Hunting Williamson County Records

I wanted to share with all of you a couple of things I have found in the last few weeks. It all started with the challenge of Geneabloggers that I made a trip to the Round Rock Library in search of books that may be helpful to others who were researching in Williamson County, TX.

I may have mentioned this before, but I am mentioning it again because it is important to remember when you are researching to think OUTSIDE THE BOX. My grandfather Vernon Doak Moore was with his grandparents Richard and Virginia Forehand in the 1900 census. Who was Richard and Virginia and how did they fit into my MOORE line other than they had the five grandchildren was a mystery for many years. Probates indicated that the children's parents were Jack and Minerva Moore and both had died after 1894 and before 1900. The last child was born in 1894 so this was the approximate death dates I came up with In my search I could find no death record for Jack or Minerva. Also I found Minerva's with Richard Forehand as the father, but none that fit the criteria I had. Where is my dang family if they are in Williamson County!!! Grrrr It was a vicious cycle.

I had come to learn than Minerva was actually the former Minerva Cain and finally poor Virginia was able to have a surname put with her other than MOORE. However, there was still alot of mystery in this family and I did not understand why in Census records they seemed to be in Williamson County, but when it came time for death and marriage there were no records. So back to looking at the books in the Round Rock library. On the other side of the shelves from Williamson County are the Travis County books

Travis and Williamson County border one another, but I guess in my mind I kept them separate because to travel that far in the late 1800's or 1900's seemed unlikely to do. Imagine my surprise to pick up two different marriage record books from Travis county and fine two separate marriage records I had been searching for. Searching for as in for over 30 years. I was not the only one, another gentleman told me he had been chasing Virginia for over 20 years. She was a sly little rascallette!

In Travis County I found Richard and Virginia's marriage record!! I had a marriage record!!! I had her married name from her first marriage!!! Why couldn't I have found this 30 years ago! I also learned from my research that my great grandfather Jack Moore had been married twice. The second marriage was to my great grandmother Minerva, the first to a Rebecca Burleson. I had searched for that record as well, and also in Rebecca's home county (I thought) of Bastrop County. But I did not find it, till I pulled out the Travis County Marriage Records and shazam there it was!!!

Sometimes we forget the obvious in our search. I know I had been told to search neighboring counties, but there are several counties that neighbor Williamson County!!! And somewhere in all this it slipped through the cracks!!! With the finding of marriage records I went to see what else I could find in Travis County.

Imagine my surprise to find Nathaniel and Rebecca Moore (my great great great grandparents) living next to Thomas and Mary Moore (my great great grandparents) and next to them was the Burleson family. Thomas and Mary's son Robert married Martha Jane Burelson and there she was living next door. A farm or two away were the Williams Family, Mary's parents. And so it goes on.

The next thing I had to do was document this all so I remember where I found them. As I was reminded in a genealogy class on Saturday, county boundaries change. Learn about the county your are researching. If you go to Wikipedia.com you can learn about the county

So your lesson for the day is: If you cannot find your ancestors where you think they should be, step back and approach a different way.

• Have you checked the neighboring counties for records?
  
• Have you looked at genealogical societies in the area to see what they may have online. It was through the Austin Genealogical Society that I found some records and started digging a bit further to see what else I could find on my ancestors.
  
• Do you know what newspapers were available for that area? Newspaperarchive, Genealogybank are both good resources.
  
• Have you checked family trees to see if someone else is searching your line?
  
• Are you a member of your public library? Many public libraries offer databases on line to patrons that could assist you in your research.
• Still at a dead end.....have you take a recent genealogy class? It is always a good way to step outside the comfort zone and maybe get into uncharted territories.

The other thing I wanted you all to know that are doing research in Williamson County, TX is that you can find many land records ONLINE and Free!!! How you ask?
Williamson County Records Online. One thing to note is that you can save a copy of the document to your PC and when you do, you will get a watermark across the document that states UNOFFICIAL COPY. To get that taken off, you would need to get a copy from Williamson County. It was a very sweet feeling to see my ancestors in Book 1 of the records. Not all records are online yet, I know they are working on them. But there are alot of cool things that are and maybe assist you in your research.

So there you have it some more options that may assist you in your research in Williamson County, TX!!!

Happy Hunting everyone!!!!

Characters In My Closet

I call myself a genealogist. I love the search for ancestors, the thrill of finding a new piece of information, and the pleasure of sharing what I have learned. When I began this blog, initially it was going to cover the Moore’s History in Texas, but has become so much more than that. Too many times recently I have heard that “Aunt Tillie doesn’t have an interest in family history and doesn’t want to be bothered.” Or “there are too many skeleton’s in my closet I would rather not know about.” My favorite though is when people tell me, “I don’t see how looking at microfilm after microfilm, or sitting in an old dusty courthouse can be called fun”. The truth is neither could I! I am so glad I don’t do genealogy that way!

This morning I was watching a rerun of the show “7th Heaven”. It is about a minister’s family who has five children and two parents, thus 7th Heaven. The episode today surrounded the Thanksgiving Holiday and Eric’s sister coming to spend the holidays. Everything seemed so normal on the outside, but inside was a different story. Eric’s sister, Julie had become an alcoholic and she became a person no one knew. She became hateful, selfish, mean, and it didn’t matter who she hurt to get another drink of alcohol. Each family member had to work through their own pain, and forgiveness to be able to get back to a point where they could once again become a family. I broke down when it was pointed out that “Aunt Julie was sick with a disease call Alcoholism”.

I guess it struck me so hard, because I realize I am still dealing with many things from my past, and in doing genealogy realize so many traits have been carried down from generation to generation. As a young child I watched my Dad give my brother a beer when I was 4, and my brother 6. I can still see my brother stumbling around after drinking it and my dad and his buddy laughing. They thought it was funny. I was a sophomore in high school and my brother was a senior, when one night he drove home drunk and stumbled up the stairs. It scared me then, and saddens me today.


Vernon Doak Moore Sr, Grace Linn Schoenbohm Moore, Vernon Doak Moore Jr.

When my dad died, there was an empty whiskey bottle found under his bed my dad was sick, very sick. He wasn’t sick with cancer, he was sick with alcoholism. Alcohol took over his life. Somehow I have gotten lucky, I don’t drink. A friend once asked me if I ever wondered what I was missing out on by not drinking and I said, “No, I do enough stupid things by myself I don’t need alcohol to help me.” I am glad I have taken this road, it is a bit safer. But just because I don’t drink doesn’t mean I don’t have an illness.

My “drug” of choice is food, and in particular, sugar. I love the chocolate, and most anything with sugar tied into it. But, I have also discovered that it is a battle with me and one I need to figure out how to deal with. Right now, I am off sugar until Valentine’s Day. Then I shall re-evaluate and setup another battle plan for the sugar war.

So what has all this got to do with Genealogy? Too often times we find the skeleton’s or as I like to call them the “characters” in our research and we either don’t know what to do with them, or ignore them and hope no one else will discover them. Too often times we slap a label on them, and turn a different direction expecting the problem to go away.

So what do we do with the “Characters in Our Closet?” I think it is important to tell their story as much as the hero story. For my Great Grandfather that I affectionately call “my character in the closet”, I can see his daughters had a great love for him. The person that is portrayed in the newspaper article of assassinating H G Dubose, is not the person they knew.

Genealogy is more than just finding names in a census, or a grave in a cemetery. It is truly finding out who that person was. One case in point deals with my grandfather Vernon Doak Moore Sr. As a child I remember him as a mean old man. Near by his chair was a spittoon that I remember him spitting his chew tobacco in a lot! He chased us with his cane, yelled at us to settle down, was gross when he spit and probably called us names. All the typical stuff of an ole mean person. But when I talk with the older relatives, they remember a different person when they were younger. One relayed to me that when my grandmother was asked why she married my grandfather, she simply said, “He was funny and a lot of fun to be around.” I could never see my grandfather as fun. But in my research I found listing after listing of grand parties held in Taylor, Texas and my grandfather and his siblings always being amongst the listed guests list. It wasn’t one or two parties, but several. Another article on his sister’s wedding stated that “Ellen and her siblings were quite popular the social events.” My grandfather, a socialite? What happened?

To understand where things might have changed for my grandfather, you would have to understand his past. He was born on April 4, 1886 and raised on a cotton plantation. He was only 14 years old when both his parents had passed away and he was left to his grandparents. From the numerous of probate records there are, there was much time spent in courts dealing with the large sum of money the children had been left. Some of the siblings had moved on to the Dakota Territory, my grandfather seemed to have stayed in Texas. In 1917 he married my grandmother and seemed to kind of move around, finding them in at least three different census records in three different counties. His first child was a baby girl, who died at only twelve days old. The house I remember them living at in Corpus Christi was bought for them by their daughter Kathy. Kathy’s husband was a WWII fighter pilot and died doing a test maneuver.

I look at the labels I have put on my grandfather and ask myself, why? Why do we put labels on anyone? I find when I do, then my compassion, love and sympathy for people seem to disappear and I become that other person. I become that person I don’t want to be remembered as. So in my quest for researching my family history, I am striving to find those characteristics that make them who they are. They say everyone has one good thing about them, but often that is overlooked as anger takes over.

I hope today my grandfather is looking down smiling as I try to tell his story. My favorite of him is one of him and his cat Frisky. The shortened version of the story is my grandfather always yelled to my grandmother, “Women there is no chicken in my chicken and dumplings.” My grandmother would sweetly reply, “Yes there is keep looking!” Oh did I forget to tell you my grandfather was blind? You guess what happens to the chicken when a blind man sits down to dinner with a cross eyed Siamese cat nearby!

We always hear to collect your family stories now while you can. By talking with relatives that knew them, you will be able to get a better picture of who they were. What were their loves and passions? What kind of music did they like? What were their hobbies? There are so many things that can clue us in on what things changed their lives to make them a part of our history. My grandfathers are definitely “The Characters in My Closet”. But none the less, they get a spot in my history. After all they have earned them.

Williamson County Library Resources

I have learned from being here in Williamson County, TX to do research there is a learning curve to finding what you are looking for. In my few trips to the Taylor, Georgetown, and Round Rock libraries, here is some info that will hopefully help you if you come to Williamson County to do research in person. It has been trial and error with me, so hopefully this info will help you save some precious time.

http://www.ci.taylor.tx.us/index.aspx?nid=25

Taylor, TX Library-- has some scrapbooks, city directories and a few other things that can only be found in the Taylor Library. If you ancestors lived in Taylor, and you have extra time on the agenda, it is a place to go. You might just get lucky. I have been twice now, and have been a bit disappointed, but on the other hand found something I would have not found any where else. The main problem in Taylor is nothing is indexed. The library does house microfilmed copies of the Taylor Press, but it is not the best source due to being hard to read and not being indexed. Normally when I get to the Taylor Library, it has been in the afternoon and I am only able to spend a few hours. However, I have found the cattle and horse brands listed earlier in my blog. That was cool!

http://library.georgetown.org/

Georgetown, TX Library---Now, I do have to admit I LOVE going to the Georgetown Library. They are limited on resources, but there are two things there I cannot find anywhere else. The first thing would be the Williamson County Sun. I did not know about this paper until Mr. Love (my second reason for loving the Georgetown Library) told me about it. Mr. Love is a cute little guy who is a walking encyclopedia of Williamson County. You can give him a surname, and if they were prominent in the county, he can tell you about them. He talks about “continuity” of a family, which I find quite intriguing

I have aunts who are much older than me and talk about their growing up years and how close they all were. But in asking about my MOORE line, they never met any of them. I also sense that when my Great Grandparents died, and the children became of age, they all went their separate ways. There were seven children, and two of the seven I have found no substantial records of. I have few pictures of some of the siblings as adults, and John never seems to be mentioned again. Bell, is mentioned sparsely in a letter from his sister to his brother. Grady it seems died at an early age, and Lee died in the 60’s. Jack, I have no clue where he went or is today. My MOORE family for the most part is a huge mystery in my life. There is just no “continuity” or closeness in the family, and it seems to go back from generation to generation.

But as mentioned above, the Williamson County Sun has provided some details. My great grandmother’s obituary in the Williamson County Sun dated April 12, 1894 simply stated, “Mrs. Minerva Moore, widow of an old settler from this county is dead.” Got to love those old obituaries! So the Williamson County Sun is informational, if you have a date to search. As I gather dates for my family, I will search the Williamson County Sun. It is a fascinating paper as it encompasses all of Williamson County and has been in publication for over 100 years. The drawback for all of you—currently it is only available as far as I know in the Georgetown Library.

http://www.roundrocktexas.gov/library/

Round Rock, TX Library – It was decided many years ago that the Round Rock library would house the Williamson County genealogical records. They have a small section on Williamson County records, such as Marriage records, cemetery records etc., but there is a descent amount of information available for the state of Texas and many of the counties. Again, there are a few odd things there I have found most helpful. One was a book titled “Taylor and its Neighbors” that had some interesting information and pictures in it. There is also the Pioneer Settlers information IF it has been submitted by a descendant. To become part of the Williamson County Pioneer sector, you must prove your ancestor was in the county before December 31, 1880. There is a cost of $10 in which you get a pioneer certificate and your ancestor listed in the Williamson County Pioneers.

So those are pretty much our choices for library resources here in Williamson County. As I said earlier depending on what I am looking for, is which library I will head for. Of course, there are other resources I will list as time goes on, of cool things (I think anyways!) I have found in my research. Have you seen the map of Williamson County that lists the land plots NAMED!! Very cool!!!

Don’t forget to sign up as a follower of TexasMooreHistory, then you will know when I update my blog! Again Happy Hunting, and if you have ancestors in Williamson County, Texas please tell me about them!!!

Williamson County Public School Teachers 1893-1894

Williamson County Public Schools for 1893-1894
Apportionment and Post Office Addresses
Extracted from the Williamson County Sun; Georgetown, TX – Dec 7, 1893

**Note: For some schools, there are teachers and post offices missing. This is the way the article read. I am guessing they may did not have all the information when they went to print and so they printed what they had. I will try and remember to look for the following weeks paper and see if the additional names are there. I would love to hear if your ancestors were found on this list. Happy Hunting! Laura

WILLIAMSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR 1893-1894 Apportionment and Post-Office Addresses
Dist.	Name of School	No. Pupils	Amt for 1893-94	Teachers	Post Office
1	N Georgetown	58	292.05	C A Lord	Georgetown
1	Philadelphia	36	166.30	Miss Sallie Smith	Georgetown
2	Berry's Creek	60	277.15	S A Chapman	Georgetown
2	Strickland Grove	48	218.76	Miss Josie Brown	Georgetown
3	Leander	32	144.00	Miss Annie Pickle	Leander
3	Strickland Grove	89	400.50	J O Owen Miss Anna Lowrey	Leander
4	Cedar Park	59	225.00	G H Mays	Cedar Park
5	Pond Springs	84	379.00	W M Houghton	Buttercup
6	Liberty Hill	180	886.00	D L Hamilton J E Hamilton Miss Moss Richardson Phenie White	Liberty Hill
6	South Gabriel	50	225.00	Miss Clara Bowmer	Leander
6	Silent Grove	38	177.30	Miss Virginia Hall	Liberty Hill
7	Concord	53	175.50	Miss Addie H Faublon	Gabriel Mills
7	Sycamore	35	157.50	I W Horton	Gabriel Mills
7	N Gabriel	42	193.20	Miss Jennie Wilson	Liberty Hill
7	Mt Horeb	22	99.00	Frank Lair	Gabriel Mills
7	Seymour	48	207.00	Miss Cora Williamson	Gabriel Mills
8	Rock House	57	256.50	J E Porter	Liberty Hill
8	Hunt	44	198.00	S J Matthews	Liberty Hill
9	White House	50	225.00	J C Carpenter	Florence
9	Wales	36	153.00	Miss Minnie Harvey	Florence
9	Centre Grove	39	190.50	Jno. T Hall	Liberty Hill
10	Florence	130	586.00	H Mowrey Miss Della Scott Miss Lou Hall	Florence
10	Prairie Lea	89	401.20	W T McGee Miss Mattie Faublon	Florence
10	Centre Point	37	166.50	Miss Neely Price	Florence
10	Gravel Hill	57	256.50	J B Chapman	Florence
10	Wade	39	175.50	Miss Angie Bridgewater	Florence
11	Owens	60	270.00	Miss Jennie Skaggs	Corn Hill
12	Corn Hill	143	655.40	A L Smoot Miss B K Skaggs	Corn Hill
12	Primrose	50	225.00	W W Jenkins	Corn Hill
12	Flat Rock	46	201.01	Mis Sula Watson	Corn Hill
12	Theon	21	157.50	Alex Pate	Corn Hill
13	Axe	61	274.50	T D Erwin	Granger
13	Walburg	63	290.50	W D Weimers	Walburg
13	Robbins	54	243.75	O H Robbins	Walburg
14	Circleville	44	198.00	N W Garner	Circleville
14	Maravia	47	211.50
15	Granger	165	799.00	J H Morse Misses Fannie Graves and Templeton	Granger
15	Macedonia	64	288.00	George E Critz	Granger
15	Yankee Branch	49	237.20	D G Booth	Granger
15	Lone Elm	75	350.72	Miss Sarah Laughlin	Granger
16	Puryear	58	261.94	Mrs V Avery	Gano
17	Eckman	48	261.77	J B Heanell	Beaukiss
18	Rices Crossing	82	369.00	Miss Lillian Webster	Rices Crossing
18	London	54	243.00	Miss Annie Lucas	Taylor
18	Coupland	26	183.50	John Goetz	Couplan
19	Rouund Rock	225	1097.36	J M Hale Miss S E McKinney Ethel Jones Lenora Hudson Mrs M E Cunningham	Round Rock
20	Stony Point	46	210.35	J A Hudson	Hutto
21	Stiles	43	193.50	Miss Florence Horn	Thorndale
21	Long Branch	70	335.35	G B Mays	Taylor
21	Turkey Creek	28	126.00
22	Allison	85	382.50	F M Johnson	Granger
23	Robertson	58	265.70	B G Lane	Georgetown
23	Bell	39	175.50	Miss Alice Love	Georgetown
24	Hopewell	61	274.50	Miss Lena Hickman	Liberty Hill
25	Bartlett	191	858.50	S E Gidney J B Phillbeck Miss Minnie Lee Charles Annie Roberts	Bartlett
26	Jonah	70	315.00	T E McDaniel	Jonah
26	Salyer	58	279.24	J M Patterson	Jonah
26	Prairie Springs	48	216.00	J S Dunn	Georgetown
27	Chalk Ridge	34	153.00	P P Smith	Corn Hill
28	Chandler Branch	16	71.00	Sallie Stubblefield	Georgetown
29	Cedar Valley	2	9.00
30	Pleasant Hill	57	256.50	W I Rowe	Leander
31	New Hope	24	108.80	G H Mays	Cedar Park
32	Conoway	56	282.00	A B Corder	Florence
32	Yarbrough	28	144.00	Miss Mary Corder	Florence
33	Georgetown	452	2089.65	F P Layerett Miss Julia Levernett Nellie Palm Kate Lavell Mamie Howrer Mrs M B Johnston	Georgetown
34	East View	36	162.00	C A Leverton	Georgetown
35	Cedar Point	24	108.20
35	Fisher	30	165.00	Thos Gullett	Georgetown
36	Union Chapel	22	99.00	Miss Iona Middleton	Leander
37	Beyersville	71	319.75	Miss Willie Marshall	Beyersville
38	Wilson Springs	55	237.50	Miss Laura Porter	Taylor
39	Tyler	78	351.00	Miss Ada Aldredge	Taylor
40	Huddleston	58	157.50	B H Lane	Georgetown
41	Palm Valley	53	180.21	Miss Sallie Stephens	Round Rock
42	Ranger Branch	62	279.00	T C Weir	Georgetown
43	Somerset	67	301.50	Geo W McKee	Circleville
44	Yakay	46	207.36	Miss Matilda Sayles	Taylor
45	Siloam	66	303.41	C A Lecroft	Beaukiss
45	Condron	23	90.45	R L Vance	Elgin
45	Pear Palley	31	141.50	W D Reeves	Couplan
46	Laneport	54	243.50	W R Parker	Laneport
47	Alligator	26	123.90	Miss Nellie Cates	Bartlett
47	Fowler	8	36.00	Miss Ida Wade	Bartlett
48	Lone Star	56	252.02	J A Brewster	Bartlett
49	Easley	63	303.50	Miss Lillian Griffin	Circleville
50	Burnap	33	148.50	Miss Annie Flinn	Hutto
51	Whittle & Harrel	42	189.65	Miss Mattie Chapman	Hutto
52	Walnut Spring	69	310.50	Miss Maggie Sillure	Rices Crossing
53	Mt Prospect	75	341.20	W A Barlow	Corn Hill
54	Gattis	34	153.00	Miss Effie Rowe	Round Rock
55	Shilo	84	423.45	W W Wilson	Beaukiss
56	Gordon	15	67.50
COLORED SCHOOLS
District	Name of School	No. Pupils	Amt for 1893-1894	Teachers	Post Office
1	Chapel Hill	20	90.00
2	Miller	55	250.70	W H Passon	Liberty Hill
3	Florence	14	63.00
4	Corn Hill	20	90.00
5	Damascus	49	220.50
6	Mt Pleasant	19	85.50
7	Kimbro Valley	28	248.32
8	Hopewell	154	693.00	J H Kerley	Round Rock
9	Walker	10	45.00
10	Rocky Hollow	24	113.00
11	St Paul	156	702.00	E W Clark L N Norris	Georgetown
12	Bailey	14	63.15
13	Jonas	9	40.50

Brands of Yesterday--Taylor, Texas

So yesterday upon rising with dripping and stuffed-up sinuses, achy and feeling like I had been run over by a few Mac trucks in the middle of the night, I went back to bed. Thinking sleep would help some. But getting up a second time for the day, and still feeling like most of my life had been sucked out of me, I thought maybe just getting out for a bit would lite my energy valves. I decided to make a trip to the Taylor Texas Library, and this time I took my notes and what I was looking for.

A friend in Utah had asked me to look up some stuff on her Great Grandfather who had been in Williamson County, Texas. I had seen an article the first time I was at the library, and so I was on a search for the article to see if it was the SURNAMES she was looking for. My second goal of the day was to see if I could uncover the history of the 605 Washburn House that is listed as The Moore House in Taylor, Texas.

I found a few things. For my friend in Utah, I was not so lucky with her information. The Moore House, found a few things, mainly who was residing in the house in 1910. That is a big plus at least now I have a name to go by.

I thought I would share on this blog some of the things I found, hoping that maybe they will help someone else. The first thing I found, were some cattle and horse brands of the Taylor Folks. This is not all of them, but they are a start! The Jack Moore at the top is my Great Grandfather-I think!!! They owned a Cotton Plantation and came to the area early in the beginning of Williamson County. I need to do some additional research to document it, but that will come.

The list of SURNAMES is as follow:

Moore, McClaren, Maze, Barker, Young, Dyches, Garner, Elliott, Stanley, Jones, Smith, Stiles, Fowzer, Mackin, Pinchback, Springer, Rayburn, Thompson, Ziechang, Bland, Hardeman, Hargress, Burns, Doose, Brown, Word, Litton, Brean, Saunders

Are your ancestors here?




Here is a picture of the complete file: Located in a scrapbook in the Taylor, Texas Public Library, History Research Room, Taylor, Texas. 12/30/2009. This scrapbook has various clippings from the Taylor Press. The books are not numbered; there are just three of them in Brown Covers. The top of the article reads:

A few of the many cow and horse brands J. W Hardeman remembers when he rode the range from 1880-1900/




I photographed this with my digital camera, so sorry for the semi poor quality of it. I am working on perfecting this aspect of research! I figured at least we could read it, which is better than not having it at all!!!

Stay tuned for “Moore” Goodies I found in the library!!! (ha ha couldn’t resist) Oh and now I seen a new prescription when life sucks you dry, get up and go on a ancestor hunt!

The Dueling On The Stairs

By LL Moore

In July 1977, my mom and I had one of our frequent infamous fights. Over what? Who knows, that part is long forgotten. But the words she said are not. She told me, “I will be so glad when you leave then all my problems will be solved.” That was a Friday. At work that night, my supervisor found me huddled in a corner crying. Partially through our conversation she gave me the name of her aunt and uncle and insisted I catch the first bus to Salt Lake City, UT on Monday morning. “At least then you will have a chance at life” she told me. That Monday I was boarding a Greyhound bus with $200 and two suitcases bound for Salt Lake City, UT. It was a journey that would help me begin to understand my past.

As a young girl in Texas, I had heard the countless stories of the family champions and heroes. In the short years I knew my grandmother Grace; I do not recall her ever mentioning any thing of her parents. It was a taboo subject us children were not allowed to inquire about and we didn’t. Later through my genealogical research, I learned it was a part of our family history that everyone would rather forget.

On a morning of August 1914, a mysterious man arrived in Brownsville, TX from Alice on the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico passenger train. According to T. J. Shanahan, the manager of what is referred to as the Valley Hotel on Levee Street, the man asked for recommendations of somewhere to eat. Mr. Shanahan directed him to a place down the street and the mysterious stranger returned later to the hotel and registered under the name of “Emmett Burgess”. In registering he smeared his place of residence as if to hide it. He asked Mr. Shanahan for some stationery and retreated to his room for the afternoon.

At approximately 4:45 that afternoon, Mr. Shanahan had been speaking with Mr. Burgess and then settled down to his desk to take on the day’s tasks. Mr. Burgess sat on the balcony at the top of the stairs. Upon hearing footsteps coming up the stairs, Emmett Burgess walked to the balcony overlooking the stairs and began to shoot at the two men. In a matter of minutes two men were dead and one wounded.

On Monday August 17, 1914 the Brownsville Herald Newspaper Extra headline read:

H. G. Dubose Assassinated

Shot down by G. J. Schoenbohm of Alice

An extra edition of the Brownsville Herald was produced on this day to cover the story that went around the nation. Stories also appeared in major newspapers across the country including Salt Lake City, UT, Oakland, CA and San Antonio, TX.

According to newspaper reports of The Brownsville Gazette, H. G Dubose, Chief of the US Immigration Office and his brother E. (Ed) M Dubose, US Customs Inspector, were responding to a note that came from a mysterious Emmett Burgess. Mr. Burgess claimed on the note that he had some information regarding a case that Ed Dubose was working on. Ed Dubose questioned folks around town, regarding “Emmett Burgess” but when no one knew or heard of him, he acquired the assistance of his brother H G Dubose, and came prepared for a possible ambush. Ed Dubose escaped with a wounded leg but was charged with killing of G. J. Schoenbohm. He was later acquitted. H. G. Dubose had four bullets in him, and was killed. G. J. Schoenbohm held 15 bullets in his bullet ridden body. Schoenbohm was also disguised with brown hair die on his hair and eyebrows, was wearing brown gloves, shaved his moustache and wore shaded glasses to complete his disguise. It was only through a letter on his personage and a casual friend he was able to be identified.

On Tuesday, August 18, 1914 the title read, Two Homes Mourn Fathers’ Loss. G. J. Schoenbohm was my great grandfather; his oldest daughter Grace, my grandmother. According to the 1910 census, Gerhard J. Schoenbohm was listed as a father and husband, living in Alice Texas, and married to Carrie. Together they had six children: Grace, Marguerite, Gerhard Jr., Lottie, Katherine and Johnny. Gerhard was born in Germany and was a rail road agent. From further research, I know he was born in Bremen, Germany, and came to the United States at 10 weeks old. He was 21 years old when he married my great grandmother, 17 year old Carrie Valls Linn. They were married for 18 years. In addition to his family duties, he served as an agent to the Texas-Mexican Railroad. Reportedly, he was well liked and well known along the rail route. His oldest daughter Grace was my grandmother.

The story and trial received much attention throughout Texas, Brownsville and the rest of the nation. It had every right so, the news was big. The speculation of the cause of the shooting was domestic troubles. Too often what we forget in a story like this is that while only three people were the main characters of the show, there were several more people affected in two families.

For the Schoenbohm family, the rumors affected them greatly. Monie (Marguerite) was the second oldest child and left in her autobiography incidents of the after math of the shooting. Prior to the killing, they lived on 25 acres of land, and their father had planned to send her and her older sister (my grandmother) to college in the fall. Instead after the shooting, Monie tells the story “My father was killed the summer after I graduated from high school. He had planned on sending my sister and I to the university that fall to further our education. His death put an end to this opportunity.”

Monie also stated in her autobiography, “The circumstances under which my father was killed left our family practically ostracized from the community. Our former friends treated us as though we had some kind of plague”. To deal with these problems, the family left Alice, and settled in Corpus Christi, Texas. Leaving Alice meant leaving their problems behind them. What should have been part of a family history is also part of the history of Brownsville as it was remembered in a chronology series of “Record of Valley History” in The Brownsville Gazette in 1942.

Monie talked lovingly of her father and grandmother, but her mother was a different story. She goes on to tell that her mother was very domineering, with a temper. “From my earliest recollections, I remembered quarrels and disagreements between my mother and grandma (Papa’s mother made her home with us.) These quarrels upset me greatly.” From the problems of the parents, it was passed along to Monie on how she saw herself and life. In later years she reported similar behavior to her parents in ways of marrying a man like her mother who was domineering, and then having an “…unfortunate love affair that practically ruined my later life.”

Monie reported in her autobiography. “Another thing that upset me was the feeling that I was not liked as much as my sisters and brother. Everything I did was criticized severely, even to my looks. My mother, in her fits of anger, would tell me I was ugly, stubborn, talked too much and went way out of my way to make trouble with my brother and sisters.”

From my father’s side of the family where this line comes, I have seen the repeated behaviors and can understand the feelings of Monie. My own father was shot in Corpus Christi, Texas and although reported in the Corpus Christi Caller Times as an “Investigator Shot On Way To Work” there was much speculation as to the story that was told to the public and the circumstances that led up to the shooting. Rumors, like his grandfather, my great-grandfather; there were domestic problems among other issues.

Like Monie, leaving home I thought would resolve the problems in my family, but they did not. The low self esteem and comparison to others were stung into me by my own mother. Her telling me to leave was dealing with her frustration and I believed forced me to take a different road than my family had. This different road has allowed me (I hope) to break the mold that surrounded our family’s past.

Through the years the genealogical research of my family has helped me to understand that our lives mimic that of our own families and ancestors. Whether it is the heroes or the characters, part of them will always be part of each of us in someway. Me leaving did not solve any of my family problems, just as my grandfather shooting down two men solved his. I believe we all have a “dueling” in our lives, just not always on the stairs.

Christmas Memories....

It is a week before Christmas, and watching all the Christmas movies, have made me think a lot about the Christmas holidays. I think back to some of the memorable ones and not so much what I got for Christmas, but the events of the night before and then how those little silly things seemed to turn into a Christmas Tradition.

One of my earliest remembrances was of Christmas Eve in 1966. My mom and I started off the day by making Christmas Cookies. I don’t remember if the dough was made from scratch. Why do I say that? Because when we moved to Iowa and needed cookies for our class, my mom would simply go and buy the roll of cookies that you sliced and baked. Only we would never slice and bake them, we would roll out the sugar cookie dough and cut out pumpkins, or stockings, Christmas trees, Easter eggs, or what ever the holiday called for. (Side Note: I was 18 years old, and moved to Utah when I first learned that you could make your own cookie dough, and they did come from the rolls of cookie dough we bought in the store). So when I say I don’t remember how we made the dough that is why.

But I do remember cutting out all the different shapes of trees, bells, Santas, stockings etc. The next step was to bake them……BORING!!! Next was the frosting and decoration and that is when the fun started! There were bowls filled with different color frostings, and we would decorate all the cookies. When you have three little kids putting their creativity to work, there were some awesome creations made. I also remember not having all the cool sprinkles and candies we have today, but there were the silver bead that were cool but so hard to eat, so most of the decorations did end up on the cookies and not in our tummies. The frosting, now that was probably a different story.

The next step was to prepare cookie plates, and then we would take them to neighbors and friends to wish them a Merry Christmas. This would take the good part of the day on Christmas Eve. Next came dinner, hotdogs. Yep, plain ole hotdogs. I remember my mom telling us to hurry and eat so we could get to bed or Santa would not come. So of course we snarfed them down. Now you are saying what is so memorable about this Laura? Did I fail to tell you that we were in bed by 6 pm on Christmas Eve? Well for me it was a tad bit later, because of all the cookies and eating the hotdogs so fast, got sick. But somehow I managed to sleep a few hours before Santa came.

Yes I did say a few hours. Christmas morning we were up at 1 a.m. peeking under the tree to see what Santa brought us. Now I now what you are all saying, “If my kids did that they wouldn’t see another Christmas”, or some threat like that. Well parents may threaten us a lot, but we lived to talk about it. And it happened for many many years. An hour after getting up and scoping out the loot, all our toys were packed and loaded in the Rambler Station Wagon and off we’d go to Granny and Poppy’s house. It was always quite funny, looking back on it now, we could only take ONE PRESENT, but of course we never did. Kids have a way of being able to condense their loot. Santa seemed a bit off that night though, because my baby buggy fell apart shortly after rolling it around at Granny’s house. I was told I made a comment on how Santa didn’t do a very good job on my baby buggy!

Besides the baby buggy and probably a doll, I don’t remember what I really got that year for Christmas……oh wait MEMORY ALERT! MEMORY ALERT! Part of my presents were socks, underwear and Santa puzzles. A fun gift from Santa huh? And how could I possibly remember something like this? My neighbor Headabell (who I so loved) brought me a toy stove that belonged to her when she was little. She was a high school student and was like a big sister to me. With this stove, you could plug it in and the oven really worked. Because of all the festivities of Christmas Eve, I had not had a chance to try out my new oven. It was Christmas night, and after returning home from Granny and Poppy’s, we were sitting in the kitchen chatting with some friends of my parents. All of a sudden SMOKE! We smelled smoke!!! Checking the burners on the stove nothing in the kitchen was cooking, so we began to follow the smell. Right to my room! Up till then I has not realized my brothers had mysteriously had disappeared and then all of a sudden reappeared snickering. Opening the door to my room, was smoke pouring from my new oven. Well the oven worked! Then my Dad did the unthinkable. He not only unplugged the stove, he cut the plug. Just snipped it off. I cried, I was a little girl and I was allowed the tears. Opening the oven we found charred remains of the Santa puzzle, underwear and socks. My dad was mad, and rightly so. I cried, some more. My brothers snickered some more. And my precious oven I never even got to use, but the memory of the oven lives on in my heart.

But through it all you know what lasted forever? Every Christmas morning we were up at 1 a.m. Christmas morning peeking under the tree. Even in high school. One year we were up and my mom yelling at us to go back to bed. Again we were in high school. Then the phone rang, it was Grandma. “Where are you guys she asked?” “Are you opening presents yet?” So that morning before any presents could be opened we had to get Grandma and give her an official escort to our house. In the early hours of Christmas morning, we got Grandma, loaded her and the presents in the car and headed back to our house to She was calling to ask where we were. She thought we would be up by now opening presents. So that morning Grandma had an official escort to our house. We laughed, because on our way out of her apartment building, someone else was coming to get their Grandma, and told us “I see you are getting an official escort too.”

It’s funny thinking back to the memories, how again it was not what was under the tree as it was the events that led up to the day. In my later years, with no family to spend Christmas with, I relied very heavily on friends. And each Christmas I hoped that somewhere I would be invited for Christmas. Many times I was. One year though, I spent Christmas with a family, where we thought it would probably be my friend’s last Christmas. I had watched the family struggle for the few years I knew them, and decided that year they were going to have a good Christmas. I had the means to do so, and it was something I wanted to do. I bought the tree, dinner and presents for all of the family including the grandkids. Yep I was invited that Christmas, and under the tree for me was an ice scraper for my car and a chocolate orange. I was a bit surprised and I admit disappointed, but gulped it down and accepted the gift. My friend told me she was sorry she could not do more, she just did not have the money that year. I accepted that. When it was all done and over, I added up the damage, and let’s just say it was not cheap. There were 13 children and 9 adults with all the trimmings. I was glad to be able to do it. Shortly afterwards, it seemed as though I was no longer part of the family. It made me sad, as I was told my friend only wanted to be around family. I was not included.

When Christmas came the next year, I looked at my budget, and decided Christmases were going to be different. I buy very few presents any more, and try to focus on making my gifts. Each Christmas there is a touch of “Laura Love” with the gifts I give.

One of the things I love to do is to tell a story as you can see. Telling a story, usually involves making a book or writing somewhere or somehow. So often times somehow my presents involves books. One Christmas I made a cookbook. I have created Family Histories for my aunts and cousins, a photo book for a teenager, and one day will have my children’s story and my own book published.

What I learned about giving at Christmas, is most of the time it is not the gift that will be remembered but the antics that have led up to it, the story behind it, that is what makes Christmas memorable. The tradition that was spoken of earlier, of getting up at 1 a.m. Christmas morning, it may be a bit strange in most eyes, but for us that was our “tradition”. It was the joke at our house. Up at 1 a.m., dinner at 10 a.m. and we were snoozing by 1 p.m. in the afternoon. A full day like everyone else, just at different times of the day.

You are probably asking what has this got to do with Texas History? It is important to remember that each name of your ancestors that is found on a census, or vital record, or where ever you find them, they were a real person. They laughed, and joked, and had special times in their lives as we do. I am hoping that 100 years from now if a descendant goes poking around for history on me or my ancestors, they will be able to get a glimpse into my life and how our family celebrated Christmas. Thee were many more memories that stand out, but definitely getting up at 1 a.m. was tops.

So now that I have let you in on one of my Christmas memories, please share one of yours. So what is your favorite memory of Christmas? Do you have a favorite tradition? A memorable Christmas? A secret project that went off without a hitch? Or one that completely flopped? Please do tell and share!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

LL Moore