Our Warford Ancestors

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, and her research can be depended upon. Much or most of the early Warford history is derived from her.

By the time you go ten or more generations down the line, there are probably thousands of descendants. Tracking down those folks fell mostly to Willard. He did a wonderful job of trying to find every last descendant. Though DNA was coming of age in the genealogical research, I got the impression Willard was mostly still a paper and notebook kind of guy right up until his death. And, of course, he could not document everyone. So, for example, nearly everything about James Lafayette Warford and his descendants came from Mom or from me. He didn’t know about most of us until a couple or three decades ago.

At Willard’s side was his son Robert. In 1999, Robert sold the books and memorabilia at the reunion. I think he tries to stay current with Warfords to the best of his ability.

I respect Sylva Warford Luker for beginning her (and our) family history with Joseph Warford (17??-c.1800 NC), and not with John Warford (Abt. 1650-? England to NY). Though circumstantial evidence lends some credence to this John possibly being some kind of relative because he shares a surname, he may not be. Until more definitively proven, my hope is that people resist the temptation to find relatives who “jumped the pond” from somewhere—especially when settling in another geographical area—and call them as their own simply because there is a shared surname.

Thus, I take issue with and including Joseph Warford as a direct descendant of this John.

Are you lost yet? Or bored? Just want the story and not the detailed facts?

I am going to leave out stories from NY, NJ, PA, and MD because the connection to those states are not proven. [But as an aside, if we *were* descended from some of those folks, one of them was a DuBois descendant—the “Northern DuBois” of New Paltz, NY—so my family would be descended on both our mother’s and father’s sides from probably unrelated DuBois’. However, DNA does not bear this out so far as I can tell, as our DNA does not match anyone from the NY branches. All the more reason to discount the connection among the early Warfords.]

Again, I agree with Sylva Warford Luker who stated that Joseph Warford who married Mary and died in NC is the earliest proven ancestor of our line. This gets you back to the Revolutionary War, at least. Mary and Joseph had a son, Abraham. Very Biblical, no? Except, kind of in reverse order…

Abraham, b. abt. 1775 in probably NC, died before 1860 in KY, married Nancy Rebecca Skinner (1768-1861). They settled in Estill County, KY where they died. Their second oldest son was John Warford (1798-1872) was born in NC and moved from KY to Howard County, MO where he died. His wife was Mary “Polly” Baxter who died in 1883. Their home on their 400-acre farm no longer exists, but there is an early photo (lithograph?) of it with the couple standing beside it.

There was a vest worn by John Warford at his wedding, woven and sewn by his mother, which would be brought out at the reunions. Always a crowd-pleaser with oohs and ahs.

There was a family cemetery on the farm, offered up as a side tour at the reunion for those with time to spare for it. (Also offered were various places lived in or visited by Daniel Boone. Boone is said to have interacted with virtually every family who came into that part of Missouri from Kentucky, except nearly all came to MO after Boone died.)

Of the thirteen children born to John and Mary, one died fighting at the Battle of Silver Creek for the Confederacy on the same day he enlisted, another died of typhoid fever after a bullet wound, and little known of the other boys of the family, or, their father, and their role in the War. That said, Howard County is a part of the “Little Dixie” region of Missouri, and in researching a related branch of the family, I discovered many of the county were guerilla fighters. Others fought in regiments for which records are scarce. Though a border state which enrolled male inhabitants in the Union draft, it is a rare man from Little Dixie who fought with the Union.

The couple were likely illiterate, John signing his will with an “x.”

John and Mary’s oldest son was Samuel Beatty Warford (1825-1890) who married Lucy Elizabeth Pickett (1831-1884). I have done little research on this family, but probably have information I have not reviewed which Mother obtained. If this is the case, I shall write an additional story on this couple, or will write it when I know more. No additional information other than children was in Willard Warford’s book in 1999. We know, though, that Samuel was born in Kentucky and moved with his parents to Howard County, MO in 1826 or 1827, among the earliest settlers of the county. Earlier settlers, though, were the Thompsons, a family well-known enough to the Warfords that three of their six children married Thompson children.

Through census records, we find Samuel as a farmer owning $1200 in land in Boone County in 1860; $1500 of real estate in the same county in 1870; and still a farmer in 1880. Samuel has a tombstone in the New Hope cemetery in Burton, Howard County, MO.

Samuel and Lucy had six children living to adulthood. The oldest son was my great-grandfather James Lafayette Warford (1859-1927), whose wife, Missouri Price Thompson has a separate entry written earlier. In her story, we see a glimpse of James “Bud” Warford.

Mother was slightly familiar with her paternal grandfather Bud Warford who died when she was about six. In the census records, he is listed as a farmer, a railroad helper, and, at the age of 61, a miner, which is what Mother knew him to be. Farris Day remembered him as a blacksmith, “strong as an ox”, who carried an anvil on his shoulder as he walked about, looking for jobs to perform. Mother recalls her father sending Bud money.

Bud’s son, Thomas Lafayette Warford, was my grandfather for whom I have great regard though I never met him. He was well-respected, and, both as a young man and later, looked very much like my brother, Tom, and his son, Hubert Burkhalter Warford. Thomas, like my other three grandparents, are worthy of stories much longer than all the others. I am saving those for later, until such time as I can do them justice.