Mary Adalia Smith Blackwell

birth: 1870
location: Smith County, Mississippi
death:
location:

father: Henry Clay Smith
mother: Eliza Jane Garner

spouse: Rufus Duncan Blackwell

1880 census

1900 census

1910 census

1920 census

1930 census

1940 census

burial

obituary

children with Rufus Duncan Blackwell:

Lawrence Wilson Blackwell - 1894
Joseph Warren Blackwell - 1896
Hattie J Blackwell - 1901
Myrtle Blackwell - 1903
Grover M Blackwell - 1906
Olyer Blackwell - 1908
Mack Blackwell - 1910

Ford Family History

Ford Family History
Andrew Jackson Ford was born about 1837 in Georgia. He was born to John B Ford
and Docia (Dotia) Winkler. John Ford and Docia Winkler married on August 16, 1815 in
Rowan County, North Carolina.

In 1850 the Ford family is enumerated in the Chattooga County, Georgia census
records.
J B Ford 54 male farmer North Carolina
Docia Ford 53 female North Carolina
William Ford 24 male brick maker North Carolina
Catharine Ford 21 female North Carolina
Sarah Ford 19 female Georgia
John Ford 16 male Georgia
Francis Ford 16 female Georgia
Andrew Ford 13 male Georgia

In 1860, the family is in the same location.
John B Ford 68 male farmer North Carolina
Dosa Ford 64 female North Carolina
Catharine Ford 26 female North Carolina
Andrew Ford 23 male Georgia

John B and Docia Ford died before 1870 in Georgia, burial unknown. Known children of
John B and Docia Winkler Ford were:
William Ford - 1826
Catharine Ford - 1829
Sarah Ford - 1832
John Ford - 1834
Francis Ford - 1834
Andrew Ford - 1837

In 1870, Andrew Jackson Ford, along with his wife, Nancy Cherry, and children, are
located in Walker County, Georgia. Nancy Cherry was born to William Anderson Cherry
and Elizabeth Tucker in 1837.
Andrew Ford 31 married white farmer Georgia
Nancy C Ford 27 female white keeping house North Carolina
William F Ford 3 male white Georgia
Ishmael R Ford 1 male white Georgia
James R Ford 3/12 male white Georgia

In 1880, Andrew Ford’s growing family is back in Chattooga County, Georgia.
Andrew J Ford white male 44 married farmer
Nancy Ford white female 34 wife married keeping house
William Ford white male 13 son single works on farm
Ishmael Ford white male 11 son single works on farm
James R Ford white male 8 son single
John R Ford white male 7 son single
Willard Ford white male 5 son single
Ella Ford white female 4 daughter single
Joseph A Ford white male 3 son single
Ola Ford white male 1 son single

The 1900 census finds the Ford family in the same location, with a blended household.
Andrew J Ford head white male August 1834 65 married - 34 years Georgia farmer
Nancy C Ford wife white female July 1841 58 married - 34 years 11, 10 N. Carolina
William F Ford son white male Jan 1867 33 single Georgia farm labor
Willard A Ford son white male Oct 1873 26 single Georgia farm labor
Ella A Ford daughter white female Nov 1874 25 single Georgia
Julia F Ford daughter white female May 1882 18 single Georgia
Robert P Ford son white male May 1886 14 single Georgia

Andrew Jackson and Nancy Ford last appear in the census records in 1910 in
Chattooga County, Georgia.
Andrew J Ford head male white 76 married - 43 years Georgia
Nancy C Ford wife female white 68 married - 43 years 11, 9 North Carolina
Willard M Ford son male white 36 single Georgia
Dora J Ford daughter female white 27 single Georgia
Robert P Ford son male white 23 single Georgia

Known children of Andrew Jackson and Nancy Ford were:
William Ford - 1867
Ishmael Ford - 1869
James R Ford - 1872
John R Ford - 1873
Willard Ford - 1875
Ella Ford - 1876
Joseph Americus Ford - 1877
David Ola Ford - 1880
Dora Julia Ford - 1882
Robert P Ford -1886

Andrew Jackson and Nancy Ford died in 1915. They are buried in the Macedonia
Cemetery in Chattooga County, Georgia.

David Ola Ford was born November 25, 1879 in Georgia. He was born to Andrew
Jackson Ford and Nancy Cherry.

David Ola Ford is found enumerated with his mother and father in the 1880 census.
Andrew J Ford white male 44 married farmer
Nancy Ford white female 34 wife married keeping house
William Ford white male 13 son single works on farm
Ishmael Ford white male 11 son single works on farm
James R Ford white male 8 son single
John R Ford white male 7 son single
Willard Ford white male 5 son single
Ella Ford white female 4 daughter single
Joseph A Ford white male 3 son single
Ola Ford white male 1 son single

In 1900, David Ola Ford is living as a boarder in the home of David Hemphill.
David A Hemphill head white male Jan 1868 32 married - 5 years Georgia farmer
Alice Hemphill wife white female Mar 1876 30 married - 5 years Georgia
Ray T Hemphill son white male Nov 1896 3 single Georgia
Emmit J Hemphill son white male Aug 1899 1 single Georgia
David O Ford boarder white male Nov 1878 21 single Georgia farm labor

David Ford next appears in the census records in 1920 living in Tyler, Smith County,
Texas with wife, Sarah Alma Ivey. Sarah Ivey was the daughter of John L Ivey and
Susan Florence Moseley. She was born on September 9, 1883 in Texas.
David O Ford head male white 40 married Georgia farmer
Alma Ford wife female white 36 married Texas

In 1930, David O and Alma Ford are living in Smith County, near the intersection of New
Harmony Rd. and HWY 64.
Dave O Ford head male white 50 married Georgia farmer
Sarah A Ford wife female white 45 married Texas
Clay B Ford son male white 9 single Texas
John D Ford son male white 4 5/12 single Texas
Ten years later in 1940 the Ford family is in the same house.
Dave O Ford head male white 60 married Georgia farmer
Sarah A Ford wife female white 56 married Texas
Clay B Ford son male white 19 single Texas
John D Ford son male white 14 single Texas

Sarah Alma Ivey Ford died of cardiac arrest on May 19, 1968 in Tyler, Texas. She is
buried in Tyler Memorial Park Cemetery.

David Ola Ford died of cardiac arrest on November 30, 1974 in Tyler, Smith County,
Texas. He is buried in Tyler Memorial Park Cemetery. His occupation on the death
certificate was listed as rose grower. Clay Ford was the informant

Henson Family

Henson Family History

James Baret Henson was born on August 25, 1802 in Pendleton, South Carolina. He
married Elizabeth Ann Talley on June 22, 1822 in Pendleton, South Carolina. She was
the daughter of Prior Talley and Elizabeth Henson. Elizabeth Ann Talley is rumored to
have been full-blooded Cherokee Indian.

James Baret Henson mustered into the Mexican American War on July 17, 1846. He
served with Co. G of the 2nd Texas Mounted Volunteers as musician.
“Lyon's men were mustered in on July IT, 1846, and designated as Company "G", of the
Second Texas Mounted Volunteers. In August, between the 7th and the 8th, the
company was encamped at Matamoros, Mexico. Company muster rolls show that four
men were given discharges from military service for being either sick or disabled. These
were: John P. Esham, Alexander C. McKay, Samuel McKay and Jesse R. Nowlin. From
about August 15th to September 11th, the company was encamped at Camargo, on the
Rio Grande. The climate at Camargo was unhealthy and death and sickness spread
through the military camp. While at Camargo the ranks of the company were further
depleted with the loss of fifteen men. Fourteen were either granted discharges for
disabilities or sickness when the company moved on to Monterrey. The fifteenth man,
James B. Henson, the company's 2nd musician, died.”

From 1999 Edition of "Cherokee Proud" by Tony McClure PH.D
Cherokee Agency East Dec. 1st. 1835
Lieut Van Horne
US Disbursing Agent
Sir
I have just received a communication dated Nov.1835 from the(……………….)
enclosing a copy of a communication from yourself to that department in relation to
James B. Henson. His wife was represented to me to be of Cherokee blood but resided
for many years among the whites and returned with Henson a white man into the
Cherokee Country after the extension of the laws of Georgia. After he came into the
county he was a candidate for the Legislature and was defeated on the score of his
having an Indian blooded woman for a wife. This fact I was well satisfied of from my
own knowledge but having doubts of his being really of Indian blood. I inquired of
several persons of credibility who gave statement which removed my doubts and the
family was consequently enrolled under the provision of the Treaty of May 6, 1828 as
members of the Tribe. I had intended to have answered you fully by my communication
of the 17 April last but suppose the name of James B. Henson was inadvertently
overlooked.
Very Respectfully Your Most Obt Servt
Ben F. Currey

James Baret Henson died on August 15, 1846, in Monterrey, Mexico. He served in the
Mexican American War almost one month before his death.

Known children of James Baret Henson and Elizabeth Ann Talley were:
1. Henry H Henson
2. 2. Eliza Ann Henson

Dr. Henry H Henson was born in Rabun County, Georgia on May 21, 1823.

Dr. H. HENSON REMEMBERS WHEN THE STARS FELL AND OTHER EVENTS OF
EARLY DAYS
"I was born in Rabun County, Ga May 21, 1823, which would make me between 85 and
86 years old. My father moved to Gilmore [Gilmer] County, Ga. where we lived until the
spring of 1834
"On the night of Nov 13, 1833, I saw the comets fall from the heavens by hundreds of
thousands. The whole canopy of heaven was in a general commotion from midnight
until daylight. I was not excited at the strange movements of the stars, as I supposed
they did that every morning.
"Some movers, camped near our house, awoke and called out to my father that the
world was coming to an end. I then got a little excited over it, and stated to my father
that if that was anything to get excited over, I could have notified them two or three
hours before. That was about 4:30 o'clock. I was 10 years old at the time of the falling of
the stars.
"In the spring of 1834 my father emigrated to Arkansas territory and afterwards to [the]
Cherokee nation, where we remained one year. Later we lived in Benton County, Ark.
where we ground all our meal, our family, seven in number, used on a steel mill ...
"My father and family emigrated from Arkansas to Texas in 1841, stopping one year in
Fannin County, and then moving to Rusk County, Tex. where we lived 7 years ...
I have lived under the administration of 22 presidents of the United States and two
presidents of the republic of Texas, vis. Sam Houston and Anson Jones. The first vote I
ever cast was for Anson Jones. The second one was the annexation of the republic of
Texas to the United States in 1845 and I have never regretted casting that vote yet ... "

Dr. Henry H Henson married Mary Ann Hudman on February 4, 1848 in Rusk County,
Texas.

The family first appears in the census record in 1850 in Panola County, Texas. Henry
Henson’s occupation is a farmer.

In 1860, the Henry H Henson family is found in Sabine, Van Zandt County Texas. Henry
Henson’s occupation is physician.

Dr. Henry H Henson served in the Civil War as a member of Company G of the 15th
Texas Cavalry.

FIFTEENTH TEXAS CAVALRY. In January 1862 George H. Sweet, a newspaperman
from San Antonio, began organizing a cavalry regiment. Sweet, who had been born in
Ulster County, New York, had served earlier in the war as a private in Hood's Texas
Brigade in Virginia. Having secured a commission and authority to organize his own
regiment, Sweet returned to Texas and formed ten companies from Bexar, Wise, Dallas,
Johnson, Tarrant, Limestone, Denton, Red River, Van Zandt, and Johnson counties.
Sweet had little trouble raising his regiment, which was composed of "middle-aged men
and boys," according to one member, and each had to supply his own horse and
equipment. They practiced their cavalry drill on courthouse squares and prairies around
the Lone Star State and, armed with Bowie knives and armament of every kind,
presented a most unmilitary appearance. Finally, on March 10, 1862, the Fifteenth
Texas Cavalry was mustered into service at McKinney in Collin County.
Initially, the regiment marched through Clarksville and into Arkansas. On May 20, 1862,
the regiment was reorganized in response to the new Confederate Conscription Act.
Essentially, the act specified men between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five must
serve in the military unless they held certain jobs or were responsible for twenty slaves.
In essence, the act eliminated men who had voluntarily enlisted and put men in the
ranks who did not want to fight. The act did not add any men to the regiment, but
around 100 were discharged due to being too young or too old. In addition, one of the
provisions of the act allowed the enlisted men to elect their own officers, and the
composition of the regiment changed dramatically. Colonel Sweet was reelected
colonel, while Maj. George B. Pickett of Wise County was promoted to lieutenant
colonel, and William Cathey of Company K was promoted to major.
On July 8, 1862, the regiment fought their first battle, near Batesville, Arkansas. The
regiment lost eight killed and seven wounded. In Colonel Sweet's report, he singled out
Capt. Valerius P. Sanders of Company A for "signal coolness and bravery." On July 24,
1862, the regiment was dismounted, and their horses were sent home. For the rest of
the war, the Fifteenth was to serve the Confederacy as infantry.
In the late fall of 1862, the regiment was sent to garrison the post of Arkansas, then an
unfinished fort being built by slave labor on the Arkansas River. The Fifteenth Texas
Cavalry was brigaded together with the Tenth Texas Infantry, and the Seventeenth, and
Eighteenth Texas Cavalry regiments, dismounted, and Colonel Sweet was assigned
temporarily to command the brigade.
The area was terribly unhealthy, and at least 100 men in the regiment died. Many others
had to be discharged from the service. One officer, Robert M. Collins of Company B,
stated he came close to "cashing in his checks" and was quartered near the graveyard,
which he stated was being used regularly and services held around the clock in order to
inter the large number of young men who had died. Many soldiers in the Fifteenth died
before ever seeing or even firing at a Yankee.
On January 10, 1863, about 40,000 Federal troops under the command of Maj. Gen.
John McClernand attacked the fort. Two days of furious fighting ensued, until the
Confederates capitulated on January 11. The garrison of 4,791 officers and men
surrendered, mostly Texans, and were sent on transports up the Mississippi River to
prison. In the Fifteenth Texas Cavalry, twenty-seven officers and 436 enlisted men were
captured. Exact casualties are unknown, but the regimental assistant surgeon, Nathan
Wyncoope, was mortally wounded while tending to the sick and wounded in his charge.
Officers were sent to Camp Chase, Ohio, and the enlisted men were sent to Camp
Douglas in Chicago. Arriving with few amenities and fewer blankets, many soldiers who
had become sick from exposure on the way upriver, died from pneumonia and other
causes. In about two months' time, over 700 of the Texans died, about 100 from the
Fifteenth Texas Cavalry.
Finally, on April 3, 1863, the enlisted men were sent for exchange to City Point, Virginia,
and received on April 10. Officers were sent to Fort Delaware on April 29 and received
on May 4. Due to their various ailments, many men had to be discharged, and some
died in various hospitals around Richmond, Williamsburg, and Petersburg. The enlisted
men suffered worse than the officers, and upon their exchange, many officers found
themselves to be supernumeraries. About two-thirds of the officers of the regiment were
sent back to the Trans-Mississippi Department. The Sixth and Tenth Texas Infantry and
the Fifteenth Texas Cavalry were combined into one regiment. Maj. Valerius P. Sanders
of the Fifteenth was one of the field officers in this new consolidated regiment. The
Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-fifth Texas Cavalry regiments, also
captured at Arkansas Post, were also consolidated into one regiment, and both new
regiments were placed in a new brigade under the command of Brig. Gen. James
Deshler.
It was rumored that no officers in Lee's army wanted the Texans, so they were sent to
Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee. Pat Cleburne, a divisional commander in that
army, needed replacements and decided the Texans were "a fine body of men out of
which good soldiers are made" and welcomed the Texans. He was rewarded for his
trust, as the Texans proved to be one of the best brigades in the army. The Texans were
sent initially to Wartrace, where they were retrained as infantry, all under the watchful
eye of the Irish major-general.
On the evening of September 18, 1863, Deshler's brigade splashed across Crawfish
Springs, and the bloody battle of Chickamauga began. For two days, the battle raged,
and Deshler's men were assigned to hold a position. Hold it they did, even though
Deshler was killed, and the Texans suffered severely under artillery and small-arms fire.
The next day, the Texans advanced, and assisted in driving the blue-clad army into
siege at Chattanooga. The Fifteenth fought well in their initial battle after their exchange.
Five men were killed, sixteen were wounded, and fourteen were captured or missing.
On November 24–25, 1863, the regiment won new glory at Missionary Ridge and
Tunnel Hill, where the regiment lost one man killed, seven wounded, and two missing at
Missionary Ridge, including Maj. V. P. Sanders, whose right arm was wounded severely
and had to be amputated. The regiment was also acknowledged on November 27,
1863, at Ringgold Gap, where the Texans threw back the victorious Federals. The
Fifteenth lost four wounded and one man captured in that action. The Texans, then
under the command of Hiram B. Granbury, won the thanks of the Confederate
Congress. Granbury won his general's star and command of the brigade that would
thereafter bear his name.
Beginning in May 1864 the Fifteenth Texas Cavalry served in Granbury's Brigade,
Cleburne's Division, Hardee's Corps, Army of Tennessee, and opposed Sherman's three
armies converging on Atlanta. Fighting daily at places such as Resaca, Pickett's Mill,
Dallas, Kennesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek, Leggett's Hill, and the siege works
around Atlanta, the Fifteenth lost four killed, nine mortally wounded, fifty-eight less
seriously wounded, and three captured.
After the fall of Atlanta, the Confederates fell back to Palmetto, Georgia, before
commencing a move into Tennessee. On November 30, 1864, the Army of Tennessee,
including Granbury's Texas Brigade, charged the Federal works at Franklin, Tennessee.
In five hours of furious fighting, the Confederates lost over 6,000 men. Granbury was
killed, and his brigade decimated. Of the 1,100 men who went into the fight, only about
450 answered roll call the next morning. In the Fifteenth Texas Cavalry, 7 were killed,
including Capt. Matthew M. Houston, commanding the regiment; 10 wounded; and 13
were missing.
The brigade was all but finished at the battle of Nashville on December 14–15, 1864.
The Texans defended their assigned position well but had to retreat on the. The last
major Confederate offensive of the war was over.
On April 28, 1865, the Confederate Army under the command of Gen. Joseph E.
Johnston surrendered at Greensboro, North Carolina. The Fifteenth Texas Cavalry
numbered only forty-three: three officers, eight non-commissioned officers, two
teamsters, and thirty enlisted men. Out of the 1,200 men who had served in the
regiment at one time or another, only forty-three, or 3.5 percent, were at the surrender.
Of course, many of the men were not at the surrender at Arkansas Post, as they were
on detached duty, escaped capture, or were on sick leave. Among this number was Col.
George H. Sweet, who commanded Camp Ford, a prisoner of war camp near Tyler,
Texas. Following the war, Sweet traveled in Mexico and operated several different
publications, including the Texas New Yorker, designed to promote northern investment
and immigration to Texas. Sweet moved to Galveston in 1878 and published the
Galveston Journal. He later returned back to New York. His widow, Lizzie, obtained a
pension from the state of Texas in 1899 and stated, "[I] have not heard from him for 12
years."
Sweet's disappearance occurred many years before the last of his old soldiers passed
away. With the passing of Alonzo L. Steele, formerly of Company F, on December 6,
1936, in Baytown, Harris County, it is believed the last of the old veterans of the
Fifteenth Texas Cavalry had "crossed the river, to rest 'neath the shade of the trees."1
In 1870, the Henry H Henson family is still in Van Zandt County, Texas. His occupation
is listed as physician, but he is in possession of a large amount of cash and his farm is
highly valued.

Mary Ann Hudman Henson died in 1880. She is not enumerated with the family in the
1880 census.

Sometime after the death of Mary Ann, Henry H Henson married her sister, Susan
Hudman. They are found in the 1900 census in Milam County, Texas.

In 1910, Henry and Susan Henson are back in Kaufman County, Texas, living next door
to James Washington Henson.

On February 24, 1911, Dr. Henry Henson died of old age. He is buried in the Union
Grove Cemetery in Wills Point, Van Zandt County, Texas.

children of Dr. Henry H Henson and Mary Ann Hudman were:
James Washington Henson - 1849
William Henson - 1851
Martha Henson - 1853
Louisa Henson - 1854
Joseph Henson - 1856
Susan Henson - 1858
Queen Victoria Henson - 1860
Henrietta Henson - 1862
Mattie Henson - 1862
Leann Henson - 1864
Ida Henson - 1870

James Washington Henson was born on July 12, 1849 in Panola County, Texas to
Henry H Henson and Mary Ann Hudman. He married L Clementine Murrey on May 17,
1876 in Van Zandt County, Texas.

In 1880 the James Washington Henson family is found in the Van Zandt County, Texas
census records. Living with the Henson family is an orphan, Robert Farris.

The next appearance in census records is in 1910. James W Henson and family are
living in Elmo, Kaufman County, Texas.

In 1920, James W Henson and family are found in Hiram, Kaufman County, Texas.

In 1930, the James W Henson family is located in Kaufman County, Texas. James W
Henson has three boarders living in the household.

On July 6, 1936 James Washington Henson died of heart disease.

He is buried in the Locust Grove Cemetery in Hiram, Kaufman County, Texas.

William Slone Henson was born on December 22, 1882 in Hiram, Kaufman County,
Texas.

His first census appearance is in 1910 living as a hired hand in the household of James
M Watson.

In 1920, William Slone Henson is living with his wife and children in the household of his
father-in-law, Robert L Anderson. They are located in Gladwater, Gregg County, Texas.

In 1930, William Henson and his family are living in Kaufman County.
Finally, in 1940 the family is still in Kaufman County.

William Slone Henson died on November 10, 1957 of heart disease. He is buried in the
Locust Grove Cemetery, Hiram, Kaufman County, Texas.

children of William Slone and Nora Georgia Anderson Henson were:
Edgar L Henson - 1913
William Henson - 1915
Lavon Henry Henson - 1919
Lloyd Henson - 1925
Ollie King Henson - 1927
R L Henson - 1930
J W Henson - 1930
Rex Wayne Henson - 1935

Hartless

Robert Lee Hartless
October 13, 1919 Oklahoma
May 17, 1998 Oklahoma
Noble IOOF Cemetery
married Jamie Dean Hartless Farley
November 16, 1922
April 14, 2001
Noble IOOF Cemetery

1940 census Noble, Cleveland County, Oklahoma
Clarence Hartless 43 Oklahoma
Mattie 47 Oklahoma
Claude 22 Oklahoma
Vema 14 Oklahoma
Robert 20 Oklahoma
Jamie Dean 18 Oklahoma
Bobby Lee 0 Oklahoma
McCurtain Blackwood 35 Oklahoma
James Blackwood 2 Oklahoma

1930 census Noble, Cleveland County, Oklahoma
Clarence Hartless 33 Oklahoma
Mattie 27 Oklahoma
Claude 12 Oklahoma
Robert 10 Oklahoma
Juanita 8 Oklahoma
Vema 4 Oklahoma
Sam Dawson (brother) 15 Oklahoma

Clarence Robert Hartless
July 12, 1896
April 23, 1979
Noble IOOF Cemetery
married to Mattie Dawson
January 24, 1917 Garvin County, Oklahoma

1940 census

1930 census

1920 census Elmore, Garvin County, Oklahoma
Clarence R Hartlers (Hartless) 23 Oklahoma
Mattie L 27 Oklahoma
Claude M 1 Oklahoma
Robert L 0 Oklahoma
Sam W Dawson (stepson) 5 Oklahoma

1910 census Indiahoma, Comanche County, Oklahoma
Franklin W Hartless 36 Arkansas
Rosie B 34 Oklahoma
Willie Lee (daughter) 15 Oklahoma
Clarence R 13 Oklahoma
Claude C 11 Oklahoma

Franklin Walker Hartless
March 19, 1874
January 13 1976
Wanette Cemetery, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma
married Rosie Bell Harper January 6, 1892 Sulpher Springs, Howard County, Arkansas

1900 census Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory
Frank Hartless 26 Arkansas
Rosa 24 Arkansas
Willie (daughter) 6 Indian Territory
Clarence 4 Indian Territory
Claudy 1 Indian Territory

I can’t find this Hartless family in a census record prior to 1900. Earliest documentation
is the 1892 marriage certificate.
©Jaycie Smith 2016

the maternal family of Justin D White, son of Alma Diane Hartless, daughter of Robert
Lee and Jamie Dean Hartless.

Couple to Celebrate Golden Anniversary

Bible page: Marriages

Virginia Faye Smith Woodard Briggs

birth: September 30, 1926
location: Oklahoma
death: March 20, 1990
location: Dallas, Dallas County, Texas

father: Albert William Jefferson Smith
mother: Sudie Viola Cantrell

spouse: McClendon
spouse: Woodard
spouse: Briggs

1930 census

1940 census

marriage to McClendon - 1953

obituary

burial

children:

Carolyn Sue

Virginia Faye Briggs obituary

Services for Virginia Faye Briggs, 63, were Saturday, March 24, 1990, at Calvary Temple Church in Dallas, Brother Hunt officiated.

Mrs. Briggs was born September 30, 1926, and died March 20, 1990. A resident of Balch Springs, she was employed by Rattener Clothing Mfg. as a sewing machine operator.

Survivors include a daughter, Carolyn Sue Sanchez of Balch Springs; two granddaughters, Victoria and Amanda; a sister, Clara Hague of Commerce, Texas; a brother, A.L. Smith of Tyler, Texas; seven nieces; and three nephews.

source: Newspaper clipping

Madison Rowan and Laura Lee Hopson

History 5385: A Seminar on the History of Latin American Commodities

Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures, by Marcy Norton

Mercury, Mining, and Empire, by Nicholas A. Robins

Banana Cultures, by John Soluri

Andean Cocaine, by Paul Gootenberg

Jungle Laboratories, by Gabriela Soto Laveaga

Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures

Norton, Marcy Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures: A History of Tobacco and Chocolate in the Atlantic World. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2008.

                Marcy Norton is an established historian of Atlantic History and Spanish History in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures: A History of Tobacco and Chocolate in the Atlantic World is the culmination of her studies and won the best book award from the Association for the Study of Food and Society. Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures seeks to clarify a history of tobacco and chocolate and reveals the repercussions the two New World commodities had in the European world. Norton discusses what it meant for Europeans to consume tobacco and chocolate when knowledge abounded that the two were enmeshed in nearly every aspect of pagan savages in the New World. Finally, Norton sheds light on how Europeans adapted tobacco and chocolate into their economy and lives. Europeans developed their own unique cultural meanings of tobacco and chocolate and would, with time, embrace the two goods.

            Norton begins by explaining the use and significance of tobacco and chocolate to the Native Americans in the New World. Aztec, Mayan, and other Mesoamerican groups were bound together in their common usage of tobacco and chocolate. Chocolate beans were used as a common form of currency throughout Central Mexico. Tobacco and chocolate were woven into rites that conveyed social differentiation based on bloodlines and battlefield skill. Also, tobacco and chocolate expressed ties that Mesoamerican peoples considered binding to divinity. In consuming tobacco and chocolate, humans could achieve corporeal states similar to those experienced by their gods. Tobacco and chocolate anchored, enriched, and defined many social and religious rituals. The two quintessentially American goods could be found involved in betrothals, homecomings, intermission after meals, as tributes to gods, childbirth, and many more Mesoamerican activities.

            The next step in the evolution of tobacco and chocolate as world commodities was the encounters Spanish conquistadors had with Mesoamericans who consumed the substances. While the initial encounters had no special significance, Norton contends that many conquistadors, such as Hernán Cortéz, wizened to the social importance placed in and around tobacco and chocolate. Another example is Galetto Cey, an Italian trader who had to rely on Native American guides who insisted on conducting a tobacco ceremony before beginning an expedition. In the context of diplomacy and need, Cortéz and Cey participated in chocolate rituals in order to get the assistance of Native Americans that was relied upon for Imperial purposes.

            Norton explains the stereotypes tobacco and chocolate would be known by, several lasting for centuries. Tobacco was associated with simple savagery and native depravity. There was a close association of tobacco and its smoke with the devil and sorcery. On the other hand, chocolate was associated with the highly evolved civilizations of Mexico. The beverage was considered a decadence. The recipes and the methods of preparation were looked at as art forms, with precise steps and ingredients. Even Spanish historian and writer Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés saw chocolate as acceptable for consumption because of its medicinal qualities.  

            The process of how tobacco and chocolate impacted and imprinted imperial Europe began as the Spanish overlaid colonial institutions onto existing social, political, and economic structures. Religious tributes involving tobacco and chocolate continued, political and ecclesiastical jurisdictions were built upon standing indigenous political units, and Catholic churches were constructed on top of demolished pagan temples. Norton asserts that tobacco and chocolate survived because the new Spanish regime was erected on top of the substratum of native society. Tobacco and chocolate became the link to past traditions and allowed their adaptation to new settings. Pre-colonial traditions could be remade to serve new rulers and new divinities.  

            Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures explains how European acculturation to native ways, especially the acquired tastes for tobacco and chocolate, led to the suffusion of tobacco and chocolate into mestizo society. Many who became aficionados of tobacco and chocolate in the New World maintained the habit when upon their return to Europe. Norton contends that very early on in Spanish Imperialization conquistadores recognized cacao as a valuable commodity. Cacao was an immediate colonial commodity because of its value as a long-distance trade good before Spanish conquest. Tobacco was not seen as a valuable colonial commodity until later.  

            Once tobacco and chocolate leapt across the Atlantic Ocean, Europeans struggled with how to reconcile the use of the two commodities. Could a European consume tobacco and chocolate without implicating themselves in native idolatry? Nicolás Monardes was the first university-trained doctor to systematically consider American materia medica. With respect to tobacco, his drawings and writings offer clear insight into the European debate over the beneficial uses of the herb, and the impressions that its use was linked to idolatry. For Monardes, tobacco used medically was properly European, and tobacco used for other purposes was not acceptably European. However, chocolate was received in Europe differently than tobacco. At times, chocolate was juxtaposed to other regional beverages and considered acceptable for consumption. Many writers attempted to excuse the use of chocolate.

            Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures documents the time period that tobacco and chocolate began to have a firm social and commercial foothold on the Iberian Peninsula. Norton argues that commodification of tobacco and chocolate was the result of the growing European demand for the goods. Tobacco entered through the wealthy and well-connected merchant class, along with the lower-class mariner community. Elite Spaniards were the earliest and most frequent buyers of chocolate. Clergy members, titled aristocrats, families of officials, and professionals all imported tobacco and chocolate. Similar to the cultural roles tobacco played in the New World, Europeans easily created social situations for people to consume tobacco. In the same way that tobacco was once sacred to the Indians, it also became sacred to Old World consumers. Sensory sensations, such as the practices, habits, and tastes of tobacco were maintained even across the Atlantic Ocean.   

            In no other place are the enduring legacies of tobacco and chocolate more pronounced than seventeenth-century art. Norton points to the Barcelona tile painting as evidence of the powerful rite of sociability surrounding the manufacture of chocolate and its consumption. In the painting, chocolate conveys sumptuous refinement and the nobility and high status of chocolate consumers. Also conveyed in the painting, chocolate portrays intimacy of an erotic nature. David Teniers the Younger’s painting, Peasants Smoking in an Inn (1640), illustrates the shared change in mood and consciousness that unifies the smokers depicted. An onlooker is seen on the periphery eagerly looking on to joining the other smokers’ altered states.   

            Tobacco and chocolate soon became fundamental staples of the Atlantic trade network. Spanish royal officials worked to monopolize tobacco, which mandated the procurement, processing, and sale of tobacco to be the exclusive right of the Spanish government. Through the use of leases within the royal tobacco monopoly, the commodities brought in substantial revenues and increased the importance and power of the Spanish state. Spain used its new trade leverage to expand its domain domestically. Norton argues that the fiscalization of tobacco and chocolate affected their cultural meanings. Instead of the medicine Monardes had envisioned, tobacco and chocolate became the first mass luxuries.

            Finally, Catholic Spain had to contend with the problems of tobacco and chocolate consumption during Catholic rituals. Would tobacco consumption interfere with communion? If used by holy people or in holy places, would chocolate be considered sacrilege? Through the Catholic Church’s reform program, tobacco was made to be seen as the same as all sins, no better and no worse. This validated the sacrament and reduced the threat of tobacco. Next, Catholics considered chocolate and its potential to violate an ecclesiastical fast. This particular issue was heavily debated among Spaniards of many professions. With no papal bull to direct Catholics, the pope laughed chocolate off as a strange Indian drink.

            Eventually, smoking tobacco became the dominant form of ingestion. Norton argues that tobacco smoking led to opium smoking. While Europeans connoted smoking tobacco with diabolically inspired idolators, Asian countries eschewed a friendliness towards smoking. Norton is also quick to point out that the social rites surrounding chocolate drinking inspired the use of tea and coffee. Mesoamerican tobacco and chocolate consumers would not recognize the world commodities that today we know as cigarettes and Hershey’s kisses.

Gaines Chisholm Smith and Matilda Jane Davis marriage

location: Limestone County, Alabama
date: November 15, 1845

Sarah Turner McAdams Adrian

birth: October 4, 1825
location:
death: January 21, 1866
location: Smith County, Texas

father:
mother:

spouse: McAdams
spouse: John David German Adrian

marriage to John David German Adrian - 1857

1860 census

burial

children with McAdams:

Lewis McAdams - 1845
Laura McAdams - 1851

children with John David German Adrian:

Buchanan Breckenridge Adrian  - 1857
Andrew Jackson Adrian - 1859

J D G Adrian and Winnie Dyer marriage

location: Carroll County, Georgia
date: October 28, 1834

Ancesrty.com. Georgia, Marriage Records From Select Counties, 1828-1978 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

J D G Adrian and Sarah McAdams marriage

location: Smith County, Texas
date: April 15, 1856
location: Smith County, Texas

Ancestry.com. Texas, Marriage Collection, 1814-1909 and 1966-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.

J D G Adrian - 1850 census

1850 census
location: Smith County, Texas
date: September 21, 1850

John D G Adrian  54  male  farmer  $2,000  Georgia
Winney Adrian  26  female  Kentucky
Flemin F Adrian  15  male  Alabama
Nancy L E Adrian  14  female  Alabama
Leaditha J Adrain  11  female  Alabama
California Adrian  2  female  Texas

Year: 1850; Census Place: My Subdivision, Smith, Texas; Roll: M432_915; Page: 47B; Image: 98

J D G Adrian - 1880 census

1880 census
location: Van Zandt County, Texas
date: June 28, 1880

Amanda Brewer  white  female  23  wife  keeping house
Mrs. Williams  white  female  50  hired  keeping house
J D G Adrian  white  male  65  hired  farmer

"United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFJN-K4P : 14 July 2016), J D G Adrian in household of W J Brewer, Precinct 5, Van Zandt, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district ED 123, sheet 124D, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 1330; FHL microfilm 1,255,330.

John David German Adrian

birth: March 18, 1815
location: Franklin County, Georgia
death: September 29, 1887
location: Van Zandt County, Texas

father: Fleming Fowler Adrian
mother:

spouse: Winnie Dyer
spouse: Sarah Turner

marriage to Winnie Dyer - 1834

1850 census

marriage to Sarah McAdams - 1857

1860 census

1863 recruitment letter

1870 census

1880 census

burial

children with : Winnie Dyer

Fleming Fowler Adrian - 1834
Nancy L E Adrian - 1836
Leditha J Adrian - 1839
California Adrian - 1848
John Adrian - 1851
King Lollar Melvin Adrian - 1853

children with Sarah Turner:

Buchanan Breckenridge Adrian  - 1857
Andrew Jackson Adrian - 1859

Sarah Elizabeth Kelly Moorman

birth: April 28, 1851
location: Smith County, Texas
death: August 17, 1883
location: Henderson County, Texas

father: James Kelly
mother: Elizabeth Moore

spouse: John Dee Moorman

1850 census

1860 census

1870 census

marriage to John Dee Moorman

1880 census

burial

L R Morris - 1940 census

location: Hopkins County, Texas
date: April 8-9, 1940

L R Morris  head  male  white  68  married  Tennessee  farmer
Ida Morris  wife  female  white  45  married  Texas
Mozelle Morris  daughter  female  white  18  single  Texas
Billy M Morris  son  male  white  15  single  Texas

Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

Shelton

1.      Monty Gayle Shelton

2.      Edmond Gayle Shelton – November 13, 1935

3.      MacGrover/MacGruver “Mac” Shelton  April 17, 1891 – November 8, 1977

Kiowa Cemetery, Roger Mills County, Oklahoma

m. Elverda Jewel Yost

children:          1. Infant Daughter Shelton

                        2. Winford W Shelton

                        3. Goldie Pearl Shelton Spitzer Flynt

                        4. Danellda Margene Shelton Morain

                        5. Wanda Margene Shelton Linville Rowell

                        6. Edmond Gayle Shelton

4.      Amos Mack Shelton  April 28, 1850 – February 2, 1930

b. North Carolina

Cass Cemetery, Cass County, Texas

m. Sarah Blanton

m. N Ellen Calloway

children with Sarah Blanton: 1. Menard Maderson (Madison) Shelton

children with N Ellen Calloway:        1. Leila Shelton Abernathy

                                                            2. Effie Shelton Cook

                                                            3. Alpha J Shelton

                                                            4. Walker Pendleton Shelton                         

                                                            5. MacGrover/MacGruver “Mac” Shelton

5.      Spencer Shelton  December 31, 1818 – February 1, 1902

b. North Carolina

Shelton Rankin Cemetery, Hughes Springs, Cass County, Texas

m. Sarah Ann Morris

m. Catherine Morris

children with Sarah Ann Morris:        1. William Wesley Shelton

                                                            2. Benjamin Franklin Shelton

Children with Catherine Morris:         1. Amos Mack Shelton          

                                                            2. James Henry Shelton

                                                            3. Asbury Mood Shelton

                                                            4. George Rademy Shelton

                                                            5. Margaret Anna Shelton Womack

                                                            6. Nelson Shelton

                                                            7. Jefferson Davis Shelton

                                                            8. Charles S Shelton

                                                            9. Sarah Jane Shelton

                                                            10. Beauford Berry Shelton

           

Menard Maderson (Madison) Shelton  March 3, 1874 - May 14, 1949

Kiowa Cemetery, Roger Mills County, Oklahoma

m. Pearl Blue

children:          1. Otis Vernon Shelton

                        2. Sarah Anna Alice Aleeyne Shelton Kirksey

                        3. Berton Menard Shelton

                        4. Wesley McB Shelton

Menard Madison (or Maderson) Shelton was born March 3, 1874 in Cass County, Texas near Hughes Springs.  He was the son of A. M. and Sarah Blanton Shelton.  Menard's mother died when he was 4 years old and he lived with his grandparents until his father remarried a few years later.

He came to what is now Oklahoma and filed on his farm near Herring in Roger Mills County in 1900.

On December 11, 1903 he was married to Miss Pearl Blue.  They lived on their farm before moving to Elk City for two years, after which they returned to the farm and lived there until 1944, when they moved back to Elk City because of Mr. Shelton's failing health.  He was bedfast a great part from then until his death.

The following account of how Pearl met Menard was written by their daughter, Aleeyne Kirksey:

While living on the Yost homestead, Pearl had ridden a horse after buttermilk (they had moved their cattle away from the house), got down to open a gate and the horse ran off with a jug of buttermilk.  (Jack Lacey on Nine-Mile.)  Then she went to Nemire after buttermilk - there in the cellar was Menard Shelton standing in the corner of the dugout with gray pants and a dark red sweater.  Pearl went home and told her mother she had met the man she was going to marry.

Sunday at church (at Sandstone), Menard was there.  Grandma, Grandpa, Verdie, and Pearl were all there.  Grandpa forgot the chair Pearl rode in behind the spring seat and sent her (back into church) after it.  Menard carried it out and wrote that he'd be over on Sunday to talk to her.

They courted about 3 years and married December 11, 1903.  They courted by horseback.  Menard got a buggy about 6 months before they married.  Grandma (Alice) would give consent then back out, wait 2 or 3 months, etc..  Menard sent Ira Morton in the buggy with a note, "Get in the buggy - let's go get married."  Pearl refused.

Elizabeth Causey James

birth: 1818
location: Alabama
death:
location: Texas

father: Ezekiel Causey
mother: Elizabeth Causey

spouse: Nathan James

1850 census

1860 census

children with Nathan James:

Mary Alice James

Elizabeth James - 1860 census

1860 census
location: Eagle Lake, Colorado County, Texas
date: July 14, 1860

Elizabeth James  39  female  Alabama
John Kersey  25  male  farm laborer  Alabama
Addison Kersey  16  male  Alabama
Doe Kersey  13  male  Alabama
Elizabeth Kersey  10  female  Alabama
Alice James  1  female  Texas

Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.