Saturday, March 10, 2012

Proving my Taylor line for DAR Membership

After years of saying all of my ancestors must have used a tree branch to wipe out their tracks behind them as they came to Texas, I may finally have found a maternal line that meets the requirements that would allow me to become a member of Daughters of the American Revolution.  I had actually given up until recently.
 
Last year I was able to connect with Dean Moore in Alabama since I knew my great grandmother, Emily Elizabeth Moore married David F. Taylor in Fayette County, Alabama before they came to Texas.  I also found Phillip Taylor had information on our Moore/Taylor line on Ancestry.com and that he and Dean had shared information.  Based on documentation of one of Phillip's sources, I also contacted Josephine Sparks who generously scanned and emailed me dozens of documents she has accumulated about our Taylor line.
 
The DAR website states: "Any woman 18 years or older who can prove lineal, bloodline descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving American independence is eligible to join the DAR. She must provide documentation for each statement of birth, marriage and death, as well as of the Revolutionary War service of her Patriot ancestor."  Arthur Taylor is the Pariot I'm researching.  No one has become a member of DAR through him, but several have through his brother, Joshua.  Here is what I have and don't have so far:
  1. I am the daughter of Richard Aaron Robbins and Iva Mildred Conley Robbins.
  2. Iva Mildred Conley Robbins was the daughter of John Franklin Conley and Nora Littie Inman Conley.
  3. John Franklin Conley was the son of Charles Conley and Amanda Ella Taylor.
  4. Amanda Ella Taylor was the daughter of David F. Taylor and Emily Elizabeth Moore.
  5. David F. Taylor was the son of Littleberry Grissom/Grisham Taylor and Frances T. Steele.
  6. Littleberry G. Taylor was the son of Charles Taylor and Elizabeth Potts.
  7. Charles Taylor was the son of Arthur Taylor and Celia.
  8. Arthur Taylor's Revolutionary War Service
 Although I checked with Lampasas County and Hamilton County (in Texas) I have not found a marriage record for Charles Conley and Amanda Ella Taylor.  Family records have the date as 4 Apr 1886.  Perhaps I can go to the Coryell County Courthouse and check there, but hopefully the information on the 1900 census will be sufficient proof. 

When there are no birth, death, and marriage records, other sources must be used.  The greater challenges will be finding documents to prove David was the son of Littleberry, and Littleberry was the son of Charles since census records before 1880 do not state the relationship to the head of the household and census records before 1850 do not list names of anyone except the head of the household. 

I plan to post some related documents in future blog entries.

3 comments:

  1. http://nestedrobbins.blogspot.com/2012/03/proving-my-taylor-line-for-dar.html
    Thank you! John Franklin "Frank" Conley was my great-grandmother's (Emily Mary Conley Hector) brother. I have a photo of him and of their brother Clearance. According to a deathbed story told by my great-grandmother to my grandmother, Frank was killed when he was shot off his front porch by the Dalton Gang and Jess Avery. I am wondering where the name Littleberry came from... I hope we can compare notes sometime!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh how I hope you'll see my reply. I wish I had seen your comment sooner. I need to post a short article about my great aunt Emily sometime.
      Please see what I posted in January and in March called Thrilled Thursday - The Murder of David F. Taylor. I would love to be able to compare notes with you some time!

      Delete
  2. http://nestedrobbins.blogspot.com/2012/03/proving-my-taylor-line-for-dar.html
    Thank you! John Franklin "Frank" Conley was my great-grandmother's (Emily Mary Conley Hector) brother. I have a photo of him and of their brother Clearance. According to a deathbed story told by my great-grandmother to my grandmother, Frank was killed when he was shot off his front porch by the Dalton Gang and Jess Avery. I am wondering where the name Littleberry came from... I hope we can compare notes sometime!

    ReplyDelete