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Friday, November 18, 2011

1896 :: Birth of Little Helen



On this date in our family history . . . the 18th day of November . . . in the year 1896 . . . probably somewhere in Maine . . . a baby girl is born . . .

She is raised as Helen F. Brackett, and is said to be the daughter of Peter Brackett (1838-1927) and his wife, Elizabeth J. "Lizzie" Merrill (1841-1911). At the time of Helen's birth, Peter is 58, and Lizzie is 55 years of age.

For many years, it was believed that Peter and Lizzie were the birth-parents of Helen's older "sister" -- Eva May Smith (1874-1936) -- until the family lore from Maine was passed on to the Texas descendants that Eva May was actually the daughter of Lizzie's younger sister, Phoebe (1848-1927). Eva May is a maternal great-grandma of the Keeper of this blog.

Even before receipt of this info -- due to the age of Peter and Lizzie at the time of Helen's birth, as well as the gap of almost 23 years between the birth of their two "daughters" (and only children) -- there were questions about Helen's true parentage.

She is enumerated on the 1900 census as 3-year-old Hellen Brackett. And there is a small grave-marker for this little one sitting beside the tombstone of Peter and Lizzie. Engraved on it are the following words :-


Helen F. Dau. of
Peter & Lizzie J. Brackett
Nov. 18, 1896.
May 31, 1906.
Darling, we miss you.

That is all we know at this time. Little Helen needs to be researched further . . . her findagrave memorial page


begotten and not forgotten . . .


Tuesday, November 01, 2011

1946 :: Did NOT arrive at destination


On this date in our family history . . . the 1st day of November . . . in the year 1946 . . . William Allec Hilton and his seven crewmates boarded a B-17 Flying Fortress at Capodichino AirField in Naples, Italy, and flew out, heading for Bovington, England . . . they never arrived . . . the following areas were diligently searched . . . Isle of Corsica, Ligurian Sea, Tyrrhenian Sea, Swiss Alps, Frech Alps, Rhone Valley to Paris (over an area 75 miles wide), an area 75 miles wide from Paris to Bovington . . . all available American aircraft in Italy, France, and some aircraft in Germany conducted this search . . . aircraft from RAF also aided in the search from Bovington to Paris . . . French aircraft also aided in the search in Southern France . . . these searches continued for 18 days . . . they were futile . . . more than nine months later . . . on the 25th day of July 1947 . . . a patrol of the 99th Infantry Battalion Alpine discovers the remains of the aircraft on the mountain Aiguille Glacier, a glacier at 3750 meters, 15 miles southwest of the summit of Mont Blanc . . . some aircraft debris and human remains identify the device . . . the causes of the accident appear to be related to bad weather . . . at the scene of the accident, a propeller blade stuck in the rock where the plane crashed serves to climbers as a place to hang their ropes . . . this William is a son of Isaac Cleveland Hilton (1888-1947) and Louisa Hooper Hilton Roberts nee MUSTON (1893-1973) . . . and he is a 1st cousin twice removed to the Keeper of this geneablog . . . visit William's findagrave page to view the monument at Arlington National Cemetery listing the names of the members of this crew . . . the recovered remains were buried here on 10 October 1947 . . . FYI . . . some of this information was translated by Google from a French internet page . . .

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Remembering Aunt Gladys

 
On this date in our recent family history . . . the 18th day of September . . . in the year 2007 . . . Gladys Coreen Taylor nee Muston dies in Waco, McLennan County, Texas . . . she is the sixth of seven daughters born to Charlie & Emma Patience (Nettles) Muston (my great-grandparents) . . . and the last one surviving . . . Aunt Gladys is laid to rest beside her husband, John A. Taylor (1909-1990), in the Lexington City Cemetery in Lee County, Texas . . . one of the older sisters of my Aunt Gladys is Ima Lois Pounders nee Muston (1906-1999), who is my paternal grandma . . . in the late 1950s and early 1960s, our little family would drive down the road to Lexington (from Rockdale) on Sunday afternoons to visit with Grandma (Emma) Muston, who lived right across the street from Aunt Gladys and Uncle John . . . so the Sunday visits always included them, too . . . remembering . . . 

Thursday, September 15, 2011

1871 :: Letter to Aunt Amanda



On this date in our extended family history . . . the 15th day of September . . . in the year 1871 . . . Miss Della Vick of Lexington, Texas sat down to pen a letter to her Aunt Amanda back home in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi . . . and makes mention of the fact that . . . 


I went to the barbecue in Lexington last Saturday was two weeks ago. There was a good many people there but we came home and went to Prospect to preaching that night. It is four miles. There was five joined that night and among them was Mollie Nettles used to be Mollie West.

FYI, this Mollie just happens to be my 2nd great-grandma! . . . and this is just one in a series of letters to Aunt Amanda by kith 'n kin who left a war-ravaged Mississippi following the years of the war between the states . . . hoping for a better life in Texas . . .



Monday, August 29, 2011

2005 :: Hurricane Katrina



Norman and Carol Ann (Mulholland) Parr are the late in-laws of one of my New England cousins -- actually a 2nd cousin once removed. I re-established contact with cousin Kristin in 2009 by way of Facebook, after basically being out-of-touch with that entire branch of the family for an entire decade. She had posted a note on her Facebook page in memory of her deceased in-laws (a family story previously unknown to me). I did some research on Google, and found numerous articles mentioning the Parrs, who had apparently been invited to share the home of friends in the face of the impending storm. I also found tributes posted by their son, who shared these photos of his parents. Remembering with and for them . . .



Monday, August 15, 2011

1836 :: Sublett Nominates Sam Houston


On this day in 1836 . . . in the extended branches of our family tree . . . Philip Sublett nominates Sam Houston for president of the Republic of Texas. Sublett, a Kentucky native, had participated in the battle of Nacogdoches in 1832 and was a delegate to the conventions of 1832 and 1833. In 1835 he was elected chairman of the San Augustine Committee of Safety and Correspondence. On October 6 he submitted a resolution appointing Houston commander-in-chief of the forces of San Augustine and Nacogdoches until the Consultation should meet. Sublett was commissioned lieutenant colonel in October and in December 1835 was present at the siege of Bexar. He returned to his farm east of San Augustine after the battle of Concepción. Sam Houston resided in Sublett's home while recuperating from wounds received at San Jacinto. Sublett died in San Augustine on February 25, 1850.

FYI . . . Sublett was a brother-in-law to our Mahala, who is a 3rd great-grandma to the Keeper of this family history blog.



Sunday, August 14, 2011

Sentimental Sunday :: Meadows of Heaven





. . . . . . . . . .

A picture is a poem without words.
Horace

. . . . . . . . . . 

Dear Photograph . . .
oh, how I wish he could ride right out of your borders
and into that pasture again . . .
thank you for holding onto that moment in time . . .

. . . . . . . . . . 

In the meadow of life
My acre of heaven . . .
In a place called home
Sailing the waves of past . . .

Rocking chair without a dreamer
A wooden swing without laughter
Sandbox without toy soldiers
Yuletide without the Flight . . .

Meadows of Heaven . . .
by
Nightwish

. . . . . . . . . . 

Over the pallid sea,
and the silvery mist of the meadows.
Silently one by one,
in the infinite meadows of heaven,
Blossomed the lovely stars,
the forget-me-nots of the angels.
Longfellow

Black Sheep Sunday :: 1872 Letter



On this date in our extended family history . . . the 14th day of August . . . in the year 1872 . . . Joseph Vick of Lexington, Texas sat down to pen a letter to his Aunt Amanda back home in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi . . . this is just one in a series of letters to Aunt Amanda by kith 'n kin who left a war-ravaged Mississippi following the years of the war between the states . . . hoping for a better life in Texas . . .



Lexington Texas
Aug 14th 1872

Dear Aunt

I take my seat this evening to write you a few lines to let you know that we are not all well at this ? I had a chill abot a weak ago Mat has been having some chills but is not now Belle had one today for the first . . . Almost everybody out here has had some chills this summer but there is but very little fatal sickness I dont think that I have heard of a single case.

Crops are very good out here that is cotton I dont think corn is alltogether as good as it was last year cotton is better some people have gone to picking but it is so warm we will not commence until next week there is some ? worms? out here or was about a week ago but they have all disapeared and cotton is doing fine now

There was a man killed out here the other day named birdie by his brotherinlaw named lackey Lackey went to Birdie to borrow a horse to ride to town birdie had just been riding his horse and had came home and fed him he told lackey as soon as his horse got done eating he have him lackey went off some ? and got a horse went to town got drunk went back to birdie and told im he wanted a settlment birdie told him we didn't know there was any when lackey taken him by collar and birdie struck him lackey had his knife in his hand and struck him one lick in the stomach . . . and cut his insides out and then broke and run birdie had a younger brother in the house he got a gun and ? two or three caps at lackey but could not get it to shoot until he had got about one hundred yards don't know whether he hit him or not that was about night and on the next night he lackey stole a horse from his brotherinlaw Jack? Arendal? and left for parts unknown he is a desparate fellow and so was birdie They were both from Miss I think if lackey had been killed to I think the people would have been glad of it

Well I must close write soon and all the news give my love to all yourself included
your affectionate nephew

Joseph H. Vick

Please excuse bad writing and spelling.




Monday, August 08, 2011

Fun in the Sun



This is one of the family photos I would luv to be able to use for The Family Curator's Genealogy Photo Challenge for World Photography Day . . . first problem is the location is unknown . . . second minor problem is that it was taken somewhere in New England, presumably on the coast of Maine . . . and I'm in Texas! . . . anyway . . . 


The photo I took for today for my photo-a-day blog was used to create a background texture that just called out for a beach collage of some sort . . . so I put this one together . . . the mini postcards show scenes from Peaks Island . . . and the young girl with the long dark curls is my maternal grandma, Elizabeth Marilla Henry nee Smith (1912-1932) . . . the names of her friends are not known . . . you are welcome to use this texture for a project of your own . . . just let me know so I can see what ideas you come up with!






Thursday, July 21, 2011

1826 :: Expulsion of Elisha Roberts


Colonel Stephen F. Austin
Nacogdoches.
July 21, 1826


SIR,- After an absence of several months from this province to the United States, where I was detained much longer than I had anticipated in consequence of continued and serious indisposition, I returned to this place about the 1st of April last, and much to my astonishment and mortification found everything in disorder and confusion in this section of the province. . . . We have just heard that he [James Gaines] has decreed the expulsion of Judge Williams and Mr. Elisha Roberts [*], two of the most wealthy, intelligent, industrious, and useful citizens in the whole province. . . .

B.W. Edwards


The above information was found at
Haden Edwards & The Fredonian Rebellion 1826-1827

*Elisha Roberts is a 4th great-grandpa of the Keeper of this family history blog

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

1842 :: Edwards kith or kin?




From September 28, 1840, to November 18, 1851, Nicholas Adolphus Sterne kept a diary of his daily activities, which is a valuable source of information on the period of the Republic of Texas (1836-1846). The names of some of our kith 'n kin are scattered through the pages of his diary . . .




On this date in our extended family history . . . the 13th day of July . . . in the year 1842 . . . Nicholas Adolphus Sterne (ca. 1801-1852) penned the following words in his diary . . . 


Wednesday the 13th Send off Eastern Mail, Mr A. McDonald his Lady, and Mr Miss Edwards, a niece and nephew of Mrs Elisha Roberts arrived, spend the day very agreably,-- made a Sale to Moses L. Patton of the Land I purchased from Jose Ygnacio Ybarbo's Heirs, got my note for $71.00 I gave Doctor Starr, also a receipt I gave Patton for $90.00— spoke to Ned Taliafero respecting some Land, he wants to purchase of me on the Loco, but it is no go, as he wants it on a credit--
Thursday the 14th July 1842 fine weather, done some business at the Office, gave Mr McDonald a Ball in the Evening was well attended, and every body enjoyed themselves--


  • Mr. A. McDonald his Lady = Alexander McDonald (ca. 1814-1852) and his wife, Margaret S. Roberts (1822-1892), who is the youngest sister of my 3rd great-grandma, Mahala Lee Sharp Hall nee Roberts (1816-1885)
  • Mrs. Elisha Roberts = my 4th great-grandma, Martha Roberts nee Gill (1781-1854) aka Patsy Roberts

 
My still unanswered* question is . . .
"Who is this niece and nephew with the last name of Edwards?"

We have not been able to find them on either the ROBERTS side or the GILL side of the family. This question has already been posed (in 2006) to a study group composed of descendants of George Roberts and Rhoda Payne . . . who are Elisha's parents . . . and my 5th great-grandparents . . . with no results so far . . .


. . . . . . . . . .

*UPDATE . . . April 2019 . . . These Edwards kinfolk are apparently two of the children of Patsy's sister, Hester / Ester Gill, who married Robert Edwards in 1819 in Louisiana . . .


Monday, May 23, 2011

1890 :: Death of Col. John T. Coffee


On this date in our extended family history . . . the 23rd day of May . . . in the year 1890 . . . Colonel John Trousdale Coffee dies in Georgetown, Williamson County, Texas . . . and is buried in the IOOF Cemetery in that town . . . this CSA Colonel is the husband of Eunice Margaret Amelia Vontress Coffee nee Allen (1838-1919) . . . who is a granddaughter of Elisha and Patsy (Gill) Roberts . . . who are 4th great-grandparents of the Keeper of this family history blog . . .



Text not available

Historical Register and Dictionaryof the United States Army
From Its Organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903
By Francis Bernard Heitman



Tuesday, May 10, 2011

1902 :: Father Dies from Knife Wound



On this date in our extended family history . . . late in the day on the 10th of May in the year 1902 . . . John Connell, Jr. bleeds to death from a knife wound following an unfortunate domestic disagreement with his son and namesake, John Connell III . . . the decedent is a 1st cousin four times removed to the Keeper of this family history blog . . . the Connell killing and subsequent legal proceedings are mentioned in numerous issues of the Dallas Morning News . . . the following biography is from A Memorial and Biographical History of McLennan, Falls, Bell, and Coryell Counties (Chicago: Lewis, 1893; rpt., St. Louis: Ingmire, 1984) . . .



J. H. Connell, a capitalist of Belton, was born in San Augustine county, Texas, when Texas was a province of Mexico, April 3, 1833, son of John H. and Matilda T. (Roberts) Connell, natives of Pennsylvania and Kentucky respectively.

John H. Connell's father, a native of Ireland, came to America at an early day and settled in Pennsylvania, where he followed his trade, that of blacksmithing. John H., leaving home when a youth, came in 1826 to Texas and engaged in the mercantile business near Austin, where he was married in 1830. Mr. Connell came to Texas with Sterling C. Robertson, and both secured large tracts of land.

The Roberts family were also among the pioneers of this section of the country. Elisha Roberts [4th great-grandpa of the Keeper of this blog] went from Kentucky to Louisiana in 1819, and in 1820 came to San Augustine, Texas. Elisha Roberts was one of the earliest settlers within the confines of the State.

Mr. Connell died at Viesca in 1834. He was truly a self-made man, and during his lifetime acquired considerable property. Belton is located on a portion of the land on which Mr. Connell once lived. Mrs. Connell having donated to the county of Bell 120 acres, in 1850, on which to establish the county seat. John H. Connell and his wife were the parents of two children: Josephine, wife of Anderson Hamblin, both being now deceased; and J. H., the subject of our sketch.

After the death of Mr. Connell, Mrs. Connell was married in 1835, to Samuel T. Allen, of New York, and their union was blessed in the birth of two children: Thomas R., deceased; and Eunice A., widow of Colonel John T. Coffee, of Missouri. Samuel T. Allen was killed by the Indians at the three forks of the Trinity, in November, 1838, and in the fall of 1847 Mrs. Allen married his brother, Thomas J. Allen. Her death occurred April 3, 1879, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Coffee, in Georgetown, Williamson county, this state.

The subject of our sketch was reared amid the frontier scenes of what is now San Augustine, Milam, Williamson and Galveston counties. In 1854 he went to California, making the trip from Galveston by water; spent two years in the southern part of the Golden State, and while working in the mines lost his health. He was, however, financially successful. Returning home in the latter part of 1855, he engaged in farming and stock-raising in Texas up to the year 1861. The war coming on in that year, he joined the Confederate forces; was in the Trans-Mississippi Department, and participated in numerous skirmishes and battles.

Returning to his home in the latter part of May, 1865, Mr. Connell set about repairing his wasted fortune, and with renewed energy engaged in his old occupation of farming and stock-raising. He continued his operations in Williamson county till January 28, 1884, when he rented his farm and moved to his property in Belton. He owns considerable valuable real estate, his Belton home place consisting of some 250 acres adjoining town. He has a handsome residence, an intelligent family, and is comfortably situated to enjoy life, having practically retired from active business.

Mr. Connell was married September 15, 1869, to Miss Jennie Howlett, a native of Texas, born in Milam county, October 5, 1844, daughter of James and Sarah (Moore) Howlett, natives of Kentucky and Tennessee respectively. Both the Howletts and the Moores were among the early pioneers of Texas.


Mr. and Mrs. Connell are the parents of five children: John H., Jr., T.E., Susan, May T. and Albert L. T.E. is now a student at the State University of Texas. Mr. Connell and his wife are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and are held in high esteem by all who know them.



Sunday, May 08, 2011

Sentimental Sunday :: Mommy and Me




Sixty years ago today . . . on Mother's Day in the year 1951 . . . the beautiful young woman in this bricolage was about three months pregnant with the little one shown in the photos . . . the rose in the background is a 1932 antique rose called the Fairy Rose . . . the year of origin of that rose is the same year this young Mother was born in Essex County, Massachusetts . . . she was living in Texas (the home state of her Father, and his Mother and maternal Grandpa before him) by the time she started school, and has been here since . . . the Keeper of this family history blog is the little one in the photos . . . she is the first of four lucky children who are privileged to call this lovely woman Mom . . . Happy Mother's Day, Mom . . . luv you bunches . . . and thank you . . . for everything! . . .



Sunday, May 01, 2011

Sunday's Obituary :: 1939 Mollie Nettles



Rockdale Reporter
Rockdale, Texas
May 4, 1939


Monday, May 1 at 1:10 p.m. marked the passing of one of earth's dearest and sweetest little mothers, Mrs. M.A. Nettles. She was born near Starkville, Mississippi, October 24, 1852, daughter of Richard and Sarah Mildred (Carter) West, and christened Mary Annie, but known practically all her life as Mollie. She was nine years old when the Civil War began and many were the interesting tales she told concerning it. In 1869 her family, together with several other families, came to Texas in wagons drawn by oxen and settled in and near Lexington.

The following year she married Joseph H. Nettles who had a woodworking shop in connection with the Hester Blacksmith Shop. They soon moved to Williamson County, but a few years later moved back to Lee County and bought a home in the Cole Springs community, near Tanglewood, where a son, Will, still lives. On May 1, 1890, her husband passed to his reward, preceding her by forty-nine years to the day. Of the ten children born to this union, six survive her, two boys and two girls dying in infancy. The surviving children are --




She had lived on the home place with her eldest son, Will, until February of this year, when she went to Lott to make her home with her youngest child, Joe, and family. It was here, following an illness of bronchial pneumonia, that she passed to her reward. The last six or eight months of her life was spent mainly in bed, but she was given loving and careful attention and was a sweet and patient sufferer. From the wisdom of her years she gave counsel, advice and help to all who sought it, and truly will she be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.

All of her children, all but five of her twenty-seven grandchildren, and many of her forty-four great-grandchildren were present for the last rites, besides a great host of other relatives and friends. Services were conducted at the Baptist Church in Tanglewood Tuesday afternoon, May 2, 1939, by the Rev. O.J. Morgan, a former pastor of hers. She was a member of the Baptist church, joining in her early girlhood. Interment was in the family plat at the Tanglewood cemetery with Phillips & Luckey of Rockdale in charge. Those coming from Lott for the funeral were --

  • Mr. and Mrs. Ed Phillips
  • Dr. and Mrs. Patton
  • Mr. and Mrs. Luther Reaves and daughter, Dorothy
  • Mrs. Claud Day
  • Mrs. Grover Stucky
  • D. Watkins
  • Judge Smith
  • Pat Carter and son, Pat Jr.
  • Dewey Wright
  • Miss Annie Lou Gibbs
The last named was her constant attendant after moving to Lott, and truly a grand-daughter could have been no sweeter to her own grandmother than Annie Lou was to Grandma, who lovingly called her my girl. Present also was Mrs. Richard Mundine Sr. of Taylor, an old friend of the family.



Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Tech Tuesday :: Kinship Chart


This post is all because of Joan . . . who posted the following comment on my photo blog . . . Doggonit, Vickie, even your charts are works of art. I am wishing that you were my muse. . . . then it dawned on me that there is no reason to have a plain black and white kinship chart hanging there, when I can have a vintage looking chart that is actually pleasing to the eye . . . so I put one together this a.m. . . . and here's a copy for any of y'all who want to use it . . . and if you would also like to have a plain black and white PDF version, just send me an email asking for the PDF relationship chart, and I'll send one to you . . . benotforgot at gmail dot com . . . FYI . . . the accompanying text is freshened up a bit from a post that I originally shared more than ten years ago on my password-protected sites at myfamily . com [retired] . . .






Click on the above chart to open an enlarged view in a separate window.


  • Your first cousins are those people in your family who have two of the same grandparents as you, i.e., they are the children of your aunts and uncles.
  • Your second cousins are the people in your family who have the same great-grandparents as you, but not the same grandparents.
  • Your third cousins have the same great-great-grandparents, and so on.


When the word removed is used to describe a relationship, it means that the two related people are from different generations.
  • You and your first cousins are in the same generation (both two generations younger than your grandparents).
  • Your mother's first cousin is only one generation younger than those same grandparents, so your mother's first cousin is your first cousin, once removed.


To identify the exact degree of kinship between any two related people . . .
  1. Identify the common ancestor of the two people, i.e., find the direct ancestor of individual #1 who is also a direct ancestor of individual #2. The box in the upper left corner of the chart is that common ancestor.
  2. Across the top row of the chart, find the relationship of individual #1 to the common ancestor.
  3. Down the left edge of the chart, find the relationship of individual #2 to the common ancestor.
  4. Read down the column of the individual #1 and across the chart on the row of individual #2. Where the two rows intersect is the box which identifies their relationship.


For example . . . for the Common Ancestor, I am using Christopher Clark who was born in 1681. By the middle of the 19th century . . .

  • Christopher's daughter, Agnes, has a great-great-grandson by the name of Samuel (1835-1910) . . .
  • Agnes' sister, Elizabeth, has a great-great-granddaughter by the name of Josephine (1842-1899) . . . this Josephine is my 2nd great-grandma, who had lived in Milam Co. TX (where I was born & raised) for more than two decades by the time of her death in 1899 . . .


Since Christopher was the g-g-g-grandpa of both Josephine and Samuel, this puts them both in Column #5 (as his 3rd great-grandchildren) . . . which makes them 4th cousins to each other . . .
As the 2nd great-granddaughter (me) of the 2nd great-granddaughter (Josephine) of Christopher's daughter, Elizabeth, I am the 7th-great-granddaughter of Christopher . . . this puts me in column #9 . . .


If you follow Samuel's Column #5 down until it intersects with my Column #9, you will find that I am the 4th cousin four times removed to this Samuel . . . who was sometimes known to use the AKA of Mark Twain . . .


I assume most of y'all use some type of family tree program that computes your relationships for you . . . I know I do . . . but I still like to keep this chart handy . . . for doing simple computations . . . or for verifying that I am remembering a relationship correctly . . . FYI . . . the following explanation of Grand and Great was found somewhere on the WWW . . . more than 10 years ago . . . I like the way it explains the greats and the grands . . .


  • GRAND . . . Grand is a prefix added to represent one generation of separation . . . the father of your father, for instance, is still a father to you . . . however, there is one generation between the two of you . . . so he is a grandfather to you . . . and you are a grandchild to him . . . this term is most commonly applied to fathers and mothers . . . but it can also be used to define other relationships . . . such as a Grand Uncle or Grand Aunt . . . i.e., a brother or sister of your grandparent . . .
  • GREAT . . . Great is a prefix that is added to represent two generations of separation . . . if Grand is one generation of separation, then Great-grand (i.e. great-grandmother) is two generations of separation . . .
    For every generation of separation above one (Grand), there is a Great added to represent each additional generation of separation . . . your father's grandfather is 3 generations separated from you . . . so he would be your Great-Great-Grandfather . . . the Grand and two Greats represent the 3 generations of separation . . .

    This prefix can also be used to define other two-plus generational relationships, like Great Aunt, or Great Uncle . . . as noted, the Grand is more commonly left out (Great Aunt instead of Great Grand Aunt) when referring to relationships other than father and mother . . .

    It is common, once you go beyond a Great-Great-Grandparent, to refer to the Greats by number . . . for instance, your Great-Great-Great-Grandfather would be called your 3rd Great-Grandfather . . . and written as G3-Grandfather, GGG-Grandfather or something similar . . .

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Blogging since 1999



Today (16 March 2011) marks the 3rd anniversary of the day I started blogging here on blogger as benotforgot . . . two years ago, on my 2nd blogiversary, I wrote about some of my blog firsts in THIS post . . . but . . . if you go by the following definition of a blog, I guess you could say I've been blogging since 1999 . . .



blog - website that allows users to reflect, share opinions, and discuss various topics in the form of an online journal while readers may comment on posts. . . . Entries typically appear in reverse chronological order.

1999 is the year I started setting up various free surname-specific sites at myfamily . com* . . . and I was basically doing there exactly what I do now . . . when myfamily . com* started charging for their sites a few years later, most of my individual blogs were allowed to sort of fade away . . . sponsors did step forward for a few of those sites . . . and the links below show which of my surname-specific blogs at myfamily . com* are still [as of 2011] alive and well . . . [*myfamily . com is defunct as of 2014]






  • rockdale . myfamily . com
    27 April 1999
    posted 1st news item
  • robertsgill . myfamily . com
    15 June 1999
    posted 1st news item
  • nettleswest . myfamily . com
    26 June 1999
    posted 1st news item
  • usmississippians . myfamily . com
    28 June 1999
    posted 1st news item
  • benotforgot . myfamily . com
    04 January 2000
    posted 1st news item
  • rhs1970 . myfamily . com
    30 July 2000
    posted 1st history item
  • journal . myfamily . com
    08 January 2001
    posted 1st news item
  • gonetotexas . myfamily . com
    11 September 2001
    posted 1st news item
  • bencoracing . proboards . com
    August 2003 is when I started "blogging" at proboards to keep track of my late husband's racing results [retired]
  • benotforgot . proboards . com
    January 2004 [retired]
  • gonetotexas.proboards.com
    October 2004 is when I set up a proboards site for the purpose of posting about my genealogy on a site that was NOT password-protected . . .
  •  




  • benotforgot.blogspot.com
    aka benotforgot.com
    16 March 2008 is when I started posting on this blog about some of my ancestors . . .
  • benotforgot-calendar.blogspot.com
    14 March 2009
  • rockdale-myhometown.blogspot.com
    24 April 2009
  • benotforgot-journal.blogspot.com
    16 January 2010
  • benotforgot-photos.blogspot.com
    07 January 2011

So . . . while I've only been here on blogger for four years now . . . by the definition given above, I've actually been blogging for 13 years . . . with no plans to stop any time soon . . . e-y'all later . . . Vickie E. . . .



Wednesday, March 02, 2011

1936 :: Texas Centennial




Seventy-five years ago today . . . on this date in Texas history . . . the 2nd day of March . . . in the year 1936 . . . celebrations are being held across the state in honor of the 100th anniversary of Texas Independence.


My Mom . . . the daughter of a long line of Texans on her father's side, and an even longer line of Mainers on her mother's side . . . was four years old . . . and living in Massachusetts with her widowed father and maternal grandma . . . her paternal grandparents were living in Runnels County, Texas . . . she had no living great-grandparents . . . Mom would take up permanent residence in Texas sometime before 1940.


My father . . . whose ancestors had started arriving in Texas ca. 1860 . . . was an eight-year-old living in Lee County, Texas . . . with his parents and one sister and a brand-new baby brother . . . his widowed maternal grandma and his paternal grandparents were living in the same area, as well as one great-grandma . . . a great-grandpa was living in Coke County, Texas at the time . . .




FYI . . . the background image is a free blogger template . . . the Centennial banner is scanned from a 1936 Centennial newsletter in my private collection . . . the postage stamps were issued in 1936 (Centennial) and 1945 (statehood) . . . the postcard caption for the lighted night scene says . . . The lagoon and fountain at night, Texas Centennial Exposition, Dallas . . . the back of the same card says . . . The Lagoon and Fountain at Night, all artificially built, with its ever-changing colors and reflections, shows what can be accomplished by mere man with just a little effort. . . . the card was printed by the Dallas Post Card Co., Dallas, Texas . . .


Saturday, February 26, 2011

1849 :: Birth of Jeff Henry



On this date in our extended family history . . . the 26th day of February . . . in the year 1849 . . . James Jefferson Henry is born in Cedar County, Missouri . . . this "Jeff" Henry is a 1st cousin four times removed to the Keeper of this family history blog . . . and while Googling for information about my Henry kith 'n kin, I found the following information at Google Books . . . from History of Kentucky by Charles Kerr, William Elsey Connelley, Ellis Merton Coulter . . . 


Jefferson Henry may consistently be designated as the honored dean of the bar of Green County, and during the course of his long and successful professional career he has been identified with much of the important litigation in the various courts of this section of the state.


Though he is not a native of Kentucky, he is a scion of one of the old and honored families of Green County, this state, his paternal grandfather, Belfield Henry [my 4th great-grandpa], a native of Virginia, having been comparatively a young man when he came to Kentucky and numbered himself among the pioneer settlers of Green County, where his death occurred a number of years prior to the birth of the subject of this review. He became one of the extensive land-holders and farmers of the county, and prior to the Civil war owned a large number of slaves. He was of Scotch-Irish lineage, and the original representatives of the family in America came from Ireland to Virginia in the Colonial era of our national history. Belfield Henry married Miss Elizabeth Kirtley [my 4th great-grandma], likewise a native of Virginia, and both were well advanced in years at the time of their deaths.


Jefferson Henry, who is familiarly known by the abbreviated name of "Jeff," was born in Cedar County, Missouri, on the 26th of February, 1849, and is a son of James L. and Margaret (Brownlee) Henry, both natives of Green County, Kentucky, where the former was born in 1811 and the latter in 1810. The father died at Canehill, Arkansas, in 1871, and the mother subsequently passed to the life eternal at Burnet, Texas.


James L. Henry was reared and educated in Green County, and here became a successful agriculturist and stock-grower. In 1840 he removed to Cedar County, Missouri, where he became the owner of a large farm estate, including a stock ranch, and where he maintained a force of thirty or forty slaves in his extensive operations as an agriculturist and stock-grower.


He continued his residence in Missouri until 1862, when he removed with his family to Grayson County, Texas, where he became the owner of a large ranch near Kentuckytown, and where he took his slaves, who there remained with him until the close of the Civil War, which effected their emancipation.


In 1865, shortly after the close of the war, Mr. Henry removed to Canehill, Arkansas, with the primary object of giving his children the advantages of Canehill College, and there he remained until his death, in 1871. He was an uncompromising advocate of the principles of the democratic party, was more or less active and influential in political affairs in Kentucky, Missouri and Texas, and served as county judge of Cedar County, Missouri, from 1840 until 1860. Both he and his wife were zealous members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Of their children . . .
  • the eldest was C. M., who was a prominent and extensive agriculturist in the vicinity of Canehill, Arkansas, for many years prior to his death, which there occurred when he was seventy-three years of age. He served as colonel of a Confederate regiment in the Civil war, near the close of which he received the brevet rank of brigadier general.
  • Elizabeth became the wife of James T. Moore and both passed the remainder of their lives in Texas, where Mr. Moore was a prosperous farmer. He was captain of his company in a Confederate regiment in the Civil war, and was severely wounded in an engagement at Froggy Bayou, Louisiana.
  • Martha died at Burnet, Texas, when forty years of age.
  • Malvina became the wife of Dr. A. J. Culberson, a leading physician at Burnet, Texas, and there her death occurred.
  • Jefferson, immediate subject of this review, was the next in order of birth.
  • Malvina [sic] became the wife of William E. Culberson, and both died at Burnet, Texas, where he had been engaged in a mercantile business for a long period.
  • William was drowned in a cloudburst in Wyoming when twenty-five years of age.
  • T. A., who was for many years successfully identified with the banking business, died in 1919, at Red Fork, Oklahoma.
The above record shows that the subject of this sketch is now the only surviving member of this family of children.


The rural schools of Missouri and Texas afforded Jefferson Henry his preliminary education, and after the removal of the family to Canehill, Arkansas, he there attended the high school two years and the Canehill College for an equal period.


In the meanwhile he had applied himself also to the study of law, and on the 22d of January, 1872, he was admitted to the bar of Kentucky. In that year he established himself in practice at Greensburg, where he has since continued as one of the leading members of the Green County bar and where he has long controlled a large and representative law business, which has extended into both the civil and criminal departments of law and recorded the winning of many court victories of important order.


Mr. Henry is a man who has ever been a student, and his reading and study have covered a remarkably wide range, with the result that his cultural powers are of the finest type and his intellectual horizon very wide. At his pleasant home, known for its generous and unpretentious hospitality, he has one of the best private libraries in Kentucky.


His law offices are maintained in the Henry Building, of which he has been the owner since 1878, and which is situated on the west side of the courthouse square in Greensburg, his modern residence being at the corner of Main and Cross streets and being one of the finest in the city.


In addition to these urban properties Mr. Henry is the owner of a well-improved farm on the rich bottom lands at the mouth of Big Russell Creek, Green County.


He has always adhered to the ancestral political faith and is a leader in the ranks of the democratic party in this section of the state. He served eight years as county attorney of Green County, but in the main has had no desire for public office, as he has preferred to give his undivided attention to his large and representative law practice. Both he and his wife are active members of the Presbyterian Church in Greensburg.


The perennial youth of Mr. Henry has been largely due to his vital interest in men and affairs, and the questions and issues of the hour receive his appreciative attention. Thus it was to be naturally assumed that he would take a prominent part in the various local war activities when the nation became involved in the great World war. He was chairman of the advisory board of Green County, served on other war committees in the county, aided in the various campaigns in the sale of war bonds and savings stamps, and to the full limit of his means he subscribed to these issues and gave earnest support to Red Cross and Salvation Army service.


December 12, 1872, recorded the marriage of Mr. Henry to Miss Josephine L. Perry, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Tebbs) Perry, of Green County, where both continued to reside until their deaths, Mr. Perry having long been a substantial capitalist and leading banker of Greensburg. Mr. and Mrs. Henry have but one child, Claudia, who is the wife of Early Vaughan, a successful farmer near Greensburg.




Tuesday, February 22, 2011

1811 :: Birth of Judge James Lewis Henry


Two hundred years ago today . . . on the 22nd day of February . . . in the year 1811 . . . James Lewis Henry was born in Green County, Kentucky . . . this James is a 3rd-great-grand-uncle to the Keeper of this family history blog . . .



Google Books. History of Kentucky (1922) by Charles Kerr, William Elsey Connelley, Ellis Merton Coulter . . . James L. Henry was reared and educated in Green County, [Kentucky] and here became a successful agriculturist and stock-grower. In 1840 he removed to Cedar County, Missouri, where he became the owner of a large farm estate, including a stock ranch, and where he maintained a force of thirty or forty slaves in his extensive operations as an agriculturist and stock-grower.

He continued his residence in Missouri until 1862, when he removed with his family to Grayson County, Texas, where he became the owner of a large ranch near Kentuckytown, and where he took his slaves, who there remained with him until the close of the Civil War, which effected their emancipation.

In 1865, shortly after the close of the war, Mr. Henry removed to Canehill, Arkansas, with the primary object of giving his children the advantages of Canehill College, and there he remained until his death, in 1871. He was an uncompromising advocate of the principles of the democratic party, was more or less active and influential in political affairs in Kentucky, Missouri and Texas, and served as county judge of Cedar County, Missouri, from 1840 until 1860. Both he and his wife were zealous members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Of their children . . .


  • the eldest was C. M., who was a prominent and extensive agriculturist in the vicinity of Canehill, Arkansas, for many years prior to his death, which there occurred when he was seventy-three years of age. He served as colonel of a Confederate regiment in the Civil war, near the close of which he received the brevet rank of brigadier general.
  • Elizabeth became the wife of James T. Moore and both passed the remainder of their lives in Texas, where Mr. Moore was a prosperous farmer. He was captain of his company in a Confederate regiment in the Civil war, and was severely wounded in an engagement at Froggy Bayou, Louisiana.
  • Martha died at Burnet, Texas, when forty years of age.
  • Malvina became the wife of Dr. A.J. Culberson, a leading physician at Burnet, Texas, and there her death occurred.
  • Jefferson, immediate subject of this review, was the next in order of birth.
  • Malvina [sic, i.e., Margret M.] became the wife of William Culberson, and both died at Burnet, Texas, where he had been engaged in a mercantile business for a long period.
  • William was drowned in a cloudburst in Wyoming when twenty-five years of age.
  • T.A., who was for many years successfully identified with the banking business, died in 1919, at Red Fork, Oklahoma.




Genealogy & Biography, Volume V, 3rd edition, 1886, Green Co. [Kentucky] . . . J. L. Henry was born February 22, 1811, four miles north of Greensburg, Ky., and was a farmer; in 1837 he with his family moved to Cedar County, Mo., where he became the owner of 4,400 acres, also owned a large slave property, and became the first county judge; and after Dade was stricken off became it first county judge, and held the position for twenty years, up to the breaking out of the war. In 1861, he went to Sherman, Tex., with his negroes. In 1863 his family joined him. After the war he located in Cane Hill, Ark., where he educated his family. (He had a son, C. M. Henry, who became a brigadier-general in the Confederate Army.) He died in 1871, but his family continued to remain in Arkansas. He was a son of Bellfield and Elizabeth (Kirtley) Henry, both of Virginia. They immigrated to Green County, Ky., about 1800, where Bellfield Henry became an extensive farmer, served as sheriff, and died in 1850. . . .

1819 :: Birth of James Madison Hall




On this date in our extended family history . . . the 22nd day of February . . . in the year 1819 . . . James Madison Hall is born in Baltimore, Maryland . . . my known connections to this James Madison Hall include . . .



  1. he is my uncle by way of his 1859 marriage to my 2nd great-grand-aunt, Margaret A. Hall Stewart nee Sharp (1840-ca. 1878) . . . and . . .
  2. he is my step-uncle because he is the stepson of my 3rd great-grandma, Mahala Lee Sharp Hall nee Roberts (1816-1885) . . .
  3. which makes him the step-brother of my 2nd great-grandpa, Samuel Houston Sharp (ca. 1839 - ca. 1885) . . .
  4. who is the brother of Hall's wife, Margaret (mentioned in #1 above) . . .

This Uncle James . . . who wound up in Texas by the age of sixteen (1835) . . . and began his involvement with my family at least as early as 1851 . . . which was when his father married my widowed 3rd great-grandma . . . was thoughtful enough to give me seven years worth of material for a blog about life in Texas during the years of the war between the states . . . because he kept a daily Journal during the years 1860-1866 . . . and in those daily ramblings of his he made frequent mention of an assortment of my kith 'n kin . . . soooo . . . with this time period (2011-2015) being the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War . . . I began transcribing this Journal on the 150th anniversary of the day he penned his first entry in that 19th century ledger . . . and, almost one year ago, I told about my first encounter with the original of that Journal in this blogpost . . .





Tombstone photo shared by sjmj at findagrave.com . . . word collage prepared at wordle.net . . . free background image from Daisy Gray Design . . . James Madison Hall photo from Aldrich book on The History of Houston County, Texas . . .



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