SNGF -- Do Some FamilySearch Full-Text Searching – Looking for Selman

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: 

It's Saturday Night again - 

Time for some more Genealogy Fun!!

 

Our challenge today from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings is to: 

1)  FamilySearch Full-Text Search continues to add databases and searchable images to their collections.  This is a gold mine, especially of land, probate, and court records.

2)  Pick one or two of your ancestors or research targets and see what you can find on FamilySearch Full-Text Search about them.

Here's mine:
I have been working this month on research the Hutson-Selman lines. I have been wanting to do some full-text searching for Greenlee Bean Selman, who lived in Cherokee and Leon Counties in Texas. I shall start by searching on “G. B. Selman” in Cherokee County.

G.B. Selman in Cherokee County, Texas
I got four returns. In chronological order:

1. Tax roll, 1852. G.B. Selman was taxed on 225 acres valued at $450. This land was in the Barr & Davenport survey. He was also taxed on one poll. He had no personal property. Some other taxpayers were assessed for enslaved people, horses, cattle, sheep, and other miscellaneous property. There were other Selman men listed around him: Benj Selman had two properties totaling 697 acres in two different surveys, Willis Selman who had 221 acres, James Selman with 250 acres, and Staff Selman with 170 acres.[1]

2. Tax roll, 1860. G. B. Selman, taxed for 225 acres of land, valued at $500. He was also taxed on 5 enslaved people valued at $2500, 8 horses at $700, 25 head of cattle at $140, for a total value of $2840, plus on poll tax.[2] Surely, he was listed in the years between but the AI could not read his name. Next step would be to manually look at each year and try to discover the first year he was listed.

3. Tax roll, 1882. G.B. Selman, was taxed for land in Cherokee County, but lived in Thockmorton County. He was taxed for 140 acres in the Jim Dill survey, valued at $400.[3] I am not sure this is my Greenlee B Selman, so will have to do more digging.

4. Deed partition, 1884. G.B. Selman is mentioned in a partition deed for B. Miller & wife and Bernard King, as having sold 210 acres to D.B. Lewis.[4]

The above items indicate that Greenlee B Selman purchased or received land in Cherokee County and possibly sold land as well. Time to search using other variations of his name.

Green Selman in Cherokee County, Texas
1. Tax roll, 1896. Green Selman is listed. This is not my Green B. Selman, as he died in 1888.

2. Tax roll, 1878. Green Selman. Something that looks like Fmc is listed behind his name and on other people on the same page. He has 150 acres in Carl Frank survey, worth $150. 1 wagon for $5. 2 horses at $30 and 1 cow at $4. 7 hogs at $7. $24 miscellaneous. Totaling $220.[5]

3. Deed Index. Green Selman was listed in a Cherokee County deed index as buying land from Ed Cross on 10 Nov 1890. This, too, cannot be my Greenlee B. Selman. I’ll probably discover someone named his grandchild after him.

4. Marriage License. Mr. Green Lee B Selman and Mrs. Deborah Amanda Selman took out a license to be married in Cherokee County, on 23 September 1851, but no return was filed.[6] I had found this document many years ago at the Family History Library on microfilm. It’s good to now have a digital image.

Leon County, Texas
Let’s see what we can find for him in Leon County.

1. Tax record, 1874. G.B. Selman has one horse worth $100 and that is all he was taxed on. Below him was Amanda Selman with 320 acres worth $1600 in Ben Burlison’s survey. She was taxed on 3 horses at $300, 30 head of cattle at $120, and $130 of miscellaneous items for a total of $1600. On the next page, G.B. Selman was listed as agent for W. L. Selman who had 320 acres in John Fuller’s survey and 369 acres in H.R. Cartrel’s survey. Below W. L. Selman was G.B. Selman agt R. T Bailey [?].[7] Definitely need to do more research here.

2. Tax record, 1872. G.B. has no land, however Amanda Selman has the 320 acres.[8]

3. Tax record, 1867. G.B. has no land, however Amanda Selman has 320 acres.[9]

4. Jury Selection. In September 1874, G.B. Selman was appointed to the court’s grand jury.[10] He was listed also in March 1871 on the jury.[11]

5. Deed record, 1881. W.L. Selman, by power of attorney for G. B. Selman, sold land in Leon County to J. A. Burleson.[12]

That was it for G.B. Selman or Green Selman in Cherokee and Leon Counties.


[1] Cherokee Co, Texas, tax record, 1852, no. 418, G. B. Selman, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939F-WZT4-F : accessed 17 Jan 2026); IGN 004616007, image 253 of 1115.

[2] Cherokee Co, Texas, tax record, 1860, p. 39, G. B. Selman, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939F-WZBV-J : accessed 17 Jan 2026); IGN 004616007, image 736 of 1115.

[3] Cherokee Co, Texas, tax record, 1882, p. 7, G. B. Selman, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939F-W4FP-7 : accessed 17 Jan 2026); IGN 004616008, image 394 of 1130.

[4] Cherokee Co, Texas, deed partition, 1884, v. 3, p. 556-67, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3SF-6HLY : accessed 17 Jan 2026); IGN 008503657, item 3, image 281 of 326.

[5] Cherokee Co, Texas, tax record, 1878, p. 79, Green Selman, imaged FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3S2-2S25-G : accessed 17 Jan 2026); IGN 008508423, image 1369-69 of 1949.

[6] Cherokee Co, Texas, marriage, v. A, p. 210, Green lee B. Selman to Mrs. Deborah A Selman, 1851, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939Z-YD9V-63 : accessed 17 Jan 2026); citing 004539374, image 246 of 575.

[7] Leon Co, Texas, tax record, 1874, p. 55-56, G. B. Selman, Amanda Selman, W. L. Selman, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939J-4NSM-5Z : accessed 17 Jan 2026); citing IGN 004653200, images 1112-13 of 1498.

[8] Leon Co, Texas, tax record, 1872, p. 51, G.B. Selman and Amanda Selman, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939J-4NS9-54 : accessed 17 Jan 2026); IGN 004653200, image 977 of 1498.

[9] Leon Co, Texas, tax record, 1867, p. 22, G. B. Selman and Amanda Selman, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939J-4NS7-9X : accessed 17 Jan 2026); citing IGN 004653200, image 720 of 1498.

[10] Leon Co, Texas, District Court minutes, v. F, p. 133, grand jury assignment, G.B. Selman, 1874,  imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-F3ZB-P928-7 : accessed 17 Jan 2026); IGN 008690206, image 45 of 894.

[11] Leon Co, Texas, District Court minutes, v. E, p. 344, jury list, G.B. Selman, 1871, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-F3ZB-59XR-G : accessed 17 Jan 2026); IGN 008690205, image 817 of 975.

[12] Leon Co, Texas, deed, v. 3, p. 148, W.L. Selman (atty G.B. Selman) to J. A. Burleson, 1881, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3SN-S9WJ-D : accessed 17 Jan 2026); IGN 008503647, image 37 of 754.


Copyright © 2011-2026 by Lisa S. Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family, All rights reserved.

Comments

  1. Linda StufflebeanJanuary 18, 2026 at 9:35 AM

    I absolutely love tax records, especially when there is a family group in one area. You did very well with all those listings and in more than one county.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lisa S. GorrellJanuary 18, 2026 at 9:44 AM

      Tax records, like city directories, help place people between census records. They also help with timing of residence in a new county.

      Delete

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