Thanks, Barbara. I was there last summer and didn't look at them - rats. Dottie Johnson was going to send this to me, but I'm sure she's swamped. I have found some of the Dogwood books in Los Angeles, I think. I'll look again. Brenda [email protected] ------------------------------

Pat, I'm in touch with Shannon Smyrl in Midland. She teaches math at the community college there. She researches the Priest family. A few of the Willsons married Priests. You're right, I don't have anything on the Joneses. I do have quite a bit on the Hammonds. Thanks for information on your family. I like to have records as complete as possible. Brenda [email protected] ------------------------------

My ancestor, Dr. Stephen P. Willson, ran a sanitorium at Sulphur Springs (north of Chester and Peachtree Village) in the 1850s. I understand that there was an article in the Woodville paper or in the Dogwood festival booklet about it. Does anyone know anything about it? Thanks. Brenda [email protected] [email protected] ------------------------------

Time has finally allowed me a moment to send in names I'm researching. Ihope someone will have information on these families. Dr. Stephen Pelham Willson and Mary (Polly) (Davis) Willson took their family to the area of Peachtree village between 1845 and 1950. Dr. Willson was from NY, married Polly in Lincoln co. GA in 1819, left there 1822-24, spent abt 9 years in LA and Ark., arrived in San Augustine abt 1834 (her widowed mother, Nancy, had arrived in 1831 with most of her grown and minor children). The Willsons moved with their 5 children: Hiram and wife Mary Amanda (Stow, sometimes Ewing), Lydia Almira and husband Daniel R. Smith, Emily Caroline and husband Henry West, Julia Ann and husband Grant Payne and youngest son Samuel Andrew Willson. The descendents of these children married into the BARNES, SEAMON, THOMAS, BATES, KIRBY, PRIEST, WALLACE, PLATT AND PETERS families, among others. Brenda Perkins Huntington Beach, CA [email protected] [email protected] ------------------------------

Brenda & all, I think most of what is or will be discussed on TXTYLER-L either is or will be of interest to all now or in the future. If it truly is personal in nature, then send it only to that person, but if it is general discussion of the families or events in Tyler Co. please let it come to the list. Sometimes we don't know what to ask or who to ask and general discussion usually leads to more questions and answers or sparks memories of some long ago conversation or forgotten incident and therefore leads to more discoveries. Barbara Yancey Dore (aka) [email protected] http://members.aol.com/RootsLady/index.htm Liststress for TXTYLER-L ---------- From: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, May 11, 1997 6:04 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Watts Family/Peters Cousins (I'm sure we all are!), I'm so sorry that I sent this to the list. I just hit reply and forgot what I was doing. Hopefully it wasn't a waste. Maybe someone else can connect.... Brenda ------------------------------

First of all I want to wish all our List Mothers a very HAPPY MOTHERS DAY. And List fathers, hang in there, your day is coming. Todays discussion thread is what this list is all about. Sharing little tidbits of information to help each other learn more about those that came before us and helped make us what and who we are today. Those were real people, with real hopes, dreams, memories, families, friends, enemies, neighbors, churches, schools and all that goes with peoples lives. They were more than census records, dates on tombstones or entries in someone's Bible. Our only hope is that in years to come someone, somewhere will find each of us worthy of mention. Thank all of you for taking the time out of your busy lives to share some little part of all the above with everyone else on the list. For those of you who haven't sent an introduction yet, it doesn't have to be fancy and it's OK if your just getting started in the wonderful pastime. We would all just like to know a little more about you and that makes it easier to help each other. As of 5:00pm Sunday May 11 we have 27 members of the TXTYLER-L list. If you know of anyone who has subscribed to this list and is not getting the messages please Email me. I have a couple of "bouncers" and I've added those to the TXTYLER-L page for this list. One more thing: Please include your Email address in the "text" section or in your signature and if you have a Homepage, please include that also. Until We Meet Again, Barbara Yancey Dore (aka) [email protected] http://members.aol.com/RootsLady/index.htm ------------------------------

Brenda, Thanks for filling me in on your Willson family. Isn't it funny how these families intertwine? I am still tracking Hammond & Pruitt families, both in Polk Co and in Butler Co, AL. Probably will find them with the Pickens and Caldwells in SC. Thanks for the offer of a gedcom but don't know if you would have anything on the Jones family in TX and LA that I don't have. Mother & Dad started seriously gathering information on Dad's family about 15 years ago & I got roped in almost 10 years ago. I have produced an outline for a book giving all the "hatching, matching & dispatching." The real help would be to tell me who James Allen Jones' grandparents were. I can identify his parents, James Jones & Lydia Wilson, but their parents are a mystery. Of course Dad always said that his ancestors burned down the courthouses as they were being run out of town. To add to your database: 3 Manton Pruitt Jones b: 7 Dec 1888 Polk Co TX d: 23 Jul1972 Lufkin TX married 1 Jun 1911 in Chester Lucy Clementine Watts b: 11 Jun 1887 near Chester d: 13 Aug 1962 Lufkin, Angelina Co 3 Manton Pruette Jones, Jr. b: 7 Apr 1916 Chester married 26 Ded 1945 in Lincoln NE Margaret Capron b: 25 May 1924 4 Patricia Ann Jones b: 2 Aug 1946 Lufkin TX married 27 Nov 1964 in Midland TX Ronald Edward Reece b: 30 Sep 1945 5 Catherine Louise Jones b: 12 Jun 1951 married 1st Jeff Lawless 1973 in Midland TX married 2nd David Hendrickx August 1996 in El Paso TX Enough on the Jones on the list. I will try to stick with Tyler Co folk now. Pat [email protected] ------------------------------

Cousins (I'm sure we all are!), I'm so sorry that I sent this to the list. I just hit reply and forgot what I was doing. Hopefully it wasn't a waste. Maybe someone else can connect.... Brenda ------------------------------

Pat, What wonderful information! My grandmother once commented that, as much time as she spent sitting on the porch with Olive Peters Willson, they never talked about her family or where they were from. I thought that some day I'd get around to checking into her. I knew that she was related to the Durdens but didn't know how. I visited Chester last summer, and a cousin told me that the Durdens were among the largest slave owners in the area and that there are many Black families there today named Darden (variation on Durden). Also, the story exists that there was some Indian blood in the family. Looking at pictures of Olive, I think it was in her family. Olive(1858-1943) married March 5, 1875 (don't laugh) Sir John Franklin Willson (1851-1932). They had 7 sons and 3 daughters. My grandfather, Reuben H., was about in the middle of the pack. He died abt 6 months after he and my grandmother married. Luckily for me, she was pregnant with my mother, Frances Kathryn Willson. Grandmother took his body home to Chester from San Antonio (she grew up in Cotulla, La Salle Co.) then came to CA. Her parents had moved here due to her father's poor health. Six years later (1922), she m. Reuben's brother, Sam. Sam died in CA in the '30s. My grandmother was a wonderful writer and always kept in touch with the Willson family. About this strange name - Sir John.......There is no known family story that explains it. He went by Frank. While watching Jeopardy last year, the answer to one of the questions was Sir John Franklin. I immediately checked the encyclopedia; he was a famous British explorer who was lost and found (dead) in the Artic while looking for the Northwest passage abt. 1850. Frank must have been named for him. Very strange..... About La Salle Co......in 1914, Uncle John (the oldest of Frank and Olive's children) and my grandfather were living there. John was a lawyer in the town of Cotulla; my grandfather was teaching school in the surrounding area while he studied for the bar. I suppose that it's possible that Isaac Peters died there, but Frank and Olive were still alive....maybe he just went to visit and died there. About Aunt Claude.....She m. Hiram Abiff Willson, another of the children of Frank and Olive....he was the baby. His brother Henry m. Ida Tennie Thomas. Aunt Tennie's father was Joseph Laffette Thomas who was the son of David Thomas and Patience Hammond. Patience was the sister of John Elmo Hammond (m Isabella Pickens) who was the father of Martha Ann Hammond, mother of Satira Bates, mother of Claudia Ninon Bates. This is what I have for Martha Ann and M. P. Jones: Descendants of James Allen Jones 1 James Allen Jones b: February 11, 1834 in Wayne Co., MS d: July 10, 1907 in Barnum, Texas +Martha Ann Hammond b: September 03, 1848 in Butler Co., Alabama d: March 24, 1940 in Lufkin, Texas Father: John Elmo Hammond mother: Isabella Pickens 2 Isabella Ibby Jane Jones b: May 26, 1881 in Piney Creek, Texas d: November 25, 1970 in San Antonio, Texas +Charles Winchester Fuller b: April 26, 1871 in Newton Co., Texas d: January 10, 1941 in Houston, Texas 2 Charles Lafayette Jones b: December 26, 1882 in Barnum, Texas d: 1961 in Lufkin, Texas +Clemie Tarver 2 child Jones 2 Manton P. Jones +Lucy C. Watts Father: Watts 3 Manton P. Jones, Jr. 4 Pat Jones Does this look right, so far? I have been in touch with a Hammond descendent, Ginger Buckaloo in Houston, from whom I have received all of my info on that family. If you're interested, I could send you a FTM file or GEDCOM. Thanks so much for replying!! I am so delighted to have more information and to make contact with someone researching this family. Brenda Perkins Huntington Beach, CA ------------------------------

Hi Everybody! I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post something here. I'm looking for information on ancestry of William Thomas HOLLAND. Got plenty from his arrival and marriage on down the descendants path, but not ancestry. Since he and Thomas Cannon were so close (possibly related-or from the same area) I've included the whole story about them here. I would appreciate any additional. information on TOM/THOMAS CANNON or WILLIAM THOMAS HOLLAND (1809-1893) From various sources (census data, successions, land records, etc): William Thomas HOLLAND (b. circa 1809 (TN); s/o ___(TN) and _____ (SC) d. 1893 (Calcasieu) LA, m. circa 1840 (before birth of first child in 1844) to Zilia Ann FORMAN (b. 1825 (St Landry) LA, d/o James FORMAN and Susan COLE) d. circa 1865-1880). Their home was in Calcasieu Parish, LA (1850 census/land records). Here's the CANNON/HOLLAND connection: Oral history: William left Tennesee for Texas (about the time David Crockett was recruiting) and met his friend, Tom CANNON. Sometime after the war ended (1836), they traveled from Texas to the area of Calcasieu Parish Louisiana that would later be known as Hayes. HOLLAND married and after he and Zilia had a few growing children, he arranged for his friend THOMAS/TOM CANNON to teach his children and others in the locality in a small cabin. After teaching for several years, CANNON married Melissa Ann FORMAN, Zilia Ann's youngest sister. CANNON LEFT THE AREA TO GO TO HIS FORMER HOME IN TEXAS. Peace to you from La Pointe de Repos! <IXOYE>< Claire English [email protected] http://www.datasync.com/~english4 ------------------------------

Brenda, My grandmother, Lucy C Watts' mother was Nancy E Richardson Watts, 7th child of Amos Richardson (1815 LA - 1896 TX) and Anna Peters (1817 SC - 1898 TX). Anna's parents were Joseph Peters (b about 1795 SC) and Olive Rentz (b about 1799 SC). They had children: James, Anna, Mary, Charles, Jonathan, and Isaac W. Isaac married Lucinda Durden 9 Jun 1851 in Tyler Co. They were married by Jonathan Peters, Justice of the Peace. The TX Death Index lists Isaac W Peters died 30 Dec 1914 in LaSalle Co. I do not know if this is the same Isaac or not. I have not followed up on this branch of the family after finding them in the 1870 Tyler Co census. I show children: G.L., John H, Olive, James B, Sarah, and Edith. I show Olive married J.J.F. Wilson 5 mar 1875 in Tyler Co. Olive Rentz parents were Simon & Mary Rentz. Simon's parents were John George and Catherine Rentz. This info on the Rentz was given to me, not my original research so I am not sure how accurate is is. Another coincidence: Claudia Bates' mother was Satira Cornelia Ivy. Tyra's parents were Martha Ann Hammond and Elijah Ivy. Martha Ann married 2nd James Allen Jones of Barnum area. Their 4th child was Manton P Jones, my grandfather! Manton was working on the pipeline gang at Chester pumpstation when he met a beautiful schoolteacher, Lucy Watts. They were married in Jun 1911. My father, Manton Jr. was the only child. Pat ------------------------------

Pat, What do you have on the PETERs family? My ggrandmother was Olive Peters. My Uncle Hiram Willson (son of Olive and Frank) and wife Claude (Claudia Bates) owned the old Barnum store. Uncle Hiram was raised just north of it in that settled area off of the main road. I have a photo of a large photograph of Isaac Peters (?). The original is owned by Willsons in Chester. Brenda ------------------------------

Thanks for the suggestions, Helen. I have a copy direct from the State Archives of Hiram Watts' pension claim for service in the Texas Army of the Republic. There is no list of final payment or giving his death date. Carroll Watts' Pension Application for service in the Civil War doesn't give his death date either. When I get time during the work week I will go to the Archives to check the copy of Nancy Watts' Widow's Pension App for confirmation of death date for Carroll and possibly for her. The Death Index books at the TX State Library do not show either Carroll or Nancy's names. Since they died in a rural area not necessarialy under a doctor's care there probably were no death certificates issued. I have not found a will listing in Tyler Co for Hiram, Carroll or Nancy. Perhaps I missed it last Nov. when I made a 2 day stop in Chester/Woodville. Photos of the headstones may have to do but i sure would like to have further documentation if possible. A church record would be nice. Please keep the suggestions comming in. I have quite a lot of info on Watts, some on Amos Richardson family and a little on the Peters families. My Jones family was from Polk Co, Barnum to Corrigan area, so I have a lot on Jones' and related families near Tyler Co, too. Pat ------------------------------

P. S. there should be death cert. for the 1912 and 1920. Do you have access to the death index film? That should tell you if there is one. Helen ------------------------------

Are there wills for either of them? did they receive a pension? Is so that usually tells when they stop paying the pension because of death. Any Bible record with their deaths recorded? Surely they know there will be no death certificates for that time. Looks like a picture of the head stone would be as accurate as anything. Let us hear how you come out. Helen ------------------------------

I have just received a Texas First Families Certificate for Thomas Watts from the Texas State Genealogical Society. Thomas Watts was in Jasper Co. but I am descended from him through Hiram Watts of Tyler Co and Carroll Watts of Tyler Co. The Society is asking for further documentation (like a death certificate, ha ha) for the deaths of Hiram, Carroll and Nancy Watts. The best documentation I have are copies of pension applications and cemetery headstones. Hiram is buried in Hickory Grove and Carroll & Nancy in Seamans. The Barker Center here in Austin does not have copies of any newspapers of the times for obits. Are there any available in Woodville? Hiram W Watts born 22 Sep 1817 died Chester area, Tyler Co 8 May 1898 Carroll Watts born 19 Jul 1844 Jasper Co died Chester, Tyler Co 9 Sep 1912 Nancy E Richardson Watts born 18 Aug 1850 Catahoula Par died Tyler Co 25 Mar 1920 I would appreciate it if anyone can help with documentation on these deaths. Even an old family Bible listing copy would help. Patricia Jones Reece 512-837-7309 [email protected] 901 Silbury Dr Austin TX 78758-3934 ------------------------------

Hello; Just thought I'd drop a line and see if everone was still out there. I haven't recvd a single posting since Saturday! Keep'em coming! KC ------------------------------

If you like mystery stories, you might enjoy Sharyn McCrumb's story based on the ladies. I think it is McPhearson's Lament -- but I'd have to go check to be sure. And I think my older daughter has the books at the moment. Sharyn lives in Virginia and bases her novels on real -- but unusual -- stories. This one is a part of the Elizabeth McPhearson series which tends to be very funny. She also writes the Ballad series which is based on the old folk songs -- Pretty Peggy O, Hangman's Beautiful Daughter, Long Black Veil, etc. -- darker but more inclined to make the best seller list. Barbara K C Hale wrote: > > I thought this might be of interest to those researching the Civil War > period. > > KC > > --------------------------------------------------------------- > > Subject: Last Confederate Home Resident Dies > Date: Sat, 3 May 1997 23:01:01 -0400 (EDT) > From: [email protected] > Reply-To: [email protected] > To: "CIVIL-WAR genealogy list" <[email protected]> > > I think that you all will find this interesting. It was published in the May > 3, 1997, Washington Times, page A11, and is quoted in its entirety: > > **** > "Richmond VA > LAST CONFEDERATE HOME RESIDENT DIES. > > "Osa Lee Yates, the last survivor of the former Confederate Home for Ladies, > died Wednesday at age 98. > > "Miss Yates, the daughter of Pvt. Benjamin Ezekiel Brandom Yates, 4th > Virginia Calvary, was one of seven residents who were moved out of the home > in 1989 when it closed. > > "Miss Yates was born June 3, 1898 - the birthday of Confederate President > Jefferson Davis. She entered the home in 1963 after working for nearly 30 > years caring for others in nursing homes. > > "At one time nearly 100 women lived at the residence, which Virginia > established in 1898 for aging widows, sistes and daughters of Confederate > veterans. > > "In 1989, the home's board of managers arranged to move the last residents to > a private facility because of the high cost of maintaining the home for so > few residents." > > *** > Mike Mead, Vienna VA ------------------------------

Wish someone could get me the name of the group and a address that I might contact them for announcements of such events. Barbara Yancey Dore (aka) RootsLady.msn.com ---------- From: K C Hale Sent: Saturday, May 03, 1997 7:17 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Civil War Re-Inactment Hey Tyler County Rooter! Did anyone happen to catch the Re-Inactment of the battle of Shiloh over in Kountz today? I was in a mojor hurray and saw them as I passed. Looked like fun. If anybody saw please let us know about it! KC ------------------------------

I thought this might be of interest to those researching the Civil War period. KC