Friday's Photo: My Great-Grandmother, Lodema Criswell Hairston with Family in Falls County, Texas 1919

The above photo shows my great-grandmother, Lodema Criswell Hairston (right), with her sister-in-law, Amy Myrtlene Manning Criswell. The photo is dated 1919 and is said to have been taken on the day of Amy's husband's funeral. Amy's husband was John Carson Calhoun Criswell, son of William M. and Mary Ann Evans Criswell and brother to Lodema. John died on 25 February 1919. John and Amy lived in the Odds Community in Limestone County, but their brother Thomas LeRoy "Whit" Criswell lived a few miles away in Marlin, Falls County. He is pictured with Lodema in the next two photos. 

I suspect that the following two photos were taken in Falls County, as I remember being told about the water tower by Whit Criswell's home that can be seen behind Lodema in the second photo below. The children's identities are unknown. 

Lodema spent some of her youth, was married, and had her children in Falls County. I imagine this was her last trip home. In the fall of that year, she fell ill and died on 3 October 1919 at home in 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

© 2023 

Lodema Criswell Hairston, photographs,1919; scanned images, from the privately held photo collection of Lena Stone Criswell, NM, 2001.

The Lewis Devereux Giddens and Margaret Louisa Ireland Bible 1866 - Part 2: Marriages

This Giddens Bible belonged to Lewis and Margaret Giddens, who raised their family in Wayne County, North Carolina.  Lewis was a jeweler and the family genealogist. He was born in 1835 in Sampson County and married Margaret Louisa Ireland, also of Sampson County, in 1866. I am sure that Lewis and Margaret personally knew so much of the family I research.  

The Bible, published in 1866, contains four pages of vital statistics for the Giddens and related family. This is my transcription of the family record page detailing marriages. Part 1: Births were posted last week, and deaths will be posted soon.  

FAMILY RECORD

MARRIAGES

Column 1

Samuel R. Ireland was married to Eliza Newton July 25th 1833. 

David Giddens was married to Sophia Britt March 14th 1832. 

William Britt father of Sophia married to Patience Bell 1806 bought and gave her old flax wheel in 1807 which is in possession of L D Giddens in 1902. 

FAMILY RECORD

MARRIAGES

Column 2

L. D. Giddens and M. L. Ireland were married by Rev. B. F. Marable January 16th 1866. 

Eliza Newton daughter of L. D. & M. L. Giddens was married to Robert E. Weaver by Rev R. C. Beaman January 16th 1894. 

Fannie Victoria daughter of L. D. & M. L. Giddens was married to J. Wayland Jones  Jan. 27 - 1897 - Rev. R. B. John officiating

Lewis D. son of L. D. & M. L. Giddens was married to Eva Maie Stanley. June 28 - 1898  Rev. F. D. Swindell officiating

Margaret Louise daughter of M. L. & L. D. Giddens was married to Marvin Le Roi Smoot April 5, 1906 - Rev. W. L. Cunningham & Rev. T. A. Smoot, officiating

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

© 2023 

Giddens Family Record pages from a Giddens Bible, scanned image, original scan from the privately-held collection of Kathryn Ryan, NC, 2023. Used with permission. 

Family notes from the Baylor County Banner, Baylor County, Texas - 1912

I found this article about my grandfather, Redic E. Bryan when beginning this post yesterday. A nice surprise! Redic E. Bryan had just announced he was seeking a second term as tax assessor in Baylor County, Texas, and received the support of the local newspaper editor, O. C. Harrison. I added the photo above as they wrote about Redic (on the right) purchasing the long carriage typewriter. Did he use his own funds for this? You can see the entire photo of the office inside the courthouse at this post - My Grandfather Worked at this Courthouse in Baylor County, Texas.  

In addition to using a typewriter to record his tax rolls, my grandfather created a guidebook that listed every piece of property in Baylor County, with its full description and the assessed value for school, county, and state taxes. For those of you in Baylor County, is there any chance this guide survived the last 100+ years? 

Redic E. Bryan's parents, my great-grandparents, were 
Terrell Bryan and Harriet Albritton. I would love to know
what happened to these items!

The following 1912 excerpts were found in Baylor County Banner issues on a microfilm reel labeled "Baylor County Banner Oct 04, 1912 thru Dec 31, 1914." These excerpts were recorded on my web pages almost twenty years ago. Those web pages have not been updated since about 2012 but can still be found at my Rootsweb Freepages site. However, Ancestry, who now owns Rootsweb, is retiring the pages in 2024, and when returned, they will be static (I will not be able to make changes). In case the pages get lost, I am adding the content to this blog.

If you would like to see the actual article, the full October, November, and December issues can be viewed if you have a subscription to NewspaperArchive. 

Note that 1912 issues from January 5, 2012, and May 31, 1912, can be viewed at the free The Portal to Texas History. 

An asterisk * indicates that all of the information from the article is included in the notes below. To search for your family name, use your browser's "Find" function. 

October 4, 1912

R. E. Bryan returned today from a trip to Fort Worth.*

Mrs. Annie Parker of Missouri visited her brother Thomas Wharton.*

Reynolds - Goostree wedding

Redic Bryan was listed as running for Tax Assessor (This will be his second term.).

Baby girl born to Mr. and Mrs. John Olsen.*

Card of thanks for kindness shown to Mrs. John F. Little in her last illness. John F. Little, Mrs. E. M. Mayo, Mrs.Lige Adkins

Obituary for Mrs. John F. Little, daughter of Mrs. E. M. Mayo

Our Birthday - The Banner is 17 years old . . . .

Pickles

The word "pickle" has had a special place in my mind for forty years - triggering good thoughts and memories.

 

In 1983, my husband and I purchased a house on Pickle Barn Court. The farmer who formerly owned the land told me about a cement slab in the area his father said was part of the old pickle barn. The custodian of the school where I was working told me her grandmother worked in that pickle barn as a young girl.

Our street name was often a topic of conversation, and everyone easily remembered our address. Our children were born when we lived in that house, where life happened for twenty-three years. 

 

When we sold our home on Pickle Barn and moved to our home on a street with a very nondescript name, our closing attorney thought it was quite a coincidence we were leaving Pickle Barn for a property once owned by a family named Gurkin (pronounced as gherkin like the small cucumber often used to make pickles).

 

And it shouldn't have surprised me when pickles carried over into my genealogy. When searching for land owned by my 4th great-grandfather, John Giddens, in Wayne and Duplin counties in North Carolina, I found the land in the area of Mt. Olive - home to the Mt. Olive Pickle Company. Now, the pickles in my refrigerator are always Mt. Olive Pickles. They make me smile.

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
 

© 2023 

Friday's Photo: The Family of Marguerite Cook Clark - Bienville Parish, Louisiana - About 1914

Marguerite Cook is the youngest child pictured with her parents, Dr. Edward Clifton Cook, the son of Napoleon Bonaparte Cook and Pauline Porter Cook, and  Mary Marguerite "Maggie" Martin, daughter of Thomas Jefferson Martin and Laura Bryan, who are seen in this photo behind Marguerite's parents. Pictured are two of Marguerite's siblings, Paul Cook (born 1907) and Elizabeth Clifford Cook (born 1906). Marguerite was born in 1913, and her youngest sibling, Charles Laurie Cook, was born in 1915. 

Marguerite married Albert Clark in 1935. 

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

© 2023 

Marguerite Cook Clark - family photos,  photographs, n.d.; digital images, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2022. 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.

The Lewis Devereux Giddens and Margaret Louisa Ireland Bible 1866 - Part 1: Births

The Family Record pages in this Giddens Bible contain genealogical gold for someone (like me) researching Giddens and related family. It belonged to Lewis and Margaret Giddens, who raised their family in Wayne County, North Carolina.  Lewis was a jeweler and the family genealogist. He was born in 1835 in Sampson County and married Margaret Louisa Ireland, also of Sampson County, in 1866. I am sure that Lewis and Margaret personally knew so much of the family I research.  

On these pages, I was especially happy to see a death date for John Giddens, my 4th great-grandfather, and birth dates for David Giddens and his wife, Sophia Britt. An added bonus was some named children of William Britt, another 4th great-grandfather. Some of the Britt children were not named including my 3rd great-grandmother Latisha Britt who was born in 1817. 

The Bible, published in 1866, contains four pages of vital statistics for the Giddens and related family. Births, along with other important facts, were found on the pages pictured in this post. 

This is my transcription of the two family record pages detailing births. Marriage and death records will be posted soon. 

FAMILY RECORD

BIRTHS

Page 1

Column 1

S.R. Ireland was born July 16th 1802. 

Father of M. L. Giddens 

Eliza Newton, wife of S. R. Ireland was born January 19th 1819. 

Mother of M. L. Giddens

David Giddens was born May 11th 1800

Sophia Britt wife of David Giddens was born July 16th 1811

John, father of David Giddens was born 1755. died October 21st 1802.

H.B. Giddens Born Dec 28th 1833 (Brother of LD Giddens)

William Britt Grandfather of LD Giddens was Borne Jan 19th 1779 was married in 1806 to Patience Bell

Sarah Bradshaw Daughter of William Britt Bornd October 23. 1806

Henry son of William Born Sept 5 1808

Sophia Daughter of William Born July 16 1811

James Britt                   "              "                 1812

Page 1

Column 2

Lewis Devereux Giddens Son of D & S Giddens was born Sept 9th 1835.

Margaret Louisa daughter of SR & E. Ireland was born Nov 22nd 1842.

Eliza Newton, daughter of L. D. & M. L. Giddens was born Jan. 29th 1867.

Died July 25 1946 Fayetteville

Samuel Ireland, son of L. D. & M. L. Giddens was born July 4th 1868. 

Charlie Henry Giddens son of L. D. & M.L. Giddens was born August 25th 1869. 

Fannie Victoria daughter of L. D. & M. L. Giddens was born January 7th 1871. 

Lewis son of L. D. & M. L. Giddens was born July 26th 1873

James Franklin son of L. D. & M. L. Giddens was born Aug 1st 1875

FAMILY RECORD

BIRTHS

Page 2

Column 1

Maggie L. Daughter of L. D. & M. L. Giddens Born Tues March 15th 11 o.clock 15 mins PM 1877

Ross [illegible but known by Ross I.] son of L. D. & M. L. Giddens was born Sept 26 1878

Willie son of L. D. and M. L. Giddens was born March 22, 1880

Mary Emma daughter of L. D. and M. L. Giddens was born Sept 24th Sat 1882

Josephine Ireland daughter of L. D. & M. L. Giddens was born July 23-1884 

Wesley son of L. D. and M. L. Giddens was born Sept. 26, 1885. [dead is written above the word born]

Merle Louise daughter of Eliza N. & R. E. Weaver - born, Nov 22 - 1894 - Goldsboro N.C.

Wayland Giddens, son of Fannie & J Wayland Jones born July 10, 1902 at Goldsboro, N. C. 

Page 2

Column 2

Margaret Virginia daughter of Margaret L. & Dr. M. L. Smoot born Jan 30, 1907, Spencer N. C. 

Marvin Le Roi Smoot Jr. son of Margaret L. & Dr. M. L. Smoot born July 16, 1908, Spencer, N C. 

James Ross Smoot  son of M. L. & M. L. Smoot born Dec. 25th 1913. Fayetteville North Carolina   Died Jan. 19 - 1915 - Goldsboro, NC

Irene Stanley Giddens daughter of Lewis D. Jr & Eva S. Giddens, born Norfolk, Va. July 4, 1900 : Died

Sara Louise Giddens daughter of Lewis D. Jr & Eva S. Giddens, born Elizabeth City, N. C. Jan - 21 - 1903

Lewis D III son of Lewis D. Jr & Eva S. Giddens born Goldsboro, N. C. Jan. 28, 1904

Margaret Ireland Giddens, daughter of Lewis D. Jr & Eva S. Giddens, born Wilson, N. C. Dec. 25, 1907.

Ralph Giddens, son of Lewis D. Jr & Eva S. Giddens born Jun 27, 1911 Wilson N. C.  Died (Killed) Palau Island, War 1941- 45. Oct 15, 1944

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

© 2023 

Giddens Family Record pages from a Giddens Bible, scanned image, original scan from the privately-held collection of Kathryn Ryan, NC, 2023. Used with permission. 

John L. Clifton Drew a Map of His Neighborhood in Sampson County, North Carolina

This hand-drawn map was found in the John L. Clifton Papers at the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Duke University. It appears that John L. Clifton drew the map as he described one corner of his land as "mine & Kings corner" and another as "My corner & Dardens."

On the second map, his labels are numbered. The numbered labels are transcribed below. Please contact me if you are able to identify the illegible words or if you find errors in my transcriptions.

1. Wilmington

2. James D[illegible]

3. Faison's Depot

4. Duplin

5. [illegible]

6. Saml R. Irelands part of the Whitfield Land

7. Jas D[illegible] corner

8. Henry Stevens

9. The pine woods part of the Whitfields land 1092 acres

10. Panther Branch

11. East

12. Bear Pond

13. Henry Oats & others    

14. Hicks    

15. Whitfield Corner

16. the alfred Bick Land

17. Jas Lewis

18. This is only a rough statement of the Bick Land

19. Joseph Dardens Pine woods

20. my corner & Dardens

21. Bicks old corner

22. J. L. Cliftons land flat pine woods & pond

23. 505 acres

24. mine & Kings corner

25. Edmond King

26. Edmond Kings Pine woods

27. The Whitfield corner & Kings

28. Kings &Clifton corner of this [illegible] Land

29. the new corner

30. No [North]

31. The Road from Waynesboro to Clinton

32. So [South]

33. Hood Swamp

34. Alex Chestnuts

35. West

36. J. L. Clifton

37. Head of Six Runs

38. Kings Branch

39. Joseph Dardens

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

© 2023 

Map of John L. Clifton's Land, Clifton, John L., Papers, 1784-1916 (bulk 1830-1889), manuscript collection, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University, accessed 2017 and 2018.

Why and How to View Multiple Screens

In 2008, a new work assignment came with a desktop computer and two attached monitors. It took me all of ten minutes to realize how much more productive I would be with two screens. It didn't take me long to add that second monitor to my home computer. 

Genealogical research and other tasks are much easier with the second screen. 

I put my research log or family tree software on one screen and look for family on the other screen. 

I can watch a webinar on one screen and follow along on the other. 

During a Zoom meeting, the presenter's handout or other important meeting information is on my second screen.  

When cleaning up files or completing other mundane tasks, I might have Netflix running on my second screen. 

Using two screens makes it so much easier to cut and paste between multiple documents, and I can stretch a large spreadsheet or map across both screens so that all can be seen.

I like having my two monitors and doubt that I will ever go back to one, but you do not have to have two monitors to view multiple screens. Most of the tasks I complete with two monitors can be done easily by just splitting your screen. 

Visit the links below to learn how to split your screens or connect additional monitors. 

This screen is split into three sections so I can view FamilySearch, my Family Tree Maker application, and a Word document.
With Windows 11's features, this is easily done. 

Split Your Screen

 How To Use Split Screen On Windows 10

 

How To Split Screen In Windows 11

 

How to use Split View on Mac

 

Open two items in Split View on iPad

Using Multiple Monitors

 

If you have desk space, you may want to use multiple monitors (usually two). This can be the costliest option. Try a desktop with multiple (usually two) monitors or a laptop with an extra monitor. No additional software is needed, and once set up, you can drag applications from one screen to another. Your mouse simply moves between the two screens as if you were using one large screen.

 

How To Connect A Laptop To A Monitor (Windows 10 or a MacBook)

 

How to set up two monitors for double the screen real estate (Windows)

 

Connect one or more external displays with your Mac 

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

.

Diana

© 2023 

Friday's Photo: Henry Creswell, a New Large Project, and My First Steps

Thank you to my sister for this photo of her son standing near a monument
to Henry Creswell at the Sinking Springs Cemetery in Abington, Virginia. 
Click on the photo to enlarge. 

I have been told that Henry Creswell, buried at the Sinking Springs Cemetery in Abington, Virginia, was my direct ancestor. If correct, he would be my 5th great-grandfather. My great-grandmother, Lodema Walker Criswell, was the daughter of William Moore Criswell and Mary Ann Evans. William Moore Criswell is said to be the great-grandson of this Henry Creswell. 

A New Large Project 

I have never spent much time looking for the Criswell family. My cousin Jackie sent me what she had. A distant cousin's wife, Lena, shared fabulous stories, letters, and photos. Other distant relations sent me photos and family trees, but I never took the time to research and make sure I had documentation for each family line. 

Today, the Criswell line has been added to my "Large Projects" list. This list consists of five family projects. When I work on my family tree or visit a repository, I choose from only these projects. When I finish a project, I add another. This "Large Projects" list helps me stay focused and keeps me out of many rabbit holes. 

My First Steps 

I have three full Criswell binders and a large amount of digital files for this family. Most of the information I have collected involves William Moore Criswell, Mary Ann Evans, and their many children when living in Falls County, Texas. My first steps will be to read and organize the information in my binders and digital files, add documented information to my family tree, make any necessary corrections to my tree, and begin a timeline for William M. Criswell. As I find new or interesting Criswell items, you may see them in a blog post. 

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

.

Diana

© 2023 

Henry Criswell Memorial, photograph, 2023; digital image, original photograph from the privately-held collection of C. Trujillo, AL, 2023.