In my search for the family of my 2g grandparents, James and Elizabeth SNOW of Upshur Co, TX, I gathered the following information regarding James' older brother Samuel SNOW and his family. I know that Samuel migrated from Meigs Co, TN to Upshur Co, TX in 1849, after the 1845 death of his father, John SNOW. I have a newspaper clipping that says James was, like his brother Samuel, was an early settler of Shady Grove, Upshur Co, TX, although I don't know if James arrived as early as Samuel did. The same article states that Sam arrived in 1849. I am looking for James SNOW in census records for 1850. He would have been 12 years old. I recorded the 1850 Upshur Co, TX Census records from both an index and the microfilm while I was at Clayton Library for Gen Research in Houston last week: Index for 1805 Upshur Co, TX: #313 Farmer S. SNOW 31 m Tenn [This fits with Samuel's b'date of Feb 1819.] E. = 50 f NC [Samuel's wife Elizabeth Maberry was born in Oct 1816. She would be 27 at the time of this census. However, Samuel's mother may have been 50.] J.H. 4 m Tenn [John Hague SNOW, b. 20 Dec 1845] W.M. 2 m Tenn [William M. SNOW, b. 8 Oct 1847] J. 6/12 m Tex [Who is this J? Samuel's next child was Larkin Bethel SNOW, b. 23 Dec 1849, according to other SNOW searchers.] Microfiche of 1850 Upshur Co, TX Census: Dwelling # 313 Family # 313 S. Snow 31 M Farmer Tenn. E. Snow 50 F N.C. J. H. Snow 4 M Tenn. W. M. 2 M Tex. J. 6/12 M Tex. I wonder if this E. Snow might be Samuel's widowed mother (wife of John SNOW of Meigs Co, TN)? The 1840 Census for Meigs Co, TN indicated John SNOW's wife (mother of Samuel) was 40-50 years old. If this E. SNOW is Samuel's mother, why isn't Sam's wife Elizabeth Maberry SNOW (age 27) listed in his Upshur Co household? Where are the 3 children of John and Elizabeth SNOW who, in the 1840 census were under 5 years of age (including my James, who would be 12 in 1850) and would be under 15 in 1850? Why aren't these 2 girls and 1 boy with their mother Elizabeth and older brother Samuel? Was Samuel's mother just visiting? (She died in 1866 in Meigs Co, TN.) Did the census taker get mixed up with all the Elizabeths? Did he mistakenly record a J for the third child instead of an L for Larkin (but Larkin wouldn't have been more than 1 month old at that time)? Could Elizabeth (wife of Samuel) have gone elsewhere to have Larkin in Dec. 1849 and not yet returned when the census was taken? Was Grandmother Elizabeth (John's widow) helping out with Samuel's little ones in Upshur Co, TX until Mama Elizabeth (Sam's wife) returned with the new baby Larkin? And who was little J., aged 6/12 of a year? The ties between the SNOW and MABERRY families appear strong, both in TN and in TX. We know, of course, that Samuel SNOW married Elizabeth MABERRY in 1843 in Meigs Co, TN before they migrated to Upshur Co, TX in 1849. Did Samuel's Elizabeth come from the William MABERRYs, who were "next-farm neighbors" of the SNOWs in Meigs Co, TN in 1840? The William MABERRYs had 3 females aged 20-30 in their family. Elizabeth (future wife of Samuel) would have been 23 years old at that time, so her age and sex fits this family. The William MABERRYs had 1 male aged 15-20 and 1 male aged 20-30 in addition to William, head of household, who was 70-80 years old. Mrs. MABERRY was 60-70. The 1840 census microfiche for Meigs Co (p. 245) lists a family total of 7, 4 of who were working in agriculture. Would they have counted women working in agriculture at that time? The census taker only lists 3 men in the household. Hmmmmm. Interestingly enough, in 1850 there were some MABERRYs living in Upshur Co TX's neighboring county of Van Zandt. According to 1850 census records, Joel MABERY [different spelling, but living right "next door"] (farmer, age 35, husband of Emeline) and Daniel MABERRY (farmer, age 33, husband of Emly) were born in AL. My ancestor James'(brother of Samuel SNOW) wife Elizabeth is said to have been born in Alabama. In addition, James and his wife Elizabeth are said to have been married in Van Zandt Co, TX (though I haven't yet found a record of it). I wonder about a connection between Elizabeth (wife of James SNOW) and the Alabama-born MABERRYs living in Van Zandt Co. (My James SNOW was born in late 1837, and his wife Elizabeth was born 16 Feb 1844.) I don't have Elizabeth's maiden name or a marriage record, so I am continually theorizing. (Another possibility for her parents is the SANSON family who came from AL, because some of them are buried with James and Elizabeth in Shady Grove Cemetery.) I apologize for the wordiness around every mention of Elizabeth, but it seems that every SNOW ancestor married a girl named Elizabeth! Samuel's wife (Elizabeth MABERRY) is the only one for whom we know a maiden name. It does get confusing. I'll post more of my Clayton Library research notes on this branch of the SNOW family in the next few days. Please let me know if you can shed light on the James SNOW, Samuel SNOW or John SNOW family groups, as well as with the MABERRYs. I don't have the experience with them that so many of you do! Best regards, Sue James Lloyd The Woodlands, TX