Mam-ma's Southern Family

In order to help the descendants of the enslaved, I try to transcribe and post the names of the enslaved when I find them. This division was posted to the inventories and appraisements in Rankin County by the assigned commissioners.  To John B. Thomas: Susan, William & Sam                          $950.00 To Isaiah Halcomb & Elizabeth his wife: Edmund & Silva      $1000.00 To Redwine Pierce & Mary his wife: Dangerfield                $300.00 To Stephen Thomas: Sally, Chimy, & Alfred                          $1175.00 To Eliza Cook, wife of Alvin Cook: Stepen, Polly & child Nancy      $950.00 To William Thomas: Dave                          ...

Pansy’s youngest brother was born Elda Wayne Lancaster in 1927. By the time he was born, she was fourteen years old and got much practice taking care of him, as her mother was ill. Her mother had developed Parkinson's disease.  Wayne played football and basketball and ran track for Stephenville High School and Tarleton College. Yearbook photos and newspaper articles help answer this question. In the 1944 yearbook when he was a junior, Wayne signed someone's book as Looch on the page where he was listed as a Junior favorite. He was Junior class president and signed the book as Looch. On the juniors page, he signed his photo, "Lots of Love, Teensy." On the football team photo, he was Teensy. On another football photo, he's Looch. On the track team photo, he's Looch. In the 1945 edition, all the football players had nicknames listed in the text next to their photos. Wayne was Looch and captain of the team, as well as the quarterback. However, his senior class wri...

Fourteen years ago, I attended a California Genealogical Society class on creating a blog which was taught by member, Craig Siulinski. Fellow blogger, Janice Sellers, was also in the class and we started our blogs on the same day. Since that time, I have written 249 blog posts (counting this one). I do not write as many for this blog as the topic is finely defined. Mam-ma is my grandmother and this bog is about her ancestors, though occasionally I’ll write about my grandfather’s ancestors.  Last year, I wrote 21 posts: 9 posts were for 52 Ancestors 4 posts were holiday greetings 6 posts for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun 2 posts about southern families The most viewed posts were: John Coor of Copiah County Made an Agreement with Joel Hoggatt Using the Attendees at Lela Ann (Loveless) Lancaster’s Funeral to Discover Residences This post was highlighted on 52 Ancestors' weekly blog, Linda Stufflebean’s Friday Finds, and the California Genealogical Society’s Blog: John Coor of Copiah Co...

This is the start of a new series on this blog. I have so many records of my grandparent’s southern ancestors and will highlight them as I answer genealogical research questions. Even though some of these records are not of people in my grandmother’s line (thus they are not all her southern ancestors), placing these small proofs or research reports here keeps them together in one place. Question: When did John Thomas, husband of Mary Ann Haley, of Rankin Co, Mississippi, die? Background. Mary Ann Haley married John B. Thomas on 23 October 1834 in Rankin County, Mississippi.[1]  She is the daughter of Thomas Haley and his wife, Elizabeth, though this has not yet been proven here. Thomas & Elizabeth Haley are my 4x-great-grandparents, my maternal grandfather’s 2x-great-grandparents.  John Thomas did not appear in the Simpson County household headed by Mary Ann Thomas in 1850. The children living with her were: Craft H, age 14,  Elizabeth A, age 11,  John B, age 8,...