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. 

Friday's Photo: Connections to my Giddens and Bryan Families - Joseph W. McMichael and Willie Marie Bryan

Joseph Walker McMichael and Willie Marie Bryan, ca. 1940 [1]

Yesterday, I posted the obituary of Joseph Walker McMichael.[2] I wanted to add a photo, but checked my digital files and did not find one. It wasn't until after I posted the obituary that I thought to look in my paper files. Julia McMichael Brittain (1942-2018) sent me copies of the above photo and much more in 1999.[3] 

This chart shows the relationship between Willie Marie

and my family. Julia, Willie Marie's grandaughter, was 

my third cousin-once-removed on my father's Bryan

side of the family. [5]

I knew how Willie Marie was connected to my Bryan family; however, until this morning, I had completely forgotten that Joseph Walker McMichael was connected to my Giddens family. 

Julia was my first source of information for both my Giddens and Bryan families when I began my research. She answered my genealogical query on the old Genforum in 1998 after my mother asked me to try to find something on my "new Internet" about her Giddens family. [4] Julia responded and sent me a large envelope containing an indexed descendants report of my Giddens family. 

Friday's Photo: An Unidentified Photo - Family or Friend?

There's not a mark or clue on this photo. It was in a box of that once belonged to my father's family. Is this a cousin? A friend of one of Dad's sisters?  If he is family, he could be a Bryan, Hammett, Biggs, Wylie, Noah, Thompson, Hairston, Criswell, Selman, or Evans. Other names could be Albritton, Watts, Gilbert, and Regan. The possibilities are endless!

I enlarged the photo on the computer and saw his pin has a chain attached and a 20 at the end. Did he graduate from a school in 1920? 

My father's sister graduated from Seymour High School and attended Harland Simmons University in 1920. Knowing this, I checked the Seymour High School yearbook at Ancestry.com and the Hardin Simmons University 1920 yearbook at The Portal to Texas History. He was not found in either yearbook. 

If he is your family, I would love to hear from you!

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

© 2018

Sources

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn

Friday's Photo: William "Bill" Evans and Hattie Frye

Hattie Frye and Bill Evans
Married December 29, 1900 in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

These photos of Hattie Frye and William Evans were shared by a Bryan cousin who also descends from the Frye family tree. 


Hattie Frye was the daughter of James M. Frye and Josephine "Josie" Hayes. She was the 7th of nine children. According to Pubic Member Trees at Ancestry.com, she and William "Bill" Evans had eight children. It is suspected the child in the photo is their first, Eunice Ethel Evans. 

William "Bill" Roberson Evans
Son of Barzilie H. Evans and Safronia Wood

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

© 2017

Source

Ancestry.com. "Public Member Trees." Web. 9 March 2017. <http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx>

Family photographs and documents from the Frye Family collection. Accessed June 6, 2016. Used with permission.

Honoring the Mothers in my Family Tree

This is a repeat of past years' posts honoring some of the mothers in my family tree. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Happy Mother's Day to my sister - a wonderful mother and grandmother!

Happy Mother's Day to my Aunt!

Doris Staubach Quinn - My mother-in-law.
1929 - 2012

Edith Giddens Davis, my grandmother

1897-1975

Myrtie Hairston Bryan, my grandmother

1880-1927

Harriet Albritton Bryan, my great-grandmother

1836-1909

Lodema Criswell Hairston, my great-grandmother

1856-1919

Bertha Davis Hawkins, my great-grandmother
1879 - 1965

Mary Lucy Glynn Giddens, my great-grandmother

1866-1926

Julia Harvey Glynn, with daughter Carrie, my great-great-grandmother

1840-1919

Elizabeth Regan Bryan, my great-great-grandmother

1798-1877

Caroline Olive Davis, my great-great-grandmother

1847- after 1901

Mary Ann "Polly" Evans Criswell, my great-great-grandmother

1829-1883

Diana

© 2016

Friday's Photo: Who Is This Pretty Young Woman?

This photo was passed to me by my cousin, Jackie. I assume that it originally belonged to my father's parents. The hairstyle is indicative of those of the 1890s.There are no markings on the back of this delicate paper photo.


Could she be a family friend? If family, is she related to my grandmother's Hairstons or my grandfather's Bryans? 

Surnames include Bryan, Hairston, Criswell, Evans, Selman, Albritton, Biggs, Chisum, Gilbert, Gresham, Hammett, Keith, Latta, Noah, Pitman, Regan, Thompson, Watts, Wimberly, Wylie, and many more. 

Diana

© 2016

Honoring Mothers on this Special Day

This is a repeat of past years' posts honoring some of the mothers in my family tree. Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Happy Mother's Day to my sister - a wonderful mother and grandmother!

Happy Mother's Day to my Aunt!

Doris Staubach Quinn - My mother-in-law.
1929 - 2012

Edith Giddens Davis, my grandmother
1897-1975

Myrtie Hairston Bryan, my grandmother
1880-1927

Harriet Albritton Bryan, my great-grandmother
1836-1909

Lodema Criswell Hairston, my great-grandmother
1856-1919

Bertha Davis Hawkins, my great-grandmother
1879 - 1965

Mary Lucy Glynn Giddens, my great-grandmother
1866-1926

Julia Harvey Glynn, with daughter Carrie, my great-great-grandmother
Died in 1919

Elizabeth Regan Bryan, my great-great-grandmother
1798-1877

Caroline Olive Davis, my great-great-grandmother
1847- after 1901

Mary Ann "Polly" Evans Criswell, my great-great-grandmother
1829-1883

Diana

© 2015

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #17 Lodema Walker Criswell, My Great-Grandmother

Lodema as a young woman - date unknown, Lodema and family - about 1893,
Lodema with her brother 1912 - Thomas Leroy "Whit" Criswell,
L.W.H. - found in the Bryan Family Bible

Lodema  Walker Criswell was born in Cherokee County, Texas on June 4, 1856. Her parents, William M. Criswell and Mary Ann “Polly” Evans, moved to Falls County, Texas three years after her birth. 

Lodema married Phillip A. Hairston at age 17.  They had two children, a baby boy who died in infancy and a daughter, my grandmother, Myrtie Hairston. In 1883, the Hairston family moved to Erath County, Texas where Lodema lived with her husband and daughter in the Bethel Community. In 1905, Lodema and Phillip moved to Baylor County with their daughter, her husband and children where they remained until their deaths. Lodema died on October 3, 1919, two years after her husband, Phillip. She and Phillip are buried in an unmarked grave in Seymour, Texas.  

No Story Too Small

Diana

© 2014

Sources:

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn.

Stephenville Tribune [Stephenville] 11 Nov. 1905: Microfilm


"Texas, Deaths (New Index, New Images), 1890-1976." Index and Images.FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2013. Citing Bureau of Vital Statistics. State Registrar Office, Austin.

Friday's Photo: Mary Ann "Polly" Evans Criswell

This tintype of my great-great-grandmother, Mary Ann "Polly" Evans Criswell was found in my Bryan family bible. Mary Ann was the mother of my great-grandmother, Lodema Walker Criswell Hairston, and the grandmother of my grandmother, Myrtie Hairston Bryan.  

Mary Ann Evans was born on June 9, 1829 in Alabama. She was the daughter of Evan Evans and Nancy Selman. She married William Moore Criswell in Cherokee County, Texas on August 30, 1847 and was the mother to 13 children. Mary Ann "Polly" Evans Criswell died on May 31, 1883 in Falls County, Texas. She is buried in the Criswell Cemetery. 

Diana

© 2014

Honoring the Mothers In My Family Tree

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Happy Mother's Day to my sister - a wonderful mother and grandmother!

Happy Mother's Day to my Aunt!

Doris Staubach Quinn - My mother-in-law.
1929 - 2012

Edith Giddens Davis, my grandmother
1897-1975

Myrtie Hairston Bryan, my grandmother
1880-1927

Harriet Albritton Bryan, my great-grandmother
1836-1909

Lodema Criswell Hairston, my great-grandmother
1856-1919

Bertha Davis Hawkins, my great-grandmother
1879 - 1965

Mary Lucy Glynn Giddens, my great-grandmother
1866-1926

Julia Harvey Glynn, with daughter Carrie, my great-great-grandmother
Died in 1919

Elizabeth Regan Bryan, my great-great-grandmother
1798-1877

Caroline Olive Davis, my great-great-grandmother
1847- after 1901

Mary Ann "Polly" Evans Criswell, my great-great-grandmother
1829-1883

Diana

© 2013