Researching Tax Records

I'm doing a little research on my RICH roots, specifically my 4th great grandfather John Wesley RICH. He is one of those lovely ancestors who 1) has a common first name 2) often went by his middle name, occasionally his first name followed by his middle initial, and possibly (according to these records) just his first name and 3) has a son by the same name. These factors can make it a little difficult when using alternate records in placing him. I'm using some alternate records for this post so I can fill in the gaps in my timeline between the 1860 and 1880 census. John Wesley RICH is nowhere to be found for the 1870 census and several of his children are MIA as well.

Since I no longer subscribe to any of my old genealogy subscriptions (Ancestry, Newspapers.com, or Fold3) I'm going back to old faithful Family Search where you can research for free.

Various records I'm looking at are tax records, voter registration, and marriage records indicating the location of children just to name a few. Census records help because being surrounded by wife, parents, children etc we can feel certain we are indeed looking at a record pertaining to our ancestor. The other records, on the other hand, especially when you have a common name, aren't always as reassuring. *I will try to use his name how it is spelled and given with each record.*

I've blogged about John Wesley RICH before. You can find those blogs here and here. 

I want to lay this post out in a timeline:

• circa 1815 birth of John Wesley RICH. Census records indicate the following years: 1812, 1813 and 1815. They all sate he was born in Kentucky.
• 1834 Marriage of Westley Rich to Nancy CREEK in White County, IL (see previous posts for image of record).
• 1838-39 in Arkansas (?) daughter Sarah gives Arkansas as her birth state in two census records. There is an 1837 tax record for a John Rich in Benton County, AR. Unsure if that's him.
• 1840 census record Hamilton County, IL enumerated a Wesley Rich. (one male 5-10, one male 15-20 (this would not be a child), then himself age 20-30 -- two females under 5, and his wife age 20-30)
• 1844 birth of son, Robert Robin in Missouri
• 1846 birth of son, William in Missouri
• 1848 birth of son, Orville Sexton in Illinois/Missouri (most likely Missouri)
• 1850 census places this John W RICH family in Lawrence County, Missouri
• 1852 birth of son, Jeremiah in Missouri
• 1853 Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910 finds a John W RICH in Grayson County, TX
• 1856 Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910 finds a John W RICH in Grayson County, TX alongside an E RICH (a connection to the Ephraim L Rich from this post perhaps?) This particular tax record led me to find a land record for 360 acres along Spring Creek, belonging to a John W RICH 
• 1857 Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910, provides the same information with the exception that now a Nancy A RICH is listed with them as owning 430 acres. Her land record can be found here.  Her land record tells me that John and Elijah RICH (the E. RICH from above) were the chain carriers for the survey of her property.
  
  Before moving on, I decided to look for John W RICH in Grayson County census records and found disappointing results. This is a different John W RICH, who was born in NC around the year 1825. Now to research Elijah and Nancy. I'm having difficulty finding Elijah and Nancy in census records. It's my theory that they are brother and mother to the Grayson County John W RICH.

• 1860 My Wesley RICH and family are found enumerated in Burnet County, Texas. Killian is married and living with his wife on the same page.

We know from census records that the following children belong to John Wesley RICH and from one of my previous posts we know that some of these names or ages aren't always consistent between census years, but we're going to do our best. I feel that Selina and Archilles of the 1850 census were actually Sidney and Arville.

1. Killian 
2. Sarah
3. Sidney 
4. Robert aka Robin
5. William
6. Arville/Orville Sexton
7. John Wesley Jr.
8. Jerremiah
9. Caroline
10. George W.

• 1865 One single solitary military record shows Killian in Colorado County, TX
• 1867 Voter registration shows a J W and Robt RICH in Milam County. Registered to have been in the state for 7 years (1860) and in county/precinct for 2 years. Both names are marked through. Killian is registered in nearby Falls County just (")marks down both columns all the way down. sigh There is also a Robt Rich listed in Collin County that year. His registration states he'd been in the state 9 years (1858) and in the county/precinct for 1 year.
• 1868 marriage record for Arville Sexton RICH to Sarah Jane WILLHITE from Collin County.
• 1870 census I can only find Robert and William married and living with their families and their siblings George and Sidney living together in the same household in Van Zandt County. Arville is enumerated in Collin County.
• 1872 there's a marriage record for Wesly RITCH to Tennie LOVETT from Cooke County
• 1873 there's a marriage record for Sidney RICH to J W SIMONS also from Cooke County
• 1878 there's a marriage record for Caroline RICH to R O HUGES from Johnson County
• 1880 census shows John W RICHE in Lamar County. In his household is his unmarried son George and his widowed/divorced/single daughter Sarah J CARTRIGHT with her children. On the same page is his married daugther Caroline, and his married son William. Killian is enumerate in Collin County, Sidney in Hill County, Robert in Comanche, Arville in Wise and John Wesley Jr. in Collin.
  
  I'm including an image so you can see just how much ground this family covered through these 20 years in Texas.
  
  

I have still been unable to place John Wesley and his wife Nancy, or the following children for the year 1870: Killian, Sarah, John Wesley Jr. or Caroline. But just in writing this post I found Caroline's marriage to Richard O HUGHES so it wasn't all for naught. It's just so frustrating that even after the 1880 census so much of this family just falls off the radar. My ancestor Killion died in 1881 but what about his parents and siblings: Sarah, Arville, John W Jr., Caroline and George, where and when did they die?

Until next time,
Becky.

Her Face

I don't always get around to posting a photo on Instagram for the #genealogyphotoaday challenges. I do post more than I blog, though. On the 22nd of this month the prompt was #face And I couldn't think of anything unique or new to share.

This month is National Letter Writing Month, my fellow blogging, genealogist, sister-in-law, recently started working for the post office, and has been encouraging us to write more letters. She is right. While packing and then unpacking I have loved coming across my stack of old letters from various people, mainly my paternal grandmother, Mammy. I have a few letters she wrote to me and at least one letter to each of my three children. One of the people I chose to write to this month was her eldest sister, Frances. Today, much to my surprise, and enjoyment, was her return letter. Tucked inside the folded pages she included this picture of her paternal grandmother, my 2nd great grandmother, Leona Bass Jones.




The only pictures I have ever seen of Leona before this one, were very tiny, grainy, black and white newsprint-like pictures that were printed in one of my favorite books, Between the Wichitas. You couldn't see the details of her face, only her small stature and her hair pulled back into a bun. On the back of this picture, Aunt Frances writes that Leona was only 4' 5" tall and that she was 1/4 Cherokee Indian. And that her Uncle Frank said that Leona had long black hair and black eyes.

In my research I have found her application into the Cherokee Indians, as well as those of her siblings and her father. They were all denied entry, stating, "It does not appear that ancestors were ever enrolled, or were parties to the treaties of 1835-6 and 1846. Applicant shows no connection with Eastern Cherokee "

Her paternal grandfather was Samuel Bass. His descendants with his first wife were granted citizenship.

Leona was the daughter of James Martin Bass and Margret Ann Miller. On 20 Oct 1881, she married John Calvin Jones in Cooke County, Texas.

Aunt Frances also tells me she herself was named after both her grandmothers, Ora Frances McClung and Leona Bass.

I plan on writing her to tell how far back I have found the name 'Frances' on her mother's side.

I hope this post encourages you to write to a few of your family members. Who doesn't love getting a letter?

Until next time,
Becky

97 Years

Here we are at week 16 of this blogging challenge. This week the prompt is 'live long'. In going through my tree the longest living ancestor that I could find is my 2nd great grandfather John Calvin Jones. I've written about his mother, Mattie Teel (twice), and his grandfather Bradberry Teel, both of which I know very little about. Now it's his turn.

John Calvin Jones was born July 28, 1860 in Columbus, Muscogee, Georgia. As I have written before, his mother was Mattie Teal but his father's name is unkown. I actually have no records even placing John Calvin with his mother, but after speaking with my great Aunt Frances, she said Mattie's will leaves everything to John Calvin and she refers to him as "my only son". Aunt Frances says this will is from a copy that is a part of her 'Cousins Book' that was put together many years ago by a few of her cousins, John Calvin's grandchildren.

The first record I have found for John Calvin Jones is his marriage certificate from Oct 1881, where he married my 2nd great grandmother Leona Bass. My great aunt Frances remembers her grandfather calling his wife "Loni" . Leona Bass was the daughter of James Martin and Maggie (Miller) Bass. John Calvin and Leona were married in Cooke County, TX, which is right on the TX/OK border.

Leona's family ends up in Moore, Pottawatomie, OK, in 1900 and that same year, John Calvin, Leona with ten children are found in Wheeler County TX.  On May 19, 1899 there is a John C. Jones appointed as post master in Mobeetie, Wheeler, Texas - I suspect this to be him, but I can't be certain. Using birth information for their children I can trace this family's movements during the 20  years between marriage certificate and the 1900 census.

Lou Jones (daugheter) was born about 1882 in TX
Mamie V. Jones (daughter) was born in Clay County, TX about 1883
Mattie Jones (daughter) was born about 1885 in TX
James Calvin Jones (son) was born in 1887 in Clay County TX
Claude Jones (son) was born in 1889 in Mobeetie, Wheeler County, TX
Ben Masterson Jones (son) was born in 1891 in TX
Thomas Frank Jones (son) born in 1893 in Mobeetie, Wheeler County, TX
John Arthur Jones (son) (my great-grandfather) born in 1895 in Mobeetie, Wheeler, TX
Jasper Helton Jones (son) born in 1897 in Mobeetie, Wheeler County, TX
Fannie Leigh (daughter) born in 1900 in TX
Emma Belle (daughter) born in 1902 in TX
William M (son) born in 1904 in TX


So sometime between their Cooke County marriage and the 1900 Wheeler County census they were living in Clay County, TX

In 1908 there is still a John C. Jones on the Mobeetie, Wheeler County, Tax list but in July of 1907 John Calvin's wife, Leona, applied for membership (and was denied) into the Cherokee Nation and in her papers she lists her residence as Guthrie, Texas, in King County. By 1910 John Calvin, Leona and all of their children besides Lou are found in Knox County right next door. The next 10 years would be full of loss for John Calvin. In 1913 his son Ben died at the age of 22, then the next year his oldest daughter Lou died at the age of 31, then three years later he lost his wife of 36 years at the age of 50 - cause of death, general break down. Then in 1919 his mother Mattie died. In 1920, widower John Calvin, is found living in Potter, Texas, as the manager of a road gang with three of his children, Mamie, Fanny Leigh and William.

The thing about living a long time is you tend to bury a lot of your loved ones. In 1925 John Calvin would bury another daughter, Emma Belle. She was only 22. Cause of death is listed as pneumonia.

In 1930 John Calvin is living back in Knox County with his daughter Mamie and son William, where he would live for the next 10 years. During that 10 years he would sadly bury 3 more children, Fannie Leigh in 1937, Claude in 1938 (from cancer) and in 1940 my great grandfather, John Arthur in a train/automobile accident.

Not long after the death of my great grandfather, John Arthur, after the family moved back to Truscott from San Antonio, John Calvin came to live with his daughter-in-law, my great grandmother, Lurie Myrtle, and her children. My great aunt Frances and her brother Edwin had already married their spouses and were out of the house, but my grandmother Winnie Sue and her siblings Charles and Myrtle Lou were still living at home. I can remember my grandmother Sue telling me stories of her Grandpa Jones sneaking her candy through the bedroom window. In a recent conversation with Frances, she confirmed this story. She said my grandmother was always his favorite, probably because she would always play dominoes with him. She said that during that time, because they lived so close to the school house, my grandmother and her siblings would come home from school for lunch and when they'd leave to go back to school, Grandpa Jones would open his window and say "Sister, come here" and he'd give her candy, until his daughter-in-law found out and put a stop to it! Frances also remembered that John Calvin hated cats! She said that her mother, Lurie Myrtle, had a cat and he would always kick at it until she told him, "Pa, that's our cat." Then he never kicked at it again.

In 1957 John Calvin Jones finally was laid to rest with only 4 (possibly 5, I can't find many records for his daughter Mattie) of his 12 children outliving him. He lived only a few days past his 97th birthday, departing this life on July 31st. Cause of death is said to have been a heart attack (Atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease ). He is buried in Truscott Cemetery in Texas with his wife and mother and several of their children.



I know so little about this family and it is my hope that some of my grandmother's cousins and/or their descendants will somehow find this and contact me. I would love to know more about my Jones line.

Until next week,
Becky

And don't forget to check out these other great genealogy blogs Days of Our Lives and Untangled Family Roots.

More than two years later and I have made contact with a JONES cousin via AncestryDNA. She descends from John Calvin's son Thomas Franklin. She has shared a lot with me and I am beyond grateful. Thomas Franklin Jones was the family historian and if it weren't for him many records and images would be lost to us forever. I did want to post this wonderful picture shared with me here on this blog post.

Back Row Standing: Mattie, Mamie, *Nettie Williams (friend and school teacher), and Lou
John Calvin and Leona are seated
Bottom Row: Claude, Johnny, Frank, baby Jasper, Jim & Ben.
Photo taken late 1897 or early 1898