Twins

I'm skipping ahead so today's prompt is going to be TWINS

I'm going to start off with the 1860 Rusk County, Texas, census for Beat No. 6. Post office is Minden. For the first set of  NALL TWINS I have come across in my research.

The first family listed on the image below is the family of Thomas J Nawls (NALL). My 4x great grandfather. The second family listed in my 3x great grandfather, John Middleton Nawls (NALL), living in the same household is his sister Margaret SCROGGINS' family. If you look where I've indicated, the two children of J M and Mary are 6 month old twins. In my post about John Middleton's Civil War service, I touched on the illness and poverty that came to this area during the beginning of the war. I believe that illness and poverty could have been what led to the death of baby S. NALL shortly after this census. Baby S. Nall died by 1865 when the family of  three (Mary, David, and my ancestor John Thomas) are on the indignant soldier's families list.

1860 Beat 6, Rusk County, Texas 

The surviving children of John Middleton and Mary Jane GARNER NALL were:

1. David Harrison (TWIN) 1859
2. John Thomas 1861
3. Sarah 1866
4. Pervelley Ophelia 1869
5. Charles Elexander 1871
6. James Wesley 1874
7. Linnie 1880

As far as I have found, none of the above children had TWINS. And to preserve my sanity, from here I am going to focus only on my ancestor John Thomas NALL's descendants and from there the descendants of his son, my ancestor, Benjamin Rufus NALL.

John Thomas NALL married Optha Ophelia RICH and they had 10 children. They were:

1. Emma Nall 1883
2. James C 1885
3. Minerva Frances 1889
4. Elsie Mae 1892
5. Charles 1894
6. James Arch 1895
7. Mary Ethel 1898
8. Roy 1900
9. Mollie Marzel 1903
10. Benjamin Rufus 1908

Benjamin Rufus NALL married(2) Willie Belle FOSTER. They had seven children, two of which were TWINS

1. Charles Bryant Nall (my ancestor)
2. Female 
3. Male
4. Male
5. Male (TWIN)
6. Wilma Jean (TWIN) died at birth.
7. Rufus Leon Nall died in farming accident.

Their third child would marry and have four children, one girl and three boys. One of these boys would marry and have three children, two of which were TWIN  girls.  

Their fourth child had six children, two of which were TWIN girls. Another one of their daughters would go on to marry and have eight children, two of which were also TWIN girls. Their son would marry and have four children, two girls and two boys. One of those girls would marry and go on to also have TWIN girls.

Not counting the TWINS born to John Middleton NALL and Mary Jane GARNER. There has been five sets of TWINS born in four generations.

.

Until next time,
Becky

An Old Fashioned Mother

The kids are all back in school and with my most recent botox treatment making many tasks feel impossible these days, I have found myself back in the recliner scouring the Internet for any more tidbits on my ancestors that I have yet to uncover. My favorite thing to search are old newspaper articles. It gets a bit tricky though because there are often so many typos and spelling errors.

There's a great free newspaper archive from Texas Tech University, I've mentioned it before. They changed their website a while back and I couldn't get to the newspaper search, but I was finally able to get it to work a few weeks ago. Today, of course, as soon as I start to type my blog, it has become glitch-y. We will see how far I get before deciding to come back another day....

This time I'm searching the Foard County News for any records on my NALL/FOSTER ancestors.

Today I found where my great grandmother Willie Belle competed in the County Interscholastic Meet and won second place in arithmetic. There of course was a typo and her name was given as Winnie Belle, but I'm 99.99% sure it's her. Claytonville was a very small rural community. Grandma would've just turned 15. The article is from March 1930.

Foard County News 28 March 1930

 I also found where in May of that same year, Grandma, portrayed the Mother, in Walter Ben Hare's 1917 play "An Old Fashioned Mother".  How fitting. I know she was the great matriarch of our NALL family. I was actually able to find an online copy of the play. Just click on the title to take a look at it yourself.

Foard County News 16 May 1930

I'm not certain when this picture of Grandma was taken, but I imagine it was close to 1930. If you were wondering what she looked like back then.

Just to give you an idea of the severity of the typos, below is the Birth Announcement of my grandfather, Willie Belle's first born, Charles Bryant Nall, who was born 13 May 1935. To Willie Belle (Foster) and Benjamin Rufus Nall. There is a town called Benjamin, where my grandfather attended school, so I think that part is right.

Foard County News 06 June 1935

I'll go ahead and wrap this post up. I'll come back and add direct links to the newspaper articles, if the Texas Tech website ever comes back up. It really is a great resource when it's working. The trick is getting past all those typos.

Until next time,
Becky

Weathered Memories

I am still working on the post to go with yesterday's Instagram challenge but I thought I'd take a quick break to work on today's. It should be short and sweet.

Today the prompt set out by Genealogy Girl Talks is weathered and I have the perfect thing for this.




In 2014 my Uncle Mike and Aunt Lynn gifted me one of my most treasured heirlooms. My great grandfather's old wood cook stove. And for Christmas that  year, my husband had it restored. It sits on my back porch and I use it often. Turns out, according to my great aunt Dena, her dad purchased it from a store still in Farmington today, called Chicken Hollar, in the 70's because he didn't like the way gas made his biscuits taste. He passed away when I was only 4 and I don't have many memories of him at all. In fact, I really only have one, and I'm not sure if it's a real memory or something I think I remember because I was told about it so often. But I think I remember him being really sick with oxygen on and sitting in a chair as soon as you walk in the door. When I walked in he would invite me to come sit on his lap and he would say "There's my girl with the golden curls."

I was able to find the specs for his little stove online here. I really need to find a way to print this off.

Anyway - I have one specific memory attached this little wood stove and I tell it often, but just in case my children are anything like me, and end up forgetting my little repeated stories, I thought I'd write it down for them.

My grandmother, Mammy, wanted to start a tradition of having back-to-school camp outs with all nine of her grandchildren. I'm not sure we ever did it more than once. But regardless that one time was really fun and a memory I cherish.

My Mammy's house sat on the top of a hill and below it to the East they had a pond that I would fish in every chance I got and below the pond was the field where we set up camp. My grandpa, Bampy, brought in the flat bed semi trucks we used for hauling hay so we wouldn't have to sleep on the ground that most likely would've been covered in cow patties. They also brought in this wood cook stove. That night we had fried taters, and in the morning Mammy and my great grandmother, Grandma Nall, made us biscuits, sausage, eggs, hot chocolate and chocolate gravy.

Here is the recipe in Grandma Nall's handwriting. She gave this to me one year as a Christmas gift, taped to a little plate she had picked up at  Life Ministries, in Prairie Grove, where she volunteered. In case you have trouble with that first measurement it reads: 3 cups milk.

During that camping trip I remember when the sun started to set you could hear the big bull frog at the pond and how the boys went to catch it hoping for frog-legs. We sat around the fire, sang songs, told stories. I remember how cold it got at night despite the fact that it was August and how I loved falling asleep under the stars.

I would love it if my cousins would share their memories of this trip or any other memories they have.

Below are a few pictures of the cook stove after it was refurbished and a few of the meals I've cooked on it.

Even though I think there's room for improvement, I really do enjoy Facebook's feature to search through your old posts. In going back trying to find pictures to share I was able to come across the status updates that display the learning curve involved when obtaining the skill to cook on one of these things!

January 6, 2015

Goodness me, who knew there was such an art to getting a hot fire burning in a wood cook stove!! I've spent the past hour or so trying get a good fire going to no avail.... then I finally found my damper and I made a make shift chimney out of Laney's old dry erase board.... the white board is actually thin sheet metal. Now maybe with any luck I'll get this baby hot enough to cook a meatloaf in for supper. Maybe even boil the potatoes on it for our mashed potatoes. Wish me luck!

Same day, different post:

After fiddling with my stove all day without it getting hot enough to boil a pot of water, I think the consensus is that it's too cold outside to get my stove hot enough and my wood may be damp. It feels dry because it's so cold, but it may have moisture locked in it. I'm getting far too much smoke and not enough heat. I'm getting good coals and the occasional steady flame but its just not heating it all around. I'm nearly certain I'm burning oak, so the type of wood I'm using shouldn't be the problem. Also my flue may not be tall enough to draw the smoke.
Trial error, live and learn. I look forward to trying again on a warmer day.

Feb 15, 2015

Since I've been having so much trouble sleeping through the night... this time when I woke up, I decided to start a fire in the old wood cook stove. It feels pretty HOT... so hot it burns my hands to open/close the oven door... so I whipped up some drop biscuits in my old muffin tin and put Mam's cast iron skillet on the burners to warm up... fixing to head outside to make sausage gravy to go with those biscuits... wish me luck!

Feb 16, 2015

I think I decided my wood-stove problem was impatience. I don't think I let the fire burn long enough to burn the cold off the stove and I wasn't confident enough in my fire to close off the fire box door and keep all the burners on. Once I did that it got good and warm/hot - even on really cold days. I think I'm still going to look at Lowes for a better flu to draw the smoke up over the house, if for no other reason than I'm tired of smelling and breathing in smoke.

I eventually got the hang of it, but it does produce quite a bit of smoke at first before the fire really catches.

Anyway - I hope you've enjoyed this little part if my history. If you're a Nall cousin and  you have a memory associated with this stove, please oh please share it. Or any memory of Grandpa Nall. I've heard he was a gruff man.

If you're just stopping by  - I'd love to hear from you.

Until next time,
Becky.

P.S. Don't forget to stop by Days of Our Lives where my sister-in-law is blogging along side me.

Again - I have to love FB. Today in my "memories" a post showed up that had a few memories of Grandpa Nall. I'm going to place them here so they're easier accessed:

My Uncle Mike remembers, when he was 11 grandpa had him digging up stumps and Mike kept breaking the handle's so grandpa got Mike a rock bar said you can't tear this up well guess want he bent it in two days. He still has it to this day.

My dad's first cousin Angie shared this memory: Becky, I was pretty young when he passed. Not as young as you, I think I was 11. Most of my memories include watching the men working cows while we sat on the fence. One memory I have makes me laugh now but it wasn't funny then for me or Tracie. We were spending the night, and I think I was 4 or 5. We were getting ready for bed and I thought Tracie tripped me. (I now realize that I tripped on the bed but geez I was 4!) I cried and told on her. Papa spanked her. (Justice in my mind at the time) But hey, just proves Tracie McCoy is tough-she took a spanking from the Nall patriarch! It was the razor strap that used to hang in the bathroom. I don't think she stayed over there with me much after that!! I don't blame her.

Monday's Child

Monday's Child is Fair of Face

This will be a series stemming from this blog post.

*Disclaimer: Before the time of actual birth records it's hard to be certain what year an individual was actually born as you will see as you read along.

My 2nd great grandmother, Isabell Singleton Athey, was possibly born on Monday, April 1, 1872,  in Collin County, Texas, to Benjamin Franklin Athey and Martha Ann Singleton Hodge. She was named after her maternal line. Isabell for Martha's mother, Isabell Peach and Singleton for Martha's father, John Singleton Hodge.

Her siblings were:

• Benjamin Franklin Athey Jr.
• Susanna "Susie Anna" Athey
• Duran Peach Athey
• Martha Lavona Athey
• Emma Wilson Athey
• Henrietta "Etta" Athey
• John Dillard Athey
• Charles Monroe Athey
• Lucy Jane Athey
• Arthur Mart Athey

In the earliest picture I have of Isabell, or Bell, as I have seen several times, she looks to be about 5 or 6 years old. Then there's another where she appears to be in her mid to late teens.



According to Poem Shape, the term "fair of face" can not only mean a child is beautiful or good looking, fair can also mean auspicious or fortunate. So a "Monday's Child" would be beautiful and have a prosperous life. I may be partial but I think my ancestor was very pretty. Let's see if her life can be classified as prosperous.

To help us get the biggest picture of Isabell's life, I want to try to outline the events of those close to her (siblings/parents) as well.

BIRTH OF ATHEY CHILDREN

I will start with the birth of the eldest child, Isbabell's brother, Benjamin Franklin Athey, Jr.

Benjamin's obituary says he was born 6 Dec 1869 in Millwood, Collin County, TX. However I believe it was actually 6 Dec 1870 or 71. His parents were married 3 March 1871 in Kaufman County, TX. The Athey and Hodge family were enumerated together in 1870 but they weren't married and there were no babies listed in the household. He could've been born out of wedlock in 1870. If he was born in 1871 that would make Isabell's birth year of 1872 impossible, hence the disclaimer at the top of this post.

Isabell was the next child born on 1 April 1872, according to her Death Certificate. Census records show her birth year as 1876 (1880 census - making her a Saturday child), 1874 (1910 census - making her a Wednesday child), 1873 (1930 census - making her a Tuesday child). I have yet to locate her in 1900 or 1920 and there are no other records that indicate a birth date.

Next up is a sister, Susanna Athey. I just discovered her while researching for this blog. I don't know how I missed her all these years as she was right there with the family in the 1880 Collin County, Census. Her birth year is given as 1874 (1880 census), Sept 1872 (1900 census), 1873 (1910 census) she may very well have been older than Isabell.

Then there was Duran Peach Athey. His middle name comes from his maternal grandmother's maiden name. Duran was born on the 29th of December. Again, I can't be certain of the year. The 1880 census says 1878, 1877 (1910 census and death index), 1875 (1940 census), 1877 (WWI and WWII Draft), 1874 (Death Certificate)

Next, Martha Lavona Athey was born 2 May 1879 (1880 census and death certificate), 1880 (1920, 1930 & 1940 census)  *Fun fact - I am related to Martha on my paternal side and her first husband, Frank H. May is related to me on my maternal side.

Then there is Emma Wilson Athey who was born on the 15th of May 1882 (1910 & 1920 census), 1881 (1930 census & SS Death Index).

Henrietta "Etta" Athey was born 7 Dec 1881 ( Find A Grave memorial) 1883 (1900 census) 1882 (1910 census).

John Dillard Athey was born 12 May 1884 ( Death Certificate and Obituary) 1885 (1910 & 1930 census) 1883 (1920 census)  1882 (1940 census) 1889 (SS Application)

Charles Monroe Athey was born 25 April 1885 (SS Application & WWI Draft) 1886 (1910, 1920, 1930, Death Certificate, Find A Grave, & WWII Draft)

I'm not certain of the order of birth between the last two children. Lucy Jane and Arthur Mart.

Lucy Jane was born 27 May 1888 (1940 census, Death Certificate, Death Index and Find A Grave memorial), 1889 (1910 census) 1885 (1920 census) 1890 (1930 census)

Arthur Mart Athey was born 6 April 1888 ( WWI Draft) 1887 (1920 census) 1891 (1910, 1930, Death Certificate, Find A Grave Memorial, & WWII Draft) 1893 (1940 census) 1890 (SS Application)

The birth year of 1891 as an option for Mart brings us to the next big thing to happen in the life of Isabell and all her siblings, the death of their mother. The 1891 birth year would be impossible if the death date of his mother is accurate. She is said to have died 3 March of 1891 so there's no way he could've been born in April of that same year.

The only record I have for Martha Hodge Athey's death is her Find A Grave memorial. There is not stone showing a death date there and Death Certificates weren't required by the state of Texas until the year 1903. I wonder, considering Martha's age, 35 years, if maybe she didn't die due to complications with childbirth. Either of Arthur Mart, Lucy Jane, or an unknown infant who died as well. Most likely the later.

MARRIAGES OF ATHEY CHILDREN 

1891 The next big event to take place would be the first marriage in this Athey family. Susanna Athey married Mr. John A Clark on 4 Oct 1891 in Rockwell County, TX
1892
Benjamin Franklin Athey Jr married Miss Viola Bethel Beaver on 24 July 1892 in Collin County, Texas.
1894
Isabell Athey married a Mr. C E Moore on 2 Sept 1894 in Rockwell County, TX This C E Moore is a bit of mystery. I've heard his name was Charles or Charlie. He and Isabell had one son named Henry Edwin Moore so I suspect the 'E' stood for Edwin. It's also been said that Mr. Moore was Native American.
1897
Emma Wilson Athey married Mr. James Robert Byrd on 18 Sept 1897 in Rockwall County, TX
1898
Henrietta "Etta" Athey married Mr. M Chancey McGinnis on 9 Jan 1898 in Collin County, TX
1900 
Martha Lavona Athey married Mr. Frank H. May on 29 July 1900 in Collin County, Texas.

Their father Benjamin Franklin Athey Sr. died on 6 Sept 1900. Frank H. May was the temporary administrator of his Estate.
1901
March 1901 **Frank H. May was adjudged insane. This comes from a newspaper article found on Newspapers.com from The Democrat out of McKinney, TX for the date of  21 March 1901



** Turns out the above article contains a typo. The man actually adjudged insane was Thomas H. May b. 1870 from TN. I found the actual court records. He spent the 1910, 1920, & 1930 census as a patient in Terrell, Kaufman, TX as a patient and died in March 1935.

Also, from the same source on 10 Oct 1901 there is the divorce of Isabell from C E Moore, granted by Judge Dillard. In that same paper is the marriage of Isabell Moore to Mr. James Thomas Foster. Their marriage license is dated for the 6th of Oct 1901. The wording of the divorce article gives the date of her divorce as 5th Oct 1901

1904
Duran Peach Athey married Miss Emmer/Emma May Curry on 1 Feb 1904 in Bowie County, Texas and John Dillard married Miss Eliza Jane Jones on 8 March 1904 in Hunt County, Texas.

1905
Three marriages took place this year. Charles Monroe Athey married Miss Martha Valonia Askins on 12 July 1905 in Rockwall County, Texas, Lucy Jane Athey married Mr. Audrey DeWitt Smith on 29 October in Collin County and an abandoned/divorced Henrietta "Etta" McGinnis married Mr. Bert Clarence Robert 16 Nov 1905 in Collin County, Texas.

1911 Duran Athey's wife and infant daughter, named after her mother, died.

1914 Arthur Mart/Mark Athey married Miss Alice L Cain/Kain in Nacogdoches County, TX in June 1914. I can't find an actual marriage liscense/bond but there's an index and her name is transcribed as Alice King. Two dates are given for their marriage the 7th and the 14th. Alice died in 1931 and sometime after that Arthur Mart married Bertha Mae Watson Bobbitt.

1915 Martha Lavona Athey May remarries Mr. George D. Orman 8 January in Henderson County, Texas

1916 Susanna Athey Clark died 4 Oct 1916 in Van Zandt County, Texas

1917 Duran Athey remarries a widow, Miss Minnie Lee Jones Robbins, in Collin County, Texas.

THE LIFE OF BELLE ATHEY

Belle's father was a corn & cotton farmer it would seem from reading through his Estate Records. In one instance it said that "B F Athey along with his daughters Belle Moore and M L May, owned a growing crop consisting of about 37 acres of corn and cotton" In another paper is stated that Belle was a widow living with her father and she had a four  year old son, Henry Edwin Moore. There's not much as far as documentation on Isabelle's first  husband. In fact the only reference I can find is her marriage and that only gives his name as C E Moore - no age, race, or anything else. BUT I can tell you what a cousin of mine shared with me. She is the daughter of Isabell's daughter, Evie Mack Foster Alexander. Evie's husband Fred Alexander conveyed this to his duaghter:

"Charlie Moore was one half Native American (Cherokee) and was working for Belle's dad. She was very young and fell in love with him and married him, I think in Rockwall County. One day when uncle Henry was a baby (he was born in Rockwall), Charlie left home to go to the bank in Dallas and disappeared. After many years he was declared dead, and she married grandpa Foster. He was carrying money is what I was told, and they thought he was killed along the way. Anyway that's what daddy told me. Granny and uncle Henry were very close I think, because mother had a postcard written to her (granny) from uncle Henry while he was in the service during WWI and was very sick."

As shared above, in 1901 Isabell was granted a divorce and she married my 2nd great grandfather James Thomas Foster. J T Foster was the son of Malcolm Foster, and it's assumed Mary Knox as there is a marriage record for Malcolm and Mary. The first census James is shown in is the 1880 Collin County census which only gives initials. The wife of Malcolm is clearly given as N J Foster. If Mary died and he remarried there's no record that I have found. And no death record for either Mary Knox or "N J" from the 1880 census.


THE CHILDREN OF JAMES AND ISABELL

Not long after James Thomas and Belle were married she became pregnant with their fist child,

• Mary Ellen Foster was born in Simms, Bowie, Texas on the 28th of Sept 1902. She died soon thereafter. 
• Evie Mack Foster was born December 1, 1903,  Simms, Bowie, Texas
• James Arthur "Art" Foster was born June 7, 1905, Simms, Bowie, Texas
• Jodie Sidney Foster was born December 22, 1906, Collin County, Texas
  
  
• Wesley Lewis Foster was born March 25, 1908, Collin County, Texas
• Jessie Marion Foster was born January 30, 1910, Midland Texas he died not long after
• George Franklin Foster was born April 14, 1911
• Ivy May Foster was born October 18, 1913 she died as an infant but there is a picture of her with Evie Mack Foster 
  

• Willie Belle Foster, my great grandmother, was born January 30, 1915, Simms, Bowie, Texas
• Bessie Lee Foster, was born Christmas day, December 25, 1916
• Harvey Sims Foster, was born March 2, 1918, Bowie County, Texas
  

  

   Right to Left: Henry Edwin Moore, Arthur Foster, Jodie Foster, Wesley Foster, George Foster, Harvey Foster. 

Isabell's parents both died before she was even 30. Her first husband left and never returned leaving her to raise their only son. She remarried, gave birth to 11 babies and lost 3, I can't imagine how heartbreaking that would've been. Stories that survive about James Thomas aren't exactly fairy tales. He was a hard man, prone to temper fits. One story says that Isabell could give as good as she got. The story says an argument broke out between the two and they were so mad at each other that they took turns chunking their dishes out the door. At the end of the fight there was only one plate left. They had to use syrup bucket lids for plates for a time. At meal time Isabell would always give James the one last plate - maybe for spite? Anyway, new dishes were purchased before company came.

Again, Evie Mack's daughter shared this story of Grandpa Foster:

Grandpa had a BAD temper. My daddy, Fred Alexander, stopped him many times, I was told, from whipping the boys and old mules when they didn't perform as they should. My mother, Evie Foster, laid a pillow in a bottomless chair one time and put it at grandpa's place at the table. When he sat down to eat he fell through and everyone laughed. Mother said his face got red as he looked all around. Then his eyes fell on her and said "daughter you're the only one who would do this." Guess she was the only one who get by with it.

James Thomas Foster died in 1927 leaving Isabell to raise at least 4 children, the youngest being 9, all by herself.

Isabell delivered babies all around the country side including her own grandson, Charles (my grandpa). Her services were never hampered day or night by the fact that she had asthma. She would never take pay for the deliveries, but most surely some gave her eggs, chickens, butter, vegetables, or whatever they could. She passed away when my grandfather was only 6 months old on November 3, 1935. She was only 63 (if her birth  year was indeed 1872).

I'm not sure about you, but I don't find Isabell's life to have been what most consider prosperous. I'm pretty sure I ruled out 1872 as a birth year, anyway. From the existing records it's possible that she was a Saturday's child, who worked hard for a living, Wednesday's child, full of woe, or Tuesday's child full of grace. I can definitely see her as a Saturday's child and a Wednesday's child. What do you think?

Until next time,
Becky

*I've been terrible about keeping up with this blog, but my SIL has been plugging away. Be sure to stop by and check out her blog over at Days of Our Lives

Civil War Roll Call

This won't be a blog post full of immense detail unless I come back to edit it. For now it will just be a quick reference of my Civil War Ancestors with the units they were in. If the name is highlighted that means a blog post has been written about them or they are at least mentioned. Maybe if I'm having writers block this will be a good place to come back to for writing material. Hopefully every name will eventually be highlighted.

Some of these men fought for the duration, some were imprisoned, some died from disease, some at the hands of bushwhackers, but I don't believe I had any that died from injuries sustained during battle.

• John Middleton Nall (3rd great grandfather) - Co. H 19th Texas Infantry, CSA
• Thomas Franklin Rutherford (3rd great grandfather) - Co. A 34th Mississippi Infantry, CSA
• Asa Franklin Moore (4th great grandfather) - Co. G 34th Georgia Infantry, CSA
• Malcolm 'Mack' Foster (3rd great grandfather) - Co. D Stone's Regiment, 2nd Partisan Rangers, CSA; no service records found, only pension.
• James Martin Bass (3rd great grandfather) - Co. E 1st Regiment Alabama Cavalry; no records found, only pension index.
• Francis Marion Melson (3rd great grandfather) - Co. A 2nd Arkansas Infantry, USA
• Absalom Patton Melson (4th great grandfather) - Co. A 2nd Arkansas Infantry, USA
• John Leander Martin (4th great grandfather) - Co. A 2nd Arkansas Infantry, USA
• William Henry Boyer (5th great grandfather) - Co. F 10th Reg't Arkansas Militia, CSA; Co. L Hill's 7th Reg't Arkansas Cavalry, CSA switched sides Co. A Arkansas 4th Infantry, USA transferred Co. I Arkansas 2nd Infantry, USA
• William Bynum (4th great grandfather) - Co. D 2nd Arkansas Infantry, USA
• Levi Pitts (5th great grandfather) - Co. H 2nd Arkansas Infantry, USA
• James M. Boen (4th great grandfather) - Co. H 26th Arkansas Infantry, CSA
• William Stepp (3rd great grandfather) - Co. A 60th North Carolina Infantry, CSA
• William Gordon Acord (4th great grandfather) - Co. H 10th Arkansas Militia, CSA
• Joseph Josiah Evans (3rd great grandfather) - Co. C 8th Missouri Cavalry, USA
• James Kossier (4th great grandfather) - Co. H 1st Regiment Texas Infantry; no records, only  index card
• Worley Daniel Linville (4th great grandfather) - Co. E Third Alabama Reserves (Lieutenant)

I have two ancestors that were the right age that I can't find any record for involvement in the Civil War:

• Abner Merrell/Merrill (3rd great grandfather) - North Carolina -- One researcher says Abner paid someone to fight on his behalf.
  
  
  
• Killian Rich (3rd great grandfather) - Texas -- Since found one document saying he was a Private Co. Spear's R Corps C.S.A
  
  

I suggest this film by Ken Burns to get a deeper glimpse into the war:

Death And The Civil War or these excerpts from his series The Civil War.

Heirlooms, Keepsakes and Memories

This week the prompt given by No Story Too

Small in the 52 Ancestors Challenge is 'Heirloom'....

I'm super excited about this post. I started by requesting on Facebook that any of my family that had any heirlooms please contact me. The response was wonderful! While some of the items may not have necessarily been passed down generation to generation, they definitely hold a great deal of sentiment for those who now own these treasures belonging to their ancestors.

I'll start with my mother's cousin (that's easier than saying my first cousin 1x removed) Tarona who sent me a picture of a very unusual item that belonged to her grandmother, my great grandmother, Zula Jane Acord Stepp. It is a four eyed bottle opener. A little research shows it was made in the 1940's by Wilton Co. Tarona shared that her mother, Jayne, remembered that Grandma Zula got it after she was married in 1946.

Tarona says:

"When I was really little it kinda scared me and then as I got older I couldn't wait to get a coke so I could use it! It was on the door jam in Grandma Zulie's kitchen......I wouldn't take a million dollars for it."

Another cousin of my mother, Debra,  has Grandma Zula's old Singer sewing machine from 1912

 

My grandmother, Reba, has and old cast iron tea kettle made by Bridgeford & Co, Louisville, KY, 1868.  It belonged to Grandma Zula's maternal grandmother Jane Conner Evans.



My Aunt Diane has the Bynum Family Bible printed in 1884. It was given to my 3rd great grandmother, Lou Emmer Reynolds, who married John Thomas Bynum, from her "Papa" 17 May 1885 when she was only 11 years old. She kept it and wrote in it her birthdate as well as the birthdate of her children. Diane also has my great grandmother Bondell Bynum Melson's thimble.

Another cousin of mine, Mike, has his grandmother, my great-grandmother, Myrtle Rutherford Jones' old WWII ration book:

I have a few treasures of my own and a few people to thank for them. I'll start with my Dad and Dawna who gifted me this past Christmas with my great grandmother Wille Belle Foster Nall's old canning funnel. Then my dad's cousin Angie who so graciously thought of me at the passing of my great grandmother and gathered up a box full of stuff that belonged to her and then made sure I got it. In it was this old standing mixer from Montgomery Ward dated 1963 complete with beaters and two mixing bowls, a serving bowl that still had Grandma's address label she used so that her dish would be returned to her when she brought food to the church potlucks and a decorative plate. The one with a solid round edge is hers. The plate that matches it belonged to my husband's grandmother - it has more pointy edges. I love that I have these two "matching" items from opposite sides of my daughter's family. I also have one of my most treasured items; one of the last Christmas gifts I ever received from Grandma Nall - a handwritten recipe for her chocolate gravy.









From my grandmother Winnie Sue Jones Nall (We called her Mammy), I have a cook book from our church - where she wrote me a sweet note on the worn out cover. It was a gift to me Christmas 2008.




And then there's my Uncle Mike and family who were kind enough to give me the family's old wood cook stove. I remember my Mammy and Grandma Nall cooking on it during a camp out we had in the field below Mammy's house one year. My grandpa, Charles Nall, brought in the big hay trucks for us to sleep on and in the morning we had biscuits, bacon, sausage, chocolate gravy, eggs and hot chocolate for breakfast. It was quite a treat! When I posted pictures of it on Facebook, my great Aunt Dena told me that the stove had originally belonged to her Dad, Rufus Nall, and that he bought it from Chicken Hollar in Farmington because he didn't like the way propane made his biscuits taste. He kept it on the back porch to cook his 'catheads'.

  

  

My Dad has his dad's old Bible. It has my grandfather's marriage date and the names of the witnesses and who married them. They were married by Charles' father Benjamin Rufus Nall and the witnesses were my grandmother Winnie Sue's brother, Edwin Jones and Charles' sister, Mildred (Dena). The handwriting belongs to my grandmother, Winnie Sue.  

  

  

My Great Aunt Peggy shared an heirloom she and my Uncle Dwight have. Dwight's dad, my great grandfather, Newell Stepp Sr. was a machinist in the Army in WW1. He made 5 ballpeen hammers while he was in the Army. He gave one to his commanding officers and brought the others home. A few years ago Dwight was visiting his cousin, Edna McDonald and she had one of the hammers that Newell made and gave to her Mother. She said she wanted Dwight to have the hammer, which he is very proud of. We don't know where the other 3 hammers are. They have Newell's serial number stamped on them, unfortunately its too faded to make out.

  

Another heirloom from my great grandmother, Willie Belle Foster Nall, now belongs to my dad's cousin Tracie. It is her old butter churn.

What family treasures do you and your family members have?

Until next week,
Becky 

Let's Begin - Again.

The prompt this week from No Story Too Small is 'commencement'. I've chosen to write about possibly THE biggest brick wall in my tree. My 4th great grandfather, Maize R. Foster. I have spent hours, along with many other cousins trying to find out more about the beginning of Maize's life. His last 15 years are pretty accountable, but it's his first 35 that are impossible to document it would seem.

The only evidence I have to the date and location of his birth, comes from the 1850 Collin County, TX census. Family #264 lists M R Foster, a farmer, (43) born in NC, wife Sarah (39) born in NC, daughter L J (20) born in IL, daughter N P (17) born in MO, son Wm H. (13) born in MO, daughter Mary (11) born in MO, son Jno T (9) born in MO, son M (3) born in TX, and son Jas (4/12) born in TX.  All children of age are attending school.



Don't you love the census records that didn't use names - only initials.

So from here, shall we work backwards or forwards?

Maybe I should start with his estate records, to prove this family is who I claim them to be.

The first page of his estate is from the Nov Term 1856, Collin County, where it states that Maize R. Foster, a citizen of said county died on or about the 10th day of January A.D. 1856 without leaving a legal will. John M. Salmons petitions the court to be the administrator of said estate.

On page 11 of the Estate, Maize's eldest son William is appointed guardian to the three youngest surviving children: Malcolm, James and Mary. Malcolm is my ancestor.



In January of 1857, the property of Maize Foster is appraised and several items are claimed by W H Foster and N P Foster (Wm and his sister - who you will soon find to be named Nancy).



Now as I dig further into the estate records one piece of paper tucked away inside the file has always left me curious. It's a written "receipt" for 3 coffins purchased in Feb 1856. If Maize died "on or around 10th of January" who are the other two coffins for? I suspect them to be for his wife and son, John T Foster. What kind of illness did they die from? Was it yellow fever? Influenza? Or as I later begin to wonder, maybe Maize is already buried and it could be for his oldest daughter as well?

 As I dig a little further I find a receipt dated 1856 to David Ford, Dr. Listed are dates and amounts for "pres med & cupping". According to Wikipedia cupping was used to treat respiratory diseases such as the common cold, pneumonia and bronchitis. He treated Mary on the 25th of January, Nancy on the 31st. On the 5th of February at night "visit to wife pres med & cupping". On the 5th "for self wife Mary and Nancy"

Enclosed in the estate file is also a receipt ledger for Dr. Henry Dye from Plano, TX. I have trouble making out a lot of what it says. But the date given is for the year 1857 and there is mention of cupping and treating blisters. Also for buying 8 loads of wood and 4 poles. From researching cupping therapy, I find that blisters are usually a terrible side-effect of the treatment. Were the 8 loads of wood for the heating process used in "cupping"? What are the 4 poles for?



Keep digging through the estate files and there's yet another receipt from a George H. Peguez, who was elected Justice of the Peace of Collin Co in 1857, where planks for a coffin for son are purchased in 1856 followed by planks for a coffin for self. What a surreal thing to know you and your loved ones are dying. I believe the son to be John T.



Nothing that provides any insight into what caused the death of Maize, his wife and his son, but it is interesting to note, was a receipt from Charles DeMorse for what appears to be newspapers subscriptions to The Standard. Specifically Vol. 10 #13 through Vol 13 #17.

I won't post the actual document, you'll just have to take my word for it, but by the Nov term of 1859 land is divided and distributed among the remaining heirs of Maize as follows - 33 acres to James Foster, 33 acres to Malcolm Foster, to Sanford Hosacks 33 acres, to Mary F. Dasson (Dawson) 33 acres, to Wm H. Foster 36 and 50/160 acres, to Nancy Stigal 31 and 125/160 acres



This leaves me asking, who was Sanford Hosack? Was he the widower of Maize's daughter L J born 1830 in ILL? There is no mention of her or John T or Maize's wife Sarah. After researching Sanford Hosack, I come up empty. I found a William Sanford Hosack, born in TX in 1856 who ends up in Merced CA in 1884 but that's as close as I get. *Follow-up* After going back to research this further, I find in the probate records of Collin County where William Sanford Hosack was the minor heir of Hosack and is entitled to an interest in the Estate of Maize R. Foster. Click here for the file. In this file it calls him the heir of L J Hosack... confirming my theory that Sanford Hosack was the widow of Maize's daughter.

So, here we are with a beginning to Maize's life-- 1807 in NC, and an end, 1856 in Collin County, TX. Now to fill in the gaps.

We know that Maize was in Collin County, TX because of the 1850 census and his estate files. In 1842 there is an M R Foster with 640 acres. In 1843 he is listed as Maise Foster. In 1844 Maze R Foster. In 1845 there is a "Mays Foster" all listed in the Fannin County Tax Rolls. Fannin and Collin are neighboring counties and according to a formation map of the state, Collin County was formed from Fannin County in 1846.

Maize R. Foster is still the name on the original abstracts in Collin County as abstract #332. In the online transcription of his land records it is listed in Fannin district as a 3rd class headright. 3rd class headrights were issued to those who arrived in Texas between October 1, 1837 and January 1, 1840. Heads of families received 640 acres, while single men received 320 acres.

I'm currently trying to verify if Maize was a member of the Peters Colony. There is an 1852 survey map that allegedly shows the EAST boundary of the Peters Colony. You can find that map here. The red line is extremely faded and runs through James Maxwell's plot, directly to the east of the plot surveyed for Maize. I haven't been able to find on the map where it is labeled as the East boundary - only in the description of the map. If you look at the above picture where Maize's land was divided between his heirs you can see Rowlett's Creek. This is a Peters Colony Grant Map circa 1842-44 where Rowlett's Creek is clearly marked. After contacting the Texas Land Grant office - I was told Maize was NOT a member of Peter's colony.

After looking at his birth year and his location during the time of the Mexican-American war I decided to search Fold3 for "Maize", hoping to find a service record. I came up empty. But after seeing his name listed as "Mays" in the tax records I decided to do a search spelling it that way and got a hit for a "May Foster" who was enlisted on 1 Nov 1847 and assigned to Belle's Reg't Texas Mounted Vols. Is this him? It's doubtful as his age is given as 21 in 1864.

About 10 years ago, when I first learned of Maize, thanks to my great aunt Dena, I began searching online and came across Terry Foster who was researching his ancestor, James Foster, in Benton County, MO.  On his page he me mentions Goodspeed's “History of Cole, Moniteau, Morgan, Benton, Miller, Maries and Osage Counties, Missouri.” where Maize R. Foster is mentioned as serving on a grand jury in Warsaw, Benton Co., MO in 1835 along side Terry's ancestor James. Are the two connected? We know from the 1850 census that 3 of Maize's children were born in MO between the years 1837-1841 (approx.) This must be him, yet there is no Maize or Maize R or M R Foster to be found in all the state of MO for the census year 1840. Today while going through the images on FamilySearch for the Court Minutes of Benton County, 1838-1846, Vol A; page 13, I found Maize R. Foster. The previous page (12) gives us the date of February 1835 when he was appointed as a commissioner along with Hugh M. Donaghe and Hugh C. Donaghe to "view and mark out" a road going from Rives County to Fristoe's Ferry on the Osage River. Hugh M and Hugh C. were first cousins.

**I recently (2016) discovered a little book on The Portal to Texas History called "Between The Creeks" that mentions "Maise" was a chainman under Daniel Rowlett and Daniel Montague and helped survey the lands of Fannin County, Texas. I wonder if surveying was a skill/trade of his?** To see the entire land record (bottom of page 6) where Maize is shown as a surveyor click here

Terry does make an interesting connection with Maize's son-in-law, George G. Dawson, in Rives, MO that same year, and a Malcolm Foster living next door. (Remember Maize's son and my ancestor was also named Malcolm - not him, but is it a namesake?)
We also know from the 1850 census that Maize's oldest child was born around 1830 in IL. Terry's ancestor James Foster, also hails from IL and in the 1830 STATE census there were 8 Foster families living in Morgan County. Again - No Maize is listed in the entire state of IL. The heads of families listed in the Morgan County census are: John Foster, Elizabeth Foster, James Foster, Mary Foster, Wm Foster, Wm F. Foster, James Foster (different from first) and John Foster (different from first). Is the Wm F. Foster listed the same Wm F Foster who shows up in the Fannin/Collin County Tax records the same year as Maize?

There is no luck searching the 1830 FEDERAL census either. More than likely because according to this website: "The 1820, 1855, and 1865 schedules have survived reasonably intact, but most returns for 1825, 1830, 1835, and 1845 are missing, and almost half of the 1840 state census has been lost."

Before 1830 Maize would be lumped in with his father's family in any census records, so this is where my trail runs cold.

To wrap things up, I don't know Maize's wife Sarah's maiden name or where they were even married. I know it would be sometime prior to 1830 if she were indeed the mother of his eldest child. Possibly in Illinois but I can't be certain.

The following children belonging to Maize I can document:

William H. Foster born about 1837 in MO, marries on 5 April 1866 Lucy Jane Stigall, the daughter of Peter Stigall and Mary "Polly" Edwards.

Nancy P. Foster born 5 Sept 1841 in MO (I'm not certain her birth date is correct - she was older than Mary and wasn't in need of a guardian appointed at the time of her father's death). She was the second wife of Peter Stigall, who again was the father of Lucy Jane Stigall. Nancy and Peter were married 27 Jan 1859 in Collin County.

Mary Foster born about 1839 in MO married first to George G. Dawson, Dec 1858. George died during the civil war. Mary then becomes the wife of David Smith 19 July 1865  she then marries again to James Nicholas Stigall, the son of Peter Stigall and Mary "Polly" Edwards on 2 Apr 1879.

My ancestor, Malcolm "Mack" Foster born in July of 1847 in Collin County, TX. He married Mary Knox 5 April 1866, the same day as his brother, William H. married his wife Lucy.

Then James Foster who was born in 1850, Collin County, TX. I don't have a spouse listed for him and I only know he and his brother Malcolm are buried side by side in Sims, TX, with two headstones splitting the word BRO-THERS.



In closing, if you're reading this and can make a connection this family, please reach out. I would love to connect with you. Also, I would love to find descendants of Malcom's siblings. Myself, and a few cousins of mine (descended from Malcolm) have tested with 23andMe and have uploaded our raw data to GEDMatch. We have compared our genomes with that of Terry Foster (descendant of James Foster) and there are no matches. I'm not sure that definitely means we're not related, possibly just that we didn't inherit the same genome as Terry may have. But then again, I really don't understand DNA well enough to make assumptions.

I hope you have enjoyed this wild goose chase. I hope we can eventually fill in all the missing pieces.

Until Next Week,
Becky



A cousin responded on FB and had this to say about Malcolm and his brother James: "My mother, Evie Foster Alexander, always referred to them as grandpa and uncle Jim. She told me that they were both widowers and lived together when she was little."