Update: The Brick Wall Got Knocked Down on My Carr Family

2nd Great Grandmother Elizabeth A. Carr-Meredith-Smith

Update: Thanks to Mike Harmer and Autosomal DNA testing I have been rewriting this 2008 post. Will be doing further updates shortly, but some of the info in my original post have been changed below and further changes are in the works.

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Original 2008 Post with changes.

For several years now I have built a circumstantial case on the identity of the father of my 2nd great grandmother, Elizabeth A. Carr-Smith. She came out of Wilkinson County, Georgia, a burnt county, and it has been tough to do any research on this line. It has been painstaking to put this line together as some of the clues could have led me off on the wrong Carr generation, but the best evidence pointed to the following.

Elizabeth A. Carr
b. 1 Oct 1825, Georgia
m. (#1) Samuel Meredith Jr. 28 February 1847, Wilkinson Co, GA
m. (#2) John B. Smith, 12 March 1865, Caldwell County, TX
d. 28 April 1925, San Antonio, Bexar County, TX

Father: Aaron Carr, b. ca 1800 in either Georgia or North Carolina (This relationship was proven through circumstantial evidence, and in 2008 via a primary record source - her Texas Death Certificate)

Mother:  Still an unknown, but not Elizabeth Faulk-Brazeal-Carr that married Aaron in 1851.

Aaron Carr's father was Balis Carr. Some sources list his name as William Balus Carr, but I have seen no proof that it was his full name. He came out of North Carolina, probably Anson County. Evidence indicates that his wife's name was Ann Mann and not Charity as I once believed1.

In addition to 1. Elizabeth A. Carr, who was the oldest child of Aaron Carr and Elizabeth Faulk, she had the following siblings (all my second great grand uncles and aunt).

2. Charity Amanda Carr m. James E. Butler
3. Private Joseph A.J. Carr m. Elizabeth Stuckey
4. Private Balus Carr m. Elizabeth Sawyer
5. Private Thomas A. Carr m. Elizabeth ?

One source indicated that Joseph AJ Carr was with the 14th Georgia Infantry, Company B. That is not the case. I have now confirmed that all three of my 2nd great grand uncles served with Company I (Carswell Guards, orignally Wilkinson Invincibles), 3rd Regiment, Georgia Infantry of the Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee, commanding.

Excerpted from Roster of Confederate Soldiers of Georgia 1861 - 1865 Compiled by Lillian Henderson, ca 1900

This company left Irwinton, Wilkinson County, Ga. August 27, 1861 and proceeded by railroad to Portsmouth, Va. Arrived there August 30, 1861, and on the evening of that day went into "Camp Gwynn". Mustered into the service of the Confederate States August 31, 1861. It was assigned to this regiment August 30, 1861, taking the place of Blodgett's company, which was transferred to artillery August 5, 1861.

Carr, Balus - Private May 5, 1862. Surrendered, Appomattox, VA April 9, 1865. (Died in Laurens County, GA in 1914.)

Carr, Joseph A. J. - Private May 5, 1862. Died, Strasburg, Shenandoah County, VA on October 21, 1862.

Carr, Thomas A. - Private August 21, 1861. Lost leg, Spotsylvania, VA May 14, 1864. On wounded furlough through the close of the war.

History of the unit from NPS CWSS website:

3rd Infantry Regiment was assembled at Augusta, Georgia, in April, 1861. Its companies were recruited in the counties of Clarke, Burke, Dawson, Dade, Madison, Baldwin, and Oconee. This regiment served in the Departments of Norfolk, North Carolina, and Middle and Eastern Florida before being assigned to the Army of Northern Virginia. Here it was under the command of General A.R. Wright and after November, 1864, General Sorrell. It participated in the difficult campaigns of the army from Seven Pines to Cold Harbor, then was involved in the Petersburg siege north and south of the James River and various conflicts around Appomattox. The unit reported 25 killed, 110 wounded, and 22 missing at Malvern Hill and had 10 killed and 129 wounded at Chancellorsville. It lost more than forty-five percent of the 441 engaged at Gettysburg, and there were 75 casualties at Manassas Gap. The 3rd surrendered in April, 1865, with 12 officers and 236 men. Its commanders were Colonels Edward J. Walker and Ambrose R. Wright; Lieutenant Colonels A.B. Montgomery, R.B. Nisbet, James S. Reid, and Claiborne Snead; and Majors George E. Hayes, John F. Jones, Augustus H. Lee, and John R. Sturges.

So is anyone researching my Wilkinson County, GA/North Carolina Carr family lines above? Would like to share some information. I hope that this line ties in to the Colonial Virginia Carr families.

Another bizarre family research story has emerged this weekend!

You are rolling along moving ahead in your genealogy research when something strange, maybe even bizarre, but wonderful happens and you get completely blown away. Genealogy is truly a remarkable pastime / hobby and if you aren't doing it, you should be.

I just had one of those bizarre, but wonderful genealogical moments over the last couple of days. It involves a local estate / probate case I'm working on for a local law firm, his ancestors, and dare I now say it my new ancestors. Oh yea, this one is a bit spooky for sure. But  then those of you who know me and have attended my many genealogy classes over the years know that this is more the norm than the exception. Speaking of classes you can see my complete Spring schedule of genealogy classes over on the Family Roots and Branches Blog.

The story is a bit long to relate here on the blog. So you are just going to have to attend one of my genealogy classes at Tri County during the upcoming Spring semester if you want to hear the whole thing.

What this whole event boils down to is a whole new set of ancestral lines off of my Van Horn family (paternal grandfather) that were early Chester County, Pennsylvania, Quakers that came from Ireland's County Down and England.

http://harlanfamily.org/index.htm

I now have a family connection to the Harlan Family in America (link to their website is over to the right in the resources section and captioned on the graphic.

It really is truly unique when these sort of things happen to a genealogist. I truly believe that if we keep our minds open that in many cases they (our ancestors) will lead us to were we need to be to find them and embrace them as our family and kin. Put plainly, they want us to find them and we just have to be willing to look where we need to accomplish that task.

So the next time you have a hunch, thought, or a nudge, get off that couch, grab your genealogy database/Internet connection and follow up on it before you forget to do so. You may be missing a golden opportunity to add to your family history and genealogy.
Oh yea, and don't throw away that family Gedcom file you think isn't related to your family. That may change as new information comes to light.

Attention -- New Orleans Natives -- Your Help is Needed

I'm in the middle of a quest -- a picture quest - and I need the help of the good folks in New Orleans. I'm working on an article about one of New Orleans leading citizens from the late 1800s and early 1900s - Miss Belle Randolph Van Horn.

Belle was born in 1861 in Alabama, the daughter of Thaddeus Damascus Van Horn and Margaretta Law-Van Horn, and died in New Orleans in 1946. She was a graduate of Tulane University (with three degrees including a Masters in 1910), an early leader in the New Orleans woman suffrage movement and the Woman Christian Temperance Union, life long school teacher in New Orleans public school system, and local-state member/office holder in the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

I plan to publish her fascinating history here on this blog and hopefully in the NOLA Times Picayune real soon and it will really be neat to have a picture of my Aunt Belle to go with her fascinating history.

If you have any knowledge of my Aunt Belle, during her time as a NOLA school teacher, or have a picture of her, please contact me at the address in the masthead.

I want to honor this New Orleans historical figure and a picture of one of the more fascinating figures of that city would definitely be the final piece to honor a remarkable life.

Rev Elijah Witt and Hannah Clark Photo Retouches

OK, I am going to admit something right now in public on my blog to the zillions of readers who inhabit this space from time to time - I am a junkie.

There I said it. Now I feel better. Oh wait I didn't tell you what kind did I?

I am a family history "picture" junkie. Now that's better and I'm glad that is now out in the open. I'm told it is a good thing to air these sort of things out.

Now on a serious note, I have always received great pleasure in seeing and collecting pictures of my family, cousins and such. I never worry about an original or that sort of thing, but the electronic kind work just for me.

But the real treat is a picture of an ancestor. Now that is the ultimate family history experience. These are the people who are responsible for me being here. Their DNA is in me and  they have touched my life like no other ever can.

In the 35 years I have been doing research I have put a premium on locating a picture of my ancestors and I get to brag a bit, I have done quite well. If you would like to see some of my handy work, you can view the collection in my public family tree at Ancestry at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/6838/family.

I have pictures of all four of my grand parents, all eight of my great grandparents, seven of my 16 great-great grandparents, and the ultimate prize five of my 32 great-great-great grandparents.

My latest two 3rd great grandparent picture acquisitions came as a result of my public tree and a leaf hint at Ancestry. In February 2011 I got one of those cute little leafs at Ancestry. When I opened that bad boy up and saw the hint I had tears in my eyes. For the first time ever I was seeing a picture of my 3rd great grandparents Rev. Elijah Witt and Hannah Clark-Witt. Wow, was I ever blown away. I knew there had to be a story here so I wrote the person who posted the photo Angela Beth Jameson. She responded with the following:

The Witt/Clark families are in my husband's ancestry and my father-in-law is in possession of the Witt Family Bible, which has a publishing date of 1849. Elijah and Hannah Witt are my husband's 3rd great grandparents, as well. The picture was inside the Bible, along with handwritten information about births, marriages and deaths of immediate family members, starting with the marriage of Elijah Witt and Hannah Clark. The Bible is very old and falling apart, so I have to be very careful with it.
_________________________

This is what is written in the Bible under the Marriages heading (spelling/grammar faithful to the writing):

Elijah Witt and Hannah Clark was marriade Oct the 19th-1848

Rachel E. Witt daughter of Elijah & Hannah Witt was marriad to Mike Custer Sept the 10th 1868 (Rachel Elizabeth)

MA Witt Maride to AE Dobbs December the 30-1879 (Mary Agnes)

Marthy An Witt was mariade to JS Brown Nov 17-1880 (Martha Ann and James Stevens Brown---this is my husband's line)

JC Witt Son of E and H Witt was marriad to Henrettah Lang 1882 (Not 100% sure of spouses name---ink is faded)(John Christopher Witt)

SF Witt daughter of E and H Witt was marriad to CW Bush nov 15-1883 (Sarah Forest)
_______________________

Under the Births heading:

Elijah Witt was born Dec the 15th 1824

Hannah Clark was born August the 7th-1830

Rachel Elizabeth Witt was born january the 26th-1850

Nancy Michael Witt was born January 28-1852

John Christopher Witt was born February the 8th 1854

Mary Agnes Witt was born Sept the 16th-1856

Marthy An Witt was born july the 22 1860

The infant was born Feb the 24 (?not sure it's a 4) 1865
(Note: After closer inspection and looking at death dates, I believe the death date is supposed to be Feb 2 and what I couldn't make out was a scratch out mark...and the year is 1863, not 1865. There is a crease right at the top of that number, as well as an ink spot, which is why I thought it was a 5. Hopefully, I am correct with a 3!)
Hannah (unreadable) Witt was born January 26-1864

(Note: I think the middle name for Hannah (daughter) is Rebeccah, but I'm not 100%.)
Sarah Forest Witt (no date)
_______________________

Under the Deaths heading:

Nancy Michail Witt Departed this life Sept the 30th-1861 She was The daughter of Elijah & Hannah Witt

The infant daughter of Elijah & Hannah Witt Departed This life February the 2nd 1863

Mr. E. Witt Died Dec. 30, 1898
___________________________

Then there is the picture Rev Elijah Witt and Hannah Clark-Witt. It is in pretty good shape considering its age. Here is that lovely picture below.

Rev. Elijah Witt and Hannah Clark-Witt of Tennessee/Texas. Picture courtesy of Angela Beth Jameson and family.

Angela wrote:

The picture is on a cardboard that is stamped "Cabinet Portrait""T.B. Latham, Court Square, Union City, Tenn." There is no date on the picture.

As you can see it needed some work and since I'm handy at photo digital restoration I went to work on the picture and also made singles of them. So here for the first time are the digitally restored singles of Elijah and Hannah.

Rev. Elijah Witt of Tennessee digitally restored by Larry Van Horn



Hannah Clark-Witt of North Carolina digitally restored by Larry Van Horn

Rev. Elijah Witt was a Methodist minister who was born 15 December 1824 in Henry County, Tennessee, to Rev John D. Witt (1802-1851) and Rachel Meek (1802-1827). He died 30 December 1898 in Center Point, Kerr County, Texas and is buried in the Center Point Cemetery.

3rd great grandfather Elijah married Hannah Clark who was born 7 Aug 1830 in Anson County, North Carolina, to Christopher Clark (1791-1853) and Elizabeth Wilson (1789- ). She died 8 Jul 1908 in Center Point, Kerr County, Texas and is also buried in the Center Point Cemetery.

They were married 19 Oct 1848 in Henry County, Tennessee.

They were the parents of seven children:

1. Rachel Elizabeth Witt (1850-1948) married Michael Custer.
2. Nancy Mitchell Witt (1852-1861)
3. John Christopher Witt (1854-1925), a private in the Texas Ranger Frontier Battalion married Henrietta Elizabeth Lange. These are my second great grandparents.
4. Mary Agnes Witt (1856-1953) married Adam Everett Dobbs.
5. Martha Ann Witt 91860-1938) married James Steven Brown.
6. Infant Witt (1863-1863)
7. Sarah Forrest Witt (1864-1949) married Columbus Washington Bush.

So if you are related to any of the above, I would love to hear from you. Maybe you haven some pictures you can share with me.

Was William Witt’s Wife Mildred Daux?

Speaking of William Witt (who was suppose to be a French Huguenot, see my previous post), I have seen Daux as the maiden name of his wife for as long as I have been in genealogy. One of my Witt cousins even passed along in a personal letter to me in 1981 that William Witt's wife was Mildred Daux (I've also seen Elizabeth). Since Walter Daux only had two daughters (see below) and there were no other Daux's in the area, where did Elizabeth/Mildred Daux come from? Thin air!

Again to quote Bob Baird on his website at http://genfiles.com/Witt/Mildred_Daux.htm :

"His wife has variously been claimed to be a woman named Mary, Elizabeth Daux, and Mildred Daux. The fact is that we have not one single record of her – her name appears in no records, and therefore any name we assign to her is pure speculation.

 

"It is extremely unlikely that she was a Daux. We know that Walter Daux had only two children, the daughters Anne and Susannah – one of whom was William Witt’s mother. He had no sons and there is no sign of anyone else named Daux in the area."

 

You can get the full story at the link above. While you are prowling around also check out Bob's material on the Daux family at the links below:

 

The family of Walter Daux, father-in-law of John Witt I (Some Thoughts on Walter Daux) :- http://genfiles.com/Witt/Daux.htm

 

 In Search of the Ancestry of Walter Daux is a similar paper but adds some information on a brief search for his father Richard Daux in England. :-  http://genfiles.com/Witt/Witt_Daux.htm

 

 

Attention: Witt Family Researchers: Do you have Guillaume Witt the Huguenot in your family tree? Read On Please!

When I first started doing genealogy back in the 1970s, a great grand Aunt - Edna Witt Bless shared her (our) Witt genealogy with me. I was a newbee at genealogy and really didn't have a clue what the heck I was doing in my new hobby. Since Aunt Edna was a big wig in the Huguenot Society (National Society Secretary-Treasure) ,I just new I had hit a Witt family genealogical gold mine thanks to her family research.

Well as time went along I began to doubt this whole Huguenot thing as I dug deeper into her research.

But I was not the only one who had doubts. Robert W. Baird has really dug into this Witt family myth and published a research analysis on "Were the Witts Huguenots?" online on his wonderful website Bob's Genealogy Filing Cabinet (http://genfiles.com). If you have this Huguenot myth in your Witt family tree right now (and a ton of Witt trees at Ancestry do), please use the click thru link above to Bob's website and get the straight skinny. Do yourself and your family a favor and get rid of this myth once and for all.

So how did this all happen? To quote Bob, "The founder of this Huguenot Society, Mary Latham Norton, was a descendant of William Witt who apparently assumed that William Witt was a Huguenot and an otherwise undocumented settler of the Manakin settlement. She relentlessly promoted that view in the society’s documents and in a number of other publications. She was, however, unaware of the Witt records in Henrico and Charles City County and thus did not realize that John Witt of Charles City County was the immigrant and that his sons were born in Virginia. Nonetheless, the Huguenot Society persisted until quite recently in listing “Jean” and “Guillaume” Witt among the “authenticated founders” of the Manakin settlement, claiming that they arrived in Virginia about 1700 from France. Although the Huguenot Society has abandoned this stance it remains a very difficult myth to dispel, despite the fact that there is not a shred of evidence to support it."

"Were the Witts Huguenots? Probably not. They were almost certainly English citizens, born in England, and members of the Church of England."

Unfortunately, not everyone has gotten the word as William Witt was still included in a 2008 publication as an acceptable ancestor for membership in the Huguenot Society per a recent Google search on this subject.

Finally, as it turns out, I did get my Huguenot ancestor - old Nicolas Martiau, my 13th great grandfather, the Father of Yorktown, Virginia.

Naval action between the Huguenot fleet and the French Royal fleet, aided by English and Dutch ships, during the Capture of Ré island

Dr. Lonnie Clark Redus , MD

Dr. Lonnie Clark Redus, 93, of Amarillo died Friday, May 17, 2013.

Services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday in First Baptist Church, 1300 S. Tyler St., with Dr. Howard K. Batson and the Rev. Reed Redus officiating. Burial will be in Llano Cemetery. Arrangements are by Cox Funeral Home, 4180 Canyon Drive.

Dr. Redus was born March 26, 1920, in Dallas to Lonnie and Ruth Redus. He graduated from Forest Avenue High School in Dallas before attending Southern Methodist University, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree. He served his country in the Army Air Corps in the South Pacific before being honorably discharged as a Major. During his service, his plane was shot down over the China Sea. Upon his discharge, he married Elvena Wilkey on July 7, 1946, in Braman, Okla.

He then attended Southwestern Medical School, where he obtained his M.D. He did his residency at University of Oklahoma Hospital. He practiced medicine in Weatherford, Okla., for 12 years. Together they moved to Amarillo in 1963 where he practiced medicine until 1986.

Dr. Redus loved his Lord and his family with all of his heart. He was a member of First Baptist Church for 50 years where he sang in the sanctuary choir for many years. He loved woodworking and continued working with power saws even after he had lost his sight. He loved to travel with his wife and family in their motorhome. He was an avid reader and enjoyed books on tape after losing his sight. He also loved to fish and had the opportunity to travel with his friends and fish all over the country.

Dr. Redus was an accomplished musician. He played with S.M.U. Mustang band. He had a great love for jazz music and put himself through college playing the string bass in jazz bands.
He was preceded in death by a son, Dr. Ronald Clark Redus, in 2006.

Survivors include wife, Elvena Redus of Amarillo; a son, Mark Redus of Amarillo; a daughter, Jana Gibbs and husband Duncan of Peachtree City, Ga.; a daughter-in-law, Pam Redus of Amarillo; a sister, Hazel Laverne LeFevre of Gainsville, Fla.; nine grandchildren, Mary Ann Leinen and husband Derek, Ronald Clark Redus II and wife Kasey, Rebecca Redus Smith and husband Ben, David Gibbs, 1st. Lt. Bryan Gibbs and wife Jenna, Michael Gibbs and wife Katelyn, Reed Redus and wife Amy, Cpt. Riley Redus and wife Rebekah and Desaray Jimenez; nine great-grandchildren, Reagan, Brooks and Grant Leinen, Audrey and Asa Redus, Noah and Emmarie Redus and Sierra and Ella Redus.
The family suggests memorials be to First Baptist Church Music Ministry or Audio-Visual Library.

Lonnie's Redus lineage is as follows:

1. Dr. Lonnie Clark Redus
2. Lonnie John Redus - Ruth Lee Cromer
3. James William Jefferson Redus - Josephine Lenorah Worthy
4. Thomas Jefferson Redus - Srah C. Robinson
5. Thomas Jefferson Maples Redus - Hester A. Howard
6. Thomas Redus - Rachel Maples
7. Private James Redus III - Martha Wilson (Rev War Ancestor)
8. James Readus II - Catherine Parsons

Thank you for your service cousin and now you can rest in peace in the Lord's arms. Your work here is done.