Tuesday, April 9, 2019

#Ancestor Challenge 2019 Week 17, Sappington Ceremony

#Ancestor Challenge 2019 Week 17,  Sappington Ceremony
Prompt: Worship
A Sappington Marriage Ceremony
By The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Vold Forde
Friday, 17 April 1722, was a holy night in Anglican All Hallows Church in St. James Parish, Anne Arundel County, Maryland.  Just twelve days past Easter, Sarah, daughter of John Sherbert and Mary Fowler, married John Sappington. Sarah’s parents, John and Mary Fowler Sherbert, had been married in Anne Arundel County in 1697.[1]
We have little knowledge of Sarah Sherbert’s life apart from the date on which she married John Sappington at the All Hallows Church. An understanding of Sarah’s wedding is gleaned from the wedding ritual found in the Book of Common Prayer. Reading the rite is an invitation to attend her wedding to John Sappington.
This Form of Solemnization of Matrimony has remained almost entirely unchanged from 1662 to the present, though the Church of England did introduce an Alternative Service Book in 1980.[2]
The Marriage Ceremony

First, the Banns of all that is to be married together must be published in the Church three consecutive Sundays, during the time of Morning Service, or of Evening Service (if there be no Morning Service), immediately after the second Lesson; the curate saying after the accustomed manner:
“I publish the banns of marriage between Sarah Sherbert of Anne Arundel County and John Sappington of Anne Arundel County. If any of you know the cause, or just impediment, why these two persons should not be joined together in holy matrimony, ye are to declare it. This is the third time of asking.”
Three Sundays in a row, Sarah Sherbert, head down with crimson cheeks, stood between her parents in All Hallows Church. She wondered if she would really go through with this marriage.
“What other options are there for a young woman but marriage?” she wondered. “If I don’t marry him, my parents will be humiliated. I must remember that John Sappington is a fine gentleman. He has promised to be kind and good. John will be a good provider; he is a tanner of some repute. He is a good Christian man. But I am afraid to take this step! Should I really make this marriage?” She wanted to turn away and run to the safety of her own home.
“Why am I having this conversation with myself?” Sarah Sherbert puzzled as she stood in the Nave of the church on her wedding day.   The whale stays of her corset were cinched tight under the elegant green silk bodice, hardly allowing her to breathe. Eight petticoats of varying lengths were visible under a deep green velvet robe open from the waist to the floor. Padded hips helped her skirt protrude wide and fall to the floor with grace as she and her father walked forward to the chancel, leaving friends and family behind her. Fear gripped her such as she had never known before.
Sarah stole a glance at John Sappington, dressed in a black velvet waistcoat with a ruffled shirt and cuffs. John caught her glance and held it, making time stand still. John’s eyes told her all she needed to know. He understood.
Sarah took her place on the left side of the chancel; John Sappington was on the right side facing the priest as he began the service of Holy Matrimony: “Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony. John, wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?”
John Sappington looked ever so tenderly at his bride and said, “I will.”
The priest turned to Sarah.
“Sarah, wilt thou have this man, John Sappington, to thy wedded husband, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou obey him, and serve him, love, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?”
Sarah Sherbert, tears flowing down her face, spoke softly, “I will.”
The priest solemnized the union by blessing the marriage of Sarah Sherbert and John Sappington in 1722. The couple established their home near the South River in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Sarah was indeed a fruitful vine who bore six known children. John was a fine tanner by trade who carried the title of “Gentleman.” [3]

Historical Chronology[4]
1722: The population of American colonists reaches 475,000. Boston (pop. 12,000) is the largest city, followed by Philadelphia (pop. 10,000) and New York (pop. 7,000).[5]
5 April 1722: Easter Island is discovered on this day and named in honor of Easter Sunday.
 17 April 1722: Sarah Sherbert marries John Sappington.
After April 1722: Estimated birth of William Sappington.
28 February 1723: Richard Sappington is born in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
3 February 1724: Mary Sappington is born in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
28 January 1728: Rebecca Sappington is born in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
16 April 1731: Birth by estimation of Elizabeth Sappington in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
1731: John Sappington buys 370 acres of land called Griniston and renames it Sappington’s Purchase. The land was located five miles from the head of the Severn River at Indian Landing.
6 February 1732: John Sappington Jr. is born in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
1735–1736: John Sappington is a churchwarden, the highest office held by a layman at St. James Episcopal Parish in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. 
1755: John Sappington purchases 220 acres called Pinkstone’s Folly and Scott’s Support; he renames the land Sappington’s Addition. Nowadays, the National Security Agency is located near this property close to Fort Meade.
1763: John Sappington Sr. deeds 220 acres of the Sappington Addition to his son John Sappington Jr. (This was the branch that had Sappington’s Station, which is now near Odenton Shopping Center. The town of Sappington is located on Burns Crossing Road, just past Severn Run going south toward old Route 32).
January 1768: John Sappington Sr. dies in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.





[1]Sappingtons of America.
[2]http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/compraym.html.
[3]Sappington family historian Mary Ellen Sappington Good sent the referenced information to The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Vold Forde on 13 March 2000. It was taken on 23 April 2002 from her file, Nathaniel Sappington.FTW, available on the MyFamily.com Web site Sappington of America. Imported on 3 July 1998 was Tree #3733 from Brøderbund Vol. 1, Ed. 1.
[4]Sappingtons of America.
Posted by at No comments:

Monday, April 8, 2019

# Ancestor Challenge 2019, Week 16, Elijah Out of Place

# Ancestor Challenge 2019, Week 16, Prompt: Out of Place


Leaving That Place

By the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Forde

Elijah and Martha Brooks McDonald left family and friends in Alabama after the War Between the States.  My second great grandparents were seeking a new life in Texas for themselves and their three children, Rebecca, Laura, and Caleb.  Martha had been ill following the death of a four-year-old, William J., in 1863, followed by two more births.  So they left that place, only to be devastated by Martha’s death en route.  They were forced to stop in Fort Smith, Arkansas, unable to continue their journey onto Texas. 
Elijah and Martha Brooks McDonald
K
The ‘out of place’ McDonald family found refuge and healing with William Tillman Johnston, and his younger sister, Martha Elizabeth Johnston, of Greenwood, Sebastian County, Arkansas.  Elijah married Martha Elizabeth and his daughter, my great grandmother, Rebecca Jarrett McDonald, married William Johnston.  This is the story of Elijah and his second wife, Martha Elizabeth Johnson, and their marriage in Rocky, Montgomery County, Arkansas. 


Martha Elizabeth Johnston 

In the Year of 1842 
•      John Tyler was the president of the United States.
•      Tennesseans were experiencing growth in commerce and wealth that was unprecedented.
•       The trees in east Tennessee whispered to the hills and valleys below, “James and Jane Johnston had a baby girl!” [1]
Martha Elizabeth Johnston was the tenth of eleven children born to James and Jane Tillman Johnston.[2]James, a native of South Carolina, was a veteran of the War of 1812.[3]The Johnstons migrated to Tennessee about 1830.
The state of Tennessee offered a bright future for the Johnstons. In and around the hillsides, in the shadows of the mountains, and along the fertile river valleys and forests of East Tennessee, large farms were producing dairy cattle, corn, cotton, and tobacco. The state was largely rural and experiencing unprecedented growth in commerce and farm wealth during the years before the War Between the States.[4]
The Johnstons were completely self-sufficient. Like most farmers, James worked to provide food, clothing, and necessities for the family’s consumption. Tobacco and cotton were commercial crops from the beginning. They were profitable and easily transported to market on the rivers that were the means of transportation by land-locked Tennesseans plagued by poor roads. Corn was another crop; some farmers turned it into whiskey or fed it to animals.
Martha’s family was deeply religious.[5]They may have been influenced by the camp meetings, the Methodist and Baptist revival movements that swept the Southern landscape early in the nineteenth century.[6]Undoubtedly, they sought refuge in their faith following the death of Martha’s mother, Jane Johnston, in February 1844 shortly after the birth of her eleventh child.
James married a second wife, Sarah Millburn, on 2 May 1847, but there is no record of any children born to them.[7]Sarah must have been an incredible woman to take on the role of stepmother to the nine children still living at home in 1850. Six years after their marriage, James and Sarah moved from Tennessee to Arkansas.[8]James had received bounty land in Bates, Sebastian County, Arkansas, for his military service in the War of 1812.
The move paralleled the anti-slavery movement and political upheaval in Tennessee in the decade before the War Between the States. No evidence exists to show that the Johnstons were slave owners. Instead, they may have opposed slavery. A “colored” woman, Mary Ann Lehre Johnston, was living in their home.[9]It is not known if she was a servant or was taken in as a runaway slave.
Mattie was twenty-two years old and unmarried when her father passed away in 1865. She went to live with her brother, William Tillman Johnston, who was described by family traditions as a wealthy man.[10]It is probable that Will was married to his first wife at that time. Most of Mattie’s other siblings were married and scattered throughout several states.
Mattie, a devout woman, small in stature, was still unmarried in 1872 at age twenty-nine. She may have been engaged to a soldier who was killed in the war. He wrote a love letter to Mattie that has survived to this day. No one knows the author’s name or circumstances. It is significant that she kept it.
About the time Mattie had made peace with spinsterhood, a life-changing event occurred. Sometime between 1872 and 1873, a family from Alabama knocked on the door needing assistance. The McDonald family may have been complete strangers traveling through Arkansas when circumstances caused them to stop. Or it is possible that they had mutual acquaintances.

Martha and Elijah 
Elijah McDonald[11]was migrating from Alabama with his wife, Martha, and their three children. His wife, who had been ill, passed away.[12]He needed help. Will and Mattie Johnston opened their home to the grieving McDonalds. Elijah and his daughter Becky stayed in the Johnston home. Laura Belle, a younger daughter, stayed with John Moad Sr. and his family. Mattie’s sister, Patience Johnston, took in Elijah’s son, Caleb.
In the course of events that followed, Will was widowed. Will married Elijah’s daughter, Becky, in January 1874. The following July, Elijah married Mattie.[13]Both families stayed in Greenwood for a few years.
Elijah and Mattie probably went to Indian Territory around 1880 when their son James was born. They returned to Arkansas before 1890 and lived out their days in Montgomery County.
Elijah and Mattie had three sons who survived to adulthood. The Bible record suggests that three other children did not survive. Linda McDonald Miller provided additional information:
Sam Pyler, a resident of Rocky, Montgomery County, Arkansas, told me that when he was three years old and orphaned, Elijah and Mattie took him in. Sam Pyler said that Elijah and Mattie were small people; Elijah had a war injury to his second knuckle that caused it to be bent forward and down. Elijah was good at prayers; he was a devout member of the Methodist Church. Elijah died in 1904 of tuberculosis. He is buried next to Mattie in Rocky Cemetery. A descendant of Mattie and Elijah, LaWanda Higgins, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has several items that belonged to them including clothing, a razor, and Mattie’s hymn book. She also has some of Elijah’s original documents from the War Between the States.
Mattie was known to suffer from skin cancer on her face. She died in 1920 and was buried next to her husband in Rocky Cemetery. The clothing she and Elijah wore on their wedding day has been preserved and photographed along with a photo of Elijah in his later years.
The following poignant story about Rocky Community illustrates a significant chapter in the lives of Mattie and Elijah McDonald. It was written in 1963 by their daughter-in-law, Mary Desmona Gibbs McDonald.
Martha Elizabeth Johnston McDonald
Elijah McDonald 

 “The Light of Day Is Dim”[14]
By Mary Desmona Gibbs McDonald
There has been a lot of water passed down the old Ouachita River since September 28th, 1879, at which date I first saw the light of a beautiful world. I was the first daughter and the third child born to William G. and Nancy Elizabeth Brewer Gibbs, in a little log house on the north side of the Ouachita River, eight miles north of Mount Ida, Arkansas.
I have lived in hopes that Uncle Lige or someone else would come out with a story in the Montgomery County News, of the early-day life of the original pioneer settlers and family life of those noble people who, with their bare hands, a trust in the all mighty God, their love for each other, welded and put together a community and way of life as independent and free from the outside world as it was possible for mankind to do, but for lack of proper record it has been passed up.
This community to which I refer was known as the Rocky Community, and was about as isolated from the outside world as any place could possibly be, and its seclusion seemed to be the attraction of those noble Civil War veterans who had seen their families and their homes in the Eastern States ravished and destroyed by the scourge of war, and they wished to get away from it all. They were veterans of both North and South, yet that seemed to have little effect in their relations with each other. There was, however, something in common with all those who cast their lot to build a home and raise a family in such an out-of-the-way place and that was that they were all of Protestant faith, and of Caucasian nationality extraction and of course, without money, this was their stock in trade and it seemed to work as we shall see.
The custom in establishing a home was to select a suitable site near a spring on government land, cut and assemble logs with borrowed oxen, then invite all the neighbors to a house-raising. The men would bring their axes, saws and broad-axes, the women their pots, pans, and food, and before the sun went down there would be a complete house, with a splendid dinner thrown in. It was a struggle for the first year, of course, as the land had to be cleared and oxen obtained to till the soil as well as the other things which went to make a home but he had good neighbors who were ever ready to lend a helping hand. So how could a fellow fail with such a good set-up? This was Social Security in its original form.
So it was in this manner that homes were established, children were born, and society established, churches were organized and meetings held under brush arbors. Then there must be schools that were first instituted on a subscription basis, i.e., each family could subscribe to send at least a part of the oldest children (sic). Teachers were selected for a term of two or three months during the summer and paid with bacon, hams, molasses, corn, and the like. It was during the year of 1885, I think that this community came under the Free School Act so the dads of the country threw in and built a small cabin-like house for the Free School, which was a three-month session during the summer months. Teachers were paid thirty dollars per month, who in turn roomed and boarded with one of the community families at six dollars per month.
Hospitals and undertakers were unknown, and doctors with only a smattering of the art of modern medical knowledge were few and far between. Childbirth was one of the major problems, but with the splendid knowledge of a number of the elder women, this was also taken care of and in good shape, without cost. This was a “Duty” and they seldom lost a baby. The death rate of the community was very low because the people were all young. My grandmother, Mrs. Leonard Danley, was the first to be buried in the Rocky Cemetery, sometime during the year 1878. Coffins were shaped and fashioned by the community men. They were then lined with cotton padding and lined with white satin and covered on the outside with black satin. They were nice coffins.
Misdemeanor or felony was unknown among those who established this part of the land of Arkansas. There were many years elapsed before a sheriff had occasion to visit that community on official business. The people were thoroughly self-supporting in nearly every detail, even to the making of the cloth that went into their wearing apparel and the children’s shoes were often made by the parents. Hot Springs was the nearest railroad market and the people had little occasion to go there except in the autumn to sell their cotton, animal hides, and tobacco. I had been to Hot Springs only twice before the year 1900, and once to Mena in that year. We younger people were not without our fun, as we began to get grown up. We had our dances and candy-breakings during the winter at the homes of the various neighbors, and the picnics in the various communities during the summer. By that time most families had good wagons and teams of good spirited horses with an occasional buggy or surrey, which enabled us to extend our acquaintance into other communities.
Scandals, illegitimate babies and divorces were unknown among them, because the environment was good and the home-teaching was properly administered; and besides to indulge in any kind of underworld practices would forever ostracize one, boy or girl, from the rest of the world. Yes, we had our fun, and funny things happened. We used McGuffey readers in school. So it was that one and Blue-back Spellers one day, when our class was reciting, each had to stand and read certain stanzas from the reader, when one of my friends who was very droll (and drawled out her words in long syllabic tones) came to the word interminable and pronounced it: “Enter-my-table.” This she could hardly live down, and I could never forget it.
Timepieces were scarce in the earlier days, and many had sundial markings set up on porches. There were markings at certain minutes and hours of the day on the various days of the year, by transit levels that the surveyors use in measuring land and running lines. Judy was sitting out on her grandpa’s log porch one day in the old rocking chair when a stranger passing by stopped his “nag” and said to Judy who was about seventeen, “Young lady, can you tell me what time it is?” Judy got up and went to the edge of the porch, looked carefully for a moment, then turned to the stranger and said: “Mister, it just lacks two puncheons being twelve.”
We children were taught to address our elder neighbors with the familiar “Uncle” and “Aunt,” instead of Mr. and Mrs. So I shall refer to them in just that manner.
Rocky Community covered an area about six miles in length and about four miles in width. The main road was curved around Uncle Berry Gibbs’s place, which was on the main road about a one-half mile west of the school. He was blinded in the Civil War and drew a sizable pension. He was a good businessman and his blindness seemed to make little difference in his business activity. Of course, he had to depend on his sons-in-law to do the physical work, but he did the thinking and did a splendid job of it. He established a sawmill, a grist mill for both cornmeal and for flour, a cotton-gin, and a blacksmith shop as well as a store with a limited stock of merchandise. He soon became a sort of a banker. He helped many out of financial difficulties, and everyone liked and respected him. He was a veteran of the Union Army and on the Fourth of July would have a dancing platform built, set the women folk to preparing huge copper kettles on outside furnaces preparing food, and invite all the whole community to a big two-day celebration. There was some liquor mixed into it, but he did not approve of it, but he appointed certain ones to see that everything went off proper, and seldom did anyone get out of line. By the time all this took place his family, as well as most of the other families, we're getting grown and several of his were married and had their own families.
This is not intended to be a genealogical record of these noble people who added so much to populate the earth but since we are now into the fifth generation from those brave souls who settled in the Rocky Community during the sixties and seventies, with nothing but their bare hands to work with and who asked no odds but looked up to the blue-sky and down to the glad Earth, and with a prayer in their hearts, and brought forth a people, endowed in a spirit second to none. These are the ones I hope will be able to read this humble account of their beginning. I am going to offer this to the Montgomery County News for publication and I hope that you will subscribe for that good newspaper and if it is never published, your newspaper is worth the money, because it is a newspaper that does not deal in “crime and scandal.” I do not know but a few of the offspring from these original Montgomery County settlers, but I do know that the original ones toiled and stinted themselves to educate their children that they might take a higher station in the world than they, and of such are the world’s greatest benefactors.[15]



[1]1850 U.S. Federal Census, Bradley, Tennessee, and Tombstones:
           Jane D. b 4 July 1802, died 6 Feb 1844
William Tillman b May 1825, South Carolina, d February 1885 Greenwood, Sebastian, Arkansas
Samuel Franklin b 6 September 1827, South Carolina, d 26 July 1867, Arkansas
Angeline b Abt 1829 South Carolina
Orena b Abt 1835 Tennessee
John b Abt 1837 Tennessee
Nancy Jane b 24 February 1839, Tennessee, d 24 February 1923, Greenwood, Sebastian, Arkansas
James Abner b 6 February 1841, Tennessee, d 18 April 1919, Sebastian ,Arkansas
Martha Elizabeth Johnson b 20 September 1842, Tennessee, d 29 Mar 1920, Montgomery, Arkansas (or Oklahoma)
Patience Johnston b Abt 1844, Tennessee
[2]Ibid.
[3]Obituary, James Tillman Johnston, Greenwood Press, Sebastian County, May 1865:
“James Tillman Johnston was born September 26, 1794. Buried the 29th of May, 1865. He was a native of South Carolina, for many years a citizen of Tennessee and for 13 years a citizen of Sebastian County, Arkansas. At the date of his decease, brother Johnston had passed the seventy first year of his age, having been born April 1794. He served honorably as a soldier in the war of 1812. He has left a wife and seven children. Two of them in Texas, two of them in Kansas, two of them in this state and one in Oregon.
“Mr Johnston was a worthy and exemplary Christian in the Methodist Church, a kind husband and father, true patriot, esteemed and…member of society and one of the oldest and most respected among the brethern of the Masonic Fraternity.
“He was buried with appropriate Masonic honor…and is the object of affection, remembrance on the part of numerous and appreciated friends.”
[4]http://www.History of East Tennessee.com.
[5]Linda Miller, “Martha’s Bible Record.”
[6]History of East Tennessee.
[7]Wayne McDonald, family history files, Christmas, 1999: “James Johnston’s 2nd wife was Sarah Milburn married 9 Mar 1847. I have no record of any children being born to them.”
[8]1860 U.S. Federal Census Bates Sebastian County, Arkansas: James Johnston was enumerated with Sarah, and children William, James, Martha, Patience, and John Perryman and his children, Sarah, Allie, and James. (John Perryman had married Angeline, so she could have died before 1860.)
[9]Ibid.
[10]Linda Miller, letter to The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Vold Forde, 1999: “William T. Johnston was a wealthy man.”
[11]Wayne McDonald, letter to The Rev. Cynthia Vold Forde, 1999: “Elijah McDaniel (McDonald) was probably born in Talbot County, Georgia in 1834.” See the Martha Bankston Brooks timeline in this book. Elijah’s second marriage: Sebastian County Marriage Records 1873-1880, Sebastian County Courthouse, Greenwood, Arkansas shows: “This certifies that I, H. H. Peninger, an ordained minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church South, did duly join in marriage in Sebastian County Arkansas, on the 12th day of May, 1874, the following persons to wit: Elijah McDonald, aged 39 years and M.E. Johnston, aged 31 years, both of Sebastian County, Arkansas. My credentials were recorded in Sebastian County, Arkansas on November 15th, 1873. H. H. Peninger. The above and foregoing instrument of writing was filed for record in my office on the 29th day of August A.D. 1874.
[12]Retha Miller Looney, correspondence with The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Vold Forde, 1974: “My mother, Becky, traveled with her parents from Alabama up the Arkansas River on a raft. They were taken in by William Johnston and his sister, Martha Elizabeth after her mother died. My mother married Mr. Johnston. And my grandfather, Elijah, married Martha Elizabeth.”
[13]Elijah’s Marriage Record, Sebastian Greenwood, Arkansas. See the marriages of Rebecca McDonald in this book.
[14]Mary Desmona Gibbs McDonald.
[15]Ibid.
Posted by at No comments:

Friday, April 5, 2019

#Ancestor Challenge 2019, Week 15, Shirl Brooks DNA

#Ancestor Challenge 2019, Week 15,  Shirl Brooks DNA


DNA is the Giveaway

The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Forde

Aha!  Discovering a seemingly good DNA match gives this girl a thrill.  Because of privacy, I will call this match, Shirl.  Her Family Tree autosomal DNA matches my maternal aunts. The match is to their paternal Miller and Brooks lineage.  The Miller DNA was quickly eliminated because Shirl does not match our Miller cousins.  Further sleuthing led to a combined match between Shirl, my maternal aunts, and our Brooks and Cobb cousins.  

Shirl’s paternal, 86 year old, uncle Gene submitted YDNA and mtDNA testing,  eliminating Shirl’s paternal side as a match to our James Brooks line.  Shirl’s autosomal DNA match comes from her mother.  Shirl's DNA matches were submitted to a professional geneticist, Diahan Southard, who confirmed the DNA matches to the lines of James Brooks.  

A common ancestry appears to descend from James Brooks, born 1769 in Chatham County, North Carolina, son of John Brooks, Jr. and Jaene May.  James Brooks married Falby Cobb.  But where does Shirl’s ancestor Rebecca Jane fit into the family tree?

James Brooks (1769-1822) m. Falby Cobb 
Son, Jacob Rutledge Brooks (1806-1900) m. Rebecca Sappington
Daughter, Martha Brooks (1834-1874) m. Elijah McDonald
Daughter, Rebecca J. McDonald (1858-1938) m. William A. Miller
Son, Coy C. Miller (1892-1962 m. Ruby Anna King
Cynthia’s maternal aunts/siblings (Shirl’s DNA matches)

James Brooks (1769-1822) m. Falby Cobb
Son, Jacob Rutledge Brooks (1806-1900) m. Rebecca Sappington
Son, Timothy Collins Brooks (1850-1907) m. Lousia M. Lawson
Son, James Caleb Brooks (1873-1932) m. Fannie Lydia Phoenix
Son, Joseph Frederick Brooks (1925-2002) m. Thelma Rotton  (Shirls’ Rotton matches
Sons FEB and brother RWB (Shirl’s DNA matches)

 James Brooks (1769-1822) m. Falby Cobb
Son Bryant Shields Brooks (1815-1870) m. Barsheba
Daughter Rebecca Jane Brooks (1842-1917) m. George W. Bradley
Daughter Mary V. "Molly" Bradley m. John Wilson Guthrie
Daughter Sadie Marie Guthrie (1920-1962) m. Otis Lee Chesney 
Shirl


Rebecca Jane Brooks or Byrd?

Shirl is the proven descendant of a Rebecca Jane Brooks or Byrd.  She has been researching this ancestor for many years, and she is quite delighted to learn of the strong DNA match to my Brooks family.  She was uncertain if Rebecca’s maiden name was Brooks or Byrd because the death certificate for one of her sons listed his mother as Rebecca Brooks, but an accompanying form suggested the search to include the name, Rebecca Jane Byrd.  I was able to eliminate Rebecca Byrd as the potential ancestor because Rebecca Byrd moved to Texas and married a Davis. 

Shirl contributed a timeline for her ancestor, Rebecca Jane, who married George W. Bradley in Mississippi.  She is enumerated in Mississippi in censes: 1880, 1900, and 1910.  The 1880 U.S. Federal Census, Mississippi, gives her birth year as 1843, born in Georgia, while the 1900 U.S. Federal Census Mississippi, lists Nov. 1842, born in Alabama.  The 1910 U.S. Federal Census, Mississippi, gives her age as 65 and her birth year as 1845.  


1850 
1880
1900
1910
Age 6
Age 37
Age 57
Age 65
Born 1844, AL
Born 1843, GA
Born 1842, AL
Born 1845, MS


Father b. AL
Father b. MS


Mother b. GA
Mother b. MS





With three inconsistent sources used for research, a Rebecca Brooks, age 6, the birth year 1844 was found in the1850 U.S. Federal Census, Pike County, Alabama.[1] She was the daughter of Bryant S. Brooks, born 1815 Georgia and his wife, Bersheba.

The Pike County, AL Rebecca Brooks, the birth year 1844, is not inconsistent with Rebecca Jane Bradley known birth year of 1842.   If this is the right Rebecca, it puts her in the right location for the all-important DNA match to the Brooks, Cobb, Lawsons, and Rotton.  The 1850 census was the end of that Rebecca Brooks in Alabama.  

The widowed Rebecca Jane Bradley’s final U.S. Federal census record was 1910, where she is enumerated in the household of her daughter, Hulda, and her son-in-law; Rebecca was listed as born in 1845 in Mississippi. The age discrepancy of two years in 1850 -1900, is consistent with literacy issues, the informant, and the enumerator’s own skill.   


Byrant S. Brooks and Rebecca Jane Brooks Timeline

1815 Bryant Shield Brooks was born in Georgia, according to the 1850 U.S. Census, Pike County, Alabama.  He was a blacksmith in Walton County, Georgia before migration to Pike County, Alabama, shortly after his brother, Jacob Rutledge Brooks, moved his family.

1840 U.S. Federal Census, Pike, Alabama, Bryant S. Brooks, his wife Bersheba, are enumerated with a family of 7.[2]

1841 Civil Appointment as Postmaster[3]

1850 U.S. Federal Census, Pike, Alabama, Bryant S. Brooks, born about 1816 in Georgia was enumerated with a family of 8 that includes a Rebecca Brooks born 1844.[4]

1851, 3 July - Bryant S.Brooks was elected postmaster of New Providence, Pike County, Alabama.[5]  

1854 Bryant Shield Brooks moved to Mississippi, where he married Elizabeth Gibbs and had another family, including a son named Bryant Shields Brooks, Jr., and a daughter Phalbia, the same name as the mother of Bryant S. Brooks, postmaster, and husband of Bersheba Brooks.  

1860 Bersheba Brooks is enumerated as the head of household, Pike County, Alabama

1860 Rebecca Jane Bradley, living in Mississippi, married George Washington Bradley b. in MS and named a son Shield Morgan sometimes called Shug. 

1860 U.S. Federal Census, Beat 2, Bowie, Texas, B.S. Brooks 45, born 1815, Georgia, with son Henry 4 and PhB. 1.[6]

1867 Trinity, Texas Voter Registration, Bryant S. Brooks born Georgia.[7]

1870 U.S. Federal Census Trinity, Texas,  Bryant Brooks 55, born 1815 Georgia, with Elizabeth Brooks and four children, Bryant, Augustus, Jefferson, and Phalbie.   He is a Baptist minister and teacher.[8]

Rebecca Jane Brooks Bradley
By Raquel Lindaas
for Cynthia Forde-Beatty
January 2017

This research session commenced with the goal of learning more about Rebecca Jane Brooks Bradley, born November 4, 1842, in Alabama. A death certificate provided for research shows that Mrs. Rebecca Jane Bradley, born on that date, died February 15, 1917, in Sunrise Precinct, Forrest County, Mississippi. Her parents’ names are scantly filled in, the father being ‘Mr. Brooks’ or ‘McBrooks’, born in Alabama, and ‘mother unknown’, also born in Alabama. Rebecca rests in Carter Grave Yard, apparently in Forrest County.

The FindaGrave.com website lists a Carter Family Cemetery in Forrest County, but there are no listings for anyone named Bradley or Brooks. Forrest County was created in 1906 from Perry County, which has a Carter Hill Cemetery. But no Bradleys or Brooks are listed as being interred there either.

Rebecca was traced through the censuses and other records, in order to learn more about her. In 1910, she was listed as Jane R. Bradley, age sixty-five, widowed, born in Mississippi, parents both born in Mississippi. These birthplaces differ from the Alabama birthplaces reported on her death certificate for herself and her parents. Jane was listed as the mother-in-law to the head of household, Clarence B. Travas, age thirty-four. He had a wife named Hulda, age twenty-four, and two sons, Otha and Clarence, all family members reportedly born in Mississippi. Clarence’s father Ezekiel also resided in the home.[9]
Locality
1910, Beat 3, Forrest County, Mississippi
ED, Sheet, Line
E. D. 16, Sheet 6B, Lines 77-82
Enumeration Date
22 Apr 1910
Location

Description


Birth Place
House
Family
Name
Sex
Age
Relationship
Occupation
Self
Fath
Moth
116
116
Travas, Clarence B.
M
34
Head
Farmer
MS
MS
MS


     “     Hulda
F
24
Wife

“
“
“


     “     Otha
M
3
Son

“
“
“


     “     Clarence
“
2
“

“
“
“


     “     Ezekal
“
73
Father

“
“
“


Bradley, Jane R.
F
65
Moth-in-law

“
“
“
In 1900, Rebecca J. Bradley lived in Beat 4, Wayne County, Mississippi, with her husband, George W. Bradley. Rebecca reported her birth as having occurred in November 1842 in Alabama, father born in Alabama, mother born in Georgia. Rebecca and George had three children at home: Mollie N., HilderA., and Chester, all born in Mississippi. Two grandchildren lived with them, named Carrie and Frederick Bains.[10]Daughter ‘Hilder’ links Rebecca J. Bradley of 1900 in Wayne County, with Hulda and Jane R. Bradley of 1910 in Forrest County. The custom of using the first and middle names interchangeably can complicate research.
Locality
1900, Beat 4, Wayne County, Mississippi
ED, Sheet, Line
E. D. 114, Sheet 9B, Lines 58-64
Enumeration Date
27 Jun 1900
Location




Birth Place
House
Family
Name
Birth Date
Relationship
Occupation
Self
Fath
Moth
154
154
Bradley, George W.
Oct 1834
Head
Farmer
MS
NC
AL


      “       Rebecca J.
Nov 1842
Wife

AL
AL
GA


      “       Mollie N.
Aug 1880
Daughter

MS
MS
AL


      “       Hilder A.
1884
“

“
“
“


      “       Chester
1887
Son

“
“
“


Bain, Carrie 
1897
Gr-daughter

“
“
“


    “    Frederick
1899
Gr-son

“
“
“

The 1880 census gives yet another state of birth for Rebecca. Thirty-seven-year-old Rebecca ‘Bradly’, wife of G. W., shows Georgia as the birthplace for herself and both parents. Her children were all reportedly born in Mississippi, namely Green, age eighteen, Johnson, age fourteen, Nola, age eleven, George R., age nine, Shirls, age six, James F., age four, and Mary, age one.[11]A search for anyone named Brooks in the area determined that none lived in all of Wayne County in 1880.
Locality
1880, 
ED, Sheet, Line
4th District, Wayne County, Mississippi
Enumeration Date
E. D. 130, Sheet 9A, Lines 39-47
Location

Description


Birth Place
House
Family
Name
Sex
Age
Relationship
Occupation
Self
Fath
Moth
10
10
Bradly, G. W.
M
46
Head
Physician
MS
AL
AL


      “     Rebecca
F
37
Wife
Kpg House
GA
GA
GA


      “     Green
M
18
Son
Farmer
MS
“
“


      “     Johnson
“
14
“
“
“
“
“
  

      “     Nola
F
11
Daughter

“
“
“


      “     George R.
M
9
Son

“
“
“


      “     Shirls
“
6
“

“
“
“


      “     Jas. F.
“
4
“

“
“
“


      “     Mary
F
1
Daughter

“
“
“

Rebecca Bradley could not be located in 1870, either as Jane or by using her husband and children in the search terms. The 1870 census is believed to be missing at least one-fourth of the residents of the former Confederate States. Tensions ran high between the southerners and any agents of the federal government, such as census enumerators. 

In 1860, there were no less than three girls name Rebecca Brooks in Mississippi and Alabama, close to the right age to be the same as the subject of the 1917 death certificate. The first is eighteen-year-old Rebecca J. Brooks, a resident of Tippah County, Mississippi. She was the daughter of William Brooks, age fifty-five, and born in Kentucky. His wife, Bithena, age forty-five, was born in Alabama. Rebecca had three younger siblings.[12]
Locality
1860, Northern Division, Tippah County, Mississippi 
Enumeration Date
30 Jun 1860

House/

Description

Value of Estate
Birth

Page
Family
Name
Age
Sex
Occupation
Real
Pers.
Place
Remarks
511
498/ 450
Wm. Brooks
55
M
Farmer
1600
300
KY



Bithena         “
45
F



AL



Rebecca Jane “
18
“



MS



Cynthia A.     “
15
“



“



Perry M.        “
10
M



“



M. M.          “
4
F



MS



Suky C. Bask
65
“



AL


Tippah County, Mississippi sits on the northern border of the state, adjacent Tennessee. This is quite a long distance from Wayne County, where Rebecca Jane Bradley lived and died.

The second candidate is Rebecca Brooks of Monroe County, Alabama, age fourteen, daughter of James and Sarah Brooks, both born in Georgia.[13]This Rebecca was one of ten children in the family, all born in Alabama, which matches the birthplace shown on the 1917 death certificate. 
Locality
1860, Monroe County, Alabama
Enumeration Date
27 Jun 1860

House/

Description

Value of Estate
Birth

Page
Family
Name
Age
Sex
Occupation
Real
Pers.
Place
Remarks
797
233/ 221
James Brooks
45
M
Farmer
1000
600
GA



Sarah         “
34
F



“



Sarah         “
16
“



AL



Rebecca    “
14
“



“



James         “
13
M



“



Frances      “
11
F



“



Seba          “
9
“



“



George      “
7
M



“



Edward     “
7
“



“



William    “
4
“



“



Nancy       “
3
F



“



Beatrice    “
1
“



“


Thirdly, a Rebecca E. Brooks lived in Pike County, Alabama in 1860, daughter of the ancestral Jacob R. Brooks and his wife, Rebecca J. Fifteen-year-old Rebecca and her siblings were all reportedly born in Alabama.[14]
Locality
1860, Eastern Division, Pike County, Alabama
Enumeration Date
22 Aug 1860

House/

Description

Value of Estate
Birth

Page
Family
Name
Age
Sex
Occupation
Real
Pers.
Place
Remarks
339
1134/1147
Jacob R. Brooks
53
M
Farmer
1600
4110
GA



Rebecca J.      “
48
F



“



Isabella J.       “
18
“



AL



Rebecca E.     “
15
“



“



Marion E.       “
13
“



“



Arabella J.      “
11
“



“



Timothy         “
9
M



“



Jane H.           “
5
F



“


Since Rebecca Jane Bradley had three different birth states reported for her in the later censuses, it is difficult to match any of these up to her with any certainty. 
In 1850, Rebecca J. Brooks of Tippah County, Mississippi, daughter of William and Bethena Brooks, showed an age of nine years, and the birthplace of Mississippi, consistent with the 1860 census, shown above as Document 4.[15]
Locality
1850, Third Division, Tippah County, Mississippi
Enumeration Date
17 Sep 1850




Description

Real
Birth

Page
House
Family
Name
Age
Sex
Occupation
Estate
Place
Remarks
511
279
279
William Brooks
26
M
Farmer
200
KY




Bethena       “
33
F


AL




John T.        “
17
M


TN




Susan C.      “
15
F


MS




Elisha A.     “
13
M


“




Nancy A.      “
11
F


“




Rebecca J.    “
9
“


“




Cynthia        “
7
“


“




Samuel K.    “
5
M


“




Susan Bass
55
F


SC


Rebecca E. Brooks, daughter of Jacob and Rebecca of Pike County, Alabama, is believed to have married William Du Bose. Indeed, FamilySearch.org contains a reference to a marriage between Rebecca ‘C.’ Brooks and William H. Dubose, married April 20, 1862, in Pike County. This seems to eliminate her as the same person as Rebecca Jane Bradley. The middle initial discrepancy is also glaring.

Another Rebecca Brooks lived in Pike County, Alabama in 1850, but is not found in 1860. Her age appears to be six years old, birthplace Alabama, with parents named B. S. and Bersheba Brooks.[16]
Locality
1850, Pike County, Alabama
Enumeration Date
25 Sep 1850




Description

Real
Birth

Page
House
Family
Name
Age
Sex
Occupation
Estate
Place
Remarks
147
160
160
B. S. Brooks
34
M
Merchant

GA




Bersheba    “
31
F


SC




Liddy         “
10
“


AL




Jacob         “
8
M


“




Rebecca    “
6
F


“




Henry       “
4
M


“




Ruth         “
3
F


“




Mary        “
2/12
“


“


Bersheba Brooks was a single head of household in 1860, living in Montgomery County, Alabama with four children, who match up with some of the above, but not including Rebecca. 

Rebecca Brooks of Monroe County, Alabama is listed as a seven-year-old twin to her sister Sarah in 1850. Her age of fourteen in the 1850 census may have actually been sixteen, with part of the numbers missing some ink. Her father, James ‘Brook’, age thirty-two or thirty-seven, was born in Georgia, and mother Ann is also listed as born in Georgia. On the same page is sixty-year-old William Brooks, born in South Carolina.[17]He may be the father of James, and grandfather of Rebecca. 
Locality
1850, Monroe, Alabama
Enumeration Date
16 Nov 1850




Description

Real
Birth

Page
House
Family
Name
Age
Sex
Occupation
Estate
Place
Remarks
41
605
605
James Brook
32?
M
Farmer

GA




Ann         “
29?
F


“




Sarah       “
7
“


AL




Rebecca  “
“
“


“




James       “
3
M


“




Francis     “
1
F


“




John          “
16
M


“


A map of Alabama counties shows Monroe County in the southwestern quadrant of the state, just three counties directly east of Wayne County, Mississippi where Rebecca Jane Brooks Bradley settled.[18]This close proximity between these two points looks promising for a match.

Just two doors away from the above family, there lived William Brooks, age sixty and born in South Carolina. He had a wife named Sarah, age fifty-five, born in Georgia. These may have been the parents of James Brooks of Monroe County, Alabama.
Rebecca Brooks, daughter of Jacob R. and Rebecca Brooks of Pike County, Alabama, married William Du Bose. This couple lived in Crenshaw County, Alabama in 1870. She was twenty-four years old and reportedly born in Alabama. Wm. Dubose, age 26, born AL, wife Rebecca, age 24, born AL, 3 children.[19]Their marriage record is found in Pike County, having occurred on April 18, 1862.[20]This further confirms that she was not the same as Rebecca Jane Brooks Bradley.

Further investigation of Rebecca J. Brooks of Tippah County, Mississippi reveals that R. J. Brooks married M. A. Dees there on February 15, 1865.[21]The 1870 census of Tippah County shows Mark A. Dees, age thirty, with a wife named Rebecca, age twenty-one, and two children, age two and younger.[22]This casts serious doubt that Rebecca Brooks of Tippah County, Mississippi is the same who married George W. Bradley and settled in Wayne County, Mississippi.

Rebecca Brooks of Monroe County, Alabama remains as the only one of the three candidates that have not been eliminated. To learn more about this Rebecca’s parents, they were searched and located in the 1880 census. They still resided in Monroe County, in the town of Midway. Sixty-eight-year-old James M. Brooks reported his birthplace as Georgia and South Carolina for both his parents. Wife Ann O., age fifty-five, was reportedly a native of Georgia, as were both her parents. These birthplaces match with those reported in the 1850 and 1860 censuses. The name of James’s wife was Ann in 1850, Sarah in 1860, and Ann in 1880. She must have been Sarah Ann, except for the middle initial ‘O’ in 1880. Two children still lived at home in 1880, Sarah and Robert.[23]  Knowing that James’s parents were born in South Carolina can be valuable in future research on his lineage. It is curious that they were still in Alabama, and had not moved west into Mississippi yet.
Locality
1880, Beat 12, Midway, Monroe County, Alabama
ED, Sheet, Line
E. D. 156, Sheet 1A, Lines 47-50
Enumeration Date
7 Jun 1880
Location

Description


Birth Place
House
Family
Name
Sex
Age
Relationship
Occupation
Self
Fath
Moth
8
8
Brooks, James M.
M
68
Head
Farmer
GA
SC
SC


     “      Ann O.
F
55
Wife

“
GA
GA


    “       Sarah
F
36
Daughter

AL
“
“


    “       Robert H.
M
17
Son

“
“
“

Searches in FamilySearch.org turned up a death record abstract for Nancy Driver, who died December 18, 1934, in Monroeville, Monroe County, Alabama. Her parents were listed as James Brooks and Ann Knight, both born in Georgia.[24]Nancy was a younger sister to Rebecca. She was three years old in 1860, according to Document 5.

Searches in Google.com for Rebecca Brooks turned up queries in an Ancestry.com message board. A John Napoleon Hawkins, Jr. was born about 1866 in Monroe County, Alabama to John Napoleon Hawkins, Sr. and Mary Rebecca Brooks. This family moved to Santa Rosa County, Florida where they are found on the 1880 census, except that John N. Hawkins’ wife was named Rhoda J., age twenty-eight, born in Florida. The person who posted the query speculates that Mary Rebecca Brooks died sometime between 1867 and 1872, judging from the ages of the children in the home.[25]

Such a family could not be found in the 1870 census, either in Alabama or Florida. Marriage records of Monroe County, Alabama contain a marriage for John N. Hawkins to Mary R. Brooks, their marriage having taken place on February 8, 1865. No parents or family members are named in the very brief record.[26]It is hard to be sure that this Mary R. Brooks was the same as Rebecca, shown in James Brooks’s home in 1850 and 1860. She did not show a middle initial in either census.

In 1880, John N. Hawkins lived in Santa Rosa County, Florida, with his wife, Rhoda J. Their household consisted of these persons:[27]
Locality
1880, Santa Rosa County, Florida
ED, Sheet, Line
E. D. 137, Sheet 30B, Lines 12-20
Enumeration Date
21 & 22 Jun 1880
Location

Description


Birth Place
House
Family
Name
Sex
Age
Relationship
Occupation
Self
Fath
Moth
283
283
Hawkins, John N.
M
30
Head
Laborer
AL
AL
AL


      “        Rhoda J.
F
28
Wife
Keeps Hse
FL
NC
NC


      “        John N.
M
14
Son

AL
AL
FL


      “        Mary R.
F
13
Daughter

“
“
“


      “        Harriet L.
“
8
“

FL
“
“


      “        William M.
M
5
Son 

“
“
“


      “        Callie
F
4
Daughter

“
“
“


      “        Benjamin F.
M
3
Son

“
“
“


      “        Ada
F
6/
12
Daughter

“
“
“
  
There is a five-year gap in the ages between Mary R. and Harriet L., but all the children are listed with a birthplace of Florida for their mother. 
Compiled family information online, such as a Public Member Tree in Ancestry.com, lists John Napoleon Hawkins, Jr.s’ mother as Rhoda J. West. John, Jr. died in Alabama in 1931, according to these online postings. His death certificate has been requested from the State of Alabama, to see what his mother’s name was. Hopefully, the informant for his death certificate knew the mother’s name.

If Rebecca Brooks, daughter of James and Ann Brooks of Monroe County, Alabama, is eliminated as Rebecca Jane Brooks Bradley, then all of those girls by that name identified in the 1860 census have been discounted. That still leaves six-year-old Rebecca Brooks of Pike County, Alabama, daughter of B. S. Berthena Brooks. The other Pike County Brooks family from the 1860 census (Document 6), headed by Jacob R. and Rebecca Brooks, is listed there in 1850.[28]
Locality
1850, Pike County, Alabama
Enumeration Date
19 Sep 1850




Description

Real
Birth

Page
House
Family
Name
Age
Sex
Occupation
Estate
Place
Remarks
140
65
65
J. R. Brooks
43
M
Farmer
250
GA




Rebecca    “
38
F


“




Caleb        “
21
M
Student

“




James       “
20
“
Farmer

“




Martha     “
16
F


“




Mariam    “
15
“


“




Isabella    “
9
“


AL




Rebecca   “
6
“


“




Delia        “
4
“


“




Arabella   “
2
“


“




T. Collins “
6/12
M


“


The family must have moved from Georgia to Alabama about 1835 to 1840. The youngest child, T. Collins, corresponds with Timothy in the 1860 census. The two Brooks families were listed just a few pages apart in the 1850 census.

Both Brooks families of Pike County, Alabama moved from Georgia to Alabama about the same time, according to the ages of their children. However, the Bryant S. Brooks family is found in Pike County, Alabama in the 1840 census[29], while Jacob R. Brooks was enumerated in Walton County, Georgia.
Locality
1840, Pike County, Alabama
Pg.
Ln.
Head of Family
0
to
5
5
to
10
10
to
15
15
to
20
20
to
30
30
to
40
40
to
50
50
to
60
60
to
70
70
to
80
80
+
Slaves
307
Bryant S. Brooks
M
F
1
2

1
1
1
1








Jacob and Bryant are brothers, sons of James Brooks and Falby Cobb of Warren County, Georgia. A DNA match has been found between the descendants of Jacob R. Brooks and those of Rebecca Jane Brooks Bradley. Thus it appears very likely that Rebecca, daughter of Bryant Shields Brooks, was indeed the same Rebecca Brooks who married George W. Bradley. They had a son named Shields, listed as ‘Shirls’ in the census.   

Phalby Brooks deed  naming Bryant as son



[1]Citation Information
Detail
Year: 1850; Census Place: Pike, Alabama; Roll: M432_13; Page: 147B; Image: 296
Source Information
Title
1850 United States Federal Census
Author
Ancestry.com
Publisher
Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
Publisher Date
2009
Publisher Location
Provo, UT, USA
Edit Repository
Repository Information
Name
Ancestry.com

[2]Source Citation
Year: 1840; Census Place: Pike, Alabama; Page: 367; Family History Library Film: 0002334
Source Information
Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
Original data: Sixth Census of the United States, 1840. (NARA microfilm publication M704, 580 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Description
This database details those persons enumerated in the 1840 United States Federal Census, the Sixth Census of the United States. In addition, the names of those listed on the population schedule are linked to the actual images of the 1840 Federal Census. Enumerators of the 1840 census were asked to include the following categories in the census: name of the head of household, number of free white males and females, number of other free persons, names of slave owners and number of slaves, number of foreigners, and town or district and county of residence

[3]
Bryant S Brooks
Appointment Place:
Pike, Alabama, USA
Commission Date:
24 Mar 1841
Film:
M881342
Film Title:
Civil Appointments

[4]U.S. Federal Census Pike, Alabama;

[5]Source Information

Ancestry.com. The U.S., Appointments of U. S. Postmasters, 1832-1971 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.
Original data: Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971. NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls. Records of the Post Office Department, Record Group Number 28. Washington, D.C.: National Archives.

Description

This is a database of post office appointments stretching from 1832 until 1971. The records are mostly a register of people appointed to run post offices, but opening and closing of post offices, as well as Presidential appointments and Senate confirmations, are included. The records primarily include name, appointment date, vacancy cause, vacancy date, post office location, state, county, and volume. 

[6]Source Citation
Year: 1860; Census Place: Beat 2, Bowie, Texas; Roll: M653_1289; Page: 7; Family History Library Film: 805289
Source Information
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.
Description
This database is an index to individuals enumerated in the 1860 United States Federal Census, the Eighth Census of the United States. Census takers recorded many details including each person's name, age as of the census day, sex, color; birthplace, occupation of males over age fifteen, and more. No relationships were shown between members of a household. Additionally, the names of those listed on the population schedule are linked to actual images of the 1860 Federal Census

[7]Source Information
Ancestry.com. Texas, Voter Registration Lists, 1867-1869 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
Original data:
1867 Voter Registration Lists. Microfilm, 12 rolls. Texas State Library and Archives Commission, Austin, Texas.
Description
Following the Civil War, the Reconstruction Acts required Southern states to register all eligible voters, both black and white, which makes these Texas registration lists particularly valuable for African American research.

[8]Detail
Year: 1870; Census Place: Trinity, Texas; Roll: M593_1606; Page: 350A; Image: 703; Family History Library Film: 553105
Edit Source
Source Information
Title
1870 United States Federal Census
Author
Ancestry.com
Publisher
Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
Publisher Date
2009
Publisher Location
Provo, UT, USA
Edit Repository
Repository Information
Name
Ancestry.com

[9]Document 1: Ancestry.com, U. S. Federal Census 1910, Beat 3, Forrest County, Mississippi, E. D. 16, Sheet 6B, Lines 77-82, Dwelling #116. 
[10]Document 2: Ancestry.com, U. S. Federal Census 1900, Beat 4, Wayne County, Mississippi, E. D. 114, Sheet 9B, Lines 58-64, Dwelling #154.
[11]Document 3: Ancestry.com, U. S. Federal Census 1880, 4thDistrict, Wayne County, Mississippi, E. D. 130, Sheet 9A, Lines 39-47, Dwelling #10.
[12]Document 4: Ancestry.com, U. S. Federal Census 1860, Northern Division, Tippah County, Mississippi, p. 511, Dwelling #498.
[13]Document 5: Ancestry.com, U. S. Federal Census 1860, Monroe County, Alabama, p. 797, Lines 2-12, Dwelling #233.
[14]Document 6: Ancestry.com, U. S. Federal Census 1860, Eastern Division, Pike County, Alabama, p. 339, Dwelling #1134.
[15]Document 7: Ancestry.com, U. S. Federal Census 1850, Tippah County, Mississippi, p. 511, Lines 25-34, Dwelling #279.
[16]Document 8: Ancestry.com, U. S. Federal Census 1850, Pike County, Alabama, p. 147, Lines 23-30, Dwelling #160.
[17]Document 9: Ancestry.com, U. S. Federal Census 1850, Monroe County, Alabama, p. 41, Lines 11-17, Dwelling #605.
[18]Document 10: Ancestry's Red Book (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, Inc., 1992). Personal copy
[19]Document 11: Ancestry.com, U. S. Federal Census 1870, Township 9, Range 17, Crenshaw County, Alabama, p. 14, Lines 3-7, Dwelling #94. 
[20]Document 12: Marriage Records, Pike County, Alabama, Book D, 1859-2863, p. 399 (County Clerk; filmed by Genealogical Society of Utah, 1979). FHL Film #1033194 (accessed through FamilySearch.org) 
[21]Document 13: Marriage Records, Tippah County, Mississippi, Book 2, 1865-1870, p. 127 (County Clerk; filmed by Genealogical Society of Utah, 1972). FHL Film #0895816 (accessed through FamilySearch.org)
[22]Document 14: Ancestry.com, U. S. Federal Census 1870, Range 5, Township 4, Tippah County, Mississippi, p. 252, Lines 12-15, Dwelling #28.
[23]Document 15: Ancestry.com, U. S. Federal Census 1880, Beat 12, Midway, Monroe County, Alabama, E. D. 156, Sheet 1A, Lines 47-50, Dwelling #8.
[24]Document 16: FamilySearch.org, Alabama Deaths, 1908-1974, Nancy Driver, 18 Dec 1934, Monroeville, Monroe County, Alabama, Certificate #28040.
[25]Document 17: Ancestry.com Message Boards, John Napoleon Hawkins, Jr., 29 Jun 1999 & 16 Aug 2005.
[26]Document 18: Marriage Records, Monroe County, Alabama, Volume A, 1833-1860, p. 244. FHL Film #1289610 
[27]Document 19: Ancestry.com, U. S. Federal Census 1880, Santa Rosa County, Florida, E. D. 137, Sheet 30B, Lines 12-20, Dwelling #283.
[28]Document 20: Ancestry.com, U. S. Federal Census 1850, Pike County, Alabama, p. 140, Lines 10-20, Dwelling #65.
[29]Document 21: Ancestry.com, U. S. Federal Census 1840, Pike County, Alabama, p. 307.
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)