My ancestors, they hail from . . .
the redlands of Texas . . . and the marshes of Maine . . .
the plantations of Georgia . . . and the courts of Spain . . .
and from a hodgepodge of places . . . betwixt and between . . .
It was a snowy winter's day in February of 1975, and this family history blogger and her husband of less than a month were traipsing around the Oklahoma land that had been in his family since the turn of the century. As we entered the deserted farm house that had once been occupied by his grandparents, we could make out what turned out to be an old decaying trunk sitting in a cob-webbed corner of the dusty room. Although the trunk appeared to be full of ordinary trash, this geneaholic could not resist sifting through each individual piece of paper to see what treasures might be hiding there. And I did indeed find a few, including the postcard featured in this collage. 
The "Texas horned toad" is actually a lizard, and since 1993 it bears the distinction of being the official Texas State Reptile. The horned lizard is even featured on a special Texas license plate from which the proceeds go to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to benefit the conservation of wildlife diversity and to protect native, non-game species such as the Horned Lizard. When my sisters and I were young (1950s) one of the delights of a lazy summer day -- besides eating ice-cold watermelon, or even colder homemade vanilla ice-cream -- was to line our little red wagon with sand from the garden spot. This became a little village on wheels for the baby horned toads we would find during the day -- complete with horned toad beds made from little matchboxes. This postcard of "A Texas horned toad smoking a cigarette" is postmarked 1942 and mailed in California, and it is addressed to "grandma" aka "Miss Caroline Everhart" in Hobart, Oklahoma. The names signed on the back of the card are believed to include her son, Fred Everhart (1892-1972) and his son, Gene (b. 1925), and another of her grandsons, Lee Womack (b. 1914). In 1942, "Miss Caroline" is actually an 81-year-old widow whose maiden name is Caroline Hildenbrand. This Caroline is the paternal great-grandma of the husband of the Keeper of this geneablog. Caroline was born 20 January 1861 in Tecumseh, Kansas, the 1st-born daughter of German immigrants, Jacob J. Hildenbrand (1825-1904) and Johanna Dorothy Kohler (1832-1911). Caroline married Jacob Eberhard in 1880, and survived him by 30+ years, dying in January of 1954. One of her ten children was Jacob Peter Everhart (1887-1975), who once occupied the farmhouse pictured in the collage. The above postcard collage -- with a quadruped theme -- was posted for the 20th October 2009 edition of A Festival of Postcards (5th edition) which is hosted by Evelyn Yvonne Theriault who lives near Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
1) Pick one of your four great-grandparents - if possible, the one with the most descendants.
2) Create a descendants list for those great-grandparents either by hand or in your software program.
3) Tell us how many descendants, living or dead, are in each generation from those great-grandparents.
4) How many are still living? Of those, how many have you met and exchanged family information with? Are there any that you should make contact with ASAP? Please don't use last names of living people for this - respect their privacy.
5) Write about it in your own blog post, in comments to this post, or in comments or a Note on Facebook.
1. Zula Rodoski (1889-1968) had 3 children (all deceased)
2. Margaret Darthula (1891-1963) had 4 children (all deceased)
3. James Thomas Luther (1893-1984) had 4 children (2 thought to be living)
4. William Rufus Oscar (1895-1979) had 3 children (1 living)
5. Anna Virilla (1896-1978) had 6 children (4 thought to be living)
6. Minnie Ruth Estelle (1899-1976) had 5 children (2 thought to be living)
7. Jacob Edmund Forrest (1902-1957) had 3 children (all deceased)
8. Fannie Myrtle Lee (1904-1947) had no children
9. Everett Franklin (1908-1910) died young
10. Etta Evelyn (1910-1998) had no children
11. Bernice (1913-1999) had 3 children (2 thought to be living)
12. Freddie Benjamin (1916-1987) had 4 children (all living)
- 35 Grandchildren with 15 known or thought to be living.
- 89 Great-Grandchildren with 14 known to be deceased
- 91 known Great-Great-Grandchildren with one known to be deceased
- 21 known 3rd Great-Grandchildren
![Eva Mae Smith nee [Brackett?]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfsjammuUDXy2vVuwo3cvf1JupKfgZY2Iw3Mf21lGoX-EsZ70g5xUN5KSwsOhXutCpA6AFnKU_ww8E8VWjNaHKhRY-Xhslbs1S9l0VZyQWiaf3p33qYA4kDNHZIURnw8yJYD7c/s1600-h/Downloads-4A.jpg)
Biddeford Daily Journal, Thursday Evening, October 8, 1936. Mrs. Eva Smith Died in Lynn. Mrs. Eva M. Smith, widow of Thomas W. Smith, a former resident of this city, died Wednesday in Lynn, Mass. Her age was 62 years. Funeral services will be held at 2 o'clock Saturday afternoon at the Dennett & Craig funeral home, 365 Main street, Saco [Maine].
The Keeper of this geneablog is most humbled to be seated amongst the great cloud of geneabloggers you see listed in the collage* to your left. BeNotForgot is listed in the upper left of the 2nd image.
Congratulations to each and every one of y'all who are listed here -- you are most deserving of the honor. And I just love all the creative names y'all came up with for your blogs!
For those of you who are not aware of this recognition of those who blog about genealogy, click > HERE < to read the announcement from Family Tree Magazine.
* Click on the collage to enlarge it . . . and you're more than welcome to take a copy for your own use. These "word clouds" were created at > wordle.net < and then edited in Picasa to create this image.
On this date in our family history . . . the 3rd day of October . . . in the year 1844 . . . Elisha Roberts dies in San Augustine County, Texas . . . and is laid to rest in a small family cemetery near his home . . . this Elisha is the father of our Mahala . . . and a 4th great-grandpa to the Keeper of this family history blog. ROBERTS, ELISHA (1774-1844). Elisha Roberts, pioneer and public official, was born in 1774 at Watauga Settlement, near the Holston River in Hawkins County, Tennessee, the son of George and Rhoda (Payne, Paine) Roberts. He was married by 1800 in Kentucky to Martha Gill; they had nine children, including Esther Jane, who married Philip A. Sublett. The family moved in 1811 from Green County, Kentucky, to the northern part of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana (later Washington Parish). During the War of 1812 Roberts served as lieutenant and quartermaster under Gen. Isaac Roberts' Brigade of West Tennessee Militia and lieutenant in Captain Bickham's company, Louisiana militia.
In 1822 Roberts entered East Texas in pursuit of a runaway slave whose wife had been carried to Texas by another master. Roberts was attracted by the redland countryside east of Ayish Bayou. He returned to the site in 1823, when his slave ran away again, and found the land occupied by a Spaniard, to whom he traded a slave for the land and improvements. In January 1824 he settled his family near the site of present San Augustine. Shortly after, his brothers [sic], Redden and William Roberts, moved into the area. In 1825 Roberts's thirty slaves dug out the branch springs on Tiger Creek, a tributary of Palo Gaucho Bayou that became known as the Old Brick Spring, and built a cotton gin, at that time one of four in the district; the others belonged to John Cartwright, John Sprowl, and John A. Williams.
Roberts was elected alcalde of the Ayish Bayou district in 1831. He held court on the broad front gallery of his house; Sam Houston, James Bowie, David Crockett, William B. Travis, and Stephen F. Austin all boarded there. In 1833 Roberts was elected delegate to the convention in San Felipe. He was one on a committee of fifteen to select the townsite of San Augustine, which was built in 1834. He received a Mexican land grant on November 7, 1835. In 1835-36 he furnished provisions, lodging, and transportation for the revolutionary cause. In 1837 he became a member of the board of trustees of San Augustine University.
On October 3, 1844, Roberts died, and on December 18, 1845, his wife died; both were buried near their home. In 1936 a Texas Centennial marker was erected at the site.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Eugene C. Barker, ed., The Austin Papers (3 vols., Washington: GPO, 1924-28). George L. Crocket, Two Centuries in East Texas (Dallas: Southwest, 1932; facsimile reprod., 1962). Mary Smith Fay, War of 1812 Veterans in Texas (New Orleans: Polyanthos, 1979). Emily Griffith Roberts, Ancestral Study of Four Families: Roberts, Griffith, Cartwright, Simpson (2 vols., Dallas, 1939, 1948). Texas House of Representatives, Biographical Directory of the Texan Conventions and Congresses, 1832-1845 (Austin: Book Exchange, 1941). Gifford E. White, Character Certificates in the General Land Office of Texas (1985). McXie Whitton Martin
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.
Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "ROBERTS, ELISHA," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fro12 (accessed April 19, 2006).
The sons of Francis Rand went a fishing; the sons of ould Goodman Brackett were in the salt marsh and with no suspicion of danger. The settlers went about their usual vocations. Early in the afternoon a party of Indians came from the eastward in canoes, landed at Sandy Beach, left the garrison there unmolested, and attacked the homes of the defenseless ones, killing and capturing twenty-one persons.
Among the killed was Francis Rand, one of the first settlers. When his sons came in from fishing they followed the Indians over to Bracketts, fired upon them and frightened them away. The sons of Anthony Brackett who had the guns with them ran to the garrison at Odiorne's Point. . . .
I have observed that old people live much in the past. As I grow older I find myself turning oftener to the days in the old home. I hear the patter and the prattle of childish feet and voice; light step of youth and maid; sober footfall and serious word of man and matron; the slowing step and failing voice of age. All, all are gone! I alone am left of . . .
The dear home faces whereupon
The fitful firelight paled and shown.
Hence forward, listen as I will
The voices of that hearth are still.
How strange it seems with so much gone
Of life and love to still live on.
Mrs. Silence J. Soule.
Funeral services for Mrs. Emma Patience Muston, 82, were held Tuesday [08 Sept 1964] at the Phillips & Luckey chapel in Rockdale. Burial was in the Tanglewood cemetery, with Rev. James M. Frazier, of the Methodist Church, Lexington, officiating. Mrs. Muston died Monday [07 Sept 1964] at the Richards hospital in Rockdale. For the past two and one-half years she had been in a Rockdale rest home. Most of her life was spent in the Cole Springs / Tanglewood community and in Lexington. She was born June 18, 1882, in Lee County, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Nettles. She was married to Charlie G. Muston, who preceded her in death when the children were young.
Surviving are seven daughters, Mrs. Joe Tomkins, Mrs. Alvin Jones, Mrs. Ben Reynolds, and Mrs. B. R. Taylor, all of Houston; Mrs. Dean Quinney of Lexington, Mrs. John Taylor of Lexington, and Mrs. J. E. Pounders of Rockdale; and one sister, Mrs. Oscar Peebles of Houston; also 18 grandchildren and 38 great grandchildren. Pall bearers were [grandsons] F.L. Pounders, K.D. Quinney, E.P. Lerche, A.D. Quinney, A.D. Pounders, and S.D. Quinney. Rockdale Reporter, September 1964
| State | % |
| Alabama | 31.25 |
| Georgia | 12.50 |
| Kentucky | 6.25 |
| Maine | 18.75 |
| Mississippi | 6.25 |
| Texas | 12.50 |
| Unknown | 12.50 |
[16] Joseph W. POUNDERS (c.1822-bef.1880) married before 1867 in Alabama to
[17] Nancy Virilla QUINN (1847-1930)
- Joseph & Nancy were both born & died in Alabama
- Joseph's parents -- Lemuel Samuel Pounders & Mary Margery Holcomb -- were born in North Carolina
- Nancy's father -- John Quinn -- was born in Tennessee & her mother -- Susannah -- in Alabama
[18] Unknown* unknown ? relationship ? in ? Alabama ? to
[19] Sushannah HOLLAND (1841-1930)
- Sushannah was born in Alabama & died in Texas
- her father -- Edward Holland -- was born in Tennessee & her mother -- Mary Annie Fretwell -- in Alabama
- * Great-great-grandpa #18 will probably never be known. The purported father (Isaac Cain) of my great-grandma (the only daughter of Sushannah Holland) appears to have died during the war between the states . . . while "their" daughter appears to have been born in 1873 . . . about 10 years after he died . . . Sushannah drew a confederate pension on the man she claimed was the father of both of her children . . . and it stated that he died during the war (1861-1865).
[20] William Alexander MUSTON (1854-1936) married before 1880 in Texas to
[21] Mary OLIVE (c. 1853-c. 1897)
- William was born in Alabama & died in Texas
- Mary was born in Georgia & died in Texas
- William's father -- William Thomas Muston -- was born in South Carolina & his mother -- Rebecca King -- in Alabama
- Mary's father -- Littleton Olive -- was born in Georgia & her mother -- Clementine Jordan -- in South Carolina
[22] Joseph Helidorah NETTLES (1832-1890) married 1871 in Texas to
[23] Mary Annie WEST (1852-1939)
- Joseph was born in Alabama & died in Texas
- Mary Annie was born in Mississippi & died in Texas
- Joseph's parents are unidentified at this time
- Mary Annie's father -- Richard C. West, Jr. -- was born in Kentucky & her mother -- Sarah Mildred Carter -- in Alabama
[24] William Pascal HENRY (1836-1912) married 1864 in Texas to
[25] Josephine Wingfield DAVIS (1842-1899)
- William was born in Kentucky & died in Texas
- Josephine was born in Georgia & died in Texas
- William's parents -- Thomas Henry & Mary Kirtley -- were born & died in Kentucky
- Josephine's parents -- Milton Grant Davis & America James Fears -- were born in Georgia, where her mother died while her father died in Texas
[26] Samuel Houston SHARP, Sr. (c.1839-c.1885) married 1861 in Texas to
[27] Mary Alexandrien LEMAIRE (1843-1876)
- Samuel & Mary Alexandrien were born & died in Texas
- Sam's father -- John M. Sharp -- may have come to Texas from Tennessee
- Sam's mother -- Mahala Lee Roberts -- was born in Louisiana & died in Texas
- Mary Alexandrien's mother -- Elizabeth A. Waring -- was born in Maryland & is presumed to have died in Texas
- Mary Alexandrien's father is believed to have been born in France, & to have died at sea
[28] Atwood F. SMITH (1837-1907) married 1857 in Maine to
[29] Jerusha Marilla BARKER (1841-1899)
- Atwood & Jerusha were born & died in Maine
- Atwood's parents -- Hiram B. Smith & Betsey T. Flood -- were born & died in Maine
- Jerusha's parents -- Timothy Barker & Jerusha Lakin Hobbs -- were born in Maine & are presumed to have died in Maine
[30] Unknown** unknown ? relationship ? in ? Maine ? to
[31] Phoebe MERRILL (1848-aft.1920)
- Phoebe was born & is presumed to have died in Maine
- both of Phoebe's parents -- William Thurston Merrill & Olive Jane [Goodwin or Mason] were born & died in Maine
- ** Great-great-grandpa #30 will probably never be known. It does appear that Phoebe Merrill gave her baby girl, Eva Mae, to her older sister, Lizzie (Merrill) Brackett, to raise as her own.
Despite a limited early education, Dr. Milton Antony began to study medicine at age 16 as an apprentice. He took a course in Philadelphia but could not afford to continue and never received a diploma. He began his practice in rural Georgia, and soon built up a large practice. After seven years, he moved to New Orleans for a short while and returned to Augusta in 1819. He became very active professionally and determined to improve the quality of his profession in Georgia. He was a member of the Medical Society of Georgia and with his urging, the Medical Board of Georgia was established which regulated the practice of medicine. In 1828, Dr. Antony, along with three other physicians, founded an academy of medicine to prepare students for further medical studies, soon expanded to become the Medical College of Georgia. He shepherded the building of a permanent home for the new school, which resulted in an impressive Greek Revival building. In 1836, he and his colleague, Dr. Joseph Adams Eve, began the Southern Medical and Surgical Journal to report the medical advances and practices of the South. Besides Dr. Antony's contributions to the profession itself, he was also a fine surgeon, and reported on his bold surgery to remove a portion of a diseased lung by partially removing the fifth and sixth ribs. Dr. Antony enjoyed an excellent reputation both in and outside the state. As the yellow fever epidemic swept through Augusta in 1839, Dr. Antony became one of its victims. He was buried on the grounds of the original Medical College of Georgia building.
. . . The elder Antony was an eminent member of his profession, being for years editor of the Southern Medical Journal of Augusta and dean of the faculty of the Georgia Medical Journal of Augusta, of which he was one of the founders. He died in 1839, of yellow fever, making his life the last offering to a profession which he had long adorned. He left a scholarship to each of his sons in the institution with which he was connected, six of whom availed themselves of the privilege and became regular practicing physicians. . . .
Lewis Publishing Company, publisher.. History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson counties : containing a concise history of the state, with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above named counties, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families. Chicago. The Portal to Texas History. http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth29785/. Accessed August 7, 2009.
