Get your own Free Home PageDear Dorothy,
Your mother Rosie always wrote to my mother and father and kept us informed about her family. I wrote to her when I was a girl and we corresponded quite a bit from the time I married in 1961, until she passed away in 1987. She and I were both interested in our family's Indian connection. I sent a genealogy sheet of our family names, birth dates etc., to both Bureaus of the Cherokee's East in North Carolina and Cherokee's West in Oklahoma and nothing was located. It's been years ago and I think I finally got disgusted and threw the addresses away. As I mentioned on the phone, the best thing to do is to go to a public Library with a genealogy department and ask them how to search the Cherokee Indian rolls for a Ancestor. It would almost take a professional Genealogist (in Indian Research) who knows what to do and where to look to come up with anything because I have already tried.
I have a feeling that the word you thought was "Minuwa" might have really been Minerva or a spelling of it. Rosie never sent me any Indian information, so if she found anything I did'nt know of it. Before she went blind, she had addressed an envelope to me. After she passed away, Leona sent me a note about her death and a card from her funeral service with the information on it.
Rosie had sent me some family records that said John Hillary McDonald married Laura Ann Davis - 1896. Laura Ann was born Sept. 6, 1881. Born to John Hillary McDonald and Laura Ann - Leonard Bowie McDonald Jan. 14, 1897. Rosie and Leonard had a double wedding March 23, 1921 with her mother and Mr Jernigan. Laura Ann Davis Brown died Oct. 14, 1940.
I was surprised that you had not known of my father until he passed away. I believe they, (Rosie & Loise), were very close when they were younger; there was 3 years difference in their ages. I have some old paper dolls that my father kept all his life. He said he and Rosie played with them when they were little.
I also used to correspond with Aunt Belle and Aunt Bea. Bea's daughter Alice usually sends me a Christmas card. I can remember Aunt Bea, she came to see us in Lampasas.
As I mentioned on the phone the Cherokee Trail of Tears was 1838-1839. So it's possible that Minerva's mother could have been involved in that and married someone named Milliken along the way, but then Minerva would not bave been a full blood. But it's possible that Minerva's father (Milliken) could have also had some Indian blood.
Well, I don't know what other information I might have that you would be interested in but if you think of anything, write or give me a call.
Sincerely,
Joyce (Greear) Baker
P.S. I have not been able to determine where Minerva (Milliken) Burgoon and her husband Joseph Amos Burgoon are burried. I have found some of the Burgoon family buried in an old cemetery on Land owned by Dallas, FT. Worth International Airport (Torrant Co.). But Minerva and Joseph Amos are not there.
P.S. again; I suppose your brother, Loise Melvin was named after my father and I don't know if the little sister who died was named Joyce because that was my name or for some other reason. I was named after my father's first school teacher, whom he adored as a little boy. I'm sure he thought she was the sweetest, prettiest thing he had ever seen. In the days of one room school houses she must have been Rosie's teacher too.
Below is some additional information that that was attached to the letter:
Probably the first member of this Greear family Line to reside in Lampasas, County was Jonathan Thomas Greear, Grandfather of the late L.C. Greear of Lampasas. He was decended from an old Scotch-Irish line which has been traced back to the origin of the McGregor Clan and the first kings of Scotland. His first ancestor in America arrived in Maryland in 1674. (see article on Greear family tree, The Lampasas Record, Oct 24. 1980, p. 9). Around 1914 he and his wife were living in east Lampasas with their daughter-in-law, Sarah Vashtie (Burgoon) Greear and her children Roy, Bea, Belle, Rosie and Losie (L.C.). They later lived in a small rent house, also in east Lampasas. In Sept. 1910, at the age of 66, Jonathan Thomas Greear and his wife lived in Roscoe, Nolan Co., Tx. It was at this time that he applied for a Confederate Pension from the State of Texas. On this application he listed his occupation as a stonemason. The Scotch were well known for their skill and knowledge in the craft of masonary. It is unknown why he later came to Lampasas, other than to be near some of his family.
Jonathan Thomas Greear was born Sept. 14, 1844 in Grant, Grayson Co., Virginia to William B. and Annie(?) Greear Her maiden name is unknown and there is some question as to the spelling of her given name. William B. Greear, father of Jonathan Thomas, was born Oct. 18, 1822 in Grayson Co., Virginia, and his wife Annie (?) was probably born in 1823 also in Virginia.
J. T. Greear came to Texas in November 1858. At this time he would have been 14, so he probably came with his parents and siblings. On November 15, 1861 at the age of 17, he enlisted in the Civil War and served until the end of the war in April 1865; however, he was on furlough when the war ended. He was a Private, serving as a teamster with Company K, 7th Texas Cavalry, Confederate States Army. His father, William B. Greear also served in the Civil War as a Captain in the "Texas Rangers" group. He was under the command of General John H. Morgan, of Morgan's Raiders fame, when he made his march into Ohio. It is believed that william B. Greear was captured and died in a Yankee POW camp at Camp Douglass, Illinois in 1864. (this is in Chicago)
By 1870 Jonathan Thomas had married Margaret Marie Burgoon and was farming in Tarrant Co., Texas. His wife Margaret was born (probably June 6, 1845) in DeMoines, Polk Co., Iowa. Her parents were Lee and Anna (Geiger) Burgoon. It is believed that they may have been born in Maryland.
To Jonathan Thomas Greear and Margaret Marie (Burgoon) Greear were born the following 8 children: Willie, died in 1927; Thomas Joseph Monroe (father of the late L.C. Greear of Lampasas), b. April 7, 1869, m. Sarah Vashtie Burgoon, July 3, 1890, Granbury, Hood Co., Tx., d. April 17, 1943, Bakersfield, Kern Co., Calif.; Shady Lee (Sedrick), b. Aug. 12, 1872, m. Eda Underwood; Kenneth Charles, b. Feb. 14, 1874, m. Sarah Lucretia Walker, June 16, 1906, d. April 3, 1946, Riverside, Calif.; Annie; Ollie; Minta; Florence Bell, b. June 10, 1844, Henrietta, Clay Co., Tx., m. Lester Spires, Jan 22, 1905.
Jonathan Thomas Greear died in his sleep Dec.14, 1923 at the age of 79 in Portales, Roosevelt Co., New Mexico at the home of his daughter Florence Spires. His wife Margaret died May 8, 1927 in San Bernardino, California. She had been living with or near their son Thomas Joseph for some time before her death.
Thomas Joseph Monroe Grear, father of the late L.C. Greear of Lampasas, was born April 7, 1869 near Grapevine, Tarrant Co., Texas. He told some of his children that he was Scotch-Irish and Indian. It is not believed that Thomas Joseph Greear ever resided in Lampasas, even though his wife and children and his parents were all residents there.
Parents of Thomas Joseph Greear were Jonathan Thomas and Margaret {Marie (Burgoon) Greear. He married Sarah Vashtie Burgoon July 3, 1890 in Granbury, Hood Co., Tx. Sarah was born Dec. 26, 1870 in Tarrant Co., Tx. to Joseph Amos Burgoon and Minerva (Milliken) Burgoon, who were married March 8, 1866.
Joseph Amos Burgoon, father of Sarah Vashtie (Burgoon) Greear was born May 21, 1830 either in Maryland or Ohio. It is probable that Joseph Amos Burgoon arrived in the Grapevine Prairie area near the Dallas and Tarrant Co. line, around 1853 with his siblings and parents, Charles Burgoon and Ann Maria (Geiger) Burgoon. The elder Burgoons had married in Baltimore, Maryland and started west soon afterwards. The family lived in Ohio and Iowa before becoming farmers in the Grapevine Prairie area of Texas. Joseph Amos Burgoon at some time settled near Minters Chapel in Tarrant Co. in the area that is now the location of Dallas-Ft. Worth International Air port. (Minters Chapel cemetery is located here and many Burgoons are buried here.)
Minerva (Milliken) Burgoon, mother of Sarah Vashtie (Burgoon) Greear was born March 8, 1844 in Illinois, and was Cherokee according to family members. She was proceeded in death by her husband, Joseph Amos, on Dec. 19, 1889. She later married a man named Millican on April 26, 1893, but she passed away a few years later.
Children born to Thomas Joseph Greear and Sarah Vashtie (Burgoon) Greear were: John Elmer, b. April 26, 1892, Granbury, Hood Co., TX., m. first wife--Ruth Hamric, Feb. 4, 1916, Ballinger Tx., d. Dec. 17, 1948, Houston, Tx.; Roy Clinton, b. April 18, 1895, Grapevine, Tarrant Co., Tx., m. Violet (Penny) Bullion, Oct. 2, 1920, Lampasas, Tx., d. August 28, 1968, VA Hospital, Temple, Tx., buried--National Cemetery, San Antonio, Tx.; Lillian Beatrice b. March 4, 1898, Santa Anna, Coleman Co., Tx., m. Addison W. Fullwood, Feb. 27, 1918, San Antonio, Tx., d. July 4, 1985, El Monte, Calif.; Eda Belle, b. Oct 27, 1900, Claremont, Kent co., Tx., m. Alec Moten, Dec. 11, 1921, Lampasas, Tx., d. March 9, 1979, San Jose, Calif., buried--ashes in Sunset Cemetery, long Beach, Calif.; Rosie Lee, b. June 10, 1904, Elk City, Woodard Co., Ok., m. Leonard Bowie McDonald, March 23, 1921, Lampasas, Tx., d. Oct 16, 1987, Bakersfield Calif., buried--Greenlawn Memorial Park, Bakersfield, Calif.; Loise Clifton (L.C.), b. May 18, 1907, Ballinger, Runnels Co., Tx., m. Alma Smith, Dec.10, 1932, Lampasas, Tx., d. Dec. 13, 1983, Scott & White Hospital, Temple, Tx., buried--Smith Cemetery, Burnet Co., Tx.; William Otis, b. Feb. 7, 1910, Winters, Runnels Co., Tx., d. Oct. 10, 1910, Winters, Tx.
Thomas Joseph Greear became a stonemason and bricklayer in order to support his growing family. He worked on churches, bridges, courthouses, etc. and in 1913 helped build the Blanco Co. Courthouse in Johnson City, Tx. His work took him from job to job across the state of Texas and into Oklahoma. His wife Sarah finally let it be known that she was ready to settle down; she wanted her children to get an education, she was tired of her husband being away from home, and she was tired of moving. Sometime after 1913 she moved her family to Lampasas where she until 1921. She and Thomas Joseph were divorced around 1917.
Years later while Thomas Joseph Greear was working on a ranch near Flagstaff, Ariz., his horse stepped into a gopher hole throwing him and breaking his leg. He lay in the sun all day and suffered a bad sunstroke, paralyzing his lower intestines. He was in and out of a hospital for a long time in San Bernardino, Calif. Two of his daughters, Rosie McDonald and Beatrice Fullwood, eventually located him and he lived with Rosie in Bakersfield before he died in Kern General Hospital, Bakersfield, Calif. on April 17, 1943. He is buried in Green Lawn Memorial Park in the same city.
After divorcing T.J.M. Greear, Sarah Vashtie remained in Lampasas, where she worked hard to raise her children. She took in washing, ironing, and sewing, making such things as wedding dresses, graduation dresses, etc. She was skilled at knitting and crocheting and made many beautiful pieces. She also worked as a practical nurse in people's homes. On March 23, 1921 she married John Henry Jernigan in Lampasas. This was a double wedding for her and her daughter Rosie, who married Leonard Bowie McDonald at the same time. Mr. Jernigan was living on the E. Babe Smith, Sr. place in the Rocky creek area near Oakalla, Burnet Co., Tx.; Sarah and son L.C. (who was almost 14) moved there with him. John Henry Jernigan died April 19, 1930 near Oakalla.
Sarah Vashtie (Greear) Jernigan left Texas around 1935 and went to California to be near her 3 daughters who lived there. She returned to Lampasas around 1948 where she died of Leukemia on June 7, 1950. She is buried in the Smith Cemetery, Burnet Co., Tx.
L.C. (Loise Clifton) Greear was born May 18, 1907 in Ballinger, Runnels Co., Texas. He was Scotch-Irish, Cherokee, and probably German-Dutch on the Burgoon side of his family. His parents were Thomas Joseph Monroe Greear and Sarah Vashtie (Burgoon) Greear from the Grapevine Prairie area of Tarrant Co., Texas. They divorced around 1917.
L.C. Greear came to Lampasas with his mother and siblings when he was around 7 years old. He attended the Lampasas public school until he moved to Burnet Co. when he was almost 14.
In 1921, L.C. Greear moved to Burnet Co. with his mother and stepfather, John Henry Jernigan. L.C. lived in Burnet Co. for the next 26 years. He attended Langford School in rural Burnet Co., and was baptized by Reverend George Brown in Rocky Creek after a revival at Langford, which also doubled as a church. Before before marrying Alma Smith, he farmed for his stepfather on the E. Babe Smith, Sr. place near Oakalla, Texas. Loise and Alma were married by Reverend George Brown at the home of Mrs. George Brown, Sr. in east Lampasas on Dec. 10, 1932.
Alma, wife of L.C. Greear, was born Feb. 18, 1909 at the Christian James place on the Lampasas River, 5 miles west of Oakalla on the Oakalla-Lampasas Rd., Burnet Co., Texas. Her ancestors came from the hills of Tennessee and were some of the first settlers in the Oakalla area. Alma and her sister Mae, attended the County Line School between Kempner and Oakalla and then later, the Oakalla School. Alma was baptized in Rocky Creek near the Oakalla bridge when she was around 15.
Alma (Smith) Greear's parents were: George Thomas (Tom) Smith, b. May 11, 1873, Burnet Co., Texas, m. Dec. 2, 1906 by Constable C.C. Stewart in Briggs, Burnet Co., Texas, d. Dec. 5, 1945, King Daughters Hospital, Temple, Texas, buried--Smith Cemetery, Burnet Co., Texas; Sarah Valentine (Sally) Piper, b. Feb. 14, 1876, Burnet Co., Texas, d. June 24, 1957, Lampasas, Texas, buried--Smith Cemetery.
Alma (Smith) Greear's grandparents on her father's side were: John Able (Jack) Smith, b. May 1, 1832 in Tennessee, m. Sept. 3, 1868, d. Aug. 7, 1908, Burnet Co., Texas at home place where he settled after coming to Texas, buried --Smith Cemetery, Burnet Co., Texas; Martha Carolina Spradlin, b. Sept 12, 1851, (she would have been 17 and he 36 when they married in 1868; they came to Texas from Tennessee in a covered wagon a few years later after the birth of their first child John), d. July 7, 1927 at their home place, Burnet Co., Texas, buried--Smith Cemetery.
Martha Carolina (Spradlin) Smith served as a midwife, and assisted the sick whenever she was needed, besides caring for her own 8 children. She knew all the old folk medicine remedies and home cures in an area where medical knowledge and doctors were scarce.
Alma (Smith) Greear's grandparents on her mother's side were: James Alexander Piper, served in Company G, 19th Texas Cavalry, Confederate States Army, d. Aug. 18, 1917, Burnet Co., Texas, buried--Smith Cemetery; Margaret A. (Landrum) Piper, b. March 24, 1852 in Alabama, d. April 15, 1925, Burnet Co., Texas, buried--Smith Cemetery.
Since numerous references are made to the Smith Cemetery, it seems that some mention of it should be made for posterity. The land for this family cemetery was donated by Jim Smith (Jim Dandy), brother of John Able (Jack) Smith. He chose an elevated area of his land where he could see the cattle and deer grazing and told his family that was where he wanted to be buried. It is located off Farm to Market Rd. 963 in a remote area of northeast Burnet Co. on the Moten Ranch southwest of Oakalla.
Children born to Loise Clifton Greear and Alma (Smith) Greear were: Thomas Ray, b. Jan. 25, 1935, at the Stapp place, Burnet Co.. Texas, m. Shirley Ann Fisk (b. Sept. 11, 1936, Coryell Co., Texas) Oct. 29, 1955, McGregor, Texas; Joyce Ann, b. Feb 16, 1941, Rollins Brook Hospital, Lampasas, Texas, m. Tyrone Wayne Baker (b. July 25, 1938, McLean Co., North Dakota) Nov. 11, 1961, Lampasas, Texas.
In early 1945 L.C. and Alma and their 2 children moved to the Greenwood Ranch near Oakalla, Texas. L.C. worked the ranch for the owner Edward R. Greenwood, who lived in Boston, Massachusetts. On Nov. 26, 1947 they moved to their home on Nix Rd. in west Lampasas. It was at this time that Loise Greear became a machinery operator for the Lampasas Co. Soil Conservation District, building stock tanks, terraces, and knocking brush for land owners in the county. He did this work for around 15 years, then in 1963 when the Lampasas Nursing Home opened he and Alma worked there. Later they worked as custodians, under Reverend Adrian Coleman, at the First Baptist Church where they were members.
Their 2 children, Thomas Ray and Joyce Ann, attended the Lampasas public schools from 1st grade thru 12th grade graduation. Thomas and his family live in Mesa, Arizona; Joyce and her family live in Dallas, Texas.
L.C. and Alma both loved being outdoors and close to nature. Their favorite pastimes were fishing and working with their flowers, yard, garden, and fruit trees. She liked to sew and embroidery, and he was good at refinishing, repairing, and making things. His family is especially proud of some beautiful braided rugs which he made.
Loise Clifton Greear passed away Dec. 13, 1983 at Scott & White Hospital, Temple, Texas, and is buried at the Smith Cemetery. (Alma Passed away Sept. 18, 1995 at a nursing home in Garland, TX . She is buried with the rest of her family in the Smith cemetery.
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