Category: Uncategorized

I come from Alabama….

….if not with a banjo on my knee, then at least with a new set of possible ancestors to research. When I arrived in Birmingham last Sunday for the Institute of Genealogy and Historic Research, we had one possible connection to Alabama. According…

….if not with a banjo on my knee, then at least with a new set of possible ancestors to research.   When I arrived in Birmingham last Sunday for the Institute of Genealogy and Historic Research, we had one possible connection to Alabama.  

According to the 1860 U.S. census for Hempstead County, Arkansas, Alabama was the birthplace of Jesse G. Williams, our 3rd great grandfather of Mom’s paternal line.(1)  (Family legend has it that Jesse was killed in 1864 in the Battle of Little Blue River in Missouri;  1860 is the last census in which he appears.)  As it turns out, that single piece of evidence directly conflicts with the prior census. The research is far from complete but, using a more formal (and scholarly!) narrative style to report, here’s why I think South Carolina is the more likely birthplace.

[Note:  I  made several big leaps on the Alabama front last week, during breaks from the Military Records class. More will be written about both, but, in the meantime, a big thank you to the staff of the Special Collection section of the Samford University Library, particularly Liz Wells and Mark “sorry-I-didn’t-get-your-last-name.”]  

Continue reading “I come from Alabama….”

Paying It Forward – Here’s the Ruffner Family Bible

Online and print publications on our Offutt line cite an 1840s family bible that was passed down to our grandmother’s cousin. I’d like to locate the bible — for several reasons. It’s a very special family artifact. To actually see it would be as …

Online and print publications on our Offutt line cite an 1840s family bible that was passed down to our grandmother’s cousin.  I’d like to locate the bible — for several reasons.  It’s a  very special family artifact.  To actually see it would be as thrilling as our visit to the Offutt property in Montgomery County (described on May 5).   But I’d also like the chance to look at the entries and evaluate them as evidence — to look at the content, examine the handwriting, the ink, and check the publication date of the bible itself. Continue reading “Paying It Forward – Here’s the Ruffner Family Bible”

War and Peace – Updated

I’m headed to Alabama on June 13th for a week-long class on Military Records. The class is one of the offerings of the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research at Samford University, a premier genealogical institute. One of my (self-assigned…

I’m headed to Alabama on June 13th for a week-long class on Military Records.  The class is one of the offerings of the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research at Samford University, a premier genealogical institute.  One of my (self-assigned) preparation tasks is to gather up my clues on ancestral military service so that I have a menu of real-life inquiries to pursue during my week of immersion. 

I had a request to indicate (my) relationship to the ancestors below.  That information appears in brackets.  And I’ve posted a picture of John Kennedy “Jack” Gates, cousin and combat photographer.  It’s a unique shot that includes headline news. Thank you, Susan!

Continue reading “War and Peace – Updated”

More on the Life, Death, and Will of Robert G. Stephens

“Many of our readers will be surprised to learn of the death of Robert Stephens, of White Township, which took place Saturday last. He had just finished eating a hearty meal, and rising to his feet, stepped out on the porch of his residence when h…

“Many of our readers will be surprised to learn of the death of Robert Stephens, of White Township, which took place Saturday last.  He had just finished eating a hearty meal, and rising to his feet, stepped out on the porch of his residence when he fell dead.”[1]

Not a bad way to go at the age of 77.  But what happened after that was a little messy. Continue reading “More on the Life, Death, and Will of Robert G. Stephens”

Putting the Wright Name with Faces

I have many – mostly small – family photographs that are unlabelled, and beyond that, not even associated with a particular side of the family. I’ve already commented on my “provenance” challenges. But the pictures of this couple were di…

I have many – mostly small – family photographs that are unlabeled, and beyond that, not even associated with a particular side of the family.  I’ve already commented on my “provenance” challenges.  But the pictures of this couple were different — fairly new reproductions on Kodak paper sitting among tintypes and daguerreotypes.  But I still didn’t know who they were.

Joseph_wrightRachel_hamilton_wright

 

I wasn’t even looking for them when I took aim at one of the holes on my pedigree chart.  Cora Walling’s mother was named Louisa and most of  what I knew about her was uncovered by Elise when she interviewed Mom while working on a 5th grade school project.  Continue reading “Putting the Wright Name with Faces”

Finding James Offutt (and much much more)

One of the first posts in Family Epic was about my visit to Darnestown Presbyterian Church and Cemetery – many Offutts are there, the family of our father’s mother. But the patriarch, James Offutt (1803-1857), is not among them. Resources consulte…

One of the first posts in Family Epic was about my visit to Darnestown Presbyterian Church and Cemetery – many Offutts are there, the family of our father’s mother. But the patriarch, James Offutt (1803-1857), is not among them.  Resources consulted at the Montgomery County Historical Society and online identified the location of his grave and those of two young daughters at a private home nearby. (1)  James’ son from his first marriage and half-brother to Lemuel,  James Howard Offutt (our 2nd great uncle), lived on the property until his death in 1935 – a span of over 90 years of Offutt ownership. I contacted the current owners by letter and asked if I could come for a visit – and was rewarded by a most welcoming and generous phone call. Continue reading “Finding James Offutt (and much much more)”

Cora (Walling) Baker Walling, The Conclusion (for now)

In a previous post, I shared pictures of the Baker family that our great grandmother, Cora (Walling) Baker Walling, kept for the rest of her life – even though her marriage to Jesse W. Baker ended with his death within three years. There’s another…

In a previous post, I shared pictures of the Baker family that our great grandmother, Cora (Walling) Baker Walling, kept for the rest of her life – even though her marriage to Jesse W. Baker ended with his death within three years.

There’s another piece of physical evidence — an ivory diary typical of the period. Among many early mistakes I made in family history endeavors was not keeping track of provenance, which is just a fancy way of recording who-in-the-heck-gave-me-this.  But my sense was always that that the diary and the Baker family pictures were a package. Unfortunately, there’s no one left now to verify that. [Let that be a lesson to you all.]   There are several pictures of the diary below – one closed and one open.  There is also a picture of young Cora – about the time her courtship began. Continue reading “Cora (Walling) Baker Walling, The Conclusion (for now)”

A Tale of Two Farmers — and then there’s Texas….

In a previous post, I compared the relative 1860 fortunes of two ancestral farmers in Indiana County, Pennsylvania – Edward Haney Ruffner and Robert Garrett Stephens. Their offspring, James and Hulda, respectively, married in 1870. On Thursday, I …

In a previous post, I compared the relative 1860 fortunes of two ancestral farmers in Indiana County, Pennsylvania – Edward Haney Ruffner and Robert Garrett Stephens.  Their offspring, James and Hulda, respectively, married in 1870.  On Thursday, I took a look at the 1870 agricultural schedules and the values were relatively unchanged. Ruffner still owned more property but Stephens valued his at a higher dollar figure. Stephens had more livestock and grew more wheat but Ruffner grew more oats, produced more butter and more wool. (1)

But a dramatic contrast is revealed when the lens moves south.  On the Texas side of the family, our great grandmother, Cora Walling married into the Baker family in the early 1870s but was widowed within just a few years.  Jack, and his older brother, Jesse, Cora’s future husband, were living in the same household in 1870, both farming land owned by Jack. (2) But the Bakers were more than just farmers.  Isaac Baker, born in Alabama and the father of both Jack and Jesse, was one of the earliest settlers of what was later to be named Plantersville in Grimes County, Texas.  He began building a 2,840 acre plantation named Cedars in 1843 and opened the first general store with his sons in the 1850s. (3)  I decided to return to 1860 and gather data for the Bakers.  Continue reading “A Tale of Two Farmers — and then there’s Texas….”

Cora (Walling) Baker Walling, Part I

We always knew that our grandmother’s mother, Cora Walling, married young to a “much older man” named Baker and was widowed before she married her cousin, James A. Walling. Cora and James had a family of four girls, the youngest of whom was our gr…

We always knew that our grandmother’s mother, Cora Walling, married young to a “much older man” named Baker and was widowed before she married her cousin, James A. Walling.  Cora and James had a family of four girls, the youngest of whom was our grandmother Amy.  The family group photograph is wonderful (see below.)   Cora died in 1912 – when Amy was only 14 – and James later remarried. (1) 

For some reason, I thought of the marriage to Mr. Baker as an unpleasant period of Cora’s life, and her later marriage to James as her happily- ever-after life.  However, the physical evidence suggests a more complicated interpretation. Continue reading “Cora (Walling) Baker Walling, Part I”

The Will of Robert G. Stephens, Drawn 1879, Probated 1881

I mentioned in an earlier post that Robert G. Stephens may not have held his son-in-law, J. A. C. Ruffner, in the highest regard. Now you can judge the evidence for yourself. Shortly after Robert’s death in early 1881, James and Hulda (nee Stephen…

I mentioned in an earlier post that Robert G. Stephens may not have held his son-in-law, J. A. C. Ruffner, in the highest regard.  Now you can judge the evidence for yourself.

Shortly after Robert’s death in early 1881, James and Hulda (nee Stephens) Ruffner filed an objection to Robert’s will, alleging that he was under undue unfluence and duress when he signed it in 1879.  They requested a court trial to determine the facts. Six months later, they withdrew their objection, in consideration of valuable (unspecified) consideration paid by the named executors, and the will was probated. (1)  Next research step – check the court records in Indiana County to determine if a trial, in fact, took place. Continue reading “The Will of Robert G. Stephens, Drawn 1879, Probated 1881”