This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: james_norred Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.texas.counties.burnet/2786.1.1.1.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Well this is a real interesting conundrum for sure Highwater, but I have made a little progress and perhaps a lead or two in the mean time. I will send you an email later for the deed link and see if it has any clues that catch my eyes. I try to keep all information I can in these message board threads as that puts more information out in the matrix which leads a greater possibility that others searching the same surname will find this thread. I find the message boards a very fruitful research tool and if I tend to be verbose you now know why ;-). Your posting this very query has led to some answers I have been looking for for some time now. First off I have not totally ruled out the Margaret Ann Newton I mentioned before who was a daughter of Samuel Martin Newton. Though on the surface one would say yea it's close but this and that doesn't match so lets move on, but when you look between the lines so to speak something else is trying to emerge. The thing that bothers me most is the lack of information my aunt Lena had on Margaret and that bothers me because Lena knew everything about everybody. I knew my aunt for years and this was her only passion. My father, James Clifford, after he got out of the Army Air Force in 1945 attended UT in Austin,Texas and while there lived with his aunt Lena and grandmother Nellie Mae. He would recount at family gatherings how he would be coming in late from a date or up late studying and Lena was always there at her messy desk banging away on that old Underwood. She wrote countless letters and the highlight of her day was when the postman arrived. Lena was born on the Norred farm in the old Hairston Creek community about 5 miles East by Southeast as the crow fly's of what's now Burnet, Texas in 1892. She knew these people and I used to love to set for hours and listen to her talk about it. I was born in 1953 and was almost 5 when Nellie Mae died and I remember this in a foggy way, i! f you know what I mean. Anyhow Lena was my favorite aunt and I spent a good deal of time with her until her death in 1969. I only mention all of this to qualify the accuracy of my records and hers. As mentioned a lot of my knowledge is based on oral family history, but I have several first cousins still living as well as my brother who remember the same things. Anyhow as I was saying it's the line in her records "... we don't know much about her early life and education, but after her fathers death ..." that makes the hair on the back of my neck tingle as in away it tends to line up with your information, give or take a year hear and there. Her father died in 1880 and you mention Thomas dieing in 1874 and do not know what happened to Margaret after that. I do have a 1870 census record showing her living with her father and mother at age 38. You have your 1870 census record showing her with Thomas at 46. Even with a \- 4 year spread I give to the accuracy of census records that is a 8 year difference. One could say someone else in the household could have provided her information which is often the case but a long shot. People often put to much stock in the accuracy of census records but in reality they can often be very inaccurate. A example would be my great grand uncle "William Wilson Norred" who I have on the 1900 census twice. Once in Billings county, North Dakota and a month lather in Custer, Montana. Wilson was a cowboy and both ranchers he was shown as a resident were business associates of his uncle Albert Arnett for whom he was working. He was driving cattle from ranches in Montana to ranches in North Dakota so you can see how this could happen. In both cases it is evident that someone else in the household filled ! in his information. As to being from Arkansas Samuel and family went from Mississippi first to Arkansas after 1850 and before 1855 when they first show up in Burnet county. In 1856 my gg grandfather, Rev. John Calvin Newton bought the original land North of Bertram. The is also James Donald I mentioned previously who was Johns brother but not a minister. Now lets go to Samuel's father, Rev. Thomas Newton and you have two maybe three of his issues migrating to Arkansas. I know for sure Ebenezer and William H. M. Newton both did. If we go back to Ebenezer Newton, Thomas's father there were 6 issues, Benjamin, William, John, Martha, Ebenezer Jr, and of course my linage, Thomas. As you know I know my linage well and I do know the linage of Capt. Benjamin as to another family researcher who is of his line. He did the DNA test and our Newton's go back to Sir Issac Newton. Ebenezer would be his 3rd cousin. Now Ebenezer's wife, Elizabeth Buchanan is linage of president Buchanan so it has been an interesting journey. Like I said my aunt had our line back to Ebenezer and always told us we were "possibly related" to Sir Issac and now I know. The Buchanan thing was out of left field. Just for kicks and giggles the data on my 1870 census is 17 August and the census take is W. W. Brooks. Samuel is listed as 78 and he was known to be ill for years prior to his death. She could have been staying with her parents and taking care of her father at the time and still married to Thomas. The only kicker is Lena would have known about that, but didn't mention the 1870 census either. I am not trying to make my Margaret fit in but I guess more so eliminate her. I feel strongly now your Margaret as well as the J. W. & Mattie Newton came from the same linage but the branches that migrated to Arkansas. So in closing this long narrative I hope there is a clue or two to be gleaned, at any rate like my aunt I love to tell a good story. Yes I am stumped at the moment but I think I explained my reasons for being so. I would find it really unusual that your Margaret Ann would not be of my linage either by marriage or birth simply from the shear density of my Newtons in the area at the time. I will keep looking and if you run across anything no matter how minor pass it to me and it might ring a bell. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.