Drilling Deeper with Genealogical Proof Standard

Here is an outline of a presentation that I gave last night at the Humble Area Genealogical Society. I highly recommend that you visit the website of the Board for Certification of Genealogists for more information on this topic: https://bcgcertification.org/ethics-standards/

Additionally, the following BCG website page that shows work samples can be used as a model when developing a genealogical proof: http://www.bcgcertification.org/skillbuilders/worksamples.html

The following text and images are extracted from my presentation entitled: Drilling Deeper with GPS: Case studies demonstrating the Genealogical Proof Standard.  I have added hyperlinks which will lead you to more information on particular aspects of GPS.

The Drilling Deeper Metaphor is appropriate for Texas because our oil industry is going back to these historic oil fields to extract every last drop.  Genealogists also need to "drill deeper" using the Genealogical Proof Standard as a guide.

Genealogical Proof Standard- GPS
• Purpose of GPS: show minimums for work to be credible.
• Five elements to GPS:
1. Reasonably exhaustive research conducted.
2. Each statement of fact has source citation(s).
3. Evidence is reliable & skillfully correlated and interpreted.
4. Contradictory evidence has been resolved.
5. Conclusion soundly reasoned and coherently written.
• Any proof statement is subject to re-evaluation when new evidence arises.

Five Questions regarding the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS)
• Q1:Who? A: Board for Certification of Genealogists & Christine Rose 2005 publication entitled (Genealogical Proof Standard: Building a Solid Case)

• Q2:What? A: Method for Solving Gen. Problems 

• Q3:When? A: Prior to Publishing
• Q4:Where?         A: Gen. Journals, Books and Online
• Q5:Why? A: a) Accepted Standard to Build Solid Case, b) Indirect Evidence                                                          Method, c) Tool to Resolve Conflicts

Reasonably Exhaustive Search: Texas Online Records
• Online Texas vital records
• Portal to Texas History
• Geography and Biography at Handbook of Texas Online
• County records- clerk, district clerk, libraries, GenWeb
• Texas taxation records
• County appraisal district websites
• and many more...

Reasonably Exhausive Search: Texas Archives
• Genealogy & local libraries
• History libraries
• Regional archives
• Courthouses
• College & University Libraries & Archives
• Church Archives
• Fraternal Archives
 
Case Study #1: Buried in Colorado County:  Frank E. Little 1855-1908

Why was Frank Little buried in the Oakes Family Cemetery? What was his connection to the Oakes Family.

 • Historical Context
“ROCK ISLAND, TEXAS (Colorado County). Rock Island, on U.S. Highway 90A fifteen miles west of Eagle Lake and twelve miles southwest of Columbus in southwest Colorado County, was settled in 1896 as part of a land promotion scheme on the Texas and New Orleans Railroad. ..The town's original name was Crasco, after nearby Crasco Creek, but in 1897 the citizens successfully petitioned the post office department to change the name. Charles Petersen, a large landowner, renamed the town for the Rock Island Railroad Company. In August 1897 Petersen was appointed the first postmaster of Rock Island, and the old Crasco post office was closed. From an original core of thirty-nine farming families, the population of Rock Island had grown to 367 by 1904 and had reached an all-time high of 500 by 1925. ..”

Does "conduct a ranch" mean that he was a ranch foreman or did he purchase a piece of land in a land promotion scheme?

 • Reasonably Exhaustive Search: Oakes Family Cemetery
o Nine marked graves most related to John C. Oakes
o      There were no land records involving Frank Little so maybe the ranch foreman was the more reasonable conclusion.

John C. Oakes owned several parcels of land on which he was conducting ranch operations as shown in this tax record.

Current landowners might know more about the cemetery and the Oakes family history. The mapping function of the county appraisal district website offers some great images to help illustrate your family history and put the ancestors in a geographic context.

The is the outline of the original land grant held by John C. Oakes.

All of these images from the county appraisal district website offer interesting geographic details including this satellite view. The ownership information in the appraisal district database allows a genealogical researcher to contact the current owner for more information about the history of the property.

 • Reasonably Exhaustive Search:
o Appraisal District Land Records
 Name of Property Owner
 Mailing Address
 Property Address
 Wrote two letters with SASE & my full contact info
 Asked for info on cemetery & Oakes family history
 Both owners emailed back
 Spoke to both owners on phone

There were no death certificates available for Colorado County in 1908 on Ancestry.com or FamilySearch.org but Colorado County had these images from the original death ledger. A visit to the courthouse is an essential element of a "reasonably exhaustive search."

o Death Certificate
 Earliest year available online for Colorado County death certificates is 1902. Then there is a gap in the records until 1909.
 However, even though the online records show a gap for 1908, it does not mean that records do not exist
 The Family Search Catalog shows microfilms of an index and death records for Colorado County Texas which includes 1908
 Notes on the content of the film state: Microfilm of originals in the Colorado County courthouse in Columbus, Texas. Includes general index with some volumes individually indexed.
 County clerk website offered a search for a fee. Call first!
 County courthouse had a 1908 death ledger entry for Frank Little

For more information on the Frank Little case study, please read the following:

http://www.ancestorpuzzles.com/2016/09/drilling-deeper-in-lonestar-state-frank.html

 Case Study #2:  Buried in the German Society Cemetery, Houston
Fredericka Brenner nee Eggert 1828-1901

The numerous birth dates and locations shown for Fredericka Brenner can be resolved by "drilling deeper" into parish records in Germany.

Grave markers may not always be the most reliable evidence especially if they are placed decades after the events. The German Society Cemetery known now as Washington Cemetery did not exist until the 1880s. Do not misinterpret interment dates as death dates. For example, Mina Brenner died in 1876 and was relocated to the new family plot in 1889. Henry August Brenner is known to have been buried in another cemetery.  The marker was placed recently by a descendant who was attempting to reunite the family after the fact.

The church burial record gives a place of birth for Fredericka Brenner nee Eggert as Steinke in Saxony. The parish records in Germany need to be searched to reveal the precise location and date of the birth.

It is helpful to include the page and column number in a newspaper citation. Unfortunately, this obituary record does not reveal the names of the "several children." Probate records also need to be searched to meet the "reasonably exhaustive search" standard.

For more details on the Fredericka Brenner case study, please go to this blogpost:

http://www.ancestorpuzzles.com/2016/08/it-takes-village-in-german-genealogy_29.html

Case Study #3:  Murder in Stafford:  Rev. Robert S. Sloan 1858-1916

• Obituary - 23 October 1916 Brenham Daily Banner-Press

• Rev. Robt. S. Sloan 1858-1916
o 1858 Born near Washington on Brazos to Maria Jordan
o 1884 Constable Pct. 1 & active Republican
o 1886 accused as Democratic “bulldozer”
o 1892 Black Elephant Saloon
o 1892 son Sam death by train
o 1900 Baptist minister & financial agent for Central Texas College Waco

• 1892 Advertisement Brenham Banner

• 1903 The Democrat (McKinney, Texas)

• Who Shot R.S. Sloan?

• Frank Robinson Indicted 1917

• Was he guilty?
• What was his motive?

• R.S. Sloan, Camptown Cemetery, Brenham, Texas

Robert S. Sloan is one of my favorite case studies and I have written about him in the following blog posts:

http://www.ancestorpuzzles.com/2015/04/the-mysterious-bob-sloan-his-journey.html

http://www.ancestorpuzzles.com/2016/10/historic-adventures-in-brenham-tx.html

http://www.ancestorpuzzles.com/2015/05/assassin-of-bob-sloan-convicted.html



Building a Solid Case with GPS
• The Process by Christine Rose p. 1
o Conduct a reasonably exhaustive search among a variety of records
o Determine the class for each piece of information within the record, i.e. whether it is
 Direct or Indirect Evidence
 Original or Derivative Source
 Primary or Secondary Information
o Weigh each piece of data keeping in mind WHO furnished info & WHY
• The Process by Christine Rose p. 2
o Evidence must all point in same direction. If not that evidence must be negated or refuted.
o If evidence points in same direction, & no other conclusion can be reached then case has passed GPS and is solid
o Write up the conclusion. Include an explanation of any opposing evidence and how it was resolved. Include citations.

Evidence Process Map- Elizabeth Shown Mills

A Metaphor for Genealogical Proof: The Jigsaw Puzzle- T. Jones, 2010
• Do the puzzle pieces belong to your ancestor puzzle?
• Do you have the puzzle pieces in the right place and in the right direction?
• With a sufficient number of pieces, a clear picture or reliable answer may emerge even when pieces are missing.
• Just as a picture emerges from assembled puzzle pieces, genealogical proof rests on the sum of evidence.

Summary Advice by Cimino
• Question every date, place and name on any publication or original record
• Look for the original source of all data
• Look for every possible record source in online sites, microfilm, books, and archival repositories
• Transcribe, analyze and compare every source record for every detail it contains
• Write and re-write the story based on available evidence at every phase

For more information on Genealogical Proof Standard, please visit the following site:

Slaves Named in the 1861 Divorce of John H. Crisp and Mary R. Bowles

This article is a continuation from last week of the slaves named in the 1861 divorce of John H. Crisp and Mary R. Bowles, widow of Green Berry Bowles. The names of these slaves were transcribed by Annette Bowen, one my colleagues in the Bay Area Genealogical Society of Houston, Texas.

Slaves belonging to Mary R. Crisp at the date of her marriage with John H. Crisp (3 Sept. 1851) and of their increase since that date
Taken from Exhibit A, in a suit in District Chancery Court at Holly Springs, Mississippi at the January Term 1855
Jim aged about 70 years
Hal aged about 70 years
Maria                    65
Jordan                  28
Albert                   19
Isabel                    45
Lem                       41
Jinney                   41
Hartwell               19
Cela                       21
Jack                        17
Leatta                   16
Pegues                 13
Sarah                     11
Granville              8
Dred                      6
Lewis                     4
George                 30
Dilly                        30
Clara                      14
Frances                   about 12
Betsy                     11
Ephraim               65
Tabby                    45
Jo                            21
Jerry                      29
Martha                 29
William                 30
Harriet                  19
Taylor                    24
Eliza                       25
Mary                     4
Albert                   22
Arun                      25
Albert                   37
Nancy                   28
Clara                      7
Patsy                     5
Laura                     28
Leonidas about 6
Jim (Jane?)         17
George                 17
Tom                       14
Watt aged about 13
Davy                      18
Frank                     28
Slaves born since the marriage
Henry aged about 1 year
Rufus                    2
Maria                    3 months
Stanfield              3 months
Nelly                      2
Archy                    2
Jerry                      1
Ellen                      2
James                   1
Ephraim               2
Ellen                      1
John                      2
Peterson             7 months
Adelaide              1 year
In all Sixty one slaves (Note: apparently one name was left off of this list, which was a certified copy.]

Mary Robert Harwell Bowles was the widow of Green Berry Bowles who was a physician, having attended medical school at Yale in 1821 and graduating from the Medical School of Maine at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, in 1822. Children of Green Berry Bowles and his wife Mary R. Harwell are:

1. James R. Bowles, born 1827 in Virginia; died 1876, buried in St. Peters Cemetery, Oxford, Mississippi married Martha Anne Ragsdale, 22 December 1847, in Monroe County, Mississippi
2. Mary Ann Bowles, born 1833 in Virginia, died between 1860 and 1870 married Dr. Paul H. Otey, 19 March 1847, in Nashville, Tennessee
3. Timoxena Bowles, born 3 April 1835, in Hardeman County, Tennessee, died 13 September 1912 in Florida married DeWitt Clinton Herndon, 6 June 1854, in Lafayette County, Mississippi
4. Catharine Theresa Bowles, born 10 August 1837, in Lafayette County, Mississippi; died 13 May 1887 in Jackson, Mississippi, buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Jackson, Mississippi married William Dunbar Holder, 6 June 1854, a double wedding with her sister Timoxena at the Bowles home in Lafayette County, Mississippi
5. Andrew Jackson Bowles, born July 1839, in Lafayette County, Mississippi; died 7 August 1912, in Rains County, Texas married (1) Mary Jane Moore, 15 June 1864, in Monroe County, Mississippi married (2) Elizabeth Bloom, 13 March 1889, in Rains County, Texas
6. Green Etheldred Bowles, born 3 December 1841, in Lafayette County, Mississippi; died 4 January 1844, buried in Bowles Cemetery, Lafayette County, Mississippi
7. Rufus Oscar Bowles, born 13 June 1843, in Lafayette County, Mississippi; died 13 January 1844, buried in Bowles Cemetery, Lafayette County, Mississippi
8. Green Berry Bowles, Jr., born February 1846, in Lafayette County, Mississippi; died 12 October 1924, in Austin, Travis County, Texas married Florence Yates

Annette has published more Bowles family history online here: 

http://msgw.org/lafayette/cemeteries/bowles_plantation/bowles.html#jamesr

The first child above, James R. Bowles received the transfer of these slaves from John H. Crisp during the divorce and then transferred them back to his mother who had returned to Lafayette County, Mississippi during the process of her divorce from John H. Crisp.  Here is how Annette told the story to me: 

She left Dr. Crisp and moved back to her plantation home in Mississippi in December 1854.  Mary sued Dr. Crisp to recover her dower in a law suit in Marshall County, Mississippi, referenced in the divorce.  Apparently Dr. Crisp transferred all the property which he had acquired by marriage to Mary's oldest son, James R. Bowles, and James immediately transferred it to his mother.  They agreed that neither would be responsible for the debts of the other.  

So it appears that these slaves were probably emancipated in Lafayette County, Mississippi. Searching for blacks named Bowles in the 1870 census of Lafayette County, Mississippi we found 62 people with that name.  There were seven more persons named Bowles identified as mulatto.  There were no former slaves named Crisp in Lafayette County in 1870.

Annette Bowen has published a list of more slaves in the division of slaves in the estate of  Dr. Green Berry Bowles here:

http://msgw.org/lafayette/cemeteries/bowles_plantation/slavedivisiongbbowles.html

 Additional information was found describing the Bowles Plantations here:
http://msgw.org/lafayette/lafayette_co_plantations.html

The original BOWLES PLANTATION which was divided between the children at time of the father, James E. BOWLES death [WILL proven in Nov term of Court in 1840] was abt. 1280 acres, [Section 6, Township 8S , R 2W and Section 12, T. 8 S R. 3 W. on both sides of the Old Woodson Ridge Road now known as C. R. 215. His son, Green Berry Bowles Plantation was between Graham Mill creek and Cambridge Church with abt 4500 acres. Green Boles Sr.'s Plantation was northeast Quality Ridge now known as Woodson Ridge as well as some property near College Hill. 

In the Mississippi Wills and Probate Collection at Ancestry.com there is a probate for Mary R. Bowles that was administered by her oldest son, James R. Bowles.  Here land is described lying in Lafayette County, Mississippi as 450 acres of Section 29, Township 7, Range 2 including the northern portion of the section and the SW 1/4 of Section 20, T. 7, R. 2.  Her estate was insufficient to pay her debts and was declared insolvent.
Name: Mary R Bowles
Probate Place: Lafayette, Mississippi, USA
Inferred Death Place: Mississippi, USA
Case Number: 1030

Item Description: Chancery Court Minutes, Case File 1016-1066, 1866; 19 images

Further searching of Mississippi Wills and Probate Collection at Ancestry.com found another slave list in the probate for Green B. Bowles Sr.

Name: Green B Bowles Sr

Probate Date: 1848
Probate Place: Lafayette, Mississippi, USA
Inferred Death Year: Abt 1848
Inferred Death Place: Mississippi, USA
Item Description: Chancery Court Minutes, Case File 285-348, 1847-1848
Image 1043 of 1133

Additional slaves in the estate of Green B. Bowles from his probate on file at Ancestry.com

 This is a great example of the gold that is buried in the new Ancestry.com Probate collection.  This list appears to be an update to an earlier list showing additional slaves that have been born and some that have died since 1846.  This list is especially useful as it includes the names of the mothers and the dates of birth.

Hugh M. Lee, guardian of the minor heirs of Green B. Bowles dec'd. reports the following list of births and death of negroes belonging to said:

Births                                      Deaths

Minneys Child Green Born 1847-died March 1848

do       do   Mariah do Feby 1848

Mary Overtons [sp?] child Sarah Born Jun 1849

Prissilla child Marthaann Born August 1848

Charlotts child Mary Ann Born Oct 1849

Fanny Bowles child Jersy [sp?] Born 1847-died May 1848

 do    do     do John Born June 1848-died July 1849

Elizabeth child Josephine Born Feby 1849

Amanda's child James Born July 1849- died August 1849

 do       do   Milton Born July 1849

Silvie's child Jas. Polk Born 1846-died April 1849

 do       do   Clarissa Born April 1849

Bose child Georgiana Born April 1849

Louisa child Dread Born Oct 1849

Benson's child Green Born March 1848

Lucy's child George Born Decm 1848-died July 1849

The list goes on to describe mules and horses by name acquired or died in the intervening period.  It is also heartbreaking to note that of the 16 children born, 6 of them had died young.

Hopefully someone will be able to use these lists to solve their "Ancestor Puzzle."

In Praise of Southern Women Writers

My research on the history of slavery began in the early 1990s when I read two books by women authors:  A Diary from Dixie by Mary Boykin Chesnut and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs.  I recommend that you obtain copies of these books for the shelves of your library but if you are a modern reader, you will find each of these titles is hyperlinked to free online versions.

Both of these books are filled with insightful analysis of the elephant in the room of American history: slavery.  A Diary from Dixie  contains Mrs. Chesnut's observations in her diary from February 1861 through August 1865. In the beginning of Mrs. Chesnut's diary, she had the overview of the landscape that was afforded while riding the elephant.  Mary Boykin Chesnut was the wife of James Chesnut, Jr., United States Senator from South Carolina, 1859-1861. Senator Chesnut also worked as an aide to Jefferson Davis and was a Brigadier-General in the Confederate Army. Four long years of war took their toll on Mrs. Chesnut.  On July 26, 1865 she wrote:

"I do not write often now, not for want of something to say but from loathing of all I see and hear."

Mrs. Jacobs had the graphic view of those that are forced to endure the crushing weight of the elephant in the ante-bellum period. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl was published in 1861 and begins with her recollections of childhood, the trials of girlhood and the jealous mistress.  She continues with observations on the fear of insurrection, the church and slavery and continued persecutions among many others.  Her last chapter is "Free at Last."

"Trials of Girlhood" was the Victorian style of titling what slave girls had to endure:

"But I now entered on my fifteenth year - a sad epoch in the life of a slave girl.  My master began to whisper foul words in my ear.  Young as I was, I could not remain ignorant of their import."

Mrs. Chesnut also offers her opinion on the morality of the Southern male:

 "August 27, 1861...I hate slavery. I hate a man who - You say there are no more fallen women on a plantation than in London in proportion to numbers. But what do you say to this - to a magnate who runs a hideous black harem, with its consequences, under the same roof with his lovely white wife and his beautiful and accomplished daughters? He holds his head high and poses as the model of all human virtues to these poor women whom God and the laws have given him. From the height of his awful majesty he scolds and thunders at them as if he never did wrong in his life. Fancy such a man finding his daughter reading Don Juan. 'You with that immoral book!' he would say, and then he would order her out of his sight. You see Mrs. Stowe did not hit the sorest spot. She makes Legree a bachelor."

Keep in mind if you read the online edition of Mrs. Chesnut's diary that it is an edited version published in 1905 which is subject to several deletions by the editors of that day.  Fortunately, they left the preceding paragraph intact.

The 1905 edition contained about 150,000 words while the manuscript copy of the complete diary contains closer to 400,000 words.  Some of the 1905 deletions might have been to avoid offending persons then living. However, some of Mrs. Chesnut's frank views of slavery were also excluded from the 1905 edition and have since been included in versions published in the last quarter of the 20th century.  The copy that I have on my shelf was edited by Ben Ames Williams and originally published in 1980.

As genealogists, we seek to understand the trials and travails of our ancestors.  These two books are crucial to an understanding of our shared American family history.  The family historian must have historical context when evaluating historical records of genealogical value such as the U.S. census.

For example, I am currently working with a client whose family has historically identified as white but has oral history about African ancestry.  We have been able to find several records that substantiate the stories of African ancestry.  In addition, DNA analysis has also confirmed the African ancestry.  The research has lead us to a mulatto woman, named Evaline Brenham, in the 1880 census of Catahoula Parish, Louisiana.  She was also found in the 1870 census in the same parish but she was listed as white.  The head of household in both of these censuses is a white man named George H. Richardson.   The theory is that George Richardson may be the father of Evaline Brenham.  In 1860, we find Mr. Richardson in Concordia Parish working as an overseer and listed between two major landowners, Farrar B. Conner and Henry Chotard.

The goal is to find the mother of Evaline Brenham and to connect George H. Richardson as an employee of one these major landowners.  The next step in this research project will be to begin reviewing microfilm from the Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations that are available at many university and public libraries.  We will begin with the records of the Conner and McMurran families that owned the Killarney plantation in Concordia Parish, Louisiana.  The collection includes many business records and letters related to the operation of the Killarney plantation and many others in the Natchez district.  Many of these letters were written by women.

The early life of Evaline Brenham and the name of her mother is currently shrouded in mystery.  We may never know their precise identity, but reading books and letters such as those described above will give us a better idea what life was like for their contemporaries.

Showdown- Marshall vs. Scalia?

Sometimes history collides with current events in ways that make us think that we are experiencing  "Deja Vu."  Two events happened in Texas on Saturday that make me wonder if history is about to repeat itself.

The author of the "The Butler", Wil Haygood was in Houston on Saturday promoting his new book, "Showdown" about the appointment by LBJ of civil rights leader, Thurgood Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Haygood's premise is that the nomination of Marshall to the highest court profoundly changed the racial politics of our nation.  He tells the story using the framework of the dramatic and contentious five-day Senate hearing on the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall as the first African American Supreme Court justice.

Wil Haygood and Nick Cimino 2/13/2016, Texas Southern University, Houston, Texas

As my wife and I walked off the Texas Southern Campus, the news alerts appeared on our phones that Justice Antonin Scalia had died at a hunting ranch near Marfa, Texas.  Republican presidential candidates began making statements about blocking the nomination of Scalia's replacement. The president said on Saturday that he will nominate a successor to Justice Antonin Scalia, ignoring the protests from Republicans. The dynamics of the Supreme Court will be fundamentally changed by the death of Scalia.  To learn of Scalia's death after hearing stories about the Thurgood Marshall nomination was uncanny.  Another "showdown" is about to happen in the Senate.  If there is a heaven for esteemed jurists, perhaps another debate is about to begin.

I have to say that I was riveted by the humor and historical insight of Wil Haygood's lecture on Saturday.  I bought a copy of the "Showdown" book in hopes of getting his autograph.  The lecture was held in the Sawyer Auditorium of Texas Southern University which is also the site of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law.  The introductory speakers included the new Houston Mayor, Sylvester Turner, Congressman Al Green and Dannye R. Holley, Dean of the Marshall Law School.  I was impressed by the Dean's introduction of Mayor Turner that described him as "super qualified" and "super prepared."  Among his many qualifications, Mayor Turner graduated  Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. degree in Political Science from the University of Houston.  This contrasted humorously with Haygood's self described qualifications as graduating "magna cum lucky" in urban planning from Miami University in Ohio.

In the spirit of the past being prologue, Haygood shared several anecdotes from the writing and the filming of the "The Butler."   One of the luckiest moments in Haygood's life was when he decided to write a newspaper article about Eugene Allen, the butler who served in the White House during the terms of eight presidents.  Haygood wanted to explore this unique moment in American history by profiling a person who was raised in an era when segregation was so ingrained into American life, that the thought of a black president was incomprehensible. He was covering the Obama campaign as a reporter for the Washington Post and he saw the tide turning toward election of the first African American president.  Haygood drew inspiration from the quote of Dr. Martin Luther King: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."

One of the anecdotes about the research and writing of Showdown that I found particularly inspiring as a genealogist, was about the discovery of a very prescient letter in an Arkansas archive.  Haygood stated that sometimes in the writing process "you just have to go there" to find the hidden research gems.  Texarkana resident, Barbara Ross, wrote a letter to Sen. John McClellan, after listening to the racist tone of the Senate hearing on the radio. Haygood read the words that Ms. Ross wrote with  her new typewriter in 1967: "If he doesn't get the nomination, there will be others who seek after the same opportunity when it is there. There will be hundreds, Senator, and you can't fight them all…One of these days, the President of the United States will be a Negro."

Image from the dust jacket of "Showdown" by Wil Haygood.

The new book about the Marshall appointment is mandatory reading towards achieving a well-informed citizenry especially given current events with the passing of Justice Scalia.  The efforts of southern senators to block the Marshall nomination in 1967 are about to be replayed in the Senate in the coming weeks.  The Washington Post has described Justice Scalia as a "brilliant legal mind who snubbed civil rights at nearly every turn."  Perhaps the prophetic words of MLK are about to resonate once more.

Harvesting Ancestors-Lessons from the Garden

In genealogy, as in many other pursuits, we reap what we sow.  This summarizes several lessons learned this past Saturday from professional genealogist, Sharon Batiste Gillins at the Clayton Library in Houston.  The metaphors from the garden that she used in her presentation entitled Harvesting Ancestors-Lessons from the Garden provided excellent examples of genealogical lessons with a broad appeal.  I highly recommend her as a keynote speaker for your upcoming genealogical events.

A gardner at work, 1607
SOURCE: Wikipedia citing Anonymous - Hausbuch der Mendelschen Zwölfbrüderstiftung, Band 2. Nürnberg 1550–1791. Stadtbibliothek Nürnberg, Amb. 317b.2°, via http://www.nuernberger-hausbuecher.de/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13207509

Gardening is one of Ms. Gillins favorite past times as it gives her time to "mull and ponder" about the things that occupy her mind in her genealogical research.  Her practices learned from the garden were compared to genealogical practices and illustrated with examples from genealogical research.  The content was definitely suitable and accessible to beginners, intermediate and advanced researchers.  All of us need to practice the good research habits that were demonstrated in this presentation.

For example: "you can't garden without getting dirty."  This garden reality leads to the realization that genealogy research is physically demanding and messy work.  Ms. Gillins used an image from a county courthouse to illustrate the heavy volumes that must be lifted in dusty rooms filled with allergens.  Genealogy research can be a strain on the eyes and the back.  Exploring old cemeteries exposes a genealogist to the hazards of brambles, thorns, bugs and snakes.  We must prepare ourselves for the difficult and challenging work of genealogy.

"Know your soil: it is the foundation of the garden" leads to her recommendation that we "learn the context in which our ancestors lived."  The geography, history and political organization of the localities in which we are researching, is a necessary preface to understanding the lives of our ancestors.  Laws influence the shape and form of records that were formed in the past to suit certain political purposes.  Understanding the historical context of those records that we use today for genealogy helps us to analyze and interpret our family history.  She went further by describing sources and how they are helpful in understanding the context including almanacs, city directories, maps and land information.

Some of the other lessons that she taught were:

Garden: "The harvest comes after a long growing season." Genealogy: "Credible results must be cultivated over time."

Garden: "Get in close; important details can be easily overlooked" Genealogy: "Mine every document for hidden information."

And there were many more lessons.  You will have to invite her to speak to your genealogical society to learn them all.

I was especially gratified when Ms. Gillins used another metaphor of a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle to explain the process of fitting the genealogical facts together into an image of our family history. "Some of the pieces look like they should fit but really don't."  We need to avoid the tendency to force fit the pieces of our "Ancestor Puzzles."

I first learned of Ms. Gillins talents when I read an amazing article about her discovery of some artifacts of a slave from the Moody Mansion that have been sent to the Smithsonian.  I met her last year when she spoke at the Family History Conference of the Texas State Genealogical Society.  I was impressed by the depth and the wide applicability of the examples in her presentations.

She will be one of the featured speakers at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research coming up in June 2016 in Track 10 on Researching African American Genealogy: Black Roots in Unique Collections. Sign up soon as classes at the IHGR are filling up fast.  This will also be the last opportunity for those of us in Texas to attend the IHGR in Alabama before it moves to Georgia. Hearing Ms. Gillins speak will help you to find a bountiful harvest of ancestors!

Family Reunion Presentation- Life & Times of Silas Snow

Are you planning a family reunion?  Have you thought about having a presentation from a genealogist on one of your ancestors?  Your family will be intrigued to learn of the exploits of their ancestor.  A slide show with photographs, maps and original documents can illustrate the life of an ancestor and bring that person to life for your family to enjoy.

I have done several of these types of presentations recently and they all have been received very well. Here are a few of my slides from a recent presentation on the Life and Times of Silas Snow:

Silas Snow was born near Spay, Choctaw County, Mississippi in 1840 and died in Falls County, Texas in 1905.  He migrated to Texas with his slave owner between 1850 and 1860.  He registered to vote in Hamilton County, Texas in 1867.  He owned 173 acres in Coryell County and some of the land is still in the possession of one of his descendants.

Silas Snow has a substantial headstone in the Oak Grove Cemetery near Gatesville, Texas.  The inscription and the carving on the headstone are reflective of his faith in God and his belief in a family reunion in heaven.  The gravestone gives his exact dates of birth and death.  This gravestone photo was obtained from his FindaGrave Memorial.

Silas Snow married Mary Caroline Lothlen on March 5, 1872, in Coryell County, Texas. They had five children during their marriage: Radford Snow 1868-?; David H. Snow 1872-1945; Ollie Snow Mack Mayberry 1873-1947; Lula Snow Armstrong Comer 1876-1935; Mary E. Snow Wallace 1877-?  His wife Mary Caroline Lothlen passed away on April 8, 1879, in Coryell County, Texas, at the age of 27. They had been married 7 years.  She was buried in the Gatesville City Cemetery in Gatesville, Texas.

The family had oral history that Silas Snow was born in Spay, Mississippi.  I was able to find this 1895 map of Choctaw County, Missipppi that shows Spay located in the southern part of the county.

Silas may be the 10 year old unnamed slave of Eli Snow 1780-1851.  Eli Snow was the father of David Crockett Snow 1817-1877.  D.C. Snow married Nancy Barron 1817-1907.  D.C. and Nancy were married in 1838 in Choctaw County, Mississippi.  Many of the Snow and Barron family members migrated with their slaves from Choctaw County, Mississippi to Hamilton County, Texas in the 1850s.

 Silas Snow registered to vote in Hamilton County, Texas in 1867.  D.C. Snow was the only man named Snow who owned slaves in the 1860 slave schedule of Hamilton County, Texas and is also the only white man named Snow who registered to vote in 1867.  It appears that Silas Snow and Anthony Barron came to register at the same time as they are listed next to each other on the voter register.

The 1870 census neighborhood near the Leonville Post Office in Coryell County, Texas tells a tale of relationship between white and black families.  Jack P. Key was one of the largest property owners. He later becomes a Texas legislator.  The Barns family in the next household headed by Rose Barns and her oldest son, Jacob was one of the keys to unlocking the mystery of this neighborhood.  Jacob Barns is also know as Jake Barrens.  Jake told his life story to the WPA in a "Texas Slave Narrative." At the bottom of the page is John Loflin also known as John Lothlen or Lothlin.  In fact when you look at the page that follows you will see that his children were enumerated with the surname Lothlin.

Silas Snow was residing in the Lothlen household and he is enumerated on line 9 of the above census page.  His future wife, Mary C. Lothlen is on line 2.  We believe that the Lothlen family were the freed slaves of Dr. A.Y. Lothlen.  Silas Snow received 100 acres from Dr. A.Y. Lothlen in 1878.

The former slaves owned by the Snow and Barron families had to leave Hamilton County and search for work in nearby Coryell County.  The leaders of Coryell County followed the example of Judge Mayberry by encouraging the freed slaves to live in a "freedom settlement" called Lincolnville.  Read more about Lincolnville in this online newspaper article.  A Snow descendant owns a substantial portion of the land near the site of Lincolnville.

The white Murrell family have oral history that ties them to the black Snow family which has been documented in Coryell County history books.  The oral history is substantiated by the fact that they are living in close proximity in the 1870 census.  The Coryell county biography for Lemuel Murrell says that some of the Murrell slaves took the name Murrell and gave the slaves land near Ireland. 

While this was written up in a Coryell County History, it appears to be based on undocumented oral history. Silas Snow received 100 acres from Dr. A.Y. Lothlen in 1878 not Lemuel Murrell.  The land of Silas Snow was near the future site of Ireland in the Spencer Rice Survey.  Did the Murrell family help Silas Snow acquire this land from their former neighbor, Dr. A.Y. "Sandy" Lothlen?  Perhaps a copy of the deed from Lothlen to Snow would shed more light on this question.

This story also says that many of Lemuel's slaves stayed with him and took the name Murrell. However, in reviewing the five 1870 census pages which show the community near the Leonville Post Office, there are no black families named Murrell. Thomas Lothlen (Loflin) and Silas Snow are shown near the widow Murrell on page 1 and 2. The oral history leads me to believe that Silas Snow and the Lothlen family were working for the Murrells. Jake Barrens is on page 1 with his mother and siblings. The Barrens appear to be working for Jack Key which is substantiated by Jake Barrens slave narrative. 

On page 2 immediately next to Mary J. Murrell, the widow of Lemuel Murrell, are the black families headed by Daimon Eves and Dan McCowan. These may be the former Murrell slaves but more research is needed to substantiate that relationship. All of the families on page 3, 4 and 5 of the 1870 census for the Leonville Enumeration District are white. Mary J. Murrell is living next door to her brother, Hugh Baty 1824-1871 and they are both substantial land owners.

Another fact that supports a relationship between the Snow and the Murrell families is that one of the Snow descendants had pictures of members of the Murrell family that had been passed down in the family. However, it would appear that more research is needed to prove that Lemuel Murrell gave land to any of his slaves.

The slave narrative of Jake Barrens links him to the 1870 census neighborhood where Jack Keys was living.  The slave narrative of Jake Barrens is also posted to his FindaGrave Memorial which has more pictures and links to his very accomplished children.

The Tax Lists for Coryell county show Silas Snow owning the following lands:

1880- Abstract 865 in the S. Rice Survey containing 100 acres

1892- The land is still described as Abstract 865 in the S. Rice Survey but it is now 173 acres

The following record should be searched for an index book and page of the deed granting land to Silas Snow before 1880 for 100 acres and before 1892 for the 73 acres:

Grantee index v. L-Z 1854-1946

Family History Library United States & Canada Film 984403

By 1883 Silas Snow was one of the trustees of the Lincolnville School.  This document shows that the school trustees hired the brother-in-law of Silas Snow, Thomas J. Lothlen, as a teacher.  The other trustees are James Mayberry and Gus Wetherly.

This image from the Coryell county brand book shows that James "Big Jim" Mayberry recorded his mark and brand on April 13th 1867.  The registration record shows his name as "James Mayberry (Freedman)."  His mark was a swallow in each ear and there is a diagram of his brand which looks like a Y over an upside down T.  

This slideshow is an example of the kind of presentation that I can prepare for your family reunion. Thanks to Geri Hoover of San Antonio, Texas for inspiring and sponsoring this fascinating research project.

UPDATE: JUNE 5, 2016

The estate of Caleb Barron is very relevant to this article because it includes Anthony Barron in the inventory of slaves and is added here:

THE SLAVES OF CALEB BARRON, Smith County, TX

Submitted 15 Jun 2000 by Mary Love Berryman - marylove@tyler.net

***************************************************************** 
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
*****************************************************************

These slaves were listed in the Estate of Caleb Barron, who died 6 or 7 
July 1864, Hamilton Co, TX.  His Estate was in Smith Co., TX.  There 
was no will.  Elizabeth Barron, his wife, petitioned as administrator 
16 Jan 1865.

Caleb owned thirty four slaves, with names and values such as follows: 

Amanda, 11, $375 
Andrew, 6, $250
Anthony, 30, $800
Betsy, 2, $150
Ephraim, 40, $800
George, 32, $400
Jenny and child Calvin, 25, $600
John, (one eyed), 13, $300
Major, 40, $400
Moses, 3, $175
Moses, 25, $600
Patsey, 13, $500
Plum, 17, $600 
Siller & child, 29, $550
Vicey, 15, $600 

The total value of the slaves owned by Caleb, for the purpose of 
valuation of estate in the probation process was $15,550. Caleb 
Barron's total estate valuation of $26,897.78, the slaves' value 
accounted for the majority of his holdings (in excess of 57%).

SOURCES OF INFORMATION:

John Barron's Home Page - http://hometown.aol.com/jbarron933/index.htm
Descendants of CALEB Barron, Sr. - http://members.aol.com/jbarron933/
Pat Childress - patchildress@prodigy.net

Abstracts of the Smith County Probate Records, Smith County, Texas 
1846-1880, abstracted by Andrew L. Leath, published by the Jack T. 
Greer Memorial Trust Fund of The Smith County Historical 
Society/Historical Commission, Tyler, Texas - 1984

My DNA Results & Surprises!

The good news is that my DNA results confirm the identity of my parents!  What was surprising is that my Sicilian ancestry is very diverse in its origins.  Here is my Ethnicity Overview:

-My Ethnicity Overview-
I was surprised by the Middle East ethnicity.

My genealogy research in Sicily tells me that I have seven generations of Cimino ancestors dating back to Rosario Cimino born about 1740 in the Siracusa province.  I feel pretty confident based on this research that I am 25% Sicilian.  However, the ethnic origins of Sicily in ancient history appear to be influenced by the Middle East, Italy/Greece and the Iberian peninsula.  I would be very interested to compare my ethnicity estimate to others with Sicilian heritage. I would also like to encourage all of my close relatives to get tested.

Ethnicity Detail with map showing my ancient origins.

A new feature on the Ancestry DNA results is the DNA circle.  I have DNA circles for both maternal and paternal ancestors.  For example, the DNA results tell me that I am a descendant of John Jacob Main.  My family tree on my maternal side confirms this.  I share DNA with other descendants of John Jacob Main, my 3rd Great-Grandfather (1794-1872).

I am also in a DNA circle for my paternal ancestor, Thomas David Newman.  He is my 4th Great-Grandfather (1788-1848)

Gravestone of Thomas D. Newman in Big White Lick Regular Baptist Cemetery in Pittsboro, Hendricks County, Indiana

Other surprises in the ethnicity are that I have trace amounts of African, Native American and East Asian ancestry.

The North African component is easy to explain with the proximity to Sicily.  The East Asian and the Native American ethnicity is much more mysterious.  I have ordered a kit for my dad so it will be interesting to find out if he shares any of these trace amounts of ethnicity.  I encourage all of my readers to get tested.  It has been well worth the investment for the entertainment value alone.  I especially encourage all of my close relatives to get tested.  I am very happy to learn that my origins are much more global than I imagined.