Dr. Traylor Letter #9

Date: 27 Feb 1860 (and 29 Feb 1860 - leap day!)

Just 4 weeks after the previous letter we see another letter passing from Dr. John Randolph Traylor, Sr. in Louisiana to John Hill in Texas. Dr. Traylor reports apparent yellow fever in his general area. He also comments on some poor crops and poor luck, leaving him poor as is apparently common.

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Transcription:

                        Marion, Feby 27th 1860

Col. John Hill

Waverly, Texas

Dear Sir,

     I wrote you about a month since (since when, I have none of your favours to acknowledge) Informing you of a remittance of between $26 & $27 hundred dollars. Frillsen & Stevenson have acknowledged receipt of it & say they have acknowledged to you. I have also started a draft by C.T. Powell for $1000.00 which amount completes the payment for Coles land. I have sent Mayo's note to him & hope in a fiew [sic] days to have the money for it. I have also sent the note belonging to Mrs. Jackson, I have no instructions from her what disposition she wishes made of it, when paid. I informed you in my last, that, I expected to sell your Lock Land to him, John Steel (?) since when I have twice hered [sic] from him. One time he sent me word he had been sick, the other that he would be over soon & yet he does not come.

     I believe I have no other business transaction of which to inform you. The health of the country is (with the exception of cold) is [sic] very good, but fiew [sic] caces [sic] require treatment.

     I saw Dr. Larkins a week since he says three or four of there [sic] most prominent citizens have died within a short time pased [sic]. He says they died in the same way that his Son Wm did with all the symptoms of yellow fever. Henry Phelps is dead. He lived near Bastrop on the Bayo. It is said of Pneumonia.

     I made a very poor crop of corn & cotton last year. I fear not corn enough to do me & had the misfortune to get 7 or 8 bags burned of my best cotton, which will make me (as I always am) very short of funds. I must beg that you will supply Katie's necesities [sic] & charge to my account. I shall be ready in two or three days to plant corn, I plant 140 acres in corn, have it all beded [sic] with 5 furrows a portion all plowed out.

     I am going to try to plant 200 acres in cotton 55 of it new ground. If we keep healthy & are favoured [sic] with good seasons I hope to make a better show next year.

     Mr. E. George returned from Ala. a short time since with his new wife. We have caled [sic] on them she appears to be a sensible good woman & has seen good society. His children still keep up there [sic] foolish enmity. None of them have caled [sic] on her. We here [sic] that the most bitter and hostile language had pased [sic] between him & they.

Feby 29

     I was too late for this last mail nor have I much time for this.

     Yesterday it raned [sic] all day. Tell Katie I intended to have written to her by this mail, but as Marion wrote by the last & Gus, by this I have concluded to defur [sic] it for a day or two. Tell her that Susan has 75 or 80 young chickens & that her peas are large enough to stick. I expect her aunt Sarah's are blooming by this time. I have not time to write further. Give my love to all & for yourself accept my best wishes for your prosperity & happiness.

        John Traylor

Dr. Traylor Letter #8

Date: 01 Feb 1860

Today's letter from Dr. John Randolph Traylor, Sr. to John Hill mixes a small amount of business with a good many personal details. Ever the doctor, Dr. Traylor relates a bit of the health of people in the area. He also comments that 1859-1860 has been a very cold winter.

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Transcription:

                        Marion Feby 1st 1860

Col. John Hill

Waverly, Texas

                       Dear Sir,

     I sent to Frillsen & Stevenson by Dr. White $656.00 & requested them to inform you of the same. Mr. Cole has today paid his last note of $2013.00 Which I will send as above as soon as I can. His (?) $656.00 was paid by M.W. Goldsby he is yet owing you a fraction over $100.00. I sent over to Mayo. He said he would be over in a short time & pay up.

     I expect he will be able to do it as he has made $1600.00 by trading this fall & winter. He sold a lot of negroes he purchased at Brother Paschals sale for $700.00 profit the balance he has made by trading on mules. You perhaps recollect he purchased some land & negroes for which he paid $11,000.00. He has sold the land for $12,000.00 making the 5 negroes & $1000.00 clare[sic], so you see he must be flush & the prospect for his paying good.

     I have made no other collection. The note deposited with me for Mrs. Jackson falls due 1st March. If paid when due, what disposition does she want made with it? please learn & inform me. I expected before this to be able to inform your that your Lock Track [sic] was sold to Old Jonny Steel (?). He looked at it & was pleased, sent me word some three week [sic] since that, he would be over soon since which I have not heared [sic] from him. The price agreed upon was three dollars per acre he paying 2/3 this spring the balance in two years without interest. I do not know the cause of his delay.

     I am happy to inform you that we are all well. Our little Sally was quite sick for 3 or 4 days last week of cold but is quite well now.

     The health of the country is quite good though there have occured [sic] a fiew [sic] caces [sic] of much savierty [sic] from cold. Henry Philips died 10 or 12 days since of pneumonia it is said. He lived on Bayou Bartholomew near Bastrop. We have had the savierest [sic] winter that, I ever saw in the south. Since it set in it has been almost constantly cold until about two week since the mercury ranging from 8 up a great deel [sic ]of the time as low as 30 for two weeks pased [sic] we have had beautifull [sic] weather almost like summer until yesterday evening when the wind changed suddenly & blew a gale from the north the mercury was found this morning at 17 and at its highest elivation [sic] today it was 28.

     If they have not already learned it you may tell them that Addy Powell has a daughter that, her name is Ida. We think there is a pretty good chance for a wedin [sic] in our neighborhood. A certain Mr. Harges Editon (?) of the Farmerville Paper, visits there pretty often & I mean Mrs. Bensons & we think it eminent.

     Mr. George & his lady are expected daily from Ala. By the way since he left his fine Gin house & screw with about 20 bags of cotton were burned by accident. I am claring [sic] 50 or 60 acres east of my field by your old place it looks terable [sic] poor, but I can't do any better.

     Tell Katie we can't come up with her Aunt Sarah's Gardin [sic], we should have had to plant last fall to have such peas as she has. We had cabbage, lettis [sic] & mustard up on yesterday I guess there is not much of them left today. Our peas are just coming up.

     Tell Frank he must give Mary a mawling for me & that I am going to write to her in two or three days & give her jipes (?) for the way she scolded me. Sally says tell Taby (?) to turn (?) over here & she will (?) with (?) her.

     What about your trip to Anjalina? Is it timbered or Prairie land?

     Susan joins me in love to you all

               Yours Truly

                      John Traylor

Pegoda Brothers Photograph

Today's photograph is courtesy of my great-grandaunt Fannie Alma Birdette Pegoda Alexander. It is a picture of my 2nd great-grandfather Frank P. Pegoda (Anders line) with his four brothers. These are all of the sons of John Pegoda and Nancy McGraw. The picture is from 1949. Frank was dying from cancer at the time, and he appears thin in the picture.

Back row: Henry and Marion B. Pegoda
Front row: William, George, and Frank P. Pegoda
1949

Iver and Maude Erickson Photograph

Today's photograph is a later picture of my great-grandparents Iver Frank Erickson and Maude Emeline Covell.

Rev. Francis Doughty, Jr.

My 10th great-grandfather Rev. Francis Doughty, Jr. (Anders line) is not only the most distant ancestor certainly known in my family (ok, so technically his father is actually), but he is also the first person in our family known to be in America. The birth of his son Enoch in 1639 in Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts began a well-documented line of 13 consecutive generations born in America, extending at the time of this writing to my children. This line is also deeply rooted in Texas history as a continuous 7 generation line beginning with the birth of Sarah A. Rankin in the Republic of Texas on 10 Jan 1842, containing 3 citizens of the Republic of Texas, and extending to two of my children at the time of this writing.  The full line is (with proof of parentage citations in the earliest generations)

Francis Doughty, Jr. m. Bridget ________

 └ Enoch Doughty [4, 7]

   └ Margaret Doughty [1, 4, 6]

     └ Joseph Berry, Jr. [1, 2, 4, 5]

       └ Thomas Berry, Sr. [1, 3]

         └ Margaret Berry

           └ William Marshall Rankin, Sr.

             └ Sarah A. Rankin

               └ Robert Lee Anders

                 └ Roy Jacob Anders, Sr.

                   └ Adda Wanda Anders

                     └ (my mother)

                       └ (me)

Francis, Jr. was reportedly born on 04 Nov 1605 in Hempstead, Gloucestershire, England and died on 02 Mar 1682/3 in New York, New York, New York. Unfortunately, I am not sure where these dates come from. He first married a woman named Bridget, who was my 10th great-grandmother. What are well documented are his movements and activities as a pastor in colonial New England [7, 8].

After losing his Anglican pulpit in England to his Protestant leanings, Francis came to America in the early to mid-1630s. He is first seen in the Boston area and became pastor of a new church in Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts for a short time around 1639. It is here where his son Enoch is born.

Francis then went to Rhode Island and participated in a colonizing project to place an English-speaking settlement on Long Island which led him to a pastorate there in New York for the years 1643 to 1646. A new English settlement in nearby Flushing, New York lured Francis to a pastorate that lasted from 1647 to 1654. Upon leaving during a dispute with his church in Flushing, Francis is next seen in Hungars Parish on the Accomac peninsula of Virginia from about 1655 to 1658/9. In Jun 1657, he married Ann Eaton (widowed sister of William Stone, ex-governor of Maryland) indicating that Bridget had passed away.

Francis is next seen in Charles County, Maryland from about 1659 to about 1662. Leaving amidst yet more controversy, he is next seen in Old Rappahannock County, Virginia from 1662 to 1669. At some point, Francis returned to New England where he died in New York.

Children of Francis Doughty, Jr. and Bridget

1) Mary Doughty [7] married 1st Adrian Vanderdonck and 2nd Hugh O'Neal.

2) Francis Doughty, III [7]

3) Elias Doughty [7]

4) Enoch Doughty [4, 7] was born in 1639 in Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts [7]. He died before 09 May 1677 in Old Rappahannock County, Virginia [9].

References

[1] King, George Harrison Sanford, King George County, Virginia Will Book A-1, 1721-1752, Fredericksburg, VA, 1978. Pages 176, 177, and 178.

[2] Ibid. Pages 1, 2, and 3.

[3] The Virginia Genealogist, Volume 1, Number 1. Page 13.

[4] Ibid. Page 8.

[5] Ibid. Page 9.

[6] Essex County, Virginia Deed Records. Deed Book 14, Page 107.

[7] William and Mary Quarterly, Series 2, Volume 19, William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Virginia. Pages 38 and 39.

[8] Maryland Historical Magazine, Volume 23, The Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, 1928. Pages 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, and 162.

[9] Sweeny, William Montgomery, Wills of Rappahannock County, Virginia 1656-1692, Southern Historical Press, Inc. Page 62.

Today in Family History - 04 Nov

My 10th great-grandfather Francis Doughty, Jr. (Anders line) was reportedly born on this day in 1605. Unfortunately, I have seen no documentation for this date. Francis is the earliest known immigrant to the United States in the Thompson family.

Jacob Anders Photograph

Today we have a photograph of my 3rd (and 4th) great granduncle Jacob Anders. Jacob was a brother of my 4th great-grandfather John Demostinie Anders and my 3rd great-grandfather James A. Anders, Jr. Jacob and his wife Cyrintha E. Rankin never had any children, so there are no descendants of Jacob to enjoy this photograph. But, the extended family still remembers them.

Jacob Anders was born 14 Feb 1827 in Greene County, Alabama [1]. He married Cyrintha Rankin on 02 Dec 1851 in Montgomery County, Texas [2]. He died on 11 Jun 1909 in Montgomery County, Texas [1] and was buried in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Montgomery County, Texas [1].

Jacob and Cyrintha were both Citizens of the Republic of Texas.

References

[1] Mt. Pleasant Community Scrapbook, Cemetery and Church, Montgomery County, Texas, 1870-1979. Page 66.

[2] Marriage Records of Montgomery County, Texas. Volume 1, Page 166. 

Jacob Anders

The R.N. Cornet Band, Fruitland, MI

Today's photograph is of the R.N. Cornet Band in Fruitland, Michigan. My great-grandfather Iver Frank Erickson is standing in the back row, 4th from the left. I can only guess that the date might be circa 1894. Thanks to my father's cousin Judi for sharing this photograph.

Today in Family History - 01 Nov

My 4th great-grandfather William Vandermade, Sr. (Erickson line) died on this day in 1903 in Mooreland Township, Muskegon, Michigan [1]. He was buried at Ravenna Cemetery in Ravenna, Muskegon, Michigan.

My 3rd great-grandmother Mary Dudley Williams (Baldwin line) was born on this day in 1832 in North Carolina [2, 3]. (Note: Mary's grave marker says she was born in 1823 but the 1860 United States Census records indicate about 1834. I believe the grave marker date is incorrect and is transposed from 1832 which would closely match the census record.)

References
[1] Death Records of Muskegon County, Michigan. Death certificate for William Vandermade; Book 2, Page 334.
[2] Autry, Dolores (Dowd; Johnson), Historic Linwood Cemetery of Columbus, Muscogee, Georgia, Volume ?. Page 151.
[3] 1860 United States Census. Muscogee County, Georgia, Page 244.

Thomas Pinkney White

My 4th great-grandfather Thomas Pinkney White (Baldwin line) was born on 24 May 1801 in Virginia [1]. Nothing is known of his parentage or ancestry. Indeed, very little is even known of his life.

Thomas married Margaret "Peggy" Hill on 01 May 1823 [3]. Margaret was born on 05 Mar 1804 in Abbeville County, South Carolina to William, Sr. and Anne Hill [1, 4, 5]. The Bible owned by Anne Hill is an invaluable resource for early White and Hill genealogy.

Some time before 1835, the White family moved to Dallas County, Alabama [6]. Thomas died there on 30 Oct 1835 [2] and we see his estate in probate during that year [7, 8, 9]. Margaret is still seen in Dallas County in the 1840 United States census with her 2 young children and living next door to her brother John Hill [10].

By 1850, the White family had moved to Union Parish, Louisiana. We see Margaret living with her son John in the 1850 United States census [11]. She purchased 40+ acres from the U. S. government on 01 Sep 1850 [12].

After the Civil War with conditions in the area very poor, Margaret and John decide to move to Texas with John's father-in-law Dr. John Randolph Traylor, Sr. [13]. After arriving in the Houston area in the late 1860s, Margaret signed a will on 28 Aug 1869 in Harris County, Texas [14]. She may very well have been ill already as she died only 5 months later on 15 Jan 1870 [5]. Her cause of death is written on the 1870 United States census mortality schedule, but it is not readable [4]. The location of her grave is not known, but she is believed to have died in the Lynchburg or Morgan's Point, Texas area as this is where her family is located in the census taken shortly after her death [15]. Her estate was in probate in Harris County, Texas between 13 Apr and 25 Apr 1871 [14, 16] and in Union Parish, Louisiana on 05 Sep 1884 [17]. The latter probate was to settle lands left by the Whites when they left Louisiana.

Children of Thomas Pinkney White and Margaret "Peggy" Hill
1) George Washington White [1, 9] was born on 21 Feb 1824 [1]. He married Susan Fuller. He died before May 1847 in Union Parish Louisiana [18].
2) Ann Drewsila White [1] was born on 07 Mar 1827 [1]. She died before 1835 as she is not mentioned in the probate of her father.
3) Dr. John Allen White [9, 14] was born on 03 Dec 1829 in Washington, Wilkes, Georgia [19, 21]. He married Mary Louise Traylor on 14 Nov 1854 in Union Parish, Louisiana [20, 22]. He died on 03 Apr 1911 in Huntsville, Walker, Texas [19, 20]. He was buried at Oakwood Cemetery (Section 2) in Huntsville.

References
[1] Anne Hill Family Bible. Page 678, Family Record, Births.
[2] Robert Hill Family Bible. Page 680.
[3] Anne Hill Family Bible. Page 677, Family Record, Marriages.
[4] 1870 United States Census Mortality Schedule. Harris County, Texas, Page ?.
[5] Anne Hill Family Bible. Page 680, Family Record, Deaths.
[6] Tubbs, Bill and Sue, Dallas County, Alabama Ancestral Homesteads, Jasper, Alabama, May 2001. Page 45 and 46.
[7] Probate Court Records of Dallas County, Alabama. Book C, Page (or Record) 349.
[8] Ibid. Book D, Page 260.
[9] England, Flora, Dallas County, Alabama Genealogical Records, Willo Publishing Company, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Page 12.
[10] 1840 United States Census. Dallas County, Alabama, Page 85 B.
[11] 1850 United States Census. Union Parish, Louisiana, Page 361 A.
[12] United States Bureau of Land Management - General Land Office Records. Land patent for 40.37 acres to Margaret White, Union Parish Louisiana, 01 Sep 1850, No. 9967, Volume 19, Page 500. Receipt Certificate
[13] Personal correspondence. Letter from Dr. John Randolph Traylor, Sr. to John Hill, 13 Jul 1863. Page 1 Page 2
[14] Probate Court Records of Harris County, Texas. Probate for Margaret Hill, Volume U, Pages 3, 4, and 5.
[15] 1870 United States Census. Harris County, Texas, Page 488 A.
[16] Minutes of the Probate Court of Harris County, Texas. Probate for Margaret Hill, Volume G, Page 50.
[17] Probate Court Records of Union Parish, Louisiana. Book 7 (?), Pages 531-53?, plus copy of Harris County, Texas probate.
[18] Probate Court Records of Union Parish, Louisiana. Succession Records 1847-1851, Page 497.
[19] Walker County, Texas Cemeteries, Volume 3, Walker County Genealogy Society, Huntsville, TX, 2007. Page 51, Oakwood Cemetery - Section 2.
[20] Records of the Texas State Archives, Confederate Pensions. File #24300, Capt. John Allen White.
[21] Personal correspondence. Transcription of letter written by Dr. John Allen White. Page 1 Page 2 Page 3
[22] Marriage Records of Union Parish, Louisiana. Book 2, Page 9. Application.

Guerin de Beaumont

While doing genealogy research years ago at the Genealogy Room at the Huntsville Public Library in Huntsville, Texas, I came across a booklet put together by Opal McAdams Samuel. (As I recall, Opal had lived in Madisonville, Texas.) The roughly 40 page booklet was titled "Guerin de Beaumont - Guerrant" and contained the results of Opal's research into her Guerrant ancestors.

I found this particularly helpful in learning about and locating primary Guerrant documentation and in tracing a good portion of the Guerrant family tree (Baldwin line) from Daniel and Marie Guerin downward. It contains transcripts of many very old letters from the 1920s through the 1940s concerning Guerrant family history. I think it is an excellent resource and should be more widely available to Guerrant family researchers. I photocopied the entire booklet and have provided links to the scanned pages below.

I am grateful to people like Opal who have taken the time to organize and publish the results of their genealogy research. It is so very helpful to others who follow in their footsteps. I would hope that she and her kin do not mind this booklet being made available on the internet.

Guerin de Beaumont - Guerrant by Opal McAdams Samuel

Page i - Title Page

Page ii - Author

Page iii - Memoriam

Page iv - References

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