DuBois/Stark and Warford/Farris Ancestors

  I never knew my grandfather, Thomas (“Tom”) Warford. He was ill much of my mother’s life with a brain tumor, and he died soon after her wedding in 1943. But from all she has told me, Grandfather Warford was a man I would have wanted to know. It is not entirely unusual that 19 th century people died or became seriously ill before their 70 th birthday. Though born in that century, it was more common in the 20 th century for men to live to that age. It was not to be. As with so many other ancestors, one can only wonder at “what might have been” had he lived longer, with no tumor. His incapacity served to shape much of my mother’s life. Tom, as he was later known to most, was born August 3 of 1888 to James (“Bud”) L. Warford and Missouri Price Thompson, the second of two boys. His mother died in 1896. In just under three years, Bud married Bettie Belle Miles, a woman 15 years younger, and just nine years older than Tom’s brother, Sam. In the 1900 census, Bud is listed as a farmer who

  The fifth of five girls, the winsome Mary Farris was said to be “spoilt” by her oldest sister, Nora, when I asked Aunt Nora how she remembers my grandmother. This is a word I heard about her before. Spoiled, perhaps, but her daughter Eleanor remembers her as hard-working and a tireless helper to her ailing husband for many years. Born on a farm in Clifton Hill, Missouri on March 23, 1890 to well-to-do farmer Zachariah Farris, she never got to know her mother, as Nancy (“Nannie Louise”) Farris died a little over a year later. Though not knowing her mother in the flesh, Mary kept her mother sacred by having two photos of her in her album, and by often recounting how her mother died of pneumonia after riding in the rain to fetch material for the five girls’ Easter dresses. Mary’s middle name was Louis. “Not Louise,” she was known to say. “I was named after my grandfather, Louis.” This grandfather and her grandmother Bunnell became very important in their granddaughter’s life, especially

  Thomas Gardner, b. 1840 in Wales, came to the United States with his parents, Francis Gardner of South Wales and Hester (Esther) Hoppes Gardner of England in 1843, sailing into the port of New York. As would be a common theme among our ancestors who mined coal, Tom’s father Francis tried to make a living by farming, but had to fall back at times to mining. The family first settled in Strabane, Pennsylvania where Tom’s father is listed as a collier (coal mine) in the 1850 census. Though I could not find them in the 1860 census, from other census records, the family likely moved to Iowa in 1860 or 1861 where it appears Francis succeeded in farming. This family has ties, including many burials, to Black Hawk Township, near Fairfield, Iowa. Tom enlisted as a soldier in the Civil War in Company D, 19 th Iowa Infantry in August, 1862, until July, 1865. I have not yet researched this company’s record to know where he might have gone or fought. In 1866, Tom married 18-year-old Miss Emaline

  Sometimes, you get a sense of an ancestor through the records you find. Also, through the absence of talk about that ancestor from their closest relatives. Then, you find out that your ancestor gave his only items of any value—his saber and his rifle from the Spanish-American War—to a distant relative rather than one of his children. And you discover he remarried to a woman who was never mentioned by his daughter though she may have lived with the couple. But, then, you remember one thing—that your great-grandfather hauled trash to help put his daughter through college. This is what I had always heard about Jennie May Stark’s father: that he came down off the farm to move to Columbia, Missouri, so that his daughter could attend and graduate from the University of Missouri School of Agriculture. But, to backtrack a bit… Orval was born in Allegany County, Maryland in 1866, just before his parents migrated (possibly not for the first time) to Missouri farmland. In that area of Maryland

  The presumed progenitor of the “South Carolina DuBois” family is John DuBois who, at the time of his death around 1723, left a widow named Jane. Our connection is: John>Jasper>Peter>Peter>John>Rufus>Rev. HHS DuBois>Martha K., Bill, and Hugh Who was this man? How/why/when did he go to South Carolina? Was he the father of Jasper DuBois from whom we can definitely trace our DuBois lineage? John’s presence in the colony of Carolina is noted in 1696 where he is paying Quit Rents on a lot in Charles Town (Charleston). He likely had some connection to the lot sometime prior, as it was common for many to occupy the land before recording the patent and then paying quit rents (taxes). It is possible he was there by 1670 when Barbadian settlers arrived. There was a strong connection between Barbados and Charleston for decades, including the arrival of land speculators. Also permeating Charles Town was the slave trade. After 1696 are John DuBois’ land transactions further ou

I have a thick binder about the Thompson family, beginning with John Thompson of SC, b. 1751. Before that are rumors this family came from somewhere in the British Isles, or maybe even Germany, but after intensive research in Charleston, SC, I can say there were scores of John Thompsons and others who might be relatives. Thus, it is nearly impossible to sort them out without further evidence linking everyone. Perhaps DNA will eventually help. I have not researched this line since 1999, and this is another family which has had extensive research done by others, so I do not worry about it. I tend to expend my efforts on family members about whom little is known, and, of course, now I write fiction about them. Let me tell you what I do know. Credit for most of this goes to Betty Rolwing Darnell of Kentucky. Mom corresponded with various Thompson descendants from mid-Missouri before 1999, and they had information from Betty they passed along with their own information. I have a real soft s

First, a bit of Warford family reunion history which probably everyone else who has been to one remembers better than me. Traditionally, the reunion was held at Willard Warford’s place in Glasgow, MO, with people coming from several states. Some had no proven connection to the Warfords Willard was tracing, but because the name was similar to their own, they were welcomed with open arms by the very genial Mr. Warford. Willard had a book, now maybe three or more volumes of thick binders if you printed them out one-sided, which he made available at cost or maybe even at a loss, to everyone. Even so, in 1999, I think I remember the cost being $60. Now that one can possibly get most of the older information from Robert Warford on a thumb drive, it is likely more affordable. When I went to a reunion in 1999, Sylva Warford Luker was still alive and given prominent credit in the research, as she should. I consider her to be at nearly or equal to the professional level of being a genealogist, a

Henry Harris is my 4xgreat-grandfather. He was born 15 May 1781 in Greensville County, Virginia to Absolom Harris (1752-1824) and Elizabeth Lowe Tarver Harris (1749-1784), but then, the names of his parents vary with the sources. To complicate matters further, he marries 1) Mary Elizabeth Harris, his cousin. Both of them descend from Revolutionary War soldiers, probably several of them. Our (we descendants of Martha Jane Slaton DuBois) connection is: Henry Harris Slaton DuBois<Martha Jane Slaton<Nancy Harris<Henry Harris. There was a time when I thought I had the Harris genealogy down, cold. I “published” a web page which impressively touted many sources. Then, a few years ago, I was asked to take down much of what was on the website because, after DNA results were gotten, some of my ancestors were allegedly no longer my ancestors. So, here is what I am fairly certain of: Henry Harris was born of the date and place above, and he married 1) Mary Elizabeth Harris (both her maide