Sunday, July 6, 2008

Rootbound in the Hills #171:
1 Jan 1991

by Rocky Macy

The election had occurred in early November, but it was not until the 10th of January in 1845 the the West Union Intelligencer was able to publish detailed presidential election returns in the contest between James K. POLK and Henry CLAY. That Friday morning edition carried a county-by-county summary for several states, including Missouri, as its front page news.

Polk won that election and even carried Missouri (41,369-31,251). He was also successful in this area, carrying Jasper County (242-115), Barry County (478-172), and Newton County (663-150). (McDonald County was part of Newton County until 3 Mar 1849.)

That old copy of the West Union Intelligencer was liberated from a local flea market by Don JESSEN of Neosho, Newton County, MO. Hats off to Don for sharing that Ozark political history with Rootbound!

Shirley A. WAGERS (11418 40th Avenue Court, NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98335) is seeking information on William Riley PERSE (PURSE/PIERCE) (born circa 1819, NY) and his wife, Rhoda Ann (born circa 1828, NY). William and Rhoda were residents of Newton County, MO, in 1870 along with the following children: George Riley, William Munroe, Cora Bell, and Frank. Two older children, Charles Carroll and Ruth Ann, were married and living elsewhere. Ruth Ann's first husband was Francis EVANS, and husband number two was Hezekiah KLINGENSMITH. Ruth Ann died in 1925 in Mercer County, MO. Are any of our readers working with this family?

Kay ROBERTS SMITH (P.O. Box 92, Disney, OK 74340) is trying to determine the parentage and ancestry of her grandparents, James C. and Elsie L. (WILSON) ROBERTS. James was born 1 April 1872 in Minersville, KS, and Elsie was born in Concordia, KS, on 8 Sep 1878. They were married in Republic County, KS, on 17 Oct 1893.

James and Elsie ROBERTS (above) had the following children: Freddie Alford, Zora Fern, Ruby Mae, Albert William, Clyde Calvin, Beulah Marie, and Zelma Mildred. In addition to finding out who her great-grandparents were, Kay ROBERTS SMITH would also like to pinpoint the location of Minersville, KS. who can help?

Rootbound has received a copy of thee most recent issue of the WREN Kin Newsletter, the official publication of the WREN Family Association. The current issue of this four-page quarterly contains queries, articles on William R. WREN of Virginia and Sir Christopher WREN, the famous British architect of the seventeenth century, and other items of interest to WREN family researchers. For more information, please contact Ruth WREN at 5809 Tautoga, El Paso, TX 79924. And, as always, remember to tell Ruth that you heard about her work through Rootbound!

Col. Ralph E. PEARSON (2218 Alta Vista Avenue, Austin, TX 78704) reports that his genealogy column, Your Family and Mine, has been in continuous publication since 1938. Col. PEARSON has published several volumes of history and genealogy, and he has a particular interest in the following surnames: CRYSDALE, FEE, HOBSON, KLINGLESMITH, McAFEE, MACY, PEARSON, PHEE, PRATER, RAIFORD, ROBBINS, and WESTLAKE. Those tracking one of the above names might do well to contact Col. PEARSON at his home in Austin.

Do the winter "blahs" get you down? Why not spend some time chasing ancestors through the local library? You'd be surprised to learn how many of them are there waiting for your visit.

Happy hunting!

No comments: