Chasing Dead Ancestors

Mary Ellen Moss' (my great-grandmother's) bedroom furniture -- vanity with stool, chest of drawers and cedar chest -- was in a house fire in the 1920s at the family's home in Crews, Texas. The family was able to save the furniture before the house burned down, although the shellac finish on the furniture was damaged and “bubbled” from the heat.* The furniture was kept in the family throughout the years, with the pieces shuffled around to various family members in various combinations. When my husband and I bought our first home, we needed furniture so we were more then happy to accept my mother's gift of the chest of drawers and vanity. Truth be told, I'd always loved this furniture so I was thrilled to have it in my home. It wasn't in the greatest of shape due to wear and tear over the years (not to mention the fire damage), but we pressed it into service in the guest room and planned on refinishing it one day. But days turned into weeks, weeks into months,

Luck -- and DNA -- played a role in discovering the identity of one of my husband's great-grandfathers. Since we were married and I started learning about his family, I was surprised that he knew so little about his lineage. He knew a few of his grandparents, but beyond that information was sketchy or non-existent. As I spent more time with my in-laws asking questions, I was particularly taken with the fact that my father-in-law couldn't name his father's father. For years, I asked questions in every way possible in an attempt to elicit information that I thought might yield clues to this man's identity. For years, I was met with no information at all. My last conversation with my father-in-law about his grandfather finally elicited what I believe to be the only information he had. Paraphrasing: "My grandfather was NEVER discussed around me. I'm not sure my father ever knew his father. If he did, he never spoke about it and I never asked him." Now wh

When I think of a "strong woman," I think of all the women in my family who lived their lives without "all mod cons." [1] Florence Ellen Johnson (maternal grandmother; b. 1901, d. 1992) worked as a short order cook in small town cafes most of her life, and even ran a boarding house back in the 1930s. She became the sole income earner for the family after my grandfather was permanently disabled by the Spanish influenza he contracted during WWI. Amanda Biddy (center) and Gertrude Elizabeth Wallace (right) I've heard many stories about my paternal grandmother Gertrude Elizabeth Wallace (b. 1893, d. 1969) washing clothes in a kettle over a fire with lye soap she made herself. When her father died in 1911, she purchased a Singer sewing machine to sew for a living and provide for the family. (She was 17 and the oldest daughter.) Her mother, Amanda Biddy (paternal great-grandmother; b. 1862, d. 1941), was seven years old when her father was murdered in Ma

So again with this prompt, nothing immediately related to "Will" pops to mind. So how about a partial survey of my ancestors with "Will in their names? I was surprised to find so many people buried off in my family tree software who don't seem familiar at all... William Beard William Andrew Johnson William Biddy (my 3x great uncle) William Eugene Caruthers William Givans William Henry "Doc" Shockey Willard Hobson Jones, my great uncle Gen. William Lee Davidson* William McFee William Moss (I counted 23 men named "William Moss.") William Shehorn (my 3x great-grandfather) William Wallace (I wish!) William Wilson Willie May Brevard Willis Monroe Johnson (my 2x great-grandfather) *While not a direct descendant, Gen. William Lee Davidson married one of my Brevard aunts. He was an officer in the Continental Army, serving with Gen. George Washington, “Light Horse Harry” Lee and Daniel Morgan, among others. He was killed at the Battle of

I put this week's prompt off until the very last day, because I just couldn't think of anything to write about. (Every other week I've immediately had an idea or many ideas, but this week -- nada.) Then suddenly it was nine weeks later (!) and I still hadn't finished this prompt... Granny's wedding ring If they were diamonds, they were teeny tiny, but that didn't matter to me. I thought that ring was beautiful. My parents had promised that I could have the ring when I turned 18, but guess what? Our house was robbed when I was 16 and the ring was stolen along with some other valuables. All the other things that were stolen were replaceable, but that ring wasn't. I remember it looking something like this... That theft was almost 40 years ago, and it still makes me sad to think that some stranger is wearing Granny's wedding ring or, worse, that it was discarded because it wasn't beautiful to someone else.

My parents -- native Texans both -- were married in Oklahoma. Marietta, Oklahoma. Marietta, LOVE COUNTY, Oklahoma, to be exact. Love County? Seriously? When I saw the "Valentine" prompt for this week, I called my mom and asked her to tell me the story of how she and dad ended up being married in Love County, Oklahoma. Me: "Did you pick Marietta because it was in Love County?" Mom: "Oh, no, we had no idea. We didn't know it was in Love County until we received the marriage license back in the mail. And boy, were we ever in love!" Me: "So why did you decide to get married in Oklahoma in the first place?" Mom: "Well, I remember it was the end of plowing season and I was helping your dad plow some neighbors' fields to earn some extra money. I remember we plowed about 200 acres for $200, and we decided to take that money and go get married. "We had decided we didn't want a church wedding, and we'd already talk

I can't pick just one favorite name, so here are but a few I enjoy... Abednego Biddy As far as I know, Abednego Biddy is the first of my direct ancestors to settle in Texas. He came to Texas in 1826 and by December 1830 was living in Stephen F. Austin's Colony with his family. [1] He is listed on the muster roll of Capt. Hill's Company of Rangers [2] from July-October 1836. [3] And if you can't quite place his first name, think back to your Vacation Bible School days. Remember the Biblical story of the three boys cast into the fire by Nebuchadnezzar when they refuse to bow down to the king's golden image? Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. I've recently found a military service record for a "Mashack Biddy" who is possibly a brother to Abednego. If/when I find "Shadrach Biddy"...trifecta! Zebulon Brevard Another Biblical name, this Zebulon [4] is my Revolutionary War ancestor and DAR patriot. He was a member of the Mecklenburg Co., Nort