Tombstone Tuesday

Prairie Springs Cemetery
Van Zandt County, Texas

John T. Prestidge
Born
Dec 1, 1862
Died
Mar 15, 1886

S. C. Prestidge
Born March 20, 1878
Died Jan 1, 1897
My Darling Boy Is
Gone But Not Forgotten
(Scott C. Prestidge)

Larkin C. Son of
R. K. & S. F. Prestidge
Born
Mar 13, 1883
Died
Oct 4, 1899

All three of the above were sons of Rufus & Sarah (Slaughter) Prestidge. Although John’s birth date on his tombstone is 1 Dec 1862, I believe he was actually born in 1860. His sister, Mary Jane, is always shown as being two years younger than John in every census in which they appeared together, and in the Hood County, Texas school records. According to census records and her tombstone, Mary Jane was born in Dec 1862.

Copyright © 2009-2010 Deborah Blanton McCoy

Do not copy the articles or pictures in this blog without the consent of the author.

 

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – Who is Your MRUA?

Randy Seaver’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun this week is to tell about your Most Recent Unknown Ancestor and to identify what resources you might use to find him or her.

My Most Recent Unknown Ancestors are the parents of my great great grandfather, William M. Saunders. He is number 20 on my pedigree chart and his parents would be numbers 40 and 41.

William Saunders married L. J. (Louisa J.) Scarborough on the 15 Dec 1859 in Anderson County, TX. The 1860 Anderson County, TX census shows William M. Sanders, age 18, born in Texas and L. J. Sanders, age 20, born in Arkansas. Louisa’s brother, John Scarborough, age 18, born in Arkansas, is living with them.
Louisa’s parents have already moved on to Johnson County, Texas by 1860. There are no other Saunders/Sanders families living in Anderson County that could be the parents of William. I have searched at the Anderson County courthouse for deeds for William and found none. More than likely, he did not own land there.

William and Louisa had two sons: William Henry Saunders (my great grandfather), born in Feb 1862 and John M., born in Sept 1863.

I believe that William and Louisa moved to Bosque County, Texas between 1860 and 1866. William Saunders died sometime before July 1866, as Louisa married David Henry Eddleman on 12 July 1866 in Bosque County, Texas.

The only reference to William's death is found in the Probate Minutes of Bosque County, Texas, Volume D1, page 619. It reads as follows:

Thursday, Nov. 1st 1866
#95 D. H. Eddleman Guardian of the minors William H. Sanders & John M. Sanders heirs at law.
This case coming to be heard and the court being satisfied Petition had been filed and notice given as the law requires It is therefore ordered by the Court that D. H. Eddleman be appointed guardian of the Person and Estate of the Minors William H & John M. Sanders and that letters of Guardianship do issue as soon as he shall have filed in this Court a sufficient Bond. Ordered this case be continued until the next regular Term.
There were no other minutes on this case. Either David Eddleman never filed the bond, or it is missing from the records.

I have searched for records of Civil War soldiers, thinking that William may have been killed in the war. I have searched for deeds, probates and a Will and have not found anything telling me about the life of William, nor found even a hint as to whom his parents were.

I searched the 1850 census in Texas looking for a William Saunders born around 1842. I found one family with a William M. Saunders, age 8, which fits my William’s age exactly, as does the middle initial. The father in that family was also named William and he and his wife had several young children in 1850. I cannot find this family in the 1860 census, nor can I find any trace of them in Anderson County or Bosque County; therefore, I don’t know if this is the right family or not.

I have also searched in Arkansas where Louisa’s Scarborough family was living. That did not produce any results, either.

What to do now? I would like to go back to Bosque County and do more searching just to make sure that I didn’t miss something the first time. I also need to check the deeds to see if perhaps Louisa (Scarborough) Eddleman disposed of any land that could have belonged to her and William. In the meantime, I will keep doing periodic searches on the internet and on Ancestry with the hopes of finding another relative who is researching this line.

Copyright © 2009-2010 Deborah Blanton McCoy

Do not copy the articles or pictures in this blog without the consent of the author.

 

Tombstone Tuesday

Prairie Springs Cemetery
Van Zandt County, Texas

Jessie
Dau. of
R. K. & S. F.
Prestidge
Born
Nov 1 1888
Died
Nov 21 1888

Nancy A.
Dau. of
R. K. & S. F.
Prestidge
Born
Aug 4 1890
Died
Jan 12 1903

Sentha
Dau of
R. K. & S. F.
Prestidge
Born
4 Aug 1890
Died
8 Sep 1890

Tombstone is now missing.
Information taken from an old
Van Zandt Cemetery book.

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Copyright © 2009-2010 Deborah Blanton McCoy
Do not copy the articles or pictures in this blog without the consent of the author.

Surname Saturday – Prestridge

MY PRESTRIDGE ANCESTORS

5. Josephine Milam Saunders, daughter of William Henry Saunders and Mary Jane Prestidge, was born on 25 Jul 1900 in Glen Rose, Somervell County, Texas, died on 23 Aug 1986 in Farmers Branch, Dallas County, Texas at age 86, and was buried in West Bridgeport Cemetery, Wise County, Texas. Josephine married Wilbur Alexander Blanton, Sr. on 26 May 1921 in Cleburne, Johnson County, Texas.
11. Mary Jane Prestidge, daughter of Rufus K. Prestidge and Sarah Frances Slaughter, was born in Dec 1862 in Van Zandt County, Texas, died on 7 Jun 1905 in Glen Rose, Somervell County, Texas at age 42, and was buried in Squaw Creek Cemetery, Somervell County, Texas. Mary married William Henry Saunders about 1881 in Texas.
22. Rufus K. Prestidge, son of Obediah C. Prestridge and Mary Gilmer, was born on 24 Mar 1842 in Mississippi, died on 4 Aug 1918 in Grand Saline, Van Zandt County, Texas at age 76, and was buried in Prairie Springs Cemetery, Van Zandt County, Texas. Rufus married Sarah Frances Slaughter on 28 Dec 1859 in Van Zandt County, Texas.
44. Obediah C. Prestridge, son of Larkin Prestridge and Alcy Campbell, was born about 1806 in Georgia, died after 1880 in Hood County, Texas, and was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Hood County, Texas. Obediah married Mary Gilmer about 1833 in Alabama or Mississippi.
88. Larkin Prestridge, son of John Prestridge, Jr. and Elizabeth Walters, was born about 1774 in Virginia and died on 10 Aug 1858 in Cherokee County, Texas about age 84. Larkin married Alcy Campbell about 1796.
176. John Prestridge, Jr. son of John Prestridge, Sr. and Ann, was born about 1752 in Virginia and died about 1818 in Franklin County, Georgia about age 66. John married Elizabeth Walters about 1772 in Virginia.
352. John Prestridge, Sr. was born about 1730 in Virginia and died in 1791 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia about age 61. John married Ann about 1750 in Virginia.

Copyright © 2009-2010 Deborah Blanton McCoy
Do not copy the articles or pictures in this blog without the consent of the author.

Tombstone Tuesday

Rufus K. & Sarah F. (Slaughter) Prestridge
share a tombstone in Prairie Springs Cemetery,
Van Zandt County, Texas.

Rufe K. Prestridge
Born
Mar 24 1842
Died
Aug 4 1918




Sarah F. Prestridge
Born
Dec 24 1844
Died
Dec 31 1915

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Copyright © 2009-2010 Deborah Blanton McCoy

Do not copy the articles or pictures in this blog without the consent of the author.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Blanton Surname Distribution

Randy Seaver’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun asks participants to determine the distribution of their surname using the World Names Public Profiler.

I searched my Blanton surname and received the following results.

The United States had the largest concentration worldwide of the Blanton surname with 94.7 persons per million. Canada was second with 0.92 persons per million, then the United Kingdom with 0.9 persons per million and Germany with 0.11 persons per million.

In the United States, the three states with the highest concentration of Blantons were Kentucky with 520 persons per million, South Carolina with 518 persons per million and North Carolina with 415 persons per million.

Next, I looked at the distribution of Blantons in Texas. This was surprising. The highest concentration was in Clay County. One of David Blanton's sons, Charles Wesley Blanton, lived in nearby Wilbarger County, but his children moved to other counties. The second highest concentration was in Rusk County. These are possibly ancestors of a branch of Blantons from North Carolina who settled in Rusk County in the 1800's.

Thanks, Randy, for the interesting assignment.

Copyright © 2009-2010 Deborah Blanton McCoy

Do not copy the articles or pictures in this blog without the consent of the author.

 

Tombstone Tuesday

Prairie Springs Cemetery
Van Zandt County, Texas

Prairie Springs Cemetery is located on Highway 64 just a few miles southeast of Canton, Texas. According to the historical marker in the cemetery, it dates back to 1866.

I have 29 family members buried in this cemetery, mostly from my Prestridge and Slaughter lines. Most of their tombstones can be found in two rows in the northeast corner of the cemetery.

When I lived in east Texas, I was only about an hour away from the cemetery and I visited it often. It is one of my favorite cemeteries and I stopped by there on a recent trip to Longview. I don’t know why I keep being drawn back there, but maybe one day it will lead to a discovery.

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Copyright © 2009-2010 Deborah Blanton McCoy

Do not copy the articles or pictures in this blog without the consent of the author.