Digging Up Your Family

Records from the DAR

A few weeks ago I had ordered some records from the library of the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) about the McQueen family. These are those records (dun dun…for the Law & Order fans).

The first record is part of one I had already ordered and posted, but it didn’t have all of the information I had hoped to receive. This one does! The record gives me a birthday for Peter McQueen. Part of this records was already posted HERE, I will post it again:

Georgia DAR GRC report; s1 v473: Troup County records/compiled by Ethel Dallas Hill

TROUP COUNTY, GEORGIA

BIBLE RECORDS

MARRIAGE RECORDS

CEMETERY RECORDS

Compiled by Mrs. Ethel Dallas Hill, Lagrange, Georgia

Mrs Young Harris Yarbrough, State Regent

Mrs Eliot T Nottingham, State Chairman

GENEALOGICAL RECORDS COMMITTEE

GEORGIA SOCIETY

DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

1949-1950

RECORDS FROM THE WOOD-MULLINS BIBLE

Marriages

Stephen Wood and Ann McQueen were married on Thursday the 2nd of March 1826

Virginia Wood and David Hill Mullins married June 7, 1853

John McQueen Mullins and Mary Griffith married January 3, 1911

Births

Stephen Wood was born 7th day of January 1792 in Lunenburg County, Virginia

Ann Wood was born September 22nd 1793

William Henry Wood born December 27, 1826 in Meriwether Co, Ga (note: Troup County, as Meriwether did not become a county until December 14, 1827)

Geo Washington Wood born April 11th, 1826 in Meriwether Co, Ga (note: Troup County, as Meriwether did not become a county until December 14, 1827)

James M Wood born January 14, 1830 in Meriwether Co, Ga

Mary Ann Wood born April 25th, 1832 in Meriwether Co, Ga

Virginia Wood was born July 31, 1833 in Meriwether Co, Ga

Deaths

James McQueen died December 7th, 1808 in Edgefield District, SC

Mary Ann McQueen, wife of James McQueen died on Friday, January 13th, 1804 in East Fla. In the Island of Fort Georgia.

Ann Wood died November 10th, 1834 in Meriwether County

Anna M Hardy, February 4, 1904

David Hill Mullins died January 29, 1919

Virginia Wood Mullins, September 11, 1938

RECORDS FROM THE WOOD-MULLINS BIBLE

Marriages

Mary Ann Wood and Patrick Henry Mullins married April 1853

Anna Mullins to ZT Hardy October 19, 1873

Henry Hill Mullins to Antoinette B Sledge, November 1880 and Lula Edmondson June 7, 1887

Births

Stephen W Mullins was born January 13th 1854

Anna Mullins was born June 28, 1854 in Meriwether County, Ga

Henry Hill Mullins May 5, 1859

Jas. M Mullins February 21, 1861

William Mullins June 13, 1865

Daniel Winston Mullins October 13, 1867 (note: all records have his name as David Winston Mullins, including his headstone)

John McQueen Mullins June 25, 1870

Peter McQueen was born September 14, 1795

Ann McQueen Wood September 22, 1793

Deaths

William H Wood, April 1868 in Greenville, Ala

George Washington Wood was mortally wounded at Battle of Gettysburg

Jas Wood died in Byhalia, Miss

Jas M Mullins September 20, 1862

William Mullins February 11, 1904

So now I have Peter’s birthdate. I just need his death date and where he was buried.

And while we are on the subject of Peter, there is a record of him (one record, but on two pages) from Arkansas. This record places him as living in Marion County, Mississippi at the end of 1827:

Arkansas DAR GRC report; s1 v146: Arkansas genealogical records

DEED RECORDS

LAFAYETTE COUNTY

ARKANSAS

PRESENTED BY:

PRUDENCE HALL CHAPTER, 6=030=AR

ARKANSAS STATE SOCIETY

MRS JOHN H HARP, STATE REGENT

MRS HAPTON PUGH, STATE CHAIRMAN

GENEALOGICAL RECORDS COMMITTEE

PAGE NUMBER: 8

GRANTOR: Peter McQueen of Marion Co, Miss

GRANTEE: Morgan Cryer

ITEM TRANSFERRED: Negro boy, Jef

CONSIDERATION: $500

DATE OF DEED: December 31, 1827

PAGE NUMBER: 17

GRANTOR: Peter McQueen of Marion Co, Miss

GRANTEE: Morgan Cryer

ITEM TRANSFERRED: Negro boy, Jef

CONSIDERATION: $500

DATE OF DEED: December 31, 1827

“ITEM”. It makes me cringe to think about a person as an “item”.

Wood-McQueen Family Bible

I am not sure how I missed the post initially, but back in June my distant Craft cousin Valerie posted on here blog (Begin with Craft) about the DAR Bible Records index that was recently published.  When I saw it just a few weeks ago I started randomly searching surnames, not really expecting to find much of anything.  Boy, was I surprised!  I have been able to bust down a couple of brick walls!

From Troup County, Georgia: Bible records, marriage records, cemetery records (1950) by Hill, Ethel Dallas:

I got a marriage date-

Stephen Wood and Ann McQueen were married on Thursday the 2nd of March 1826

I still don’t know where they married, but I at least have a date now.  I think once I have a location, it may help narrow down where Ann and her brother Peter were raised.  And that is important, because they weren’t raised by their parents.

I know this because I also got their parent information-

James McQueen died December 7th, 1808 in Edgefield District, SC

Mary Ann McQueen, wife of James McQueen died on Friday, January 13th, 1804 in East Fla. In the Island of Fort Georgia.

After a quick call to Florida, I confirmed that it should have been Fort George, where Don Juan McQueen lived.  Now to figure out how on earth they were, or if they were, related.  I found several records related to James McQueen in Edgefield District, around 1794 and again in court records around the time of his death.  Because I was wondering if and how James was related to Don Juan McQueen, I started hunting for siblings. 

Don Juan McQueen was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1751 to John McQueen, Esq. and Ann Dalton.  Further searching led to the Register of St. Philip's parish Charles Town, South Carolina, 1720-1758 which listed the following McQueen information:

Ann McQueen was born December 21, 1749 to John and Ann McQueen. Baptized August 15, 1750.

Sons of John McQueen, Esq. and Ann McQueen _James McQueen on September 22, 1753; Alexander McQueen on January 19, 1755; and George McQueen on May 22, 1758.  Baptism dates unknown.

From Register of St. Philip's Parish, Charlestown or Charleston, 1754-1810 I found this McQueen information:

William McQueen was born on April 11, 1760 to John and [blank] McQueen.

Mrs. McQueen’s child was buried on September 13, 1760.

John McQueen’s son was buried on August 24, 1762.

John McQueen was buried on November 12, 1762.

Robert McQueen and Eleanor Crawley were married on March 18, 1789.

In John McQueen Esq.’s will, the following children are mentioned:

Daughter Ann

Three sons John, Alexander, and George.

So it does appear that the above mentioned James and William are deceased (provided that the children did belong to them, and weren’t just left out of the will for spite, for whatever reason).

In The People of East Florida During the Revolutionary War-War of 1812 is the following McQueen information:

MCQUEEN, HARRY OR HENRY, IUCFSLG

MCQUEEN, DON JUAN, MARIA; DON JUAN MCQUEEN; Same surname LSCRW 1; Heirs of IUCFSLG & IUCFSLG; of S. Car. abt. 40 1791, s. of John and Anna Dalton St. Aug. Baps.

MCQUEEN, MALCOLM, Pvt. N. Car. Regmt 1783 LSCRW 1

There is also a mention of an Alexander McQueen under the heading Nov. 1776. Gov. Tonyn of E. Fla. sent to Lord Germain a copy of address from the Georgia Loyalist thanking him for assistance in removing their property. The signers listed below are NOT included in the main index.

SO, while I finally got Ann’s marriage date, and the names of Ann’s and Peter’s parents, I just created more brick walls.  Such as, where did Ann and Stephen marry? Who raised Ann and Peter after their parents died (Ann was about 11 years when the mother died and about 15 years when the father died; Peter was about 9 years when the mother died and about 13 years when the father died)? Did they have any other siblings?  What was Mary Ann’s maiden name (the mother)?  When and where did James and Mary Ann marry?  Who are their parents?

Guess I’d better keep searching!

A Birthplace for McQueen

Today I was hunting and pecking, just check to see if I could find any further information about Peter McQueen or his sister Ann…and I did!  I found a birth location for Ann, which is a possible birth location for Peter!

Titled Department of Archives and History, Georgia’s Official Register, 1929, Compiled by Ruth Blair (State Historian and Director), page 109:

JOHN McQUEEN MULLINS, Durand.  Farmer.  Born June 25, 1870 in O’Neal’s Mill, Troup Co., Ga.  Son of David Hill Mullins (born Aug. 1, 1820 in Martinsville, Henry Co., Va.; resident of O’Neal’s Mill, Troup Co., Ga.; farmer and tobacco manufacturer; died Feb. 4, 1880) and Virginia (Wood) Mullins (born July 31, 1833 in Meriwether Co., Ga.; died Jan. 27, 1919).  Grandson of Henry Mullins (born in Henry Co., Ca.) and Matilda (Hill) Mullins (born in Henry Co., Va.), and of Stephen Wood (born in Lunenburg Co., Va.) and Anne (McQueen) Wood (born in Edgefield Dist., S.C.).  Educated in local school.  Married Jan. 31, 1911 Mary Griffin, daughter of Reuben Leitner Griffin (Mch. 4, 1847-Apr. 12, 1920) and Georgia Holmes Griffin (Mch 1, 1850 June 13, 1924).  Children: Virginia Wood (born Nov. 12, 1913), Jack McQueen (born Sep. 5, 1917), Mary Ellen (born Aug. 4, 1922).  Methodist.  Democrat.  Delegate, State Democratic Conventions, 1906, 1920; member, House of Rep., Meriwether Co., 1898-99, 1927.

Edgefield District, South Carolina!  Now, I don’t know Peter’s exact birth date, but I do know he was born approximately 1795.  And since he, too, said he was born in South Carolina my guess is that he also was born in Edgefield District.  So, I went and looked up the 1790 census for Edgefield.  It’s a name transcribed as “Jams McQueen” (James, I assume) on both Ancestry and Family Search.  However, someone submitted different information on the Ancestry transcription claiming it to say “Saml”.  You decide:

 

Anyway, I will now need to find all probate records in the surrounding counties to see if I can find any further information.  Since those counties were formed from Edgefield later on in the 19th century, I may be able to find records in those counties if the particular areas transferred.

The only other new information I have found on Peter was a postal advertisement in the Louisiana Herald (Alexandria, Louisiana) on January 21, 1820 notifying people that their mail would continued to be held at the post office for at least three months.  So, this puts Peter:

April 30, 1818 - in New Orleans, Louisiana purchasing a slave named Daniel

January 1820 – apparently living in or around Alexandria, Louisiana

November 27, 1820 – in Feliciana Parish, Louisiana for his marriage to Elizabeth Freeland

However, he still doesn’t appear on any census record whatsoever until 1840 in Marshall County, Mississippi.  Odd.

What’s Going On

In the past month or so I have had a lot going on, and I hope that it will start to calm down after the holidays.  I took 2 months off from school because a) I needed a short break, and b) so I would have time for research.  And research I have been doing, though I have been jumping back and forth between trees.  Anyway, what I have been up to:

1)  I had a mishap a couple of months ago with photographs to post at The Georgia Anna Project.  My son got his hands on some photographs and mixed them up.  So I will need to go back through and separate them all out (currently some of the Pennsylvania photos are mixed in with the Vermont photos, but luckily I remember which group most go in).  Last month I did post new photographs that I purchased from a little shop down the road here and at least one of them is from Brooklyn, New York.  The name of that gentleman is Edward Shields.  Go check it out!

2.  I got started on a new genealogy blog, Beyond the Indian Rolls, dedicated specifically to American Indian heritage and genealogy.  This is a special project that came up due to my Granddaddy’s friend William Hendrix Yernipcut.  I have started researching his family and I have to say it is really interesting!  The information takes a while to compile, but I am really excited about it.

3.  When I get frustrated with my own family tree I find that it is nice to have a different family to work on.  SO, I currently have several trees I started for a few friends.  Some of the surnames include:

- Gorman, Carroll, Morton, Flynn

- Kelly (includes adoption)

- Moreno, Martinez, Escalante

- Rucker, Harris, Windom, Walden, Stonestreet, Head, Cole

- Strange, Henderson, Orr, Bailey

- Nichols, Powell, Salmon, Rickman, Armes, Sullivant

4.  In addition, I am still working on my tree and still trying to solve some mysteries:

- The exact date of death for John Spencer DeMumbrie.  If you remember, I decided that he died sometime between May 1, 1875 and September 4, 1876 (that post is here).  I am still looking to narrow it down!

- Who did Peter McQueen kill?  I had found a newspaper article that listed the murdered man’s last name (that post here) and I set out to figure out who it could possibly be.  Here, you can see an example of my in depth, extremely technical research:

I had come to the conclusion that it must have been John Flowers, b. abt 1814.  Unfortunately, though, it isn’t.  I was able to get in touch with one of his descendants and she confirmed that he didn’t die until 1869, four years after Peter killed the man.  So who was it?  Both her and I have gone through the Flowers families in the area (Choctaw County, Mississippi) and every single male can be accounted for, either through death in other years or appearing on the 1870 census.  Sigh.

- Where is the death certificate for Eppie Nettie Willhite Craft?  I know from her daughter Cofie’s letters that she was born in August of 1860 and died on January 29, 1938.  I am unsure where she died, though I am VERY confident it was in the state of Tennessee.  Great-aunt Kat remembers that after Eppie’s husband John died (December 3, 1936) Eppie came to live with them for just a little bit.  She doesn’t remember how long, but if we are to believe Henry Corbit Craft on the 1940 census record then it means they were in Houston County, Tennessee at the time.  Kat doesn’t remember where Eppie went when she left their home, though I imagine she would have moved in with one of her children (possibly Cofie?).  Eppie is buried at Double Springs Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Gibson County, Tennessee (again, I know this because of the letters Cofie wrote), the same cemetery that John C Craft, Henry Corbit Craft, Katie Clady Cathey, Louise Craft, Jesse Porter Craft, Wretha Jane Harris, Maggie Nell Craft, and Woodrow Wilson Phillips are buried.

- And speaking of Craft, I have been working on a few Craft cousins’ trees.  Well, I can’t be certain that they are blood Craft cousins, but I can always keep my fingers crossed!  I got some interesting information for Frederick Owen Craft that makes all of the previous research done on him (concerning his parents) suspect.  I need to figure out where the current information about his parents came from, though, before I can determine which path to take during research. 

If anyone has any information about any of this, let me know!  I would love to hear what you have!

Freeland, McQueen, and Perry

I have spent so much time attempting to find where Elizabeth Freeland (McQueen, Perry) lived in 1870 that I nearly gave up.  I had been searching for her under the name Elizabeth Perry, and I had been searching for her husband as Claiborne/Claiborn/Clayborn/Clayburn Perry.  I just kept coming up empty-handed.  I assumed that after the Civil War they both must have died prior to the 1870 census.  Well, I was wrong.  They didn’t both die.  I will do a short (haha, yeah right) recap here of previous records and posts as a reminder/new information for old and new readers alike.  I won’t go into way too much info, especially since I have written extensively on Elizabeth’s first marriage (which  you can find under the Freeland and McQueen family tabs in the left hand column).  So, just to sum it all up and bring it all back around to today’s information:

Elizabeth Freeland was born about 1804, location still unknown but narrowed down.  In 1820 she married Peter McQueen in Feliciana Parish, Louisiana.  By 1827 the family had moved to Lauderdale County, Mississippi.  Peter had sold off all of their belongings, then took two slaves and skipped town.  In 1837 he shows back, kidnaps the two oldest daughters and disappears again.  Elizabeth was granted a divorce in 1839 in Lauderdale County, Mississippi.  In 1840 she married Claiborne Perry (from here on out in this post he will be referred to as CP since I have no idea how his name is actually spelled) in Lauderdale County.  By early 1846 Elizabeth and CP moved to Crittenden County, Arkansas.

Elizabeth’s children with Peter McQueen:

Louisa and Melissa McQueen were the two daughters that were kidnapped.  Louisa lived until 1903, however Melissa died in 1851 in Marshall County, Mississippi.

Caroline McQueen married Edmund Richards in 1846 in Crittenden County, Arkansas and she died sometime between 1856 and 1860, though I am not certain if she died in Arkansas or Texas.

Elizabeth’s children with CP:

CP, Jr joined the Confederate Army in September 1861 and died in a Fredericksburg, Virginia hospital in February 1862.

Nathaniel Perry joined the Union Army with his father in November 1863 and died in the hospital at De Vall’s Bluff, Arkansas in January 1865.

Ok, this is where it gets a little hairy.  There is about to be some interesting information that I can’t quite wrap my mind around.

In 1850 the Perry family was living in Jasper, Crittenden County, Arkansas.  The family members listed are:

Charles Perry, age 36 years, born in Arkansas (this is CP)

Elizabeth Perry, age 37 years, born in Alabama (this age is off by about 10 years)

Claiborne Perry, age 8 years, born in Alabama

Nathaniel Perry, age 5 years, born in Arkansas

Mary McQueen (1), age 37 years, born in Louisiana, also the only one listed as over the age of 20 who cannot read or write (remember this name and age; age may be off, also, as will be explained later)

 

In 1850 daughter Caroline and her family were living in Tyrongee, Crittenden County, Arkansas.  The family members are listed as:

Edward Richards, age 25 years, born in Arkansas (this is Edmund)

Catharina Richards, age 22 years, born in Mississippi (this is Caroline)

George Richards, age 3 years, born in Mississippi (his obit says he was born in Crittenden County, Arkansas, though)

Lucy Richards, age 2 years, born in Arkansas

Mary Edwards (4), age 14 years, born in Tennessee (remember this name)

Mary McQueen (2), age 18 years, born in Mississippi (remember this name)

 

In 1860 the Perry family was living in Union, Hot Spring County, Arkansas.  The family members are listed:

Claghurn Perry, age 46 years, born in Alabama (this is CP)

Elisabeth Perry, age 56 years, born in Louisiana

Sarah McQueen (3), age 25 years, born in Alabama (who is this?  she is listed in the order to assume she is Elizabeth’s daughter)

Claborn Perry, age 18 years, born in Mississippi

Nathan Perry, age 13 years, born in Arkansas

 

So, we are back to the mystery people:

1.  Mary McQueen, born about 1813 (or 1823, as will be explained later) in Louisiana

2.  Mary McQueen, born about 1832-34 in Mississippi

3.  Sarah McQueen, born about 1835 in Alabama

4.  Mary Edwards, born about 1836 in Tennessee

Let’s break it down where these people went (I promise, there is a reason for this concerning the Perry death).

1.  As of right now, Mary McQueen (1813/23) does not exist outside of the 1850 census.

2.  Mary McQueen, aged 23 years (1833-1834), married 1) John Lewis, aged 44 years, on January 5, 1857 in Crittenden County, Arkansas.  They had at least two children: John Lewis (abt 1857) and Alice Lewis (1870); Mary McQueen (Lewis), aged 36 years (1832-1834), married 2) Galutice (or Galucia) Spencer Chapin, aged 54 years, on September 7, 1870 in Hot Spring County, Arkansas.  As of now I am unable to locate any further whereabouts after the 1870 census.  See #3 for possible relationship to Elizabeth.

3. I cannot even guess what may have happened to Sarah (1835).  I am making a total guess that she is a child of Elizabeth, and if so then she had to be either a) Peter’s child IF he returned prior to the kidnapping (which goes against the divorce papers), OR b) Elizabeth has a “thing” going on with another man.  Then there is c) she is not a child of Elizabeth, in which case: who is she and why is she listed in the order as a child?

4.  Lastly, Mary Edwards (1836).  She, too, is difficult.  She has a pretty common name.  I don’t know how she is related to the family, if at all. 

note (mainly to myself):  Mary could also be Polly, Marie, Molly, etc.  Sarah could also be Sallie, Sarie, etc.

 

Ok, so back to the death.  While searching on FamilySearch for Elizabeth and CP I came across an interesting marriage record.  It is terribly transcribed and I really want to see the original because I know it is for whom I am searching, I’m just not sure of the spouse’s actual name.

Clabourn Perry married Man A Mcgabba on January 20, 1865 in Pulaski County, Arkansas.  And I can’t find a copy of the original online.  It’s driving me insane because if…not if, when I order it I will have to wait about two more weeks until I can see the actual record.  And that’s only if they can still find the record (you’d think it would be easy, but remember when I ordered the marriage certificate of Leah/Sarah DeMumbrie and Henry Hodges and Tunica County, Mississippi couldn’t find what happened to the book after it had been scanned for FamilySearch?). 

Well, a quick search of the Civil War pension index led me to another card filed (I had posted an incomplete one here).

This one has that his widow’s name is Mary A Perry.  The “Mcgabba” is throwing me off.  I can only guess it is McQueen, based on previous information.  Sigh.

However, this does tell me some information I have been searching for:  Elizabeth died sometime between the enumeration of the 1860 census and January 20, 1865.  Saying how she died would only be a guess, considering disease and war, or even old age (for that time).  I’d like to think that she didn’t have to see all of her children die.  Of the children I know were definitely hers, the only two that did not pass before her were Louisa and Nathaniel (Nathaniel based on his death date between January 3rd and 17th, burial on the 18th, CP’s marriage on the 20th).  Seeing that she did not have an easy life at all, this does comfort me a little.

Looking around a little more I found CP on the 1870 census with his wife in Union, Hot Spring County, Arkansas.  The family members were listed:

Clayton Perry, age 58 years, born in Alabama (this is CP)

Mary A Perry, age 47 years, born in Tennessee (this puts her birth in about 1823…so it is possible that she is the 1850 Mary McQueen with the Perry family and that census had her birth off by about 10 years, the same as Elizabeth…also, you have to take into account that rarely were the same birthplaces listed per census).

Interestingly, living next door to the Perry family in 1870 was the household of:

Galucia Chapin, age 54 years, born in Ohio

Mary Lewis, age 35, born in Mississippi (they had not yet married)

John Lewis, age 12 years, born in Arkansas

Alice Lewis, age I month, born in Arkansas

Scott Wyatt, age 20 years, born in Arkansas (most likely just a boarder)

I am unable to locate CP and Mary A Perry after this census, with the exception of the pension card.  I will have to order that file from NARA.  If I am reading it correctly then it is telling me that CP applied for invalid pension on July 8, 1885 in Arkansas.  His wife then applied for widow’s pension on July 11, 1892 in Indian Territory.  So exactly when and where he died, I’m just not sure yet.  I’m sure the actual file will tell me, though.

Murdered Flowers

I finally found the name of the man that Peter McQueen murdered in Choctaw County, Mississippi!  Well, the last name of the man, anyway. 

In the April 10, 1899 issue of the Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA) was an article that had been reproduced from an issue of the Walthall Warden (Walthall, MS).  The article, from what I understand, was originally written by S. Newton Berryhill, the man that penned “Backwoods Poems”.  After listing several murders in early Choctaw County, Berryhill wrote:

I do not include the three Grays who killed Judge Edwards and Luther Edwards, during the war, and were killed in jail by citizens; nor old man McQueen, who killed Flowers in 1865, and, having fled, was pursued by a company of the U.L.A., who got ahead of him this side of Houston, and shot him from the roadside.  In these cases the killing of the man-slayers was the direct and immediate consequence of their crimes – the penalty which the law itself would or should have inflicted.

I am hoping that I can figure out who the man was he shot.  Perhaps a descendent of the Flowers family knows the story!

Other instances mentioned:

First – Clerk, a lawyer, who once lived at Greensboro removed to Carrollton, where he killed a man whose name I do not recollect.  He was himself killed the same year by J. Lancaster, at one time editor of the state Advocate, the first newspaper ever published in Choctaw county.

Second – Gibson Clark, who lived for many years near the site of Walthall, killed a lawyer named Lindsey at Greensboro.  Several years afterward Clark shot himself through the brain by his own rifle, pulling the trigger by means of a string tied to his toe.

Third – James C. Powers, who had killed a man in Pickens county, Ala., was killed at Greensboro by Dr. T.J. New.

Fourth – Thornton, who had served a term in the penitentiary for manslaughter, was killed at ‘Bucksnort,’ a suburb of Greensboro, by the same Dr. New.

Fifth – Seth Platner, known as ‘Young Seth,’ killed Criswell Snow at Greensboro.  He afterwards killed a Mexican woman in Texas, and was pursued by a party of Mexicans, who riddled him with bullets.

Sixth – George Davis killed an old man whose horse he had just levied upon.  Davis was afterwards killed in Texas.

Seventh – Dr. E.F.H. Johnson, better known as ‘Old Jaybird,’ killed a man at Snowville some thirty-five years ago.  He was convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to one month’s imprisonment.  About six years ago he was shot and killed at night in Greensboro by parties unknown.

Eighth – Robert Medley killed a lawyer named Nowlin at Greensboro, and was in jail at the beginning of the war.  He volunteered, and was released from jail; rose to the rank of captain in the renowned Fifteenth Mississippi Regiment, and was wounded at Shiloh, a ball piercing his forehead.  He became a gambler, and was killed by another gambler in Hinds county.

Ninth – Thomas Johnson killed David McKey at Greensboro a few years after the war.  Johnson was killed by Thomas Holland at Walthall eight or nine years ago.

Tenth – Arnold Brantly, who grew up to manhood in Greensboro, I think, killed two men.  He was shot dead in Winona fifteen years ago.  Will and Henry Ringer, who were born and raised in the western part of Choctaw county, it is believed, killed him.  It is also believed that it was they who killed General Wm. Brantly a few weeks afterwards.  They fled from the county.

Eleventh – Henry Ringer, the younger of them, was shot and killed at night at his home in Florida a few years ago.

Twelfth – Story killed William Dunn at Greensboro about twelve years ago.  A few years afterwards he was killed in Arkansas by Jones, another Choctaw boy.

Thirteen – Alonzo Nolen, who was born and raised in Greensboro, was killed by Jones about the same time.

Fourteen – Jones, the slayer of the two men, was shot and killed in Sunflower county a few years ago by a person unknown.

A Word About Family Lore (with examples)

For the past several days I have been going through a lot of stuff trying to figure out what to write next about Timothy Demonbreun.  However, putting all of the information together is kind of difficult.  There is the problem of trying to separate fact from fiction, along with having to accept some things as definite fact, even though I cannot see the documentation (I am assuming that others who have written about him have seen it, so that’s where trust comes in on matters such as that).  There are so many fantastic stories about Timothy’s life, and I will share them all…along with letting my readers know which stories I do not have sources for and what stories have been passed down through the Demonbreun descendants for about two centuries now (my hope, as always, is that someone will present a source, a document, anything!).  I do, however, want to point out that most stories started somehow.  Here are a few family stories I have heard about my ancestors, either stories passed down or stories I have read online…along with the facts:

1.  Lore:  Spencer DeMumbrie was from France.  Fact:  Spencer DeMumbrie was born in Tennessee.  This one is kind of amusing because I can only speculate as to where this story came from.  On the death certificate for Minnie DeMumbrie, Spencer’s daughter, it has him as having been born in France.  Since Minnie’s son was the informant I can only assume that Minnie had told people her father was French, rather than descended from French-Canadians.  My Granddaddy even referred to her as his “French grandmother” (even though, in reality, he could have called both grandmothers French…his other grandmother Annie Bondurant was descended from the French Huguenot Jean Pierre Bondurant).

2.  Lore:  James Anderson Proctor’s first wife Paralee was a gypsy.  Fact:  James Anderson Proctor, the husband of my 3rd great-grandmother Amanda Summers, was married first to a woman named Paralee.  However, when I found the marriage record I also found that Paralee’s full maiden name was Delilah Paralee Duffel.  This means that Paralee was Amanda’s aunt through her mother Emily Jane Duffel.  And now, if anyone ever decides to start searching for Paralee again (I think everyone kind of gave up trying to find her when she “disappeared” after the 1850 census), they will now know what happened to her.  And it also answers everyone’s question as to where JA’s wife came from (because no one could figure out her maiden name, I guess).

3.  Lore:  The Para family had their surname changed to Para when they arrived at Ellis Island from Italy.  Fact:  That never happened.  What is known is that if their name was changed once they arrived in America, they would have done it themselves, and it would have been well after they arrived.  And there is still no proof that it was ever anything different.  Prior to boarding the ship in Italy their information and documentation would have been checked by Italian officials.  Once they arrived they would have had to present the documentation to officials that were either from Italy themselves, or fluent in Italian.  The records and names would have to match up, otherwise they wouldn’t be permitted to enter the country.  When filing for citizenship they would have had the option to change their last name if they so chose.  So far, I know they wouldn’t have come through Ellis Island, anyway.  The patriarch of the family Giacomo Para (Anglicized to Jacob Para) arrived in America about 1876 or 1877, sixteen or seventeen years prior to the opening of Ellis Island.  Before that he would have arrived through Castle Gardens in New York, if that’s even where he entered the country.  There is no record of him at Castle Gardens, either.  So there is no telling what location he came through.  I haven’t found his wife and children yet, either.  So back to the name:  If the surname was changed then I don’t have a clue what it was originally.  And apparently no one else does, either.  While I did find record of a Giacomo Para entering through California, he was much too young, he immigrated much too late and he stayed in California. 

4.  Lore:  Elizabeth Bennett was 115/116 years of age when she died.  Fact:  Um, no one really knows the truth here.  She is another mystery that everyone hopes to someday unravel.  She will be getting her own post, but you will meet her soon anyway, as she is a key player in the story of Timothy Demonbreun.  Anyway, if you are to believe her headstone, erected by her son Jean Baptiste, she was born July 24, 1740 and died February 7, 1856.  In 1850 she claimed her age as 105, putting her birth year about 1745.  However, she gave birth to her last child in 1795, making her age at this birth either 50 or 55.  Sigh.  I’m not saying it’s impossible.  Just improbable

5.  Lore:  There really is no lore for this particular example, about Elizabeth Freeland.  Just a jumble of information about her.  Fact:  In 1850, the first time Elizabeth shows up on a census record, Elizabeth is shown as being 37 years of age, born about 1813 in Alabama.  In 1860, however, she is 56 years of age, having been born in 1804 in Louisiana.  I do know that she married Peter McQueen in 1820 in Louisiana, so I greatly doubt she was born in 1813.  I mean, her first child Louisa was born in 1821, which would have meant that Elizabeth was a mere 8-years-old.  Unfortunately, her marriage records to Peter McQueen and Claiborn Perry don’t mention her age, or her place of birth, for that matter.  I know her brother was residing in Alabama when he died, but he also had land in Mississippi (which is where she was living when she divorced Peter and married Claiborn).

These are just a few examples of family stories and misinformation.  I just felt it was important to get this out there prior to continuing Timothy Demonbreun’s story.  Because, as you’ll see, his life was pretty wacky.

The Death Of Peter McQueen (or Newspapers Are Fun!)

Out of everything that I have written about Peter McQueen I failed to ever write about the aftermath of his death, with the exception of a brief mention in a previous post (or two).

The other day my mom found an article about Peter McQueen at Chronicling America.  She knew it was the correct McQueen because we already had some information about his death and one of the court case surrounding his will.  From the Daily Union and American (Nashville, Tennessee), May 6, 1866:

“J. P. P.,” the correspondent of the Memphis Argus, gives an interesting account of the McQueen will case, recently decided at Holly Springs against the validity of the will, on the ground of unsoundness of mind.  The testator bequeathed his estate to a niece and her four daughters, disinheriting his own daughters because they joined the Methodist church.  It was testified that he declared he had heard, at his farm in Marshall county, the guns of Forts Moultrie, Sumter and Pensacola; that one of his negroes ran away before the war, and returning, was received into favor on the express condition that he should be hanged if ever he ran away again, and having run away again during the war, the madman, on recapturing, actually hanged him.  The last act of his life was the killing of a peaceable man in Choctaw county, on a fancied provocation.  The neighbors took arms, hunted him like a wild beast, and overtaking him in Calhoun county, shot him down in the road.

This makes me shake my head.  What a jerk.

Anyway, a few things about the article:  Peter’s niece Mary Ann actually had three daughters and a son.  The “will case” referred to is actually the first court hearing regarding Peter’s will.  I still need to see if I could get a copy of his will and/or this court case (I’m hopeful I can since the courthouse was burned down in 1864, a year before Peter died, and I haven’t found anything about any “new” courthouses being destroyed).  Also, according to the Supreme Court transcripts Peter died in Choctaw County, Mississippi.  Now we know it was Calhoun County, Mississippi.  Now, if only we knew where he was buried!

What I do have is fifteen pages (291-328) from Mississippi Reports concerning the October Term, 1866 of the Mississippi Supreme Court where Peter’s niece apparently wasn’t pleased with the outcome of the lower county court, so she appealed to the state Supreme Court to overturn the decision.  I am working on a post for these papers, because this is when it starts to get really interesting!

A Newly Found Cousin and More McQueen!

The McQueen family is something that is always on my mind, only because there is so much documented about my McQueen line, but none of it leads me back to the next generation…my 5th great-grandparents in the McQueen family.  I may, however, have gotten a new clue.  And, I have my brand-spankin’ newly found fifth cousin once removed to thank.

I was contacted the other day by J. Craven, who just happened to be researching his grandmother, and he stumbled across Digging Up Your Family.  He sent me an email, and after a bit of confusion on my part it was figured that he is the 3rd great-grandson of Ann McQueen.  Just to refresh your memory of my relationship to the McQueen family (including the unknown 5th great-grandfather):

Me

Virginia Marie Stalls (my mom)

James Paul Stalls, Jr (granddaddy)

Minnie Virginia Richards (g-grandmother)

Jerome E Richards, Sr (gg-grandfather)

Caroline McQueen (ggg-grandmother)

Peter McQueen (gggg-grandfather and Ann McQueen’s brother)

Unknown McQueen (ggggg-grandfather and father of Ann and Peter McQueen)

The great thing about his contacting me, besides gaining a new family member, is that he has pictures of his ancestors.  I was also able to add new information to my tree.  And adding that new information caused me to look into a few other people I have on my tree that I had kind of given up on after trying to contact descendants and getting nowhere.  And when I looked into one person in particular, Arthur Lemuel Hardy (who would be Ann McQueen’s great-grandson), I found that a work of fiction, apparently based on fact, had been authored by him.  And though the book was free on Google Books, I purchased it anyway (because I enjoy having paper books in hand).  I read half of the book online, so when it arrived yesterday I was able to read the rest of it (it’s only 137 pages, so a quick read).  The book is The Clutch of Circumstance by, of course, Arthur Lemuel Hardy.  Apparently there are other books out there with the same title, but you can find this book to read online here or you can purchase the book from Amazon here. 

After reading the book I learned several things:

1.  Views on racial equality in parts of the South haven’t changed that much since the close of the Civil War, which is kind of sad.

2.  Due to the dedication of the book, I assume that a large part of this “fiction” may hold more truth than would normally be thought had the dedication not been so…pointed.  The dedication says: TO MY WIFE, WHOSE PITY FOR A HELPLESS BABE, AND WHOSE INDIGNATION TOWARDS AN UNNATURAL PARENT SUGGESTED AND INSPIRED THE STORY, I DEDICATE THIS VOLUME.  Once you read the book you’ll understand.

3.  I am pretty sure the “McQuinton” characters in the story are actually representative of “McQueen”.  And because of that I am pretty confident that my McQueen line can be traced back to the Charleston, South Carolina area. 

I’m excited to learn more of what my new cousin has and to be able to share more of what I have with him.  And I am really excited to start researching the history of the McQueen families in Charleston!

What I Have Been Doing Lately

1.  I had purchased several hundred photos on eBay that all turned out to be a family collection.  After hunting around for a while I finally found the family to which they belong.  I scanned roughly 70 of the photographs and mailed those off to the family on Tuesday.  In the coming weeks I will scan the rest of them so I can get those mailed off, too.  I am extremely happy that I found the family, and I am extremely happy that they are getting their precious heirlooms back.  I had started a blog regarding the photos just in case I wasn’t able to find family.  I will be keeping it going so you can check it out here.

 

2.  My mom and I went up to Tennessee to visit with family again.  After picking up Great-Aunt Kat we drove up to Clarksville to visit Grandmother and Granddaddy’s graves.  Then we drove down to Hurricane Mills (our usual spot) and visited with Donny and Bobbie.  We didn’t stay long because Bobbie wasn’t feeling well (luckily she is feeling much better now).  While there we had decided that instead of buying Nan Nan’s fried pies from Cissie Lynn’s store, we would go to Nan Nan’s store and buy them directly from her.  After driving out of our way (you can tell from the start of this that it ended badly) we got to the location only to find out that the location was moved.  The sign (of which I wish I had taken a photo) gave the address of the new location and said to stop in and visit.  So we drove even further out of the way.  Come to find out the new location was the original location:  the owner’s home.  She (I assume Nan Nan, but it might just be named Nan Nan by using her grandmother’s recipe or something) was not pleased to see us.  She seemed to be miffed that we pulled into her driveway.  After telling us she didn’t really have many pies to sell I asked her if she took credit cards.  No, she said, she didn’t even take them at the other location.  By now I was angry.  Their website (which is just their Facebook page from what I can tell) didn’t have the new address listed which caused the looooong drive.  They also didn’t have payment options on the page, so I didn’t know I should have stopped for cash.  But in the end, you know what?  Her attitude ruined the entire thing anyway.  Had she been more pleasant I may have considered driving out to an ATM and getting cash just to buy a fried pie.  Will I ever purchase another Nan Nan’s Homemade Fried Pie again?  Nope.  (I just checked out the Facebook page, and they now have that they don’t accept credit cards and failed to use spell check…ok, that’s just me being bitter and mean)

 

3.  A couple of weeks ago my mom and I got to meet new cousins who live here in Georgia:  Valerie Craft and her mom Ruby!  Valerie has the genealogy blog Begin With Craft, which is chock-full of great information and research tips.  Due to the shared Craft surname we think that may be how we are related.  Through DNA Valerie’s father matches up to Great-Aunt Kat an estimated 4th cousin.  That means to find out how they are related we would need to go back to, at the very least, Prestly Ezekiel Craft’s father.  I think it has been figured out that his name was John Craft (don’t hold me to that because I am not positive).  Kat’s Craft family goes back:

Henry Corbit Craft (1895 TN-1971 TN)

John Craft (1859 TN-1936 TN)

Thomas Craft  (abt 1810 NC-aft 1880 TN)

Prestly Ezekiel Craft (abt 1786 NC-btwn 1850 and 1860 TN)

Several people have that Prestly married his wife Mary Thaxton in Surry County, North Carolina.  I guess I will have to look into that more.

 

4.  My mom and I are getting ready for the Bondurant Family Association Annual Meeting next week.  I’m pretty excited about it!

 

5.  I recently applied to go back to school.  I have thought about it for a while, and now with the imminent closing of the Georgia Archives to the public I decided to just do it!  I applied to American Public University online school for history.  Who knows, maybe I will eventually become an archivist!

 

6.  In my genealogy research I am currently working on (ready for this?  It’s like it is never-ending!):

-Who are Peter McQueen’s parents?  It really is driving me crazy not knowing.  The earliest I can find him is on an 1818 bill of sale for a slave named Daniel.  Peter doesn’t appear on any census record (by name at least) until 1840, though. 

-What happened to Spencer DeMumbrie?  When and where did he die?  Where is he buried?  Why is he being difficult?

-Why am I unable to locate James Franklin Stalls’s grave in Oak Grove Cemetery in Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky?  His obituary says he is there, but there is no record of him as being buried there. 

-Is the research I did on Brett’s Murphy family correct?  It seems perfectly logical to me, but I was presented with something extremely different that is completely illogical to me.

-The Craft line (as mentioned above).

-The search for Eppy Willhite Craft’s death record.  I will have to write a whole post for this fun headache.  Let’s just say that no one is actually sure of her first name anymore, and her death cannot be found (and she had to have died unless she’s still alive at the ripe old age of about 150 years-old…which you never know, I guess).

-William Glenn Cathey:  where are you buried exactly?

-Amanda Summers: when, where and how did you die and where are you buried?  Oh, and who exactly is Lizzie’s father?  Or do you not even know?

-And let’s just say many other research subjects, such as who are the parents of John B Smith?  Where exactly was Elizabeth Brownlee from?  Where is the Stalls family from?  And many, many more questions. 

 

I’m going to go watch movies now!