Treasure Chest Thursday~Divorce of Dorinda Adair Leath

Dorinda Adair and John R. Leath were married on 17 December 1836 in Kemper County, Mississippi. In early 1842 Dorinda filed for a divorce from John stating that he was a non-resident of the state of Mississippi.  I was unable to locate a final decision but I know that Dorinda remarried about 1842 to Epps Rivers Brown.


The State of Mississippi}
Lauderdale County}

Dorinda Leath, Complainant} Bill for Divorce

vs}                                           in

John R. Leath, defendant}          Chancery.
On motion of the Complainant and it appearing that the Defendant is a non resident of this State, it is ordered by the Court, that publication be made for three successive months, in the Mississippian, a newspaper published in this State, commanding the defendant to appear and plead, answer or demur to said bill , on the first day of the next term of said Court, to be holden for said County, at the Court House thereof, in the town of Marion, on the 4th Monday in May next, or the same will be taken for confessed, and the cause set down for hearing according.
{L.S.} Witness, the Honorable Henry Mounger, presiding Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court District, of said state, setting in  Chancery.
Given under my hand and seal of said Court. Issued the 20th of December, A. D. 1841.

Benjamin F. Parker C. C. C. L. C.

January 7, 1842.

Dorinda’s 2nd husband, Epps Rivers Brown, is my 1st Cousin 5 times removed.



__________________
[The Weekly Mississippian (Jackson, Mississippi), 4 March 1842, Page 4, column 1.]

It's Family Time: The Two Marriages of Dorinda Adair

Dorinda Adair was the daughter of Zadock Adair and Sarah Kelly. I am not an “Adair” surname researcher but my limited research shows she had 8 siblings; 3 sisters and 5 brothers.

The purpose of this articles is to document the  two marriages of Dorinda Adair. Her marriage to Epps Rivers Brown (2nd marriage ) is well documented both in Census and in Land Deeds.

In Lauderdale County, Mississippi Deed Book “D” pages 17 & 18, we have a “Deed of Gift” – Zadock Adair to his Daughter Dorinda Brown, LDS FHL Film # 899134.

Partial Transcription of text

Zadock ADAIR, Kemp Co, MS "natural love and affection...unto my daughter Dorinda BROWN, wife of ER BROWN, for $1: negro woman, Jane a slave age 23, also her 2 children, Mariah age 3 and Dempsey age 16 months... Signed Zadock ADAIR. Witness: James Ray, Clerk.
[ Deed Book "D" Page 17 and 18, Dated 2 Mar 1844]

By this Land Deed we know that Dorinda Adair was married to Epps Rivers Brown before 2 March 1844. Dorinda and Epps Rivers’ first born child was a daughter, Sarah O. Brown born  19 April 1843. This birth suggest a possible 1842 Marriage year for Dorinda and Epps Rivers Brown. 

Epps and Dorinda eventually moved from Lauderdale County, Mississippi to Union County, Arkansas. When his dad, John H. Brown died in 1855 his Mother Sarah Rivers Brown moved in with Epps and Dorinda in Union County, Arkansas.

All of this is well documented and easy to find. What is not well documented and easy to find is the first (1st) marriage that occurred on 17 December 1836 in Lauderdale County, Mississippi.

MARRIED--
----------In Lauderdale County (MS) on 17th ult [December 17 1836]
Mr. John R LEATH, Merchant of Daleville to Miss Dorinda ADAIR.

Voice of Sumter, January 3, 1837, Third page: First column: 7th paragraph.

It is not known if Dorinda and Mr. John Leath were divorced or if something suddenly happened to Mr. Leath and he passed away. Regardless sometime in 1842, Dorinda married Epps Rivers Brown and became the mother of a child in April 1843 through this union.

Dorinda Adair Brown died in Union County, Arkansas sometime after the 1880 Census was enumerated. The burial place of Epps Rivers Brown, His Mother Sarah Rivers Brown and wife Dorinda Adair Brown is not known but they all passed away in Union County, Arkansas.

Dorinda Adair was the wife of my 1st Cousin 5 times removed, Epps Rivers Brown. .


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My thanks to Paula Carter Davis for obtaining a copy of this marriage notice from the old bound version of this newspaper from the Sumter Co, AL courthouse back in July 2013. 
[1] Lauderdale County, Mississippi Deed Book D Page 17 & 18, Dated 2 Mar 1844
[2] Voice of Sumter, January 3, 1837, Third page: First column: 7th paragraph.

Surname Saturday~Adair

Epps Rivers Brown, my 1st cousin 5 times removed, married Dorinda Adair  in Lauderdale County, Mississippi. Epps was the son of John H. Brown and Sarah Rivers Brown. He served as Justice of the Peace for Lauderdale County in 1841, the year prior to his marriage to Dorinda Adair.

For many years the parents of Dorinda Adair were not known; but, a land deed in Lauderdale County shows that she was the daughter of Zadock Adair.

Zadock Adair was born about 1766 in Laurens County, South Carolina. It’s accepted that he had multiple wives, all named Sarah, and that Sarah Kelly was his first wife. I’m not totally certain that anyone researching this family knows how many times Zadock was married, the dates of marriage or the names of all of his children.   

Regardless, Zadock and his family left South Carolina, moving to Kentucky about 1807. Records show that Zadock Adair and Sarah Wood were married in Kentucky on 13 December 1808.¹ The family then migrated from Caldwell County, Kentucky to Alabama, There Zadock signed a Petition in 1817. ²

Dorinda, his daughter, most likely by Sarah Wood married Epps Rivers Brown about 1842. Epps Rivers parents, John & Sarah had migrated from Chesterfield County, South Carolina arriving in Alabama about 1817/1818. It’s very probable that Epps and Dorinda grew up knowing each other from her birth till they were married in 1842. Epps was age 31 in 1841 and Dorinda was age 21.  

Parentage Proof ³
Transcription of Lauderdale County, Mississippi Deed Book “D” pages 17 & 18, Deed of Gift – Zadock Adair to his Daughter Dorinda Brown, LDS FHL Film # 899134.
This indenture made the second day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty four between Zadock Adair of the county of Kemper and state of Mississippi the one part and Dorinda Brown of the County of Lauderdale and State aforesaid of the other part- have for and in consideration of the natural love and affection for which I have and bear unto my Daughter Dorinda aforesaid Brown wife of E. R. Brown of the second part and also for and in consideration of the sum of one Dollar to me in hand paid by my said Daughter Dorinda Brown as aforesaid [illegible] and before the Sealing and delivery hereof the Receipt whereof is hereto acknowledge have given Granted Alined enfer offer bequeathed and Confirmed unto the Said Dorinda Brown a certain Negro Woman [illegible] A Slave for life aged about Twenty three also her two children Mariah aged about three years and Dempsey about Sixteen months to have and to hold as her own right and Property during her natural life and at her death to be equally divided amongst the heirs of her Body Begotten or may hereafter be begotten by her Said Husband E. R. Brown and in case then be name such heirs at the death of My Daughter Dorinda Brown then and in that case the aforesaid Negroes Shall vest and ensure to the aforesaid E. R. Brown his heirs and assigns in Witness whereof I hereunto Set my hand and seal do Sign Seal and deliver the above deed of gift as my valid act and deed.
Entered [illegible] in the place before
Signed Witness James Ray}                                                Zadock Adair {seal}
The State Of Mississippi}
Lauderdale County} Personally appeared before me James Ray Clerk of the Probate Court of said County the within named Zaddock Adair who acknowledged that he Signed Signed <sic> Sealed and delivered the foregoing Deed on the day and year therein mentioned as his act and Deed---given under my hand and seal of the Probate Court at office on the 2nd day of March AD 1844
                                                                                              James Ray Clerk
Filed 2 March}
1844 James Ray Clerk}

Epps Rivers Brown and Dorinda Adair had 9 children; 3 sons and 6 daughters. Sometime between Feb 1845 and April 1847, Epps R. and Dorinda moved to Union County, Arkansas.

There Epps Rivers Brown died in 1882 and Dorinda passed away sometime after 1880 Census were enumerated. Her exact death date has not yet been been discovered in the research process.

















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[1] Ancestry.com - http://goo.gl/EmaUdk
[2] http://www.trackingyourroots.com/data/alpet.htm
[3] Lauderdale County, Mississippi, Deed Book "D": pages 17 & 18, Deed of Gift – Zadock Adair to his Daughter Dorinda Brown; 2 March 1844, Chancery Court, Meridian, Lauderdale County, Mississippi. LDS FHL Film # 899134.

Census Sunday~1850-1880, Epps Rivers Brown Family

I need some help with this family. Some new eyes on a old problem. Epps Rivers Brown was born in Georgia. His mother, Sarah Rivers, is my 4th Great Grand Aunt. Sarah married John H. Brown and they migrated to Georgia, location unknown, then on to Lauderdale County, Mississippi and after John’s death she moved to Arkansas sometime before 1860 to be with her son Epps Rivers Brown. 

Epps had a rather large family. When his brother John R. and his wife Elizabeth Pigford suddenly died between 1852 –1853 in Anderson County, Texas he brought two of their 6 children to Arkansas to live with him and his Family. 

1850 – 1880 Census Matrix ^{1 2 3 4}


The census matrix shows the family composition as follows:
Epps Rivers Brown, b. 1810
Dorinda Adair Brown, Wife, b. 1820
Sarah O. Brown, daughter, b. 1844
Napoleon Bonaparte Brown, Son, b. 1845
Lafayette Brown, Son,  b. 1848
Martha Brown, Daughter, b. 1851
Nancy Brown, daughter, b. 1853
Lucy Brown, Daughter, b. 1855
Mollie Brown, Daughter, b. 1858
Lizzie Brown, Daughter, b. 1861
Wayman Brown, Son, b. 1863
Sarah Rivers Brown, Mother, b. 1782
 
Nothing unusually here; just a normal family with 3 sons and 6 daughters. However, five of these 6 daughters have been a major headache for the past 35 years. Right away, I found  that Sarah O. Brown married William D. Ward on 12 December 1867 in Union County, Arkansas. 
 
You would think that finding the spouse of the other 5 daughters would be simple; but they haven’t been so simple. 
 
The 5 are – Martha, Nancy Ann, Lucy, Mollie and Lizzie Brown.
 
Southern families are enamored with nicknames and I feel this is why I have not been able to located information after 1880 on these daughters.  
 
1929 Family History
A 1929 Family history tells me that Dora married Joel H. Goodwin and then Jim Buckner. That’s fine, but when I find the marriage licensee for Joel H. Goodwin it shows he married Julie H. Brown, age 26 on 26 February 1869 in Ouachita County, Arkansas.⁵
 
Another mismatch here is that all these girls were born in the 1850’s; they could not be 26 years of age. 
 


This family history⁶ was collected and assembled by Minnie Sanders Rivers of Chesterfield by corresponding with her kinfolk through written correspondence. I have copies of some of the letters she wrote and received.  



If you believed the family history; three of the daughters died young and the history tells us who the other two married. The problem is that names in the family history does not match the census data.

Census Data	Family History
Sarah O.	Sarah (Sallie)
Martha J.	Dora
Nancy	Nanny
Lucy	Lou- died young*
Mollie	Mollie-died young*
Lillie	Lizzie-died young*

* Have not been able to confirm this info.

Two Texas Death Certificate adds additional confusion.  

In the above written history we see that Minnie was informed through letters that Dora married Joel Goodwin and Jim Buckner and that Nannie married Al Glass.

209.Dora; b.__________;d.__________; m. (1) Joel Goodwin; m. (2) Jim Buckner. Lived in Western Texas.
210.Nannie; b.__________;d.__________; m. Al Glass of Kasse, Texas. Nannie has been a Widow for many years. She is now living (1926) with her only child - Brown Glass, b.____, Kasse, Texas.
 


However, this Texas Death certificate says that Donnie Buckner was born 10 Sept 1853 in Arkansas to E. R. Rivers and Mirandy Aidar, d. Jan 9, 1933 and informant was J. M. Buckner. ₇

• So we have an Arkansas marriage licensee that says Joel Goodwin married Julie A/H Brown.
• A family history with data provided by the family in 1929 says that Dora married Joel Goodwin and Jim Buckner.
• A Texas Death Certificate that says Donnie Brown married Jim Buckner.

Next we have the Texas Death Certificate for Edmonia Lynn Glass wife if Absalom “AL” Pratt Glass. The certificate show that Edmonia Lynn was born 12 December 1857 to E. R.own and Adair.⁸
Entry 210 in the 1929 Family History says that Nannie married AL Glass.

210.Nannie; b.__________;d.__________; m. Al Glass of Kasse, Texas. Nannie has been a Widow for many years. She is now living (1926) with her only child - Brown Glass, b.____, Kasse, Texas.

The 1850-1880 Censuses does not have a Nannie listed but does have a Nancy Ann Brown.
The 1860 census shows that Mollie is only daughter that matches Edmonia in age. 

The Family history done in 1929 says that the following 3 children died at an early age. This information was provided by the family through correspondence with Minnie Rivers. 

211.Lou [Brown]; b. [abt. 1854]; d. in early womanhood.
212.Mollie [Brown]; b. [abt. 1857]; d. in early womanhood.
213.Lizzie [Brown]; b. [abt. 1859]; d. in early womanhood.

That leaves three daughters that survived to become adults.
Sarah O.  Brown, b. 19 April 1843; md William Ward.
Martha J. Brown, b. 1849 
Nancy Ann Brown , b. 1853.

If we go back to the census we see that Martha J. is not living with the family in 1880. Is Martha A. the Julia A/H Brown that married Joel Goodwin and Jim Buckner. Moved to Texas and was called “Donnie” at her Death in 1933. 
 
Remember this comment earlier - Another mismatch here is that all these girls were born in the 1850’s; they could not be 26 years of age in 1869 when Joel and Julie were married.
 
If Nancy Ann is not Edmonia then it’s possible  one or more of the 3 younger daughters DID NOT die at an early age. 
 
I would love to have some feed back on the family and how you might approached the data to determine who’s who in the family. It’s obvious that there’s a disconnect between actual names and reported names. 
 
Your comments highly welcomed.






 
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1. 1850 U. S. Census, Union County, Arkansas, population schedule, El Dorado, Union County, Arkansas, Page 226A, Line 31, Dwelling/Family 21/21, Household of Epps R. BROWN; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 24 July 2011); citing NARA publication Roll: M432_30.
2. 1860 U. S. Census, Union County, Arkansas, population schedule, Dorado, Union County, Arkansas, Page 316B, Line 17, Family/Dwelling 703/651, Household of Epps R. BROWN; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 24 July 2011); citing NARA publication Roll: M653_51.
3. 1870 U. S. Census, Union County, Arkansas, population schedule, Franklin, Union County, Arkansas, Page: 523B; Line 26, Dwelling/Family 107/108, Household of Epps R. Brown; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 24 July 2011); citing NARA publication Roll: M593_65.
4. 1880 U. S. Census, Union County, Arkansas, population schedule, Franklin, Union County, Arkansas, enumeration district (ED) #270, Page 226C, Line 17, Dwelling 80, Family 84, Household of E. R. BROWN; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 24 July 2011); citing NARA publication Roll: T9-0058.
5. "Arkansas, County Marriages, 1837-1957," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11882-60277-77?cc=1417439&wc=14061557 : accessed 01 Feb 2014), 0987775(004329338) > image 241 of 568.
6. Minnie Sanders Rivers, The Rivers Family: of Chesterfield County, South Carolina, handwritten (unpublished: n.p., 1929), Family 43- Epps Rivers Brown.
7. "Texas, Deaths, 1890-1976," index and images, FamilySearch  (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-25172-1621-16?cc=1983324&wc=MMTK-9VN:n1848807134 : accessed 01 Feb 2014), Death certificates > 1933 > Vol 009, certificates 004001-004500, Jan, Mason-Parker counties; citing State Registrar Office, Austin
8, "Texas, Deaths, 1890-1976," index and images, FamilySearch  (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K3MC-Q99 : accessed 01 Feb 2014), Edmonia Lynn Glass, 31 Aug 1938; citing certificate number 38280, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2117821.

Martha Bradley~Civil War Widow

Martha J. Brown was born January 1839 in Mississippi. In late 1849, early 1850 her parents, John R. and Elizabeth Pigford Brown moved to Anderson County, Texas.¹ 

1850 Census, Anderson County, Texas

Her parents died suddenly leaving her and five (5) young siblings homeless and without a caretaker.

There’s a gap here (1850-1854) that have not been successfully documented. On 15 May 1854, Martha J. Brown married Andrew J. Bradley.
 
Lauderdale Republican Newspaper Issue of 16 May 1854 "Miss Martha Brown married to Andrew J. Bradley on 15 May". I do not find this marriage record in Lauderdale County, MS. [Source: Emma Lou Price]

I don’t know if Martha’s parents were dead at this time but I suspect that they were and that Martha and Andrew took care of the children at least for a short time. At the time of her marriage Martha was just 15 years old. As the oldest child, did she marry to care for the children or was it just coincidence.

By 1859, her sister, Nancy Adelaide Brown, age 17, marries Asa Boswell on 29 June 1859 in Lauderdale, County, Mississippi.²

Though I have found  no court record of guardianship for these children, I do know that by 1860 the other 4 siblings were split up with two of them with a uncle in Arkansas and two with a Uncle in Mississippi.  
Meanwhile Andrew and Martha are raising a family of their own. Their first born, a son, called John Thomas Bradley was born on 23 February 1855. The following year they had added another son, William Warren Bradley.

After two sons, along comes Olive Elizabeth Bradley on 7 December 1857.

By 1860, the four younger siblings of Martha has been dispersed to their Uncles. ^{3 4}

Timothy D. Brown was living with his Uncle Epps Rivers Brown, a brother to John R. Brown in El Dorado, Union County, Arkansas.

Enoch Timothy Brown was living with his Uncle Alfred D. Pigford, a brother to Elizabeth Pigford Brown in Lauderdale County, Mississippi.

Mary Catherine “Kate” Brown was living with his Uncle Epps Rivers Brown, a brother to John R. Brown in El Dorado, Union County, Arkansas.

Mississippi Lurenia Brown was living with his Uncle Alfred D. Pigford, a brother to Elizabeth Pigford Brown in Lauderdale County, Mississippi.

In 1861, we have the start of the Civil War. Andrew remains at home until   June 1863 at which time he enlisted into the 22nd Alabama.⁵

Meanwhile, another daughter has joined the family, little Martha A. “Mattie Bradley, born 27 Oct 1862. Andrew joins the 22nd Alabama in June 1863 and a year later on 20 June 1863 Andrew dies.⁶  I have the cause of death as “measles” but I don’t have a source document for this information.  

This is a lot of tragedy in one person life, loss of parents just a few years earlier, now the loss of her husband. There is no evidence showing that Martha ever re-married after the death of her husband Andrew. She raised her four (4) children on her own and through some difficult times.

While living in Alabama, she applied for a Widow’s Civil War Pension (3901). Alabama shows this pension transferred to Mississippi.⁷ In 1900 she was living with her brother, Enoch Timothy Pigford and his family in Lauderdale, Mississippi.⁸

It is not known when she died but most likely occurred between 1905 and 1910. On 19 July 1905 Martha J. Bradley had to certify to the court that she was a pensioner.



In the 1910 census, she is missing from the Enoch Timothy Pigford home. ⁹

If you have any information on Martha’s parents  or on Martha and her family, I would love to correspond with you about this family.





__________________
[1] 1850 U. S. Census, Anderson County, Texas, population schedule, Anderson County, Texas, Page 15B, Line 12,, Dwelling 101, Family 101, Household of John R. BROWN; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed ); citing National Archives Microfilm M432_908.
[2] Asa Boswell & Nancy A. Brown, (29 June 1859), Mississippi Marriages, 1776-1935: ; Chancery Court, , Mississippi.
[3] 1860 U. S. Census, Lauderdale County, Mississippi, population schedule, Marion, Lauderdale County, Mississippi, Page: 261, Line 13,, Dwelling 131; Family 130, Household of A. D. PIGFORD; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 5 September 2011); citing National Archives Microfilm M653_585.
[4] 1860 U. S. Census, Union County, Arkansas, population schedule, Dorado, Union County, Arkansas, Page 316B, Line 17, Family/Dwelling 703/651, Household of Epps R. BROWN; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 24 July 2011); citing NARA publication Roll: M653_51.
[5] Ancestry, "Civil War Service Records" database, Military Service Records (http://www.fold3.com/ : accessed 11 August 2013), entry for Andrew S. Bradley, Private; 22nd Regiment, Alabama Infantry; Confederate.
[6] Confederate Pension Applications, microfilm publication Mississippi Confederate pension applications (Jackson, Mississippi: Mississippi Department of Archives and History, 1905), Mrs. Martha J. Bradley, nee Brown, widow of Andrew S. Bradley, Co. E, 21st Regiment, Alabama Infantry, 2 pages.
[7]  Ibid.
[8] 1900 U. S. Census, Lauderdale County, Mississippi, population schedule, Hurricane Creek, Lauderdale County, Mississippi, enumeration district (ED) #28, Page 307B, Line 62, Dwelling 144, family 144; Timothy BROWN, Household of Timothy BROWN; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 7 August 2011); citing NARA publication T623_815.
[9] 1910 U. S. Census, Lauderdale County, Mississippi, population schedule, Hurricane Creek, Lauderdale County, Mississippi, enumeration district (ED) #0061, Page: 301B; Line 98, Dwelling 215, Family 220, Household of Enoch T. BROWN; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 7 August 2011); citing NARA publication T624_746.

Circumstantial Evidence–Analyzing the Clues

On September 5, 2012 we discussed the family of Epps Rivers Brown and the use if given names versus nicknames.

On one side, Epps was blessed with 7 daughter and 3 sons; on the other hand, now its my burden trying to find these girls after they left home.

One of those daughters was said to be Julia A. Brown. Never mind that available census records do not show a daughter names Julia. In the census, these girls are listed by nicknames NOT by their given names.
I have a FGS that shows that Joel H. Goodwin married Julia A. Brown on 26 Feb 1879 in Oauchita County, Arkansas.

A copy of the actual marriage license was found on-line at FamilySearch.org. [1]

Enlarge section of the bottom portion of this license show that Joel H. Goodwin and Julia A. Brown were  married on 26 Feb. 1879 as shown on the above FGS snippet. [2]

This is actual proof that Joel H. Goodwin married Julia A. Brown and the 1880 census[3] clearly shows them living as husband and wife. But, there is no proof here that Julia A. Brown is in fact a daughter of Epps Rivers Brown. The licensee does show that Julia A. Brown was of Union County, Arkansas and that is where Epps River and Dorinda Adair Brown was living.

A Rivers Family History Book[4] hand written by Minnie Sanders Rivers about 1929 in Chesterfield County (origin of Brown family) shows that Epps & Dorinda did have a daughter who first married Joel H. Goodwin and then a second marriage to James Buckner. But, Minnie shows this daughter to be named – Dora.

Lines 209 – Dora and 210- Nannie are two of the daughters of Epps Rivers Brown and his wife Dorinda Adair. Evidence points to both of these girls moving to Texas.

Item 210 shows that “Nannie “married Al Glass. Nannie is actually Edmonia Lynn Brown and she married Absolom Pratt “Abb” Glass on 27 Sep 1888 in Navarro, Texas.[5]

Conversely, James M. Buckner and his wife were also found in Texas but his wife was going by the name of Doanie or Donnie Brown Buckner. Her Texas death certificate #4376 list J. M. Buckner as her husband and E. R. Brown and Dorinda Ardan [Adair] as her parents.[6]

Is Julia A. Brown and Donnie Buckner the same person? I think that circumstantial evidence point to the likelihood that these two individuals are the same person. However, the only link that connect these events are a 1929 handwritten family history that states “Dora married Joel H. Goodwin and Jim Buckner. Regardless of the name of the daughter, the author of this document was clearly stating that the girl was twice married, first to Joel H. Goodwin and second to Jim Buckner.

Another piece of evidence compounding this circumstantial case is a marriage between J. M. Buckner to Julia Evelyn Bradley.

Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957 about Julia E Bradley[7] Name: Julia E Bradley
Gender: Female
Age: 25
Birth Year: abt 1855
Residence: El Dorado, Union, Arkansas
Spouse's Name: J M Buckner
Spouse's Gender: Male
Spouse's Age: 27
Spouse's Residence: El Dorado, Union, Arkansas
Marriage Date: 28 Mar 1880
Marriage License Date: 26 Mar 1880
Marriage County: Union
Event Type: Marriage
FHL Film Number: 988519
Source Information:
Ancestry.com. Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.Original data:
"Arkansas County Marriages, 1838–1957." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009, 2011. "Arkansas County Marriages, 1838–1957," database, FamilySearch; from Arkansas Courts of Common Pleas and County Clerks. Digital images of originals housed at various county courthouses in the State of Arkansas. Marriage records.

It's certain that the ending to this story has not been fully told. There is either two J. M. Buckner's here or the man is getting married quite often. The case is not solved. More research is needed.

If you have any suggestions on how to proceed with determining if these two women are the same person or if you have first-hand knowledge of this family please contact me through this blog.

---

[1] "Arkansas County Marriages, 1837-1957," digital images - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 24 January 2013), Clerk Copy, "Ouachita County, Arkansas Marriage Book "B"," page 381, Joel H. Goodwin and Julia A. Brown; citing Register of Deed, Ouachita County, Arkansas Marriage Book "B", page 381.
[2] "Arkansas County Marriages, 1837-1957," digital images - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 24 January 2013), Clerk Copy, "Ouachita County, Arkansas Marriage Book "B"," page 381, Joel H. Goodwin and Julia A. Brown; citing Register of Deed, Ouachita County, Arkansas Marriage Book "B", page 381.
[3] 1880 U. S. Census, Union County, Arkansas, population schedule, Tremont, Ouachita County, Arkansas, enumeration district (ED) #221, Page 47A; Line 1, Dwelling NL, Family NL, Household of J. H. GOODWIN; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 3 September 2011); citing NARA publication Roll: T9-0058.
[4] Minnie Sanders Rivers, A Rivers Family (Chesterfield, South Carolina: self-Published, 1929), page 26.
[5] Texas State Library and Archives Commission, "Confederate Pension Applications, 1899-1975," database, Texas State Library and Archives Commission; Austin, Texas, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 4 September 2012), Edmonia Lynn Glass, Pension File Number: 33071.
[6] State of Texas, death certificate no. 4376 (9 January 1933), Donnie Buckner; https:/www.familysearch.org.
[7] Union County, Arkansas, marriage no. 00426 (28 March 1880), J. M. Buckner age 27 and Julia E. Bradley, age 25; County Courthouse, Union County, Arkansas.

Sunday’s Obituary–Uncle “Nap” is Dead, Aged 80

Famous Union County Man, Harassed by the Luck of Oil, Finds His Perfect Peace
Uncle Nap Brown will find his elusive peace today. 

In a quiet little cemetery eloquent with the calm he had sought so unerringly since the 'monotonous' exhaust of gas engines on pumping oil wells drove him from his Arcadia one mile south of the city, to another farm that resembled the green fields of his youth, the body of Napoleon B. Brown, 80, enriched with the flow of crude that smeared itself over the fields his father cleared, will be laid to rest.

In a modest room of the home he built to escape the discordant yelpings of the masses who trooped from their home in El Dorado to their work in the oil fields south of the city, last night lay the body of the pioneer, the "fugitive from wealth," and yet the overtaken.

The little home was built in the EI Dorado East Field several years ago, it was built in the heart of a little glen that spoke of peace-the peace that Uncle Nap loved more dearly than dollars poured into his lap from the cornucopia of King Petroleum. He lay in a room of that little home last night-and outside dozens of gas engines barked discordantly, pulling from the heart of the soil he loved so well the black fluid that drove him from his home, the "home of his father," to newer fields.

Uncle Nap, as he is known to newspaper readers of every state in the Union, loved the soil. He was a part of the soil. When EI Dorado first began to appear, a log cabin or two beside trails beaten by homing cows and errant pigs, Uncle Nap was the farmer-born.

It was in 1840 that Napoleon B. Brown and his brothers and sisters came with their father, F. B. Brown, to the Arcadia. A small tract of land that promised food to the family was hidden under green foliage, swaying trees.

That was the Bryant place, the place where Uncle Nap remained until his father and mother were dead, until he had married and his sons and daughters, Miss Susie, M. E., Albert, Grady, and William had reached an age where they were thrilled by the prospect of oil being discovered on the farm that was not so rich as it once was.

Not so many years ago, two or three, the oil was discovered. Arcadia became a Babylon. Rig builders appeared, stayed a few hours and departed, leaving derricks that pierced the sky Uncle Nap had watched for years across the tassels of growing corn. The drillers came, they sweated for a few days, swore orders at their rough-necks, and departed-leaving oil that flowed into steel tanks. Then there were the barking engines, the "sentinels of the night" that kept him from enjoying the hours of sleep to which he had become accustomed through the active years of close association with the open, with the soil, with life.

The engines spoke of wealth; royalty checks began to appear among the mails he took from his newly rented post-office box in the "footloose" city that for years had been a quiet place where he might go for a few hours on Saturday afternoon and gossip with his neighbors-who thrilled at the touch of the soil. Uncle Nap found himself rich-he never awoke from the shock-wealth brought controversy, distrust. It killed old association-but worst of all it brought noise.

Uncle Nap moved to a quiet spot to build another Arcadia. He accepted the demands urged upon him by his new business, that of looking after his oil interests, buying new automobiles, signing papers that might mean a gift of thousands to charity, or the receipt of many more thousands to his own bank account. It was a quiet little farm east of EI Dorado, the mad oil town.

Last night his body lay in a room of the home he built on that quiet little farm. Outside the gas engines barked on oil wells that constantly added to the fortune from the first well drilled on his "Arcadia."

At 4 o'clock this afternoon he will be buried with Rumph-McWilliams undertakers in charge at Lambert Cemetery, six miles from the city.

The above article appeared on the front page of the EI Dorado Daily News on Tuesday, August 11, 1925, in EI Dorado, Arkansas. 


Napoleon Bonaparte "Nap" Brown was born on 14 Feb 1845 in Lauderdale County, Mississippi.¹  He appeared in the 1850, 1860, 1880, 1900 and 1910 census for Union County, Arkansas. ^{2 3 4 5 6} He was a son of Epps Rivers Brown and Dorinda Adair and grandson of John H. Brown and Sarah Rivers. He served in the military Civil War in 1861–1865 from Union County, Arkansas. He died on 10 Aug 1925 at the age of 80 in Union County, Arkansas.⁷ He was buried on 11 Aug 1925 at Old Shady Grove Cemetery in Union County, Arkansas.^{8 9 10}
 
Napoleon Bonaparte "Nap" Brown and Martha Ann "Missie" Moody were married on 11 Dec 1884 in El Dorado,Union County, Arkansas.¹¹ Martha Ann "Missie" Moody, daughter of Tom Moody and Martha Lambeth, was born on 17 Aug 1866 in Calhoun County, Arkansas.^{12 13 14 15} She died on 1 Aug 1949 at the age of 82 in Union County, Arkansas.¹⁶ She was buried in the Old Shady Grove Cemetery in Union County, Arkansas.^{17 18}
 
Napoleon Bonaparte Brown and Martha Ann Moody had the following children:

i. Epps Matthew Brown, born 8 Oct 1885, El Dorado, Union County, Arkansas.
ii. Albert Lee Brown was born on 25 Dec 1886 in Union County, Arkansas.
iii. Jewel Brown was born on 20 Aug 1889 in El Dorado, Union County, Arkansas.
iv. Lula May Brown was born on 1 May 1890 in Union County, Arkansas.
v. Susie Brown was born on 28 Jul 1893 in Union County, Arkansas.
vi. Thomas Grady Brown, born 30 Aug 1897, Union County, Arkansas.
vii. Sam Cougar Brown was born in Dec 1899 in Union County, Arkansas.
viii. Virgil Brown was born on 28 Dec 1900 in Union County, Arkansas.
ix. William "Bill" Brown, born abt 1904, Union County, Arkansas.
___________________________
1. Jim Tipton, Find A Grave, digital image, http://www.findagrave.com; Headstone for N B Brown; (14 February 1845–10 August 1925); Memorial # 74040595; Record of the Shady Grove Cemetery; Union County, Arkansas, USA; Accessed on 14 August 2011.
2. 1850 U. S. Census, Union County, Arkansas, population schedule, El Dorado, Union County, Arkansas, Page 226A, Line 31, Dwelling/Family 21/21, Household of Epps R. BROWN; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 24 July 2011); citing NARA publication Roll: M432_30.
3. 1860 U. S. Census, Union County, Arkansas, population schedule, Dorado, Union County, Arkansas, Page 316B, Line 17, Family/Dwelling 703/651, Household of Epps R. BROWN; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 24 July 2011); citing NARA publication Roll: M653_51.
4. 1880 U. S. Census, Union County, Arkansas, population schedule, Franklin, Union County, Arkansas, Page 225A; Line 21, Dwelling 64, Family 68; L.[afayette] BROWN, Household of L.[afayette] BROWN; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 24 July 2011); citing NARA publication Roll: T9-0058.
5. 1900 U. S. Census, Union County, Arkansas, population schedule, Franklin, Union County, Arkansas, enumeration district (ED) #124, Page 90B; Line 79, Dwelling 76, Family 76, Household of N. B. BROWN; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 14 August 2011); citing NARA publication Roll: T623_0078.
6. 1900 U. S. Census, Union County, Arkansas, population schedule, El Dorado, Union County, Arkansas, enumeration district (ED) #0128, Page 41, Line 27, Dwelling 305, Family 316, Household of Napoleon BROWN; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 14 August 2011); citing NARA publication Roll: T624_0066.
7. Find A Grave, http://www.findagrave.com, Accessed on 14 August 2011; Headstone for N B Brown; Memorial # 74040595.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Napoleon Bonaparte "Nap" Brown obituary, El Dorado Daily News, El Dorado, Union County, Arkansas, 11 August 1925, Front Page. (Copied from microfilm and provided to Charles Purvis by Vickie Rushton Bickle on 18 October 2011.)
11. State of Arkansas, marriage no. Certificate # not available (11 December 1884), Name: N. B. Brown and Spouse: Mattie A. Moody; database on-line; www.Ancestry.com, Union County, Arkansas.
12. Find A Grave, http://www.findagrave.com, Accessed on 14 August 2011; Headstone for Martha Ann "Missie" Brown; Memorial # 74040708.
13. 1900 U. S. Census, Union County, Arkansas, population schedule, Franklin, Union County, Arkansas, ED #124, Page 90B; Line 79, Dwelling 76, Family 76, Household of N. B. BROWN.
14. 1900 U. S. Census, Union County, Arkansas, population schedule, El Dorado, Union County, Arkansas, ED #0128, Page 41, Line 27, Dwelling 305, Family 316, Household of Napoleon BROWN.
15. 1930 U. S. Census, Union County, Arkansas, population schedule, Franklin, Union County, Arkansas, enumeration district (ED) #70-16, Page: 15B (3401 penciled in); Line 69, Dwelling 343, Family 345, Household of Epps M. BROWN; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 14 August 2011); citing NARA publication Roll: T626_0096.
16. Find A Grave, http://www.findagrave.com, Accessed on 14 August 2011; Headstone for Martha Ann "Missie" Brown; Memorial # 74040708.
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid.

Evidence Analysis: Given Names vs Nick Names, Part 3

First, I want to summarize the problem we dealing with in Part 1 and 2. We reconstructed the Epps Rivers Brown Family of Union County Arkansas using Census information.

The family consisted of 7 girls and 3 boys.

Epps Rivers Brown, b. 1810 

Dorinda Adair Brown, Wife, b. 1820

Sarah Brown, daughter, b. 1843

Napoleon Bonaparte Brown, Son, b. 1845

Lafayette Brown, Son, b. 1847

Martha Brown, daughter, b. 1849

Nancy Ann Brown, daughter, b. 1852

Lucy (Lu) Brown, daughter, b. 1854

Mollie Brown, daughter, b. 1857

Lizzie Brown , daughter, b. 1859

Waymon Brown, Son, b. 1863

We found death certificates in Texas for two (2) girls –Edmonia Lynn Glass and Donnie Buckner that shows their parents to be Epps Rivers Brown & Dorinda Adair. Since the census used nickname such as Lizzie & Nannie we are now attempting to determine which of the seven (7) girls are really Edmonia Glass & Donnie Buckner. 

We talked about Donnie Buckner in Part 2. In Part 3 we will look at Edmonia Lynn Brown Glass.  

The death certificate for Edmonia Lynn Brown Glass [1] shows her birth as 13 December 1857 in Arkansas. The Epps Rivers Brown family lived in Union County Arkansas.  She married Absalom Pratt Glass on 27 September 1888 in Navarro, Texas. They had one child – a son named Brown Pratt Glass born 25 November 1898 in Kasse, Texas. 

 

If we look at the above family composition we see that Epps Rivers & Dorinda had a daughter named Mollie born in 1857. For my perspective it’s logical that Mollie is in fact a nickname for Edmonia Lynn.

However, even though it is secondary information we have the 1926 Booklet to consider. Minnie Sanders Rivers stated in her booklet that the three 3 younger girls died young. Mollie is one of those three girls.

Excerpt from Minnie Booklet.

171.   Dora; b.__________;d.__________; m. (1) Joel Goodwin; m. (2) Jim Buckner. Lived in Western Texas.

172.    Nannie; b.__________;d.__________; m. Al Glass of Kasse, Texas. Nannie has been a Widow for many years. She is now living (1926) with her only child - Brown Glass, b.____, Kasse, Texas.

173.    Lou [Brown]; b. [abt. 1854]; d. in early womanhood.

174.   Mollie [Brown]; b. [abt. 1857]; d. in early womanhood.

175.    Lizzie [Brown]; b. [abt. 1859]; d. in early womanhood.

Another question is how did a young single lady get from Union County, Arkansas between 1880 and 1888 to Navarro, Texas and wed a named Absalom Pratt Glass?  I don’t know how or why she moved to Texas but according to her Confederate Pension Application[2] she move to Texas in 1886 and married Al Glass on 25 November 1888.

Edmonia Lynn Brown Pratt died 31 August 1938. Her husband Absalom Pratt Glass died 29 may 1911. Her son Brown Pratt Glass, born 25 Nov 1898 died 8 May 1985 also in Groesbeck, Limestone County, Texas.

I have not had any contact with survivors of this family. Brown Pratt married Sarah Gladys Walker and I know they had one daughter.

Edmonia Lynn and her husband are buried in Faulkenberry Cemetery, Groesbeck, Limestone County, Texas.

I am convinced that the daughter listed as Mollie, b. 1857 in the Epps Rivers family and Edmonia Lynn Brown Glass, b. 12 Dec 1857 are the same individual and she married in 1888 to Al Glass.

If you have any comments please post them in the comments section or contact me by E-Mail. 

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[1] State of Texas, death certificate no. 38280 (31 August 1938), Edmonia Lynn Glass; https:/www.familysearch.org.

 

[2] Texas State Library and Archives Commission, "Confederate Pension Applications, 1899-1975," database, Texas State Library and Archives Commission; Austin, Texas, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 4 September 2012), Edmonia Lynn Glass, Pension File Number: 33071.