Trees from People Seeds: October 2018

Friday, October 19, 2018

#52 Ancestors 52 Weeks – Challenge Week 44 Jacob Brooks Frightening Tale

#52 Ancestors 52 Weeks – Challenge Week 44
Prompt: Frightening

A Frightening Tale

The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Forde

While researching my ancestor Jacob Rutledge Brooks, my horrified eyes fell upon a Memorial sent by a delegation of the Cherokee Nation to the 22nd Congress, 1^stSession, January 9, 1832, that preceded the removal of the Cherokees from Georgia, otherwise known as the Trail of Tears The United States Congressional Serial Set, Vol 217, Document 45 named officer Jacob R. Brooks in Walton County, Georgia.

I sent the article to W. F. “Sonny” Joiner, a Brooks cousin and historian, who was a retired Princeton professor. “Yes, Cynthia, I am afraid that Jacob R. Brooks, is indeed our ancestor.” My heart sank to the lower bowels of the earth at this news. Of all people, Sonny would surely know if the horrible account was true. But, maybe it wasn’t true! I decided to research.

The Memorial described the outrageous acts that were being perpetrated on the Cherokees in order to get them removed from Georgia. The Cherokees were asking that the treaty with the U.S. Government be honored.

Memorial to the 22^ndCongress, 1^stSession

From a Delegation of the Cherokee Nation

"A Cherokee was arrested by the military, charged with digging for gold in his own native country, but strictly prohibited by the State, and delivered over to the civil authority. After a long confinement in the jail of Walton county, he was brought before his honor A. S. Clayton for trial, Judge of the superior court for the western district, and was liberated; the court decided the law unconstitutional; that the Cherokees were the rightful owners of the soil and all the minerals to be found; and that, until a fair extinguishment of their title, by treaty, they had the unquestionable right to use their lands as they pleased. The Governor was immediately notified of the proceedings of the court, who, it would seem, was determined that the Cherokees should realize no benefit from the judiciary whatever; and forthwith issued an order to J. W. Sanford, the military commander, charging him to arrest every Cherokee to be found at the mines, and not to be governed by the decision made by one of the highest courts in the State, inasmuch as he (the Governor) believed the State had the right to prevent the working of those mines! Shortly after this, a detachment was ordered out for the purpose of "scouring the upper gold mines," under the command of a certain Jacob R. Brooks. During their absence, they discovered a Cherokee, who, upon their approach, attempted escape by flight. The officer, supposing he had been digging, ordered a charge, and then to fire upon him; which was promptly obeyed, and the unfortunate Indian brought to the ground badly wounded by a shot through the thigh! Subsequently, others were arrested, females not escaping the sad effects of military despotism, and thrown into jail.

Document: PAM009 Cherokee Indians : memorial of a delegation of the Cherokee tribe of Indians, January 9, 1832, read and laid upon the table[1]

The Memorial did not accomplish the goal of getting congress to take action and protect the Cherokee treaty with the U.S. Government. It is frightening to discover your ancestor may be guilty of participation in one of the most heinous acts perpetrated on the Cherokee; an act that precipitated the Trail of Tears.

What more could be discerned about the officer, Jacob R. Brooks of Walton County, Georgia? Was this my ancestor? Did I really want to know? Early Georgia history contains several men named Jacob R. Brooks. Many Mommas in NE Georgia decided Jacob R. Brooks was a good choice for a baby’s name. The research involved figuring out who’s who. Which one killed Indians? Extensive research narrowed the field to two men named Jacob R. Brooks. Raquel Lindaas of Heritage Consulting in Salt Lake City, Utah, provided me with previously unknown facts about Jacob Rutledge Brooks that helped me create timelines.

By creating timelines, I could distinguish between the two men. Both men served in the Seminole Indian War, and both men received bounty land grants for their service. In 1830, Jacob R. Brooks wrote two letters to Governor Gilmer, who survived. The letters were found for me by Barbara Smallwood Stock in the Governor's file in the Georgia Archives on 10/14/2005. Thanks to Barbara, a certified genealogist, I also learned his signed payroll vouchers were available in the Georgia State Archives in Athens, Georgia. We made the trip to Athens. The signatures told the story. My Brooks cousin had guessed wrong. Officer Jacob Reed Brooks of the Cherokee Removal was not my ancestor. Jacob Rutledge Brooks was my ancestor. The real fright is not which one was my ancestor, but instead, it is the horror of what happened to the Cherokee.

Jacob Rutledge Brooks

1806-1900

The Standard March 24, 1900

Troy, Pike County, Alabama

Jacob Rutledge Brooks was born in Walton County, Georgia, on December 6th, 1806 and died at Perote, Ala. March 20th, 1900, aged nearly ninety-four years. He was married at the age of twenty-one to Miss Rebecca Sappington, a member of a well-known Georgia family. They came to Alabama in 1841 and raised a family of 13 children, four sons and nine daughters. They first settled near Monticello but subsequently went to Perote and at the time of his death, lived in Bullock, although one of the old-time Pikers. He represented Pike in the Alabama Legislature for two terms during the Civil War and was true and patriotic in the Southern cause, and doubtless would have been in the army but for his past age. Two of his sons gave their lives to the Confederacy, one being killed and the other dying of smallpox. He served in the Seminole war in Florida and was a pensioner at his death. Mr. Brooks was known throughout the county as an honorable, high-minded man. Although he had accumulated no great fortune, he retained the esteem of his friends to the day of his death, and the large attendance of the people at his funeral attested to his popularity. He died a member of the M.E. church firm in the faith of Christianity. The funeral services were conducted by Rev. Mr. Foster of Aberfoil. After a long and eventful life, he has passed to the reward of the just. Mrs. T. H. Grissett, of this city, is his daughter. Two sons and five daughters survive him. His wife died about ten years ago.

(Editor’s note: There are errors in the obituary noted by a descendant, Karen Bullard, Pike County Historian, Assistant Director of the Friends Public Library, Troy, Pike County, Alabama. Jacob was probably born in Warren County, Georgia: Walton County was not created until 1818. Jacob served one term in the legislature and not two. Only one son was killed in the War; one son-in-law died of smallpox during the War.)

Timeline

Jacob Rutledge Brooks

6 December 1806, Birth - Probably Warren County, Georgia to James Brooks and Phalbia “Falby” Cobb the daughter of Joseph Cobb and Rachel, whose last name is unknown, of Wilkes, later Warren, Georgia.

1820 U.S. Federal Census Columbia County, Georgia

James Brooks household, p. 44.

1822 Land Purchase Walton County, Georgia – Joseph Brooks sold to Isaac and Jacob Brooks, 125 acres, being half of lot number 30. The land was on the waters of Mountain Creek, on the Northside of Crane’s Branch. The deed was witnessed by Joel Brooks and Balaam Brooks. (Land Records, Walton Georgia, Book C-D, p. 115.)

20 December 1827, Marriage - Rebecca Jarrett Isabella Sappington, Walton County Marriages, Walton County, Georgia

1830 U.S. Federal Census Walton, Georgia, p. 156. Jacob R. Brooks is not found in this census. Two Brooks households are located near Caleb Sappington, Jabez (in his 30’s), William (20’s); “Arter” Davis, who married Falby Brooks in 1828.

23 June 1831 Death of Jacob’s Mother, Phalbia Cobb Brooks Davis; (The Federal Union, 10 July 1830-July 1833, a newspaper published Milledgeville, Georgia) Legal notice: Walton County, Georgia. Whereas Jacob Brooks applies to me for letters of administration on the estate of Phelby Davis, late of said County dec'd. Given under my hand, this 13th day of June 1831. Jesse Mitchell, cco. 23 June.

15 Sept 1831 (The Federal Union)

Four months after date, application will be made to Inferior Court for leave to sell the real estate lying in Walton county, of Phalbey Davis, late of said county, dec'd... also at same time like application will be made to sell a negro woman named Phillis, belonging to said estate. Jacob Brooks, Adm'r Sept 15.

1832, Gold Lottery – Jacob R. Brooks of Brewer's District Walton, Georgia lucky drawer Lot 1063 - District 3 - 1.

March 1832, Land Sale, “by the part belonging to the estate of Phalby Brooks, deceased.” Land Records, Walton GA, Book C-D, p. 302.

1832, Deed - Jacob Brooks sold to William G. Bullock 100 acres, part of Lot Number Thirty, the two parcels adjoining one another. Caleb Sappington served as one of the witnesses. Land Records, Walton GA, Book C-D, p. 115.

1833, Estate Settlement of “Phelby” Davis, Jacob R. Brooks, administrator Probate Records, Walton, GA, Book D, p. 108, 217, 349, &403).

1834, Deed – Caleb Sappington sold the same parcel back to Jacob Brooks. Land Records, Walton GA, Book C-D, p. 429).

1834, Walton County Tax List; Captain Brewer’s District (first tax appearance) 100 acres on the waters of Mountain Creek. Jacob was listed consecutively with Larkin, William, and John Brooks (Flat Creek).

19 March 1836, Military - “2nd Lieutenant, Jacob Rutledge Brooks, enlisted at Monroe, Walton County, Georgia to serve in the Seminole Indian War of 1836. He was assigned and served in the Cavalry Regiment of Georgia Volunteers commanded by Major Ross and Company of Georgia Volunteers under Captain J. S. Means. He was honorably discharged on May 4, 1836, at Black Creek, Florida, apparently having suffered wounds or injuries during combat. He was granted Wound/Injury/Disease Pension in the amount of $8.00 per month and was issued One hundred and twenty (120) acres of Bounty Land on March 5, 1856. He received the pension to the time of his death in 1900." (Courtesy of The Gilmer Newsletter.)

From John Gilmer

17 December 1837, Migration - "possession of a tract of land in Pike, (now Bullock) County, Alabama. “

1840, U.S. Federal Census Walton County, Georgia # 673 Social Circle

Jacob R. Brooks # 673 -

One male is under 5; 2 males are between 5 and 10; 1 male is between 10 and 15; and one male is between 30 and 40; 2 females under 5; 1 female between five and 10; 1 female between 20 and 30.

W.F. Joiner, "Contrary to some published information, evidence indicates that Jacob Rutledge Brooks migrated from Walton County, Georgia to Pike County, Alabama before 1841. * An official Land Patent was issued to Jacob R. Brooks of Walton County, Georgia by the General Land Office, Bureau of Land Management, Washington, District of Columbia, on 1 Jul 1841. The official land Patents were normally issued between two and four years after the patentee took possession of a tract of land. He had taken possession of this land on or about 17 Dec 1837 as reflected in the Pike County, Alabama Tract Book."

1850 U. S. Federal Census Pike County, Alabama (Page 140

Brooks, J. R. 43 Georgia:# 65 Farmer ($250)

Rebecca 38 Georgia

Caleb (student) 21 Georgia (Abt. 1829)

James 20 Georgia (Abt. 1830)

Martha 16 Georgia (Abt. 1834)

Mariam (f) 15 Georgia (Abt. 1835)

Isabella 9 Alabama (Abt. 1841)

Rebecca 7 Alabama (Abt. 1843)

Dotia ( f ) 4 Alabama (Abt. 1846)

Arabella 2 Alabama (Abt. 1848)

T. Collins 6/12 Alabama (Abt. 1850)

5 March 1856, Bounty Land Grant - Alabama.

1860 U. S. Federal Census of (Monticello) Pike County, Alabama

#1134 #1147 Farmer ($1600/$4110) 4 September

Brooks, Jacob R. 53 m Georgia (Abt. 1807)

Rebecca J. 48 f Georgia (Abt. 1812)

Isabella J. 18 f Alabama (Abt. 1842)

Rebecca E. (S) 15 f Alabama (Abt. 1845)

Marion E. (S) 13 f Alabama (Abt. 1847) Mary Ann Eudocia

Arabella J. (S) 11 f Alabama (Abt. 1849)

Timothy (S) 9 m Alabama (Abt. 1851)

Jane H. 5 f Alabama (Abt. 1855)

1866, Alabama State Population Schedule for Pike County, Alabama

J. R. Brooks as follows, one male between 10 and 20, one male between 50 and 60, three females under 10, one female between 10 and 20, and one female between 50 and 60. (one soldier died of sickness) (ED. Note: Miriam Brooks Gilmore’s husband died of small pox)

Jacob Brooks was a member of the Grange. His association with the Grange created a conflict with his membership in Ramah Primitive Baptist Church at Josie, Alabama.

1870 U.S Federal Census Pike County, Alabama - Monticello twp. 10 August 1870

1880 U.S. Federal Census Pike County, Perote Twp. 1 June 1880

FHL Film 1254004

National Archives Film T9 - 0004

Page 301 C

Jacob Brooks 64 Georgia Georgia Georgia

Rebecca Brooks 60 Georgia Georgia Georgia

Isabelle 39 Alabama Georgia Georgia

31 October 1889 Will and Land Sale:

" Know all men by these presents, that Jacob R. Brooks having this day sold to his children, Miriam Mercer Gilmore, Isabella Josephine Brooks and Wm. B. Gilmore, grandchild, a certain tract or parcel of land, containing sixty acres more or less and a house and lot in the village of Perote, now occupied by the said J. R. Brooks as a residence upon the following condition to wit, said Brooks to his use and occupation of one room of said dwelling as well as all the rights and privileges that he has always had about such premises to wit the house and lot in Perote. W. B. Gilmore, Miriam Mercer Gilmore, and Isabella Josephine Brooks agree on their part to see that the obligations, then the title to the land conveyed to us this day by J. R. Brooks, and should we fail in the discharge of the above obligations, then the title to the land conveyed to us this day by J. R. Brooks shall be null and void. W. B. Gilmore also agrees in his part to see that Mrs. Miriam Mercer Gilmore and Josephine Brooks shall receive through him a decent support such as food, clothing, medical, all during their natural lives and should said Gilmore fail to discharge this said obligation to said M. M. Gilmore & Isabella Josephine Brooks, then again he forfeits to title in and to said lands & real Estate which has been conveyed to him at the death of said M. M. Gilmore, and Isabella Josephine Brooks. It is further agreed and conditioned that Wm. B. Gilmore, should have immediate control and possession of said land from this day during the lifetime of the conditions above described.

Witness my hand and seal this 28th day of Oct. 1889. E. P. Haslaw, A. P. Ex. Off. JP

Jacob Rutledge Brooks

Miriam Mercer Gilmore

Isabella Josephine BROOKS

William B. Gilmore

Filed in Office, Oct. 31st, 1889, at 10 o'clock A.M.

S. T. Frazier, Judge:

The description of this land is as follows: "Lot # 1 in the village of Perote known as the Jacob Brooks lot and bounded on the North by Ziegler lot on the East by McDowell lot, on the South by Watkins lot on the West by public road running North and South through said village in S 12 T 11 R 23, also all that part or parcel of the East half of North West ¼ lying and being south of the canal or big ditch and North of the plantation road and all that part or parcel of West half of North East ¼ lying South of canal and North and West of the Plantation road all in S 1 T 11 R 23 containing in above described (tract) sixty acres more or less", all lying within Bullock County, Alabama

March 1900 Death Jacob Rutledge Brooks

Timeline

Jacob Reed Brooks

10 May 1787 Wilkes, Georgia. He died on 22 March 1872 in Walker, Georgia

Military: War of 1812. Jacob R. Brooks, Wm. Chivers Co., 8th US Infantry Georgia Pensioners

Brooks, Jacob R.: War of 1812 Pension Application S.O.#12993, South Carolina#8194. B.L.W.#6499-160-12. He served in Captain William Chisolm's Company, 8th Regiment, U.S. Infantry, from 18 September 1812 to 23 August 1815. Resided 1840- 1871 in Walker County.

Following the Creek Wars of 1812-1814, the United States and the State of Georgia began pressuring the entire Cherokee Nation to move to Arkansas, where a tract had been set aside for them, freeing up land in Georgia for white settlement. However, most of the Native American groups refused to leave their lands. Cherokee leaders maintained that they were the original inhabitants of America, an independent nation not bound by U. S. law and protected by treaties made with the U.S. Federal Government.

First Seminole Indian War: Brooks, Jacob R.

Sgt Maj., served in Lewis' 2nd Regt. of Georgia Cavalry in the Seminole War of 1817-18

19 November 1819, marriage to Sarah C. Gaddis. She died in Walker County, Georgia, before 1870.

Lexicon of the Cherokee Tongue,

Prepared by Jacob R. Brooks for Colonel W. W. Hassard, n.d.

MS 93 Jacob R. Brooks Paper

Reference: http://www.georgiahistory.com/nineteen.htm

1820 U.S. Federal Census Gwinnett, Georgia, Jacob R. Brooks was enumerated with a wife and one child (Ancestry.com). A Jacob Brooks sold land to Lemuel Roberts in the 6th Land District (formerly Gwinnett), which is now in the NE part of DeKalb, near the Gwinnett line.

1821, Jacob R. Brooks, Commissioner for County Academies

Type: AN ACT[2]

Full Title: To appoint Commissioners for the County Academies of Walton, Gwinnett, Hall, Habersham, Rabun, [Illegible Text], and Pulaski, and to incorporate the same.

§ 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of [Illegible Text] in General Assembly [Illegible Text], and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That from and immediately after the [Illegible Text] of this act, Elisha Betts, Vincent Haralson, William Johnston, [Illegible Text] C Woods, and Wilson Whatley, are hereby declared commissioners for the county Academy of Walton; William Towers, [Illegible Text] [Illegible Text] William [Illegible Text] Thomas Worthey, and Jacob R. Brooks, for the county Academy of Gwinnett

1824, Jacob R. Brooks started a ferry over the Chattahoochee River, sold by 3 December

1832, According to the letter by the current owner in 1832, Elisha Betts; the letter was written to Governor Lumpkin protesting long-standing Indian issues and Indian claims over that ferry and requesting assistance (Wayfarers of Walton, Anita B. Sams, reprinted 2000, Walton Graphic Media, Monroe, Georgia, p. 407)

1826-1827, Jacob R. Brooks served a two-year term in the Special House Session to the Georgia General Assembly for DeKalb County, GA

DeKalb Representatives to the Georgia General Assembly, 1823-1860

http://www.pkgraham.com/img/leer.gif

(Special House Session)

1826 Jacob R. Brooks

1830 U.S. Federal Census, DeKalb, Georgia, Jacob is enumerated with 2 males under five and 2 males between five and ten, a daughter under five, a wife, and an older woman who may have been his mother (Ancestry.com)

Second Seminole War-

1827 – 1838, Jacob R. Brooks, Indian Agent, was involved in the removal of the Cherokee Indians (see Cherokee Website: Removal of Indians)

1830, Jacob R. Brooks, wrote two letters to Governor Gilmer which survived. The letters were found for me by Barbara Smallwood Stock in the Governor's file in the Georgia Archives on 10/14/2005.

8 January 1831, Jacob R. Brooks of DeKalb County enlists as 1st Sgt. in the Georgia Guard under Sanford, specially called to stop the looting of the gold mines. A copy of the original list of the Georgia Guard, which includes the signatures of the 38 of the proposed members of the Guard, is in an official letter book of the commander Colonel John W.A. Sanford. The letter book was given to the Ina Dillard Russell Memorial Library at Georgia College in Milledgeville, GA. A Microfilm is available at Georgia Archives (Reel 21 / 53). The signature of Jacob R. Brooks matches the signature of Jacob R. Brooks, Indian Agent, who wrote to Governor Gilmer in 1830- per Barbara Smallwood Stock, certified genealogist Georgia.

http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ga/military/indian/sandfordjwa.txt

“The Georgia Guard, established in 1831 by the Legislature to bring order in the Cherokee Territory, was composed of 40 to 60 men. The Guard was commanded by J.W.A. Sanford, whose title was “General Agent in the Cherokee Country and Commander of the Georgia Guards County Indian Agent, Cobb: Jacob R. Brooks (see letter from Nancy Still 3-8-1835” (Whites Among the Cherokees, Georgia 1828-1838, 1987, Mary Bondurant Warren, Heritage Papers, Athens, GA30606).

August 1831, Letter to Governor Gilmore (sic) written by a group of Cherokee Women,

“We the undersigned Cherokee women do remonstrate against the occupancy of a ferry on the Etowah River n the Cherokee Nation by Messers Jesse Day and John Dosson (Dawson),….”we have twice complained to Sergeant Jacob R. Brooks, who is frequently through our Country executing the laws, his reply last time was that he had forgot to name my complaint to Colo. Santford (Col. J.W.A. Sanford) the Georgia agent...” Betti Philips, Sally Hughes” (Whites Among the Cherokees, op.cit., p. 109)

2 January 1832, Jacob R. Brooks received fourteen dollars from Colonel John A. Sanford for inspecting the gold mines.

18 December 1832, Jacob R. Brooks (Salacoe Settlement near Salacoe Town, Cherokee County, signed a petition by white settlers to Gov. Wilson Lumpkin for a troop of 100 men to be sent immediately to “awe the Indians of the Salacoe Settlement into submission.” The petition was in response to the Bowman Family Massacre (Dec.15, 1832. James L. Bowman, his wife, daughter, and her mother were butchered, and their home was burned. Bowman was about 21, his wife 18, her mother was very old and blind” (Whites Among the Cherokees, p.110, op.cit.)

1833, Jacob R. Brooks, appointed Indian Agent in Cobb County by the Governor

1833, Jacob R. Brooks helped to establish the Union Academy, and Oakchumpna Academy, in the county of Upson (see GenWeb submission by Virginia Crilley: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ga/upson/history/academy2.txt

1833, Cobb County formation -The first officials for Cobb County were: Tandy Martin, Sheriff; William Morris, Clerk of Superior Court; R.B. Harris, Clerk of Inferior Court; E.R. Mills, County Surveyor; Henry Quiton, County Coroner; James B. Waller, Representative; and Jacob Brooks, Senator. Senator Brooks had lived in Cobb County on the Chattahoochee River since 1819 and was a representative from Dekalb before settling in Cobb. (Cobb County did not exist until 1832)

1833, Census Act of 1833 – received at the Executive Department 22 March 1834,

Page four, Jacob R. Brooks, $ signifies Cobb County, 9 people in the family. The census was compared with the 1830 U.S. Federal Census Georgia (Whites Among the Cherokees, p. 155, op.cit.).

1834, Governor Lumpkin appointed Jacob R. Brooks Indian Agent for Cobb County

1840 U.S. Federal Census, Walker, Georgia; Jacob Reed Brooks has moved to Walker County, Georgia (Lookout)

1850 U.S. Federal Census Lookout Valley, Walker, Georgia, family #34

Residence of Geo W. Harp (25)

Martha A. 25

John M

Jacob R. Brooks 63 School Teacher

Sally Brooks 50

Dewet C 16

Cosiusio 14

Enius 12

Roxana 9

Tamarlane 5

1860 U.S. Federal Census Pond Springs District, Walker, Georgia, family 1004; 20 July

Residence of L.W. Brooks, 35, farmer

Mahala 32

Sara E 15

Mary 13

Wm. 10

George 9

Martha 5

J.R. Brooks 73

(A Brooks family is living at 1005 – next door)

1870 U.S. Federal Census Subdivision 128, Walker County, Georgia , Fricks Post Office, 14 June 1870.

Residence: Brooks, Levi W. 46

Mary 21

Wm T. 20

Geo 10

Frances 14

Enos 9

Jacob R. Brooks 83 years old

March 22, 1872 – Death – Walker County, Georgia

Southern Christian Advocate Obituaries, 1867-78

1867-1878

Issue of May 1, 1872

Mr. Jacob R. Brooks was born in Wilkes County, Georgia, on May 10th, 1787, and died March 22nd, 1872, at the residence of his son, W. L. Brooks, in Walker County, Georgia, from the infirmities of old age. He was a regular soldier in the U. S. Army five years in the war of 1812. He represented DeKalb and Cobb counties in the Georgia Legislature. He raised seven sons and five daughters, seven of whom and a wife, went to the grave before him.

[1]author: Cherokee Nation

publication place: [Washington, D.C.]

date: January 5, 1832

extent: 5p

http://neptune3.galib.uga.edu/cgi-bin/homepage.cgi?link=zlna&id=tcc802&style=&_id=442a34bd-1208761962-4558

Monday, October 15, 2018

#52 Ancestors 52 Weeks – Challenge Week 43 Dead is Dead, Scott

#52 Ancestors 52 Weeks – Challenge Week 43
Prompt: Cause of Death

DEAD is DEAD!

By the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Forde

Whatever the cause of death, ministering to families whose loved one has died is one of the most painful parts of being a pastor. We grieve with those who mourn. Dead is dead! Yet, despite years of ministry to the dying and their families, we are never prepared when death’s dark shadow falls on one of our own. Whatever the cause of death, when that happens at home, we taste the bitter gall.

1 September 1998, I became an unwilling member of Parents who Follow Caskets. My oldest son Scott Stanley Forde, born on 13 May 1961, died at M. D. Anderson Hospital in Houston, Texas. In April of 1998, Scott was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. He survived five months. Because of extensive chemotherapy for bone marrow and stem cell transplants, he contracted a fungal infection from the shunt while in the sterile bubble room at the famous cancer hospital. The hospital learned only later that the water pipes into the room carried fungus; Scott had zero immune systems remaining after the ravages of chemotherapy; the fungus traveled to his brain, and it was listed as the cause of death. He died leukemia-free. Whatever the cause of death, dead is dead. For me, the question became, how do I live?

Scott’s widow Karen asked me to write something about our family for Samantha and Steven, their two small children. That request proved to be an incredible gift. Because I could not write about Scott without drowning the computer keyboard, I started writing about my most distant ancestors; I did research. I wrote stories. I did genealogy. Writing the stories was my grief work.

Through the ensuing years, I pondered these questions: Genealogy? Why live in the past? What is the importance of knowing family names and dates? Why would anyone spend years researching family history? Who cares?

As a minister, I turn to Scripture for answers. The Word of God says not to be concerned about genealogy, on the one hand, yet on the other hand, what serious student of the Bible has not skipped quickly over countless recitations of who begat whom? Why, indeed, is the genealogy in Scripture? For Christians, the answer is that genealogies in Scripture point to Jesus Christ. But, one of the best answers I have heard for all of the "begets" came from a young Jewish girl on the day of her Bat Mitzvah commenting on the Book of Numbers. "God is counting His treasure."

It helps to re-frame the questions in the light of the girl's response: God treasures each of us. We are of inestimable value, regardless of sojourn: long or short, well-traveled or not. God loves us beyond our wildest imagination. From the time we begin our journey from God until our return to God, having breathed our last, we are God's treasure.

Therefore, as we add to God's story during our sojourn on earth, we increase God's treasure. We do this, of course, simply because we exist, move, breathe and live out the days of our lives in whatever circumstances we are given. Our Creator values us immensely. Each soul is God-kissed, God-breathed, God's glistening gold. This is most certainly true - as Martin Luther would remind us. It does not matter whether or not others recognize and validate our worth; the value does not change.

How often do you hear or read about someone who has found a priceless painting or valuable treasure digging through heaps of junk? My mother's experience proves the point; she tried everything to remove the greenish-black substance that formed on the tea service my parents were given as a wedding gift. Nothing worked. She sent it to the garbage dump. When she told my dad, he went to the dump immediately to search for it. Unfortunately for my mother, someone else realized they had discovered silver!

In researching family history, I unearthed untold treasure - stories. Each box of genealogical data tells me a story. It brings me in touch with the struggles, losses, hopes and joys of those who have preceded me. It gives me insight into the heartaches that must have accompanied the loss of a child - and in many cases, several children. It has helped me cope with the loss of my own child.

A good example is the story of the church bells in Kensett, Iowa. Knud Savre's young daughter became the first white person to be buried in that community. Two more daughters died within a short time. Imagine how painful it must have been for that pioneer family to lose three daughters. They gave church bells in memory of the young girls. Doesn't this story create a longing in your heart to go to the church in Kensett and listen to the bells? Do the bells toll or peal, clap or ring? Do they echo the laughter of little girls? How should bells sound to remember beloved daughters?

Another excellent example of the treasure trove in stories: In 1987, we visited my mother's paternal ancestral home in Dade County, Georgia, just south of Chattanooga, Tennessee. I met with the president of the Historical Society of Dade County. They had heard of our Miller family, but the county history books did not have any information about them. I gave them an unpublished autobiography of one of the sons, John Thornton Miller.

The diary was a great gift. It contained the only written record of that early history. It offered previously unknown information, names of teachers and preachers long forgotten. But most importantly, John T. Miller shared his reflections and impressions of what it was like to grow up amid the beautiful Dade Valley, and familial values and philosophies are brought to light. The diary is being published in the Dade County History Book.

An important question was answered for the surrounding community, "Why does the Miller family cemetery exist without Millers buried in it.?" I had the answer to the question, "There is a Miller buried in the cemetery. Elizabeth Miller Tatum died giving birth to her first child. It was built on her behalf." I could answer the first part of the question: "But there is a Miller buried there," because the story was handed down to me. Sadly enough, twelve years later, I can answer the second part of the question, 'Why is it landscaped so elaborately?'

One hundred and forty years after Elizabeth Miller's death, Scott died. We created a cemetery on our ranch at his request. It, too, was landscaped with great consideration. Scott requested a simple boulder for his headstone; he wanted to express his love of nature. In the Miller cemetery, there is a large boulder. While we have no idea if it marks Elizabeth's grave, for the sake of the story, we hope so. Elizabeth's and Scott's stories were submitted to the National Cemetery Register when we recorded our new cemetery, 'Scott's Grove.' Someday, descendants will value both story and the cemetery.

Stories are treasures. Stories are discovered by paying attention: how is a child named?, what is the birth order? Why do we see certain migration and emigration patterns? Attention to detail bears fruit. Stories begin to unfold. Connections form.

Each story is yet another connection from past to present and on to the future. Most interesting to see is how the stories of families connect from generation to generation. Some families grow in strength and numbers. Other families fracture and become fragments drifting apart.

Some of the surprises are more treasure than others. We would rather some of the stories not be told - I did not tell stories that would embarrass anyone. Nor did I tell the stories of rich and famous ancestors so they would be the dazzling connections that stand out for time and posterity. The connections to each other - good or bad - totally miss the point. The real treasure is the value of interconnectedness: the schema, if you will, of something greater and grander at work. It is like an incredible gigantic tapestry woven by God. God spun a thread that runs through us and on to the future. I named this thread, The Spirit Runner.

The Spirit Runner is the connecting thread, woven invisibly and intricately, deeper than DNA or quantum energy spun in the reality of physics. It is our umbilical cord connecting us to God and to each other revealed in the art of telling stories of events. A conception, gestation, birth, blood, water, tears, a fast in the wilderness, water to wine, and finally, our salvation played out with agony, defeat, the death of a child, a body in a grave; then taken up into the center of the incredible mystery of the Holy Trinity. In the grand scheme, the cause of death is of no consequence. Our stories are God's stories about ‘why we are.’

#52 Ancestors 52 Weeks – Challenge Week 42, Canzada Jane Miller "After-Words"

#52 Ancestors 52 Weeks – Challenge Week 42: Conflict

CANZADA JANE MILLER

AFTER-WORDS

Canzada Jane Miller left home never to return. Such is the story of the conflict between Canzada Jane and her deeply religious father, John Thornton Miller, a hundred and thirty eight years ago. What happened for anger to run so deep it caused permanent division?

Canzada Jane Miller was born 4 Nov. 1862[1] in Rising Fawn, Dade County, Georgia. The state was a political hotbed, a boiling cauldron of anger as a result of the War Between the States. Dade County residents had wanted to secede, but Georgia was cautious. The Dade County citizens were so impatient that in 1860, they announced their own secession from Georgia and the United States, being the first county in the south to secede. Canzada’s uncle-in-law, Hardy Tatum, rode through the night to deliver that pronouncement to the Georgia Senate (History of Dade County, Georgia, Dade County Historical Society, published 1950).

Canzada’s world was fraught with the tension of an absentee father, John Thornton Miller, who was at war during the time of her birth and absent for the first year of her life. Prior to her birth, he had enlisted as a private in Co. K, 10^thRegiment Ga. State Troops on 16 December 1861. He was mustered out in early May 1862. He enlisted in Co. F, 34^thRegiment Georgia Infantry on 17 May 1862. A year and a month later, 4 July 1863, he was captured at Vicksburg, Mississippi, and paroled there on 8 July 1863.[2] The horror of the war left its impact on John Miller and his family. The south was devastated; life would never again be the same.

John Thornton Miller wrote an autobiography in his seventy-fifth year that provides insight into the tremendous loss and tragedy that unfolded and impacted Canzada’s life. I include the first few entries that offer compelling supportive narrative to the challenges the Miller family faced.

An Autobiography of My Life

by John Thornton Miller

April 1st, 1914- The task of writing an autobiographical sketch of my life is requested of me by one of my children - a work had I begun a few years ago would have been much lighter, for then I could see good, and now my eyes are dim and my mind is not so clear, and my memory is so impaired that many incidents I would gladly record will be forgotten. I was born in the great old state of Georgia. The very name is precious to me, and I still love not only the name of the state, but the county of Dade, and the town of Rising Fawn - now quite a town - on the Chattanooga and Wills Valley Railroad. My mother and father recorded the day of my birth as the 14th day of October, 1839; I being the sixth child, with three brothers and two sisters older, and three brothers younger than I. The older brothers married and went away, and the farm work and leadership fell on me. The three younger brothers and myself did most of the farm work. What piles of corn and garners of wheat we made! What fine hogs, meat and lard! To get out on the road, or farm, with a fine yoke of oxen and a good wagon was a fine past time. It was fun to load the team and see them get down to pulling. Sometimes I would walk out on the wagon tongue and get astride Old Buck and get ditched. This was not so funny, but it mixed in occasionally.

April 2nd, 1914- My father's farm of 420 acres lay in a little creek, which I shall call Cove Creek, because it drained what was in the early days of that county called the Lost Cove. Sometimes this stream would get out on our land. It was crooked, and in the crooks the land was very rich. Bill and I called these little crooks 'newks.' My, what corn we made in those newks! This Cove Creek emptied into Lookout Creek - a larger stream, and it in turn emptied into the Tennessee River 20 miles below us and at the mouth of the Lookout Valley about eight miles southwest of Chattanooga, to us a big town then. We did our marketing there. Corn, meal, potatoes, and other farm products were hauled there. We did not grow much cotton then except for home use. We had no gins, and had to pick the seed out of the cotton with our fingers. This we usually did after supper before bedtime. And now, children, you may think this is a romance, but it is a fact as sure as you are born. Then mother carded the cotton and made our summer wear. One pair of red leather shoes - homemade, at that -was our share of shoes a year. These we got about the first week of December. We were proud, and stepped high. On these creeks, we boys would fish, and swim, and kill moccasins. I dream of the creeks, and newks, and swimming holes, and canebrakes now some nights. They all look just like they did sixty years ago - that is, in dreamland. The old foot-logs, the wash place, the mill over on the bank, the big scaly-bark tree just there by the wash place - I shall never see them again only in dreams. Well, children, I have said enough about the creeks and the farm. I could write all day of reminiscences of the days spent up and down the creeks, of hairbreadth escapes, snake scares, strangles, and deep wadings.

But there are some other matters of which I must tell you. There is Old Pleasant Grove Log Meeting House, and the school a mile away. Professor A.R. Morrison is teaching. He was the best teacher I ever had. The house was a big pine-hewed log house with great cracks. We boys who were in arithmetic would sit out of doors to study, throw stones at the birds, talk and laugh and have a good time generally. Well, the preacher preached in this old house and when it was Circuit Preaching Day, we quit work about ten o'clock in the morning and went to meeting. (I wish the people would do that way now.) The preacher would sometimes come home with us, and Bill and I were always glad, for mother always fixed something good to eat when he came. We would likely have chicken, biscuits, ham and gravy, or sausage and such like. Somehow, I learned to love the preacher, and that learning has been a habit of my life. I still love a man of God. There have been many changes since those days in the modes of living and acting, but the Word of God has not changed, and the Word is not lost. If I could I would go back there and walk over the old places so sacred to me, made so by the scenes and experiences of my youth. There are mountains there one of which I would balance against all the mountains of Montgomery County (Arkansas). I desire to stand in the valley of my birth and gaze on those lofty peaks and cliffs!

When I was seventeen years old I began to feel the need of an education, and asked my father for the sum of one hundred dollars, which then would pay my way ten months in an academy at Trenton, Georgia., the county seat. Father said, "All right, John, make a big crop this year, and I will send you next year." We made the crop and when we got it harvested, I asked him for the money. He told me that that was more than he had been able to do for the other boys and so put me off. As a result of my disappointment, I started to Texas. I started from home on the sixth day of October 1858, with my now sainted brother, Joe. As I remember the big comet was in the West. (I wonder - was this Halley's comet? I think it was.) My brother located in Pike County, Arkansas. Then moved to Dallas, in Polk County. He bought the Little John Longacre Farm, now owned by B. F. Thompson. There, Joe's wife died in September of 1859. Later my father and James, my oldest brother, moved to Polk County, and in December of 1860, I went back to my native state. I married, there, Miss Sarah L. Russell, a sweet little Christian girl of seventeen summers, with whom I lived sixteen years, having born to us five children -three boys and two girls. We had passed through the War Between the States, and we moved to Arkansas, settling near Charleston at Hickory Ridge, Sebastian County. There we buried my wife - leaving me almost a wreck. The sadness and loneliness and sorrow of such an ordeal no one knows except those who have experienced it! Having five small children, their mother gone, poor in worldly things, one hundred miles from and of my people, set me in serious straits. I could not leave my children and I could hardly stay with my children. What could I do? It began to be a serious question and rather difficult to solve. I was then thirty-seven years old. Time sped on. Gloom impenetrable settled down about my home.

+++

In the aftermath of the War, the ensuing violent uprootedness, poverty, loss of dreams, came grief unimaginable. John Miller’s beloved Sarah, mother of 13-year-old Canzada and her young siblings died. “Gloom impenetrable settled down about my home.”

In the next sentence, John Miller added, “But the Good Lord always 'tempers the wind of the shorn lamb.' So I was married to Mrs. Joan Lackey, with whom I have lived these thirty- seven years happily. She proved to be indeed a wonderful mother to my motherless children and a congenial companion to myself.”

Canzada Jane, being the oldest child, would have shouldered a great deal of responsibility following the loss of her mother. It is difficult to say how she would welcome a new stepmother that also included a three-year-old stepbrother, Richard Cotton Lackey. The crowded Miller home may have been a perfect teapot to brew a tempest.

The tempest came in the form of John Gragg Ellison born 1854 in Floyd County, Georgia to Jonathan Gragg Ellison (1828-1899) and Nancy Minerva Whitlock (1832-1917). If Canzada had openly announced her plans to marry John Gragg Ellison before the spring of 1880. John Thornton Miller’s objections were to no avail. Canzada left home with John Ellison never to return. Leaving home forever is a long time.

According to Dorothy Ellison Miller, an Ellison historian and a cousin of John G. Ellison, John Miller strongly objected to Canzada’s marriage to John Ellison. He felt John was too old for his daughter. John’s religious zeal or lack of may have been questioned. Further objections may have stemmed from John’s marriage to Julia Robins in 1874; Julia was deceased before 1880; their three-year-old daughter was raised by his parents. Here is where it gets hairy with few extant records to prove the truth or to locate Canzada and John’s whereabouts after leaving Polk County, Arkansas before 1880. It is helpful to review the few available records in a timeline.

Timeline

1860 U.S. Federal Census Rome, Floyd County, Georgia, John G. Ellison, 7, is enumerated in the household of his parents, John and Minerva Ellison.[3]

1870 U.S. Federal Census Arkansas, Cansada (sic) Miller is enumerated in the home of her parents, John T. and Sarah Miller.[4]

15 March 1874, Marriage - Julia D. Robins, to John G. Ellison, Montgomery, Arkansas,.[5] There is not a death or cemetery record to prove a death date.

1880 U. S. Federal Census Polk, Arkansas, Fanny Ellison, 3, is enumerated in the home of her grandparents, Jonathan G., and Nancy Minerva Ellison. Dorothy Miller and various numerous Ancestry.com trees report John G. Ellison’s first wife, Julia, died in 1880, Montgomery County, Arkansas. Julia was the mother of his daughter, Fanny Ellison, who was apparently raised by John’s parents.

1889 – Death, John G. Ellison,. Ellison historian Dorothy Miller reported John G. Ellison was deceased before 1900 based on the family tradition. Ancestry trees offer a death date Nov.1889, Polk County, Arkansas, with no supporting evidence. The excellent Polk County cemetery records do not have John G. Ellison listed, nor is there a death record or cemetery record in Arkansas, Oklahoma or Texas.

1900 - U. S. Federal Census, Detroit, Red River County, Texas,[6]Jane Ellison, b. 4 Nov. 1862 Georgia, widow, farmer, rents; she is enumerated with three children:

Allie Eugene Ellison b. Indian Territory 15 October 1880

Odie Thornton Ellison b. Arkansas, 19 Dec 1882

Alfred Jones Ellison, b. Arkansas Aug 1889

The 1900 census record of Jane Ellison, widow, indicates this is indeed Canzada Jane Miller Ellison, born on 4 November 1862, matching family records from Dorothy Ellison Miller. Odie’s middle name is the same as her father’s middle name. John G. Ellison is apparently deceased by 1900.

1903 – Death of Canzada Jane Miller. Donald Miller, John T. Miller’s grandson (by his second marriage), wrote an unpublished biography[7]of John T Miller. Donald’s research report states Canzada died 18 Sept.1903 in Shreveport, Louisiana. The death location is likely an error because Mrs. Ellison who died on that date was black and born in 1875[8]. Donald Miller may have found the 1903 listing and assumed Mrs. Ellison was Canzada. Online Ancestry trees give the same un-sourced date.

1910 – Canzada’s three children continued to reside in the vicinity of Red River County, Texas. No further information is available for Canzada Jane or John G. Ellison despite an exhaustive search of census, tax, property, or probate or records for Arkansas, Oklahoma or Texas.

Allie Eugene Ellison married Wesley G. Epps; they had 3 children; she died 12 Nov 1966 in Quitman, Wood County, Texas. She reported her birth location as Oklahoma. Alfred Jones Ellison married Virgina “Vergie;” he died.in 1945; his death certificate was signed by his brother, O. T. Ellison. Odie Thornton Ellison married Etta Florence Keeth in 1910.[9] Odie reported his birth location as Oklahoma throughout the remainder of his life. Odie died 19 Sept 1952.

Thanks to Myra Vanderpool Gormley for providing Odie T. Ellison’s death records and obituaries that report his mother’s name as Mattie. Canzada may have changed her name to Mattie Jane Ray at some point.

Death Record Index from microfilm in the Clarksville Library, batch #46007 name as Odie Thornton.

Obituary: Clarksville Times26 Sep 1952 born in OK, married Etta Keeth 28 Dec 1910 in Detroit, died at his home in Detroit,

Obituary: Detroit News Herald25 Sep 1952 from microfilm in the Clarksville Library: Odie T. Ellison, 69, passed away at his home in Detroit last Friday about 5 a.m. Funeral services were conducted by Rev. Martin Pike of Clarksville at the First Christian Church at 2:30 p.m., Saturday with burial in the Detroit Cemetery by Clarksville Funeral Home. Mr. Ellison was born in Oklahoma December 19, 1881, and had lived in this vicinity practically all his life and engaged in farming until he retired from active work a few years ago. He was married December 20, 1910, to Miss Etta Keith at Detroit. He was a member of the Christian Church and Masonic Lodge. Besides Mrs. Ellison he is survived by a daughter, Mrs. A.B. Carter, Detroit; a son, Jack Ellison, New Orleans, Louisiana.; 4 .grandchildren: Misses Carolyn and Abby Carter and Jack Carter, Detroit, and Keith Ellison, New Orleans; a sister, Mrs. Wesley Epps, Quitman.

Clarksville Funeral Home Book 4 page 92: child of John Allison and Mattie Ray

to estate, the order given by wife Mrs. Etta Ellison.

Obituary: Bogata News, Friday 26 Sep 1952, from microfilm in the Clarksville Library: Funeral of Odie Thornton Ellison, 69, who died at Detroit Friday, was held Saturday at the Christian Church. Interment was in Detroit Cemetery. Mr. Ellison, a farmer, was a member of the Christian Church and of the Masonic Lodge. He was born in Oklahoma, Dec. 19, 1882, son of the late Mr. and Mrs. John Ellison. He married Miss Etta Keith at Detroit, Dec. 20, 1910. Surviving besides his wife are two children, Jack Keith Ellison, New Orleans, and Mrs. A. B. Carter, Detroit; four grandchildren and a sister, Mrs. Wesley Epps, Quitman.

Summary

Canzada Jane Miller did indeed leave home, and she did not return. According to extant records, she and John G. Ellison ventured forth to Indian Territory where their first child, Allie Eugene, was born October 1880. It is unclear why Odie and Alfred reported their births as Oklahoma, although Indian Territory was just across the line from Sebastian County, Arkansas. After a sojourn in Sebastian County, Arkansas, the family eventually settled in Detroit, Red River County, Texas, a growing area between 1880 and 1900 due to mines, cotton, and railroads. The obituary records for Odie and Alfred Jones Ellison give their mother’s name as Mattie[10]and Mattie Ray.

Canzada Jane and John Thornton Miller had no further communication after she left home. There can be no doubt she loved and missed her father because she named her firstborn son Odie Thornton. If John T. Miller had communication with Canzada before 1914, he would have at least known she was a widow. If she was deceased, he would have said so. He would not have written 19 May 1914 in the present tense, “The girls have grown up and married.” I take this to mean he believed they were currently married. Dorothy Ellison Miller was elated to have discovered Canzada’s whereabouts in Texas, reporting, "Canzada's descendants were unaware of the conflict causing her to leave home forever." A descendant of Odie's said she told her daughter her bags were packed to go to boarding school when she left. Leaving home forever is a long time.

Miller Cemetery and Plantation, Date Co. Georgia

John T. Miller 1839-1921

Sarah Russell Miller

The gravestone photos were posted on Ancestry trees.

The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Forde-Beatty, AAPC

The Swedish Colonial Society Genealogist

scsgenealogist@icloud.com

P.O. Box 598

Hempstead, Texas 77445

[1]Year: 1900; Census Place: Justice Precinct 4, Red River, Texas; Page: 12; Enumeration District: 0107; FHL microfilm: 1241665

Source Information

Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.

[2]Georgia Roster Co. F, 34^thRegiment Ga.

https://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89059402263

[3]Source Citation

Year: 1860; Census Place: Chulio, Floyd, Georgia; Roll: M653_121; Page: 310; Family History Library Film: 803121

Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Original data: 1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.

[4]Year: 1870; Census Place: Fulton, Polk, Arkansas; Roll: M593_61; Page: 295A; Family History Library Film: 545560

Source Information

Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

[5]Ancestry.com. Arkansas, Compiled Marriages, 1851-1900[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001. Original data: Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp.. Arkansas Marriages, 1851-1900. See the extended description for original data sources listed by county.

[6]Year: 1900; Census Place: Justice Precinct 4, Red River, Texas; Page: 12; Enumeration District: 0107; FHL microfilm: 1241665

Source Information

Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.

[7]Unpublished biography of John Thornton Miller by Donald Miller, in possession of Cynthia Forde.

[8]Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin Texas, USA

Source Information

Ancestry.com. Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

Original data: Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas Death Certificates, 1903–1982. Austin, Texas, USA.

[9] O. T. Ellison married Ella Keeth on 28 Dec 1910 in Red River Co TX Book N page 132

[10]Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin Texas, USA

Source Information

Ancestry.com. Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

Original data: Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas Death Certificates, 1903–1982. Austin, Texas, USA.