Hi, Frank, we have Fullers now in Hewitt- they came from Kansas 20 years ago and ran Truch Stop cafes in Ross and Hewitt on I-35and on Hwy 6. One son was a decorated Marine and, whileunemployed and under insured, his pickup fell on him. He is in a wheelchair now and runs a computer store in his Houston home. He was baptized in his wheelchair and his wife and son were present . Were your Shannons of the Fort Worth Shannon Funeral Home and Insurance families. Two brothers ran the businesses, One, Marvin was blind and married Dad's first Cousin. Her Moxley & Fleming families were from Missouri before Erath County and the Indian Creek Cemetery, Stephenville, has many Missouri born in it. Concerning Free State of Vanzandt (Vanzandt County, Canton, Ben Wheeler, Van and others) There is a Deacon in our church, now in a Rest home who said his Grandad was a Doctor in The Van Zandt Free State- or his great Grand possibly. He said that his "grandad" was a Doctor in Ben Wheeler, Van Zandt County, . As a young man the older man- possibly a great grandfather, would go to the Tyler, Texas slave market and look for a family for sale. He would buy them and take them away from the crowd and tell them they were free to go and he would sign their freedom papers AFTER he talked to them . He said he had a Farm in Ben Wheeler with 2 or 3 old houses on it. Their freedom cost him money, and if they lived there one year qand made a good return on the crop, he would help educate them some and the profit would buy someone Else's freedom. All stayed one year, one 2 or 3 years, . Must be material there somewhere for our freedom in our Religion- It was bought and paid for- do we pass it on out of gratitude in some way? Take care, Charles A. Wyly On Wed, 13 Jun 2001 05:24:38 +0400 Frank Fuller <frank_fuller@sunshine.net> writes: > Hi I would like to get in on the discussion. My grandparents lived > thru the > Civil war and Reconstruction, Grandfather Fuller was 18 in 1863 and > lived > in Claiborne county ,Louisiana on his fathers plantation, They were > well off > and had four slaves. Grandfather James Fuller joined the > Confederate > Army. In 1865 he came home but life was different. Lincoln's > Emancipation Proclamation and the Union's Army had made things > different. > The majority of people in Claiborne now were free blacks.The county > was rife > with KKK murdering blacks, carpetbaggers avd scalawags. My > grandfather > married and had four children.His father had moved to Arkansas where > he had > a church. Grandpa decided to move to Van Zandt County, Texas. > However in > 1868 when he arrived Texas was close to anarchy. Armed bands roam > the > country murdering freed blacks and white teachers same as in > Claibrne > County. My grandmother, Mary McClellan, ,lived during the civil war > in > Tuscloosa, Alabama. The Union Calvary caught her older brother who > was a > guerrala lined him up against the wall and shot him, Then they > burned the > farm house down. She was 11 yearsat the time. Henr y McClellan, her > father,moved the family to Van Zandt County Texas,When my > grandfather first > wife died he and my grandmother were married in 1883. My mothers > family, > the Shannons came to Texas in the 1820's and were in the Austin > colony. > They voted for succesion and my great grandfather William Shannon > served in > the Montgomery County militia during the Civil War, Those > southerner who > gave sympathies to the Union were courageous.Those German Texans who > tried > to flee Texas and go thru Mexico to Join the Union Army and were > ambushed > and killed by those wanted the war. They were killed for the Union, > Those > southerners who today want to still wave the Confederate flag are > wrong in > my opinion. The civil war has been over a long time. Frank > > > ` > > > > ============================== > Ancestry.com Genealogical Databases > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist2.asp > Search over 2500 databases with one easy query! >