Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- Do Some Semi-Random Research

1) We're going to do a little bit of Semi-Random Research tonight...

2) Go to your family tree database of choice and determine who the very last person on your list of B names is.

3) What do you know (or not know) about this person based on your research? It's OK to do more research if you need to - in fact, it's encouraged!

4) How are you related to this person, and why is s/he in your family tree?

5) Tell us about it in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this blog post, or in a Facebook Status post or Google+ Stream post.

My last “B” name in my RootsMagic database is Joanna A. Byrd. She was married to Jesse Ellis Lancaster, my first cousin 4 times removed. His grandfather, Ellis Wilson Lancaster, is my 4th great grandfather.

I did not know very much about her so did some research today.

Jesse Ellis is the son of James R. Lancaster and Mary Ann Butler. He was born in Dec 1866 in Texas and married Joanna A. Byrd in Parker County, Texas on 22 Sep 1889.[1] They had seven children, six who were living in 1900 (perhaps there was a child between Rosie and Pleasant or one of the children was part of a twin):[2]
        
  • Rosie G, b. Jun 1890
  • Pleasant Herbert, b 2 Feb 1893; d 15 Nov 1974
  • Jasper E, b Aug 1894
  • Fannie E, b Sep 1896
  • Charles, b Aug 1898
  • Mary, b Dec 1899


Joanna A. Byrd was born 12 Jun 1867 in Little Rock, Arkansas to Pleas Byrd and Lizzie Beth Rucker.[3] She died 21 Aug 1954 of encephalomalacia due to cerebral arteriosclerosis and was buried in Newberry Cemetery in Mineral Wells, Texas on 23 Aug 1954.[4] You can see her tombstone photo here.

I do not know when Jesse died. Joanna appeared in the 1920 census as a widow. I have not found either of them in the 1910 census.[5] If anyone knows when he died, please let me know!



[1] "Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/: accessed 30 Nov 2013), J. E. Lancaster and J. A. Byrd, 22 Sep 1889.
[2] 1900 census, Parker County, Texas, population schedule, Precinct 15, enumeration district (ED) 75, sheet 5b & 6a, dwelling 92, family 92, Jesse E. Lancaster, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 21 Feb 2011), citing National Archives and Records Administration publication T623, roll 1664.
[3] Texas Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics, Digital Images of Death Certificates, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org :n.d.), State file no. 46298, Palo Pinto Co, 1954, Joanna Lancaster.
[4] ibid
[5] 1920 census, Palo Pinto County, Texas, population schedule, Precinct 3, enumeration district (ED) 189, sheet 12b, dwelling 247, family 257, Rufus L Eaton, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 30 Nov 2013), citing National Archives and Records Administration publication T625_1839.


Copyright © 2013 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family

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