Meg, thanks so much for sharing this. I too have a family that disappeared before the 1870 census. They were in Independence Co. just south of the Sharp Co. line (I think. They were in Polk Bayou PO area on 1860 census), but their married daughter (my direct line) lived in Sidney. She stayed put. Because the family name is Smith, the father is James, the thought of trying to find them anywhere else has been pretty overwhelming so I haven't put much effort into it. Now you've given me the motivation I needed! Robin in Richmond -----Original Message----- From: Meg Barnett [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, June 22, 2001 2:55 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [ARSHARP] Migration from Sharp Co. to North Texas I recently answered a question on this list with a private e-mail, but it has occurred to me I should share what I know with the whole list. Therefore, here's a copy of the original question and my reply. -- Meg Barnett ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob & Jan" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2001 3:39 PM Subject: Gardners at Evening Shade, Piney Fork Is there information available about what was going on at Evening Shade between 1870-80. My James H. Gardner family who had been residence of that area at least by the 1830s is not to be found after the 1870 census although one daughter Tempy Jane Gardner did marry a Goodman in 1879 (don't have the document) in Sharp Co. and headed South to around Union Co, AR, then TX, then back to Polk Co. It seems strange that a family who had lived in the same place so long just left with no traces. Any ideas? Thanks, Jan Gardner Kuykendall My answer: I may shed some light on this question. During the 1870's and 1880's, a large cluster of families from Sharp Co., especially from the Evening Shade area, moved to North Texas. Some of them originally landed in the Grapevine area, Tarrant County, but those and others from Sharp Co. soon moved on to Montague County, in and around Stoneburg (which often does not show up on current maps -- it is about 10 miles north of Bowie, Texas). These families included the William Thomas Ritchie and Joanah Carter family; the Thomas Joseph Turner and Cerilda Sandefer family, along with several of Cerilda's siblings; the David Mastin Armstrong and Margaret Semmerine Ritchie family (Margaret was the daughter of W.T. and Joanah), along with several of David Armstrong's siblings and his stepmother Margrett; and other clans related by marriage, like the Padens, Levertons, Wiles, etc. I am a descendant of all these people, and even as recently as in the time of my great-aunt (1920's) there were still frequent visits back and forth between Montague County and Sharp County to keep the family ties fresh. The reasons I have always been told for this mass migration focus on the free "school land" available in barely settled Texas counties (Texas sold land in newly formed counties to fund the building of schools in already populated counties) and the need to escape the memory and ravages of the Civil War. All of the men in the families listed above served in the CSA, often with devastating consequences which have reached down to affect my own generation. So, if I were looking for the Gardners, I'd suspect they had "GTT" (Gone To Texas) like so many disenchanted Southerners of that era. In addition to Montague County, I'd look at Wise, Collin, Grayson, Clay, Parker, and Cooke Counties, all of which were giving away school land during the 1870's. Also, a good number of the Armstrongs relocated by the early 1900s to what was then Indian Territory, Southern O! klahoma just across the border from Montague County, and you might check there. I wish you luck. Meg Barnett > > ______________________________ ==== ARSHARP Mailing List ==== If you wish to subscribe to or unsubscribe from the Sharp Co., AR list, use [email protected] or [email protected] if you are on the Digest list. To learn more about my world visit http://dwp.bigplanet.com/kburnett Arkansas Cemeteries Volunteer Website http://www.rootsweb.com/~arcemete/arcem.htm ============================== Visit Ancestry's Library - The best collection of family history learning and how-to articles on the Internet. http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library