Gathering Giddens: Sarah Taylor the "said to be" Wife of John Giddens of Wayne County, North Carolina

The above document is a partial copy of Sarah's dower found in the probate record. By this time in 1808, she was Sarah Flowers and on this document, she was identified as Salley Flowers. The entire document reads as follows:

In obedience to an order of Court Signed May Term 1808 - We the under signd Jurors having been summoned & sworn by the D. Sheriff to allot and set off to Sally Flowers Widow of Jno. Giddens, Dec'd, her Dower in the Real Estate of sd Dec'd we have agreeable thereto as the above plan Represents to Witt  Begin at a white oak & runs N79 W.65 pole to a sweet gum on the run of Jethros Branch then up the run of sd Branch as it meanders to a tree Huckleberry near the head thereof then S10 E 38 pole to a stake then Et 205 pole to a pine then N32 Et 276 pole to the road then with same as it runs to a pine Adam Reaves Corner, then S20 Est 41 pole to a pine her Corner, then W98 pole to a pine then N75 pole to a pine in Rhodes's Line then his line to the Begin Containing 333 Acres 

In testimony whereof, we have set our hands this 6th Day of June 1808 

The Jurors were Ezekiel Slocumb, Sampson Edwards, Durham Graddy, Briton Hood, William Lewis, John Jones, David Edwards, Lovett Reaves, Adam Reaves, Jesse Norris, Urbane Lewis, and Jesse Bass. J. Bledsoe, DS Executed [1]

Last week, I wrote about my fourth great-grandfather, John Giddens in the post Gathering Giddens: John Giddens, a Planter in North Carolina. Today, I am sharing all that I currently know about his wife, Sarah, my fourth great-grandmother. 

Friday's Photo: Nell Alene Woodard of Bienville Parish, Louisiana

Last week, I posted Friday's Photo: A Martin - Woodard Family Gathering. Here are two additional photos of Nell Alene Woodard, daughter, of Willie Bessie Murph, and her first husband, Joseph Allen Woodard that were found in Mary Martin Smith's collection. [1]

Nell looks to be about ten years old in the first photo giving it a date of approximately 1915. 

The second photo is assumed to be taken after her marriage to Loyd P. Elliott in 1926. [2]

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

.

Diana

© 2022

    1. Nell Woodward Elliott photos, photographs, n.d.; scanned images, from the privately held photo collection of Mary V. Smith, Alaska, 2004; original images photographed between 1973 and 1993.

    2. YouDee20012001,"Marler Pate Corley McCoy Family Tree," private tree, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/973847/family/familyview? fpid=-626224692&fpid=-626224692&usePUBJs=true: accessed 20 Januaray 2022). 

Clippings from The Baylor County Banner - Seymour, Texas - June 28, 1923

My grandparents, Redic E. Bryan and Myrtie Hairston, and my great-grandparents, Phillip A. Hairston and Lodema Criswell, moved to Baylor County in 1905. My father, Whit Criswell Bryan, was born in Seymour in 1920. He was the youngest of seven children born to Redic and Myrtie. 

In April 2019, I visited the Texas State Library and Archives to read Baylor County Banner issues that could not be found online or on microfilm. I photographed articles with information about my father's family who lived in Seymour. While sorting through my family finds, I realized I had photos of articles that might interest others looking for family. I have pictures of numerous articles from 1923 and a few from other years. I will post as time allows. 

Thank you to Matt Gwinn at the Baylor County Banner for giving me permission to post these clippings.  

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2022 

Sources 

Harrison, O. C. The Baylor County Banner. (Seymour, TX.), Vol. 27, No. 40. 28 June 1923. Print. Accessed 15 April 2019. 

Friday's Photo: A Martin - Woodard Family Gathering

This photo is the family of Thomas Jefferson Martin II and Willie Bessie Murph. The estimated ages of the children in the photo and the 1952 death date of T. J. Martin II date this gathering as between 1945 and 1952.[1] The photos below appear to have been taken on the same day and it is assumed to have been taken in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, the home of Bessie and T. J. Martin. 

Bessie first married Joseph Allen Woodard and they had children Nell Alene Woodard, Joe Edmond Woodard, and Elva Allen Woodard. After Joseph Woodard's death, she married Thomas Jefferson Martin II and they had two boys, Thomas Jefferson Martin III and Wayne Wimberly Martin. All of Bessie's children are pictured above. 

Before marrying Bessie, T. J. Martin II was married to Mary Anna Sledge and had three daughters not pictured in the above photo. The daughters were Annie Laura,  Emma Alice, and Mary Virgie.[2]

Sarah Bess Elliott Sledge was the daughter of Nell Woodard and Lloyd P. Elliot. [3]

Posts Related to this Family

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Thomas Jefferson Martin III - Resident of Ringgold and WWII Veteran

Friday's Photo: Marshall and Allen Woodard of Bienville Parish, Louisiana

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

.

Diana
 

© 2022

    1. Martin-Woodard family photos, photographs, n.d.; scanned images, from the privately held photo collection of Mary V. Smith, Alaska, 2004; original images photographed between 1973 and 1993.

    2. YouDee20012001,"Marler Pate Corley McCoy Family Tree," private tree, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/973847/family/familyview? fpid=-626224692&fpid=-626224692&usePUBJs=true: accessed 20 Januaray 2022). 

    3. Ibid.

My Grandfather Worked at this Courthouse in Baylor County, Texas

My grandfather worked in this courthouse from about 1911 to 1915 while serving two terms as tax assessor. [1] A few years later the courthouse was remodeled.[2] 

See the planned changes for the courthouse and why they were making some of the changes at Courthouse to be Remodeled.[3]

There is a good Baylor County Banner article about the courthouse remodel published on 2 August 1917. It is not online but, you can see my 2012 transcription here.[5] 

The tall man on the right is my grandfather, Redic E. Bryan. The photo may have
been taken in 1911 as a long carriage Oliver typewriter was purchased for the county at a cost of $160 in June 1911. [6]

I purchased the photo of the Courthouse on eBay around 2001. I am sure that it was copied from a postcard. I know that it was taken before the remodeling in 1917 and the name on the horse or maybe donkey is Waller. According to the Baylor County Banner issue dated 9 September 1915, Mrs. W. R. Waller was in the "photographic business."[7]

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2022 

    1. "Tax Assessors of Baylor County," The Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 5 September 1929, Golden Jubilee Number, no page or issue number; database and images, The Portal to Texas History (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth429414/m1/30/zoom/? : accessed 15 January 2022). 

    2. "Courthouse to be Remodeled," The Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 12 October 1916, p.2, col. 3; database and images, The Portal to Texas History (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth429865/m1/2/zoom/? : accessed 15 January 2022). 

    3. Ibid.

    4. "The New Courthouse, Cut Shows How the Baylor County Temple of Justice Looks After Finished," microfilm, The Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 2 August 1917,  p.1. Microfilm accessed April 2012 from the privately-held collection of D.B. Quinn.

    5. Diana Bryan Quinn "Family Photos: The Courthouse in Seymour" blog entry, 11 April 2012, Moments in Time: A Genealogy Blog (https://momentsintimeagenealogyblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/family-photos-courthouse-in-seymour.htmll: accessed 28 December 2021).

    6. Redic E. Bryan, photograph, ca. 1911; digital image, from the privately held photo collection of D.B. Quinn, 2022. Also, Tax assessor, R. E. Bryan, purchased a long carriage typewriter, The Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 9 June 1911,  p.5, col. 2; database and images, The Portal to Texas History (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth429359/m1/6/zoom/? : accessed 15 January 2022). 

    7. C. L. Downing has gone into partnership with Mrs. Waller who is in the photographic business, The Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 9 September 1915,  p.3, col. 2; database and images, The Portal to Texas History (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth429451/m1/3/zoom/? : accessed 15 January 2022). 

Gathering Giddens: John Giddens, a Planter in North Carolina

This land transaction shows the only record of John's occupation, a planter. [1]

I first started researching the Giddens family in 1998. My mother's mother, Edith Giddens, was a descendant of Mitchell Giddens, the youngest son of John Giddens and his wife, Sarah.  

Much documented and undocumented information is found when searching for John Giddens on genealogy websites. In this post, I will highlight some of the conflicts and some of the many documents that tell about John and his family.

 

John Giddens vs. John Jacob Giddens

When John died in 1802, he had at least 1000 acres of land and a large inventory of other items, as well as a wife and eight children.[2] John's name can be found in many records both before and after his death. In all records I have seen, his name is written with no middle name or initial. 

Sometime in the last decade, his name began to appear as John Jacob Giddens in family trees at Ancestry.com, FamilySearch, MyHeritage, and other sites. In October 2021, there were 162 trees at Ancestry for this John Giddens, father of Mitchell and other children. John Giddens is his name in 90 trees and John Jacob Giddens in 72 trees. In those 72 trees, there were no documents showing that his name was John Jacob Giddens.[3] 

Friday's Photo: Three Bienville Parish Families - Sledge, Martin, and Bryan

This photo and the photos below were found in a digitized collection sent to me by Mary V. Smith.[1] Mary labeled all of the photos with birth and death dates along with other remarks. When I post her photos, I will include the written information as well. 

Cowart James and Vera were the children of Captain Joshua Sledge and Katie Cowart. Mary, Anna, and Emma were the daughters of Mary Anna Sledge and Thomas J. Martin II. John, Pierce, and Oliver were the sons of Charles Monroe Bryan and Alice Sledge. Captain Joshua, Mary Anna, and Alice were siblings.[2] Photos of the parents of these children are seen below. 

Note: Charles Monroe Bryan was the son of James Monroe Bryan. For years I have tried to connect James Monroe Bryan to my Reddick Bryan family and have been unsuccessful.[3] 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

.

Diana

© 2022 

    1. Sledge, Martin, and Bryan families, n.d.; scanned images, from the privately held photo collection of Mary V. Smith, Alaska, 2004; original images photographed between 1973 and 1993.

    2. YouDee20012001,"Marler Pate Corley McCoy Family Tree," private tree, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/973847/family/familyview? fpid=-626224692&fpid=-626224692&usePUBJs=true: accessed 13 January 2022). Also, mavidmar," M Burton Family Tree," public tree, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/35562118/family/familyview?cfpid=18826543110&dtid=100: accessed 13 January 2022).

    3. mavidmar," M Burton Family Tree," public tree, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/35562118/family/familyview?cfpid=18826543110&dtid=100: accessed 13 January 2022).

Friday's Photo: Sarah Pittman, Mother of Thomas Jefferson Martin - Bienville Parish, Louisiana

If you descend from Laura Frances Bryan, the daughter of Joseph Bryan and Sarah Wimberly, you would also be a descendant of Sarah Pittman. Sarah was the mother of the Rev. Thomas Jefferson Martin who married Laura Bryan. Thomas' father was John N. Martin.[1] Both Sarah and John are buried in the Providence Cemetery.[2]  According to the 1880 Census, Sarah was born in North Carolina but no other documentation could be found.[3]

This photo was found in a digitized collection sent to me by Mary V. Smith.[4] She wrote that the photos were copied from collections of Mary Virgie Martin Walker (her sister), Anna Laura Martin (her mother), Marguerite Cook Clark (a cousin), and Niler Sledge Edwards (a cousin). This particular photo was found in the collection of Marguerite Cook Clark. Marguerite Cook Clark's collection is enormous. I traveled three times to Texas to see the collection and my cousin and I spent six days scanning. This is one of many I did not copy. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

.

Diana

© 2022 

Sources 

    1. Vera Meeks Wimberly, Wimberly Family History, Ancestors, Relatives, and Descendants of William Wimberly, Pioneer from Georgia to Louisiana 1837 (Houston Texas: D. Anderson, 1979), 315.

    2. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24938329/sarah-martin : accessed 05 January 2022), memorial page for Sarah Pitman Martin (18 Jan 1806–9 Feb 1897), Find a Grave Memorial ID 24938329, citing Providence Cemetery, Ringgold, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, USA; Maintained by A Footstep In Time (contributor 47345816).

    3. 1880 U.S. Census, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, population schedule,  enumeration district 008, p.614B, dwelling 373, family 373, Thomas J. Martin household; digital images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6742/images/4241285-00574? : accessed 5 January 2022); citing NARA microfilm T9, roll 448. 

    4. Sarah Pittman, photograph, n.d.; scanned image, from the privately held photo collection of Mary V. Smith, Alaska, 2004; original image photographed copied from the collection of Marguerite Cook Clark between 1973 and 1993.

Clippings from The Baylor County Banner - Seymour, Texas - June 21, 1923

My grandparents, Redic E. Bryan and Myrtie Hairston, and my great-grandparents, Phillip A. Hairston and Lodema Criswell, moved to Baylor County in 1905. My father, Whit Criswell Bryan, was born in Seymour in 1920. He was the youngest of seven children born to Redic and Myrtie. 

In April 2019, I visited the Texas State Library and Archives to read Baylor County Banner issues that could not be found online or on microfilm. I photographed articles with information about my father's family who lived in Seymour. While sorting through my family finds, I realized I had photos of articles that might interest others looking for family. I have pictures of numerous articles from 1923 and a few from other years. I will post as time allows. 

Thank you to Matt Gwinn at the Baylor County Banner for giving me permission to post these clippings.  

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2022 

Sources 

Harrison, O. C. The Baylor County Banner. (Seymour, TX.), Vol. 27, No. 39, 21 June 1923. Print. Accessed 15 April 2019. 

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Sawyer Robert Wimberly - Bienville Parish, Louisiana

Sawyer Robert Wimberly was the second child of John Lawson Wimberly and Julia Frances "Fannie" Murph. He was born on 16 January 1888 in Ringgold, Bienville Parish, Louisiana. He married Minnie Lee Pate. Sawyer was a farmer and a lifelong resident of Bienville Parish. He and his wife had nine children and are buried in the Wimberly Cemetery.

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2022 

    "Sawyer Wimberly [obituary]," newspaper clipping, 1965, unidentified newspaper, from the privately-held collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Obituaries were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016. 

    Sawyer Wimberly, photograph, n.d.; digital images, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016.

    Vera Meeks Wimberly, Wimberly Family History, Ancestors, Relatives, and Descendants of William Wimberly, Pioneer from Georgia to Louisiana 1837 (Houston Texas: D. Anderson, 1979), 292.

Myrtie Hairston Bryan's Funeral Book - Seymour, Texas 1927

This funeral book titled "In Memoriam" was completed after the death of my
grandmother, born Johnie Myrtlene Hairston. 

I have seen spelling variations of her first and middle name but most knew her as Myrtie. 

Myrtie died more than 25 years before I was born. My father was six years old at the time and only had a few memories. Her obituary, seen at 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #1 Johnie Myrtlene "Myrtie" Hairston, tells some of her story. 

Myrtie's parents were Phillip A. Hairston and Lodema Walker Criswell. She married my grandfather, Redic E. Bryan in 1900 in Erath County, Texas. 

At the time of her death, she had five living children. My father, Whit Criswell Bryan, was the youngest. His brother, Hairston Albritton Bryan (Buster), and his three sisters - Myrtie Marie Bryan (Marie), Monte DeRay Bryan (DeRay), and Willie Mae (later known as Willa Mae). 

I assume this was written by one of Myrtie's daughters. At the time, 23-year-old DeRay, was a teacher in Amherst, Lamb County. Marie, age 25, was at home and probably helped with the house and younger children. Willa Mae was 17 years old and still in high school. 21-year-old Buster was living and working in Wichita Falls and my father was six years old and living at home. 

Myrtie's date of birth has been erased. Myrtie was born in Falls County, Texas on 8 July 1880. Her family left Falls County for Erath County in 1883. Myrtie came to Baylor County in the fall of 1905 with her husband, two daughters, and her parents. 

Services

At

Home

Officiating Clergy

Rev. J. R. Baulch

Rev. C. E. Cogswell

Music

"In the Sweet by and by"

"Rock of ages"

"Jesus Savior, Pilot Me"

By

G. E. Barrett

F. Morris

Myrtie was buried in Woodmen Cemetery. Myrtie is said to be buried with two

children who died as infants and with her parents. Later, her husband, Redic, and son, Buster, were also said to have been buried nearby. However, only Myrtie's grave is marked. 

Floral Offerings

Fidelis Class

Y.W.A.

Marrero Cross

[Myrtie's first cousin. Marrero was the daughter of Lodema's sister, Caldonia.]

First Babtist Church

Woodsman Circle

Mr. & Mrs. J.D. Blanks

Mrs. J. S. Foster

Mr. & Mrs. T. E. Brock

Jack Eaves & Family

[Jack Eaves was married to Lodema's sister Frances Criswell - Aunt to Myrtie.]

Mrs. W.B. Murphy

Richmond Family

Mrs. Putge [transcription is questionable]

Whit Criswell & Family

[Whit Criswell was Myrtie's Uncle and the brother of her mother, Lodema.]

Mr. & Mrs. W. B. Murphy

Floral Offerings

Mrs. J. F. Bunkley

Mr. & Mrs. S. L. Webb

Mr. & Mrs. A. G. Barrett

Mrs. John Criswell  & Family

[John Criswell was Myrtie's Uncle, brother to her mother, Lodema]

Mr. & Mrs. Chloe Shawver

W. M. W.

Mrs. A. R. Smith & Family

Mrs. F.M. Rayburn

The Pep Squad

Amherst Faculty

Mrs. M. M. Harrison

Mrs. C. E. Rupe

R. E. Bryan & Family

Pall Bearers

G.W. Adkins

W. H. Frances

O. Parks

J. A. Blanks

Wesley Harrison

Charlie Harris

Flower Girls

Flo Richmond

Catherine Clark

Ruby Williams 

Nell Smith

Velma Wilbanks

Willie Mae Adkins

Annie Bell Emsoff

Wanda Jones

Henry Lee Carter

Family Record

Father

P.A. Hairston

Mother

Lodema Hairston (Criswell)

Other Members of Family

R.E. Bryan

Marie Bryan

DeRay Bryan

Buster Bryan

Willie Mae Bryan

R.E. Bryan Jr.

(died in infancy)

Redic E. Bryan

(died in infancy)

Whit Criswell Bryan

Mrs. John Criswell & Family

Memoranda

Telegrams

J.E. Biggs - Groom, Texas 

[James E. Biggs was married to Redic's sister, Terrell "Bunch" Bryan]

J. D. Blanks - Denton, Tex.

Marrero Cross - Waco, Tex.

[Myrtie's first cousin. Marrero was the daughter of Lodema's sister, Caldonia.]

Whit Criswell - Marlin, Tex.

[Whit Criswell was Myrtie's Uncle and the brother of her mother, Lodema.]

Dollie Wylie

[Dollie Wylie was the sister of Redic Bryan.]

Cordus Bray

[Cordus Bryan was a friend of DeRay. I have letters he wrote to DeRay.]

SEYMOUR MERCANTILE COMPANY

W.H. GRAY

Funeral Director and Embalmer

SEYMOUR, TEXAS 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2022

Sources 

    Diana Bryan Quinn "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #1 Johnie Myrtlene "Myrtie" Hairston," blog entry, 5 January 2014, Moments in Time: A Genealogy Blog (https://momentsintimeagenealogyblog.blogspot.com/2014/01/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-1-johnie.html : accessed 3 January 2022).

    Lena Stone Criswell, "Criswell-McKinley Family Tree," private tree, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/10909485/family/familyview? : accessed 3 January 2022).

    Myrtie Hairston Bryan, photograph, ca. 1910; digital image, from the privately held photo collection of D.B. Quinn, 2022.

    Myrtie Hairston Bryan's Funeral Book, In Memoriam (Seymour Mercantile Company, Seymour, Texas), 1927,  privately held by Diana Bryan Quinn, Virginia Beach, VA, 2022.

    Terrell Bryan Family Bible Records, 1836 - 1927, The Illustrated Polyglot Household Bible (Philadelphia: G. Zeigler, McCurdy, & Co., 1870), "Family Record," privately held by Diana Bryan Quinn, Virginia Beach, VA, 2022.