FAMILY.....

My family uses Geni.com for a site. But I am going to notate the other sites listed here and pass them onto my Mom.

Thanks Chelle, I know a bit, not sure I really want to know more. I want absolutely nothing to do with bio father's side- he is alive to tell but I don't care to ask or speak/see him at all. Mom's side is interesting. Grampa came from Ireland, never meet him, he died the year before I born. Grammas parents came from Italy. Lots of NYC mob ties, should be lots of mob money somewhere but gramma was the blacksheep and was written off, she got divorced and remarried in the 30's. Catholics did not do that back then.

way too cool tara!!

None of mine were that interesting, just plain ole farmers and poor folk. 3 X great was from Ireland married a widower had one son then ran off back up north we belive. We know he turned up in a Masonic Lodge in NY late in life. But she stayed and raised the son he turned out to be the first child born in Jasper Co, became a teacher , a judge , and was a state senator. Rode a mule from here to Austin (its a 7 hour car trip now)- His picture hangs in the capitol. But before that he had a family here and went off to the war leavin her here, and being a yankee she 'harbord the enemy'. She was ran out of town on a rail. Took their 2 young sons, moved to Ca. They kept in touch once they became grown, one always was asking for money, swearing he would hit it rich, the other kept telling dad to quit sending it, that he had written him off-- but when the old man died they lost touch, (heard of Ralphs in Ca? that was the bad sons we belive)--
we still have his desk and some of his things. I even have the draft notices hung around the precinct for the civil war. Its his house that my great aunt lives in now, and I own a small parcel his momma's land.(league and a labor but not much is left.) He was an elected officail of some capacity for over 66 years. Maybe thats where I get all my nosyness from and insistance that I have my fingers in so many pies... LOL

Rumor is the momma was a ..... madam, she had been married twice before, we do know that. She was from a rich family up north, There is a letter floating around telling her to bring her 'chicks' to Texas and start a ranch...... and the first land she owned was called waterloo, she gave it to the state of Texas ( family lore says as a Thank you, I think its cause she was in trouble...) its now where Austin sits. She also owned some land in a joint venture with a guy down around beaumont. They sold it, and there sits spindletop... (biggest oil boom) anyway, Thats my story.

Just poor folks who screwed up the few things they DID have.... ROFLMAO

thanks for the site missy!

Chelle, there used to be a "chicken ranch" out there, historical landmark now.

My family on my Dad's side were Plantation owners, in and around new orleans, Houma, in that area. MY great great (great?) Uncle was Stonewall Jackson, according to my Grandmother, but i never found proof. My Mom's side were sharecroppers......go figure. Now, dh's family started Community coffee they owned the mill until the late 1960's, Not sure about all fo their history, let someone else do it....LOL

thats cool erin!! Community coffee?? wow! neat!

Yep, the chicken ranch, made famous by ZZ top... its a rumor... LOL

There is a book, called Sophira dean out there somewhere, but we cant find a copy.

Really? Stonewall? thats REALLY COOL!! Most of mine faught in the war- but noone famous. on my dads side my GGGGF was a union soldier, his daughter married the son of a Reb. LOL I am sure that made for some BAD blood. LOL

Oh now this is wierd.
In Tenaha in 1910 2 differnt families of no relation (small town though I can find NO connection - seriously, these are the ONLY two branches that we are NOT kin on.. LOL ) had children
One a girl, named her willie Delmar
the other a boy named Willie Thomas.

She moved to Jasper Co, married, had kids, then remarried, on Sept 15 1950, had a son, named him Willie Elray.

Willie Thomas became a preacher, went to Kansas (WHY?) met and married a gal, took her plumb down to Refugio county, way down south, like 10 hours from here. Had kids, the boy was born on Sept 13, 1950. named him Willie Thomas after his daddy.

They stayed in South Texas, Never came back up here at all. Elray stayed up here. My mom, who is from here was moved down there when her dad got a job, went to high school, met and married Tommy. we moved back when I was in 8th grade

BR's dad Elray, met and married a girl up here, stayed here, had BR.

I think the milk man in Tenaha was named Willie....

Shoot, if we're swapping this kind of story I got y'all beat. My mom's family were immigrants from Armenia. The Turks had invaded and tried to kill all of them. Genocide. Anyhow, one of the things the Turks did was to impress Armenian men into the military to work under them, kind of like slaves. If you resisted you'd be killed, but also your family or village would be wiped out. They didn't put them in critical jobs, or give them weapons. But they made them be cooks or clerks or aides. Anyhow, that's what happened to my great grandfather. He was taken at gunpoint, told to behave or his family would pay and he'd be killed, then made an office clerk. Only he was smart and good at his work so over several years he was given more and more responsibility. Eventually they told him that his family, his wife and kids, parents, everyone, had been killed in the Genocide. He was devastated but he remarried and had other kids. By this time he had gotten to be a favorite of one of the Turkish generals and worked directly under him. He started knowing where all the troops were going to be moved and which areas were to be attacked next, which families were going to be targeted. So he started leaking the info and warning people that they were in danger. Then one night the general's wife came to him in the middle of the night and told him that her husband suspected he was the leak. She had bribed the guards to leave their posts but he had to take his wife and kids and run right then. He did. And thanks to her, he got away. He was free for the first time in years. So he decided he wanted to go see the graves of his first wife and their children. He'd never got to say goodbye and he just wanted to see their graves. Only when he got there, they were still alive. That must have been a shock. Anyhow, he ended up divorcing his second wife and arranging for her to marry his best friend so that she and the kids would be taken care of. The thing is, no one remembers the best friend's last name. So we have no idea what happened to them. But wouldn't it be cool to meet their descendants.

OMG!! that is freakin spooky! and sad. so very sad. but so amazing!! and true love.. wow..

Omg that is sad--but a really neat story ---


I am glad everyone is sharing there history this is so much fun!! and I love reading about it!!!!!