Courting: A Love Story

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 8  (Feb 22-28)

Prompt: Courting

#52ancestors 

My late cousin, Nancy (VanHoozer) Bradley, shared this with me after our Grandmother passed away.  It was hand written on a small notepad by Gladys Mamie (Sample) McCarley. I hope one of her daughters still have the original. I am just very happy that Nancy let me copy it. 

To give you some context and a timeframe.  My Grandmother got married in 1929 when she was 15 years old and my Grandfather was 25 years old. Loda Stout was my Grandfather's 1st cousin.

 To my Granddaughter, Nancy, who has asked for a love story. 

How well I remember the first time I met your Grandfather. It was at a dance at my Grandparents house. They had recently moved to a farm S.E. of Marlow. My Mother and Step Father and I went over for the dance on Sat. night. They left me to spend a week with my Step Grandparents who were the only Grandparents I ever knew. 

Any way I saw this guy dancing and thought, "I want to dance with him".  Later, I learned he had looked at me and said "There is my wife."  He did come and ask for a dance and of course I said yes. But just then they broke for a 5 or 10 minute intermission. When the music started again he came after his dance, but I didn't recognize him and told him I had this dance. My Aunt told me this was the one so I had to apologize and we danced & danced & danced mostly all the rest of the eve. 

Next day Loda Stout who lived 1/4 mile from Grandma's came and asked me if I would go with your Grandpa to the circus that night.  I told a little fib to my Grandparents in order to get permission. I told them I had been going with boys for some time and I had, really, in a group. Loda had not been going with boys either but because she would be with her cousin & I she was allowed to go.  So it was a blind date and double date. Your Grandpa made a date for Loda & she made a date for him. We went to the circus every night that week. Never did get your Grandpa on the Ferris Wheel. 

He started coming to Lawton to see me and of course I came to Marlow every excuse which was parties that turned into dances. 

We even gave a few "parties" ourselves after we were married and moved back to Marlow. Had to stop because a group of boys from Rush Springs started coming and getting drunk. The last one we gave all four of the McCarley boys almost got into a fight trying to get them to leave. 

I'm getting ahead. 

Grandpa for some reason (I think he was testing our relation) failed to come over for 3 or 4 months. Any way I thought I had lost him when one day a knock was heard on the door and I answered. I was so shocked & happy. I almost didn't ask him in. We just stood and looked at each other. 

After that he was over every weekend until he got a job on railroad at El Reno?, then when he couldn't come over he sent your Uncle Floyd. Floyd & I had some good times together. I thought, and still do, a lot of him. He has always been more like a big brother. As you know I was an only child and welcomed a big brother or sister but Viola never accepted me as her sister. Sister-in-law, yes. 

Your Grandpa never said "I love you". He never asked me to marry him. He did ask me to take a trip with him and I said not unless we were married. Somehow we just started planning our wedding. Never did take that trip. 

As I said your Grandpa never said, "I love you" in so many words but his actions said so beyond a shadow of a doubt. He literally gave his life that I and our children might have a good life. It wasn't his fault that I wasn't completely happy with the kind of life I had to live to be with him, the man I loved with all my heart. I'd do it all over again if given the chance. He would have given me the moon if he thought I needed it, but if I asked for it he would have laughed at me. 

I think your Grandpa was born to help others. It seems that when a tragedy occurred he was always there.  Once a bridge (RR) was falling and he ran in under it, held it up till 4 men could get out. and as he jumped back it fell.  He was there to pick up a man from under a load of sand that had been dumped on him from a dump truck. He was there to pick up the broken bodies of some kids who had a head on from playing chicken. If anyone in the neighborhood was sick or dying, he was there. 

After we married we lived in El Reno for a while. Then he was (bumped) that is, a man who had been with the railroad longer took his job. He had to go to Ft. Worth to (bump).  We lived in Ft. Worth the rest of that winter and he brought me back to his Mother to have my baby - Gwonda.  That was a lonesome time for me I spent a lot of time on the creek crying. .... After she was born I only had to look at her to see your Grandpa. But finally he took us home with him. Then he got bumped again. 

He got a job baking pies in Bowie, Texas. But he decided to come back to the farm he had leased at Marlow. I'll never forget that trip. We had a sport coupe. (I don't know the make). We put everything we owned in the car. I sat on top of quilts, holding Gwonda all the way from Bowie to Marlow. Was I ever glad to get there. 

Since your Great Grandpa had rented his farm & house and was living in your Grandpa's, we moved in with them until first of the year when they moved back into their own.

 

 

Landed

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 7  (Feb 15-21)

Prompt: Landed

#52ancestors

 

In 1729 "Moses McCarley landed at New Castle, Delaware with others under the leadership of Hance Hamilton from Northern Ireland."[1] 

Was this the same Moses McCarley who wrote his will on June 11, 1785, and was recorded September 10, 1787 in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. This will names his wife, Ruthe,  sons, James, David, Abram, grandson, Thomas, and daughters, Elizabeth Cavin and Jean Heddleston. His age listed in the will would make his birth year about 1710. Samuel and Spencer Ford testified that the said Moses McCarley signed, sealed, and delivered it as his last will and testament. [2].  There are some who believe that this implies that Ruthe's maiden name was Ford, however there is no other documents at this time to collaborate that conclusion. 

The Delaware Moses McCarley is included in the list of First Settlers who made improvements in  the Manor of Maske, PA before 1741 which includes the current borough of Gettysburg, township of Cumberland, and parts of several adjacent districts in Adams County.[3]  This group of Scots-Irish were Presbyterian and believed in education.[4]  This 1765 list was also called the original squatters of the Manor of Maske and was made out in 1765.[5]  This land was under grant to William Penn and John Digges. eventually John Digges sold the land pushing the squatters out. There have been no other records of Moses McCarley found in Delaware. 

On April 28, 1768 a land grant was issued to Moses McCarley in Mecklenburg, North Carolina on both sides of Camp Creek. David and John Huddlestone were the Chain Bearers.  This is significant because Moses' daughter, Jean married a Stephen Heddleston/Huddleston.

 On December 22, 1772 Moses McCarley of Berkley Co., South Carolina sold 100 acres of the 200 acre land grant to John Deveny of Tryon Co., North Carolina for five pounds.  The 100 acres was located on both sides of Camp Creek.  It was witnessed by Alex McCaughy and David Huddlestone and received by court during the July term of 1774.[6]

 

Recorded on March 1, 1773, Moses McCarley is listed in Craven Co, North Carolina with 250 acres Vol. 18, p. 128. [7] 

March 1, 1773, Moses McCarley is also listed with 250 acres on a branch of Jimmy's Creek in (Chesterfield)  South Carolina.[8] 

April 18th, 1785, Moses McCarley was issued 37 pounds, 11 shillings, and  pence sterling for Militia Duty as private from 1779-1783.[9]  [The Moses McCarley (Ruthe) would have been about 69 in 1779 so it seems unlikely that this is the same Moses McCarley.  I have 5 different Moses McCarleys in my database so it seems likely that this is one of them. ] 

1780 Tax list of York Co., PA lists John and Moses McCarley.[10] 

1790 Census of Ninety-Six District, South Carolina. Spartanburg County lists Ruth McKerley (widow of Moses McCarley) with 1 male over 16 and 1 female.    

1790, Moses McKerly is listed in Pendleton County with 2 males over 16 and 4 females. 

Those entries in italics I can reasonably assume are my Moses McCarley & family based in large part on his FAN grouping. The rest needs more research and may never be proven. 

---

[1] McAfee, Jane Berry. "The McCarley Memories". Farmersville, TX: 1980. Presbyterian Records, Historical Library, Belfast, Ireland, "List of Protestant Householders, 1700-1729".

[2] Spartanburg Co., South Carolina Will Book A. pages 245-246..

[3] https://eastcoastgenealogy.com/wp/2020/01/first-settlers-of-the-manor-of-maske/

[4]https://www.britannica.com/place/Delaware-state/The-colony

[5] https://eastcoastgenealogy.com/wp/2020/01/first-settlers-of-the-manor-of-maske/

[6] McAfee, Jane Berry.

[7] McAfee. & Pre-Revolutionary Plats Index of South Carolina.

[8] McAfee, & South Carolina Plats to 1776, Vol. 18, p. 128

[9] Accounts Audited in South Carolina AA4903 Sep276. Stub entries to Indents Issue in payments of claims against South Carolina.

[10] McAfee. & Salley, A.S., Jr. Accounts Audited in South Carolina AA 4904 SE page 275; Stub entries to Indents issue in Payments of Claims against South Carolina

Family Maps of Ozark County, Missouri

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 6  (Feb 8-14)

Prompt: Maps

#52ancestors 

I love doing research with maps because they often point the way to further research, help create fan (family, associates, and neighbors) groupings, and locate local churches and cemeteries.  One of my favorite maps to search is published by Arphax Publishing.  They have taken the original landowner maps from the land survey states and created books.  The books are not intuitive. I had to actually read the instructions to figure out how to use them and find the landowners related to me. Even with that, they are so much easier than the information at the Bureau of Land Management.  The BLM website helps in letting you know which county to search and information about the land itself.  The Family Map books shows where the land is located in context with the entire county and it is easier to see how close the land is to other relatives.  There are also maps showing local landmarks, such as rivers, churches, and cemeteries.

Family Maps of Ozark County, Missouri book has patent maps showing the land patents and where they are located for my 4th Great Grandfather, George Herndon, my 3rd Great Grandfather, Isaiah Herndon, my 3rd Great Grand Uncle, Goodman Daves, and a number of other surnames who married into the family including Piland and Norris. 

After studying these maps, I could see that in one case even though a groom lived fairly far from the bride by road that following the river, they were not that far apart.  It gave me a ready made list of neighbors and I could see who was signing as witnesses on deeds.  When the same surname showed up close, I knew to research that name and fit them into the family.  I can see that Isaiah Herndon owned land near his brothers, Stephen and Henry. 

When I find a new name or place, I check to see if there is a Family Map book.  Then I check my local library to see if they have the book and if not, then WorldCat to find the nearest library that has it. 

 

 

 

 

Branching Out: DNA Research

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 5  (Feb 1-7)

Prompt: Branching Out

#52ancestors

For years I resisted DNA research for multiple reasons but with the pandemic I decided to branch out using DNA research. I spent many hours watching Rootstech webinars and YouTube videos learning the possibilities of DNA research. I'm far from an expert but I was able to help a friend determine his Father and helped put him in touch with a half sibling.  I have had less success with using my husband's DNA to break down walls.

 I came close to being a stalker for his nearest match since the match did not respond to my emails.  By the time he responded, I suspected that he was adopted.  I was right, he was adopted and couldn't help break any of our research walls down.  He also didn't seem all that interested in finding out more about his biological family or sharing his DNA information with me. 

 I still have hopes that as the database expands that a new match will pop up that will help solve that problem, meanwhile I continue to learn more about DNA research and how it can help. 

 Every marriage creates another family branch for research, but finding female ancestors can be problematic. Until recent history they were pretty much considered the property of their Fathers and Spouses. They are often not named in any records. Searching wills, deeds, tax and other records are often unproductive.  If a marriage record is not found, it may be next to impossible to prove a wife's name.  I've been studying how Mitochondrial DNA (MtDNA) can help.

MtDNA is very stable from Mother to Daughter and is passed almost unchanged for many generations.  Looking at my migration map from Family Tree DNA, I can see where my ancestor's route branched out from other lines over thousands of years.   My female ancestors ended up in the British Isles before arriving in North America.

My Mitochondrial haplogroup is T2b27.  The main haplogroup is T but with each branch a subsection is added so that exact matches all have a shared  female ancestor thousands of years ago.  Not particularly helpful for genealogical research but interesting to see how my female ancestors have migrated over thousands of years. 

I have 7 exact haplogroup matches, 2 of which have their earliest female ancestor in Ireland.  Elizabeth Wright born in Indiana in 1816 is the earliest ancestor I have following my maternal line.  I have been unable to determine her Mother, although I know her Father is Squire James Wright.  This is obviously a place where I need to do more research and learning more about MtDNA research may help me find Elizabeth's Mother adding one more branch to the family.  

Thank you, Mic Barnette at the Dallas Public Library, for adding to my knowledge of mitochondrial research.