Happy 100th Birthday, Lynn Colbert Williamson

July 22, 2012 marks what would have been the 100th birthday of Lynn Colbert Williamson. He was the middle child of Dr. Sam Williamson and Frankie Jones. Lynn's younger sister was my grandmother. 

I only met him 2 or 3 times that I can remember. The first time was when I was 4 and the second time was when I was 19, and then maybe another. He and his wife lived in Texas most of my life, while I was in California.

Lynn grew up in Duncan, Oklahoma. He married the girl across the street. They had one son.

Lynn and his son, about 1940

Lynn was in the oil business. As with many people in that industry, he and his family moved often and all over the place.

Lynn, his mother, his sister (my grandmother), his nephew (my dad)

Lynn looking sharp during his oil days.

Lynn retired in the 1970's and moved to Houston. He played a lot of golf and was an active member of the community.

This looks like Pebble Beach to me, but I can't confirm it.

In the 1980's, Lynn was struck with Guillain–Barré syndrome and essentially paralyzed. He eventually walked again with the aid of a walker but never fully recovered physically. Mentally, he was sharp as a tack. When his legs quit working, he took to writing on his typewriter. 

Lynn wrote about his life and his family. I am lucky to have copies of many of these pages, as he is one of the only people in my family to record history. I have few papers.

What I remember most about Lynn was his positive attitude. It was more than just being happy. It resonated from him. He wasted no time feeling sorry or sad. He was truly grateful for life. 

When I talk on this blog about living each day and building memories with your family, it is because of the writing Lynn left behind. Life really is short, and you must treasure it. If you spend all your time dwelling on the negative things, you'll completely miss out on what's important.

Happy birthday, Lynn. Hope this crew is throwing a party for you:

The Fearsome Foursome:

My grandparents, Lynn and his wife Imogene

Stealing Time With the Williamsons

Life is really busy right now, so I don't have the time to take a "personal genealogy day" like I used to do every now and then. When someone pays for my services, his or her family tree gets priority and my time...which is as it should be.

However, I always get a little bummed when my own genealogy is neglected for a long time. My solution is to steal an hour here or there for my own research.

This weekend, I was able to find three hours over two days.

My research focus was on my Williamson line, specifically the children of my third great-grandparents John Laurens Williamson (1811-1862) and Susan Quesenberry (1823-1892). Their oldest daughter Ann Williamson (1849-1889) married Alva Russell, from the family for which Russellville, Arkansas was named.

Ann and Alva had a daughter Alberta Russell who married John Hudelson Ganner. Apparently, Mr. Ganner was the town photographer in Russellville. The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville has an impressive collection of Ganner's images, many of them featuring my ancestors as subjects. I need to see that collection at some point.

I used my three hours of personal time to research the children of Alberta Russell and John Ganner. Thanks to the availability of Arkansas marriage records at FamilySearch, I was able to reverse research this family well into the 20th century.

It felt really good to make some progress on my own research. I'm planning a family history trip to Arkansas this summer, so getting all my Arkansas roots in order is a priority.

Now I've just finished a long day of researching someone else's family. The cat is fed, the kid is fed, and there's still a few hours left in this day. Maybe I can steal another couple hours to spend with my Williamson family tree.

What about you? When things get busy, do you still make some time for the genealogy research you enjoy? Because you should...

Say Cheese! Remember the Town Photographer in Your Genealogical Hunt

Alberta Russell (1873-1952) is my first cousin, three times removed. That means that her mama (Ann Williamson) and my great-great grandfather (William Woodberry Williamson) were siblings. Ann married Alva Russell, as in Russellville, Arkansas, where my Williamsons have been since the 1830's. The city was named for Alva's father, Thomas Russell.

Alberta married John H. Ganner, town photographer. This got me thinking...

Have you researched your town's photographer? If not, you should.

Not only was John Ganner a local photographer for decades, over 3,000 images of his collection are housed at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

I see several names that I recognize in this collection. Not only Ganners, but Russells, too. The photo at the top of the collection page shows another cousin of mine. If you look closely, you can see Anna "May" Russell in the door of the photography studio. She is Alberta's sister, also my first cousin, thrice removed.

How I wish I could visit this library and get permission to view these images! I wonder if any of my Williamsons are any of the "unidentified" subjects in the photos?

If you have any studio photos of your ancestors, look for the name of the photographer somewhere on the photo. You can also use city directories to identify local photographers.

Research the photographers names and see if their work is being housed in special collections like that of John Ganner. You never know if your ancestors are in there.

Also, be sure to browse the special collection portions of the library web sites of colleges and universities in the regions where your ancestors lived. Look for images of the towns and their residents. Often, Google does not search this deep into library databases, so you have to do the browsing work yourself.

The genealogical information provided about Ganner and his family is a gold mine to my own tree. I am thankful his granddaughter donated the collection. Maybe I'll find the time someday to head to Fayetteville and seek permission to view it myself.

Until then let's remember to research the local photographers. Their pictures tell our ancestors' stories, too.

Fun with Search Terms

It's time for another round of "Fun with Search Terms!" People type certain words or phrases into search engines. If the combination is right, my blog turns up in the search results. Sometimes the searches are funny. Sometimes I can provide more information to users, if only they'd comment on my blog. Either way, I enjoy the process. Please note that these searches are anonymous so I don't know who is stumbling on my blog. I just comment in the hope that they find it again.

Now on with the show. Actual search phrases are in bold.


kelly rodgers cemetery cameron parish

In January of 2009, I made a trip to Cameron Parish, Louisiana. On the way home, I stopped and took some pictures at the Kelly Rodgers cemetery. I blogged about it and put the photos on Find a Grave. The cemetery is just a patch of land. It's not very big and the graves are pretty compact, Louisiana-style.


become an arbitrator on family search
After someone volunteers for FamilySearch Indexing, the next step is FamilySearch Arbitration. The arbitrators oversee the work done by the indexers and make decisions when the indexers information differs from each other. I started as a volunteer indexer and did that for several months (at least 6). One day I got a notice from FamilySearch with an invitation to be an arbitrator. I watched some videos and read instructions and the rest is history. If you want to be an arbitrator, keep faithfully doing the indexing work until your time comes.


+search blob
This blog has been described many ways, but "search blob" is a first.

who do I need to contact regarding St. Joseph cemetery Rayne, La
There are two St. Joseph cemeteries in Rayne. The first and oldest is right next to St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church. St. Joseph #2--as it is called--is on the edge of town. I do not know who handles both cemeteries, but the Church may have the answer for you. I would call them.

amy coffin book reviews
All book reviews I feature on this blog are tagged "book reviews" and can be found by clicking the label that says that on the right.

complete family tree in minutes
Oh this I gotta see...

What happened to the Shiloh cemetery in Russellville, Ark?
As far as I know, the original Shiloh-Williamson cemetery was down by Lake Dardanelle. It was moved (in the 1950's or 60's? Don't quote me on this) to its present location in order to make way for said Lake. This makes me sad because so many of my Williamson ancestors were affected. When I visit the current cemetery it just feels like I'm looking at markers and the *real* final resting place is still down by that lake. If you need more information, call the Russellville branch of the Pope County Library and ask to speak to the genealogy department. They'll be able to help.

is jay verkler evil?
I don't think so, but if the President and CEO of FamilySearch International is truly evil, he certainly hides it very well.

Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 7

Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 1
Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 2
Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 3
Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 4
Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 5
Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 6

On this Oklahoma road trip, we saved all of our cemetery stuff for Sunday because many of the other things we wanted to do were closed on that day.

The first thing we did was drive out to Highland Cemetery in Lawton. My great-great grandparents and some others are buried there.

This is Mary Elizabeth Lenertz. She is the aunt of my grandfather. I'm pretty sure she is the "Aunt Beth" he often spoke of. However, there is another Beth in the tree so I may never know.

This is her husband, Irven Ernest Coffey. He has some patents in his name.

I found my great-great grandparents in the next section over. I don't know who bought their stone, or why it doesn't have dates on it. This family tree is very small, so it's just a few people who could have bought the marker.

This entire area was experiencing an exceptional drought. It was so dry. Therefore, all you see in my photos is dead grass.

Next, we went back to Duncan and visited the Duncan Municipal Cemetery. We went to the Jones-Williamson plot and visited all the ancestors there.

Here are my parents. It was about 106 degrees when this photo was taken. My dad is holding paper towels we used to clean off my great-great-great grandmother's stone. Time had covered it in dirt.

I went looking for the grave of my third-great grandmother Nancy Bourland Colbert, but I didn't find it. The excessive heat prevented me from looking any further. However, I did find the headstone of my third-great aunt, Kate (Williamson) Wharton and her husband.

I'm pretty sure this John T. Wharton guy was the one who convinced my great-grandfather to practice medicine in Duncan, Oklahoma and leave his Russellville, Arkansas home.

On this day, we also visited the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center in Duncan. My great-great grandfather Frank Wiley Jones was a trail rider for years, so I wanted to see what life was like for him during that time. The center was very interactive with exhibits, art, artifacts and movies.

All in all, it was a good day.

Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 8

Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 6

Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 1

Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 2

Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 3

Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 4

Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 5

During our Oklahoma road trip, we visited the Chickasaw National Capitol Building in Tishomingo.

Behind the purple-flowered bushes are a set of memorial bricks that people can purchase in tribute to others. My dad had a set made for the ancestors in our Chickasaw line. They sit at the base of the building and welcome all who visit:

My grandmother

My great-grandmother

My great-great grandmother

My third-great grandfather

My fourth-great grandfather

My fifth-great grandfather

My sixth-great grandmother

My sixth-great grandfather

It was 105 degrees on the day we visited the Chickasaw National Capitol Building. The trip was nice, but equally as nice was the Dairy Queen just 2 blocks down the road. It was an ideal end to our day.

Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 7

Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 3

Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 1 here

Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 2 here

Thanks to some genealogy kindness, we were granted an invitation to visit the current owner of the house my great-grandfather had built for his family.

The owner came out to greet us and we had a long conversation on the porch. She later admitted she was feeling us out before she decided whether or not she should let us in the house. Smart lady. We passed the test!

My dad and a friend of the house's current owner. 

This lady is doing some of the restoration work.

The house is undergoing restoration at a slow pace. The owner gets work done when she can afford to, thus it is in a perpetual cycle of construction inside. 

Here is some of the restoration work already completed:

This is the fireplace in my grandma's room. I know it was her room because I often heard about this fireplace in her room. It is the only bedroom with a fireplace.

Here is the driveway to the house. 

At the height of his medical career, my great-grandfather made his calls in a horse and buggy. I wondered if this driveway was the place he parked it, and how much he had to come and go through the years. Later on, the family purchased a Model A. When the doctor wasn't using it, his boys did. I sat at this point for a minute and tried to imagine the daily life of this family.

The picture above is one of my favorites. That's my dad, touching the house and staring off to the left. He did this a lot during our visit. The whole "let's go see your mom's childhood home" thing happened unexpectedly and quickly. He really enjoyed this visit, spending a lot of time shaking his head in disbelief that he was actually in his mother's childhood home. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.


Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 4

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Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 2

Read Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 1 here.

On day 2 of our Oklahoma family history road trip, we drove through Velma on our way to Duncan. The town of Velma has a detailed history online. If you read the whole thing, just know that Frank Jones is my great-great grandfather. His future father-in-law, Christopher Colbert is my third-great grandfather.

My grandmother's middle name is Velma and I don't think it is a coincidence. Maybe her mother knew the Velma for whom the town was named.

After Velma, we headed on to Duncan, Oklahoma. My grandma was born here in 1914 and spoke of it often. Last time I was there, it was during freezing January temperatures. This time it was 100+ degrees and in the middle of an exceptional drought.

I spent some time in the Stephens County Genealogical Society Library. They were very helpful before and during my visit, assisting me in what to bring and what to view when I arrived. They are located at 301 North Eighth Street in Duncan, Oklahoma, 73533. 580-255-8718 or scgs_library@yahoo.com

They have a large collection of the Duncan Banner newspaper on microfilm. I viewed some 1936-1937 issues, hoping they would verify that my grandmother wrote the society column during that time. Unfortunately, the column was not credited, though everything else seemed to be. I have proof she worked for the paper and her wedding announcement mentions the society work. I guess I'll just have to be happy with that, though I did hope to see her name in print.

I did have success in the obituary category. I found announcements in the Duncan Banner for Nancy Bourland Colbert (my third-great grandmother) in 1912, my great-great grandmother Carrie Colbert Jones in 1958, and two of her daughters, as well as others in my family tree.

While we were at the genealogy library, my dad struck up a conversation with Super Volunteer Sandy. He talked about his grandfather, Dr. Sam Williamson who was a prominent physician back in the day and lived right around the corner from the library until the 1930's. Sandy mentioned the current owner of the house and offered to call her. She did and the owner of the house where my grandmother grew up invited us over to visit.

This is why the pursuit of your family history is awesome.

Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 3

My Ancestral Ties to the Civil War

Battle of Calcasieu Pass Civil War Memorial

Cameron Parish Courthouse, Louisiana

This week marks the sesquicentennial of the start of the Civil War. Many genealogy bloggers are writing profiles of their ancestors who fought. I've enjoyed reading these.

Though I don't have the time to write profiles of my own, I thought that the 1.5 family members who read my blog might be interested in knowing who in their family tree participated in the Civil War.

Union

Maximillian Baerecke 1827-1904 ( Max > Harry > Gertrude > Buster )
Max Baerecke was a German immigrant living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served in the 26th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, Company I. A book called The Sigel Regiment by James S. Pula (affiliate link) was written about this group and their experiences including Gettysburg. Max is in there. He also served in the Mexican War. [Note to family: I own this book if you ever want to borrow it. --Amy]

Joseph Smith 1826-1903 ( Joseph > Mary > John A > Buster )
Joseph Smith (also Schmidt) was a German immigrant living in Kilkenny, Minnesota. He served in the 2nd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, Company I. His pension file doesn't say much about his experiences and I haven't investigated further yet. Joseph also served in the Mexican War.

Confederate

John Laurens Williamson 1811-1862 (John > William > Sam > Doris )
I haven't researched this person's service too much. Confederate records are more challenging to search, plus there are a few John Williamsons out there. I did read in an unsourced book, that John was injured in his leg in the War. He died at home in Pope County, Arkansas, but his injuries may have contributed to his passing.

Richard M. Jones 1828-1864 ( Richard > Frank > Frankie > Doris )
The photo at the top of this post is a memorial that has Richard's name on it as "Sgt. R.M. Jones." This is the only ancestor I know of so far that died in battle. You can read about the Battle of Calcasieu Pass at this website.

All of these men are my great-great-great grandfathers. There may be more ancestors out there who served in the Civil War. I just haven't found them yet.

So, dear family, when you see stories about the Civil War on television, know that you have roots on both sides of the battle. Also, there will be a quiz on this at Christmas.
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Genealogy Expo in Russellville, Arkansas

The Arkansas Genealogical Events blog lists an upcoming genealogy event in Russellville, Arkansas.

Genealogy Expo takes place April 30, 2011. I'd be there if I could. If you are going or know someone who is, please keep me in mind.

I have extensive family history in Russellville. The main line is Williamson and they arrived right before statehood. The Shiloh-Cumberland church was started by my ancestors. My direct ancestors married into the Brigham and Clingman lines. Indirect lines married into the Russell name.

I've collected lots of information on this area and its inhabitants. Please let me know if I can help anyone, and point others with Russellville connections my way. Thank you!
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Tombstone Tuesday: Christmas Birthday Edition

The subject of today's Tombstone Tuesday is my great-grandfather:

Grave marker for Dr. Sam H. Williamson

25 December 1879* - 14 September 1943

Buried in Duncan Cemetery, Duncan, Oklahoma

Photo of Sam Williamson, abt 1907

* Sam's birth year is in dispute. The stone says 1879, but other documents says 1878. See Sam's Find-a-Grave profile here.

A Visit with John Williamson (1764-1829)

John Williamson (1764-1829) is my fifth great-grandfather. I haven't talked about him much here because I've been so focused on his descendants. His son John was the one who moved his Williamson crew from Tennessee to Arkansas about 1830. They stayed there a long time and had a bunch of kids who had a bunch of kids, so I've spent all my time researching Williamsons in Pope County, Arkansas.

This weekend, I happened to locate the marker for John Williamson at FindAGrave.com. I don't own the picture, so I won't publish it, but interested family and readers can find it here: John Williamson. He was also a Revolutionary War patriot, the second one I know of in my own ancestral lines.

An impromptu web search for John Williamson also turned up this little biography. Ironically, the web site that provided this bit of local history seems to be for a residential community that is built where the Williamsons once lived, and where some are still buried. Guess that's progress for you.

There's still plenty of research to be done on the Williamsons of Pope County, Arkansas. However, a change of scenery might be nice. Maybe it's time to move back a generation and study the Williamsons of Wilson County, Tennessee.

This whole post was drafted for my family, who may or may not know of their ancestors in 1700's Tennessee. Before then, they came from Virginia, but it will be a while before I have enough information and time to research that era. For now, just take the time to get to know John Williamson and get used to your Tennessee roots.

Making Progress with the Pope County Williamson Crew

Back in 2008, I made a trip to Russellville, Arkasas to do some genealogy research on my Williamson line, visit cemeteries and what not. One of the things I did was go to the Arkansas Tech University campus. The school held significance because it was built on the land once owned by my Williamson ancestors.

Once on the grounds, I came across Williamson Hall. I went inside to explore:

It was named after Marvin Williamson.

He was the first student enrolled at the school and their band director for 47 years:

Now I thought I knew all of the Williamsons in the area, but Marvin was not on my radar. Did he connect to my family? And how? I know my Williamsons came to the area from Tennessee in 1830. There must have been another group that came from Tennessee at another time. But who and when?

These questions have bugged me for years. Someone even contacted me from the Marvin Williamson line, and I answered back that I didn't know of a connection.

Fast forward to this week. With everyone off doing their own thing for Thanksgiving, I stole some time to work on my own family research. In my files, there is a copy of an unsourced Williamson family history from the 1950's. It was written by Anna "May" Russell (1876-1969), who happens to be my first cousin, three times removed.

In her paper, she described what I already knew: John L. Williamson (my third-great grandfather) and his brother went back to Tennessee, married two sisters and brought them back to Arkansas for their new life. These ladies were distant cousins to the brothers, and they were also named Williamson. Russell's paper further stated that the ladies' brothers also came along on the second trip to Pope County. They got married and had lots of kids, which turned into Williamsons that weren't yet in my files.

Once I started tracking the descendants of these other distant Williamson cousins, things started to fall in place.

Marvin Williamson, the namesake of Williamson Hall, is my second cousin, three times removed. His grandfather and my third-great were the brothers that went back to Tennessee to get the brides. Our common ancestor is John Robert Williamson (1786-1861).

What's this to you? Probably nothing, but to me it's the satisfaction of having answered a question that's been bugging me for years.

Welcome to the family, Marvin Williamson. Maybe I can get my kid into Arkansas Tech as a legacy now.

Ancestry.com's Yearbook Collection Yields Treasure

This week (or I think it was this week. Heck, I don't even know the date) Ancestry.com rolled out a new collection of U.S. School Yearbooks.

Whenever I com across a new collection or database, I use the test surname Lenertz to see what results I get. I know where the Lenertz's are and should be, so I'm always looking for something new and surprising. I was aware of my great-grandfathers 1910 Notre Dame yearbook photo and was pleased to see it in this collection.

Among all the Lenertz results there was a surprise: a 1934 yearbook from Oklahoma A & M in Stillwater, Oklahoma. There was only one person it could be...my grandfather!

He was a member of Kappa Sigma. This I knew, I just never thought I'd see it for myself.

Then I started thinking...my grandmother was six months older, maybe she was in this yearbook, too. So I go to the search box and type in my grandmother's maiden name and see a page with this:

Isn't she the cutest? All 4'11" of her. She was a Kappa Alpha Theta and very proud of the fact. Any mention of Oklahoma State University and my grandmother would always refer to when it was called Oklahoma A & M.

One time I was talking with my grandpa. He began telling stories and started to hint that my grandma was a real social butterfly in college...always at the party. Well my grandma overheard our conversation and closed the subject on college days. I'll never know what my grandpa was going to say about my grandma's academic pursuits, but I bet it was fun.

Special thanks to Mary Neft Hurst. Ancestry lists her as the donor of this yearbook for the collection. Without her generosity, I'd never have these treasures.

Pride and Joy

The Chickasaw Times is a monthly publication sent out to Chickasaw Nation citizens on a monthly basis. One of the features is a "Pride and Joy" section where parents and grandparents can brag about their kids. There's a family in my neighborhood who gets in that section regularly. I joked with my dad that he needs to keep up with the other grandparents when it comes to getting the grandkids in the paper.

Imagine my surprise this week when I see some familiar faces in the Pride and Joy section: my son and nieces. My dad did a great job with his bragging. He talked about his grandchildren and their ancestral connections. Their second- and third-great grandmothers are original Chickasaw enrollees.

If my grandmother was still here, she would be very proud to see some of her great-grandchildren in the Chickasaw paper. But I think she'd be even more thrilled to see her mother and grandmother in the paper, mentioned by name as original enrollees.

My grandmother, Doris

I inherited her shortness and wide feet.

My great-grandmother, Frankie Jones 

(original Chickasaw enrollee #3702)

My great-great grandmother, Carrie Colbert

(original Chickasaw enrollee #3701)

Thanks for getting my kid in the paper, dad! I think these ladies would be proud of their descendants.

Finding Answers Brick by Brick

Does your tree have "issues?" You know, those bits of information that seem correct, but you just can't shake that funny feeling that something is wrong? I have a few of those, too.

Below is the 1850 census (family 454 in Pope County, Arkansas, page 66 on Ancestry.com). It shows my great-great-great grandfather, John Laurens Williamson, his second wife, his four kids with his first wife, and a fifth child with his second wife. At least that's the assumption that everyone makes. I have documentation on everyone except Horatio. This is the only record I've found of his existence.

Now I've done a lot of work on the Williamsons of Pope County. I know almost all of them. Did Horatio die young? Did he skip town before the 1860 census? What bugged me about this record was that no relationship information is given for these people. Are we sure these eldest four children are full siblings?

I finally decided to try to locate a will for John Laurens Williamson and see if any of these children are named as heirs or in some other capacity. I ordered microfilm from the Family History Library and had it delivered to my local Family History Center. I searched the microfilm, but found no will for my subject. I found references to the will, small notations and notes about guardians, but no will.

The index was useless, so I just started going though the filmed books page by handwritten page. I found nothing after the date of John's death.

Since I had the film anyway, I just started searching through it from the beginning, including the time before John L. Williamson's death. There were so many Williamsons in that county...maybe I'd find something else of interest.

Then suddenly, the name Williamson popped out at me from page 92 of book E of microfilm 1034018:

It said in part "On this day comes John L Williamson and files his petition in which he states that he is the father of John S, Horatio B, Sally J, and James L Williamson..."

Apparently another Williamson died in Davidson County, Tennessee. These four children were heirs and John was requesting guardianship of their interests. I found the information I was looking for, but it wasn't in John L. Williamson's will.

So now I know these four are John's children. I have two records showing Horatio's existence and now I can add him and his siblings to the tree. I still don't know what happened to Horatio, but he has a timeline now.

Sometimes the answers aren't were you expect to find them. It's worth it to go page by page. This may have been tiny brick in a huge wall of questions, but it is a brick and I have more answers than I did yesterday.

Surname Saturday: Williamson

This week's name in my family tree is Williamson. This is a common name. I'm most interested in the Williamson lines that were in Russellville, Pope County, Arkansas from the 1830's until now.

I have done extensive research on the Pope County Williamsons. They were there a long time and had children who stayed there a long time. They were active in church, government and local activities---which is good because they created a lot of records.

My great-great grandfather was William Woodberry Williamson. His father ws John Laurens Williamson. His father was John R. Williamson.

The eldest Williamson was active in state politics during Arkansas' formative years.

Before Pope County, the Williamsons were in Tennessee. I know this much, but have not done research for the line that far back.

I have lots of documentation about the Williamson genealogy in this place. If you have a connection to Pope County (even if it's not Williamson family history), please let me know and we can share notes.

Don't Forget the Spinster Aunt

I'm looking for the will of my great-great-great grandfather, John Laurens Williamson. I've rented several films from the Family History Library in my search. So far, I haven't found it, but there are plenty of records I still need to inspect.

What I did find was a will for Bettie Williamson (1856-1908). She was the fourth child of John Williamson and Susan Quesenberry. Bettie never married, which may lead some to think her will wouldn't be historically valuable to my needs. Not so.

Here's a little lesson: don't forget the spinster aunt. With no husband or children to whom she can bequeath her estate, the names she does mention may give hint to the overall family dynamic.

Below are some of the tidbits I pulled from the will of my spinster aunt:

1. The married name of Bettie's only surviving sister is (Kate) Wharton.

2. Bettie has an interest in the "Carden estate in Yell County near Dardanelle." Hmmm....Carden is the married name of Bettie's deceased sister Julia. Could there be a connection? Now I have a location and new county to search regarding this Carden estate. I also need to look for a will for Julia Williamson Carden in Yell County to try and figure out why Bettie is connected to this estate.

3. Three different family members borrowed money from Bettie and she's acknowledged their names debts in this document. One is her brother (my great-great grandfather) and the other two are Whartons (possibly nephews). More names to investigate on my part.

4. The names of both of Bettie's brothers are given.

5. Bettie leaves much to her niece Thula. I happen to know Thula lost her mother 10 days after birth, and Bettie played a big role in the girl's life. The language and amount left to Thula (age 14 at Bettie's death) indicates the strength of the bond between aunt and niece.

6. Bettie left her estate to the women in her life: her sister and motherless niece. Bettie's brothers are mentioned affectionately--indicating a positive relationship--but they only inherit if Thula and any future offspring should pass on.

7. At the time of Bettie's death, Thula was living in Duncan, Stephens County, Oklahoma. Correspondence between the county clerks of Stephens, OK and Pope, AR confirms that. I already knew this, but had I not, Bettie's will would have opened new doors for family research in a whole other state. My next step will be to do some research on the Oklahoma end and see what I can learn about Thula's inheritance.

I hope I'll find the will of my third great grandfather, but if I don't, the wills of peripheral relatives may assist in adding pieces to the family puzzle. Never forget the spinster aunt. She may surprise you.

[Note: This document can be found in the Family History Library film number 1034017: ARKANSAS: Pope County. Index to Wills. Pope County (Arkansas) Courthouse, Volume B, pages 377-380. I have digital images and a transcription of this document, which I will share upon request. Email me at the address provided in the right column of this blog.]

Tombstone Tuesday: GGGG Grandmother Edition

Sally (Tate) Williamson is my 4th great grandmother and wife of John R. Williamson. This marker is in Shiloh-Williamson Cemetery, Russellville, Pope County, Arkansas.

IN

Memory of

SALLY WILLIAMSON

BORN

June 5, 1788,

DIED

Oct. 19, 1857.

AGED

69ys. 4ms. 14ds.

Mo' Films, Mo' Problems

This week, I got a call from my local Family History Center saying my microfilms of Pope County, Arkansas probate records had arrived. This was a small victory given my history with ordering items from the Family History Library.

I arrived and located my films. Given my luck, I fully expected them to be for another state's Pope County or some other error. Not only were they the right films, but I saw the surname I was looking for. Progress!

Unfortunately, the index on the second roll was lacking. If my great-great-great grandfather's will was there, it wasn't mentioned in the index. I did see many references to Williamsons, including my John Williamson as executor and witness. In the coming weeks, I'll return to the FHC and go over this roll frame by frame.

My FHC has a film reader that allows patrons to print records or digitally scan them. There are several Williamson wills I want, so I tried the digital method. All of them came out unreadable, though they looked clear-ish on the screen.

Time ran out, so I had to leave. When I go back next week, I'll bring a camera to attempt to photograph the clear screen, and I'll bring a few dimes in case the printing option works.

Either way I'm just glad my record-ordering curse is over. Onward.