Genealogy

I have dabbled with genealogy off and on over the years.  It had been put on the back burner the last 10 or so years.  Very rarely did I do much with it.  I had compiled quite a bit of our family tree and then hit some roadblocks.  These dead ends weren't just for me.  There was an entire website dedicated to this particular branch of our family.  EVERYONE had hit the same wall.  Genealogy goes hand in hand with my interest in history.  It is fun and you can spend many hours at it very quickly.  It can also be very frustrating. 

Lately I have been updating my files and adding my wife's family.  In the past I used the most popular software that most everyone else used.  They would update it every year and try to hit your wallet for a newer more improved version.  No, they wouldn't send updates to the version you bought, you needed to purchase the new one entirely.  You could also join their website and upload and share info there.  Of course there was a price.  Way to much as far as I was concerned. 

I recently found a free software over at www.MyHeritage.com that accepts the files I have compiled without any problem and it's pretty user friendly.  They also have a website you can join that allows you access to other records.  Of course for a price but it's much much cheaper than the other.  The issue is that you must purchase an entire years membership at once.  I would prefer to join for a few months at a time, when I am actually working on genealogy since I am so sporadic in my research.  Wish they had that option.

I have found some interesting things in my research.  A horse thief that managed to escape a lynch mob.  Numerous Confederate Soldiers and Texian Soldiers, a Revolutionary War militiaman, but details are lacking.  That is where my interest truly lies, the details.  It appears that many of the records have been destroyed by fires and yankees. 

There were several legends that have been disproved.  Others have yet to be proved or disproved.  Ever heard of the Texas Ranger, William A. A. Bigfoot Wallace?  The story is we are related.  I can't verify the link yet everyone keeps repeating the story.  I have argued with a cousin that repeats this story yet she has no proof or link and she had researched more than I.  It's one of those things people like to tell.  Another in that same line, the horse thief actually, is said to have been a scout for Gen. Sam Houston during the Texas Revolution.  I have found his cavalry records but the time frame is sketchy.  He wasn't in the Army until after the defeat of the Mexican's.  He was in something called the 'S' War or Shadow War.  They shadowed the Mexican Troops as they returned to Texas.  There is no documentation of this 'war' that I can find other than his bounty land warrant that granted him 320 acres for service in the 'S' war.

There is also supposed to be a book about another branch ( the one that I have the most interest in) that was compiled by a family members wife.  It now resides with a distant cousin that my Mom knows but not well at all.  I need a copy of that thing if it actually exists.  I have to get my Mom to try to get that thing before it's to late.  She was reluctant the last time we spoke about it.  I won't give up easily.

Happy Trails in your search.