My Thoughts

I started my morning off with a cup of coffee and an intent to make a neat summary story about my great great grandmother Rebeca Lavinia Mitchell.  She died in 1944, twenty three years before I was born, and I do not ever remember hearing much about her. Rebeca was my father's great-grandmother, and he was only six when she passed. Luckily, I am in contact with a Mitchell family member who has a full collection of information, so I am getting a chance to know Rebeca. She was born in Benton County, Arkansas, May 23, 1863, and like many other families, her parents migrated into Texas for better opportunities. The Civil War was still raging when she was born.  Her birth in Benton County, AR is verified by the 1870 Census.I wonder if this woman is where the story came from about one of my ancestors being born in a covered wagon as they came to Texas. In 1879, Rebeca married Francis Marion Mitchell in Lampasas County, Texas.  The notoriety of the Mitchell fam...

Family Genealogy often focuses on male lines.  Even in 2012, the male is considered the head of the household.  In an attempt to more fully develop the often obscure and forgotten female lines, I will share information about my great-great grandmothers. Mary Jane Williams was born November 20, 1851 in Tennessee as verified by her marriage license to Abel Wilson Slayton and her 1880, 1890 and 1900 census records for Lawrence County, Arkansas.  The verification of her parents still eludes me. my mother,  ne'ne'yum ... Potawatami  On December 15, 1869 when she was barely 18 years old, Mary Jane married Abel Wilson Slayton who was 22.  Their marriage certificate is in Lawrence County, Arkansas.  Abel and Mary Slayton lived the entirety of their lives in Lawrence County.  Together, they had 11 children. The history of Lawrence County in this time frame follows: People were living in the area that is now Powhatan as early as 1816, though it w...