of John Jefferson Williams and Nancy M. Bowles. Andrew and Sarah had at least five more children, two born before the Civil War began.

Sarah applied to the state of Texas for an Indigent Widow's Pension, 20 Oct 1899. According to her application, Andrew enlisted in the Confederacy at Bonham, Texas in the Fall of 1863 in Bolands Regiment, Company H, Anderson's Company, and served for about a year.  She didn't state his rank. At age 43, Andrew was a bit older than most soldiers. I believe the Regiment was actually Bourland's Border Cavalry Regiment commanded by Col. James Bourland - two of Andrew's children by his first wife married into the Bourland family, but no relationship to the Colonel is known. Sarah was then age 65 and said she had married Andrew White in 1859 in Fannin County and that's when she came to Texas. Andrew had died in 1881. [His grave marker has 17 Nov 1881.]

J. S. White - John Sebastian White, my husband's great grandfather - and C. B. Bridges testified on behalf of Sarah, stating that she was the widow of Andrew White  and was unable to support herself by labor of any sort. The pension was approved 20 Feb 1900. The Texas State Confederate Pensions seem to have required a minimum of documentation - most of the files are only a few pages.

I have been unable to locate a service record for Andrew. Online rosters indicate that an A. B. White served as a Captain in Company D of Bourland's regiment. However, this man was Ambrose B. White and he was from Whitesboro, in Grayson County - just across the Fannin county line. No relationship between Ambrose and Andrew is known. Andrew's nephew of the same name - Andrew B. White - fought for the Confederacy in Tennessee and later applied for his pension from Titus County, Texas.

Civil War Ancestors - Stewart Wishard

2011-04-30T08:00:00.005-04:00

Stewart Wishard was a brother to my husband's great, great grandfather Robert T. Wishard. Stewart was born 22 Aug 1825 in Fleming County, Kentucky, but his family had moved to Shelby Co, Indiana before he was four. He seems to have been something of a restless soul - he lived in several different places and married four or possibly even five times - he had children by four wives. His wives [there is evidence some died, but were there also divorces?] and children have been difficult to trace.

By the beginning of the Civil War, Stewart was living with his second wife and the two daughters he had with her in Davis County, Iowa. I believe I found one of his two sons of his first wife living with her brother's family back in Johnson County, Indiana, in 1860. The other son was probably with his first wife's sister's family in Shelby County, Indiana.

Stewart Wishard enlisted in the Union Army, but in the 10th Missouri Infantry Volunteers, Company D, as a Sergeant. His enlisted in July of 1861 and was discharged at St. Louis in November of 1864. After the War he moved to Alabama where he was found in the 1870 and 1880 Censuses in Madison County. In 1881, Stewart married for the fourth time in Jackson County, Alabama.

On 3 Oct 1888, Stewart made declaration for his Civil War pension before the judge of the Probate Court in Jackson County, Alabama. He stated his age as 66, which was about three years older than he actually was. Stewart was 6 ' 1 1/2" tall, blue-eyed with brown hair. While in the line of duty at High Hill, Missouri, during the month of August, 1861 he contracted chronic diarrhea with resulting piles and prolapse of bowels, by reason of exposure. He was treated at High Hill that fall by Dr. Payne and at various other places. He served three years and three months and has not since been in the military. Since leaving the service he has resided in Alabama & Iowa, occupation that of farmer. He was a farmer and in sound health when he enlisted but he is now greatly disabled from obtaining his subsistence by manual labor.

The muster roll cards in the pension file show that Stewart was absent, sick, several times, and that he was admitted to the Regimental Hospital at one time with disease of the kidneys and another time with lumbago. He had a 30-day furlough in the summer of 1863, to go to Bloomfield, Iowa - I suspect this could have been about the time of the death of his second wife.

Stewart's pension was $6 per month, increased to $12 in 1890. Through the years, there were many medical reviews and additional testimony required. Here is one of affidavits given in 1890 for proof of his disability.
12 Jul 1890. Affidavit of James C. Quigley of Bailey, Hand County, South Dakota. He was acquainted with Stewart Wishard while at Corrinth, Mississippi, the Spring & Summer of 1862. He had contracted diarrhea and resulting piles with relaxation of the bowels and was terribly reduced. He rallied some time in the fall and winter and kept with his command but was not fit for severe duty at all or very little. After discharge, I lived neighbor to him for two years, 1867 & 1866, at Drakeville, Iowa when he moved to Alabama. All this time he suffered & showed the effects of his disability. When he enlisted he was a strong stout energetic man, a good true soldier and stuck to the service and his duty so far as able. I knew him for at least five years.

By 1891, his physical examination showed he had trachoma of both eyes, as well as chronic diarrhea. In 1892, Stewart said his sight had become imparied about 1877 or 1878 and he didn't know the cause. His acquaintances from Madison County, Alabama, continued to provide testimony about his inability to work. He also asked for a higher disability rating because of his deteriorating health, but perhaps didn't get it because his pension continued at $12 per month.

By 18 May 1893, Stewart Wishard was found at the National Military Home, in Grant, Indiana. He was admitted to the Marion Branch of the National Home for disabled Volunteer soldiers in September of 1895 and his pension was transferred to the Pension Agency in Indianapolis.

Here is a webpage of the Marion Branch home that has both a picture of the home and picture of the men in the dining hall made 1898 while Stewart Wishard was a resident. I find this picture incredibly sad.

In February 1898, his martial status was requested which helped me confirm and place some of the wives and children. Stewart said he was a Widower and his wife's maiden name had been Webb [she was the fourth wife]. He didn't give any record of the marriage, nor did he answer the question regarding previous wives. He was asked to give names of children living and their date of birth. He had no record of their births but gave these names: John Thompson, William Thomas, Sabrina, Susana, and Myrtle. I had found probably two other children in census records, apparently deceased by 1898. [I know that John and William were sons of the first wife, nee Sarah Harris; Sabrina and a daughter Surena were born to the second wife, Frances Huffman; Susanna and possibly a son Willy/Wylie? were born to the third wife, Olive Elvia "Alla" Jenkins; and Myrtle was the daughter of the fourth wife, Sudie Webb. There is also a marriage record in Alabama - Stewart Wishard to Jane Phillips, 6 Jun 1887 - but Jane is mentioned nowhere else.]

There was a request for the military and medical history of Stewart Wishard in 1903 and the subsequent answers reveal new information that he had been wounded in the thigh in the battle near Iarka, Mississippi on 19 Sep 1862.

On 10 Jun 1905, Stewart Wishard stated that he had a daughter that was blind, married to a blind man, and he was inquiring if there was any pension provision for dependants. There was not. [The blind daughter was Myrtle, born December of 1884, apparently the only child of Stewart's fourth marriage to Sudie Webb. In 1900, Myrtle Wishard, age 17, was in the census, living at the Institute for the Education of the Blind in Indianapolis.]
Then the following two documents appear in the pension file.

11 Jul 1906 Marion Branch National Home for D.V.S., Indiana. Stewart Wishard, late D Co, 10 Regt MO, Pension, Certificate #762466, DIED at this Branch on the 11th day of Jul 1906. Stamped: Rec'd 18 Jul 1906.

14 Jul 1906 Marion Branch, National Home. Stewart Wishard died at this Branch Hospital on 11 Jul 1906. He died of Senility; he was a widower. Next of kin: Mrs. Myrtle Brinkman, daughter, Kokomo, IN

Steward Wishard is buried at the Marion National Cemetery, Grant County, Indiana.

The story doesn't end with Stewart's death. In 1903 Myrtle had married William A. Brinkman. The 1910 census lists both of them as "Blind" - and there were three young children. Myrtle also indicated they had lost a child prior to 1910. William Brinkman was quite a bit older and had been twice married. He was born in Ohio, his parents born in Germany. His occupation given as "a Peddlar on the Street".

In 1907, Mrs. Myrtle Brinkman hired a lawyer to write to the Pension Bureau to inquire if, as the daughter of a pensioner, and blind, she would be entitled to any pension. She receive the following:
11 Jul 1907
Reply to Mrs. Myrtle Brinkman, 138 Indiana Avenue, Kokomo, Indiana. In response to your communication of the 3rd instant, received the 5th, wherein it is stated that you are the daughter of Steward Wishard.....There is no provision of law under which pension can be granted to the child of a deceased soldier or sailor by reason of permanent helplessness or otherwise, who was over sixteen years of age at the date of the father's death. Commissioner of the Bureau of Pensions, Dept of Interior.

I found the pension file of Stewart Wishard to be one of the most intriguing I've ever read. He is the only relative I've discovered that actually lived in one of the homes for disabled veterans. The saga of the blind daughter Myrtle was also interesting - certainly she was able to marry and have children, although one does wonder how they provided for the children.

Civil War Ancestors - William Wishard

2011-04-29T07:25:00.014-04:00

Robert Thomas Wishard, one of my husband's great, great grandfathers had brothers that also served in the Civil War. His older brother William and William's son Abraham served in the same company with him, although the father and son were not in service at the same time. William and another Wishard brother, Stewart, were both disabled by their wartime service and both have massive and very interesting pension files. I will describe the files in separate posts.

William Wishard, born 28 Feb 1815 in Fleming County, Kentucky, was not a young man when he answered the call to serve his country. He was 46 years old, had buried his first wife then married her sister and had a total of eleven children when he enlisted - one more son was born following the War. I believe that his service shortened his life. William enlisted 31 Aug 1861 as a sergeant. By September 20th he had been promoted to the First Battalion's Commissary Sergeant. His residence was Bloomfield, Davis County, Iowa. He was discharged for disability in August of 1862.

From the pension file I found out what had happened to William Wishard. William's first application for his pension was dated 30 Mar 1864.  In his affidavit, he stated that at a place called Pea Ridge in Arkansas on 7 Mar 1862, during the battle of Pea Ridge he was injured when his horse jumped a rail fence, straining his back and spine. He was thereafter unable to perform any military duty and the injury continues so that he is incapacitated from earning a living.  William was a resident of Davis Co Iowa, aged 49 and he had been a Commissary Seargent of Company A, commanded by Lt. M. L. Baker, 3rd Regt of the Iowa Cavalry commanded by Col. Cyris Bussey for the "suppression of the rebellion in certain States". He volunteered at Bloomfield on 30 Aug 1861 for three years. He was discharged at St. Louis and had his certificate of discharge.

The deposition of M. L. Baker of Van Buren County, Iowa, described the injury and disability: "On or about the 7 of Mar 1862 while in the service and line of duty and in the battle of Pea Ridge, he received an injury of the spine by his horse jumping over a rail fence with him during the fight. He was afterwards unable to perform military duty up until his discharge and is now unable to earn a living by manual labor. The said soldier was in good health at the time he entered the service; the above disability affected him while in the service and at his discharge by rendering him unable to ride and a good part of the time he is confined to his bed."

There was of course a physician's examination which confirmed the injury to the spine; the doctor's evaluation was that Wishard was about one-third disabled. He did indicate that William had continued pain in the small of the back.

Also interesting is a Muster Roll card after the injury which states "Absent without Leave". It is a very good example of the fact that the muster rolls simply indicate that whoever was taking the roll did not always know why someone was not present. The soldier was either there or he was not and presumptions for the absence were made.

On 5 Apr 1866 Margaret Wishard [nee Breeding], age 41 years, applied for her Widow's pension. William had died 20 Feb 1866 at his home in Davis County, Iowa, of disease of the spine, kidneys, and back, which disease was contracted in the service of the United States. She was married to said William Wishard 15 Jun 1843 and has remained a widow ever since he died. Her husband left five surviving children under the age of sixteen: Wm aged 11, John 9, Henry 7, Sarah J. 4 & George Curtis age nine months. She further states that Pension Certificate #27718 was issued to her said husband on 29 Apr 1864. Margaret Wishard made her mark, witnessed by Elisha Wallace and Abram Wishard [Elisha was a son-in-law and Abram, her stepson that had served with his father].

Incredibly, Margaret's pension application was rejected, apparently because William had not continued to have his examinations every six months. Margaret died in 1871.
Due to changes in the pension laws over time, the minor children of William discovered they were entitled to payments and on 26 May 1883, the five children who were under age sixteen in 1866, made application for what they should have been paid. The five children were now aged 28, 26, 24, 21 and 18. They all signed with their own signatures - Wm. A. Wishard, John O. Wishard, Henry Wishard, George C. Wishard, and Sarah signed as Sarah J. Lester, formerly Sarah J. Wishard.

Additional documents in the file included the affidavit of Dr. D. C. Greenleaf of Bloomfield, dated 8 May 1884. He was acquainted with soldier for 16 years prior to his death & had treated him the last seven days of his sickness from 13 to 20 of Jan 1866 inclusive when he died. He had been sick for a long time. He complained of his back and having received injury while in the Army and I am of opinion he had chronic inflamation of the cord [spinal] in its lower portions. The nature was obscure but it is evident he suffered much. Said disease contributed largely to his death if not the whole cause. This affiant was present at the birth of his daughter Sarah J. Wishard born 8 Aug 1861.

One of the sons of William, John O. Wishard, testified to the following on 7 May 1887.  He is 30 years old and lives in Bloomfield. He has the family Bible of William and Margaret Wishard, now deceased in which is recorded their family record ....dates of birth of their children. Requests the Clerk of Davis Co Court to copy and certify the entries relating to the births of Wm. A. Wishard, John O. Wishard, Henry Wishard, Sarah J. Wishard and George C. Wishard.

William Allen Wishard was born December the 14th A.D. 1854
John O. Washard was born March the 2nd A.D. 1857
Henry Wishard was born February the 25th A. D. 1859
Sarah Jane Wishard was born August the 8th A.D. 1861
George C. Wishard was born January 23rd 1865.

"The above were written in different shades of ink and have the appearance of having been written for a long time; the book containing the entries is old and well worn. I am well acquainted with affiant John O. Wishard and certify that he is a Credible person."
Signed: W. D. Leech, Clerk District Court
[I find it amazing that the court clerk evaluted the Bible much as any genealogist or family historian would! Too bad he didn't tell us the copyright date.]

Affidavit of Silas Breeding, who was a brother to Polly and Margaret, was dated 22 Sep 1887 at Bloomfield. He was age 67 years. "I was well acquainted with the soldier prior to his first marriage in 1837. He was married in that year to Polly Breeding...who died in Shelby Co IN about January or February of 1843. I have personal knowledge from being present at her funeral. Said soldier again married to Margaret Breeding in Shelby Co IN on or about Jun 1843. I was acquainted with Soldier up to time of his death 20 Jan 1866. His widow Margaret Wishard was remarried to James L. Thompson about Feb 1869 and she died in January 1871. From personal knowledge."

Elisha and Nancy Wallace both testified on behalf of her siblings. Nancy was the first child of the second marriage; Elisha had witnessed his mother-in-law's earlier application.

Copies of both of William Wishard's marriages are in the file, as well as a copy of the widow Margaret's remarriage.

The children received the pension:
29 Dec 1887 #239503 Original Pension of Minor Children.
A note in the margin of the approval says "Pay on their own vouchers". William A. was to receive Minor Pension at the rate of $8 per mo beginning 21 Jan 1866 [day following his father's death] until 13 Dec 1870 [when he reached age 16]. John O. to receive until 1 Mar 1973. Henry until 24 Feb 1875. Sarah J. Wishard, now Lester, until 7 Aug 1877, George C. until 22 Jan 1881. There is a note that William T. Deupree, guardian of George C. Wishard is not now recognized - George was by now of an age he didn't need a guardian. Unfortunately George died of a hunting accident before he actually received his voucher - he had a liason with an unmarried woman who attempted to claim George's share for a daughter said to be the child of George C. Wishard. That claim was rejected.

William Wishard is buried Lester Cemetery, Cleveland, Davis County, Iowa.

William's son Abraham served in the same unit his father had served in, and his uncle Robert Thomas Wishard was in at the time of Abraham's enlisted. He, too, has a pension file but I have not yet accessed it. Called "Abram" like his grandfather, the young man was age 23, a resident of Drakesville, Iowa, but born in Indiana, when he enlisted 15 Mar 1864 in Company A of the 3rd Iowa Cavalry Regiment. He was mustered into the company the next day. Abram was wounded 16 Apr 1865 in Columbus, Georgia, and mustered out of the service at Atlanta on 9 Aug 1865. The pension index card indicates that Abram filed for his pension on 25 Oct 1879, and that minor children also filed. Grave stone records of Davis County, Iowa, as copied by the WPA show that Abraham died 24 Dec 1893 and is buried Lester Cemetery where his father is also buried.

Civil War Ancestors - Robert Thomas Wishard

2011-04-28T08:00:00.003-04:00

All of the Civil War ancestry I have described previously were my family - my husband had Civil War ancestors as well, though not quite as many. And, just as in my family, there were soldiers on both sides of the War.

Robert Thomas Wishard was born 12 Nov 1829 in Shelby County, Indiana, the youngest child of Abraham "Abram" Wishard and Sarah Reynolds. Abram had served in the War of 1812 - his father, William Wishard, in the Revolution. Sarah's father also fought in the Revolution. Robert married Lavinia Carney, 16 Oct 1853 in Shelby County, but they left Indiana for Iowa about 1857-58, settling in Bloomfield, Davis County. By the time of the War, they had five children including a set of female twins, one of whom would be my husband's great grandmother. In truth, the twins were born about four months after Robert enlisted. Lavinia surely had her hands full while he was away and he served almost the entire war.

Robert Wishard's service record is online, along with that of his brother William and nephew Abraham, who served in the same unit:

http://www.iowa3rdcavalry.com/Roster/menu.html

3rd Iowa Cavalry Roster - look under Company A.

Wishard, Robert T. (Veteran.) Age 32. Residence Davis County, nativity Indiana. Enlisted Aug. 31, 1861, as Sixth Corporal. Mustered Sept. 7, 1861. Promoted Fifth Sergeant Sept. 20, 1861; Fourth Sergeant Nov. 18, 1861; Company Quartermaster Sergeant June 30, 1862; First Sergeant Feb. 25, 1863. Re-enlisted and re-mustered Jan. 1, 1864. Promoted First Lieutenant March 1, 1864. Resigned Sept. 23, 1864.

With three years service, there are many Muster Cards included in the Service file. There is a record of a furlough in November of 1861, but not in December when the twin daughters were born. He was ill in the hospital in Janury of 1862. It is noted that he received one month's pay and a month's furlough when he reinlisted early in 1864. The unit was stationed in Little Rock, Arkansas for several months and he was away, scouting in Mississippi, in June of 1864. Robert was honorably discharged from the Army of the Tennessee at Memphis. Histories of his unit reveal that among their many battles, the unit fought at the Battle of Pea Ridge in northwest Arkansas, probably against my great, great grandfather Tom Comstock.

Infant twin sons had died and two more children had been added to the Wishard family by 1870 and they had moved to Appanoose County in 1867. Soon after the 1870 census, the Wishards moved to Fannin County, Texas, near the small town of Ladonia, in the heart of Texas cotton-growing country. Bonham, in Fannin County, had been the headquarters for the Western Army of the Confederacy - Fannin County seems to be a strange choice of residence for a man that had served so long in the Union Army. I wish I could ask why the decision was made!

Robert T. Wishard applied for his Texas Civil War Pension after he was kicked by a horse while in the stable, suffering a double hernia as a result and no longer able to work or farm. [A fairly simple surgery would fix him right up today - the only solution then was to fit him with a truss.] There is a physical description - he was 5'7" tall, blue eyes, dark hair, and weighed 127 pounds at age 62. His application was approved in the amount of $12 per month commencing 5 Aug 1890. The pension was increased to $20 per month effective a month before his death in 1907. Robert and Lavinia and some of their children and grandchildren are buried Oak Ridge Cemetery in Fannin County. I have visited their graves; they have matching stones.

I believe this tintype to be a picture of Robert Thomas Wishard. I found it in my husband's grandmother's cedar chest [her "hope" chest] after her death. It was folded inside heavy brown paper and on the outside written in her hand was "my grandpa" Of course she had two grandfathers but there are other tintypes of the Wishards that seem to have been made at the same time. On the back of the paper frame, written in pencil is "This be thy Sweetheart in all the days to come as by your leave". It is no longer readable but I copied it when it was. This picture as well as one I believe was Lavinia made about the same time had been slightly colorized - his cheeks are very slightly pink and his patterned tie has a pale blue background.

The next picture isn't from the Civil War, but since the twins were born in December of 1861, I'd guess the picture was made not too long after - perhaps about 1868. I thought I should share it. The tintype has grown quite dark - the paper frame is as yellow as their father's but I lightened the picture to show the little girls. The picture is the twins, Emmazetta and Henrietta Wishard with "a little friend" between them. I do not know which was which - I believe they were identical twins. Henreitta "Etta" was my husband's great grandmother - Emma never married and is buried near her parents.

Civil War Ancestors - The Harmon Brothers

2011-04-27T08:00:00.002-04:00

Another of my great, great grandfathers was William Alexander Harmon - as far as I know, his Civil War service was of a week's duration. At least four of William's brothers also served in the Union Army.

The Harmon men were sons of James Harmon and Philadelphia Dickerson, whose fathers had both served in the Revolution.

Robert John Harmon, the fourth child but the eldest son, was born 21 Feb 1824, Marion County, Indiana. He enlisted as a private in Company A, 86th Indiana Infantry on 1 Aug 1862; he was discharged 2 Jan 1863. Possibly his enlistment was only for three months, he may also have suffered an injury or illness. On 13 Jun 1881, Robert J. Harmon applied for his invalid pension which he did receive. He died 1900 in Oklahoma and his wife, Sarah (Dye) Harmon then applied for her widow's pension. This is a file I have not yet obtained from the National Archives.

William Alexander Harmon, was born 7 Jan 1826, Marion County, and married on 17 Jun 1847 in Boone County, Indiana, to Emma Elizabeth Miller. By the time of the War they had five children. William enlisted on 7 Oct 1863, as a Private in Company G, Indiana, 102nd Infanty Regiment, 10 Jul 1863, and was mustered out a week later, on 17 Jul 1863, at Indianapolis. This was a minute men regiment called up for citizens' defense when word was received that a Confederate force of 6,000 cavalry had crossed the Ohio River and was moving on Corydon. The 102nd was organized in Boone County and numbered 623 men. It left Indianapolis the next day by rail, traveling to Vernon, where Company K was mounted and sent in pursuit of the enemy. The unit was moved to DuPont, thence to Osgood and on the 14th of July to Sunman's station. It returned to Indianapolis on July 17th and was mustered out.

James Dickerson Harmon was born 8 Jan 1828 - some old family letters refer to him as "Jay". It is possible he served as well, but more than one James Harmon was in the Union Army and the information available on the Internet has not indicated that any of them enlisted in Boone County where Jay was living at the time of the War.

Nelson S. Harmon was born 5 Jun 1833. He married Catherine Wilson, 19 Jun 1853 in Boone County, and had three children at the beginning of the War. Nelson enlisted in Company L, Indiana 3rd Cavalry Regiment on 23 Oct 1861. He was mustered out of the 3rd Cavalry on 15 Dec 1864 at Savannah, Georgia, and transferred to Company A, Indiana 8th Cavalry Regiment the same day. Nelson was mustered out of the 8th Cavalry Regiment on 20 Jul 1865 at Indianapolis, IN, having served pretty much the entire War. The Indiana Civil War service records have not been filmed so little can be discovered online other than just the most basic information.

Francis Marion Harmon, born 8 Feb 1835, married Minerva Utterback about 1856. By one of those strange genalogical quirks, I am kin to both. Francis was a great, great grand-uncle. Minerva was a 5th cousin, several times removed, her family going back to the ironworkers at the Germanna colony in Virginia. The family had moved to Iowa before the civil War began, living near Minerva's parents, and had at least three children. Francis was wounded in the War, then died of typhoid fever. Letters he wrote to his family just before his death, as well as Minerva's letter informing a brother of his death, have been transcribed on the Utterback GenForum message board.

Francis M. Harmon, whose residence was Glenwood, Iowa, enlisted 10 Oct 1861, as a Private, in Company F, 15th Infantry Regt, Iowa. He gave his age as 26 and was mustered in on 18 Nov 1861. He was severely wounded in the hand on 6 April 1862 at the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, and died of typhoid fever at the division hospital on 1 Jun 1862. He is buried at Pittsburg Landing, now Shiloh National Cemetery - a picture of his grave marker is on their website. There were 760 soldiers of the 15th Iowa, of that number there were 185 casualties, killed, wounded, or missing, at Shiloh - nearly a fourth of the regiment.

The youngest son [and youngest child] of James and Philadelphia was Charles, born 25 Dec 1844. The parents both died in 1847 and Charles lived with his older brother Jay. With all those brothers in service, he apparently could not to wait to "join up". The family tradition is that he first enlisted before his 16th birthday, but he should have turned 16 in December of 1860, before the war started. Charles was likely not quite 18 at his first enlistment. Whatever may be the truth of that story, his older brother Jay got him released from that first enlistment in Company L of the 3rd Indiana Cavalry, and took him home. Charles did enlist again 9 Apr 1863, Company A of the 8th Cavalry. His brother Nelson served in both companies as well. Charles was mustered out on 20 Jul 1865 at Indianapolis, along with Nelson. He may also have an invalid pension file that I have not yet ordered from the National Archives - the Index card for Charles Harmon lists both companies.

Civil War Ancestors - Enoch's Brothers

2011-04-26T08:00:00.002-04:00

Enoch Adamson, one of my paternal great grandfathers, had at least one brother that also served in the Civil War. I belive he actually had two brothers in the war, but I have not been able to positively identify the record of one of them.

The Adamson brothers were sons of Andrew Jackson Adamson, born 21 Dec 1817, Wayne County, Indiana, died 27 Oct 1869, Bremer County, Iowa, and Rachel Ann Garner, born 1816, Highland County, Ohio, died 25 Sep 1898, Kokomo, Howard County, Indiana.

Edom was the eldest Adamson child, born about 1835 in Delaware County, Indiana. He married Lydia Timmons on 26 Apr 1860, Howard County, Indiana. They had two children before the War.  Edom enlisted 12 Dec 1863 at Kokomo, Company A of the 130th Indiana Volenteers, commanded by E. W. Penny.  He was honorably discharged 21 May 1865 at Madison, Tennessee.

Edom Adamson applied for an invalid pension [File #50-334754] because of disability following the Civil War but was apparently rejected as he could not find doctors nor officers to back up his claim. After reading the evidence, I believe he was entitled to the pension.

Edom first filed 15 Jan 1880; Edom stated he was then age 43 and a resident of Delaware County, Indiana.   At Nashville, Tennessee about March of 1864, he contracted a cold which settled in the lungs. Later near Decatur, Georgia, in the month of October he contracted chronic diarrhea. He has suffered from both since the War and cannot perform the manual labor required for farming. He received treatment in the Hospital at Madison Indiana, Ward 4, December 1864. Since leaving the service he has resided in Indiana, now living in Gilmore, Madison County, Indiana. One of the witnesses to his original declaration was Jonathan P. Adamson [a great-uncle, brother of his grandfather David Adamson.

From the Surgeon General's Office, 5 Aug 1881. Edom Adamson was admitted to General Hospital, Madison, Indiana, Dec 9, 1864, from the soldier's home in Indianapolis with "Naphralgia". Mustered out 22 May 1865. No further record. [An Internet search indicates no disease called naphraliga, but nephralgia is pain of the kidneys.]

Physical examaintion by a Dr. Lomax in 1881, concluded that Edom did not have a permanent disability. He did discover a slight irregularity in the dilation of the air cells of the left lung. He found no physical signs of chronic diarrhea although patient stated the diarrhea recurred about every two weeks for three or four days at a time. He described Edom as being 6' 1" tall, weight 165 lbs., complexion dark, age 45.

Testimony of a family physician seemed most damaging. On 8 Feb 1882, Andrew F. Dayhuff of Kokomo certified that he was a regular practicing physician of 29 years standing. He was the Family Physician of Jackson Adamson, father of Edom Adamson, for about 10 years and was acquainted with Edom. He first commenced practicing with the family about 1854 until about 1864 when Jackson Adamson moved away from Howard County. [Andrew Jackson Adamson's family moved to Iowa, although some of the older sons did not.] He was acquainted with the older members of the family especially, and saw Jackson quite frequently and visited his entire family. He never heard of Edom having any disease of any kind and felt safe in saying that if anything of the kind had existed he would have been called to see him. "I considered him a stout hearty young man and to all appearance free from any disease whatever. This is from personal recollection." Note: it seems to me that Dr. Dayhuff may not even have seen Edom following the War!

Edom could not find the doctor who had been his hospital doctor; another doctor admitted he had forgotten him; there were no reigmental hospital records to be found.

In additional testimony, Edom did say he had returned to Howard County, Indiana after the war, but from 1872-1876 had lived in Bremer County, Iowa and then returned to Indiana.

24 Mar 1883. Affidavit of Robert Dungan, age 46 years, of Kokomo. He had known applicant Edom Adamson since 1860, lived two miles from him and saw him every few days. He knew him to be healthy and stout at the time of his enlistment. A day or two after his discharge he looked like a skeleton and was greatly reduced and emaciated. "I last saw him about two months ago and he does not look as healthy and stout as when he entered the service. When he was home on furlough in 1864, he was feeble and could hardly walk." At least two other men of the community testified to similar conditions concerning Edom's health, and mentioned a terrible cough.

Also in 1883, two officers claimed they did not remember the state of Edom's health during the war and weren't prepared to furnish a statement.   Another doctor did file report that Edom had a chronic cough. In December of 1885 a form letter was sent inquiring about the men of the community who had testified on behalf of Edom Adamson - the reply was "So far as I have personal knowledge and so far as I can learn, the written names are all considered honest men, and at the same time they are all men of but little force. Their testimony should be corroborated by something more substantial."   [I find this statement contradictory and condescending - either the men were "honest men" and truthful, or they were not!]

Edom Adamson had already died - on 14 Feb 1885 - a son continued to try and obtain recompense. On 3 Dec 1885 there was a letter to Edward W. Davis, one of the earlier deponents, asking for another statement in his own hand. He stated that, "He knew Adamson had measles during his service and a bad cough. He met him again about four years ago and he was in very bad health. He still had a bad cough which was the cause of his death."

Edom's claim was reviewed the last time on 1 Nov 1887 and rejected on 14 Nov 1887 as he was deceased and no one within the knowledge of the Pension Office was entitled. No widow's claim was made and, in fact, in 1870, Lydia and the children were not living with Edom, but were in the houshold of Charles Starr and his wife Patience in Cass County, Indiana. By the 1880 census, Edom was living with his mother and two of his sons were with them. I don't know if Edom and Lydia might have divorced and she remarried, or if she passed away before 1880.

The second Adamson brother was my great grandfather Enoch Reuben Adamson - his Civil War story is found in another post. He did receive a pension for his service.

A third Adamson brother was John, born in 1843, and certainly of the right age to have served in the War. The problem is a plethora of John Adamsons.  And I have not found any record of this John after 1860. The service records for the soldiers from Indiana are not included in the database on Footnote.com.

There is a John N. Adamson who enlisted on the same day as Edom and in the same company, 30 December 1863, Company A of the 130th Indiana Infantry Regiment. He was a Private. He is noted as being mustered out 2 Dec 1865 as a Corporal.

However, the child John Adamson, brother of Edom and Enoch, was not shown with a middle name or initial. And I have not found John following the War.

I have found a John N. Adamson living in Quincy, Adams County, Illinois in 1900 and 1910. He gave his birth as Aug 1846, which seems a little late for the John of my search, but he was born in Indiana. He had a younger wife, Emma, and a stepdaughter. The problem with this John is that censuses show a John N. Adamson, age 3 in Wayne County Indiana in 1850 and age 13 in Randolph County in 1860 - a son of Simon and Anna Adamson. This man used the middle initial "N" as a child and later in life - he would seem most likely to be the John N. Adamson of the 130th Regiment.

There was also a John Adamson in Co. G of the 57th Regiment serving along with Enoch Adamson. In fact there may even have been two John Adamsons in the 57th Regt. A Private John Adamson of Kokomo was killed in battle at Stone River, on 31 Dec 1863. And John W. Adamson of Kokomo was killed in battle at Kenesaw on 23 Jun 1864. Since nothing can be found about John after the War, perhaps he was one of the soldiers who paid the ultimate price.

Civil War Ancestors - Enoch Reuben Adamson

2011-04-25T08:00:00.003-04:00

Although most of my Civil War ancestors were in the 5th generation, one of my great grandfathers was a combatant. Enoch Reuben Adamson was born Feb 1840 in Indiana - he was, of course, a Union soldier. His service record at the Nation Archives reveals that he enlisted 19 April 1861 at Kokomo, Howard County, Indiana, for three months. The Union planned on a short war. He was mustered in as a private in Company F of the 6th Regiment, Indiana Infanty - the company later became Company D.   He was mustered out at the end of the three months. Enoch re-enlisted in Company G of the 57th Regiment and was mustered in on 2 Aug 1861, for three years. He enlisted this time as a 1st Sergeant and attained the rank of 1st Lieutenant by the time of his resignation.

After the war, 18 Oct 1868, Enoch married Mary Elizabeth "Molly" Harmon. They married in Holt County, Missouri, where her family had moved, but they had possibly known each other back in Indiana.

The pension file for Enoch and then for his widow Mary was quite a treasure when I discovered it. The Adamsons are the family of my birth father that I never knew and the work I have done on the family has been without family stories or traditions. Enoch and Mary moved quite a bit and I doubt that I would ever have been able to trace them had not the file detailed every move as Enoch applied to have his pension transferred. I don't know that I would have found their marriage record, as Enoch's family was living in Iowa at the time he married Mary. The pension file even contained a list of all their children with birth dates.

From the pension file, I found out that he was sometimes absent from his unt, serving back home as a recruiting officer.  Enoch resigned his commission and from the service on 22 Nov 1864. A surgeon's certificate stated he was afflicted with chronic rheumatism causing enlargement of the right knee, disabling him for duties required of an officer. A dispostion in the file by Hosea Tillson, surgeon for the 57th, said that Lt. Adamson's first attack of rheumatism was in 1863, while camped near Mufreesboro or on the the move from there to Chattanooga. He frequently prescribed for him and excused him from duty until the time of his resignation. The Assistant Surgeon of the 57th, also testified to treating him and stated the rheumatism was caused by exposure to severe weather conditions during Adamson's service.

Depositions document the residences of Enoch. Nathan H. Beals of Bremer County, Iowa stated in February of 1883 that he had known Adamson since 1856 back in Howard County, Indiana. In 1861, Beals had moved to Iowa and Enoch's family moved there in 1863, living near Shell Rock. After the war, Enoch had joined his family in Iowa. Beals knew that Enoch moved to Kansas about the first of the year in 1872. He also knew that Adamson had never had rheumastism before the war, but had been incapacitated about half the time he lived in Iowa.

James H. Rodman and Thomas W. Walker, of Moline, Kansas, had known Adamson well since early 1872. Rodman had known him when they both lived in Indiana. In 1880, Adamson and his family went back from Kansas to Kokomo, Indiana, for a visit, but afterward settled in Pierce City, Missouri. The years they knew him in Kansas he had suffered with rheumatism of his right leg - the knee and leg would swell until he was unable to perform manual labor.

J. W. Tate of Pierce City, Missouri, had known Enoch R. Adamson since Mar of 1881, when he had first come to Pierce City to live. Adamson had always suffered with rheumatism of his right knee and leg.

In 1898, Enoch was asked to complete a form detailing his wife's full name and maiden name, the date of their marriage and by whom married and where the marriage was recorded, and the names and dates of birth of all his children. The form was fully completed and signed by Enoch R. Adamson.

In 1908, Enoch asked for an increase in his pension based on the fact that he was now totally disabled in his right hip and leg. His pension was increased to $17 [the original amount awarded was never found in the file].

Enoch died 7 Jan 1910. Mary wasted no time in making her widow's application, which was done on 19 Feb 1910. The family was living in Rogers, Benton County, Arkansas. Unexplainably, Enoch had died in McAlester, Oklahoma - he is possibly buried in Rogers near a daughter who had died in 1905.  Mary's brother, James N. Harmon, still living in Boone County, Indiana, and the postmaster of Zionsville, stated he was present when Mary married Enoch. Solomon Foster testified he had known Mary since she was 16 - before she married - in Oregon, Holt County, Missouri, and had been there when she married Enoch Adamson. Foster had moved to Benton County in 1892 and found the Adamsons already living there.

In the 1910 census taken on April 25th, Mary and her two youngest sons were living with the family of Elisha Harrison in Chester,Crawford County, Arkansas, about fifty miles away from Rogers. The Harrisons apparently had a quite large house as they had five children still at home and there was a third family counted at the dwelling. I have no idea how she came to be acquainted with the Harrisons in this neighboring county, perhaps she was simply renting from them. Chester was a much smaller place than Rogers and I'm not at all sure why a widow and two boys would move there.  On 27 July 1912 her son Ray Adamson marrried Elisha's daughter, Mary May Harrison. The Harrisons had been living in Crawford County since 1888 having moved there from Illinois - the families had not previously crossed paths.

Mary Adamson was dropped from the pension rolls on 4 Nov 1915, having been paid last on 4 Aug 1912. Surely she had died and perhaps is buried in the cemetery in Rogers near her daughter and husband. If Enoch and Mary are there, the graves are unmarked.

Civil War Ancestors - Mathew Mayberry

2011-04-24T06:48:00.002-04:00

My great, great grandmother, Letitia Ann Mayberry, born 18 Sep 1844 in Floyd County, Virginia, married Joseph Christopher Wood just before the Civil War, 3 Feb 1860, Crawford County, Arkansas. Joe Wood's Civil War story can be found here. Letitia's parents, Charles and Ellen (Thompson) Mayberry, moved to Franklin County, Arkansas soon after the 1860 census. Letitia lived out her life in Crawford County; she died 7 Jul 1926. Letitia was the second child in the family, only her older brother Mathew, born in 1843, was old enough to serve in the Civil War.

Mathew married probably in 1869, but left no children. He made his home in Logan Co, formed from Franklin Co, Arkansas. He did get a feature article in Goodspeed's "Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Western Arkansas"; p.367, published 1891. The name is spelled Maberry in Goodspeed - just one of many versions of the surname which is found often in colonial Virginia as Mabry. In my family, we spell it Mayberry. Maybury or Mabury are also favored spellings.

The Goodspeed article states this about Mathew's service:
"...in 1863 he enlisted in Company K, Eighth Missouri Infantry, C. S. A., and was a participant in the battle of Prairie Grove. On May 10, 1863, during a skirmish in the Indian Territory, he was wounded in the leg and disabled so that he did not enter the service again. He was captured shortly afterward, paroled, and came home."

Mathew's service record from the National Archives, available on Footnote.com by subscription tells a slightly different story. The truth is likely somewhere in between.

Mathew's record, like so many Confederate records is obviously incomplete. His name is spelled both Maberry and Mayberry on his service cards. He enlisted as a Private, Company K, Hunter's Regiment, Missouri Infantry, on 10 Jun 1862 in Crawford Co, AR, for three years. Capt. Mankin was the enlisting officer.

Hunter's Battalion consisted of seven companies, originally as cavalry, and was organized 31 Aug 1862. Other companies were added and it became known as Hunter's Regiment 15 Sep 1862. Its designation was changed to the 8th Regiment Missouri Infantry, and finally to the 11th Regiment. I have noted in researching my relatives in the War that apparently the Missouri companies did recruit soldiers quite far south into Arkansas. I'm not sure why, but the evidence is plain.

Mathew was noted as "Absent, sick, 25 Dec 1862". He was present March & April of 1863. The Muster Roll for April 30 to Aug 31, 1863, states, "Deserted June 10th 1863 from Austin, Ark." Another record card describes officers and soldiers who have ceased to belong to Parsons' Brigade, Mo. Vols. and shows his enlist,emt as 10 Jun 1862 and his departure at Austin on 10 Jun 1863, "Deserted". A List of Absentees, from the 11th Missouri Infantry Brigade, Price's Division, 26 Jan 1864, stated that Mathew Maberry's present company was not known - that he was supposed to be with Cooper's Command. A second record of men of Price's Division who are now absent from their commands in the Cavalry, 16 Feb 1864, list M. Maberry "Supposed to be with Cooper's Command".

It should be noted that "deserted" had little meaning the Confederacy, particularly in the very disorganized Western command. Units were formed, combined, disbanded for the winter. Or the person charged with keeping the muster rolls was unaware when a soldier had been injured or captured, or even had a special assignment - the soldier was simply present or absent and if there was no known cause for his absence, he was assumed to have deserted, because so many of them did just leave. Often without food or proper clothing, or because of troubles at home, the soldiers simply left and went home for a time, later rejoining the first company of soldiers they found. An injured soldier stood a better chance of recovery if he was able to get home, too. Chances are reasonably good that the article in Goodspeed is correct regarding the outcome of Mathew's Civil War service.

Mathew Mayberry married Lou Ann Sewell in 1879 in Logan County, Arkansas, according the the article, but the 1870 census suggests it may have been 1869 instead. The Goodspeed article stated that the Sewells had been pioneer settlers of Logan County. The article also related that Mathew owned 137 acroes of land - he had been elected constable for the Short Mountain Township in 1886 and was still serving at the time the article was written.

I have not found Mathew in the 1900 census - there is a Mathew Maberry listed in Short Mountain Township, but not one single bit of the data matches anything else known about this man - not the age, place of birth, wife, years married, nothing. Unless it was related to the enumerator by a neighbor that didn't know them well at all, or by someone suffering from dementia, it isn't the same person. By 1910, Lou Ann was a widow living with a sister. An online database states that Lou Ann Sewell Mayberry died in 1919, but says that Mathew died 1912 - he was already dead in 1910.

I would love to know when Mathew died and where he is buried. You can find my email addy by clicking on my name to the right, please drop me a note if you know!

Civil War Ancestors - Josie's Brothers

2011-04-23T06:48:00.001-04:00

One of my great grandmothers was named Philena Josephine Allen - not surprisingly she shortened her name to Josie. If Philena had not been written in early census records, probably we would have never known about that part of her name. Josie was the youngest child in her family, born in 1856. In 1876, Josie married John Jefferson Hays, son of Elias Hays whose Civil War service can be found here. I have found Civil War records for Josie's three oldest brothers. They did not join the same armies - the eldest, Augustus, joined the Union Army. Henry and Nat joined the Confederacy. Brother against brother.

Augustus A. Allen, born 21 May 1841 in Sevier County, Arkansas, lived most of his married life in Scott County, Arkansas, but fought in a Missouri unit on the Union side during the Civil War - he filed for his Invalid Pension on 20 Mar 1877, his wife Mary Keeton filed for widow's pension [7 Apr 1883 - Augustus died 9 Jan 1882] until she remarried [24 Apr 1884], and a Minor's Pension Application was filed for the two younger daughters on 1 Sep 1887. Mary refiled some 10 years after the death of her 2nd husband and that application lingered in limbo for about six years before she finally received her payments. The file is lengthy and contains numerous medical reports and examinations.

During the war, Augustus contracted lung fever [pneumonia] and chronic diarrhea. He was hospitalized at a regimental hospital, sent to a hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas, and eventually sent north to Wisconsin for treatment. He never really recovered and was considerably debilitated; double pneumonia attributed to his weakened condition and his death in January of 1882. It is obvious from all the testimony of his neighbors and medical evidence that Augustus was a very sick man for years.
Augustus enlisted 15 Sep 1863 and was mustered in 30 Oct 1863, in Co F of the 8th Regt of the Missouri Cavalry and served under Col. W. F. Geiger; later attached to Co K of the 11th Regt. His description given as 5' 6", light complexion, auburn hair, blue eyes. [a medical exam later says he was 5' 10'] He was discharged 17 Jul 1865 at Little Rock, Arkansas.

When Augustus applied for his pension he had trouble with proof of his service because he didn't know the whereabouts of any of his old Regiment. He had served in Missouri but his home was ever in Arkansas. When he was discharged at Little Rock, his unit was in St. Louis. Augustus was eventually awarded pension of $6 from Jul 18, 1865, ending 9 Jan 1882 when he died. He was deemed to be one-half disabled. I'm not sure any of the pension payment was actually received before his death.

A letter written by Dr. Jennings on 15 May 1883, states that he was personally acquainted with Augustus A. Allen and his father previous to the War and knew full well how both suffered on account of their union principles. He could not provide any additional specific history of his treatment, but thought that might be found in the St. Johns Hospital [in Little Rock] case book.

A letter written by Dr. Elijah Leming on 15 May 1883, stated that he had attended Augustus A. Allen in his last illness, double pneumonia, proving fatal on the third day. "Some two or three weeks before I was called to see him he was attacked with pneumonia while coming from market (some forty miles distant) and was attended by my brother Dr. J. K. Leming. He recovered slowly. I was called to see him on account of the absence of my brother and found the patient much emaciated and his strength gave way rapidly. This was the only time I have treated him but have known him as an acquaintance ...he often complained of pain of the chest...do not think he was able to do more than half the amount of manual labor a healthy man should do."
One of the depositions given when Mary applied to reinstate her widow's pension after the death of her second husband [Wiley Snell Robinson] was that of Thomas W. Stone, 20 Oct 1921. Mr. Stone was a real estate dealer and had known all the parties involved. He had been in Scott County for 71 years. He pointed out that he knew of Augustus A. Allen's family from the early days and that he was commonly called "Bud" Allen.

Henry Clay Allen, Josie's second oldest brother, was born 16 Nov 1843. He married Ann Eliza Hays, daughter of Elias Hays and brother to John Jefferson Hays - but that was after the War, in 1868. Henry served in the Confederacy. Annie E. Allen applied to the state of Arkansas for Pension as a Widow of a Confederate Soldier on 9 April 1923 - Henry had died in December of 1912. She did receive the pension but the Arkansas papers do not give dollar amounts.

Proof of Henry Clay Allen's service came from B. R. Jacobs of Idabel, OK who said he had known Henry C. Allen for about 60 years and that he was a Confederate soldier in Company E Infantry of 19th Arkansas, Hardies Regiment, Churchill Division from about Dec of 1862 to about May 1865, Lee's Surrender. Affidavit was dated 27 Apr 1923. F. M. Cecil, of Vandervoort, Polk County, AR, also testified that he had known Henry C. Allen for sixty years and that he served as stated by Mr. Jacobs; testimony dated 2 May 1923.

Annie was incapacitated for manual labor by reason of old age and had no property exceeding $500 not including the value of her homestead. She had no income in excess of $250 per year. Annie filled another Questionnaire from the State Auditor's Office in 1932 and was by then living with her daughter Lula Phillips in Van Buren, Arkansas. Lula was the youngest of their ten children. Annie and Henry are buried in unmarked graves in a small cemetery in Crawford County, Arkansas, near where they lived their entire married life.

A third brother, Nathaniel Orrin "Nat" Allen, born 12 Feb 1844, also served in the Confederacy - in the very same unit with Henry. They appear to have enlisted together and were discharged at the same time. Nathaniel was born in Polk Co, Arkansas and died there 29 Sep 1933, age 89. He did move to Texas after the death of his first wife, Sarah Lebow, in 1878, but was back in Polk County just in time for the 1900 Census.

Nat applied for his pension 1 Apr 1924 when he was 79 years old. Nat stated that he was incapacitated due to old age. A doctor's examination by T. B. Young concurred that his health was feeble on account of old age. F. M. Cecil, also of Polk Co, made affidavit on 2 May 1925, that he had known N. O. Allen for sixty years and he had served as stated in Company E, 19th Regiment [Hardies], Churchill Division from December 1862 to May 1865, Lee's surrender. He stated further that Allen was honorably discharged and had never deserted.

About three months after the death of Nat, in Dec of 1933, his widow Ella (Rebecca Ella Coker his third wife) applied to continue the pension. She had married Nat on 10 Jan 1894, Red River County, Texas. She had to certify that she had lived in Arkansas for at least five years, had no property exceeding $500 [she said her homestead was worth $400] and no income over $250 per year [she had none except the pension]. No amount for the pension is stated.

Nat's funeral home records refer to him as a "Southern Soldier". Nat and Ella are buried Pleasant Grove Cemetery, near Cove, Polk County, Arkansas - where his parents are also buried.

Civil War Ancestors - Joseph Christopher Wood

2011-04-22T13:21:00.001-04:00

Another of my great, great grandfathers saw Civil War Service. He was Joseph Christopher Wood, born 1841 in Adair County, Missouri. In the early 1850's the family made the trip across the entire state of Missouri to Crawford County, Arkansas - Joseph's mother died soon after they arrived. He and his father, William Wood, made the long trip back to the northern border of Missouri where William took a second wife, then recruited her entire family to head south with him to a milder climate.

Joe Wood married Letitia Ann Mayberry in 1860 in Crawford County - they had eleven children, perhaps only the first infant son who died young was born before or during the Civil War.

According to his application for a Civil War Pension, which was approved 12 Aug 1920, J. C. Wood's Civil War Service was in Woosley's Regiment of Infantry from Arkansas. "Left beside road with sick furlough shortly after Hindman evacuated Ft. Smith in 1863 or spring of 1864." Gratis Comstock and A. S. Matlock signed Proof of Indigency with K. M. Comstock acting as Notary Public.

Gratis Comstock and Albert Sidney Matlock were Joe Wood's sons-in-law married respectively to his youngest daughters, Zella and Minnie Wood. K. M. Comstock was his grandson, son of daughter Lucretia Ellen who had married James Monroe "Mon" Comstock.  K. M., or Kenney M. Comstock, was my maternal grandfather. Gratis and my grandfather were 2nd cousins on the Comstock side of the family.

The application was made became of incapacity, as well as poverty. J. C. Wood suffered from infirmities and feebleness of old age, varicose veins and asthma in the winter. He was age 79. O. M. Bourland, a local doctor, had examined him and declared him totally disabled, 7 Aug 1920. My grandfather had also notarized the good doctor's statement.

Thomas Howell testified he himself was a Confederate Soldier during the War, to the best of his recollection, in Company B of Clark's Regiment at the time of his discharge. He remembered that during his service he saw J. C. Wood in the Confederate service as a teamster. Howell signed his statement on 31 Jul 1920 before R. S. Wilson, Notary Public.   Thomas Howell was also the uncle of one of J. C. Wood's daughters-in-law.

Woosley's Regiment was actually a cavalry unit - Woosley's Battalion. It is possible that Joe Wood's memory was a bit faulty. Only a single Muster Roll card survives to record his Civil War Service. He enlisted 15 Nov 1862 in Crawford County, Arkansas, for three years, as a private in Company D of Brooks Regiment which was also designated at times as the 2nd Regiment and the 34th Regiment. Nearly all the other recruits in Company D were from Sebastian County - the neighbor county of Crawford and location of Ft. Smith. The Muster Card was for March & April of 1863. J. C. Wood was Absent, on detached service at Teamster by order of Col. Brooks, Nov. 15th 1862. Since he was not with his unit, perhaps he was with Woosley's at the time he became ill. Gen. Thomas Hindman's army did evacute Fort Smith in late August of 1863. Family tradition is that Joe Wood fought at the Battle of Pea Ridge - the 34th or Brooks Regiment, was at the Battle of Prairie Grove, December of 1862, but probably not at Pea Ridge. Both battlefields are in northwest Arkansas, not far from Fayetteville.

Within the next year or so, Joe Wood and his father and their familes left the war-torn northwest Arkansas area and moved to Iowa, just across the border from where they had once lived in Missouri. According to the family tradition, they stayed there only about a year and moved to Kansas for perhaps two years.  The second child of Joe Wood's was born in Iowa in 1865, the third child, my great grandmother, was born in Kansas in 1867. Both Wichita in Sedgwick County, and Douglas County, have been suggested for the residence of the Woods in Kansas, but I've not been able to find a record. By the time the fourth child was born in 1869, the families had all returned to Crawford County, Arkansas.

After the family returned to Arkansas, Joe Wood had a shoe repair shop at the village of Arkalo, then he added groceries. He built a store in 1880 at Hickory Grove with accommodations for his family upstairs. When he decided to add a post office, there was already another Hickory Grove in Arkansas so it is said that he may have renamed the town "Uniontown" at that time. He was Uniontown's first postmaster, appointed in April, 1881. He later added a drugstore which was the first and only pharmacy in the history of Uniontown. He built his family a home across the street from the store and the upper story was rented out to the Masonic Lodge until about 1885. Another first - J. C. Wood was a charter member of the Uniontown First Christian Church in the summer of 1886. I have cousins that still belong to the Christian [Disciples of Christ] denomination.

I do have an indistinct photo of Joseph Christopher Wood in his older years - it was a family photograph made probably about 1900-1910. Joseph and wife Letitia are seated in the center:

Joseph Christopher Wood died at age 86, 17 Dec 1927. His wife had died the year before. They are buried Dripping Spring Cemetery in Crawford County. His mother who had died in 1853, some of the relatives of his stepmother, some of his half-siblings, and some of their children are also in this cemetery.

Civil War Ancestors - Rebekah Brown

2011-04-21T07:19:00.080-04:00

Look at the picture in the Title Banner. The elderly lady seated on the right is my three-great grandma - Rebekah Poindexter (Jones) Brown. The picture was made in the spring of 1909. It is five generations - the baby is my mother's eldest brother. No, Rebeckah didn't don a uniform and fight in combat, but she was certainly a survivor of the War's horrors.

Born in 1816 in Kentucky, the child of two families ever adventuring west, Rebekah married Murphy Brown, 29 Jun 1836, in St. Francois County, Missouri. [I use that spelling of her name, Rebekah, because she did.] The young couple first moved south into Searcy County, Arkansas, then by 1845 they had moved to the southwest corner of Missouri - Newton and McDonald Counties. They had fifteen children, but buried six of them as infants.

Murphy prospered and acquired land in McDonald County - a few hundred acres. The family plan was to gift each child 40 acres upon his or her marriage. The War came early to southwest Missouri, and a young son, William Clayborn Brown was shot off his horse in July of 1860, days before his 21st birthday. William was one of the early victims of the pre-war sentiment on the Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri border. William had married that January and a daughter who would never know her father, was born in December that same year.

On a fateful day, 19 Jun 1863, Murphy and his son Ezekiel were in the wagon on the way to the blacksmith shop. A neighbor, Robert Christian, who was serving in the Union Army, shot them both in the back. He went to Rebekah, confessed his deed, and told her to go bury her dead, but he'd be back to burn her home. He did offer her documents of passage and give her the opportunity to leave Missouri. Her in-laws inluding the family of her brother-in-law who had recently had two fingers shot off in the War, were either planning to leave for Texas, or perhaps had already gone, so Rebekah chose "Texas" for her destination.

Rebekah and her older children, by themselves as sympathetic neighbors were terrified of reprisals, buried Murphy and Ezekiel in a common grave in Rocky Comfort Cemetery, in the same row with the infants Murphy and Rebekah had lost. I have visited the graves, but the stone can no longer be read. A distant cousin photographed it in 1979 and here is a picture:

One of the stories handed down is that Rebekah had helped to take care of some of these neighbors - delivering whatever food the Browns could spare to the less fortunate as she rode her mule around the contryside.

Rebekah did indeed leave Missouri along with six children, one of whom was an infant in arms. Undoubtedly she traveled in the wagon that her husband and son were in when they were killed. In the midst of the chaos, she had the presence of mind to take her deeds. I know this because the McDonald County courthouse was burned during the War and the deed books destroyed. When Rebekah returned home, she re-registered every single one, and proceeded with the original plan to give each marrying child a 40-acre plot.

During the few years the family lived in Grayson County, Texas, Rebekah buried two teen-age daughters. Their deaths were recorded in her Bible, but their resting places are unknown. Typhoid was rampant in Texas at the time.

One of the few Missourians to do so, Rebekah returned to McDonald County after the War and rebuilt her house on the burned-out foundation of the original. She stated she would not remarry and she didn't. She took those deed copies to the courthouse to preserve her property. She successfully ran her farm - here is the evidence from a state census:
In the 1876 Missouri State Census, Rebecca had two children, Lemuel & Belle, still at home as well as her granddaughter Isabell Brown, daughter of son William, and a 4 year old boy named Robert Lee Wilson. [I have no idea who he might be - she likely saw a need and took him in - the boy still lived with her in 1880.] Rebecca had 3 horses, 8 cows, 5 sheep, and 28 hogs; she produced 66 bushels of wheat and 700 bushels of corn.

Most of Rebekah's children pre-deceased her. Miranda, her daughter and my great, great grandmother, died 5 days before Rebecca died on 10 February 1912. [Miranda is the second oldest lady in the banner photo at the top of the page.] Only three of the youngest outlived their mother. Rebecca is said to have moved around in her later years, living with each child for awhile. She lived with Miranda and Tom Comstock for a time in Arkansas, but died at the home of her youngest child Belle in Missouri, age 89.

Rebekah is buried in the row of Brown graves, Rocky Comfort. I am sure she rests in peace ...and comfort.

Civil War Ancestors - The Comstock Brothers

2011-04-20T05:33:00.002-04:00

I have already told most of the story of Elijah Thomas Comstock, one of my great, great grandfathers. Tom had six brothers, five living at the time the war began.  Other than Tom, three of them had at least brief Civil War records, two died in 1864.

Few Civil War records have survived from southwest Missouri; but at least the enlistment records of the Comstock brothers reside in the National Archives. “Deserted” often meant the soldier was just not at his expected post. Sometimes they went home for the winter or to check on their families and then rejoined their units. Sometimes they were sent home when food and shelter wasn't available. Sometimes the men simply left and joined another band of soldiers roaming the countryside. The entire war scene was confused and poorly organized; many units kept no records or the records never survived to reach the War Department.

Let me say just another word about the area of southwest Missouri. Only a handful of families owned a slave or two - most had never owned a slave, although many of them had come to Arkansas from slave states. When I grew up in Arkansas, just below the Missouri state line, we would have called these families, and I use the phrase fondly because it includes my own families, "poor dirt farmers".   Most owned a 40-acre tract and grubbed out what can only be called a hard life.  The topography is hilly, the ground rocky, the land covered in forests when they arrived. They were proud, independant people and those that supported the South believed strongly in state rights. As the War dissolved into guerilla warfare, the question became one of defense of one's own home and property, and protection of one's wife and children.

On 27 August 1862, William Decatur, Warren Harris, and James Irving Comstock all enlisted in McDonald County, Missouri, in Capt. W. C. Clanton’s Company, Greene’s Regt., Missouri Volunteers. They enlisted for three years or the War and all received horses valued from $80 to $100 and horse equipment. Clanton’s Company was soon designated Company I, 3rd Regt Missouri Cavalry. William was 31 years of age, Warren 28, and James 26. All were married men with at least one child at home. The first Muster Roll card dated 30 October shows the location of the unit to be in Fulton County, Arkansas, just below the Missouri-Arkansas line and to the East of McDonald County. The next Muster Roll for October 30 to December 31, 1862, states that both Warren and James had deserted on 15 November 1862. I believe they returned and continued to fight, although perhaps not with the original unit. William was still present in Company I..

From descendants, we’ve been told that William did certainly continue to serve. In January of 1864 he came home to check on his pregnant wife (obviously there had been a visit home about May of 1863) and his children.  He was killed by a bushwhacker on the way to have corn ground for the family. A daughter named William Josephine, called Josie, was born three weeks after his death.  Josie was his fourth child. Warren Comstock died in February of 1864, a month after his brother, but the cause of his death is not known – very likely he met the same fate as William or died of one of the many diseases (measles, typhoid, small pox, tuberculosis) rampant during the War years. Warren left a young widow and daughter to mourn him.

Two younger Comstock brothers, Elijah Tom and Harvey Alexander, enlisted with Capt McMahan at Newton County, Missouri on 12 September 1862 in Company D, 3rd Regt Missouri Cavalry. This unit became known by several names: Shelby’s Brigade, Smith’s Regt, Thompson’s Regt, and Hooper’s Regt. It was designated by the Confederate War Department as the 6th Regt Missouri Cavalry. Their ages and equipment issued, if any, were not recorded but they also enlisted for three years or the War. Tom left a wife and son at home; Harvey was the youngest Comstock brother and did not marry until after the War. Their Muster Roll cards state that they were never paid. Harvey was present at the end of December 1862, but the Muster Roll for January and February of 1863 stated that he was “missing on picket – Jan. 11, 1863”. Another note stated “absent without leave – left command Jan. 11, near Hartsville, Missouri.

Tom Comstock deserted on November 28, 1862, near Canehill, Arkansas, according to the only existing Muster Roll for him. Certainly we can tell from the various locations that this unit was moved around often. Gratis Comstock (a cousin) said in a newsletter article that Tom was a private in Shelby's Brigade of Missouri until the last year of the year and then served in an Indian special services regiment in Indian Territory. He was disbanded in the Chickasaw Nation, near Oichita [this is Gratis's spelling, I've not found any place of this name]. Gratis was 33 years old when Tom died and they both lived in Crawford County, Arkansas for all those 33 years; Gratis was fond of family history and has furnished us with many stories in a local genealogical society newsletter. He spent hours on Tom's porch listening to his yarns. Some of his writings indicate that Gratis was capable of spinning a yarn or two himself. Another story passed down through the family says that Tom rode with Quantrill; Quantrill was often under the command of General J. O. Shelby, particularly when the Confederacy tried to retake Missouri in 1864, so that too is possible. Another possibility is that Tom could have ridden “with” Quantrill in some skirmish, but not necessarily under his command - certainly I've never found Tom Comstock's name in any of the many writings about William Clarke Quantrill or his infamous cohorts.

Tom Comstock's in-laws in Missouri also have a Civil War story, to be told in the next post.

Civil War Ancestors - Elijah Thomas Comstock

2011-04-19T07:41:00.001-04:00

Elijah "Tom" Comstock was another of my great, great grandfather's to serve in the Civil War.

Tom was born in Perry County, Tennessee. He was the seventh of eight children - their father died when Tom was about age nine. His father, a forger and bigamist, would have entitled me to belong to the Black Sheep Society, but he disappeared and could not be jailed to serve his sentence - but that's another story. Soon after 1850, Tom's entire family to include married older siblings and their mother, moved to southwest Missouri, very near Arkansas and Indian Territory (Oklahoma).

Let me set the scene around Tom's home in Missouri. During the Civil War this area was the scene of constant and violent querilla warfare. Soldiers from both sides, and local bandits as well, committed numerous atrocities on ordinary citizens. Many homes were burned, old men were hung in the yards, all foodstuffs and livestock carried away. The Battle of Wilson's Creek near Springfield, Missouri on 10 Aug 1861 and the Battle of Pea Ridge in northwest Arkansas, March 6-8, 1862, were two of the bloodiest battles of the war - at Wilson's Creek, the combined losses were over 2300; at Pea Ridge, 26,000 soldiers took part and 3,000 died. Near the end of the war, the Western Confederate Army would make one final push up from their headquarters in Bonham, Texas, to attempt to retake Missouri and those battles also took place in this southwest corner of the state. Quarrels and killings in this region began in the late 1850's before the official War began and skirmishes continued in the area until the end of the War; many revenge killings took place for years afterward. Truly this was neighbor against neighbor and brother against brother.

Tom Comstock married a local beauty, Miranda Brown, in 1859. Her brother William Brown was shot off his horse and killed in 1860 because of his political leanings. In 1863, her father, Murphy, and fifteen-year-old brother, Ezekiel, were shot in the back as they drove their wagon to the blacksmith shop. A neighbor, Lt. Robert Christian of the Union Army, admitted responsibility for the murders and allowed Miranda's mother to bury her dead [they rest in a common grave] - he then burned her out giving her passport to Texas. Two of Miranda's sisters would die of disease, probably typhoid, during the next few years the family was in Texas. Tom would lose two of his brothers during the War - his brother William Decatur Comstock came home for the birth of a child in January of 1864 and was shot in the back and killed, on the way to the corn mill to get supplies for his family. His daughter was born three weeks later and named William Josephine in his honor. Another brother, Warren Harris Comstock, died the next month, February of 1864, but whether in battle or of disease I have never been able to discover.

Tom, not surprisingly given his background, was a complicated character. There are stories, after the War, about his wild Saturday trips into town brandishing his old handgun and creating havoc. There are stories of him, in his old age, sitting on his front porch spinning yarns about his War days, including escapades with Indian troops from what is now Oklahoma and riding with the infamous Quantrill. He claimed to have been one of those local boys that were in that last desparate push with General Sterling Price into Missouri - they found Lt. Robert Christian and killed him, mutilating his body. [This killing is confirmed by local newspaper reports - Christian had commited atrocities against several of their families. The local boys were never identified by name.] Records are scant and the truth obscured. Tom did enlist and was soon reported as "deserted" from his regular unit. In later years, Tom was also convicted and fined in the federal court in Ft. Smith of selling liquor to Indians - the view across the river from his hilltop homestead was Indian Territory, Oklhoma - and the Indians did much of their shopping at Uniontown on the Arkansas side of the border.

Tom was also a hardworking and productive farmer and raised a family of fine upstanding citizens. Tom was a charter member and first Master of the Uniontown, Arkansas, Masonic Lodge. He served his community as a postmaster for a time and represented his county in the Arkansas Legislature.

Tom is the only Civil War Ancestor for whom I have photos. Here are three faces of Tom Comstock.

This is a picture of Tom Comstock and his wife Miranda made during the War years. It's a copy of a copy of what must have been a tintype - I apologize for the quality, but it's all I have. We have the "Indian blood" story handed down in the family. It isn't true, but it may have begun with Tom. I have an old letter written by Miranda's cousin saying that Miranda had married a man who was part Indian. However, most of the family has believed it was Miranda who carried Indian blood because of this picture. Not only could I not find any family member that I could trace back to possible Indian connections, but I had my own DNA tested for ethnic background and have not a single drop of anything but European heritage. I suspect Tom may have been as wild as an Indian in his youth.

Here is Tom Comstock, the family man, seated on the far right. The picture was taken possibly around 1900. Standing in back, left to right, sons Hardy, called "Tack", Clinden known as "Den", James Monroe "Mon" - my great grandfather, and the only daughter still living, Minnie. Seated next to his mother is Randolph and then there is Miranda and Tom. It is thought that Tack and Dolph had recently been ill - shaving heads was done for high fevers.

Then here is Tom, now an old man. He died in 1917 at age 78; his wife Miranda had passed on in 1912. I started to crop this picture but I love the shadow and the inscriptions written in two different hands. I believe my grandmother wrote "Mon's father". The citizens of Uniontown, the village near Tom's homestead, did indeed call him "Uncle Tom". He was uncle to some, but to most it was apparently an endearment.

Civil War Ancestors - Elias Hays

2011-04-18T07:25:00.002-04:00

I have multiple Civil War ancestors and this 150th Anniversay of the War would certainly be a good time to recognize and honor them. My husband had Civil War veterans in his family tree - it's likely they fought each other at the Battle of Pea Ridge in northwest Arkansas where we grew up. We both have families whose homes were burned by maurading guerillas.

Elias Hays was born 28 Jan 1829 somewhere in Tennessee, or Mississippi, or Alabama, or Illinois - I have documents showing each of these. The most likely is Tennessee. He married Martha Francis Crutcher on 8 Aug 1847 in Tippah County, Mississippi, according to her application for his Civil War pension. The records from Tippah County were burned during the War. Elias and Martha had one daughter born prior to the 1850 Tippah County U.S. Census.

Soon after 1850, the Hays family to include Elias's widowed mother, a young sister, and at least two orphaned nieces, moved to Johnson County, Arkansas. It is possible they joined family there but I cannot prove that. Johnson County is where the Civil War found Elias Hays. He would serve in both the Confederate and Union armies. Northwest Arkansas was a border region - a place where brother truly fought brother in this War - and an area where guerilla warfare took place on a daily basis.

Elias Hays appears on the Muster Roll of Co. C, 17th Arkansas Infantry in November of 1861. He was enlisted at Clarksville by O. Basham for 12 months as a Sergeant at that time. On 14 Jun 1862, he was detailed on extra duty, listed as 2nd Sergt until 3 Jun 1861. By June of 1862, the regiment had become the 21st and he was listed as a Private. On 28 Jan 1862, he was detailed as a Waggoner. Captured at Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, Elias was released after signing the pledge he would not take up arms again against the U.S.

Vicksburg, Mississippi, July 7 A.D.1863
To All Whom It May Concern, Know Ye That

I Elias Hayes a Private of Regt 21st Ark Vols. CSA, being a Prisoner of War, in the hands of the United States Forces, in virtue of the capitulation of the City of Vicksburg and its garrison, by Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton, CSA, Commanding, on the 4th day of July, 1863, do in pursuance of the terms of said capitulation, given this my solemn parole under oath ---

That I will not take up arms again against the United States, nor serve in any military, Police, or constabulary force in any Fort, Garrison or field work, held by the Confederate States of America, against the United States of America, nor as guard of prisons, depots or stores, nor discharge any duties usually performed by Officers or soldiers against the United States of America, until duly exchanged by the proper authorities.

Signed: Elias Hays
Sworn and subscribe before me at Vicksburg, Miss., this 8th day of July, 1863.
Capt S. W. Forgy, 31st Regt. Ills. Vols., Paroling Officer.

The signature on the above does indeed match his signature on other documents so there is no question about identity although at least two other men named Elias Hays/Hayes served in the Confederacy from Arkansas.

Martha and the children [by now there were at least six children with the seventh born while Elias was away]  were suffering at home:
Johnson Co AR County Court Records, Book D, p.232: 21 Jan 1862 "In the matter of Elias Hays being a volunteer in the service of the confederate States and his family being unable to make a support it is here ordered by the Court that the clerk issue a warrent in favor of G. W. Collier for the sum of twenty-five dollars for the support of said family."

After his surrender at Vicksburg, I believe the family was truly destitute. Elias joined the Union Army, I suspect for a pay check, more than politics.

On Jan 20 1864 at Clarksville, Arkansas, Elias Hays enlisted as a Private in Company I of the 2nd Arkansas Infantry (Federal Troops) and was mustered out at Clarksville on Aug 8, 1865 as a Corporal. His widow, Martha F. (Crutcher) Hays, applied for his US Civil War pension based on this service.

Footnote.com has his service record, including his enlistment papers. Elias enlisted as a private for the 2nd Reg't. Arkansas Infanty, 20 Jany, 1864 at Clarksville, AR. He was age 36, occupation, farmer. He enlisted for 3 years. His eyes were grey, hair light, complexion light, height 5 ft 8 in. Mustered in 18 May 1864 at Little Rock. Bounty paid $60. Due $240. Credited to the 3rd Cong. Dist. Ark. He was present 29 Feb to Jun 30, 1864. July & Aug of 1864 he was absent with leave since 24 July. In Sept & Oct, Elias was listed as absent without leave since 24 July. This may very well coincide with the burning of his home and his need to assist his family. Papers with Martha's application for his pension indicate that he returned on Nov 16th 1864 from absent, sick, at Fort Smith. No medical records found, but one report says he was treated in the Regimental Hospital. He was present Nov & Dec, 1864, on daily duty cooking for the commanding officer of the company since 16 Nov 1864. He was present in 1865 and promoted from private to corporal, during May or June. Morning Reports with the pension file show that he was absent with leave for 10 days, 6 Jul 1865 and returned to duty, 18 Jul 1865. He was mustered out, age still given as 36, 8 Aug 1865 - he had been last paid on 24 Feb 1865. Clothing account was last settled 28 Feb 1865, and he'd drawn since $34.22. Bounty paid is $180, Due $120. Private from enrollment to June 29/65, then Corpl. His signature on the enlistment papers, Declaration of Recruit, does also match his surrender at Vicksburg.

Elias and family settled in Crawford County, Arkansas following the War.  In 1877, Elias received patent for three tracts of land totaling 160 acres, all under the Homestead Act of 20 May 1862 - under the original Homestead Act an applicant could not have borne arms against the U.S. but this provision was removed in 1867 - and under the Act of 8 Jun 1872 which allowed additional lands. I have a copy of the Homestead packet which includes the testimony of two friends stating he had settled on the land in 1870 and built a house and corn crib and stable and cultivated crops. A copy of his discharge from the Union Army was included.

The small local newspaper, The Van Buren Press, carried a brief notice of the passing of Elias Hays:   p.71; 15 Nov 1879. "DIED HAYES   Near Figure Five on the 5th inst., Mr. Ely Hayes, aged 53 years."   Figure Five was a local community in Crawford Co, and Elias was actually only 50 years old. He also appeared in the 1880 Census Mortality Schedule, as dying at age 50. Martha would testify in her application for his pension that he died of rheumatism and consumption - I'm sure his legacy from the War.

Martha applied for her Widow's Civil War Pension 28 July 1890, Claim #303483. She gave her age as 57, post office as Stattler, Crawford Co, AR. She had been married to Elias Hays who enlisted 20 Jan 1864, Company I, 2nd AR Infantry Vols and discharged as a Corporal, 8 Aug 1865. He died 11 Nov 1879 [the newspaper had said November 5th - I would think the widow more likely to have the correct date]. She was married as Martha F. Crutcher on 8 Aug 1847, by Rev. Nabors, MG at Tippa Co, Miss, neither having been previously married. Stated she had remarried to Stephen Yard in 1886 which said marriage was void because Stephen Yard had another wife or wives still living! She had a son under age sixteen, George Wallace, born 9 May 1875 [he was their 10th child - all of whom grew to adulthood]. Ceremony to Yard was performed by Stephen T. Matlock, JP for Crawford Co. Testimony of George & Mattie Haskett that they were present on 19 Dec 1886 when she married Stephen Yard. [Mattie was her eldest daughter.] Testimony from Parthena Haggard stated that she was present at the marriage of Martha and Elias Hays in Mississippi and she knew Martha before the marriage, had known her for 40 years. [I believe this is Parthena Hays Haggard, sister to Elias, based on the 1850 Census] E. A. Vansant also signed her application, stating he had known her for 15 years. None of the records stated whether or not Martha ever received her pension - I suspect she did not, either because of the second marriage or perhaps it was dicovered that Elias had also served in the Confederacy.

Elias Hays was my great, great grandfather.  One of his sons, John Jefferson Hays, born 5 Aug 1856, was my great grandfather - he lived to be almost 94 years old, dying in 1950 when I was ten years old. John-John, as he was called by his grandchildren and great grandchildren, told the story that he remembered while his father was away, soldiers came to their house, ripped the curtains from the windows, the bedding off the beds, and piled it all in the center of the house and set fire to the pile. John, his siblings, and his mother were forced to stand in the yard and watch their house go up in flames. Undoubtedly this horror was in retaliation after Elias joined the Union Army.

Comstock DNA - First Results

2011-03-25T08:07:00.001-04:00

We now have the results of two Comstock DNA Project tests – Y-DNA with 37 markers. They are first cousins so not surprising they match with only one marker variation and that is a marker that commonly mutates. They descend from Samuel Comstock of Rhode Island who is proved as a son of the immigrant William Comstock only by circumstance. Hopefully others who descend from the sons Daniel, John, and Christopher will be tested for comparison. Only Daniel and John have documentary proof that they are sons of William.

Go here to see the test results which are posted by Kit Number to protect the privacy of participants:

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/comstock/

There is a tab at the top of the page for “Y-DNA Results”

I am very much aware of the cost of the test – it is cheaper through a project such as this one. Many family surname organizations are able to start funds with donations from descendants who no longer carry the surname and therefore cannot be tested, or those who do not wish to be tested. The webpage is set up to accept donations to help defray the cost of the test. I am hopeful for more interest in that in the future, but to date there has been none from Comstock descendants. I believe the cost well worth the possible discoveries and solutions that may be found be no other means.

You can read the help files online, or contact me directly for more information.

khaden1959@gmail.com

Comstock DNA Project

2011-01-29T15:38:00.001-05:00

In December, I accepted the job as administrator of a new Comstock DNA Project at FamilyTreeDNA. You can read more about it here:

Comstock DNA Project

In order for a DNA test to be part of this Project, it would have to be ordered through the above webpage. There is a link for "Join Project". To be meaningful, the person being tested must be a male still carrying the surname Comstock, who can trace his Comstock heritage back several generations, ideally back to one of the Comstocks listed below.

The immigrant William Comstock [recorded as being in Connecticut in 1641, died about 1683 in New London] has been assumed to have been the father of five younger Comstocks found in Connecticut - John, Samuel, Daniel, Christopher, and a daughter Elizabeth who married Edward Shipman. William's wife was Elizabeth - thought by some to have been Elizabeth Daniel although I've found no documentation that proves her name. Nor can it be proved she was mother of all his children.

Documented proof exists only for John and Daniel, whose sons sold 20 acres in 1694 which had been given to their grandfather William Comstock by the town of New London in 1647. Samuel and Christopher have been associated with the others probably as much because the Comstock surname is rare in that place and time and there isn't anyone else available to serve as their parents. Daniel and Samuel did go to Rhode Island where they appear in records about the same time, although Daniel did not stay, returning instead to New London - Daniel named a son Samuel, and Samuel named a son Daniel. Christopher was of similar age and among his children can be found a Daniel and a Samuel and even a daughter, Elizabeth.

Another viewpoint of Christopher Comstock's origin as being German was discussed in an earlier Blog post and can be found here:

Comstock Family Origins - Part Two

Although DNA will not reveal that William Comstock was definitely the father of the four younger Comstocks - John, Daniel, Samuel & Christopher - testing would reveal whether or not descendants of each of these younger Comstocks share similar DNA. If Christopher's and Samuel's descendants share similar DNA with those descendants of proved sons John and Daniel, that would certainly indicate that if they were not all brothers, they shared a close kinship.

And, should the DNA of any of the four differ considerably, it will be obvious they do not have have similar origins. Descendants would want to explore other possibilities.

There are also Comstocks here and there that have never found a connection to any of the above. DNA testing could tell them if indeed they share a common heritage, or should be looking elsewhere for family roots.

Email me direct for more information about the project.
khaden1959@gmail.com

At this time only two DNA tests are in progress. Both are descendants of Samuel Comstock of Rhode Island. Results will not be meaningful until enough Comstock males have been tested to indicate conclusions.

Contributions of any amount can also be accepted if there are those female descendants or male descendants who do not carry the Comstock name but would like to help fund testing for those who do qualify but cannot afford the cost. Again, email me at the above address for more information, if you would be interested.

Saturday Night Genalogy Fun

2011-01-15T20:19:00.000-05:00

Randy Seaver of the Genea-Musings Blog always has interesting challenges and games for Saturday night ...but I'm often either not home or have no time to participate. But I'm right here tonight!

Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!):

1) How old is one of your grandfathers now, or how old would he be if he had lived? Divide this number by 4 and round the number off to a whole number. This is your "roulette number."

My maternal grandfather, Kenney Marcus Comstock, would be 123 years if he were living. Divided by 4 and rounded off that would be 31 for my roulette number

2) Use your pedigree charts or your family tree genealogy software program to find the person with that number in your ancestral name list (some people call it an "ahnentafel"). Who is that person?

Since I use RootsMagic4 for my genealogy, that was a quick and easy task. And the ancestor corresponding to number 31 is Mary Rowena Hoskins, a great great grandmother.

3) Tell us three facts about that person in your ancestral name list with the "roulette number."

1. Mary was born 15 September 1918 in New York State.
2. She married Peter B. Allen 28 Dec 1836 in Vigo County, Indiana.
3. Peter and Mary moved to Arkansas before 1840, where they are found in the Territorial Census in Sevier County, a part which soon became Polk County.

I cannot stop with only three facts. Peter and Mary Hoskins Allen lived the rest of their lives in Polk County, Arkansas. They raised nine children - two of their sons fought for the Confederacy; one son for the Union Army. Mary died 15 Mar 1885 and is buried Pleasant Grove Cemetery near Cove, Polk County. I have never been able to find parents for Mary Rowena though it's likely a Silas Hoskins who married Peter Allen's sister Amanda in 1825 in Vigo County, Indiana, was Mary Rowena's brother. The Allens had come to Vigo County from New York, Ontario County, circa 1818, so it is possible the families were previously acquainted. There are no older Hoskins found in Vigo County - possibly they were orphaned.

4) Write about it in a blog post on your own blog, in a Facebook note or comment, or as a comment on this blog post.
5) If you do not have a person's name for your "roulette number" then spin the wheel again - pick a grandmother, or yourself, a parent, a favorite aunt or cousin, or even your children!

My comment is here. Thanks for reading - it was fun!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-05T10:54:00.004-05:00

The Christmas Decorations are put away and it's 2011. Hopefully I'll be back to researching soon. Meanwhile you can check the Labels or the Blog Archives.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 24 - Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T00:02:00.001-05:00

Is this really the last day? Tomorrow will be Christmas Day!

I will be spending Christmas Eve having a wonderful meal with my daughter's family. I'm taking the salad and rolls.

Then we'll all be going to church. I'll be singing in the choir as once again we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Christmas morning I'll be headed back to my daughter's for the Christmas stockings, late breakfast, package opening, an afternoon Christmas feast. We'll be calling our family members who live away.

Just as my decorations won't be put away for a few days ...this website will still have its Christmas decorations up for awhile. This is the final Advent post - both the Blog and my house will eventually be restored as they were!

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 23 - Sweetheart Memories

2010-12-23T00:02:00.001-05:00

I did get engaged on Christmas Eve. I was 10 days shy of my 18th birthday and my parents were not overly pleased! I married fourteen months later. How young we were! But so much in love.

And I stayed in love and married to that sweetheart for 45 years. The engagement ring band grew very thin over the years. One week to the day after my husband died, the ring broke. Not where it was so thin, but at the base of the setting. I had it repaired and placed into an Eternity pendant and that's how I wear it now. A forever symbol of a forever love.

My husband was a darling little boy ....see:

[Don't forget to click on the images to enlarge them, if you like.]

And not too bad in his uniform - this picture made about six months after we were engaged.

He went to work for my dad in the propane business - was just supposed to be temporary while we both went to college. It became his passion and he devoted the rest of his life to the industry. I love to remember him this way - so young and eager.

But this is what he was proudest of ...his family. There's the patriarch himself - standing in the back.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 22 - Christmas and Deceased Relatives

2010-12-22T00:04:00.001-05:00

We are a weepy family and highly empathetic. When one cries, all cry. We always refer to those family who are no longer with us in our Christmas table grace, but other than that it's a subject best left to another occasion - today is that occasion.

When I started this journey of Christmas memories, I did so in honor of my Mom who loved this season. I was so fortunate to have her for very many years; she was almost 92 when she passed away of cancer. I miss you, Mom. Most of all at Christmas time.

Mom was born on the 21st of December 1916 - she was only a few months old in this picture. She was a Christmas baby from the beginning.

Here she is as a graduate - first from the 8th grade and then from High School.

This is how I remember her when I was just a little girl.

And this one was made with her Mother's Day flowers in 2005. She was living in an apartment complex designed for Seniors - still very independent. And still very lovely.

Mom loved costume jewelry of all kinds. My sisters and I sat on her bed after she died, spread out all the jewelry and tried to figure out how best to treasure all her pretty sparkly necklaces, earrings and pins. A friend of mine makes these jeweled Christmas trees so now each of us has one of these memories of Mom.

Mine is never put away - it is in my bedroom. I like to believe that my Mom's eyes are shining through and still watching over me.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 21 - Christmas Music

2010-12-21T00:04:00.001-05:00

Oh, we didn't just listen to Christmas music - we made Christmas music. My grandmother's dad had been a fiddle player in his youth and he raised his children to love music. My grandmother and her sisters sang in church choirs their entire lives. One sister taught music for some years. My grandmother used to take her babies into the choir with her in the days before church nurseries. My mother and her four brothers had been raised to sing at any opportunity and my Mom and one of the brothers also played the piano.

Mom and I lived with her parents for several years and two of the brothers also lived with us at different times. Someone was always at the piano with others looking over the shoulder, singing. So of course, Christmas was just another excuse to sing around the piano.

When Mom had daughters - it was understood we would learn to play the piano. I even had the same piano teacher Mom did! We sang, too. However, I was the only one who really loved the music. I did learn to play the piano - passably - and I'm still singing - in the church choir and in a Sweet Adelines chorus.

The following picture is a Christmas past. One of my sisters is playing the piano and that's my Mom and my three children singing along.

When my children came along, I tried to keep the music going, but times have changed. No one has much time for singing around the piano anymore and of course we don't all live near each other anymore.

Here's one more Christmas past with Mom at the keyboard. Ah, if I could go back for just one day.... it would be a day just before Christmas and we'd all sing together again!

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 20 - Religious Services

2010-12-20T00:04:00.001-05:00

I have sung in church choirs since I was fourteen and my Mom was the choir director. I love Christmas Eve Candlelight services most of all - , going out into the cold night air, listening to the Christmas story read from the Bible, singing the carols, eagerly anticipating the celebration of the most precious birth known to mankind. To me no celebration of the birth of Jesus is quite complete without the reenactment of the nativity.

This nativity set that resides on my shelf at Christmas time is quite old. It was already well-loved for a number of years before I was born. It was my grandmother's and I'm sure it's age is reaching ninety years or more. She kept each figure wrapped in soft cotton between Christmases.

I remember watching her beautiful workworn hands as they gently unwrapped each individual and set it in place on her mantel. They aren't porcelain or china - more of a chalky substance and they do chip and break easily and she didn't trust having them within constant reach of small hands. They have taken on a darker hand-rubbed look with age which to me has only added to their loveliness. She would let me hold each one for a bit before putting it in place. Oh, how I loved holding that baby Jesus in my tiny hands!

The camel 's hind leg is chipped just out of sight. Joseph was broken when I was still a child - that's one of the shepherds kneeling beside Mary - he substitutes very well although if you look closely he's a bit old. One of the wisemen had been broken before I was born, so I have only known two - I always pretended the third was just out of sight. I was told that once there was an angel, too.

After I had my children and my grandmother no longer had the big Christmas celebrations in her home, she gave me the nativity. I was her first grandchild and the only grandchild to ever live in her home - we shared the only January birthdays in the family. She wanted me to be the one to continue to unwrap and hold each figure for just awhile and then place them lovingly on display. As I do so, I have my own private Christmas service in my heart, just as I believe my Grandmother did.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 19 - Christmas Shopping

2010-12-19T00:05:00.000-05:00

I don't like to shop. I know, that's not normal for a female. This will be the least interesting post of all! And quite likely, the shortest.

Of course shopping is unavoidable, and doubly true at Christmas. I would rather shop for others than for myself, so that helps. I've tried every possible way - shopping early, shopping late, shopping online, shopping at the mall, shopping in the smaller stores. It's still shopping...

The rest of the family? Well, their shopping techniques are as varied as the individuals themselves. We have the early get-it-done type and the wait-to-the-last-minute type and every conceivable variation in between.

I don't leave the shopping until Christmas Eve. For one reason - much of my family lives away and packages must be shipped. For another - I'm just not good with any last minute arrangements of any kind.

For many years my dear husband was a Christmas Eve shopper. He was a procrastinator by personality, particularly involving anything he didn't really like to do or want to do. His family struggled when he was growing up, and he also had great difficulty parting with money for any reason. [He never minded if I spent his money, he just couldn't do it. Yes, there was definitely also some Scot heritage going on with that.] A further complication was his job - he and my Dad were in the propane gas business. Late December in Northwest Arkansas is about when the first really bad winter cold spell descends and he was always working very long hours and exhausted prior to Christmas [...and on into Spring].

Just before closing time on Christmas Eve, Dear Sweet Husband would dash into the local jewelry store just down the street from his office and buy my gift. That's really the only gift he had to worry about - I had already taken care of the rest of the family gifts. I have always held the jeweler who was also a family friend responsible, but two years in a row I got the same lovely bracelet! I never, ever told him.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 18 - Christmas Stockings

2010-12-18T00:05:00.008-05:00

The very first christmas I remember does have a Stocking Story. I believe I was just about to turn four. I remember the house - we called it the "yellow brick house" and we only lived there about two years. And, yes, I do have several memories involving living there even though I was so very young.

My Mom and I lived with her parents. Her youngest brother had just finished high school and he left from that house to join the Air Force and go off to World War II. My memory is of our return to the house after taking him to the bus station and Mom and Mammaw running off to their respective bedrooms, both sobbing. I was too little to understand that they thought they might not ever see him again, but I was definitely upset by their sorrow. He did return unscathed - in fact, all four of my mother's brothers served in that war and all four returned. How very lucky our family was.

That's also the house where I slipped and sat on the floor furnace and burned my bottom in an interesting checker-board pattern. I remember having to lay on my tummy for several days... I was so glad floor furnaces were no longer used by the time I had my own children!

Now about that Christmas. I hung my stocking on Christmas Eve - it was a red felt stocking I kept and used for many years until it just more or less fell apart. On Christmas morning, my grandpa carried me into the living room. I remember there was a small train making it's circle on the floor under the tree. But the most fascinating thing was this yellowish pointy protrusion from my stocking. It looked like a beak - a penquin beak! Surely I had a penquin in my stocking! Imagine! A penquin!

I ignored the train. I wanted that stocking. At last I had the stocking was in my arms and I could examine its contents. The yellowish pointy protrusion was ....a banana!

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 17 - A Christmas Past

2010-12-17T00:05:00.002-05:00

A very memorable Christmas was in 1970, at least for my almost ten-year-old son. but first you need the background to the story.

I grew up in the shadow of the University of Arkansas, as had my Mom and her brothers. My family members were born and bred Razorback Hogs, particularly the football team. My parents funded a smallish scholarship, beginning about 1950 or so, which entitled them to 50-yard-line seats and one of my nephews is still using those tickets to every Razorback home football game. Legacy!

I was present for single every home game [and some of the away games] of the football Razorbacks from the year I turned twelve until I had my third child - she had the audacity to be born on a Wednesday and there was a game the following Saturday, that I was not quite up for. My children could all "call the hogs" before they could say "Mama." Even as infants, they had tiny red T-shirts, declaring their allegiance. Of course none of them would attend the U of A!

After we moved away from the Arkansas family nest, our interest in the Razorbacks lessened and my children did all attend different universities further dividing loyalties. My sisters and their families, still living near the U of A, still live and breathe the Hogs.

Now to the Christmas of 1970. The Razorbacks had had three great seasons back to back and were riding high under Coach Frank Broyles. My Dad had become friends with Coach Broyles and my much younger sister, then a teen, was giving some of Coach Broyles' children horseback riding lessons. My oldest son, as I said, was almost ten. He was the first-born grandchild and my Dad had no sons, so they had a very special relationship and spent a lot of one-on-one time together.

Dad gave Steve a football - autographed by all the members of the Razorback football squad! Even little sister looks suitably awed! [How do you like the clothes - the striped pants, the crocheted vest - so very early 70's!]

The football sat proudly on a bookshelf in his room until after he left for college. One day when he was packing up some of his possessions, he brought the football to show me that the inked names had all almost completed faded away. None of us had ever thought about the effects of light and time.

The Polaroid picture is also fading with time. But the pure delight of opening that box has not faded.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 16 - Christmas at School

2010-12-16T01:05:00.002-05:00

Back in the day ...when I was in school, we always had a class Christmas party, the last hour of the last day before Christmas vacation. Remember homeroom mothers? Those were the three or four ladies who had voluteered to host the classroom parties for the year - they furnished refreshments, games, prizes, etc. At least that's the way it was done in my time and then the same routine was still in effect when my own children were in school. My Mom worked and never could be at school during school hours, but I was one of the homeroom mothers at one time or another for all three of my children. In one school my youngest attended, I was several times the homeroom mother for a class that had no mother-volunteers. Of course, those were the children that needed a party most of all. I always thought it great fun!

I know that the teachers were only too happy to turn the children over to us for that final hour of excitement. They had overseen the production of home made ornaments and presents for Mom and Dad for many December days prior to the party day. I'm quite sure they looked forward to the vacation as much as the children.

Pageants in school? No, I don't remember any in my own experience. The school pretty much left that sort of event up to the local churches. We had school plays and programs, but not really any Christmas pageants.

We did usually have school music programs at Christmas time, when the elementary classes performed for each other. After we were in Junior High and High School, the band and chorus always had a Christmas concert - usually performed once for the student body and once at night or on Sunday afternoon for the public. I did have my moments of fame ...I sang one verse of What Child Is This as a solo my senior year in Glee Club. Please don't tell, but I was also the horse whinney in Sleighride.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 15 - Holiday Happenings

2010-12-15T00:05:00.003-05:00

I am one of those Holiday Happenings. My birthday is January 4th ...exactly 10 days after Christmas. Christmas and New Year celebrations have come and gone and everyone's ready to get back to routine. The stores are gutted and so are the pocketbooks. More often than not, my birthday is an afterthought - even for me!

My Mom was a bookkeeper and for part of the time when I was growing up, she was divorced and raising me by herself and then after she married again, she and my new Dad started their own business. There were some lean years. Bookkeepers have a great deal of work at the end of the year and there was simply no way for her to take time off to prepare a birthday party for me. In the 1940 and 50's birthdays weren't such a big deal for most people, anyway. One year she did try to arrange a party for me, but the party was snowed out.

When I was about 6th or 7th grade, I asked if I could just have a Halloween party instead - no presents, just a party. So, I absolutely did have that party and it was a huge success.

But probably my very best birthday party was in mid-life - about 20 years ago. And it did happen on a Holiday.

My middle child sometimes has a problem with events that occur on the same day every year ...they sneak up on him. He was out of college and working and one year he forgot my birthday, and then his Dad's, which followed in early February. Now understand that wasn't a big deal since neither of us had grown up with big birthday bashes. In fact, we thought it funny since our birthdays had always been in January and February, and would always be in January and February.

The following summer, we went to Texas to visit him and the visit coincided with the 4th of July. Now the 4th of July is exactly six months after my birthday. Well, he threw us a "Half-Year Birthday Party". Presents and a picnic in the park, then tickets to the baseball game followed by magnificent fireworks. Now that party was a BLAST!

Many times during the years, my parents and sisters gave me combination gifts for Christams that were for both occasions. Saved time and wrapping.

These days my children are extremely careful to see that I get separate gifts for both Christmas and my much-too-soon-after birthday. So very much appreciated! Just the same, I've always envied those who have summer birthdays and get to space out their surprises!

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 14 - Fruitcake

2010-12-14T00:05:00.002-05:00

Doesn't everyone have a fruitcake story? My Dad actually liked fruitcake, but Mom did not. Somewhere she found a recipe for "White Fruit Cake" that had only the candied cherries and pineapple and pecans - none of the citron bits. That cake was not half bad. I have her recipe with the list of ingredients and the instructions to "mix as for regular cake" and bake at 250 degrees for three hours. I've tried it and the cake still tastes quite good but it crumbles badly and can't be sliced. So something is not quite right - one of the ingredients off a bit or not quite the same as it was fifty years ago. Probably would be really good as crumbles with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

I did use to always make what I called fruit cake cookies - but the only fruit is candied cherries ...and dates. (Are dates a fruit??? - I think so.) This recipe makes a lot of cookies - they are very rich so they need to be small. I think I used to end up with about eight dozen or so. Great to share with neighbors. It's also a cookie that ships well and keeps well. They taste better as they age! As the children grew up and departed, the recipe just made too many cookies. If you need a big batch of cookies with a bit of holiday flare ...here's the recipe.

Fruit Cake Cookies

Mix thoroughly:
1 cup soft shortening [I always used half butter, half Crisco]
2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 eggs

Stir in 1/2 cup sour milk or buttermilk or water [I used buttermilk because I made a coffee cake at Christmas time that also needed the buttermilk.]

Sift together [I never sifted ...just stirred in the dry ingredients, works fine]
3 1/2 cups flour [you might want to reserve about 1/2 of the cup of flour ...see note below]
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt

Then add
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
2 cups candied cherries, cut in half - can use half red, half green for more color
2 cups cut up dates

It's helpful to reserve some of the flour to toss the cherries and dates so they aren't quite so sticky and mix in easier.

Chill dough for at least 1 hour. Drop by teaspoonsfuls about 2" apart on lightly greased baking sheet. You can place a pecan half on top of each cooky if you like.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes at 400 degress. They should just be set - when touched lightly with a finger, almost no imprint remains.

And here's a disclaimer. My kids all thought the food kind of dates were icky, so I never told them what was in these cookies. They never noticed!

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 13 - Holiday Travel

2010-12-13T00:04:00.002-05:00

When I was growing up and when my children were very young, most of the family was in fairly close proximity and we gathered at my grandmother's, and then my in-laws for Christmas Day. By the time my children were all in elementary school we had moved away from the family nest. For a number of years we made the long trek back to spend Christmas with the grandparents and siblings. That involved taking all the presents [including certain hidden Santa gifts] as well as clothes for five people and leaving room for us all to actually sit in the car.

One Christmas particularly stands out in memory. My husband's older brother wanted to send a dishwasher to his parents. He lived about half-way between our house and the Christmas destination and we did have a Suburban. This was not even a new dishwasher - but was one he no longer wanted. One of those early ones - freestanding in the middle of the kitchen. You hooked it up to the kitchen sink to run it; it didn't actually install within the cabinets. But how do you fit a dishwasher in with five people - two of them adults, and the children no longer small, all their luggage for a week's visit, the gifts we were transporting for each other and all the relatives, the snacks and games to keep mayhem at a minimum while driving long hours, etc.... Even after all these years, it seems that we spent hours in the driveway packing and repacking, knowing we still had many miles to go before we slept. I recall that the younger set was not bearing the delay gladly, either. What I cannot remember, if I ever knew, is why that dishwasher had to go with us, and why my darling husband agreed to the plan! In some weird way, I always related that particular Christmas trip to Chevy Chase's movie Christmas Vacation. Oh, you should know - my in-laws never did figure out how to use that dishwasher! There wasn't much more room in their kitchen for it than in the Suburban!

Now I often travel for the holidays - it's so much easier for one person to pack up and go than for a family. My offspring and all of their offspring gathered at my eldest son's condo in Colorado last year - so all of us traveled, some of us great distances. The condo is a vacation home - no one lives there year round. A beautiful white Christmas for those of us that are southerners, skiing for most [except for me - I prefer sitting in front of the fire], a night time sleigh ride. One of the best Christmases of all!

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 12 - Charitable/Volunteer Work

2010-12-12T00:04:00.002-05:00

I will have to say that I'm one of those legions of anonymous Christmas gift givers. Most churches and many other organizations now have an "angel tree" where you select a name and purchase a gift for that particular person in need. I always participate, but of course that means you never actually give the gift to the person. I also make other cash donations - the Salvation Army kettle, etc. And give canned and boxed food items to various appeals to fill Christmas food baskets.

My local DAR chapter buys gifts for eight girls in one of the cottages of a DAR supported school. They send us names, ages, sizes, wishes ...and we fulfill. Since I have granddaughters about the same age, it's really fun to shop for these young ladies.

One of my sons coaches youth teams - baseball and football. As he has become acquainted with the boys and their families, he has often discovered needs that slip through the cracks of local charities. I know that last Christmas his family provided Christmas - from the dinner to the gifts - for a newly-abandoned wife who couldn't find a job and her young children.

As a child, I remember that the local fire station collected toys - both new and used but in good condition - and distributed them on Christmas. Early in December, my grandmother or my mother would help me go through everything in my room, and select those toys or games I really wasn't interested in to give away. I wasn't much of a girly-girl so there were always dolls and such that had scarcely been touched by me. Later I did the same with my children and we even added new toys to the donation - it was still the local firemen that collected toys. I wonder if the firemen in small towns still do this?

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 11 - Other Traditions

2010-12-11T00:04:00.003-05:00

My family has no recent immigrants or ethnic traditions. We do have the tradition I'll call the "overstuffed stocking". I'm not sure how it began, but Christmas stockings in my family are stuffed way over the top in many ways.

We like to make emptying the stockings an adventure for all. One requirement is something round for the toe - an apple, an orange, even a ball. Candy is a must ..but it should be a favorite candy of the stocking owner. Another piece of fruit or two. Maybe gum, mints, or even a small can of cashews. Then the stuff - anything from a pair of sox [yes - sox in the sock] to gloves, small tools, kitchen utensils, makeup, funny bandaids, toothpaste, a small game or puzzle, jewelry or a nice tie, depending on the recipient. Sometimes a very special gift, if small enough, is in the stocking. Whatever and wherever imagination leads you. Also the stocking must be very full, preferably with items peaking out, or even balanced on top.

Now over a period of several years, my Mom made quite large stockings from quilt fabric for each member of her family - as a new baby came along, a Christmas stocking soon followed. They had our names on them and were all the same size, somewhat limiting the contents.

When enough of us were together during the years our children were young adults and there were no very small people around, we made a Christmas Eve foray to the nearest Wal-Mart. We drew names to fill the stockings, and then dodged each other from aisle to aisle while we gathered the various goodies. Then just before the adult bedtime, the stockings mysteriously disappeared and reappeared filled with Santa goodies - of course it was still supposed to be a secret about who filled whose stocking, so there was lot of sneaking around behind closed doors and dashing through hallways. I remember some squealing and giggling, too.

Sometimes one of the stocking-fillers would go overboard and buy way more than the stocking would hold, so sometimes ribbons were tied to gifts on the floor, or the stocking had to be placed on the floor with its spillover. Here's a picture of one of the more interesting ways one family member coped - apparently someone needed a new laundry basket and it wouldn't fit... The stockings are hanging from the metal firescreen - they were too heavy for the mantel!

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 10 - Christmas Gifts

2010-12-10T00:05:00.001-05:00

I must admit that I struggle some with gift giving - I want the gift to be so perfect and I tend to be rather indecisive at best. That said, I would much rather give than be the recipient of a gift. I have passed the accumulation stage of life and much prefer gifts that are consummable, or even better, a gift of time spent with the giver. Perhaps the nicest gift is simply watching everyone else open their packages!

The best gift I ever received was a little red wagon ..and I was very middle-aged when it appeared beneath the Christmas tree. Here's the story.

We had built a home in the woods and hills of Alabama. It was the only home we ever had that was truly ours from the ground up - all other homes had been pre-owned. We left the space around the house, I hesitate to call it a yard, as natural as we possibly could, leaving trees and some of the undergrowth. I wanted to landscape around this plan, using as many native plants as I could, and even took a continuing education course so I would make as few mistakes as possible.

Eventually much of my dream landscape was accomplished - what wasn't eaten by the deer. However, I had a maintenance problem. We had a wonderful large garden cart left over from other houses and other mostly treeless lawns - the difficulty was that this cart would not pass through some of the narrow places between the trees and it could get really heavy going uphill. I told my husband I needed a little red wagon to haul stuff around. The size to carry a bag of fertilizer, some garden tools, a few plants - whatever I needed to tow to save a few steps - but not a very large wagon. Understand that I was taking care of a couple of acres... I mentioned the wagon several times - could have gone and bought one myself, but just never did.

When Christmas morning came ...there was the red wagon under my tree! And it was a Flexible Flyer! And red - my favorite color! The perfect size! To appreciate my excitement, you should understand that I never had a wagon as a child, although I often envied those my friends had. My husband favored much more expensive gifts as a rule and he wasn't always the best listener when I gave out gentle hints. Not only did I have my much coveted wagon, but I had also been heard! Joy! Joy! Joy!

As the months passed and I hauled every imaginable item in that wagon, my husband would just shake his head. Turns out that he bought the wagon mostly as a joke, never dreaming that I would actually use it. I smiled to myself everytime I took it out of the shed loaded with my supplies.

When the grandchildren visited, the wagon took on another life. The streets near our house were quite steep. The wagon was excellent for hauling small children up. The older children discovered the wild and scary ride down for themselves. There was a skinned knee or two, but no broken limbs.

The wagon has had another transformation now that I've had a couple of back surgeries and pay others to keep up my present tiny yard. It holds my recycling tub and takes it from garage to the street every Friday - a tub too heavy for me to carry when it's full. I still smile to myself every time I grab the handle and start off!

The wagon has aged better than I have!

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 9 - Ashes and Switches

2010-12-09T00:05:00.004-05:00

Today is a "Grab Bag" of topics. In my husband's family, an alternative to receiving lumps of coal for being naughty, was instead ....ashes and switches. The following story is one from my dark side and it should never have happened. But it did and became part of our family legend - one of those stories that's been retold for fifty years. As in, "Remember the Christmas...."

Now my husband had a much younger baby brother - when said brother was about 10-14 years old, he was insufferable. First of all, he was a "late" child, being the last born; he was spoiled, whiny, clingy, and demanding. Yes, it's all true. He was a royal pest. There were three brothers in my husband's family, no sisters - the baby as described, my husband, then the oldest who had married a lady my age about six months after my husband and I had married.

I'm not absolutely positive, but this was an early Christmas in my married life and I believe my sister-in-law and I had not yet had children of our own. We had both married at age nineteen, so we were not much passed childhood ourselves. We decided to play a Christmas trick on Little Brother. I suppose we wanted to teach him some sort of lesson. We really didn't intend any harm, just a sort of retaliation. In retrospect, and after raising sons, I'm sure he just drove us nuts because he really loved having these new females in the family and craved our attention.

We filled a very large box with switches and coffee cans of ashes, wrapped it, and placed it under the tree with a gift tag to Little Brother, from the two of us. Turned out to be the biggest present of the year. Little Brother was so very excited about the huge gift, and I think the two sisters-in-law knew we might have stepped over the boundary line. Of course when he opened the present ...it wasn't so funny to him ...and there were crocodile tears. Also a considerable amount of anger towards his very mean big "sisters". We did try to apologize which likely meant little at the time. Of course, we did have other gifts for him - they were just smaller.

The second chapter of the story is that the next Christmas, the same box, newly wrapped, appeared under the Christmas tree. From Little Brother to his two sisters-in-law. It was stuffed full of yards of toilet paper.... So Little Brother had the last word ...and redemption.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 8 - Christmas Cookies

2010-12-08T00:04:00.001-05:00

Ah yes, the Christmas cookies. During World War II, my mother and I lived in an upstairs apartment at my grandparents' house. Mother had four brothers serving in the War, three of them in Europe, and although I was a pre-schooler, I well remember the impact on our household. My grandmother started baking early - to fill boxes of breads and cookies to send to her boys and their buddies.

For the rest of her life, my Mammaw baked and sent boxes to her sons and their families as part of their Christmas celebration. We always lived either in the same town, or no more than two hours from my grandparents, so we got our share of the bounty directly.

Mammaw died in 1973 when she was 86; my mother promptly took up the cross and made sure her brothers always got a box of goodies from "home". Mom lived to be almost 92, and her cooking skills decreased. Her brothers asked me if I could suggest she cease the baking - the cookies weren't very good anymore and all but one of the brothers was by now diabetic.  I just told them they could feed the cookies to the birds or the garbage disposal, but this was an act my mother very much needed to perform. Time took care of the problem, as Mom moved to an apartment with only a microwave.

Several years after I married, we moved away from the "nest" so sometimes I got the Christmas boxes of goodies. However, I think both my Mom and my grandmother knew I probably had some genetic predisposition to do my own baking for Christmas.  They were correct. Several of the cookie recipes I had inherited from them, as well as others from my old Betty Crocker recipe book, became the traditions for my own children. I did often participate in cookie exchanges among friends, take plates of assorted cookies to neighbors, but I never felt the need to box them up and mail them anywhere.

Years have passed and now that I am a single traveler in this world, there is no need for a lot of baked goodies sitting around the house.   But I live only a couple of miles from my daughter and her three teen-aged children. She has a wonderful kitchen with double ovens and a large granite-topped island. Now we set aside a day before Christmas and all gather to bake multiple batches of cookies. A great time is had by all. They share the results with me and their neighbors. And, yes, we are still baking some of the same kinds of cookies...

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 7 - Holiday Parties

2010-12-07T06:51:00.000-05:00

The absolute best Christmas Party I ever attended was in Aberdeen, Scotland. Our eldest son was living and working there and we had gone over to spend the holidays with his family. A fellow co-worker of his was from Canada, but his heritage was Polish. On Christmas Eve this man always had a party and cooked traditional Polish dishes for family and friends ...and any extended family and friends who might be visiting.

To make the occasion especially festive, it had snowed. Now you must realize that I am a true GRITS [girl raised in the South - and never left] and have had very few white Christmases, and those were all when I was away from home. I have also gone to very few Christmas Eve parties - that night is traditionally reserved for the family and church services.

Others had, of course, contributed food dishes and adult beverages of all sorts to the Party. As I recall there was food on almost every available flat surface. But the Polish fare - the borscht, the entrees and the desserts with unpronouncable names - was absolutely superb.

Time has blurred the number of people in attendance, but I would think somewhere in the neighborhood of sixty. We were all over the house. Every age was represented from very young babes to grandparents. We had native Scots, English, Americans, Canadians, French ...I'm not sure what else. Most of those present, did live in Scotland at the time, many as expatriots, but there was a goodly share of family visiting from points outside Great Britain.

The children played and ate and played. The adults talked and ate and talked. No one was a stranger at that party although most of us had never met and will not meet again.

On that night we were all family, many of us far, far from home. It was a wonderful, festive night of "Peace on earth, good will to men!"

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 6 - Santa Claus

2010-12-06T01:05:00.002-05:00

Do I believe in Santa Claus?

Of course I still believe in Santa! I had been admiring a toy carpet sweeper in the Montgomery Ward window for some weeks. One evening my mother returned from work and headed straight up the stairs with a peculiar package - the bottom wrapped but shaped much like that toy carpet sweeper and a long wooden handle sticking out. Rather incrimating. Next time we went downtown, the carpet sweeper was gone from the window. On Christmas morning, an identical carpet sweeper was under my Christmas tree. I was just a week away from my 4th birthday, but I knew my Mom had bought that toy at "Monkey Ward" and tried to spirit it up the stairs.

So I knew the score. But it didn't matter then - I had that much desired toy - and it doesn't matter now. I still believe in the magic. Santa Claus lived in my mother's heart that Christmas and he still dwells in mine.

When my own daughter was just about the same age, she experienced a very special bit of Santa magic. She was sick that year and couldn't go to the church party to visit Santa, but he appeared at our front door. [After the party at church and per special instructions from someone who knew him quite well.]

We took pictures with the Polaroid we had at the time. It's really hard to get a double exposure with a Polaroid but somehow I managed. When my little daughter saw the picture, she said "Look, it's the sugar plums!"

...you know, those sugar plums that "danced in their heads".

See for yourself!

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 5 - Outdoor Decorations

2010-12-05T01:04:00.002-05:00

We never did much in the way of outdoor decorations. For one thing my husband was in the propane business and winter was his busy season. Sometimes too busy, because one year WE ran out of propane while I was cooking Christmas dinner - seems he had forgotten we were also a customer!

We did put up swags and tiny white lights on the porch rails the fifteen years we lived in this house in Wetumpka, Alabama. Now the house set way back from the road with woods in between so it didn't show much from the road, but it was a great place to decorate both inside and out. The advantage was that I could put up the swags and lights without a ladder or male assistance. I also put electric "candles" in the upstairs windows. I never made a picture - was difficult to get directly in front of the house. Maybe I thought I'd live there forever! Here is how it looked without lights - just use your imagination and put evergreen swags with sparkly white lights on all the rails with big red bows on each column!

I did get pictures of the inside!

I always decorated my front door.

Here's a picture of the front door at the Wetumpka house. No, the deer isn't real - but we did have a lot of those around the house. They ate my azaleas, my day lillies, even climbed on this porch and ate pansys in pots.

And here's my front door ...right now. Come on by and I'll fix us a cup of tea! Hope you're getting your shopping done. If so, I need some help in that area!

I live in a neighborhood with several Navy families. I'd just like to say a heartfelt thank-you to all those who serve in our Armed Forces with a very special appreciation to their families.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 4 - Christmas Cards

2010-12-04T01:00:00.000-05:00

I have Christmas cards that can be dated 1932, 1933, and1934 either because of the postmarks or the TB stamps on some of them. They belonged to my in-laws, William Charles and Lois (Pippin) Haden who had married in November of 1932. They lived in Ladonia, Fannin County, Texas. The cards are not particular colorful, but varied greatly. Some were embossed with gold. If you click on the pictures, they should enlarge for you.

The following card had the interesting curved front that opened, as well as the curved closure on the envelope - one of the fancier cards. The envelope was sealed with a 1934 TB stamp - I can remember my grandmother sealing her Christmas cards with TB stamps some 15 years later and they always had the year printed on them, and the red cross. This particular card is signed Uncle Joe, Aunt Clara, Joe and Clara Adelia. Uncle Joe was Joseph Benjamin Haden II, uncle of my father-in-law. Of course, the others were Uncle Joe's wife, son and daughter. Clara Adelia, now called simply Claire, is still living.

The next group of cards is just an assortment with horses and sleighs predominating. I particularly like the card with embossed gold trees and its matching envelope.

These following cards were all more like postcards - they were just lightwieght card stock that did not fold. Of the cards that still had envelopes, these required only

1 1/2₵ postage while the regular Christmas cards had 3₵ stamps. Notice one was a complimentary card from the local drug store - businesses obviously sent cards then, too.

The last card - the one signed Jessie Stevens is especially poignant. My husband was born in a room in her house in February of 1939; a room rented by my in-laws while they were in Ladonia for the winter. Miss Jessie never married, but she helped deliver that baby boy. My father-in-law's younger brother had borrowed his car for a date and brought it back with the gas tank empty; my father-in-law had to hoof it to fetch the doctor. Now the doctor, Dr. Sam Fry, was my mother-in-law's uncle and he was 73 years old - I suspect he didn't walk really fast. They arrived back at Miss Jessie's after the baby's arrival. Years later when my husband changed jobs, we had to write for his birth certificate [requirements were different back then - he had even joined the Army without having to produce a birth document] - the name on it was "Baby Boy Haden" - information supplied by Dr. Sam Fry. Of course I had to get him a T-shirt with his new name on it! Both his parents were still living and signed affidavits, so now there is an amended birth certificate that gives the baby's name properly as Robert Donald Haden - he passed away in 2004.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 3 - Christmas Tree Ornaments

2010-12-03T00:05:00.002-05:00

Christmas 1959. The first Christmas after I married. We were both college students, living in old Army barracks convereted to married student housing. No money. We waited until the last minute to buy a tree from an almost empty lot - the smallest tree left. We bought two boxes with a dozen tiny colored glass balls - I'm sure at the time they were less than $1 a box. And we splurged on one box of lovely and fragile glass ornaments - I believe there were originally eight in the box. We didn't even have lights on that tree.

After 51 years, the tiny glass balls that have survived decorate a tiny artificial tree to brighten a small corner.

I don't put the fragile ornaments on the tree anymore- I lay them out in a shallow bowl. In my heart they represent the new beginnings and boundless hopes of those tender years. There are five left including the tree top ornament and my personal favorite - the teapot - although I also like the horn ....and the bell....

I must admit, I almost always shed a few tears when I unpack these precious memories!

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 2 - Holiday Foods

2010-12-02T06:00:00.001-05:00

One of my family's favorite holiday desserts is Jeff Davis Pie. We grew up with it and assumed everyone else did, too, only to discover most people had never heard of a Jeff Davis Pie, much less tasted one. Now thanks to the Internet, recipes can be found readily - even for Jeff Davis Pie. Five generations of my kin have feasted on this pie.

Here's the story. As a youngster about 6 or 7, I used to visit a distant cousin - she was asthmatic and this was in the late 1940's when there were few treatments. She could not actively play so I went over to play card games and board games. Her Mom was a great cook and one time she served Jeff Davis Pie for dessert. At that time my parents and I were living in an upstairs apartment at my grandmother's and when I went home to tell my Mammaw about this wonderful pie, she said she thought she'd heard of it but never had a recipe. So she promptly telephoned and wrote it down. Forever after it became our Thanksgiving or Christmas [or both!] holiday dessert. My mother as the only daughter continued to bake the pie; from there it passed down to my two sisters and to me.

When I married at age 19, I typed up many of the recipes from my Mom's recipe box, many of which had come straight out of my Mammaw's recipe box. That was over 50 years ago. My grandmother's recipes were often somewhat vague.
Here's that recipe. [Should you want to try it, be sure and read the suggestions underneath before you begin...]

As you might have detected, there are some essential steps and instructions omitted from the recipe. Here are some extra details you might need to know. Use an UNbaked pie shell - the word "crust" being somewhat misleading. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients together first; then add the beaten eggs, then the milk and melted butter. The mixture doesn't blend particularly well and actually looks a bit awful - don't worry, that's the secret to a good pie. The filling makes quite a large pie - use at least a 9" deep-dish pie - a 10" dish is better. "Sweet milk" is just milk - as opposed to buttermilk.... Bake the pie about 45-50 minutes - it's basically a custard pie with spices and should be "set" when you shake it slightly to see if it's done. The filling separates while baking - the top will brown nicely leaving the custard underneath. The next time you may want to double the recipe and bake two!

Note: added later.... 1 teaspoon of "spice" is allspice! And those are ground cloves and cinnamon.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories, Day 1 - The Christmas Tree

2010-12-01T11:26:00.002-05:00

Christmas was my mother's favorite Holiday. Although I wasn't always with her for the holidays, I was privileged to be with her on her last Christmas In her memory I'll participate in the GeneaBloggers Advent Calendar. I can't promise that I'll post every day nor that I'll put up my Christmas decorations on the Blog, but, hey Mom, I'll try!

My family's most unusual Christmas tree was in Wetumpka, Alabama, when my children were almost grown. Our tradition had been to always journey back to Arkansas to spend Christmas with the grandparents, but this particular year, that just wasn't going to happen. I recall that Christmas was in the middle of the week. Our eldest was in college, and just getting him home to us was a complication. We just decided we'd spend Christmas in our own house and with our own private celebration. The grandparents were disappointed but understood.

We needed a tree. For several years, because of allergies, we'd used an artificial tree - due to attic heat in Alabama, age and rust, the tree had gone the same way as the Christmas trip to Arkansas - not happening. So my second son and I decided we'd cut our own tree. The only red cedars in the woods surrounding our home were shaded by the much larger hardwoods and were spindly if not diseased. Native pines were in abundance but again, because of the shade, were mostly stalks with bushy tops - not Christmas tree-shaped at all.

So we crossed the road to a more open field where several young Southern pines were growing and had branches more or less from the ground up. If you know pine trees, you know this is not a tree you'd ever find on a tree lot for sale. The field was soon to be cleared for a house site so even though we were probably trespassing, we knew all the trees were doomed. We cut three pines from 4-6 feet tall - none quite right - but by wiring them together, we came up with a respectable Christmas tree of approximate shape and with lots of branches for ornaments.

Although a bit distinctive and different - we all agreed it was one of our best trees ever. The perfect complement to one of the best and most relaxed Christmas Days. Unfortunately, we were so relaxed, we never took any pictures!

Children of William Haden (ca 1741-1819) Part IV - Mary Haden Wilson, Nancy Haden Porter and Sally, the Younger

2010-10-04T18:15:00.000-04:00

This is the fourth and final post about the children of William Haden, son of John, grandson of Anthony of Goochland and Hanover Counties. As stated in the first post - there are eleven children, I will not cite sources in these posts listing the children and grandchildren, but feel free to email me if you want additional information, or visit my website linked on the right-hand side of the Blog. My purpose is not to provide here everything I have found, but to alert the unsuspecting to many of the errors that have been perpetuated regarding the family.

9. The ninth [or tenth] child of William Haden was Mary "Polly", born about 1800 after the family had moved to Logan Co, KY.  Mary married John Wilson, 10 Jan 1817, in Logan Co. A deed in 1821 established that the couple by then lived in neighboring Butler County - by 1830, they had gone to Missouri, just outside St. Louis. There are many Wilsons in both Logan and Butler Counties - I've never been able to place John. John is thought to have died perhaps 1838 or 1839; neither John nor Mary seem to be in the 1840 census, but Mary can be found in St. Louis Co. in 1850 - twice in fact. Both her entries are next to a Francis Karman/Carman, so undoubtedly two enumerators crossed paths. The two enumerations are interesting - one has the grown children listed, children that also appear in other places with their own families. Looking at other pages of both enumerators revealed that one seemed to even have trouble consecutively numbering his pages - his name was Frederick Politz and I even found his own listing in a St. Louis Ward and he was age 35, born in Germany. I believe he had some language difficulties. The other enumerator, Cornelius Vanausdal seemed to know what he was doing and actually lived in the same district, District 82, that he counted, and where Mary Wilson was located in Household 1922. Mary was still in St. Louis Co in 1860; descendants believe she died about 1867. The Wilson children were:

...Benjamin H. Wilson, born about 1819. married Isabella Ann McGinnis, 13 Feb 1840, St. Louis Co. MO. His family lived in Lafayette Co, MO in 1850. Isabella died sometime during the next decade, and in 1860, Ben's wife was Adelaide. They continued to live in Lexington, Lafayette Co through 1880. Benjamin had at least seven children; no more than the youngest one or two could have been Adelaide's and all were born by 1857, so Isabella may have been the mother of all the children.

...Nancy Wilson, born about 1822 was at home with her mother in 1850 and 1860 and then in 1870 she made her home with her brother Leonidas, still in Bonhomme Township, St. Louis Co. Apparently she never married.

...Lycurgus Wilson was born about 1823. He surely moved to Missouri with his family, as he would have been just a boy, but he returned to Kentucky. He married Mary D. James, 1 Jul 1847, Butler Co, KY. His name occurs as "Acurtes" in one census. His family lived in Ohio Co, KY in 1850, but they were in Clark Co MO, 1860, then Lafayette Co MO in 1870 and 1880. Only four children are found in the censuses.

...Leonidas Wilson was born 5 Feb 1824 in Butler Co, KY, according to descendants. He married Dorothy Price, 7 May 1846, St. Louis Co MO.   They lived out their lives in Bonhomme Township, St. Louis Co. There were seven children. Leonidas died 27 Dec 1887, Dorothy died 13 Jan 1892.

...Agnes E. Wilson was born about 1828 in St. Louis Co MO. She was still at home with her mother in 1850 and 1860.   I found a marriage in St. Louis: Agnes E. Wilson to James McFarland, 8 Mar 1861, but have not found the couple in a subsequent census.

...Sarah "Sally" Wilson was born about 1831, St. Louis Co. She was with her mother in 1850, but not in 1860. I did find a St. Louis marriage for Sarah Wilson to Francis Elliott, 8 Mar 1852, but when I found what seemed to be this couple in 1860, they both had a birthplace as Ireland. They did have two children and the five-year-old daughter was named Mary Ann. If there was an error in the birthplace and this is the right Sarah Wilson Elliott, then she could have named her first daughter for her mother. But this is speculation and I cannot be sure it is the right Sarah.

...Mariah Jane Wilson was born about 1834, St. Louis Co. She married John D. Woody, 27 Jul 1858. The censuses show him to be several years older and he may have been living with his first wife, named Charity, in 1850. I found the family in 1860 still in Bonhomme Township, but by 1870 John D. Woody had married again. I believe that Mariah died between 1865 and 1868, leaving two young daughters.

...Mary "Polly" Wilson, named for her mother, was born about 1837, St. Louis Co.  I believe she is the Mary Wilson who married William Stoops, 28 Mar 1859, in St. Louis. I have no other confirmation and could be wrong.  I have seen a database online that placed William Stoops' wife in another family, but none of the dates or ages made sense - they even had William's age wrong. William and Mary Stoops were living in St. Louis Ward 3 in 1860. He was a baker and they seem to be living among extended family - likely his mother, born in Ireland, a brother, etc. In 1870, William and Mary were still with Anna Stoops, probably his mother. By 1880, the Mary, wife of William, had aged only three years since 1870. I wondered if she was still Mary Wilson, or if she had died and William had married a second and younger Mary. There were four children.

10. Nancy J. Haden, daughter of William Haden was born about 1798. All the other Haden research, has Mary and Nancy in this order, with Nancy as younger of the two. My research based on later census records suggests that Nancy was perhaps two years older than Mary - maybe Nancy was the 9th child and Mary the 10th. Mary married a few months before Nancy did and maybe that's why she has always been assumed to be older than Nancy. Nancy married William Porter, 21 Oct 1817, in Logan Co - his parents were John Porter Jr. and Sarah Clark and they lived in neighboring Butler Co. It is believed William & Nancy set up housekeeping in Butler Co. On 22 Feb 1822, William & Nancy Porter sued the other heirs of William Haden over the allottment of slaves - a case that gave me another list of all the heirs of William Haden. Part of the problem was that the older children had already received slaves and the Porters thought all of them should be sold to make an equitable division.  This did not happen, rather the slaves were valued and some cash adjustments made. The Porters had to pay the costs of the suit. They are believed to have lived in Butler Co in 1830, but there are three William Porters and none seem quite right. According to Porter family research, William Porter was murdered in New Orleans in July of 1838, probably on a flatboat trip connected with his salt business. In 1840, Nancy is found in Ohio Co KY, where she continued to live near her grown children until her death, 12 Mar 1884.

...William Haden Porter, was born 15 Sep 1818, Morgantown, Butler Co, KY. He married Hannah Lee, 21 Dec 1848, Ohio Co KY. He fought in th Mexican War and was a Major, then Colonel, in the Union Army during the Civil War. He and Hannah were both still living in 1880.

...Sarah Jane Porter was born about 1823. The early censuses suggest there may have been one or even two sons born between William and Sarah, but if so they died young.
Sarah married Richard C. Hobdy, 11 Mar 1841. They lived in Ohio Co, KY There were at least eight children. Sarah died about 1865; Richard died in April of 1870.

...Pamelia A. Porter was born about 1827, Butler Co KY. She married Milton Taylor, 16 Feb 1847, Ohio Co KY. They had five children. Milton died 19 Dec 1865. In 1880, Pamelia's mother Nancy was living with her, Nancy was then age 82. Pamelia died 1 Aug 1888, about four years after her mother's death.

...John Porter was born maybe about 1829. Porter researchers do not agree on this child's placement in the family. He apparently died as an infant or young child.

...Egbert O. Porter was born 3 Jul 1830. He married Lucretia A. Shields, 25 Oct 1853, Ohio Co KY. They had three children. Egbert and Lucretia were still living in 1880.

...Martin VanBuren Porter was born about 1834, probably Butler Co. Some place births of the later children in Ohio Co. The date of the move is not known. Martin married 25 Dec 1859, in Ohio Co, to Sarah Angeline Taylor and they continued to live in Ohio Co KY. There were four children Martin died before the 1880 census and is said buried Brickhouse Cemetery, Ohio Co KY. Sarah Angeline died 19 Sep 1921.

11. Sally Haden, the Younger. William Haden married in December of 1807 to Mrs. Sally Johnston. They had a single child, also named Sarah "Sally" born about 1811-1812. She had a middle initial - J. or I., it's impossible to know which since there is no record of the name. William's oldest daughter Sally, was already deceased, so I'm sure this youngest child was named for the deceased sister she would never know, as well as for her mother. If Mrs. Johnston brought any Johnston children to the marriage, they are unknown. In 1810, she was in the 26-45 years of age category and all the others in the household of William Haden can be matched to his own unmarried children. The young Sally was not yet born in 1810. William died in late 1819, and her mother was Sally's first guardian. However, Sally Johnston Haden herself died before October of 1822, leaving young Sally a true orphan. Luckily her half-brother Samuel was the one appointed her guardian and he was not one of the several brothers that died within the next few years. Sally did marry very young however, probably only about age 15, 27 Feb 1826, to Dr. Churchill Haden Blakey, son of George Blakey and Margaret Whitsitt, and a younger brother to Pamela that married Sally's half-brother William. As her husband he assumed guardianship of Sally. However, Churchill died 23 September, not quite seven months after the marriage. Sally, although having been married, was still underage, and her brother-in-law, Thomas Blakey, was appointed her guardian. Churchill's father Geroge had previously given Churchill several slaves, which by law reverted back to George; instead George deeded them to Sally after his son died.   Sally Blakey married Wilkins Watson, 10 Dec 1829, Logan Co. I found them in Pettis Co, MO in 1850. Wilkins Watson was also a physician. They continued to live in Pettis Co through 1870, but by 1880, Sarah Watson was a widow. There were two daughters.

...Rosalie Watson, born about 1833 in Kentucky. Rosalie was a school teacher and apparently never married. She was still living with her mother in 1880. I did find a Rosa Watson still in Pettis Co MO in 1900, but the age was some twenty years off. I still suspect it may have been Rosalie.

...Margaret D. Watson was born in Kentucky, 1836. She married James H. Brown, 3 Nov 1853, in Pettis Co MO.   By 1870, Margaret must have died, because three children, Rosalie Brown age 13, Maggie Brown age11, and Watson Brown, age 8, were living with Wilkins and Sarah Watson in Sedalia, Pettis Co, Missouri.

Children of William Haden (ca 1741-1819) Part III - John M. and Samuel H.

2010-10-02T19:03:00.000-04:00

This is the third post about the children of William Haden, son of John, grandson of Anthony of Goochland and Hanover Counties. As stated in the first post - there are eleven children, I will not cite sources in these posts listing the children and grandchildren, but feel free to email me if you want additional information, or visit my website linked on the right-hand side of the Blog. My purpose is not to provide here everything I have found, but to alert the unsuspecting to many of the errors that have been perpetuated regarding the family.

7. John M. Haden was the seventh child of William and Ann Johnson Haden. His middle name is believed to have been Moseley, his paternal grandmother's surname.  There are several John Moseley Hadens throughout the family to keep separated - luckily they are different generations. He was born about 1788 in Kentucky. He married Margaret Caldwell Jackson, daughter of John Jackson and Mary Cook, in Warren Co, KY on 7 Mar 1814. The Ancestral File of the LDS church has an exact date for his death that I have not seen elsewhere as 9 Feb 1817. A short autobiography written by a grandson, Joseph Benjamin Haden, in 1930, says that: "My paternal grandfather was John Haden of Kentucky. He was thrown from a horse and killed before he reached the age of thirty."   Joseph Haden, John's older brother, was appointed guardian to John's two infant sons at the April Term of the Logan Co Court, 1820 - other family members would take over the guardianship after Joseph died. Apparently John's brother James was the administrator of the estate and after James died, James's widow and her brother became responsible. The early deaths of so many of the family members did create a lot of documents! The final settlement of John's estate in 1823, does show the rental of his farm in 1817 and 1818. Margaret remarried to Samuel David Sublett on 8 Feb 1819, and they continued to live on her dower lands for several years. Samuel Sublett appeared to be living with a married daughter in 1850, then with a son in Daviess Co KY in 1860. Margaret apparently died prior to 1850. The two sons of John Mosely and Margaret Jackson Haden are named as heirs of John M., deceased, in the estate settlement documents of their Haden grandfather.

...John M. Haden, was born 12 Feb 1815, according to the Ancestral File - a date for which I have no other proof but seems substantially correct.   He married Frances A. White, 5 May 1843, in Canton, Madison Co MS. Her parents were John White and Frances Proctor and they had previously lived in Logan Co. Frances Proctor was a niece of Thomas Proctor who had married John M.'s aunt, Sally Haden. In 1837, John M. Haden had mortgaged his share of his father's lands to his uncle William Haden and in 1840 his stepfather Samuel Sublett assumed this mortgage in order to sell his wife's dower lands and the shares of her sons. In 1850, John and Frances and their two children, Mary age 5, and William A. age 2, were found in Jasper County, MO - both children having been born in Missouri. By February of 1852, John had died and Frances A. Haden was made administratrix of his estate. Frances and the children moved back to Kosciusko in Attala Co, MS, after John's death. I have a photo of Fendle Haden, a grandson of John M. & Frances who was then about eighteen; the photo was made at Starkville, MS and he may have been a college student. Apparently the photo had been sent to his Texas cousins.

A John Haden [who I believe was more likely originally a Hadden, not of the Haden family] was born 10 Dec 1816 in Logan Co KY and died 20 Jan 1892, buried Red River Cemetery in Logan Co. He married Nancy C. Neel in January of 1859. The Hadden family lived along the Red River; the Neils were neighbors. He has been confused with John M. Haden above. I have a copy of a deed of gift when John M. and William Franklin Haden's mother Margaret Jackson Haden Sublett gave money to their daughters, her granddaughters, in Missouri, proving without doubt that I have identified the correct John M. Haden who did not marry Nancy Neel and did not remain in Logan County.

...William Franklin Haden, the second son of John Moseley and Margaret Jackson Haden, was born 30 Sep 1817 in Warren County, KY. He was my husband's great great grandfather. If the date of death of his father is correct, he was born several months after his father died. He had a first marriage, not generally known by the family, to Mary Martha Ann Gaines of Warren Co, daughter of Elizabeth B. Gaines. They married 13 Jun 1837 and had two young daughters by 1840. William sold his share of his father's land to his stepfather in 1839 and sometime soon after the 1840 census, the family left for Missouri. They may have gone first to Jasper Co where his older brother was living, or possibly even traveled with his brother's family, but they soon settled in Greene County - Mary Martha either died on the way to Missouri or soon after their arrival. William F. married Mary Jane Perkins on 16 Dec 1845 in Greene Co, MO. She was the daughter of John Perkins and Mary Jane "Polly" Dunlavy and had been raised in Logan Co KY - they undoubtedly had been previously acquainted back in Kentucky. The Hadens lived in the part of Greene Co that became Christian Co MO in 1859. William F. is said to have gone with a party, including some of the Perkins family, to California during the Gold Rush, but found no gold and soon returned to Missouri. During the Civil War they lived in an area where much of the guerilla activity took place and at some point, William F. was arrested under suspicion as a Confederate spy. I have a family letter describing how the two older daughters of his first marriage rode horseback over the Ozark mountains from Christian County MO, to Fort Smith, Arkansas, to seek his release.   During his absence, the Yankees burned out Mary Jane and she took their seven children, including an infant, and her stepdaughters, to Grayson County, Texas. Some of the Blakey family had already moved to Grayson Co from Missouri, so likely that was the reason for that particular destination. After William F. was released from prison, he joined his family - they lived briefly in Lamar Co, TX and then settled in Ladonia, Fannin Co, where they would remain for the next three generations. My husband was in fact born in Ladonia in 1939, but no Hadens are left there now. Two more daughters were born to William F. and Mary Jane after the war for a total of nine children.  William Franklin Haden died 8 Sep 1880 and is buried Ladonia Cemetery; Mary Jane lived until 30 Jan 1918. Mary Jane deeded her home in "part of the original plat of the Town of Ladonia" to her grandson, Robert Charles Haden, in 1910; he was my husband's grandfather. The home is still in Ladonia and lived in although it no longer belongs to the family. My husband's father and his three brothers were all born in that home.

8. Samuel H. Haden was probably just younger than John Mosley Haden, born maybe about 1789-1791. Subsequent research could alter the order and birth years of the Haden children since none have actual proof, but dates when they became land owners, appeared on tax rolls, and married have been carefully considered.  Samuel's middle name is unknown, although it might have been Harris for the surname of his maternal grandmother.   Samuel is thought to have been the same Samuel "Hayden" who married Rebeccah Harris, 30 Jul 1813, in Madison County, KY - although that place was some distance from Logan County. Robert Harris, father of the bride, gave consent, but more than one Robert Harris was living in Madison Co at that time. There were Haden cousins, as well as Harris families from Albemarle Co VA, living in Madison Co KY. There is at least one earlier marriage between the Haden and Harris families back in Virginia. Letters in the Haden family show that sometimes sons were sent to live with uncles or older cousins to learn how to manage a plantation - perhaps Samuel had gone to Madison Co for that purpose, or even just for a visit or adventure when he met Rebecca. Family tradition in the descendants of Samuel also believe his wife was Rebecca. There is, however, a deed in Logan Co KY in January of 1836, when Samuel's wife is listed as Frances Haden, and she signs with that name.   In the 1850 census in Simpson Co, KY where they were then living, the apparent spouse in the household has only an initial for her name - but it is F. Haden. Samuel's oldest son named his first daughter Rebecca, but Samuel named no daughters either Rebecca or Frances. And one descendant had dates for Rebecca's birth as 14 Jan 1792 and her death as 4 Jan 1835 from old family papers discovered in an old dresser or desk - the death is within a year after the birth of their 10th and last child. I believe that Samuel remarried soon after her death. There is a tradition Frances may also have been a Harris - a cousin of Rebecca. He had moved to neighboring Simpson Co about the same time as the deed of 1836 and the marriage may have taken place there where the records have been lost in a courthouse fire. Because of the loss of records in Simpson County, and the fact that the census enumerator used only initials for most names in 1850 and 1860, researching Samuel's family has been a challenge. Here are the children of Samuel H. and Rebecca Harris Haden; the exact birth dates came from the family papers described above - I do not have copies, only a transcription sent by email.

...William was born 7 Aug 1814. He married Elizabeth J. Proctor, 11 Sep 1837 in Logan County KY. Elizabeth was the daughter of John Proctor and Elizabeth Furbush - John Proctor was a nephew of the Thomas Proctor that married William's aunt, Sally Haden. By 1860, the couple had six children, the youngest born circa 1854, but no spouse/mother was present. Sometime before 1862, William married again to Amanda E. Calls and they had five more children. The family still lived in Simpson Co for the 1880 census.

...Robert Harris [some say Harrison] Haden was born 7 Mar 1816. He married Jane Elizabeth Curtis in East Feliciana Parish, 9 Nov 1843 - they had ten children. One of their daughters was named Frances Rebecca Haden perhaps using the names of both of his father's wives. Their youngest was named Robert Harris Haden - I believe that was also most likely his father's middle name. The two oldest children were born in Louisiana but by 1848, the family was back in Simpson Co KY. Jane died in 1871 and within a few years, Robert married Mary A. "Mollie" Kinchloe who is with him in 1880 in Christian Co KY. Mollie was probably a young widow because a nine-year-old stepson, W. W. Kinchloe is also in the household in 1880, along with a small daughter, listed as "A. B. Haden"age 1. Family papers say that Robert died in Montgomery Co, Tennessee, 8 Dec 1892.

...Ann H. "Nancy" Haden was born 27 Sep 1817; she married Joshua H. Spencer, son of David and Elizabeth C. Spencer on 8 Jan 1834, Logan co KY. They had probably five children as listed by their initials in the 1850 Simpson Co KY census. I haven't found the family in 1860, nor 1870, but in 1880 Ann was living in the household of her oldest son, Samuel Spencer in Warren Co KY. A descendant of this line found Ann's grave, Wand Cemetery, Warren Co; she is buried near her son David and his wife. Ann died 11 Apr 1904.

...Tyree Joseph Haden was born 27 Nov 1819, Logan Co KY. The somewhat unusual name Tyree is a given name used often in the Harris family found in Albemarle Co VA and later in Madison Co KY. He married in Platte County, MO, to Mourning Thorpe, 19 Jun 1840. The family was in Platte County for the 1850 census, but back in Simpson Co KY by 1860 with six children, all born in Missouri. Phillips Cemetery, Simpson Co has graves for Morning Haden [14 Feb 1818 - 15 Jun 1861] and two of the daughters, Mary E. who died at age 20; and Ann E. at age 15. By 1880, Tyree was living with his youngest daughter in Muhlenberg Co KY. An S. H. Haden is a Civil War soldier buried Smith's Grove Cemetery, Warren Co KY with the dates, S. H. Haden, b. 24 Oct 1842, d. 26 Oct 1926 - I believe this to be one of the sons of Tyree and Mourning - Samuel H. Haden, who was age 18 in 1860. [Yes, there were a plethora of Samuel H. Hadens...]

...Benjamin Haden was born 3 Oct 1821. Nothing else has been found; perhaps he died young. He appears to have been counted in the 1830 census, but probably not in 1840.

...Catherine L. Haden was born 6 Sep 1824, Logan Co, KY. Nothing else found. She does seem to be accounted for in the 1840 census.

...Mary E. Haden, born 8 Dec 1826. Family papers say she died 16 May 1890, in Kansas City, MO, but there is no information about a marriage or family or how she may have ended up in Kansas City.   If these children were married in Simpson Co, which is likely, the records were lost. "M. E." female, age 22, was the only child still in the household of Samuel H. Haden in 1850.

...Joseph T. Haden, born 8 Feb 1829. Joseph was probably with the family in the 1840 census; not found later. Some of his brothers seem to have had a bit of wanderlust and Joseph may simply have gone from Kentucky by 1850.

...Samuel H. Haden, Jr. was born 3 Sep 1832. Samuel married 7 Feb 1856, Warren Co KY to Margaret, or Sarah Margaret, Blewett.  Samuel and Margaret had ten children and lived out their lives in Simpson Co.
31 Mar 1904 [apparently the date the the Obituary appeared]
"Mr. Sam Haden one of the oldest and most highly respected citizens of our town, died at his home in the Northern portion of the city Sunday afternoon of a complication of diseases. Mr. Haden was a life-long citizen of this county... He leaves a wife and 5 children. His remains were laid to rest at Old Zion church, in Warren county, on Tuesday."
From Simpson County Kentucky Obituaries: pre 1971, by Dorothy Donnell Steers, 1991

A FindAGrave.com listing for Samuel H. Haden in the Zion church cemetery, has the wrong mother listed for him in the Notes. Living in Logan Co KY at the same time as the family of William Haden, was a large family of Haddens.   The spelling of the two surnames varies according to court clerks, sometimes both families receiving the same spelling. There is a Logan Co marriage, 7 Apr 1806, of a Samuel Haden to Margaret Hughes - the Hughes family were neighbors to the Haddens, but did not live near the Hadens who were all the way across the county. Tax records show the Hadden family had at least three Samuels. This marriage date is also a few years too early to be that of the Samuel who was son of William and Ann Johnson Haden. It must have been one of the Samuel Haddens that married Miss Hughes.

...Joshua S. Haden was born 19 Nov 1834, died 11 Jun 1840, Simpson Co KY. An old cemetery listing for Phillips Cemetery had his grave; the marker no longer exists. His uncle William Haden was also buried there.

Children of William Haden (ca 1741-1819) Part II - Milly, Benjamin, and William

2010-10-01T16:04:00.003-04:00

This is the second post about the children of William Haden, son of John, grandson of Anthony of Goochland and Hanover Counties. As stated in the first post - there are eleven children, I will not cite sources in these posts listing the children and grandchildren, but feel free to email me if you want additional information, or visit my website linked on the right-hand side of the Blog. My purpose is not to provide here everything I have found, but to alert the unsuspecting to many of the errors that have been perpetuated regarding the family.

4. Milly Haden was the second daughter, fourth child of William Haden. Milly was a nickname and I have found her name sometimes as Emily, and in one instance as Mildred, in court documents after her death. Mildred is a given name used previously in the Haden family - Milly had an aunt Mildred Haden, sister to her father. The name Emily doesn't appear previously in either the Haden or Johnson families.   I have questioned if perhaps a court clerk wrote "Emily" as an assumption, since Milly can be used for either given name.   Again, an unsupported exact birth date survives, but it is reasonable with other known facts. She was born 14 Apr 1781, or surely close to that date, and Milly died before 1820, and perhaps as early as 1806, as proved by documents of her father's estate settlement. Milly's marriage was the first of the marriages of the Haden children to take place in Logan County - she married William Whitsitt, 20 Mar 1799. He was the fourth man in successive generations named William Whitsitt [The name was likely Whiteside in the beginning, a later common spelling in Whitsett - in records the last t's are often left uncrossed and the records may be found as Whitsell]. William Whitsitt's father also lived in Logan Co KY, having moved there from Davidson Co, TN.   The couple had three daughters who received legacies from both grandfathers. The estate settlement of grandfather William Haden makes plain that his daughter Milly had already died leaving three small daughters. They were:

....Eleanor C. Whitsitt, born about 1800, married William Comfort, 17 Sep 1818, Logan Co. They moved to Madison County, MS. By 1840 Eleanor was a widow with seven children. The census has an older man in the household, probably Eleanor's father.

...Ann Haden "Nancy" Whitsitt was born 7 Sep 1803. Some say she was born in Davidson Co, TN, but if that is true, the family must have been visiting William's brother James Whitsitt who had remained there. Ann married Dr. Thomas S. Blakey, son of George Blakey and Margaret "Peggy" Whittsitt, 28 Jan 1823 in Logan Co - they were first cousins on the Whitsitt side of family, second cousins once removed on the Haden side. They eventually inherited the Haden homestead of her grandfather in Logan Co, and Ann willed it in turn to her two surviving children. Ann died 1857 in Russellville, Logan Co, Thomas Blakey having died the previous year.

...Sarah P. "Sally" Whitsitt was born about 1805. She married George Stalcup, 30 Sep 1831 in Logan Co, and by 1860 they were living in Fannin County, TX. Only one son is known. Fannin County would be the eventual destination of other Haden related families, including the family of my husband's great great grandfather.

There exists a strange situation considering the Whitsitts. Many people have assumed that Milly and William had a son, William C. [perhaps for Crawford] Whitsett [as he most often spelled the name] who was born 1812 in Kentucky, probably Barren County, and died in 1882, Bonham, Fannin Co, TX. William C. Whitsett married Elizabeth Lee Edmunds in Barren Co, 15 Dec 1836, and they had at least seven children. The next to the youngest son, was born 18 Sep 1847, and named Joseph Haden Whitsett; the youngest son was born about 1855 and named Charles Churchill Whitsett - Churchill being a name often found in the Blakey family. There are records of William C. Whitsett in Logan Co KY, that seem to suggest his name was originally William C. Crawford. One of these documents in 1820 says he was a son of a Jane Crawford - Stokely Knox was appointed the child's guardian and Knox's wife was also a Crawford. Other records suggest a relationship with William Whitsitt and the young man seems to adopt the Whitsitt surname.   He cannot be a child of Milly's since her father died intestate and their were only three females heirs of Milly in 1820 - legally an intestate settlement cannot omit heirs. And Milly could have died as early as about 1806 since no children were born to her after that date. The possibility exists that William C. Crawford/Whitsett was a child of William Whitsitt by an alliance that took place after the death of his wife Milly.   No record exists to indicate William Whitsitt married again and it is believed he spent the last years of his life in Madison County, MS at the home of his daughter Eleanor - there is an older man in her household in 1840.

5.   Benjamin Haden was likely the next child of William and Nancy Haden, born circa 1783. He died prior to his father decease in late 1819, and his only son, also named Benjamin, is named in the estate settlement records. Since his wife remarried in 1810, Benjamin had in fact died about ten years previous to his father's death. Benjamin had married Catherine "Kitty" Stockton, 10 Feb 1807, in Barren Co KY. She was the daughter of Rev. Robert Stockton and Catherine Blakey. Benjamin and Kitty were second cousins, both great grandchildren of Anthony of Goochland/Hanover. Their only child, Benjamin, born before 1810, died before October of 1829 when his will was probated in Barren Co Court. His will mentions both his grandfathers, William Haden, and Robert Stockton. He had received slaves which he gave to Amanda Hall, probably his first cousin, a daughter of Kitty's sister Prudence - Amanda may actually have grown up in Kitty's household.  The Catherines in the Stockton family have been royally confused by many. Soon ater the death of Benjamin Haden, Kitty remarried to Lowry Bishop, 10 Feb 1810. This marriage was apparently a disaster and Kitty filed for divorce in 1836. Some of the facts that came out in the divorce suit were that Kitty never had any other children, but had raised some of her sister Prudence's children. Also that Lowry Bishop had kept at least two of his mulatto children in their home. He was often drunk and profane and spent much time with the children's mother. There are other marriages and children that have been "attached" to Kitty, but they belonged to another Catherine B. Stockton who married John Coffee Hall - she was a niece to Kitty and the daughter of Robert Stockton JR and his wife Nancy Blakey. The niece Catherine was deceased prior to Kitty's divorce suit; traditionally she died in childbirth.

6. The next child of William and Nancy Haden was given his father's name - William - and born about 1785. I believe that William had a brief first marriage to Mary C. "Polly" Barnett, daughter of Thomas Barnett of Warren Co KY. They married 4 Jun 1805 in Logan County and had a single daughter, Nancy, prior to Polly's death. I believe Nancy is the Nancy Haden who married James Whitsitt Blakey, her second cousin once removed and son of George Blakey & Margaret "Peggy" Whitsitt, on 2 Dec 1824. After her death about 1838 or 1839, he married Nancy Soyars and moved to Missouri.

After the death of Polly Barnett, William Haden married Pamela Blakey, daughter of George Blakey & Margaret "Peggy" Whitsitt, and his second cousin, 10 Dec 1808. William became the administrator of his father's estate in 1824 - it was transferred to his brother-in-law Churchill Blakey and then in 1827 after the death of Churchill Blakey, back to William. In 1838, William formerly separated from his wife, apparently by mutual agreement, giving land and slaves to Pamela and their daughter Margaret, to be held in trust for their support. However, in the 1840 and 1850 censuses, his household still seemed to include Pamela. Perhaps they reconsidered. In 1844, both William and Pamela testified for her mother Margaret's widow's pension for her husband George Blakey's Revolutionary service and Margaret was at that time living with them. In 1860, they were living apart - Pamela was living with her daughter in Logan Co and William was living in neighboring Simpson Co, KY near his brother Samuel. I believe William died in Simpson Co and is buried there. From Simpson Co comes the following cemetery record: "Phillips Cemetery: Hayden, William, 21 Jan 1786 - 13 Nov 1865. The last time this cemetery was recorded (1982) this stone was not found." Pamela Blakey Haden died 6 Jul 1870 and is buried Maple Grove Cemetery in Logan Co - William is not with her there. The children of William are:

....Nancy I. or J. Haden [I and J are indistinguishable in most of the Logan Co records - most of the time it is a J.] born about 1807 to Polly Barnett and William Haden. For many years there has been a question about where Nancy belonged in the family.
The following record from Warren Co, indicates William Haden's first marriage and that he did indeed have a daughter named Nancy. There is no other marriage or family that could account for Nancy and there is a female child of her age in the Logan Co censuses of 1810 and 1820 in William Haden's household.
Warren Co KY DB D, p.90;  7 Mar 1808.
"Know all men it may Concern that for & Consideration of the good will & affection which I bear unto Nancy Haiden a Daughter of my Daughter Mary C. Haiden, dec'd. I do give & bequath a certain Negrow Girl named Agg about fifteen years of age".  Signed:  Thomas Barnett.
Then Thomas Barnett's will was filed in Logan Co and again mentions his deceased daughter Mary Haden:
Logan Co WB B, p.236. 27 Nov 1818. Will of Thomas Barnet. One slave each to son John, son James C. [Curry?] & daughter Elizabeth Shannon. Granddaughter Letha, daughter of deceased son William, a slave & bed & furniture. Negro man Tom to be freed. Negro woman Sucky to live with one of the children as long as may live; she to make her choice. To heirs of Lucy Sanders, dec'd daughter, in addition to what I have already given, $1. To heirs of Mary Haden, dec'd daughter, in addition to what I have already given, $1. To Adams S. Barnet & Thomas Fields Barnet, grandsons, in addition, each $1. Remainder of estate to be divided among my three children, John, James C. & Elizabeth Shannon. Executors: John & James C. Barnet. Wit: Thomas Bowles, William Barnett. Signed: Thomas Barnet. Probate granted 16 Aug 1819.

...Margaret George Haden was born to William Haden and Pamela Blakey, 8 Oct 1811. She was their only child. Margaret married John N. Hopkins, 18 Sep 1831 in Logan Co and they had two sons, George Samuel, born 1832, and William Haden Hopkins, b. 1834. Neither son ever married.   John N. Hopkins was a son of Samuel Hopkins and Anny Haden and a second cousin to Margaret; he may have died before 1850 as he isn't with Margaret and her sons in the census. Margaret died 30 Jun 1867 in Logan Co and is buried Maple Grove Cemetery; her sons also buried there.

There remains a remote possibility that a son was also born to William Haden during the first marriage, although I believe there was not really time for more than one child before Polly died. Later, after William moved over to Simpson Co, the records distinguish between a William Haden, Sr. and William Haden, Jr. This was, of course, many years after the death of his father. However, William's younger brother Samuel, had a son named William, by then an adult, who was likely present there in Simpson County. It is likely that the senior and junior simply designated an older and younger man of the same name, quite possibly an uncle and nephew.

Children of William Haden (ca 1741-1819) Part I - Sally, James, and Joseph

2010-09-30T07:42:00.002-04:00

The next few posts will be about the children of William Haden, son of John, grandson of Anthony of Goochland and Hanover Counties. As there are eleven children, I will not cite sources in these posts listing the children and grandchildren, but feel free to email me if you want additional information, or visit my website linked on the right-hand side of the Blog. My purpose is not to provide here everything I have found, but to alert the unsuspecting to many of the errors that have been perpetuated regarding the family.

1. Sarah "Sally" Haden, b. perhaps 1774, died prior to October of 1808, Logan Co, KY.

William Haden's first child was probably Sarah "Sally the elder" born perhaps about 1772-74 in Goochland, if she was a child of his first wife Judith Moorman. This is a marriage record not found, but is a tradition in both the Moorman and Haden families. However, there is also a possibility that Sally was not the eldest and was therefore a child of William Haden's wife, Ann Johnson, whose mother's name was Sarah. Apparently the first two sons were born quite close together, and the first born a years after the marriage  - if Sally wasn't the eldest, she was likely the third child.  Sally married Thomas Proctor as his second wife, probably in Fayette Co KY, circa 1796-1798 - a place where the marriage records for this time period were lost in a fire. There is a great deal of mis-information about Thomas Proctor and their children, but I will deal with that in another post. Thomas married Rebecca Maxwell on 27 Oct 1808, Logan Co KY, so Sally had died after the birth of her third daughter, also named Sally, born circa 1806 and before this marriage to Rebecca Maxwell.  Thomas Proctor died in June of 1841, leaving his will which by its construction, indicates his children from three different marriages. Thomas and Sally Haden Proctor had three daughters and had only three daughters as proved by several documents during the settlement of Sally's father's estate in the 1820's.   The daughters were:
...Mary "Polly" Proctor who married Benjamin Porter, 23 Sep 1819. They had one child, Clark Thomas Porter, b. in May of 1822. Polly died before Oct 1823; perhaps she had died in childbirth.
...Aurora Proctor, born 11 Sep 1804 according to descendants, married William Hoy, 2 Jan 1822 in Madison Co, Mississippi. They had at least eight children. Aurora died sometime after the 1860 census in Madison Co MS.
...Sally J. Proctor, born Jan 1806, married William Whitsitt Ewing. 11 Jun 1825, Logan Co KY and they had a daughter Mary Ellen, named in the settlement of her grandfather's [Reuben Ewing's] estate. William died prior to May of 1827 and Sally married a second time, to William Palmer, 26 Nov 1828, Logan Co KY. Sally died 10 Mar 1849, Warren Co KY.

2. James H. Haden, b. 13 Nov 1776, Goochland Co, VA, d. bef December 1822, Logan Co, KY.

James is seen with the middle initial, but there is no known record of his middle name; possibly it was Harris, since his maternal grandmother was Sarah Harris. His birth date has been passed down in family papers, but the original source lost. James married Rebecca S. [probably Smith] Morton, daughter of William Morton and Elizabeth Hite Smith, probably in Fayette Co KY, as both the Mortons and Hadens were living there. Both families moved to Logan Co, although some of the Morton offspring remained in Lexington. There are found two Morton families in Logan Co - that of this William Morton and the family of William Jordan Morton. These two men and their rather large families of children have been confused although there are deeds of property division after the deaths of both men that clearly state their heirs. James and Rebecca had eight children and their eldest son Jefferson actually married one of the younger daughters of William Jordan Morton.   The children of James H. Haden, named in guardianship records, property divisions and estate disputes, were:
...Jefferson Haden, b. ca 1803, Logan Co KY, d. before March of 1857; married Elizabeth Morton, daughter of William Jordan Morton Sr. and Martha Pryor, on 21 Oct 1824, Logan Co. They had six children.
...Nancy F. Haden, born before 1805, died before 1835; married Josiah Newman 2 Aug 1824, Logan Co and they moved to Madison Co MS prior to her death . They had five children.
...William Morton Haden was born about 1808. He married Eliza R. Newman [her kinship to Josiah not known, but likely there is one]. They married 28 Apr 1828, Jefferson Co, MS. Possibly he had gone to visit his sister Nancy...  They lived in Mississippi for a few years, but returned to Logan Co where the family can be found in the 1860 and 1870 censuses. William and Eliza had seven known children.
...Emily J. Haden, born 27 Nov 1809, died 17 Apr 1892, Logan Co KY, married Joseph Rogers, son of Reuben Rogers and his wife Hannah or Harriet Price, on 2 Sep 1828, Logan Co. They had thirteen children. Emily and Joseph are both buried in Price-Rogers Cemetery in Logan Co.
...Elizabeth H. Haden, born circa 1810, died 9 Jul 1840, married Nathaniel H. Felts, son of Augustine Felts & Phebe Rose, May of 1825, Logan Co. They had at least seven children.
...Mary Morton Haden, b. perhaps 1813, died before March of 1843, married James M. Devlin on 14 Jan 1840, Attala Co, Mississippi. He apparently died soon after the marriage. Mary M. Devlin wrote her will, 25 Feb 1841, leaving all her possessions to her mother; her brother Jefferson to be her executor.
...Harriet S. R. Haden, born 1817, married Richard H. Cook, 30 May 1832, in Logan Co KY. In 1850 they were living in Logan Co and had five children.
...James Haden, born about 1820, married Maria T. Wilson, daughter of Samuel Wilson, 7 Dec 1837, Logan Co. The Ancestral File of the LDS church has perpetuated a date of death for James in 1834, but that is an error. By 1841, James and wife were living in Madison Co, MS, and are in the Koscisuko, Attala Co MS, census in 1850.  In 1859, he was listed as a party to ongoing disputes concerning the inheritance of his parents. No children known.

3. Joseph Haden was born perhaps about 1777; a date of 10 Jan 1777 exists, but like the date of James's birth, no documentation for that date can now be found. The births of most of William's children are reasonable estimates, based on marriage dates, their appearance on tax rolls, etc. - the date in 1777 is a reasonable one.  Joseph died prior to October of 1824 in Washington County, MD, where his wife's family lived. However, his property was in Logan Co KY. Joseph married Eleanor "Ellen/ Nelly" Thomas, daughter of John Thomas and Eleanor Breathed. Eleanor Breathed was a sister to William Breathitt who settled in Logan Co, father of Gov. John Breathitt. The surname remained as "Breathed" in Maryland, although it became "Breathitt" in Kentucky. Since the marriage took place in Logan County, 13 Jan 1813, Ellen must have been visiting her cousins when the couple met and married. They traveled back and forth between Hagerstown, MD and Logan Co, KY several times during their relatively short marriage. In the 1820 census, they were living in neighboring Todd Co, KY but the settlement of Joseph's estate took place in Logan Co. Joseph accepted guardianship of two of his younger brother John's orphaned sons in 1820, guardianship of a young widowed niece in 1822, and administration of his brother James's estate in April 1823, but then his own estate was appraised in October of 1824. Years later, a newspaper article would refer to Joseph's wife as a "Breathitt" confusing the identification of Joseph's wife; Ellen's mother was the Breathitt. Ellen did not remarry after Joseph's death, but made her home with her sons; she died 1856 in Muhlenburg Co KY and is buried on what was the property of her eldest son. Two sons were born to Joseph and Ellen:
...George W. Haden, was born 4 Dec 1813, Hagerstown, Washington Co, MD, and died 10 Nov 1904, Greenville, Muhlenberg Co, KY. George was born at his grandparents home in Hagerstown and later related the oft-told story that he was brought to Kentucky on horseback at six months of age. He married Lucy Slaughter, daughter of James Clayton Slaugter and Amanda Pocahontas Morton [a granddaughter of William Jordan Morton, Sr], 28 Apr 1851, in Logan Co KY. Goerge and Lucy and eight children. He was living in Muhlenberg Co before 1840 and that is where the couple remained for the rest of their lives. They are buried in what is now called Haden Cemetery, Muhlenberg County, on what was George's farm, along with some of their children who died young, his mother and his younger brother.
...Ranney B. Haden, was born 17 Mar 1816, most likely in Logan County as the family is said to have moved over to Todd Co in 1818. Ranney, also seen as Rainey, Ranny, and even more peculiar spellings, is a given name found in the Breathed family back in Maryland; possible it was derived from a surname. There was born in Logan Co in the same year a John M. Haden, or more likely his name was Hadden, who later married Nancy C. Neel - several researchers have assumed this was the second son of Joseph and Ellen, but they were wrong. There was an extensive Hadden family, no relation, also living in Logan Co on the Red River, and on the Butler County line - most became residents of Butler Co when it was formed from Logan. The Neels were neighbors of the Haddens. The various clerks in Logan Co had difficulty with the Haden/Hadden spelling. In the documents of the long-drawn out settlement of Ranney's Haden grandfather, the sons of Joseph, who was by then deceased, are named as George and Ranney. In 1850, Ranney, still a single man, and his mother were living with George in Muhlenberg County. Ranney died in 1855:
Muhlenberg Co KY 1855 Deaths.
Rumsey [sic] Haden 38 Male, Born: Logan Co., KY Father: Joseph Haden; Place of Death: Pond Creek; died May 4 of a Fever ; Occupation: Farmer
Both Ranney and his mother Ellen are buried in the Haden graveyard along with George's family.

William Haden [ca 1751 - 1819]

2010-09-28T11:11:00.000-04:00

William Haden, born in Goochland County, VA, circa 1751, to John Haden and Jean Moseley, was my husband's direct ancestor. William was a grandson of Anthony & Margaret Haden and probably the fourth child, third son, of John and Jean. He may have been named for his maternal grandmother's father - there is an old family letter by Socrates Haden, a great grand nephew, that refers to William as William Douglas Haden, although no other reference to a middle name, or initial, has been found by me. The definitive book on the family of John Haden, John Haden of Virginia, by Dorothy K. Haden, did not have a lot to say about William and his family. She concentrated instead on the Hadens that remained in Virginia.

William is thought to have had a brief first marriage to a Judith Moorman, probably a daughter of Achilles Moorman and Elizabeth Adams. Both the Haden and Moorman families have the tradition of this marriage, but there is no formal proof. The tradition is that Judith died, either in pregnancy, or childbirth, with her first child. There is a possibility that the oldest of the children of William Haden, a daughter Sarah "Sally", may have been Judith's child that did indeed survive.

William Haden married Ann "Nancy" Johson, 31 Oct 1775, Goochland County as recorded in The Douglas Register. Her birth, 21 Nov 1757, and baptism, 25 Mar 1758, were also recorded in The Douglas Register - she was the daughter of Joseph Johnson and Sarah Harris. William and Ann had at least nine recorded children, or ten - depending on whether or not the eldest child was born to Judith Moorman. I will list them in a separate post.

William Haden served in the Revolution.
Historical Register of Virginias in the Revolution; John H. Gwathmey:
Haden, William, Fluvanna Militia, oath as Ensign 6 Nov 1777; oath as 1st Lt. 2 Apr 1779.
He served along with his elder brothers, Anthony and John Moseley Haden, and younger brother Joseph.
Haden, Anthony, Fluvanna Militia. Rec. as Ensign 4 Sep 1777; took oath as Captain 2 Apr 1779.
Haden, John Moseley, Fluvanna Militia. rec. & qualified as Ensign 2 Apr 1779; oath as 1st Lt. 4 Sep 1777 [same day his brothers Anthony & Joseph were made Captains]Haden, Joseph, Fluvanna Militia. Took oath as Captain on 4 Sep 1777.

A century later, in 1878, a first cousin once removed, George Douglas Blakey, wrote a newspaper article about William Haden, referring to him as Captain - whether he actually obtained that rank is doubful.

On 7 August 1777, John Haden of Fluvanna Co, VA, had sold to his son William Haden, 400 acres on Cunngham Creek. In May of 1784, William sold this property back to his parents. This is likely the approximate time his family removed to Kentucky.   His father John divided his properties among his children living in the Virginia area in 1795, and did not include William. An article in History of Kentucky,Illustrated by Battle, Perrin, & Kniffin, states that William Haden left Virginia as early as 1778, settling near Lexington, but I believe that date to be an error - I believe 1788 would have been a closer estimate.

Finding William Haden in Kentucky prior to a tax list in Logan County in 1797 proved to be a bit of a challenge. Lexington is located in Fayette County which lost most of its records in a fire in 1803 and there was a man of similar name - William Haydon, a descendant of Thomas Haydon of Spotsylvania Co VA, also living in the Lexington area. Two of William Haden's oldest children married before the families' arrival in Logan County and both the families they married into also were said to have come to Logan County from Fayette. One of these families, that of William Morton, had members of the family that remained in Lexington, adding credence to the traditions. There are fragments of burnt records from Fayette Co that were filmed by LDS, #2111044-2111046. These records are truly fragments of deeds, but from the fragments I was able to decipher a great deal. Enough to prove that William Haydon actually lived in Lexington and owned considerable property and was a very different person. William Haden, and Thomas Proctor who married William's eldest daughter, lived on land that bordered William Peaches' Military Survey, on or near the South Elkhorn River. Other neighbors included Robert O'Neal, the father of Thomas Proctor's first wife, and Aquilla Gilbert and his son Charles who was married to Jenny Haden, William's first cousin. Most of the deeds that had undamaged dates were from 1790-1795.

William and several of the other families - that of Thomas Proctor, Charles Gilbert, William Morton, father-in-law of William's son James - then moved to Logan County.
First evidence in Logan County is the Logan County Tax List revealing that William Haden had 1000 acres first entered by Jonathan Clark on the Gasper River in 1797. By 1800, he is being taxed on over 1600 acres on the Gasper, Red, and Barren rivers and son James has 400 acres on the Gasper. [This is Jonathan Clark, older brother of George Rogers Clark - there is a suit in the estate records of Logan Co filed 3 Jan 1824 by the children of Jonathan, who died Nov 1811, for division of his lands. Equity Box 11, #226. Several deeds of William's and his sons refer to land adjacent Jonathan Clark's Military Survey.]

Logan County records have survived in great shape - tax rolls, deeds, court records, marriage records - so it has been relatively easy to document the family after their move to that county. The Genealogical Society of Logan County has published a number of abstracts of these records, but caution should be advised. These are abstracts and quite a bit of essential data including names of some of the parties has been omitted, and there are some interpretive problems as well. To get the rest of the story, the microfilm is available from LDS.

Sometime after the Hadens arrived in Logan County, William's wife Ann died. He married again, to Mrs. Sarah "Sally" Johnston/Johnson, on 21 December 1807, in Logan County. There were second cousins of William's with the surname Johnson in Logan County, and it is possible the widow was known to him from back in Virginia, but even a study of the year by year tax records has not revealed an earlier husband for Sarah Johnston. There were a number of Johnston/Johnson families in Logan County and the spelling is virtually interchangeable.  William and Sarah had a single daughter born perhaps about 1810 - she was also named Sarah, called "Sally". Records refer to the child of this last marriage as "Sally the younger".  Now, William's eldest daughter was also named Sally [often called Sally the elder in records of William's estate] and is the child that could have been born of the first wife Judith Moorman. The elder Sally had died prior to October of 1808, leaving three young children. One has to be extremely careful in dealing with the records of these three Sarah "Sally" Hadens and in many cases the abstracters of the records have erred - errors that have been picked up and perpetuated by those who did not read the original versions of the records. William is often seen with only ten children and the younger Sally omitted entirely.

At some point, a lady applied for membership in the DAR, listing a completely different wife for William Haden and a residence in Bedford County, Virginia. She was accepted for membership, although in the DAR database it now shows that additional proof is needed. There was a man in Bedford County - his name is found as William Haiden/Hayden/Headen in various records, although Headen occurs most often. He married a widowed lady named Mary Lemert in 1795, in Bedford County. He had two sons named John and Joseph, apparently his only children by an earlier unknown wife, as they were grown and on tax lists by 1800 in Bedford County. This William Headen wrote his will 20 Aug 1815, proved 25 May 1818, in Bedford County, which makes quite clear his only heirs were his present wife Mary who was to keep what she brought to the marriage, and two sons, John and Joseph. The Bedford county records make quite plain that this family was residing continuously in Bedford county from 1795 through the distribution of the deceased William's property. This is obviously a very different person - did he serve in the Revolution? Possibly, but he is most certainly not the William Haden from Fluvanna Co, Virginia and Logan County, Kentucky.

My husband's ancestor William Haden died intestate in Logan County, Kentucky, probably late in the year 1819.  The property of the deceased was appraised, 20 Jan 1820, Logan Co Will Book B, p.280. James Haden, the eldest son, was granted letters of administration on the estate of Wm Haden, Senr. at the February Term of the Logan County Court, 1820. The 1820 census of Logan County lists the "Exors. of Wm Haiden, dec'd" and 19 slaves.

Not only did William Haden die without a will, but he owned a great deal of property, both land and slaves, to be divided among his heirs according to law.   Four of his eleven children had already died, all leaving minor heirs. He had apparently deeded land to several individuals, but the proper documentation had not been completed before his death - there are deeds listing all the heirs and the guardians of the minor heirs. He left a widow and the minor child, Sally the younger. His widow Sally died in October of 1822, leaving the young daughter truly orphaned, requiring a guardian other than her mother.  The son James himself died late in 1822, also intestate, leaving much unsettled, from both the estates of his father and stepmother. This situation required much legal documentation and several lawsuits that resulted in a wealth of detail concerning William Haden's heirs. The next post will list those heirs.

The Genealogy Happy Dance

2010-09-05T17:45:00.000-04:00

This post has nothing to do with corrections or errors - it actually has nothing to do with anyone related to me.

Here's the situation. My immigrant ancestors came early, very early - before Ellis Island, before Castle Garden, before most recorded passenger lists. So that has been an area of genealogy research that I've not really needed to deal with - there was nothing to find. However, my mother remarried when I was age six and her new husband legally adopted me, changing my name - they went on to have two more daughters. I have researched his families for my half-sisters ...but he was adopted!   So all of this research is perhaps family history, but not true "gene"alogy.   Yes, we do know who he was prior to the adoption and I have also looked at those families.

My adopted Dad's mother had come with her family from Germany as a small child. I knew the names of her parents, I thought, and at least one sister, possibly a second sister. There was a brother born on this side of the water and I had found some information about him.   So here was someone I could actually look for on those passenger lists.

My adopted Dad's surname was McKim [his adopted name ...still with me?]. I called his mother "Kim" since she wasn't really my grandmother. For all intents and purposes, I considered her a grandmother! Her name was Mary Ida (Schniebs) McKim - I was told her parents were Otto and Emilie Schniebs. Some old family letters suggested two sisters, Annie & Mattie - neither of their married surnames were very legible - and the younger brother was definitely Otto.

Through the years, I eventually discovered that Kim's sister Anna, or Annie, had married a man named August Priebe and was able to find them in the censuses, etc. The brother Otto had married twice and had a son by each marriage - he was considerate enough to move to Texas and I found death certificates for him and his family courtesy of the FamilySearch Pilot. However, Otto's death certificate contained a surprise - he listed his father as August Schniebs, not Otto. I even discovered that sometime before 1900, Ida's father had died, and her mother Emilie had remarried to a Henry Waschow. With that information, I located Emilie's grave - in the row just behind Ida McKim and her husband Paul McKim. Emilie Waschow is on the stone, not Schniebs, and neither husband is there.

The 1900 Census revealed some interesting facts. Ida was born Jan 1878 in Germany. She immigrated in 1882 and had lived in this country for 18 years. 12 year old Otto, Ida's brother, was living with Ida and Paul, although his mother Emilie was still living. Actually Emilie was counted twice in 1990 - with her daughter Annie & family in Pope Co, AR, and also in the same location with husband Henry Waschow. The year of immigration varied a year or two as I checked censuses for the family - one time Annie even gave her year of immigration as the same as her husband's which had been several years earlier. But 1882 was more or less the concensus.

Every now and then, I would research the various immigration websites and look for the name Schniebs with assorted spellings, in the early 1880's. I would use Otto, and Emilie spelled different ways. No luck. I even wondered if they had come in at Galveston and the records lost in the hurricane - many German families did come in at that port. And Ida and Paul McKim married in Ft. Smith, AR and lived in the northwest part of Arkansas the rest of their lives.

Last week, I tried again. On Ancestry.com. Someone had submitted a correction for the spelling Schniebs and up popped this family:

On the Passenger list of the "Salier" which arrived from Bremen, Germany, in New York, 11 Jun 1883. They were in Steerage.

Amalie Schniebs, age 39
Anna, age 10
Mathilde, age 8
Ida, age 5

No husband or father with them. But I was inspired. I still wasn't convinced whether or not I was looking for Otto Schniebs or August Schneibs - particularly since a second wife had given the information on that death certificate and I knew that Otto had a brother-in-law named August. But I tried just the given name August. Schniebs was not indexed as Schniebs - who knows what it might have been since I thought I'd tried every possible spelling. And I found him. He had come the year before.

August Schniebs is shown as arriving through Castle Garden, 13 Mar 1882. The ship was the "Oder" and he had come from Bremen, Germany, via Southhampton, England, also in steerage.  I believe his occupation is labourer. He was age 41.

My inspiration kept leading me ...with the age of Mathilde, the fact that she was later called Mattie, and a guess at her husband's surname, I did indeed find Mattie, married to Israel B. Stevinson, living in Hallsville, Boone Co, MO, for many years. The Missouri death certificates are online, too ...and Mattie's father was listed as August Schniebs. So he wasn't Otto!

So although I don't know the whole story... how ever did they get from New York to Arkansas, and why?...I know so much more than I did. I still don't have the deaths of either the sister Annie or of the father August Schniebs. Emilie married Waschow, 12 Oct 1890, in Fort Smith, AR. Otto Schniebs, the youngest child, was born 2 Apr 1888, in Fort Smith. So August Schniebs died sometime around 1888-1890 and is probably buried there in Fort Smith.   I know that Anna Schniebs Priebe was living in 1930 and I have found the death listing of her husband in 1950 and he died still in Pope Co, AR.

Naturalization papers? Never thought I'd be looking for those. Mattie Schniebs Stevinson states she was naturalized in the censuses, Ida and Anna and their mother never do. In fact, Ida began to say she was born in "Oklahoma".  A place I've not found any of this family! I suspect she was not too proud of being German, and I also think she was probably not ever naturalized.

I was having so much fun that I googled the ships. Both were wrecked and sunk prior to 1900, but both had by then been removed from the Germany-USA route. The Oder went down in the Indian Ocean; the Salier, off the coast of South America. Both ships owned by North German Lloyd. They were both iron ships, two masted with a single funnel, with a speed of 13 knots - that's about 15 miles per hour. I even found a picture of the S.S. Oder.

Perhaps I will do a few blogs about the rest of the information I have found on the Schniebs family ...there should be descendants out there somewhere. Please email me direct if you are part of this family.

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FGS Conference in Knoxville

2010-08-24T12:23:00.007-04:00

This Blog will be dedicated to the wonderful time I had in Knoxville at the FGS Conference, Aug 17th - 21st. It was the first time I ever attended a national genealogy conference and I'm not sure why. I've been to state and local conferences many times and attended IGHR seven times. I believe I'm a convert now.

Conference Headquarters

Although it's some 600 miles or so, it's almost easier to drive from northeast Florida to Knoxville than to fly, so that's what I did. I visited friends in north Georgia, and spent a day and a half in Nashville at the Tennessee State Library & Archives, so it was a multi-purpose road trip. Oh, how I loved driving through Tennessee - I know now why so many of those who left Tennessee settled in Arkansas. Much of the northwest quarter of Arkansas where my family settled for four generations looks much like Tennessee. I felt at home.

The classes were a mixed bag with some absolutely wonderful and others, well, not quite on that level. All were good - it's just that the course notes did not necessarily indicate whether or not the class would be for beginners [which I'm not] or for more experienced researchers. As always some of the handouts were better than others - I always hate it when there are no maps in the handouts and then the presenter shows wonderful maps on the overhead - especially when the topic is migration patterns! You should see some of my quick sketches .....not good, not good at all.

You had to be there at just the right time to see this!

I so much enjoyed the exhibits - I used to attend trade shows with my husband. So nice to see the great stuff and talk to vendors. I met several people that I felt I should know through blogs, etc. I was in the hall early and received an invite from Ancestry to attend a small luncheon limited to 12 persons about how we use the Ancestry website and what we like to find on the homepage. Was a fun group - all of us in agreement that although we don't like everything about Ancestry, we certainly cannot get along without it!

I saw a dear friend, Elizabeth Wells, who is coordinator of the Special Collection Department of the Samford University Library in Birmingham, Alabama, at the booth for IGHR - the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research. I have not been able to attend since 2006, and I realized how much I have missed the experience. I credit IGHR with inspiring me to be as accurate and thorough in my research as possible. Perhaps going back to Birmingham next June is a possibility.

There were great prizes at the Conference. I put most of my prize entries in the box at Worldwide Cruises, hoping to win. I went on the RootsMagic Cruise last February and it was a great experience I'd love to repeat - both the genealogy education, and the fun and excursions that had nothing to do with genealogy. However, as a "single" the cruises are a bit out of my price range - at least annually. I won no prizes, however. I did meet and talk to Lynn Polgar, the representative from Worldwide Cruises. Very nice lady, and a new friend, I hope. I did promise her I'd put in a good word for the genealogy cruises next year, so here it is. You can visit the website at Worldwide Cruises and at the top right corner is a banner and link for the Exploring Your Roots Cruise. There are two cruises scheduled for next year.

Dreaming about the Caribbean ...here's one last picture....

RootsMagic Valentine Cruise 2010

Anthony Haden - Children of Son Zachariah Haden

2010-08-11T20:30:00.000-04:00

Zachariah is the last of the proved children of Anthony Haden. I believe he was the youngest son, if not the youngest child. Zachariah married Elizabeth Poore, 27 Jan 1763, Goochland Co VA.   However, a few years earlier, in 1759, he had purchased property in Rowan Co, NC from Richmond Pearson who was probably married to Zachariah's niece. Zachariah never moved to North Carolina, selling this tract back to Pearson in 1784. He owned other lands, likely in the same place, that he gave to his son Jesse in his will, describing the land as "my land in Carolina". If he purchased land in 1759, he was by then at least age 21, or born 1738 or before. Elizabeth Poore was the daughter of Thomas Poore and Elizabeth Moseley - sister to Jean Moseley that had married Zachariah's oldest brother John Haden.

An aside. There were multiple Thomas Poores living in Goochland. They have been confused by researchers.  Another time I will post how I have attempted to sort them.

Zachariah lived on the Haden homeplace in Goochland. The Will of Edward Rice from Goochland Co Deed Book 10, p.67-68, mentions a parcel of land that adjoins Mr. Zachariah Haden's line, given to his son Edward, that he wants sold to meet his debts. 1 May 1769. In 1749, Anthony Haden had bought a tract of land from Edward Rice - this is a tract for which no sale is in the Goochland deed books. The following deed explains what happened to this tract, and also furnished proof that Anthony Haden had died and left a will, likely in Hanover County where so many records have been lost. The word "devised" meant in that time frame, "left by will".

7 Oct 1774

Goochland Deed Book 10, p.491
Zachariah Haden and Elizabeth his wife of Goochland to John Hopkins of said County. For 120£ a tract of land containing 250 acres "in the county of Goochland on the Great Byrd Creek, being formerly purchased by Anthony Haden, in two separate parcels, the one of Thomas Stone Containing two hundred Acres, and the other of Edward Rice Containing Fifty Acres Both granted to the said Anthony by Indentures of Bargain and sale Recorded in Goochland Court and by the said Anthony Devised to his son Zachariah Haden, the present Granter thereof" Begin at Spanish oak on Byrd Creek, on said Edward Rice, line of markt trees in said Hopkins line, on Obediah Daniel, corner red oak on Byrd Creek, down the Byrd according to its meanders. Signed: Zachariah Haden, Elizabeth Haden. Zachariah & Elizabeth acknowledged and she relinquished dower 17 Oct 1774.

Zachariah and Elizabeth did not leave Goochland at the time of the above sale. Zachariah's will was proved in Goochland County in 1792; he had written it ten years earlier. Four children are named in the Will; Elizabeth survived him. Six children were baptized by the Rev. Douglas at St. James Northam Parish so likely two were not living by 1782.

Children of Zachariah and Elizabeth Poore Haden were:

1. Robert D. Haden born 10 Aug 1765, married Mary Miller in Prince Edward Co VA, 3 Nov 1792. They moved to Madison Co, AL about 1811 and on to Mississippi soon after the 1830 census. Robert & Mary had two sons, William M. Haden, and Robert Douglas Haden who served as a representative from Monroe Co MS and later moved to Texas.

2. Thomas Poore Haden was baptized 16 Jun 1767; his birth not recorded. No other records exist; presumably died young.

3. Susannah Haden was born 29 Sep 1768. She married one of the other Thomas Poores, 14 Feb 1786, Goochland. They had a large family of nine children, moving to Woodford County KY before 1795. Susannah is thought to have died about 1834 in Marion Co, MO where she had moved with several of her adult children.

4. James Haden was born 6 Jan 1771. The Rev. Douglas erred when he recorded this birth and baptism. The Douglas Register says "Antony Haden & Eliz: Pore a son named James born Jan:6 1771. Baptized Ap:10 1771."    The Anthony Haden living and having children at this time, was Zachariah's nephew, the eldest son of Zachariah's brother John. Anthony did indeed also have a son named James; however, Anthony's James was born 19 Jun 1782, several years later, and his mother was Mary Ann Crenshaw. Anthony Haden was married three times, but never to a Poore. James is the other child not noted in Zachariah's will and likely died as a child.

5. Elizabeth Haden was born 18 Jun 1773. She married Stephen Murrell, 27 Dec 1793, in Goochland Co. I believe this family went to Tennessee - only two sons have been identified, Zachariah Haden Murrell and Samuel S. Murrell who both are said to have died in Franklin Co TN. Nothing is known about when or where either Stephen or Elizabeth died.

6. Jesse Haden, born 6 Sep 1776, was the youngest child of Zachariah and Elizabeth. He married Elizabeth P. Hopkins, 22 Apr 1801. She was the daughter of William Hopkins and granddaughter of Dr. Anthony Hopkins who had been a neighbor of Jesse Haden's grandfather, old Anthony Haden. Elizabeth's mother was Mary Haden, daughter of John & Jean Mosely Haden. Jesse and his wife were first cousins once removed. Jesse's family moved to Cumberland Co, KY. He is definitely not the Jesse Haden found in Rowan Co NC in this time period, although some have thought he was. Lawsuits involving children of Jesse and Elizabeth concerning Hopkins inheritance make certain Jesse has been property identified. Jesse received land in "Carolina" in his father's will but never moved there. There is a Hopkins book that states Jesse died about 1812 - I believe that is more likely the date he disappeared from records in Virginia. Some of his children gave him power of attorney in Cumberland Co KY in 1826, to collect their Hopkins inheritance in Albemarle Co, VA.

Anthony Haden - Children of Daughter Elizabeth Haden

2010-08-11T19:35:00.000-04:00

Very little is known about Anthony Haden's daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth was old enough to be married and have a child in 1756, so likely born in the 1730's. Apparently Anthony did not have much have confidence in the man she married. Anthony made gifts of slaves to his married daughters and their husbands; however, in the case of Elizabeth, he gave the slave to her daughter, Ann Rea, with the income from the slave's labor to go to Elizabeth. If Ann did not survive, the slave would revert to to Elizabeth's brother Zachariah and he would see that the income went to Elizabeth. Had Anthony given the slave to his married daughter directly, the slave would then have been under her husband's control. You will sometimes see Elizabeth's married name as "Rex" but I believe that is simply a misreading of the old handwriting. I have a copy of the deed and the name surname is without doubt Rea.

This deed is interesting:

Goochland DB 7, p.98

29 May 1756
Anthony Haden of Hanover Co for love goodwill and affection towards my loving Grand Daughter Ann Rea of Goochland Co ….following Articles, One Negro man named Charles, two cows and calves, feather bed & furniture, black leather large trunk. Said Ann Rea paying her Mother Elizabeth Rea the sum of 3£ yearly during her life or the life of the said Negro to be recovered by the said Elizabeth Rea and no other. But in case said Ann Rea dies without issue, then the above Negro and articles I give to my son Zachariah Haden on paying Elizabeth Rea the yearly sum above mentioned. Signed: Anthony Haden. Wit: Stephen Nowlin, Daniel Burks, Obedience (O) Nowlin.
Acknowledged by Anthony Haden. Goochland Co 15 Jun 1756. Teste: Val.Wood GCC

Anthony did not include the name of Elizabeth Rea's husband. Obviously the Rea family lived in Goochland Co. In reading the early deed films of Goochland, there were few references to this surname or to it's likely alternate spelling "Ray". And in fact, I only found two. Both refer to a William Rea/Ray and in the deed found - his wife's name was Elizabeth. I believe there is a reasonable chance that William Rea was Elizabeth's husband.

Additional records of REA in Goochland:

Goochland DB 6, p.218 21 Jul 1752 Appraisal & Inventory of the Estate of William Redford, dec’d. Richard Pleasants, William Rea

Goochland DB 7, p.61 20 Jan 1756. William RAY of Goochland to Ambrose Hundley of Hanover. 40#’s North side James River. Maj John Bollings line, John Burks, Joseph Woodson, Ebenezar Adams Dec’d. 150 acres part of 300 acres granted to James Nowlin by patent 12 Mar 1739. Signed: William REA
Wit: Geo Colebrooke, Thos. Pleasants. Ro. Abraham.
Acknowledged by William REA. Wife ELIZABETH privately examined and she agreed.
[Note that William Rea sold this tract to Ambrose Hundley. Elizabeth’s brother Joseph is believed to have married Elizabeth Hundley. I've never found a connection, but there were not many Hundley families.]

It is also possible that William Rea, if indeed he was Elizabeth Haden's husband, died between the sale of this tract of land, January of 1756, and the gift of the slave to Elizabeth's daughter in July of 1756. Anthony perhaps used the gift of the slave to aid his widowed daughter, doubting her own ability to manage. However, I believe the first scenario is the most reasonable and the most likely.

I believe that the Rea family most likely left Goochland. So many members of the Haden family remained in the area, surely had the Reas remained more details would have found their way into the family records.