Gene, Did I say his place of birth was GA? My file shows that Zebulon was born in 1823 in Spartanburg co., SC. I had to move some things around in my outline for it to fit in the e-mail message, so I may have messed it up. Your great grandmother's name may very well have been Marget, and not Margaret. Census takers took liberties in recording names, sometimes putting down what they believed the correct spelling was, and sometimes spelling the name exactly as the individual being interviewed would pronounce the name. Most folks being interviewed couldn't read or write, so how their name was spelled was of little consequence to them. My great-great grandfather, Daniel, settled in Yell County, Arkansas. I would be interested if you have done any investigating in that neck of the woods. The time period when my family was in Arkansas is still a black hole for me, and I figure it may take a trip to Arkansas before I can fill that empty space in. By the way, your Zebulon has an interesting military background. If you don't have any info in this area, I'll be happy to pass along what little I do have on Zebulon during the Civil War. Dan Bruce At 11:41 PM 4/2/99 -0700, nessman@home.com wrote: >Hey Dan, > >There seems to be a little conflict. You're saying that my >gggftr Zebulon Rainwater was born in GA in 1830 while most >evidence points to him having been born in Spartenburg, SC >in 1823. I am curious as to the source of your information? > >By the way, I see my ggmtr's name spelled on here as Margaret >Jane (Scarber) Rainwater, wife of James Samuel, son of Zebulon. >She appeared in two census, once as Marget and once as Margaret. >The family story is that her name was Marget, not Margaret and >that name, Marget, is what is on her head stone in Mt. Hope >Cemetery in Franklin County, AR. I'd be happy to provide a >.jpg of that for anyone who would care to see it. In fact, I >have, I think, .jpg's of all the Rainwater headstones in Mt. >Hope Cemetery along with pics of the Mt. Hope Church where the >Cemetery is located. I'd be happy to post those .jpgs here >so they could be downloaded if that would be desirable. There >are a lot of unmarked graves in Mt. Hope Cemetery and there is >not a reliable list of who is buried there. > >Franklin County was split in half during the Civil War and >the Mt. Hope Cemetery lies very near the north-south dividing >line and has become a sort of step-child. There were two county >seats established during the war, one in Ozark for the southern >part and in Charleston for the northern part. The Arkansas River >was the dividing line right in through there. The cemetery lies >fairly close to the line and neither county seat attempts to keep >a very accurate list. > >The county seat in Charleston should have the list but the most >recent list they have is dated in 1976 and it shows no Essmans >buried there in spite of the fact that the sign over the entrance >of the cemetery says it is the Essman-Rainwater Cemetery. My >ggftr James David Essman and his wife Rachel are there, as are >my gftr William Clarence Essman and his wife Sarah Alice Rain- >water, "Allie," as she was called, along with several other >Essmans. The "bad blood" is so deep still that the two county >seats do not talk with each other. They're still fighting >a cold war there. If it weren't so sad, it would be amusing. > >Zebulon, who was a Methodist minister, was pastor of the Mt. Hope >Church as was his grandson Zeb, Allie's brother, who married my >gftr's sister, Ethel Beatrice Essman. The younger Zeb was the >child of James Samuel and Marget Jane, as was my gmtr Allie. All >of the folks I mention here are buried in the Cemetery there at Mt. >Hope. > >Gene Essman > > >==== RAINWATER Mailing List ==== >This list is not for political discussions, seasonal greetings, jokes, >and personal causes. Please keep messages oriented toward genealogy. >Listowner can be reached at: schimmel@northlink.com > > Dan