The Sanfords of Milam County, Texas: Probate

I've now received probate papers for both Reuben Henry Sanford and his wife Martha Sanford. You recall that the Sanford family was the family in whose company Billy Sanford (1806-1916) traveled from Virginia to Tennessee and ultimately to Milam County, Texas.

Recall that Reuben Henry Sanford, born in 1832 in Williamson County Tennessee, was the fifth child of Reuben Sanford and Mary (Polly) Wood Sanford. In about 1854, Mary Wood Sanford re-located from Tennessee to Texas, accompanied by her children Archer, Lucretia, Reuben, Elizabeth, Mary Jane, and Sarah. Another son, John, may have gone to Texas earlier with his wife, Nancy T. Hay. John and Nancy appear to have settled in Burnet County, Texas, and had seven children there.

In Milam County, Texas, Reuben Henry Sanford, mainly known as Henry, married a woman named Catherine in about 1860 or 1861. I haven't found out a lot about her. They had two children, Susan and Daniel Henry. Catherine died sometime in the 1860's, and Henry was alone for awhile. Daniel lived for a time with his aunt Lucretia and her husband, Hazard P. Hale, a merchant. Frequently referred to as "D.H.", Daniel later became a rather prominent figure in the civic life of Rockdale, Texas. He and his wife, Texona had seven children. At some point in the early twentieth century, Daniel, Texona, and several of their children moved to Nueces County on the Gulf Coast. Susan married Jeff D. Nesbitt, and they had at least two children.

In about 1871, Henry married Martha Holtzclaw. She had been married to a man named L.M. Minor and had two children with him, Mary and Warren. What became of Mr. Minor is not clear. In any event, Henry and Martha Sanford had two children together, Sarah ("Salllie"), and Martha Catherine, who was known as "Kitty." Sarah married William E. Tapp, a native of Kentucky, and they later moved to Cleburn in Johnson County, Texas. They had at least two children.

Reuben Henry Sanford died on June 30, 1910, at the age of 78. Martha Sanford died ten years later on August 12, 1920.

The word "probate" comes from the Latin probare: to test and find authentic. In genealogy, probate files confirm known facts and reveal new ones. The Sanford files are just like that.