---------- : From: Ron Pyle <[email protected]> : To: [email protected] : Subject: Re: Mark Jones family : Date: Sunday, July 23, 2000 7:35 AM : : Dear Martha; : : I am glad to hear that you got some of the information you : needed. I am writing a family history concerning the Pyle : Family. This was an issue that my parents completely : ignored when I was a child, even though we were closely : related to the war correspondent Ernie Pyle. I found my : relationship to Ernie in 1996 when I was 60 years old. Much : to late to use him as a role model for myself. I made an : oath at that time that my descendents will not suffer from : this same fate. : : Robert and Martha Malone Pyle were the great Grandparents : of Ernie Pyle. My grandfather and Ernie's father were first : cousins. I am especially proud this morning because the : Knight Ridder Newspapers are doing a special report in : their Sunday Newspapers today concerning the parade held : this week at Ie Shima by Villagers commemorating the 55th : anniversery of his death. : : Other than having the marriage information from Mariah and : Martha Pyle, I do not know much about their families. I'm : hoping to get some of this information from you and your : contacts. : : I am going to forward you a lot of information concerning : my great Aunt Frances Pyle [their sister] with the hopes : that it may fit into your history somewhere. Frances : married Wilson Bratton a postmaster from Vermillion County : Indiana in 1855. This was a couple of years prior to the : family moving to Texas. I was real concerned about the : reason they went to Texas while my great-grandfather : William and his brother moved to Sacramento, Ca. : : Mrs. Alice Hasty from Austin Texas found my three year old query in 1999 and sent me the complete story as I'm going to send it to you. Wilson and Frances had many businesses after going back to Texas, but Wilson was appointed postmaster at liberty Hill in 1870. : Here is the Bratton Story; : : Great-grandma Mary Mack Pyle shared information she : received from A.T. Smith in 1867. She was informed at that : time that Robert and Martha had passed away in Williamson : County. Alice contacted us in May of 1999 with information : concerning our ancestors after arriving in Texas. Alice's detailed packet included family photos and pictures of headstones from various cemeteries. Her biographical sketches traced Wilson from his birth in : Kentucky until his death in Comanche, Texas. : : Patience is a virtue thrice rewarded when we apply it to : family research. My hope of solving the mystery of the : Pyles and the Brattons after they disappeared had dimmed : over the years, so Alice's involvement in the Pyle family : research is greatly appreciated and the importance of : finding Aunt Frances Pyle and the Bratton family cannot be : overstated. Robert and Martha Malone Pyle had two sons : before they left Ohio and six other children after settling : in Eugene. Aunt Frances married Wilson R. Bratton in 1855 : and her sister Mary married Benjamin Bentley before they : left Vermillion County. Martha married Albert Smith in 1861 : and Mariah married Mark Jones in 1867. Martha's husband : administrated the estate of Robert and Martha and sent : William his share in 1867. According to records at : Georgetown, Texas Robert and Martha's probate was August : 28, 1865. They were buried in Williamson County, but burial : records indicate that Robert and Martha were buried in : Taylor, Texas and Texas history tells us that Taylor did : not incorporate until 1871. : : : Wilson Bratton was born in Mason County, Kentucky on May : 8, 1830 and was the son of Hiram Bratton, a native : Kentuckian and a riverboat Captain. Captain Bratton became : a victim of cholera and died while working on the lower : Mississippi in 1832. A Texas rancher, Peter Smith married : Hiram's widow Edith Moore and moved the family to Texas : where they lived until Peter's death in 1862. In 1850, : Wilson returned to Indiana to attend school and was : appointed postmaster of Eugene Township in 1855. Wilson's : sister Emily was included in a biographical sketch in the : 1866 "History of Texas." Wilson R. Bratton is pictured at : the left in his military uniform. Wilson was a veteran of : two wars while living in Texas in the 1840's and after : returning to Texas he applied for his pension for serving : in the Mexican War. : : Wilson served in McCullough's Regiment in 1846 and : re-enlisted in 1847 in the First Texas Regiment, fighting : in Arkansas, Louisiana and Indian Territory (Oklahoma). He : attained the rank of First Lieutenant while serving with : the Williamson Volunteers. The Bratton's purchased a farm : in Brown County, Texas and were living on the William's : ranch during the 1880 census. The census listed Wilson R. : Bratton a 50-year-old merchant and his wife Frances C. : Bratton a housewife with four children also living at home. : In 1882 he sold this ranch and moved to Comanche, Texas : where he bought "The Iron Barn," a livery stable that was : one of the best equipped in the state. Robert Bratton, a : teamster born on November 1, 1857 in Indiana. Florence Eva : Bratton, born July 14, 1856 in Indiana. Florida (Flora) : Bratton born June 23, 1862 in Texas and A. Mae Bratton born : on July 29, 1860 in Texas were living at home while Wilson : and Frances operated the Livery Stable. : : Frances Pyle Bratton passed away on December 3, 1896 and is : buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in the old section in : Comanche, Texas. Comanche is a small town in the middle of : the state. Wilson married his housekeeper Laura A. : Poituvent following his wife's death and died on September : 27, 1905. He is also buried in the old section of the : Oakwood Cemetery in Comanche. Fannie Bratton a 16-year-old : was living in the home of her Aunt and Uncle John and Mary : Smith during the 1880 census of Florence, Texas. The : Smith's were related to Wilson's stepfather. : : The Bratton's of Indiana came from Bratton Village in : Wiltshire, England. A village that sits in a quiet valley : beneath the great white horse constructed by our ancestor : Robert Pile. They maintain an informative website and are : very co-operative with inter-active research. Researching : the Brattons led us to the history of Lewis and Clark. : : I'm assuming that Martha's husband A.T. Smith is part of : Wilson Bratton's step-family. As common as the Smith Family : is, it just pops up in my family history too much to be : co-incidental. Anyway I hope you enjoy the preceding : information. : : Ron : : : : : ---------- : : From: : : : :