At 08:51 PM 10/17/00 , Carol Whittington wrote: >Mary: > >Glad to have been of assistance. Family tradition can begin to make sense >once you can place a family in the context of where they lived and who they >associated with. > >On a slightly different note: > >Since you are the first descendent of Elisha and Lucinda that I have been in >contact with, I am curious if there has been any family lore passed down in >your line as to why Elisha and Melina split up. Melina left Louisiana and >went to Texas ca. 1831 and had two more children (born between 1832-1835) in >Liberty County. The father of these children--one of whom I am a direct >descendent of--is unknown although Melina gave them the Whittington surname >since she was not legally divorced from Elisha until 1836. There were >definitely children of Elisha and Melina's union as reflected in the 1830 >census record. These children were apparently raised by Elisha. > >The little that we know of Melina's life raises more questions than >answers. There were certainly no clues or knowledge passed down in my >Liberty County Whittingtons about the divorce which makes me think Elisha & >Melina's situation must have been rather scandalous for its time. .... or at least bitter ! >Carol Whittington Carol, et al .... I think I have names of several of Lucinda Futch's descendants if you're interested Some questions: 1 - wonder if my g-g-grandfather, John D. Whittington, was their first-born; 2 - wonder if the dates of some of the children -- or at least their mother -- is in error; and 3 - I've been told Elisha was an active member in the Bayou Chicot Baptist church, including being a deacon (though I've seen no proof of this information) .... wonder how he could have been involved in anything "scandalous" and still kept his status in this church? questions 2 & 3 are my musings about whether Elisha was the scoundrel some allege or if we just have our facts wrong ?? - Mabel Thompson, in her book, has a most brief reference to Elisha and Mary Milam having a son named John .... but no other information. .... My 2-g-grandfather, John D. Whittington is, according to a lawsuit, a descendant of Melina and was b. 1824/5 -- the same year Elisha & Melina married (they m. July 1824) and Harbert was b. 1825. If John was their first-born, 9 months pregnancy would have him b. ca March of 1825. Apparently we do not know either John or Harbert's actual b.date, so it's possible, IMO, that John was their first-born (perhaps premature or ??) and Harbert was conceived in short order after that. - The births of Jane and Ann, born before the divorce petition says Melina abandoned Elisha, are attributed to Mary Milam ... which seems to imply that Melina may have left Elisha because he was having an affair with Mary. But, what evidence do we have that they are Mary's children ? .... one might think, that if Elisha were a scoundrel, and Melina wasn't there to defend herself, that he would have alleged something different or additional against Melina to legitimize Jane and Ann ??? WRT the "mixed colored" .... remember that there is sufficient (at least to me) evidence that contradicts Elisha's statement that Susanna Cox was his mother. * In 1795, Grief sold 50 acres to John Hayes and no wife signed the deed with him, implying his wife (Susannah) was deceased. * Barbary Smith gave land to his daughter in 1803, citing her as the wife of Grief Whittington. * John was b. 1799, apparently son of Thruley * Elisha was born in 1804 .... Grief had probably been married to Thruley 6 years at that time ??? .... so, how could he have been the son of Susanna Cox ? .... sorry, just ramblings Tom Cloud <[email protected]>