Mam-ma's Southern Family

Samuel Johnston headed a household in 1850 Yalobusha County, Mississippi, household consisting of a supposed wife, Elizabeth, and children Isabella, Reuben, Luvina, George W, Madison (Marion), and David N. The children were born in Alabama, and the adults in South Carolina. Samuel had no real estate listed. [1] Samuel appeared in three tax lists. In 1853, he was taxed on only a poll. No livestock, luxury items, or slaves were listed. [2] In 1854, he was tax on 160 acres of land in Section 12, Township 25 of Range 6. [3] In 1857, he was taxed on a clock and a poll. [4] He purchased 160 acres of land from Isaac O. and Sarah Pearson for $200 on 31 March 1856. This land is the same land he was taxed on in 1854. [5] His neighbors can be determined from the 1854 tax list that listed land owners by location. [6] I created a plat map showing the people taxed in 1854. Samuel is in Section 12.   I wanted next to see where this was located on a map. I started with RandyMajors.org ...

The last post in the saga of Johnstons in Texas, found Marion J. Johnston’s death certificate that named his parents Samuel Johnston and Elizabeth McCormick. [1] One note to make as the research travels further back in time. The name Johnston is more often rendered as Johnson in the records, and we’ll see that in this research session. Reuben’s connection with brothers, Marion and David, was in a venture called Johnston Brothers. The agricultural census listed the Johnston Brothers but no specific names. [2] The tax records for Comanche County listed Marion with land and Reuben and David with livestock and no land. [3] The regular census shows the same men in the same order as the agricultural census. [4]   Johnston households in Comanche Co, Texas 1880 Ag Schedule - Johnston Brothers Titus County, Texas The previous census found the Johnstons in Titus County in 1870. I discussed in Timeline for Reuben M. Johnston that Reuben lived with proposed wife, Catharine and son, Samu...

I am working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow . I will write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails Into the Past . I’m looking forward to writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways. I am still trying to discover more about Samuel Johnston so I can discover his origins in South Carolina. This week I’m looking at tax records. There are tax records digitized at the Mississippi State Archives and the images are available on FamilySearch. [1] I could search the database, but instead I browsed the records specifically from Yalobusha County, where the Johnston family was living in 1850 and 1860. The earliest tax record was for 1853. [2] There are 47 images for the county and the names are listed in loose alphabetical order (i.e. all the J surnames are together). There were no “Johnston” names, but five “Johnson” names listed together, including a Samuel. There ...

Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing has another great meme this week. Our mission this week is to: 1)  The Family History Hound listed 20 Questions about your Ancestor, and I'm going to use some of them in the next few months.  2)  Please answer the question - "Which ancestor gives you the most researching grief?" 3)  Write your own blog post, make a comment on this post, or post  your answer on Facebook or Google+.  Please leave a link to your answer in comments on this post. My Answer  My nemesis is Samuel Johnston, my 3x great-grandfather, who was born about 1816 in South Carolina and died before 1869 in Titus County, Texas. I do have two census records for him: 1850 and 1860 in Yalobusha County, Mississippi, where he appeared with wife, Elizabeth, and children, Isabella, Reuben, Lovina/Laura, George W(ashington), Madison J, David, and Sarah A (1860 only). [1]    I also have tax records in Yalobusha County and a voter...