Over 1500 Miles and Six Generations.

The most amazing thing has happened to me. Through a blog post I wrote about my 4th great grandfather, Jonathan NEWMAN, a distant cousin contacted me to share that he had in his possession a dresser made for his great great grandmother, Delilah Jane NEWMAN ALLEN. The dresser was made from solid walnut, around 1875 by her father, our shared ancestor, Jonathan NEWMAN.  

He wrote to ask if I wanted it. And of course I did! Though I do write a blog, I am not a great writer. And I will never have enough words to express my extreme gratitude for such a tremendous gift. Mr. Shupe, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

This beautiful heirloom has traveled a few miles in it's lifetime. It originated in Hendersonville, NC and is being shipped to me here in Arkansas, from the great state of Massachusetts. 

In his initial correspondence, Mr. Shupe shared a picture of the dresser as well as a picture of a short note explaining the genealogical connection to the dresser. 

Later he told me his knowledge of the dresser.

"My father’s mother was Clara Siegel. My mom and Dad were at some type of family get together and my Dad was offered the chest from someone ( I was like 14 I’m 56 now and don’t remember the details) Dad accepted and mentioned it to Mom. One dark winter night there was a knock on the door and 2 guys with a truck showed up to deliver the chest. Mom had frankly forgotten about it told them to just put it in the dining room. They said “lady have you seen this chest” our dining room was pretty ornate so it ended up in the second floor laundry room for linens. We moved to a new house and there was no place for the chest so it ended up in the attic where it sat for 30 years. Today the chest is in my warehouse looking for a home. We could spruce it up with new knobs and sell it. However I would prefer it to stay with a member of the family if possible. In researching it I found your blog and thought you might be able to help me find a family member who would like it and appreciate its heritage. The intent is not to get compensation it is just to see if there’s an ancestor of Jonathans who wants it."

This prompted me to plot out his family line connecting him to Jonathan and then to dig once again a little deeper into this branch of my family. Specifically estate records. I had hoped there might be some mention of a dresser. Considering  the dresser was made for Jane around 1875 and Jonathan died in 1901 the dresser would've most likely already been in her possession and not necessarily mentioned in his estate papers. Regardless, I thought you might like to learn a bit more about our miser's estate; what he possessed and who purchased those items.

If you would like to see these records yourself,  all you need to do is create a free account on Family Search and then click below to "flip" trough the images:

Jonathan NEWMAN Estate Records

As previously mentioned in my last blog post about Jonathan, he had several children/heirs. His son, Andrew Johnson NEWMAN was made the administrator of his father's estate.  As administrator, he petitioned the court to allow him to auction/sell off his father's property for cash in order to settle debts as well as split among heirs. He also signed an affidavit stating that his father left no Will and Testament and that at the time of the filing the value of his father's estate was about $3,220.00 He then goes on to list the entitled heirs as ( I will do my best as the handwriting is very hard to make out):

• Arminta STEPP (my ancestor)
• Amanda CASE
• Delilah J ALLEN (Mr. Shupe's ancestor)
• Thomas NEWMAN
• A J NEWMAN
• G W NEWMAN
• Elizabeth LYDA
• Susan BAGWELL
• The heirs of Wm NEWMAN deceased to wit John NEWMAN, Coats NEWMAN, Fisher NEWMAN, Dock NEWMAN, Fred NEWMAN and Brithia (sic) NEWMAN, and Carrie NEWMAN the only living heirs of Jacob NEWMAN deceased.

This affidavit goes on to state where each of the heirs of living: 

....all reside in Henderson County except Arminta STEPP who resides at Fallsville Arkansas. Thomas NEWMAN who resides at Fallsville Arkansas. George W NEWMAN who resides at McDemol (sic) Georgia and Carrie NEWMAN whose residence after due inquiry cannot be ascertained and are all of full age except Dock NEWMAN, Fisher NEWMAN, Fred NEWMAN and Bertha NEWMAN who are under twenty one years of age are without -illegible-. 

The above was signed and dated the 12th day of Sept 1901.  

If you're wondering what happened to siblings Wm and Jacob Newman. 

                                        The Goldsboro headlight. January 09, 1896

The Charlotte Observer Thur Nov 17 1887

Several receipts for taxes and various things as well as scraps of paper are included in this file. One is a ledger/receipt from J. L. EGERTON, M.D. from Aug of 1897 where it's listed that he visited Mrs. NEWMAN. The cost was $2.50 per visit. Susan LANKFORD NEWMAN died Sept of that same year.  On the same record was a visit to Mr. NEWMAN on May 18th 1901. Jonathan NEWMAN died in August of that year. The total bill was $15.00 and it was paid in full July 27th.

In preparation for dividing up the estate, several chores and repairs needed to be made. There's a leger dated Sept 1901 - Jan 1902 listing these and how much each person was paid. My ancestor Will STEPP is listed as having pulled fodder. He also dug potatoes.

“Pulling fodder” was a harvesting technique that provided the farmer with a source of feedstuff in an area that was often unfit for growing hay. “Depending on the season and the time of planting, the farmer went into his field around mid-August to “pull fodder,” which meant stripping the blades, while the ear, now fully grown and out of the milk, was left on the stalk. The blades were tied into bundles and saved for fodder, the only winter forage from his fields that the farmer had. Cured, the bundles of blades were usually stacked into piles, and covered with the corn tops that were cut next, while the ears were left on the now bare stalks until November or even later when “corn-gathering” began. ~ Bark Covered House

I find that interesting seeing that the STEPPs had already migrated to NW ARKANSAS. Did they go back to North Carolina? Did only Arminta, her grown children, and her brother Thomas go before hand? William is listed in the 1900 census with his family in Newton County, Arkansas. That's a long journey to travel back and forth at the turn of the century when horse and wagon was the main form of transportation. Did he take a train?

There's a pharmacy receipt to W. H. Justus; Pharmacist from 1897.




There's a typed receipt for $35.00 from W.W. LYDA, Jonathan's son-in-law, for rent he was to pay on a parcel of land he cultivated for the year 1902. The land was his brother-in-law, William Monroe NEWMAN'S (deceased) homestead but it belonged to Jonathan NEWMAN. Later, W.W. LYDA is paid $5.00 for waiting on Jonathan during his last sickness for 6 days and nights. 

There is a receipt for $25.00 to W. W. BAGWELL, another one of Jonathan's sons-in-law. It's on an piece of paper with The Continental Insurance Co. letterhead, for "services rendered to the deceased Jonathan NEWMAN in his last sickness" I think it says "as nurse" after that. You can click here to read for yourself. 

There's a receipt for $4.00 to Jonathan's grandson, Jonathan CASE to work as clerk on the sale of his personal property.

There's a written receipt to Jonathan's daughter Bessie LYDA for "8 months work at $8 per month $64.00" on the back it is witnessed by Carrie NEWMAN. Later, Bessie is also paid $12 for 10 weeks work caring for the house and household goods.

Another record states:

                                                NOTICE:

As administrator of Jonathan NEWMAN deceased and pursuant to an order of the clerk of the Superior Court of Henderson County -- I will sell for cash at the Jonathan NEWMAN house place on the Howard Gap road in Hendersonville Township on the 15th day of November 1901 all the following personal property to wit:

About 150 bushels of corn -- About 1800 bundles of fodder -- a small quantity of oats and hay -- one mule -- one cow -- two yearlings and two hogs -- one threshing machine and wind mill -- one one-horse wagon --  two two-horse wagons and some harnesses -- seven stands of bees -- some farming tools and a lot of household goods -- beds (illegible) , bed stands, cupboards, bureaus, chairs (?) and ~ 

This Oct 12th 1901

AJ NEWMAN
Admin

Following this order is a ledger of who purchased items, the items sold and the price. Here are a few names I recognized:

WW BAGWELL            2 Plow Stocks             $0.30

AJ NEWMAN                old plows & wagons   $0.10

Joseph NEWMAN         1 pitchfork                   $0.25

Wm LYDA                     1 bee hive                    $1.05

AJ NEWMAN                100 boards                  $2.00

CT ALLEN                     1 wagon                      $2.00

Dock ALLEN                400 bundles fodder      $5.40

AJ NEWMAN                 hay in barn                 $0.55

Mrs. Wm LYDA             1 bull                           $5.75

Bessie LYDA                  1 calf                           $1.75

Coats NEWMAN           1 wash pot                   $1.30

Mrs. Wm LYDA            4 cups & saucers         $0.10

Wm CASE                     sugar bowl                   $0.20

Mrs. S. BAGWELL       1 bureau                      $1.55

Wm. CASE                    1 salt box                    $0.10

Mrs. Jane ALLEN         1 counterpane*           $1.25

Mrs. Wm LYDA           1 sheep skin                $0.40

Mrs. Wm CASE           1 bed complete            $7.00

Mrs. Jane ALLEN        1 pair scissors             $0.25

* A counterpane is another word for bedcover. 

Again, the above are just highlights. There were many more items mentioned/sold. To view the entire list you can click here. (images 74-80). 

After sales and fees were figured, the distribution of inheritance began. It would appear that my ancestor Arminta STEPP and her brother Thomas NEWMAN hired an attorney to do their business since they were no longer living in the area. I believe the attorney was AL HOLWES. Carrie NEWMAN also  had an attorney, SMITH & VALENTINE. It was also stated that the distribution was not made to each distributee equally  --- they being paid in different ways at different times. 

It goes on to list each heir and how much they were paid "more than" and "less than" their share. It then says while it is agreed it can be made equal in the distribution of proceeds of the sale of real estate. Followed by several receipts/checks from the heirs. If you are a descendant of Jonathan Newman these are great places to see the signature of your ancestor. Unfortunately, my ancestor's signature wasn't there as her attorney signed on her behalf. But below, I will share one from Mr. Shupe's ancestor, Delilah Jane ALLEN 

Going through estate records can take some time and patience and you may even need a little help making out what is written. I always feel like its worth it, to learn all the little over looked details about a persons life. Who was their doctor? Their pharmacist? What kind of personal property did they own? Who were their neighbors and friends? Some ancestors have better records than others. I really enjoyed going through Jonathan NEWMAN's. And I hope you enjoyed it too. 

For Mr. Shupe and any of Delilah Jane NEWMAN ALLEN ancestors, below you can find her estate papers:

Mrs. D J ALLEN Estate Records

*There were 3 dressers listed in the inventory of personal property belonging to Mrs. D J ALLEN in her estate records. No further description was given. 

Until next time, 
Becky

P.S.

A few more tidbits on our ancestor:

Jonathan donated land for Columbus to be the county seat of Polk County, North Carolina. During that time he, and several others, were hired to remove timber and clear away rubbish for  the building of this town. He was paid $39.00 [ Polk County News and the Tryon Bee; May 30, 1919] Jonathan was pretty wealthy compared to his neighbors if you look at the value of his real estate and personal property values in the 1860 census; being $3,000.00 and $2,852.00 respectively. Most of his neighbors barely had values of $100. And in 1871 Jonathan NEWMAN was one of 12 trustees named in an ACT that incorporated the existing Blue Ridge Academy in the village of Blue Ridge in Henderson County. I wonder if that's where his children went to school?

Further correspondence states Mr. Shupe believes the letter was written to his father by his father's Aunt Susan Dunlap, daughter of Thomas Duffy Seagle and Fannie Susan Elliot.

Goodbyes, Shared Memories and Pictures From Long Ago.

Last week my Great Aunt Frances passed away at the age of  95. She was my grandmother's oldest sister. There was eleven years between them but they were very close, in later years anyway. Frances lived in Texas and like I've written before, Mammy lived here in Arkansas. Mammy would make frequent trips to Texas to visit and there were occasional long distance phone calls that lasted forever (at least in the mind of a young girl who was instructed to be quiet while she was talking). I accompanied Mammy on a few of those trips back home to Texas. I remember very little, but I do remember Aunt Frances' house. There was mint in her back garden that Uncle John B took the time to show me. And the walls in the hallway of their home were lined with old photos.

Two of Aunt Frances' granddaughters reached out to me to share a few pictures they had come across while going through her things. I am beyond grateful that they would think of me in their time of sorrow.  Lisa sent me pictures of myself from the few trips I made down there. A few were from a trip to the nursing home where I along with Aunt Frances' grandchildren visited with Grandma Jones (attached below).  The others were from the trip my Nall family made in 1994 for Grandma Jones' funeral. I attached it to my blog post In Remembrance -- Myrtle Rutherford And there was even one of my Bampy and his air plane! I've attached it to my blog post The Big Move.

I'm in the bottom right corner. Mammy made my dress.

Today Elaina sent me pictures I have never seen before from my Mammy's younger (single digits) years. And of her Daddy, John Arthur Jones, who passed away when Mammy was only 4. I had never seen pictures of him until a few years ago and even then, I it was only one photo. 

I wanted to return the favor by sharing these pictures here so that others may have access to them for years to come.

I remember my Mammy talking about this "house on wheels." She wanted to move it up here to Arkansas so badly. I even remember her having us drive by where it was located on one of our last trips down to Texas. She never got that blue house, but I believe she did get a little trunk that had been stored inside it and it had lots of old flour sacks in it. I think. The memory can be a funny thing some times.






To those who read this, I hope you will enjoy the memories these pictures stir up. That you will cherish your loved ones while you can. And that you will always share any family memories, pictures, and memorabilia. This is how we can assure our loved ones stay alive in memories for generations to come.

Much love to you all.

Until next time,
Becky

Send Me Back Saturday - Favorite Foods

The question for this prompt, if the title didn't give it away is:

What was one of your favorite foods/meals growing up?

This was a big hit with the FB crowd. I had 66 comments.

My response:

My most favorite meal growing up was my Mammy's BBQ brisket. She almost always only made this on Sunday's for our after church dinner. Oh, how I wish I knew just how she prepared it. The one thing I do remember is that it was cooked in her electric skillet while we were at church. It was so tender and I loved the BBQ sauce she used. Maybe even more than the brisket, I loved dipping my "light bread" in the sauce to clean my plate. I also remember how Bampy's shirt would get a little tight in the button area around his belly after dinner. And while all other days were spent working in some form, Sunday's were a no work day - aside from cleaning the kitchen and checking/feeding/watering cattle.

Mammy's electric skillet was brown on the bottom with a cream lid. I don't know if it was this exact model but it was very close to it. Also, an electric skillet is one kitchen gadget I don't own but would really LOVE. When I was first married to Gaylan, we didn't have propane to hook up to our single wide trailer so the oven was and stove top was never used. I had an electric skillet then and I would use it near daily. I also used the microwave, and a steamer quite often. And I had a little table top toaster oven. 

After further online investigation of vintage electric skillets, this one also seems familiar. I just can't be certain. I've also searched online for some electric skillet bbq brisket recipes and have come up short. If you ever come across one, please let me know! I'd love to try and recreate this meal.




This was my mom's response:

I love food so much that I am not sure I can name a “favorite”. Foods I remember were moms homemade donuts. And pot roast on Sundays. My granny Bondell made wonderful fried chicken. And when we stayed at Granny and Papas house we always asked for Spaghetti O’s. And Grandma Zula’s biscuits and gravy.

The hubs:

I know you're going to find this hard to believe, knowing me as well as you do, but: Sonic. We didn't eat out a whole lot when I was growing up but we lived right across the highway from Sonic and when I finally got a job, I ate there all the time. I either had a cheeseburger dry, a cheeseburger with mustard and ketchup only or a hickory burger. The burgers were bigger back then and I remember the fries being better, too. 

Grandma Marilyn commented that her favorite food growing up was Mexican and that it still is. And there were so many cousins and friends that commented as well. But I'll only blog direct ancestors to the kids.

I hope you're enjoying these. It's been a really nice change of pace over on Facebook and I am more than thrilled people are participating.

Until next time,
Becky

Flashback Friday -- Mischief

Today's Facebook prompt that I am bringing over here is:

What memory of you misbehaving stands out most in your memories? What did you do? What was your punishment?

My memory:

I was a DRAMATIC child. Always upset about something. When I was in about 3rd, 4th or 5th grade. I was living in Country Acres at the time --- that helps date the story. Anyway, I packed my bags, some saltines and cheese, an empty old Boy Scouts of America popcorn tin and some candles and matches and headed off into the woods behind my house to live. I was running away! It was cold in the evening so I melted the bottom of my candle and stuck it to the bottom of the tin to keep the wind from blowing it out. As time went on it became colder and I discovered that if I put the lid on said tin for just a wee little bit it would warm up and I could press it against my cheeks and hands for warmth. A little while passed and my little brother came into the woods to either rub it in that I was upset or convince me to come back but he got cold sitting out there with me too. So I showed him what I had discovered about the lid heating up, only I left the lid on a little too long and branded him with the logo on the lid! Sheer panic set in and I tried hard to think of a cover story. And to my great surprise he was more than willing to go along. We decided to tell our parents that we were outside playing with sticks and I was swinging mine around and accidentally hit him. At the time I didn't realize just how much the mark looked like the logo, only that it was a nice big red whelp. Well as time went on the swelling went down and the emblem really stood out. It didn't take long and they were on to us. I had to confess the whole ordeal. I honestly don't remember what my punishment was. But this is a story I'll never forget. Or be allowed to forget?

This is my mom's naughty child story:

One time I had a loose tooth. Mom said she was going to use pliers to pull it out. I was so scared that I ran away and hid in the corn rows in the garden. I could see everyone out looking for me but I wasn’t going to come out. Then I heard a neighbor say that they should call the police because we lived on highway 62 and they feared I had been picked up by someone. I decided it was time to come out before the search got any bigger.

My Aunt Diane shared this story:

I found chocolate candy bars in Granny's refrigerator. I offered my sisters a small piece. Reine wouldn't take it because Granny had said no candy in the house. Michelle took her part. I ate all that was left almost a whole bar. It didn't even taste that good. You probably guessed it was ex lax. The punishment was enough .

The hubs shared his story too:

The only thing that stands out isn't even a funny story. In eighth grade, I got caught at a football game with some marijuana. I was taken home and the next morning, I was in the police station in front of Don Kennedy, a local cop. He said that a girl I knew had already sold me out (and she probably had) but that since it was on school property and dad was the superintendent, he'd let the school deal with it. I was expelled. Mom called in a favor to the super at Grove and got me in there. The next year, I started back at Jay, tarnished reputation in tow.

Until next time,
Becky

Throwback Thursday -- Vacations

I'm sure if you're on Facebook any amount of time, you will have noticed it's not nearly as interactive as it was in the beginning stages. From the beginning one of the things I loved most about it, was that it allowed me to share my life, children and our daily activities with family. Now I almost only see memes and political jabs or fake news. As a way to try to get a little less "noise" and more real conversation, I've started asking questions to prompt conversation and stories. Today was my first day and the question was:

What is the first vacation you can remember taking? Who all went? Where did you go? Why did you go there?

I felt like this was a good blog prompt too. It will allow me to share my memories with my kids (if they ever care enough to read my blog someday).

So here's my answer to the above question:

When I was about 4 years old (it was actually Aug 1985 so I was 5. This was right before I started kindergarten), my parents, myself and my little brother traveled to California. On the way there we traveled South and made a little trip into Mexico (I think). I can remember driving slowly and people approaching the car from all angles trying to sell us things. We drove a little brown car, a 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass.

I don't remember where in California we went but we visited my stepdad's father and his family. We went to the ocean. My Mom will tell you I'm overly dramatic but a wave nearly swallowed me whole and drug me out to sea! (I might be a little dramatic but to a 4 year old that was a terrifying experience). And I pouted and complained the entire time afterwards because my clothes were wet. My dramatic little self also remembers being outside at an apartment complex and being approached by a young man (maybe 10 or 12) who looked just like Mr. T. He asked me where I was from and when I told him, Arkansas, he sucker punched me right in the gut. He knocked the breath clean out of me. I don't remember how long we stayed. I know we went out on a boat on the ocean and saw seals. And I remember when we came home we traveled North and got to see antelope somewhere around Wyoming. 

Later mom told me we went to Los Angeles, San Diego, and Pasa Robles. And we even went to the Zoo. I didn't even remember that part.

She also shared her memories of her first vacation and her sisters helped fill in a few the details. The whole of the story came about in several different questions and replies on Facebook, so I'll summarize it.

One hot summer around the year 1967, this family of five traveled in a single cab '66 blue Chevy pickup with a  3 on the tree. They were headed to 6 flags over Texas, Carlsbad Caverns and further South into Mexico. Michelle recalled purchasing lunch boxes at Carlsbad and taking salt from the salt flats and keeping it in the lunch boxes. They ate pizza in their motel rooms. If you're wondering how all 5 people (kids ages 9-5 ish) fit in that truck, Michelle said sometimes she rode in the floorboard and one of the other girls would lay behind the seats up against the back windshield. 

The hubs also shared his first vacation memory:

I think my first vacation was to New Orleans with mom and dad when I was 13. Lots of time was spent on Bourbon Street, which was actually scary for a kid that young from a town as small as Jay. Drunk men have no qualms about asking a kid for money. I loved the smells of the restaurants on Bourbon Street. The plantations homes were neat and so were the white alligators at the Audubon Zoo (which, incidentally, I had seen on TNN just a few months earlier). We rode a river boat and I also got my first taste of public transportation. What I didn't see was just as memorable. According to mom and dad, when we were on Bourbon St once, this woman in a tube-top was yelling at a man down the street. When I got right next to her (again, this came from Roy Drake and Kay Drake), she yanked her tube-top down and flashed her boobies to that guy and everybody else who looked. I didn't look. Didn't even know there was real live boobage right next to 13-year-old me.

Later on in the Facebook conversation my MIL Kay, confirmed the boobage event and the hub's recollection that maybe the New Orleans trip wasn't his first vacation. My FIL was the Superintendent of Jay Public Schools and traveled to different conventions and the rest of the family could tag along. When I asked the hubs if they drove to New Orleans this was his response:

We flew. But I don't remember the flight. I remember the flight to Anaheim, because I threw up in a trash can at John Wayne International. And that makes me think California was my first vacation. Went with mom and dad and DisneyLand was closed just for the people with the convention. DisneyLand sucked. Got diarrhea from Mexico. So, maybe California/Mexico was my first vacation/

My maternal grandmother also shared her first memory:

When I was 10 or 11 we came to visit Aunt Dood and Uncle Hoyt (In Fayetteville) It was when Polio was raging. The adults wanted to go to the movies but didn't want to take the kids for fear of polio. Uncle Hoyt had a sister who lived next door so they thought it would be OK to leave us with her so close. Everything went OK for a while until Doyle started snoring and Joyce convinced us it was a ghost (she was the oldest) It scared Darlene and me so bad we all ran over to Elsies and got her out of bed in the middle of the night. She had some choice words for our parents.

Aunt Dood and Uncle Hotyt were actually my grandmother's great aunt, Effie Equilla "Dood" ACORD and her husband Hoyt KARR. Doyle, Joyce and Darlene were their children. Elsie was Hoyt's sister. She married  Chester Eldridge.

My MIL shared her memory as well:

I don't know if you would call it a vacation but when I was about 10 I spent the summer with my oldest brother in Altus, Oklahoma. Tornado Alley! We went to the storm shelter often. 

She also remarked that she and her SIL spent the summer going to watch the movies. Her oldest brother was Troy Lynn Bates.






I hope you enjoyed our memories!

Until next time,
Becky

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.

In Remembrance - Myrtle Rutherford Jones

Family Search has a calendar feature with the option of having them send you a message on the anniversary of birth dates and wedding anniversaries of your ancestors. Today I was notified that my paternal great grandmother Myrtle Lurie RUTHERFORD JONES would have been 120 years old. Honestly, I didn't need the reminder because for some reason her birth date always stands out to me. I'm not really sure why because she lived in Texas and I rarely got to see her. If I had to guess, it's most likely because of the time I spent with my Mammy (her daughter).

Myrtle RUTHERFORD (Grandma Jones is what I grew up calling her) was the first born and oldest child of James Walter RUTHERFORD and Ora Frances McCLUNG. She was born 2 October 1899, in Santa Anna, Coleman County, Texas. *Her obituary says Mount Pleasant, Titus County, Texas -- Where her parents married in 1898* The earliest photograph I have of her is from around 1902. She is standing between her parents. The baby is her brother Jesse Newton RUTHERFORD who was born New Year's Day, 1902 (this helps date the picture).

 The next photograph I have was taken in 1904 when the next baby came along, Glennie Lillian, who was born 1 July 1904. Grandma Jones is standing on the right, Jesse on the left and baby Glennie is in the middle.

In January of 1908, when Grandma was only 8 years old, the family loaded up their covered wagon and headed North to an area known as Antelope Flat, in Foard County, Texas. At this time she was the oldest of four siblings, the baby, Flora was 9 months old.

Around 1912 Grandma's dad, J W RUTHERFORD, gave the community an acre to move the one room school house. Grandma attended school there. According to one of my favorite books, my husband bought me, Between The Wichitas, Grandma wrote that her first teacher was a Mr. Jim Burnson. (page 200).

I can remember this book sitting on the little wooden shelf on the back side of Mammy's brown sink. I didn't inherit it. My wonderful husband bought me one of my own. It isn't in circulation anymore.

Grandma must have met Grandpa John Arthur JONES at that school because according to John's brother Frank they also attended school there for a time. (page 416)

"The teacher at Antelope Flat lived over at Foard City. He drove a one-horse buggy without any top on it. We didn't miss any school days. Neither did the teacher.  Albert Haynie's children, his brother C. H. Haynie, Will Glenn, the Rutherfords, Henry Black, Bullions, Moody had kids in school there. The Joneses also. It was quite a while before we got to know everyone around for we didn't get to visit like they do today."

On Sept 18, 1916, one month before Grandma turned 17, she married John Arthur JONES at Burkburnett, Wichita County, Texas.



In early May 1918, the two had their first baby, a boy. Unfortunately, he didn't survive.  I'm not certain if Grandpa served in the war. There are many accounts of his brother Frank serving, but I haven't found any evidence that John Arthur did. He did however, register. He was self employed 1 mile SE of Truscott.



Around that time John found work with a childhood friend, Walter COODY. The two of them worked for a doctor in Burkburnett butchering and selling beef. They drove a Model T truck. During this time there was an oil boom. (page 334) While living in Wichita County Myrtle gave birth to two more children who born in 1923 & 1925.

I'm not sure when the picture below was taken but I wanted to include it here, since there are so few pictures of Grandpa JONES. It's taken from Between The Wichitas. My grandmother always had dark hair and so did her husband, Charles, but my dad had really blonde hair. According to John Arthur's WW1 registration he was tall with light hair and light blue eyes.



Around the year 1930-1931 John and Myrtle operated the chuck wagon for John's brother-in-law, J. M. CHOWNING's threshing crew. (page 327) They also worked  for the Charles HAMILTON Ranch for some time.

In 1934 the family moved to San Antonio where Johnnie went to work for the Humble Oil Company. Six years later, when their oldest child was 17 and their youngest child was only 6 months old, Myrtle became a widow. John died tragically in a vehicle/train collision.

Grandma then had to support five children ages 17, 14, 5, 3 and the 6 month old baby. She managed to remain in San Antonio for a few years before moving her little family back "home" to Truscott.  She used every dollar she had to buy a home, the old Mrs. Sam TURNER (Ollie Jane CAMPSEY) home, which served as a boarding house. (page 278). She even had to support her little family during WW2 when lean times were made even worse by rationing. My cousin Mike, shared this photo of her ration book with me a few years ago and I thought this is a great place to post it again.




While looking through my book, I noticed on page 50, where they mentioned Grandma chaperoning a hay ride. It said during those days it was an accepted fact that an adult was to always accompany group outings and that Mrs. Myrtle JONES frequently did so. I couldn't imagine with all that was on her plate she still found the energy to want to chaperone events.

"One week the springs of 1942, the boys decided to give a hay ride. They worked Saturday for Carl Haynie to get the use of his wagon and team. Everyone chipped in money and the girls bought food for a wiener roast. 

Mrs Myrtle Jones chaperoned that outing, as she frequently did, taking her young children and sitting calmly by the campfire wile the teenagers played walking games." 

Grandma also worked for eight years in the Truscott school lunchroom. I can remember Mammy telling me that someone gave them a pig and Grandma would feed it using the left over scraps from the school lunchroom. I seem to also remember she did laundry for extra income, but I'm not certain of this last memory.

Here is a photograph shared by my cousin Kaye from 1957. The women are wearing collages so it could have been Mother's Day or Easter.




I remember one trip to Texas to celebrate Grandma's 90th birthday at the nursing home. My Aunts Jeannie and Cathy served a large beautiful cake and there was punch. There was a small mention of it in the Munday Courier. I was hoping for a picture. I was only 9 at the time but I remember it was a big celebration. I did find where her 75th and 77th birthday was celebrated as well.

I've posted on Facebook and even made mention in a blog post that my grandmother, Myrtle's daughter, moved with her family to Arkansas in the mid '60's. I can still remember long distance phone calls between my Mammy and her older sister Frances. I'm sure there were phone calls to her mother too, but what I remember most were the cassette tapes that she would record and mail home to her mother. I even had to record a few (when I was too young to fully grasp why). As the years wore on Grandma JONES' hands became too arthritic to write and her eyesight was failing, long distance phone calls were expensive so to communicate they would mail cassette tapes back and forth. I was lucky enough to inherit Grandma's last tape she sent Mammy. You can watch the video below to listen.

Before she gave up writing all together, Grandma sent this letter. It was in short hand, which it is my understanding, how she would often write. She was 91.  My Dad's cousin Gayle transcribed it for me below.

Grandma died in July of 1994. I remember her funeral well. It was so hot. July in Texas.We gathered at a small white church. They sang 'In The Garden' and she was laid to rest in the Truscott Cemetery where the rest of her family is buried.

The Nalls gathered at the Seymour Motel before the service.
Back Row: Dad (Johnny Nall) Cathy Gardisser, Mitch Nall, Mike Nall, Bampy (Charles)
Middle Row: Me (Becky), Mammy (Sue) Jeannie, Jeff, Jennifer, and Tom Calvert
Front Row: Matthew and April Gardisser, and Jeremy Calvert.

Before wrapping this up, I thought I would include a picture I have of one of her few visits to AR.

Maybe 1981

Until next time,
Becky