Mam-ma's Southern Family

Sarah H. Selman Hutson’s father, Greenlee B. Selman, died in Leon County, Texas, on 15 July 1888 and is buried in Concord Cemetery in Concord, Leon County, Texas. [1] No death records for this time period exist and I have not yet found a newspaper available online from Leon County for 1888. Previously, he lived in Cherokee County, Texas, where many deeds were recorded by him and his wife, Amanda D. Oldham Selman. This report will put the various transactions with deeds, probate, and court records into chronological order, so it can be determined when he might have moved to Leon County. Cherokee County I first found a deed showing Green B. Selman selling land on 22 November 1853 to Robert N. Lewis. It is 110 acres, located south of the old San Antonia Road and in the bounds of the old William Barr and Davenport or John Durst Grant, at the most eastern portion of tract no. 8. The deed noted it had previously sold Green B. Selman by the executrix of the John Durst estate. Andrew B. O...

The Texas State Genealogical Society has a series of Heritage Certificates honoring our ancestors who settled in Texas. The Texas First Families Certificate is awarded to individuals who have ancestors who settled in Texas before 19 February 1946, which is the date Texas “relinquished its sovereignty to the United States government.” So, I wondered if I had any ancestors who came to Texas before it was admitted to statehood. I have several who were listed on the 1850 census: Benjamin F. Selman (1795-1873), his wife, Sarah (1798-1868), and children Greenlee B (1820-1888) and Sarah (1818- ) were living in Cherokee County. [1] Their son, Willis F. Selman , married Margaret Rebecca Evans on 29 November 1849 in Cherokee County. [2] Their daughter, Mary Ann Selman , married Calvin C. Scott on 12 September 1848 in Cherokee County. [3] A biography about Benjamin stated he settled in Cherokee County circa 1845. [4] I learned that Cherokee County was formed in 1846 after statehood and ...