The Unforgotten - Samuel M BELL

Yesterday I wrote about how in my years of researching, I occasionally come across relatives that have been forgotten. They stop showing up in records and more often than not, never marry or have children. In an effort to honor them I'm going to write a series of posts highlighting these various people connected to our ancestors so that they are not forgotten. 

Yesterday was my first post and it focused on one of the siblings belonging to my husbands 2nd grandmother, Joseph P BELL.

Today, I'm going to write about another one of her siblings that time forgot. He did have a wife and child but because of a census error or a lack of family record keeping his birthdate is way off from the last record he is in with his father. So, I'm not sure his ancestors will know where to find his parents and siblings. 

It all started with me looking deeper into the school census records for my husband's grandmother. 

Things to note are: the children's names, birth dates, the fact that Ralph Jr. is "hard of hearing" the date of the census is11 January 1933, and they lived at 407 North River Street. 

Since discovering a few good newspapers from Ottawa County, OK, I decided to search newspapers for their address. 

Here are a few articles I found:

In 1930 their home would've ran $10/month. It was a five room home. 

Miami Daily News, Friday, 3 Jan 1930

Ralph, Bessie and their children lived there in 1933 according to the school census, but in 1937, there seems to be a different family. One with a young daughter named Alta BELL, her father's name is Sam.

Now remember from yesterday's post that Bessie's mother's maiden name is BELL and she had a brother named Samuel, who according the 1900 census was born May 1891. Also of note is the "Ethel Fielder of Baxter Springs" This is a typo -- This is Samuel's nephew Ethal Fielden, the son of the above mentioned Benjamine L Fielden from the land claim article. 

Miami News Record 22 Dec 1937

Now, before I found the above article last week, I had found one more piece of information on Samuel way back 2017. I  had come across a snippet from The Mountain Echo in Yellville, where Sam BELL was witness to his brother-in-law's land claim, placing him in Bruno, Marion County, AR, in 1916

The Mountain Echo, Friday, 04 Feb 1916

Back to Sam BELL with the daughter Alta BELL. If I go to the census records for 1930, I find living in North Miami, a Sam BELL with wife Ella and daughter Alta. 

There's one catch, this Sam was born in 1883 not 1891 and that's a difference of at least 8 years. But census records have been wrong before. And drastically so, therefore that doesn't discount that this could be the same Sam. He is a shoveler for a lead and zinc mine and his wife is a laundress working from home. 

**BACKUP I just caught something!** 

Below is a screen shot of the 1900 census that says he was born in 1891. If you look a little closer it also says he is 18. Only one of those statements can be true. Because if he were born in 1891 he would have been 9. But if he were 18 his birth year would have been 1882 and viola we have a date that matches him in later records, like his WW1 draft record.



A little more research shows that Sam's wife was Sara Ella ADAMS and she was born in Bruno, Marion County, AR. Remember where I  had found Sam as a witness back in 1916? Sam and Ella married in 1917, in Ottawa County, OK.

Another piece of evidence I have is a WW1 draft registration for Sam. Like the 1900 census it gives his birth month as May, but unlike that census or the 1930 census, his birth year is now 1882. He's a miner for the Royal Mining Co. 
.

But there's one more piece of evidence that leaves me feeling certain that this is indeed Samuel BELL son of Quincy A BELL. It's another little snippet from Miami Daily Record, dated 17 April 1921.

If you were following along in yesterday's post, I showed that Quincy had a daughter named Cordovia Jane and that she married a James W. ROSE. I'm not entirely sure what happened to Mr. ROSE but in 1906 she remarries a Mr. Floyd Edward Saunders. And in 1910 you can find them in Chillicothe, Missouri with some of Cordovia's children from her previous marriage. 

After putting this information into my tree, a few pictures from other contributors showed up. 

This brings us to the end of Samuel's life. I'm happy to know I can now complete his story in my family tree.

My next post will be about Sam and Joseph's nephew, a son of their sister, Eliza Emoline BELL WILLIAMS SNEARY.

Until then, 
Becky

Genealogy -- What A Tangled Web You Weave

A series of obituaries has a branch of my tree turned all sorts of backwards and upside down.

This blog post will be my attempt at unravelling the information.

Edith HUBBARD DRAKE was the daughter of Alfred Allen HUBBARD and Laura BUTLER.

Laura BUTLER was the eldest daughter of Nancy CAUDILL and James BUTLER. 

Laura's headstone gives her birth date as 23 Jul 1877, but considering her parents weren't married until 26 August of that same year, I'm going to venture to say the year was most likely 1878. And one such newspaper clipping announcing her death, would agree with me. 

Springfield Leader and Press 31 Dec 1957

In 1880 we can find baby Laura (age given as 1) living in Taney County, Missouri, with her parents James P (age 26) and Nancy J (age 19). Laura is the only child at that time. Considering the fact that we rarely have an 1890 census and both Nancy and James (and all of their children) are obsolete by the 1900 census, finding Laura's siblings can be a bit tricky. But as you can see from the death announcement above, we know she at least has a sister, Mrs. Tellefer ROBERTS, from Springfield. 

Research reveals Mrs. ROBERTS to be Estella BUTLER, wife of Toliver Jefferson ROBERTS. Estella was born 11 March 1886 somewhere in Missouri. The two married in Christian County, MO in 1904

Searching the digital Missouri birth records prior to 1910 reveals that James and Nancy CAUDELL BUTLER had a son named Charles who was  born in Christian County, Missouri 3 Aug 1883. 

Researching Newspapers leads me to his obituary, that also references their sister, Mrs. TJ ROBERTS. His obituary also gives us two more siblings, Bessie STIPES and Henry, and they will open up a can of worms that really start to weave a tangled web.



 

Springfield Leader and Press 15 March 1965

I begin searching Newspapers for Mrs. Bessie STIPES and it leads me to two more obituaries, one for an Emma Belle HENDERSON and one for a James Henry HENDERSON. 

The Pryor Jeffersonian 13 June 1963

The Wheaton Journal 20 July 1967

 

Now is the time to get out your pencil and paper because it's gets confusing quickly. From the obituary of Emma HENDERSON we see that she as two daughters, Bessie STIPES and Roxie KIRBY and four sons, Harry, Bonnie, Andrew and Henry HENDERSON. And then two siblings, Charley BUTLER (from above) and Stella ROBERTS (also from above). 

Wait. So is Bessie STIPES the sister or niece of Charles BUTLER? Looking at census records I find a Bessie and William Avery STIPES living in various places in the area: 1910 McDonald County, MO, 1920 Delaware County, OK, 1930 & 1940 Mayes County, OK and in all of these records her birth is given as 1890 in Arkansas. How could Emma HENDERSON be her mother. That would make her only 10 at the time of Bessie's birth. Bessie is also missing from the 1900 census.

The newspaper clipping below shows that Bessie's maiden name was definitely HENDERSON.

Pineville Herald 3 March 1905

So then, let's look at the obituary of James Henry HENDERSON. His siblings are listed as brothers: Harry, Andrew and Bonnie, and sisters: Roxie KIRBY, Bessie STIPES, and Stella ROBERTS 

James Henry HENDERSON is also missing from the 1900 census but we can find him in 1910 at age 15 living in McDonald County, MO, with a Roe HENDERSON family. His relationship is given as "son". Other family members are Emma (age 31) (wife) Harry (age 10) (son) Roxie (age 7) (daughter) and Bonnie (age 4) (son). This is Roe's second marriage. Emma's first. They have been married 13 years giving an approximate marriage date of 1897. Emma is most likely not James Henry's mother as he is 15. And definitely not Bessie's mother either as she would be 20.

So that means in order for Henry to be Charley BUTLER's brother and for Bessie to be his sister, they most likely share a mother, Nancy J Caudell and I suspect that Bessie is Henry's only full sibling. 

Nancy most likely died not long after the birth of James Henry, and her unmarried daughter, Emma, married the widowed step-father, becoming the mother of his four other children and helping to raise her two youngest half-siblings. 

Another sibling's obituary I found searching names already found in this family, belongs to that of a Mrs. Cora BARNES who died in November of 1957. It would appear she only listed her full siblings. 

The Springfield News Leader 02 Nov 1957

What I have found for the children of Emma BUTLER HENDERSON and Roan Mcgee (Mack) HENDERSON are as follows:

1. Harry Arthur HENDERSON b. 8 Sept 1899 Jasper, Missouri, m. 27 April 1925 in Delaware County, OK, to Bertha BALLOU d. 6 Jan 1974, Mayes County, OK (gender on DC is mistaken as female on the OK2Explore site)
2. Roxie Viola HENDERSON KIRBY b.24 Nov 1902, Wagoner, OK, m. 24 Aug 1919 in McDonald County, MO, to Rollie S. KIRBY d. 23 April 1996, Delaware County, OK. 
3. Bonnie Zeno HENDERSON B. 2 April 1906, Barry County, Missouri, m. 28 Feb 1943, Delaware County, OK to Thelma Jenkins d. 15 May 2003 Mayes County, OK
4. Andrew Virgil HENDERSON b. 16 March 1911, McDonald County, MO m. 12 May 1935, Delaware County, OK to Clara Atkins d. 30 January 1993 -- The Andrew V Henderson on the OK2Explore site gives a death date of 30 April 1993 in Rogers County, OK
   
   
   

So to recap: It is my belief that James BUTLER and Nancy CAUDELL (m. 26 Aug 1877, Christian County, MO) were the parents of :

1. Laura Adeline BUTLER b 23 July 1878, Christian County, Missouri, m. 20 Sept 1900, Webster County, MO to Alfred Allen HUBBARD d. 29 Dec 1957, Delaware County, OK
2. Emma Belle BUTLER b. 28 Feb 1880, Christian County, Missouri, m. 1896/7 Arkansas to Roan McGee "Mack" HENDERSON d. 2 June 1963, Mayes County, Oklahoma
3. Charles BUTLER b. 3 Aug 1883, Christian County, Missouri m.? d. 13 March 1965, Benton County, AR
4. Cora BUTLER BARNES b. 21 Jan 1884, Douglas County, Missouri m. 29 March 1903 in Taney County, MO to Marion Foster BARNES d. 01 Nov 1957, Webster County, MO
5. Estella BUTLER ROBERTS b. 11 March 1886 in Missouri, m. 20 March 1904 in Christian County, MO, to Toliver Jefferson ROBERTS d. 14 Sept 1971, Missouri

Nancy CAUDELL BUTLER and Roan Mcgee (Mack) HENDERSON were the parents of:

1. Bessie HENDERSON STIPES b 02 January 1890 in Arkansas m. 26 Feb 1905, in McDonald County, Missouri, to William Avery STIPES d. 27 August 1977 in Mayes County, OK
2. James Henry HENDERSON b. 28 April 1895 Searcy, AR m. 06 June 1916 in Barry County, Missouri d. 16 July 1967, Newton, Missouri

And as stated above the children of Emma BUTLER HENDERSON and Roan Mcgee (Mack) HENDERSON are:

1. Harry Arthur HENDERSON b. 8 Sept 1899 Jasper, Missouri, m. 27 April 1925 in Delaware County, OK, to Bertha BALLOU d. 6 Jan 1974, Mayes County, OK (gender on DC is mistaken as female on the OK2Explore site)
2. Roxie Viola HENDERSON KIRBY b.24 Nov 1902, Wagoner, OK, m. 24 Aug 1919 in McDonald County, MO, to Rollie S. KIRBY d. 23 April 1996, Delaware County, OK. 
3. Bonnie Zeno HENDERSON B. 2 April 1906, Barry County, Missouri, m. 28 Feb 1943, Delaware County, OK to Thelma Jenkins d. 15 May 2003 Mayes County, OK
4. Andrew Virgil HENDERSON b. 16 March 1911, McDonald County, MO m. 12 May 1935, Delaware County, OK to Clara Atkins d. 30 January 1993 -- The Andrew V Henderson on the OK2Explore site gives a death date of 30 April 1993 in Rogers County, OK
   
   
   
   

I don't have any death records for James or Nancy CAUDELL BUTLER but these new discoveries give me some dates and places to start looking. I believe James died sometime around 1889/90  before Nancy's daughter Bessie was born and Nancy sometime around 1895/96/97 probably around Searcy, Arkansas when her son James Henry HENDERSON was born. What I don't know is if the Searcy given as his birth place is Searcy County, Arkansas or Searcy, White County, Arkansas.

I think this could be the grave site of Nancy. 



Until next time, 
Becky

PS. I'll leave you with a few more miscellaneous articles with various family members.

The Delaware County Journal 3 Feb 1955

 

The Delaware County Journal 06 Oct 1955

The Pryor Jeffersonian 9 Jan 1958

Mattie Dillahunty -- A Staunch Democrat and Hard Worker!

Today I want to write briefly about my step mother's maternal great grandmother, Mattie Minerva Dillahunty Moore Cravy. I've written a bit about her first husband and children here.

Mattie must have been a strong woman. She endured so much loss in her 94 years on this earth. She buried her parents, siblings, two husbands, and six of her eight children.

When I think back to her story, I think about a post I once read on Facebook about our inner crone.

IN PRAISE OF THE INNER CRONE!

OK, we all know about the "inner child", right? The innocent being who still lives inside of us, who needs and deserves love and care, and whom we sometimes have to channel in order to learn self-compassion?

I'm a big fan of the notion of the inner child. It can be a really healing construct. Once, when I was going through a particularly dark season of self-loathing, I taped a sweet photo of myself (age 2) on my mirror, and taught myself that any harm I did to me, I also did to HER. It made me kinder and more tender to myself. Imagining other people's inner children makes me kinder and more tender to them.

So the Inner Child is a good thing.

These days, though, I spend less time thinking about my Inner Child lately, and more time focused on my INNER CRONE — the old lady who lives inside me, whom I hope to someday be.

Because she's a serious bad-ass.

The really old ladies always are bad-asses. I'm talking about the real survivors. The women who have been through everything already, so nothing scares them anymore. The ones who have already watched the world fight itself nearly to death a dozen times over. The ones who have buried their dreams and their loved ones and lived through it. The ones who have suffered pain and lived through it, and who have had their innocence challenged by ten thousand appalling assaults...and who lived through all of it.

The world is a frightening place. But you simply cannot frighten The True Crone.

Some might consider the word "crone" to be derogatory, but I don't in the least. I honor it. The crone is a classic character from myth and folklore, and she often the bearer of great wisdom and supernatural power. She is sometimes a guardian to the underworld. She has tremendous vision, even if she is blind. She has no fear of death, which means: NO FEAR.

I keep a wall of photos of some of my favorite crones, for inspiration. The photo below is of a Ukrainian Babushka who lives in (get this) Chernobyl. There are a group of such women — all tough elderly peasants — who have all recently moved back to the radioactive area around Chernobyl.

You know why they live there? Because they like it.

They like Chernobyl because that's where they came from. They are natural-born farmers. They hated being refugees.They resented being shunted off their land after the catastrophe. They hated living in the shabby and crime-infiltrated and stress-inducing government housing in the city, and they much prefer the independence of living off the land in the most contaminated nuclear site on earth. They have formed a stupendously resilient retirement community there, in what some would call the world's most terrifying landscape.

Is it safe? Of course not. Or, whatever. After 90 years of hard living, what does "safe" even mean? They drink the water. These women plant vegetables in that radioactive soil and eat them. They butcher the wild pigs that scavenge around the old nuclear power plant, and eat them, too. Their point is: "We are old. What do have to fear from radioactivity? At this age? Who cares?"

All they want is their freedom. So they take care of themselves and each other. They cut and haul their own wood. They make their own vodka. They get together and drink and laugh about the hardships of World War II and the evils of the Stalin years. They laugh about everything, then they go outside and butcher another radioactive boar and make sausage out of him.

I would put these women in a Bad-Ass Contest against any cocky young alleged Bad Ass you've got going, and I guarantee you — the Chernobyl crones would win, hands down.

We live in a society that romanticizes youth. We live in a culture where youth is considered a real accomplishment. You look at a seriously powerful classic crone like the woman in this photo and you see foolish we are — to imagine that the young offer much for us to aspire to, or learn from. No wisdom like the wisdom of survival. No equanimity like the equanimity of somebody who plants a garden right on top of a nuclear disaster and gets on with it.

So these days, when my Inner Child gets all fluttery with the panic of living, I just ask myself: " WWMICD?"

"What Would My Inner Crone Do?"

Ask yourself that same question. See what she tells you.

One thing I can promise you she will never say? She will never say: "WORRY.

She will more likely tell you this: "ENDURE."

Hang in there, all you future awesome crones!

Who better to imagine than one of your ancestors? So for my sister, and stepmom, I hope when you read about Mattie, and if you ever fall on difficult times,  you picture her as your inner crone. As you go through the life, I hope you are able to endure with all the strength of those who have gone before you.

Mattie was born in Sebastian County, AR 9 September 1886/87. She was the 7th child born to Mr. Adolphous Dillahunty and Emily P. Williams. She married James Walter Moore in June of 1902 and they lived in and around Greenwood, Sebastian County, Arkansas, for about 20 years before moving to Webber Falls, Muskogee, OK. Mattie experienced a lot of personal loss in the 1930's burying her husband and several children. She ended up living in Tulare, CA with her sons Adolphus, Leon and Clyde by 1935. After living in California for about 5 years she remarried a man by the name of Mose Pierce Cravy around 1941.

Once again in looking for answers as to who Mattie's first mother and father-in-law might have been, I ran across a few articles, some even includes Mattie's picture! I wasn't able to find the answers I was looking for as far as who Walter Moore's parents were, but I did think the articles below were very interesting.

Tulare Advance Register 07 Nov 1978

Tulare Advance Register 4 Nov 1980

Tulare Advance 6 July 1982

I hope you guys enjoy the articles and if you need to enlarge them, you should be able to click the caption below each article to be taken to the file where there is a ZOOM option.


Until next time,
Becky

52 Ancestors - In The Census

This week the scheduled prompt is In the Census. I want to take this opportunity to demonstrate how there is a lot you can do in your research without necessarily having to pay for subscriptions. Most all of the information I will be giving you, will come from FamilySearch, a free site that just requires you to register.

During our Christmas dinner at my Dad's, I took several pages of research and copies of records over to my Step-mom. We went through them and she asked a few questions that I didn't have answers to and at the time I had let my subscription expire with Ancestry. All of that led me to find a new to me record data base on FamilySearch; the Oklahoma, School Records, 1895-1936. 

The topic person of this post will be her grandmother, Leta Grace Moore Sloan and her siblings.

Leta Grace was the fourth child born to James Walter Moore and Mattie Dillahunty. She was born in Greenwood, Sebastian County, AR about 1914.

Other children in birth order were:

• Alta
• Alma
• unknown baby (born and died before 1910)
• Adolphus
• Leon Thomas
• Hershel (died at age two)
• Clyde

Sometime between 1918 and 1920 the Moore family moved from Sebastian County to Vann, Muskogee County, OK.

They first show up in the scholastic census report in 1921 and only the four oldest are of school age.

The next year, 1922, pay attention to how much their birth dates and months change. Who was giving this information, anyway? Also notice Alta's last name is no longer Moore. She married James Cowan in Sept of the previous year.

In 1922, you will notice they're now in District 3. I don't believe they moved, as much as there was a restructuring or labeling of the districts.



In 1923 they are still in District 3. Alma's last name has changed to Pettie becuse she married Luther Petty in Oct of 1922. Once again, their birth months and years are all over the place. I also included the instruction page that lays out the procedures and guidelines for the enumerator.

Try as I might, I cannot find this family at all in 1924 and by 1925 the two older sisters are no longer there but baby Leon has finally joined the ranks. This time they're in District 77.

The next census year I can find is 1927. Earnest Beavers was the census taker. The birth dates are becoming more and more regular now. Leta is listed as being born in July in almost all of them, though its still a toss up as to whether the year was 1913 or 1914 and the days.... well they're still random.

1928: This year James F. Beavers is the enumerator. He was the Notary Public in the previous year.

The 1929 census is very sloppy and inaccurate. The children aren't even listed in the correct order. And Leta's name is spelled horrifically. It looks like the enumerator's name is F J Vann.

December 17, 1929 Leta Grace marries Charley Sloan in Sequoya County, OK . You can see the Sloan and Moore families side by side in the 1930 census. This census was taken 03 April 1930 by Pearl Martin. If she had waited just a few weeks more, baby Dorothy would've made an appearance in this census, as she was born 25 April that same year.

Also of note -- living with the Sloan family are George Sloan's step-daughters with the same last name as his deceased wife. George was first married to Florence David. Her brother was Isaac David who was married to Mollie Wasson. Florence died in 1915; Isaac in 1913. Widows George and Mollie then married one another in 1916.




Around the year 1930 some really big changes and unbearable heartbreak begin to happen. During the next six years this family would see tremendous loss. I don't know how poor Mattie endured it.

 First, notice how James Walter is no longer listed as the parent in the next scholastic census; 1930.  There is no specific death date that I have been able to find for Walter, but he is said to have died around this time. He is buried in Vaught Cemetery, in Webber Falls, OK. 

I can't tell you anything about Walter's death, and believe me I have searched and searched and searched for answers. I don't know how he died or even where. Again, he is said to be buried in Vaught Cemetery where his baby boy, Hershel is buried.

 An outbreak of tuberculosis was about to hit this family hard claiming the life of our young, new mother, in 1933. She was only 20 years old and baby Dorothy was only three. She is also buried in Vaught cemetery. Maybe that is how Walter died as well?



What Leta was doing in Latimer County, I'm not sure but The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture states:

In 1920–21 the legislature created Eastern State Sanatorium, a treatment facility for tuberculosis patients; now operated as an Oklahoma Veterans Center, it is located two miles northwest of Talihina. Nearby, the Choctaw-Chickasaw Sanatorium for Indian tuberculosis patients was opened in 1917.

She may have been there.


In 1935, her sister, Alma Moore Petty, dies all the way in Tulare County, CA. I don't know the exact cause. Or why she was in Tulare CA. In 1940 her remarried husband and children are in the Exeter, Tulare, California census.

Tulare Advance Register 26 Nov 1935

In April 1936, not even 5 months later, sister Alta Moore Cowan dies from pulmonary tuberculosis in Willcox, Cochise, AZ. She is buried in Sunset Cemetery there. Again, why was she all the way in AZ? The dry air was said to help TB but I have found no record of a sanatorium in Willcox. In 1940 Alta's husband is also remarried. He and his family are still living in Vann, Muskogee, OK.

In the course of six years this family of eight became a family of four. Mattie buried a husband and three young daughters. In 1940 poor widowed Mattie is living in Tulare, CA with her youngest son Clyde. She is a seamstress. Clyde is 18 and is a form setter for a curb company. As I have stated in other posts, the 1940 census asks residents where they were living in 1935. Mattie and Clyde both answered 'same place'.

I can't seem to find Adolphus in the 1940 census but his WW2 draft registration says he's still living in Vann, OK and gives his mother's address as Tulare, CA.

That leaves brother Leon. He is also living in Tulare County, specifically, Visalia. His occupation is listed as laborer for the WPA. In 1935 he said he was also living in Tulare County.

This tale is not yet over. Mattie eventually remarries to a Mr. Mose Pierce Cravy. I think around 1941, going off of social pieces in the Tulare Advance Register. He passed away three years later in 1955. She would then go on to bury at least one more child before she herself died in 1982. Adolphus (named after his mother's father Adolphus Dillahunty) dies two days after the 40th anniversary of Leta's death on the 7 Aug 1973 in Tulare, CA. Mattie herself finally succumbs to death in 1982.

Leon lives to be 79, passing away in 1995. He also would've endured so much loss and the pain of watching his mother's heart break time after time with the passing of each child. I have not been able to confirm death records for Clyde. I can fill in some pieces of his life using other records. One dated 6 Dec 1963 gives his birth date as 13 Jul 1921. His middle name is Francis (most likely named after his great grandfather Francis Marion Dillahunty) and sates he is a used car salesman for Caravan Chevrolet in Tulare County. By 1964 he was selling cars for Tom & Jay's Auto Sales and his wife was named Velma. Voter registration says he was a Democrat and that he was a Taxi Driver in the 40's. I do not know his death date.

I can't imagine the heart break this mother endured in loosing so many dear loved ones; in total two husbands and at least 6 children. I cannot imagine how she remained sane.

Until next time,
Becky

My 10 Favorite Resources

This post is just as much for me as it is for you! There are a handful or resources that I am always using and then there are a few that have been very handy, but I don't need to use them very often. I end up forgetting what they were and have to scour social media for clues. I decided today that I would write a blog post about all the different sources I use. They are almost all free, though some will require you to have an account.

1. Family Search: This site is very similar to Ancestry, only its free. There are often times I have been able to find actual images, not just transcribed records, on Family Search, while the transcribed information from an index is all that's available on Ancestry. I like that I can narrow my search down to individual states. There are also indexes on Family Search that I use often (like probate records) that aren't searchable per-se, but that can be clicked through, image by image, until you can find your record. Family Search will also let you know if there is record loss in a particular county which would explain why you know something is a fact but can't back it up with records. This most often occurs in counties that saw a lot of first hand battle during the Civil war when homes, buildings and whole towns were sometimes burned to the ground. 
2. Bureau of Land Management: I love to look through the Land Patents listed on the BLM site and even using the map to get a better idea of where my ancestor lived.
3. Buncombe County, NC Register of Deeds : I realize this resource is very specific, but if you trace your family back far enough, North Carolina, is a pretty big hub for Colonial History. This site not only has land records, but it contains a few marriage and death records as well
4. Texas Land Grants: Again another State specific site but I have a HUGE amount of family from Texas. I have found land records on this site from at least 3 ancestors and if I ever felt like filling out the paperwork these would grant me access into the Daughters of the Texas Republic. 
5. Newspapers.com : This is a paid for site and has been my favorite for newspaper archives. There are others out there and I have found some information in GenealogyBank's newspaper archives that weren't available on Newspapers.com. But I don't find their database to be very user friendly. 
6. Chronicling America: This is a free site. I have rarely used it and can't really remember a time that I found anything but you may have better luck. 
7. The Gateway to Oklahoma History: This is also a free site for Oklahoma newspapers, books, and various other collections. For free newspaper searches in the Oklahoma and surrounding counties from other states, I really like this site. It is exactly like the next resource on the list.
8. The Portal to Texas History: Like I stated before. I have a vast amount of family from the great state of Texas. I have found many articles on this website that weren't found on the paid for Newspapers site.
9. Missouri Digital Heritage: This website can sometimes be difficult to maneuver from the home screen. There are a few places I regularly search on this site. Missouri Birth and Death Records Database, Pre -1910  ; Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1966 ; Missouri Provost Marshal Database, 1861-1966
10. Fold3 : I love this site. It isn't just for your veterans. It contains Native American records, and Pension applications. These can sometimes contain a wealth of detailed information in the form of affidavits from neighbors, and family friends. They contain first hand accounts from people during that time period. In one such record an acquaintance of my 5th great grandfather spoke of going to the blacksmith  near the close of the Revolutionary War, and speaking with other men of the community about the turbulent times.
    

    

    ... I have a distinct recollection of one pertickular conversation that took place at Robert Grays blackmsith shop between said Upton and my self and Robert Gray. Under whom said Upton learned the trade of Gunn Smith. we were all speaking of the many trials and hardships that we went through during the revolutionary war all of us having served in said war .....

    And a non-direct line ancestor of my husband had letters from members of her community writing to complain that her pension was acquired by fraudulent testimonies and that her son(s) were using her pension to drink and lay around rather than support their mother. These are stories. Not just records. They paint the bigger picture and provide insight into the mindset of the people of a certain community and era. Or in the case of my 5th great grandfather let you know that he was a gun smith and that he learned the trade from a Mr. Robert Gray.

 With all these resources, the one thing I want you to understand is that genealogy isn't a quick click here and there. There is So. Much. Time. invested in researching. It isn't a quick hobby. And sometimes, it costs money. In having hard copies and viable records, more often than not, you have to pay for those records. And some genealogy sites are worth the subscription fee. It also takes creativity. Many records are filed under phonetic spelling using dialects. When you have an ancestor with the surname Lassater you have to think of all the various ways this name could be spelled -- Lasater, Lasatar, Lassiter, Lasiter, Lassator, Lasator.... you get the point) So when you think of people you know who research and share their information with you, keep in mind, like so many other labors of love, it does require investment of time and money. We do it for ourselves and all those we love. We hope you appreciate our efforts.


If you have a website you use often in your genealogy research and its not on my list, would you mind sharing it with me?


Until next time:
Becky Drake

Mattie Teel - Another Look

There are a handful of ancestors that leave me with more questions than answers. My 3rd great grandmother, Mattie Teel, is one of them. I have written about her here, and here.

Mac and Mattie Hughes

I mentioned in my previous post that I believe Mattie was living in Cordell, Washita, Oklahoma in 1910. In a desperate attempt to find more information I began searching for more newspaper articles about Mattie from The Gateway To Oklahoma History in the Cordell area.

I found this snippet from January 1904

Mattie's son John Calvin Jones was known to be living in Mobeetie, Texas, about 20 miles from Miami during this time. I don't think its a long shot to assume either the newspaper got the name wrong, or J C was indeed living in Miami, or Miami was a larger better known community than Mobeetie, so an approximate location was given.

I also found an interesting article dated June of that same year where it is said that MC Jones sent his wife away to Texas and struck up an affair with a married woman. His age of "sixty or more" is the same age my "Mac Hughes" should be.

The Cordell Weekly Beacon. (Cordell, Okla.), Vol. 7, No. 47, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 16, 1904

Upon the news of her husband's affair I found these two articles where charges for divorce were filed:

The State Republican. (Cordell, Okla.), Vol. 1, No. 51, Ed. 1 Friday, February 1, 1907

The Herald-Sentinel. (Cordell, Okla.), Vol. 15, No. 28, Ed. 1 Saturday, February 2, 1907

The case files for their divorce are missing but you can find documentation for the missing file here: It gives their names as M H and M C Hughes. Another piece of the puzzle. A middle initial for Mattie.

In 1907 Mattie and M C Hughes would have been in their late 60's early 70's, which makes sense when the above article says "the rest of their allotted time".

And then on 14 May 1908, in Washita County, OK there is a marriage license for M. C. Hughes and Mrs. Mattie Hughes (she would've still had her previous married name). I believe they divorced and then remarried. 

If you can't read the above  Marriage Record it can be found by clicking the link that takes you to Family Search.

Mattie died in 1919 and is buried in Truscot, Knox County, TX where her son and his family are buried. I am not sure if this M C Hughes is the same Anguish McAlester Hughes that was married to Permelia A. "Amelia" Parson but I believe it to be as their son Joe M Hughes can be found living in Roger Mills County, OK in 1900 the same time as my Mattie would have been in the next county over with "Mac" In 1920 M C Hughes is found living with his first wife Permelia in Navarro County, TX. He was not living with her in 1900 or 1910. During their separation, Permelia remarried to a Mr. Tickle.  Her obituary is below:

One last interesting article found while I was doing my research comes from July 1904 less than a month after Mac was accused sharing the affections of another man's wife in the hotel he owned. The Cordell Weekly Beacon. (Cordell, Okla.), Vol. 7, No. 52, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 21, 1904, newspaper

 

I do think I am on the right trail here. I do however wish I could find Mattie and her son, John Calvin in at least one census together. She was most likely pregnant during the 1860 census and she never shows up again until 1910 and he doesn't appear until 1900. I'll keep searching. If anyone happens across this and knows where I could find Mattie's will and or probate/estate records, I would appreciate you pointing me in that direction.
Until next time,
Becky 

After posting this, I kept on searching for more information. I think I may have found one more piece to her puzzle.

Tax records place M.C. Hughes in Clay county during the 1880's. Birth records for a few of his children place J. C. Jones and his new family in Clay county in the 1880's. And there is a marriage record index for Martha Conkey and M. C. Hughes 19 Aug 1883 in Clay County. I believe this indicates that my Mattie Teel/Jones/Hughes was also married to someone with the last name of CONKEY. The only problem is I can't find a single record for anyone with the last name of Conkey in that area during that time. I'd really like to get a look at the actual record to see if there is any other information or if maybe the name Conkey was transcribed wrong.

Clay County, TX is right next to Cooke County, TX where J.C. and Leona Bass were married in 1881

Not only have I struggled to find census records for the Jones, Hughes, Conkey families during 1870 or 1880, I also cannot find census records for Leona Bass' family during those years either. Something tells me the census takers struggled in this area of TX and I.T.