Kinsearching April 25, 2010

RELEASE DATE: APRIL 25, 2010



KINSEARCHING

by

Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
 

     Charles N. Ferguson, 811 South Market, Shawnee, OK 74801 (phone 1-405-275-3879) needs information on the parents, siblings, and place of birth of Martha COX, born in 1825 in Missouri. Her father was born in Georgia and her mother was born in Missouri. Martha married William M. FURGUSON/FURGASON/FERGUSON about 1845-1847, maybe in Missouri. One son was born in Missouri in October 1848. About 1849 the family moved to Red River County, TX, where Martha appears on the 1880 census.


     With the increasing numbers of Hispanics (sometimes called Latinos) in the United States, interest in the family history of this segment of the population is also growing. Fascination with the family background of such a diverse ethnic group has led to a fairly recent spurt of genealogical works focusing on Hispanic roots. Such publications, however, are nothing new. In 1954, for instance, Fray Angélico Chávez compiled the book, ORIGINS OF NEW MEXICO FAMILIES IN THE SPANISH COLONIAL PERIOD, 1598 – 1821, published in Santa Fe by the Historical Society of New Mexico. As he discovered more information about these lines, he submitted the addenda to the periodical, El Palacio, also published in Santa Fe. His material appeared in Vol. 62, No. 11 (November 1955); Vol. 63, Nos. 5-6 (May-June 1956); Vol. 63, Nos. 7-8 (July-August 1956); and in later issues.


     Researchers with Hispanic roots in the Land of Enchantment may want to read the new article, “DNA Analysis for the Genealogist: What Does It Really Tell You” by Henrietta M. Christmas. Appearing on pages 29-32 of the March 2010 (Vol. 49, No. 1) issue of the New Mexico Genealogist, it furnishes interesting reading about some of the state’s early families, DNA testing, and problems about results that may arise.


     As readers may recall, this column carried a series of articles about Spur, TX, in 2009. In Kinsearching dated 6 September 2009, I explained how the series came about and how it had evolved over time. Interestingly, items continue to pop up in various sources that bring the town’s history to mind. One of the latest is the article, “Rancher-Gunfighter Pink Higgins Survived a Feud and Much More.” Written by Clara Watkins, it appears on pages 18-19 of the February 2010 issue of the monthly magazine, Wild West. A participant in one of Texas’s most famous feuds, John Calhoun Pinckney “Pink” Higgins was in the crowd attending the sale of Spur town lots in November 1909. (See Kinsearching dated 19 April 2009.) Data about the Horrell-Higgins feud can also be found on pages 702-703 of Volume 3 of THE NEW HANDBOOK OF TEXAS IN SIX VOLUMES (Austin: The Texas State Historical Association, 1996) or by visiting the website at http://www.tsahonline.org and click on Search the Handbook of Texas. Both versions of the Handbook provide sources for more detailed information. Mentioned in Watkins’s article is the most recent book on the subject, The Bloody Legacy of Pink Higgins by Bill O’Neal (Austin: Eakin Press, 1999).


     Here are marriages from the 19 Feb 1836 (Vol. 18, no. 8, whole number 892) issue of the New Hampshire Observer, published in Concord, NH. (Surnames are capitalized for emphasis.)
     “In Newport, 11 inst. by Rev. John WOODS, Maj. Leander LONG and Miss Sybil A. BUEL, both of N.” (sic)
     “In Surry, by Rev. Mr. BARSTOW, Mr. Daniel DARLING of Keene, to Miss Theodosia STONE of S.” (sic)
     “In Litchfield, by Rev. J. MCGEE, Mr. Elijah LEACH to Miss Esther BARNES, both of L.” (sic)


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