Carnival of Genealogy: 106 Years in America--And More!

One ancestor I'm really trying to learn more about is my great-great-grandfather William ("Billie") Sanford. He was born in 1809 in Virginia and died in 1916 in Texas at the age of 106! A book I read says that he is the oldest person buried in the "colored" section of the Old City Cemetery in Rockdale, Milam County, Texas. (170 Years of Cemetery Records in Milam County, Texas, by N.H. Holman).

William Sanford was born a slave in a part of Virginia that is now West Virginia. He either was born as, or later became, the property of the James Sanford family. The Sanfords moved to Williamson County, Tennessee some time before 1820. James Sanford died in 1849; his son, Reuben, had died in 1846. Reuben's widow, Mary Wood Sanford, relocated her children and her slaves to Milam County, Texas in 1854. Those slaves included Billie Sanford. At some point in Texas, he married Emily Scott from North Carolina and they had four daughters, one of whom was my great-grandmother, Betty Sanford.

On Billie's death certificate (below), the term "old age" is mentioned not less than three times!

William Sanford's death certificate
(click to enlarge)

There's some longevity on my mother's side of the family as well.

William Henry Long, my mother's uncle, was born on March 21, 1889 and died on August 26, 1990, at age 101, in Kansas City, Missouri. The 1930 census says he was a truck driver.

Christina Alta Long Neal, sister of William Henry Long, was born on April 2, 1898, and died on September 14, 2000, at age 102, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Tina and Will's sister, Rosetta Bell Long, was nearly a centenarian. She was born on May 28, 1900 and died on March 17, 1994, at age 93, in Kansas City, Missouri. "Rosie" never married but had a companion of over 50 years. I don't know much about him, except that his name was "RJ." After working in a laundry all of her life, Aunt Rosie retired at age 65. She taught herself to play the piano, and at age 68, she was ordained a minister by the Metropolitan Spiritual Church of Christ. She was pastor of Good Shepherd Spiritual Church in Kansas City for more than 20 years.

To her, age really was just a state of mind.

Juneteenth

At the time of this order, my BRYANT family lived in Nueces and Refugio Counties, Texas, and my SANFORD families were both slaves and slaveholders in Milam County, Texas.

Attention Sanford Researchers: Tennessee State Marriages Now on Ancestry.com

Another of the new databases on Ancestry.com is the Tennessee State Marriages database. This is great for researching my Sanford family research. It's got a lot of images; sometimes there are several different records for a single marriage. This is a good addition.

History Comes to Dinner

Actually I'm going to dinner at the home of my great-great grandmother, Matilda Manson, in Rockdale, Milam County, Texas, on a day in 1900. Grandma Mattie has been kind enough, at my suggestion, to invite her son Otis, and his wife Bettie Sanford, as well as Bettie's 90 year old father, Billie Sanford. Bettie is pregnant with their fourth child, my great aunt Julia Mattie Manson. They'd left at home their three sons, seven-year-old Carl, six-year-old Otis Preston, and three-year-old Silas Leroy. I wonder who's babysitting.

But most interestingly of all, Grandma Mattie has invited Otis's father, 59 year old George Preston Birdsong, and his 55-year-old brother Albert Hamill Birdsong. Preston and his brother live in the nearby town of Cameron which is the Milam County seat.

To recap what will make this an interesting dinner, George Preston Birdsong is the son of the late George Lawrence Forsyth Birdsong and his wife Susan Thweatt. The Birdsongs were a prominent landowning and slaveowning family in Upson County, Georgia, through most of the 19th century. Larry Birdsong in fact was a deputy sheriff of Upson County and served as a captain in the local militia which was called to duty with the Confederate Army during the Civil War. The Birdsongs owned a number of slaves, but Matilda Manson was not among them. Matilda was a free woman of color who had been born in neighboring Talbot County. At some time during the 1870s, soon after Larry Birdsong had died in 1869, Matilda Manson and George Preston Birdsong found themselves living next door to each other. Preston appears to perhaps have been estranged from the rest of his family, who lived some distance away. In 1884, Preston, Matilda, her son Otis, and Preston's brother Albert all took off for Texas.

The family lore about Matilda and Otis's absconding to Texas is told here. That story is not true. Family lore also has it that every Sunday Otis would take his family down to the train station in Rockdale Texas where they would await a train from a neighboring town. When the train arrived a white man would get off the train visit with them and give them money. Then he would get on the next train going back until the following week. This appears to be true.

Preston and Albert worked in Cameron. Preston lived with a couple of brothers from what is now the Czech Republic. (At that time it was known as Bohemia). One brother was a bartender, and the other was a salesman, according to the 1900 census. Preston worked as a night watchman.

Dinner this evening should be very interesting. I don't think Preston has ever met Otis's wife Bettie. Likewise I don't think Bettie's father Billie knows anything about Preston. And I'm eager to hear some stories from all the parties concerned. For example, I want to know what it was like when Preston and Matilda got together in Georgia. I want to know exactly why they left Georgia. Where they run out of town as I suspect? Or did they leave of their own volition? Why did Albert come along? And why of all the places in Texas did they choose Rockdale? How did they get to Rockdale from Upson County, Georgia? According to the book, A Frontier Link with the World: Upson County's Railroad, by historian David E. Paterson, Preston had been for a short while an engineer on the railroad in Georgia. Did they take a train from Georgia to Texas? What did it cost? How long did it take? What was their relationship like as they traveled and once they got to Texas? And what was Preston's relationship with his family like after he left Georgia? Did he receive letters from them? Did he write to his mother? His mother died in 1892 while he and Albert were in Texas. Did they know of their mother's death at the time? Did they return to Georgia for her funeral? And since this dinner takes place in 1900, I obviously know some things that are about to happen that they don't know. I won't tell them but Preston returns to Georgia in just a few more years, and he dies there in 1905. Albert also returns to Georgia but he lives until 1921.

And as for Matilda, I'm curious what became of her mother Jane. And what became of her sister Mary? Did Matilda and Mary know their grandmother, a Scots-Irish woman named Charlotte? What exactly was it like to be a so-called "free woman of color" in Georgia in the 19th century? What did Matilda and Mary and Jane do during the Civil War? Where were they during the Civil War? And for Billie Sanford, how did the Sanford family of Virginia into which he was born in slavery, treat their slaves? Billie followed the Sanford's from Virginia to Tennessee to Texas. Where did he meet his wife Emily? Had he been married before? What did he think of Otis marrying his daughter Bettie? Who were his brothers and sisters? Did he remember his parents from Virginia? To what did he ascribe his long life? (Here in 1900, Billie doesn't know that he will live another 16 years in die at the age of 106).

I'm interested in seeing Matilda's dwelling. I'm wondering what she's going to serve for dinner. Will it be a recipe from Georgia? Or perhaps it will be something she's learned since she moved to Texas 16 years ago. What ever, I'm sure it will be delicious. After dinner if it's not too late, maybe we'll walk over to Otis and Bettie's house. Perhaps they'll invite Bettie's sister Addie and her husband Abe White over for coffee.

Tomorrow if the weather's good, I'll do something really daring. I'll stroll over to the home of Reuben Henry Sanford, the son of the woman who brought Billie Sanford as a slave to Texas from Tennessee. Now that will be interesting!

The other things that I know but can't tell Otis and Bettie tonight are that their son Otis Preston and their daughter yet unborn Julia Mattie both will die of tuberculosis in 1912. So it will be an interesting joyous yet bittersweet evening.

Where Were They in 1808?

Awhile ago, the challenge issued by Lisa was to describe where one's ancestors were in 1908. I blogged about that here. Now the topic is where one's ancestors were in 1808. Many bloggers have written about this already; I'm just getting caught up.

1808 was a signal year for some of my families. That was the year that Congress banned the Atlantic slave trade from the United States. The U.S. Constitution of 1789 had provided in Article I, section 9:

The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.

This somewhat obtuse sentence was one of the several compromises in the Constitution on the issue of slavery. The importation of slaves could not be banned by Congress for two decades after the Constitutional Convention. Note that states were free to ban slavery at any time; and several had done so prior to 1808.

Manson: Charlotte Manson, the likely first ancestor born in America, was probably still with her Scots-Irish parents in South Carolina or northern Georgia. We have not yet discovered her parents' names.

Gines: I have no information about the Gines family that goes back to 1808. I do know that they likely came from the Carolinas.

Bowie: James Bowie, free man of color, is believed to have been born in the 1790's in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, and probably was living there in 1808.

Brayboy: William Brayboy was born into slavery in South Carolina in the 1790's. I do not know where in South Carolina.

Johnson/Carpenter: Benjamin Carpenter had been born in 1745 in Gloucester, New Jersey. In 1808, he and his wife, Elizabeth McFarland Hughes, lived in Harrison County, Virginia (now in West Virginia). Their son William, grandfather of Ezekiel Johnson, was born in Harrison County in 1790.

LeJay: I am reasonably certain that my LeJay ancestors were held in bondage in South Carolina in 1808. They were most likely in the eastern part of South Carolina.

Birdsong: John Birdsong III and his wife, Elizabeth Latimer, had moved to Oglethorpe County, Georgia, by 1808.

Sanford: The earliest known ancestor in this family, William Sanford, was born into slavery in Virginia in 1809.

Bryant, Long, Gilbert, Martin: I have no information on these families in 1808.

Where Was Your Family in 1908?

Lisa, who has the energy to write several interesting blogs, posed the question, "Where was your family in 1908?" on, appropriately enough, her 100 Years in America blog.

A century ago, neither of my paternal grandparents had been born yet, although one, my grandmother Jessie Beatrice Bowie, was just a year away. Her parents, my great-grandparents, Hattie Bryant and Elias Bowie, Sr., had recently met and were living in San Antonio, Texas. Hattie's and Elias' parents were also in Texas. Guy Bryant and Maria Martin lived in Rockport, Aransas County, Texas, in 1908. Guy was a butcher. John Wesley Bowie and Amanda McCray made their home in the east Texas town of Longview in Gregg County. They lived at 114 Morgan Street and 63 year old John did "odd jobs."

My other paternal great-grandparents, Otis Manson and Bettie Sanford, lived on a farm near Rockdale, Milam County, Texas. My great-great-grandmother, Matilda Manson, lived near them. Bettie's father, Billie Sanford, a 98 year old former slave, was still alive, also in Milam County. Billie would live to be 106 years old.

My maternal grandfather, Eddie Gines, was 10 years old and lived with his parents, Richard William Gines and Sylvia LeJay, at 1540 Ashton Street, Shreveport, Louisiana. Great-grandpa Dick was a fireman at Shreveport's electric powerhouse. I know nothing of Dick's parents. Sylvia's parents were Lewis LeJay and Syntrilla Brayboy. By 1908, Lewis had probably passed away. Syntrilla, however, still lived in De Soto Parish, Louisiana, not far from where she had been held in slavery.

My maternal grandmother, Annie Florida Corrine Long, was six years old and lived with her parents, James William Long and Mary Elizabeth Johnson. Their house was at 2711 Wyoming Street, on the west side of Kansas City, Missouri. Great-grandpa James was a Baptist preacher and in 1908 was the pastor at Kansas City's Sunrise Baptist Church. His parents, Richard and Pauline Long, were deceased. My great-great-grandfather, Zeke Johnson, was still alive and well in Kansas City. My great-great-grandmother, Sarah Gilbert, may have been alive in 1908, but this is not certain. Zeke's father, Dan Carpenter, was alive at age 83, in Clay County, Missouri, just north of Kansas City. He died at age 95. There is some evidence that Zeke's mother, Harriet Mitchell, was alive and living in Johnson County, Kansas, but this is not certain. She would be about 83 years old as well.

In 1908, none of these ancestors could have foreseen me and life as it is today.

My Families' Weddings

She's there every morning, watching me, this pretty teenager. Her eyes dipped slightly, confident yet demure; slender and shy. She grips a rosary in her hands. A long veil falls down her back to the floor where it merges with the pool that is the train of her dress. She watches me, this teenager from across the room, from across more than six decades, perched above the fireplace.

The picture is of my mother-in-law, Edna Mary Micheau, on her wedding day in 1940. Still healthy now past the mid-point of her eighties, she doesn't speak much of that day anymore. Her reticence serves to remind me that I don't know much about weddings in my family.

The first wedding of record that I know of is that of Ezekiel Johnson and Sarah Gilbert. According to records in Clay County, Missouri, they were married 140 years ago this year, on September 5, 1867. Zeke was just back from his service in the Civil War. What kind of wedding did they have? I don't know. The records say that the officiator was Richard C. Morton, M.G. [Minister of the Gospel]. The Reverend Morton performed a number of weddings in Clay County; like a lot of people there, he was from Kentucky.

The second wedding of record that I know about was that of Guy Bryant and Amanda Maria Martin Pane. According to the records of Aransas County, Texas, they were married on June 28, 1882, in Rockport, Texas. John F. Cooke, M.G., presided. Maria Martin had been married briefly before to one James Henry Pane. They had been married in June of 1878; it's not clear when they split. Her son from that marriage, Isaac Pane, was born in November 1879. He later began using the surname "Bryant."

I have no artifacts of Guy and Maria's wedding either.

James William Long married Mary Elizabeth Johnson, the daughter of Zeke and Sarah Johnson, on May 30, 1888, in Kansas City, Missouri. Mary was just seventeen and Zeke had to sign giving his consent. Zeke was illiterate, so the record shows "his mark." What kind of wedding did they have? I don't know.

The marriage license of James William Long and Mary Elizabeth Johnson
(click to enlarge)

On August 19, 1890, Otis Manson married Betty Sanford in Rockdale, Milam County, Texas. Three days later, Betty's younger sister, Addie, married Abe White in the same town.

All of the above set the stage for the wedding that really matters. On July 19, 1953, in Houston, Texas, my parents married. They had a Catholic wedding with Father Ralph Urma McLane presiding. You've no doubt already figured out that July 19, 1953 was a Sunday and some of you know that Catholics typically do not have weddings on Sundays. The problem was that both my parents worked six days a week back then and their bosses wouldn't let them off on Saturday even to get married. It was much simpler to ask the bishop to let them get married on a Sunday! And with His Eminence's blessing, they got married on a Sunday!

They had a twelve hour honeymoon at a place loaned by a friend. They were back on their jobs Monday morning!

My parents on their wedding day, July 19, 1953, in Houston, Texas, with my paternal grandmother, Jessie Beatrice Bowie

HARP is Off to a Great Start!

HARP, the Historical Appellate Review Project, has had a great launch. We are already pursuing several cases and have had inquiries about several more. These may take months to resolve, but we'll tell the stories here!

A HARP Case

One of the HARP cases I'm pursuing for my own family is that of my great-grandmother, Bettie Sanford Manson. She was born in 1872, one of four daughters of Billie Sanford and Emely Scott. She married Otis Manson in Rockdale, Texas, in August of 1890.

My father says he only saw his grandmother once--that was in 1948 in Midland, Texas, where she and Otis had moved their family in 1947 for reasons still not clear to me. He says that he saw her from a distance--she was standing out in the middle of a field. The family would not let him get any closer, explaining to him that she was mentally ill.

In an index of Milam County records, I found two cases in the 1930's concerning a conservatorship for Bettie Manson. When I tried to get the records, I was told that they were sealed and I would need a court order to unseal them.

I would like to know the reasons for the conservatorship and especially who applied for it. Otis Manson was an illiterate man; did someone persuade him that his wife was mentally ill? What was the evidence that she was mentally ill?

In this case, HARP will be going to court in Texas to move to have the records unsealed. Bettie Manson, her husband, and all of their children are deceased. Only three of her grandchildren remain alive; my father is one of them. As far as I know, none of her great-grandchildren recall her. She died in 1955 and her oldest great-grandchild was born in 1951. So there should be little reason to keep these records sealed.

This case will be interesting for its procedure as well as its outcome. It will be instructive as to how HARP goes to court. Stay tuned!

Centenarians

Yesterday, we reported here the death of Brooke Astor, the former Roberta Brooke Russell, at age 105. I noticed also yesterday that the world's oldest person, 114 year-old Yone Minagawa, had died in Japan.

According to the Census Bureau, in the year 2000, the United States had 50,454 persons over the age of 100, out of a total population of 281,421,906. I couldn't find a breakdown by gender, but we all have a pretty good idea who's got the edge!

There are several centenarians on my family tree.

William Sanford was born in 1809 in Virginia and died at age 106 in 1916 in Rockdale, Milam County, Texas.

William Henry Long was born on March 21, 1889 and died on August 26, 1990, at age 101, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Christina Alta Long Neal, sister of William Henry Long, was born on April 2, 1898, and died on September 14, 2000, at age 102, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Tina and Will's sister, Rosetta Bell Long, was nearly a centenarian. She was born on May 28, 1900 and died on March 17, 1994, at age 93, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Product Review: Find-A-Grave

The geneablogosphere has been buzzing lately with news of exciting partnerships, new databases, and innovative technologies--all of which I'm very enthused about. This morning, however, I was reminded that some of the existing, older research products out there remain highly valuable and worth revisiting from time to time.

I had not visited Find-A-Grave in quite awhile, but I ended up there this morning in the course of a lengthy Google search. At Find-A-Grave, I found details and photos about several folks whose names have turned up in this space. As a result, I found information that I had not seen anywhere else.

For example, I've written about Daniel Henry Sanford. I did not know his exact date of birth, nor did I know his wife' s complete maiden name. At Find-A-Grave, there was this post. This great contribution by Ronnie Bodine tells us D.H. Sanford's date of birth, his wife's complete maiden name, and gives us not only picture of the gravesite, but a nice photo of Daniel and Texonia together.

Someone else has contributed this photo of Daniel's father's gravesite. I also came across an entry for a Mrs. E.G. Sanford of Milam County. That's a name I'd never heard before. She must have some relationship to the other Sanfords in Milam County. I haven't found her in any census record yet either.

Find-A-Grave also has entries for Izola Manson (my great-uncle Carl's wife) Perry W. Gines (my uncle) and his wife Kay.

Find-A-Grave depends on data contributed by users. There are some users who have contributed thousands of photos and other information. [Several years ago, I contributed this information on Amanda McCray Bowie. I noticed today, however, that my photo has been replaced by another one. I think mine was better.]

There are thousands of entries on Find-A-Grave. It's simple to use and simple to contribute. When you're scanning gravesite photos for your own use, help other researchers by stopping in at Find-A-Grave and sharing what you have.

School Days in Milam County, Texas

School days, school days,
Dear old golden rule days.
'Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic,
Taught to the tune of a hick'ry stick.

I wish I had some stories of my ancestors in school. Unfortunately, I have no stories, except the now-debunked story that my grandfather was teased (today, we would say harassed) in school in Georgia because he was the only "Spanish" boy in school there. But all I have are some school registration records. I can tell you, though, that I was thrilled beyond measure when I found these records in Salt Lake City last year.

School records can lead to much interesting information for the family historian, as I discovered with these records.

My grandfather's family lived in Rockdale, Milam County, Texas. That's where his grandparents had come in 1884 from Upson County, Georgia. My grandfather, Quentin Manson, was the youngest child of eight (only seven survived to school age). The oldest sons were Carl Edward Manson (1893-1983) and Preston Otis Manson (1894-?). Their first available school record (for school year 1901-02) is reproduced below. There are a number of interesting things about this record. First, notice the boys' birthdates. Carl's birthdate is given as Oct 18, 1892, and Preston's is given as April 1, 1893. In fact, according to the family, Carl was born on January 20, 1893. This is the date on his World War I draft card and his California death certificate. I don't know when Preston was actually born. The 1900 census gives his birthdate as April, 1893. Carl's birthdate on the 1900 census is stated as January 1892. Preston seems to disappear after the 1910 census (no death certificate; no draft card; no further census entries; no marriage of record).




Notice that the record is certified true and correct, "or as far as I am able to answer," by Otis Manson (1874-1950), the boys' father. It's signed by Otis. As far as I know, Otis was unable to read or write! Most likely, the information was conveyed by Otis ("as far he was able to answer") to the other person who signed the form. And, as they say, therein lies a story all its own.

The other signature on the form is that of D[aniel] H[enry] Sanford. D.H. Sanford (1863-1941) was the grandson of Mary Wood Sanford, a widow who, in 1854, packed up her children and her slaves and relocated from Williamson County, Tennessee, to Milam County, Texas. One of the slaves was Billie Sanford (1810-1916). In Milam County, Billie's wife, Emely, gave birth to four daughters. One of the daughters, Bettie, married Otis Manson in 1890. Following this so far?

D.H. Sanford became a leading citizen of Milam County, holding a number of high civic posts, including superintendent of schools. Most likely, all of the handwriting on this school record is his, including Otis Manson's purported signature.

The next record is that of my great-aunt, Myrtle Manson Featherstone (1906-1987). It wasn't until I saw her school record that I knew her name was Myrtle! My father didn't know of her and my grandfather never spoke of her. The census records have her name as "Seritta M. Manson." My cousin Peggy confirmed that she was known as Myrtle. Aunt Myrtle's 1919-20 school year record should be considered with that of Aunt Pansy Manson Warren for that same year. The parental signature on both, though difficult to read, may be that of their mother, Bettie Sanford Manson (1872-1955). Note that their nationality is given as "American." That would change over time.








Myrtle's and Pansy's school cards for 1922-23 state their nationality as "colored."







By 1922, Otis is again signing the school cards. But this signature looks nothing like his earlier signature on the boys' cards. Instead, the hand looks somewhat childish. It's possible that the cards, including the signatures, were filled out by Pansy. Although younger than Myrtle, Pansy was known as the sister with the head for business and she handled the family's business affairs until her death in 1998.

The other 1922 school card is for my grandfather, Quentin Vennis Harold Manson (1913-1987). Notice that his birthdate is given as October 14, 1914. The evidence shows that he was born on June 20, 1913. This error gives credence to the theory that Pansy completed the school census cards that year.




In the 1919-20 school year, Myrtle and Pansy were assigned to Hamilton Chapel School. The Handbook of Texas Online has this to say about Hamilton Chapel:

HAMILTON CHAPEL, TEXAS. Hamilton Chapel, also called Hamilton, was on Farm Road 2116 three miles southwest of Rockdale in southern Milam County. It became a voting precinct in 1886 and was named for J. Hamilton, who gave land for a school. In 1903 Hamilton Chapel had one teacher each for fourteen black students and sixty-three white. The Hamilton Chapel schools were consolidated with the Rockdale Independent School District in 1949. No evidence of the Hamilton Chapel community was shown on the 1988 county highway map.

Len Kubiak, descendant of a Milam County pioneer family, adds:

Today, the church and school is gone and only the cemetery remains, dotted with its huge cedars standing over 40 feet tall and old tombstones in memory of the Hamilton Chapel settlers.

The tombstones tell of a Confederate soldier (L.W. Roberts )that lived in the community and a World War I hero that died in battle (Hicks Carlile was part of the 36th Division from Texas).

One of the original homes from the Hamilton Chapel community, built in the late 1860's still remains on the Leonard Kubiak farm, adjacent to the old Hamilton Chapel Cemetery.

The old Hamilton Chapel School in Milam County, Texas. Photo from The USGenWeb Project--Milam County Texas Archives







The other Manson children were Leroy, also known as Silas (1897-1974), Julia, also known as Mattie (1900-1912), and an unnamed infant who died shortly after birth. I didn't find any school records for Leroy or Julia, who died of tuberculosis at age 12.

The Will of Reuben Henry Sanford

The first item in the file of the probate of the estate of Reuben Henry Sanford is the order of the court dated August 2, 1910. The court admitted to probate the will written by Henry on October 8, 1906. Martha Sanford, Henry's second wife, was appointed executrix. Three other individuals were appointed by the court "to make an inventory and appraisement of said estate." The appraisers were Arthur Taber, Ed English, and J[ohn] E[dward] Holtzclaw. English was a lawyer in Cameron, Texas, and Holtzclaw was the Sheriff of Milam County. He was also a relative, probably a nephew, of Martha Sanford's.

The inventory, also dated August 2, 1910, is next in the file. It shows that Henry Sanford was by the standards of his time and community a wealthy man.

PERSONAL PROPERTY

11 horses of the value of $30 each $330.
15 cattle of the value of $10 each $150.
Household and kitchen furniture and farming
implements of the value of $200.
One wagon, value, $20.
One buggy, value, $20.
One surry, value $50.

REAL ESTATE

282 acres of land on the J.J. Acosta grant in
Milam County, Texas, value $14,100.


The inventory notes that the personal property was community property while the land was Henry's separate property. Examining the real estate gives an opportunity to learn about Texas history and some research aids available.

At the Texas General Land Office, we can discover some information about the J.J. Acosta grant. In the Land Grant Database page, we enter "Milam" under "County" and "Acosta" under "Original Grantee." This produces an abstract of a land grant of 48,712.4 acres to Juan Jose Acosta dated 30 Sep 1833. Under "Remarks," it says, "On the San Andrés and Brazos; includes Tenoxtitlan. 1 league in Burleson Co., 2 in Falls Co., 8 in Milam Co. W. H. Smith, atty." Note that a "league" is equal to 4428.4 acres. Texas at that time was part of Mexico. And on the site there's a link that says "View PDF." There we find a twenty page grant written in Spanish. So, the Acosta grant was an original grant from the Mexican government. The GLO site tells us about the history of land grants in Texas, how to get translations of Spanish and Mexican documents, and how to find out about land transfers after the initial grant. This will involve ordering documents from the GLO and perhaps the county. It would be worthwhile to find out how and for how much the Sanfords acquired a portion of the Acosta grant.

The next document is the petition for probate filed by Martha Sanford. Like the preceding documents, the petition bears the watermark of "T.S. Henderson, Lawyer, Cameron, Texas." Henderson was a very prominent attorney in Milam County.

The most important document, of course, is the will itself. Henry Sanford's will, dated October 8, 1906, is about 1-1/4 typewritten legal pages. It has only very basic legal language necessary to convey his desires. Thus, it omits a lot of the hortatory language common in 19th century testamentary documents. Henry's first bequest is to his wife of all of his personal property and a life estate in his lands, described as "286-1/2 acres." (What happened to the other 4-1/2 acres missing from the inventory? Perhaps a new survey, or perhaps it was conveyed for some reason).

In the will, I learned for the first time the married names of Henry's daughters. I had been aware of his son Daniel from other records, but those did not establish clearly that they were father aandson. The will does that.

The will also shows that Henry Sanford was illiterate, having to sign by making an "x" as his mark. The will was witnessed by Jeff T. Kemp, then-Milam County clerk who later became county judge of Milam County, and Arthur W. Taber, later superintendent of the Texas State Confederate Home.