Mystery Monday

This is the only photograph I have of my great grandfather, James E Parrish. Family lore said he robbed a train and fled to Mexico. After 10 years of research I found that he indeed did rob a train but instead of fleeing to Mexico, he served time in a Mexican prison.
From the ages of the children visable and it looks like Louisa is pregnant in this picture, I estimate this picture is taken in early 1900. I have some writings that Louisa was said to have said that James had the blackest hair and the bluest eyes she had ever seen. My grandpa (the littlest one in the picture) had his blue eyes, as did my dad and my oldest son.
Louisa died in 1901 a week after giving birth to her last child. By this time she is alone and James is in prison, at least according to the article I found in a 1907 paper:

9 months after his release in Durango Mexico, I found a baptismal certificate for James. I figured he must have met a young lady and wanted to marry again. I never found any other record of him.
"México, bautismos, 1560-1950," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NR74-4XW : accessed 19 Nov 2013), José Santiago De Jesús Parrish, 19 May 1908.

Another story I heard was that James was released early from prison on two conditions, that he tell who where the others involved in the robbery and that he never return to the states again. I don't know if either statement is true but I have found no other record of him.
His youngest son, Jimmy, said that he would come back accross the border from time to time.
Here is a painting of James:

The resemblance to my father is freaky. They have some strong genes. It wouldn't be hard to pick out 4 generations of Parrish men.
I struggle with the fact I may never know what happened to him. There have been stories of blue eyed Parrish in Mexico. He was only 38 when released from prison. He could have had another family.
It is all a mystery.

Surname Saturday

Texas, Kentucky, Ohio, New York and Canada but mainly Kentucky and Canada.

I had no idea so many of my Irish ancestors came to Canada first.

I have many Canadian ancestors!

Funeral Card Friday

Never knew about Clara Geneva Parrish until my Dad's cousin showed this to me.

I couldn't believe it. I had never heard anything about her.

She lived 7 months and 9 days.

My great grandmother went on to have one more child after Clara.

My great grandmother (Louisa) would die from complications from that last birth just a week after great uncle Jimmy was born. 

I feel as though there must have been a great sadness in this house.

Louisa's husband, James Parrish, was sent to prison in Durango, Mexico just before uncle Jimmy was born.

The children all went to live with their maternal grandparents.

Wedding Wednesday

William Parrish was my paternal grandfather's oldest brother.

He and Verna only had one child, Billie Ruth, and she never married.

This was the end of his line but I remember uncle Bill through the fond memories my aunts shared with me.

William "Bill" Christian Parrish was born 1 Oct 1893 in Texas. Most likely he was born in Eagle Pass, Maverick County, Texas, but I don't know that for certain.

He was the oldest of five children.

In the 1900 census William is 7 and living in Eagle Pass, Maverick county, Texas.

In 1910, he is living in D'Hanis, Medina county, Texas with his maternal grandparents. His mother died and his father was serving time in a Mexican prison for a train robbery.

By 1920 William and Verna are married and living in Houston, Harris county, Texas.

This is where they will live out their lives.

Tombstone Tuesday

I bet you have never heard of this surname before.

I am fairly certain it was made up or perhaps was McDiarmit.

If I google 'Diarmit' I know how each individual is related.

I have heard the story about 4 brothers coming to the US and each changed their name once here.

I don't know if that is true, but there are names similar phonetically but spelled differently all located in a relatively close geographical area.

D'Yarmett, DeArmit, Diarmid -versions are found in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

My earliest know Diarmit is Thomas Diarmit b. abt 1788 Kentucky

Thomas married Lydia Bill b. abt 1794 Kentucky, and they had 4 known children:

Andrew Diarmit b. abt 1817 Kentucky

*Henderson Diarmit b. Dec 1819 KY

Sarah Diarmit b.abt 1826 KY

Thomas b. abt 1828 KY

Henderson Diarmit married Elizabeth Meadows and had 10 known children:

Leanner Diarmit 1846-? (m. Robert Joel Coghill)

Sarah Catherine Diarmit 1848-1922 (m. John N Coghill)

Eliza J Diarmit 1851-? (m. Francis M Webb)

Mary Ellen Diarmit 1852-? (m.Thomas Richardson)

William Jackson Diarmit 1853-?

Martha Diarmit 1855-1912 (m. Marcus L Harmon)

*Jerome Diarmit 1857-1943 married Mary Ellen Wiley

Alpheus Diarmit 1859-1942 

Mattie B Diarmit 1861-? (m. Alonso Bright and George Heady)

Nancy Ella Diarmit 1866-1941 (m.Marion G. Piles)

Jerome Diarmit and Mary Ellen Wiley had 6 known children. There may have been 7 but I haven't been able to prove that with documentation.

Effie Diarmit 1881-1976 (married Theodore Dunn)

Oscar Diarmit 1883-1954 (married Fannie G ?)

Mattie Diarmit 1885-1953 (married Louis M Stockdale)

Leota C Diarmit 1890-1967 (married Edward C Williams)

Ernest Diarmit 1892-1949 (married Eliza H Preston)

*Paul Bryan Diarmit 1894-1961 (married Helen A Sullivan)

I sure wish I knew more about the origin of this name as well as the other names that are so close to it.

Military Monday

I love this picture of my great uncle Bill and my grandfather. They had both died before I was born but I still feel a connection to them both.

Here is another of my paternal grandfather:

I don't know the fella with grandpa. One of his Navy buddies, I guess.

Here is my maternal grandfather, Paul Diarmit:

Our family has a long history of military service...

Grandfathers, great uncles, my dad, my brothers, my nephew, and my husband.

Since this is Veteran's Day, this is the perfect Monday to remember all those who serve.

Henry McKinley Sexton

In every tree I research there is at least one character that haunts me.

I can't get them out of my head.

In my husband's tree, Henry McKinley Sexton is the main one.

His cause of death is the first thing that shocked me and made me sad.

At 2 o'clock on Wednesday, October 10, 1906

Henry shot himself in the head.

What led up to his self inflicted gun shot wound?

What happened to make this 56 year old man kill himself?

I don't have an answer to that.

Not even a clue.

What I do know about Henry is that he was born into the Sexton family and was adopted by the Spann family at a young age.

I keep going back to try to connect him to his birth family & I think I am close but I still don't have a concrete answer. Sometimes that is all we have.

Here is a message I posted in 2009:

Searching for information on Henry McKinley Sexton b.1849 TN
d.1906 Texas.
Henry was adopted by the Spann family (Jeremiah L. and Jane Spann) I found him on the 1860 census in Calloway Co Ky with this family.
When searching the 1850 census for the Spann family, I found them in Weakley, TN. Since Henry M. was born in TN in 1849 I figured it was likely his family was in the same area in 1850.
I found a family with the surname Sexton and there was a Henry but he is age 3 instead of 1 and I can't figure out relationships in this grouping. Here is the listing:
1850 Weakley TN
Sexton, G. M 64 abt 1786 VT.
Sexton, Jemima F 56 abt 1794 VT
Sexton, Rebecca F 26 abt 1824 NC
Sexton, James M 18 abt 1832 NC
Sexton, Wiley F 6 abt 1844 TN
Sexton, Henry M 3 abt 1847 TN

I found a James Sexton and a MW Sexton in Gibson TN in 1860 that could possibly be James and Wiley but I am not certain.

My Henry grows up in Calloway Co.,KY with the Spann family and marries Lucy Jane Walston. They move to Texas with their children sometime between 1878-1880.
Henry M Sexton and Lucy Jane Walston's children are:

-Virginia B. b. abt 1867 TN died young
-Mary L. b. 1870 KY married James W. Bowers
-Annie F. b. 1871 KY married Tacitus S Holmes
-Acenith (Ascenthia) b. 1875 KY married Will H. Flanagan and John C. Clark. She had 3 known children with Flanagan and 4 known children with Clark.
-Rueben Thomas b.1878 KY married Elwilder Willie Lewis
-Ella "Ellie" Mehetable b. 1882 TX married Luke H. Morgan
-Minnie Irena b. 1887 TX married unkn Jones
-Bedford Forest b. 1891 TX married Maud Brooks
-Bessie Jane b. 1896 TX married Hiram Fane McMinn
-Emmitt E died young

I am interested in the Spann family and the Sexton family. I am trying to find Henry M. Sexton's parents and what happened to his family.

I do wish I had a picture of Henry.

I don't like not having a face to put with the story that rambles in my head so often.

My posting received several replies, mostly from great grandchildren looking for more information on their grandparents rather than offering information on Henry.

Maybe a trip to Burleson is in order.

I've Known Grandpa My Whole Life

I was in the car with my son and we were having a conversation about interviews. My son said he gets nervous in an interviewing situation. I told him there was no need to be nervous, it is just like talking to grandpa. To which he replied,

     I've known grandpa my whole life

Music to my ears.

I grinned ear to ear and told him how happy that one sentence made me.

My love of genealogy is born from never having known my grandparents. It was my paternal grandmother who saved all the family pictures and left me the little clues like, "mama's cousin's baby" and "uncle Phil" and "Nellie". They were the nuggets that started my search to uncover the generation before my grandparents. 

I take great pleasure in getting to know each generation, tracking their lives 10 years at a time- sometimes more, sometimes less. I love the excitement I feel when I open up a census record where the recorder had beautiful handwriting and took the time to spell out first and last names. There is also the nervous anticipation when I see a recorder with chicken scratch and listing everyone by initials. I have spent years learning the history of locations or what an area was like during the time my subject lived there.

I love knowing my history.

I love researching and giving others the gift of their history.

Each person, each family, each generation has a story to tell.

I love a good story.