Success Stories

Some of the many comments that have been sent to our volunteers thanking them for their efforts and announcing that we've helped them with difficult situations.
  • Stan Bacon
    Plaudits and kudos to Kimm Antell who was instrumental in assisting me in finding a whole branch of my family centered around San Angelo. I sent email queries to a number of organizations in San Angelo. Kimm saw it and found an obituary which opened the door to put me in contact with my second cousin and her side of the family. Thanks much!
  • Debra Lounsbury
    Thanks to the Lamar County Cemetary and Death Records, I have found several cousins, nieces and other information on the Obrien family that has remained hidden for many years. This type of page is a researcher's dream. There needs to be more pages like this. We have been in contact with some of these folks and it is wonderful! Thanks again!!!!!
  • Joyce Satterwhite
    Just received information from Jerry Simpson, Tyler, Texas about my decendents, Thomas Jefferson Story and Elizabeth Samanthie Echols who were my grandparents. They were born in early l800's, and I was born in l94l. I have been searching for information since l967. It is wonderful to be able to find anything. There were so many years between our ages. My father Thomas Warren Story, was born April 25, l889 and died Aug. l967. Maybe someone reading this will have more information for me. I am so thankful we have this web site, and I thank you very much for I probably would have never found this. Many thanks again, Joyce Dale Story Satterwhite--Teague, Texas
  • Carrie Dominguez
    I am absolutely exstatic these days! My heartfelt thanks to the GENWEB project and my queries at sites all over the state...especially the Wilbarger Cty.site, I received an e-mail from a gentleman in Oklahoma,whom it turns out is a second cousin once removed. I never knew any of my grandfathers family.All contact with his family was lost back around the 1930's. We are now a connected family once again! A trip is being planned as we speak..so to say..for a mini reunion. My cousin and I both had spent the past ten years searching for each other families. He has a history,in the form of two booklets, which is very rich in its Texas History and leadership. Farmers, shopkeepers, educators, soldiers, musicians, playwrights, Spiritual Leaders, a Senator, and yes even a President have all come a from the family lines. I am truly thankful to all of those involved in the project. I have been helped by many along the way,both directly and indirectly. I have much to learn yet,and much research to do; but now it is my turn to reciprocate and join the many out there who take the time to host one or more sites.I will be in touch to find out more about hosting. I can think of no better way to say thanks to everyone than to join in and help the cause. Carrie
  • Daniel and Kristen Howell
    Not only have I received assistance and leads from several TXGenWeb County Coordinators (CCs), but last year I found out that one of the CCs is my cuzzin! Kay Bradley and I were able to share several generations worth of our Huddleston branch. In addition, Kay was such a positive and enthusiastic CC that I too joined, and now I CC 11 counties in TxGenWeb! Kristen
  • Jim Lantrip
    Isn't this USGenWeb Project Great??? I just got a great "bingo" on my query posted on your Taylor Co. Query site. An email with a telephone number led me to speak with a woman who can complete my quest!! Feel free to remove my query, copied below, from your Taylor site. Your site is great, by the way!
  • Vernon Drewa
    Thanks for your 1860 Census and the Cemetery listing. I have located where my GG Grandfather Bryant Lee Allen came from Georgia, with his wife and 7 children. I also located, at least on paper, that they were buried in one of the Cemeteries in the Hughes Spring area. I have been in and around every County but yours in the past three weeks. Spent two days walking cemeteries around Hughes Spring - though I didn't locate the grave sites I was looking for. I had been going under the primiss of a story my G Grandmother told me in 1940 about arriving in Jefferson with her parents and a number of slaves from Georgia. She had the direction as 25 miles west of Jefferson where they settled. Thus, my walks and research in Morris, Upshur, Titus and Franklin ( the last because that is where my grandfather ( from the union of Martha E. Allen and Charles Craig Wren) took place. Martha E. Allen and Charles Craig Wren married in a Church location near her parents home, but have not located that as yet.
  • Cheryl Baker
    Hi. I would like to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU for such a wonderful site. I logged onto the Cass Co. page, hoping to find some links to my ancestors, and not only did I find my ancestors, I found a 3rd cousin! She had the family traced back to the 1600's. This line of my family has been a dead end for as long as we have been working on our genealogy, so this was quite a treat. I wrote my cousin a note after I saw her post in the queries for Cass Co. Her gg- grandmother is my ggg-grandmothers sister! I would not have found all of this if it hadn't been for you page. Thanks again. I look forward to visiting often and maybe finding my other "missing link."
  • Gwen (Brewer) McDaniel
    I was browsing the Texas GenWeb pages and saw where some of my ancestors were'nt named. I posted a simple query this morning on the Rusk County page. This evening, I had not only an answer to my query, but a full THREE gerenrations BACK. !!! I'm SO excited !!! There are at least 200 people who want to say "Thank You" to Madeleine Parrott." and a big thank you to Texas Gen Web. Without your project, we would have never connected.
      And another success story in the same day !!! I've been chasing my Pounds connection for years. Today, I connected with David Smith. Together, we are now a family. Between both of our research, in Shelby County, we now have a connection. This would not have been possible but for the Texas Gen Web Project. Thank you so much. Correction: I made a SERIOUS mistake. My sucess story was from a posting to PANOLA County, not Rusk County. (I just LOVE the way Panola County posts my query INSTANTLY, wish they all did.) But now, I'd like to add a bit to the story. Seems the lady that answered my query had a book on the Boynton Family. At the time I wrote to you, she had transcribed just the FIRST three generations back. (I was beside myself with joy for that much.) By the time I got through my mail this morning, she had transcribed THIRTY-ONE MORE GENERATIONS !!!!!!!! All the way back to the year 1067. All documented. WOW ! She even gave me a web site to learn even more. After 30 years of searching for my great-grandmother's history, and hitting a brick wall at every turn doing it the old fashioned way of stomping through every graveyard in East Texas, the TXGenWeb Project has opened SO many doors for me. I can't thank you and all the other volunteers enough. This is now my daily stop, every time I sign on: The TXGenWeb Project. With all my Love and heartfelt thanks, Gwen (Brewer) McDaniel
      As usual, I was sleepless (after midnight) and was surfing the net in search of elusive ancestors. I submitted a request for a lookup on 1870 and 1880 Cherokee County Texas on two of my g-g-grandfather's youngest children born in Nacogdoches County TX but moved to Cherokee County at a very young age. After a dream filled sleep, where I stumble across a tombstone of this VERY elusive ancestor, complete with ALL the genealogical data and a PHOTO !!!, I woke up to check my e-mail. I had violated the rules by asking for more than one person and more than one census. What I found was not only what I asked for, but also the fact that 1890 and 1900 census was not available to the volunteer, but the 1910 census data that found a cousin that was a boarder of someone the rest of the family had never known. The rest of the family had moved on to Olney, Young County. TX. Clarence Brewer had stayed behind in Alto, Cherokee Co., TX as a boarder. It was the first instance where Clarence was on his own. Without the diligent efforts of the volunteer, Gaylon White, of Cherokee County TX, we would never have known about Clarence. I asked for two census results and got from 1870 to 1910. WOW.... I'm impressed. All within an 8 hour span while I was sleeping. I would like to nominate Cherokee County TX and Gaylon White as the BEST of the WEB. My husband will second that nomination, and the other 200 Brewer researchers will vote "FOR" Thanks to Gaylon White's efforts, I was able to "confirm" a new cousin into my family. Thank you for having this site to find new cousins. Also, thank you to all the volunteers, like Gaylon White, that go beyond the call of duty for the timely answers. It really means a lot. Thank you for this site.
  • Terri
    I have finally found my Great Grandmother IDA MAE CARPENTER she married William Bailey Durham I have been loooking for months....YAHOOOOO!!!!! Her Father was James E. Carpenter born 1852 died 1926 and buried in Denton County, Texas - Trinity Cemetary I found this information on TexGenWeb and thanks to them I have now found my whole line and there is even a book written about them. James E Carpenter married a Molly Elizabeth Morland. Ida Mae's sisters and brothers are as follows: D Solomon Carpenter, Flora Carpenter, Leonard Carpenter, Stella Carpenter, Luther Carpenter. Thank You TxGedWeb !!!
  • BSTEPH5659@AOL.COM
    My dear Mr Holub, you wonderful person. Do you know what you've done? I've been looking for 2yrs for Amos' parents. I knew according to his civil war pension papers , he stated he was born 1835 Jackson Co. MO. Supposedly he came to Collin Co in 1848, where he met up with (or already knew) Etheldred WHITELEY, who was in Collin Co 1850. A.B. TUCKER m. Harriet S. WHITELEY, Etheldred's dau. Harriett & Amos Barnes TUCKER are buried @ True Cem. As far as I can tell Harriett & Amos only had 2 children: Arrena (named after her mother ) & Oliver, if this is true, I'm probably the only person researching my A.B. You have certainly made my day. What do I need to do to get a copy of A.B. & Harriett S. TUCKER's death cert? What do I owe you? And,if I can ever help you out w/lookup Collin/Grayson Co do not hesitate to ask.
  • BSTEPH5659@AOL.COM
    Just a word of thanks to you & your volunteers, specifically Dorman Holub. When I posted my query re: WHITELEY & A.B. TUCKER (my 3rd & 2nd gr grandfathers) I did not expect any response. To my good fortune Dorman Holub took up my cause, & has provided me with A.B. TUCKER's father's name. I've been searching for a lead to A.B.'s parents for about 2 yrs. It's this sort of kindness that makes me want to respond in the same way, when I get a chance to help someone. Again Thanks, & to let you know I think Dorman is a keeper. B. STEPHENS One of these letters came to Dorman the other to me.
  • Tom Graham
    This success story relates to the new rootsweb search engine. I received notice of the new search engine and decided to test it using a few of the less common names in my family tree. I entered HATHCOCK and up popped a marriage listing for John Hathcock and Mary Goodbread on January 24, 1856 in the Caldwell County GenWeb Archives. My cousin Clayton Heathcock has been searching for this information on his great grandparents for years. He was very happy to receive the information, and how has the challenge to find out why they were in Caldwell County in 1856. Without the Texas GenWeb information, he probably would have never found when and where they were married.
  • Debi Remer
    I am so appreciative of Wanda Qualls. She saw my posting about the Engle family and was able to fill in all the blanks, even though the family in Fredericksburg at that time was Johann Engler!! The funny part about the story is I was researching for Caroline Young his wife. We had always been told she was one of the Younger Brothers sisters who changed her name because of their reputation. But here we find out she immigrated from Germany and her name was Jung! Now the whole family can rest assured that our relatives (at least on this end) were not outlaws!! And the best part is Wanda is related to me!! What a small world. I hope to one day meet her. Anyhow - THANKS WANDA AND GENWEB!!!!
  • Ernestine Grace
    Thanks to TexGenWeb to enable me and others searching for their ancestors. I was very fortunate in having a second cousin contact me and since then we have traded information on our BARTHELOW families. It's been great sharing our info and wish the same for everyone else searching for their relatives.
  • John Quigley
    One of the queries to the Kinney County Page has resulted in my wife Yvonne and I finding a new cousin. They sent a query regarding a family named McGovern, Yvonne had a cousin who was a McGovern and when we looked it up we found that it was the same McGovern's that this person was looking for. Needless to say, I have posted my address for them to send us what they have and we are sending to them a companion piece on their cousin line through my wife. Keep searching, you never know what will turn up!
  • ToolTimeJ
    I am writing to tell about one of my successes from the TXGenWeb project. I entered a query for Polk County inquiring about my 2g grandmother. I had very little information about her. I assumed that the family that she was living with was her mother's second marriage. I received an answer to the query from Sherry Garland of Houston TX and from that I found that she was descended from a sister of my 2g grandmother. Because of the query that I placed on the TXGenWeb, I have found four new ancestors! And this is just one of many success stories that I could mention. I appreciate the TXGenWeb project so much that I adopted a County (Runnels) in hopes of helping others.
  • Pat M. Mahan
    That's the FIRST place I posted a query, yesterday, I think. Should be there by now. I did this one about 5:30 a.m. today, and although worded a little different, it is the same family, and basically the same info. Sure would like to find someone diggin' on this guy! VERY STRANGE - I get mail today from someone that saw the Daniel query - she didn't say where but has to be either the list or Cass Co, and she's looking for the TITSWORTH family that I DIDN'T ask about! How's that for a 'shot in the dark'!! Just wanted to say thanks for your list/web page. May have found a cousin, even if it's not the family I was looking for!
  • Linne
    I would be more than happy to tell the people at Texas GenWeb about my success stories. I've got lots through the Texas GenWeb. I recommend it all the time. One of them I'll relay: I was looking at the Milam Co. web page via Texas GenWeb, and saw a query from someone who's ancestors I recognized. These weren't even my ancestors---they belonged to the pedigree of my third cousin, which I'd seen once. There was an unusual name in it, and this woman from Saskatchewan, Canada was asking about it. Since the name, time and place matched, I wrote to the woman in Canada and said that I thought that I knew just the person for her. Then I called my third cousin in Temple and told her what I'd found. Both of them were astonished that this connection took place, as both of them had given up hope of ever finding anyone else in that line of their families. Generations ago, the head of one branch had a falling out with the others and left Texas in a snit, and no one ever heard from him, nor any of his family or descendants again. This was many decades ago. The third cousin in Temple has no computer capability, so these two correspond by snail mail, but they certainly actively correspond. I'll try to remember a lot of the others and send them along; there have been so many. I think that the Texas GenWeb is the greatest thing since the invention of safety pins and lightbulbs. Thanks a million, again, Lynwood. I'm always here, interested in every little detail that you find. Any stray facts of pieces of information that leads to my education, too, are always welcome.
  • Robert C. Daniel
    Thanks to the best County page on TXGENWEB, I have made contact with 2 cousins. My first was last May. This cousin saw my query at the RUSK Co page. He had my KOONCE line back to 1700's Germany. Last week, another cousin saw my Rusk Co. query. She and I have Moses Melton Crow as our GG-Grandfather. Bonnie Palmer is doing a great job on the Rusk Co. page. Since I have ancestors in several states, I visit many County genweb sites. Of all I've seen, her's is the best.
  • Patricia Robison Jones
    Thanks to your genealogical researcher Lisa Gammill my query on NIDEVERS / SINCLAIRS / DESPAINS / PEARSON / FUNKHOUSER was answered with information that filled in many gaps and even located a long lost ancestor NAOMI SINCLAIR NIDEVER and her children on a census. What a treasure trove you sent. It will take several days to sort through, but I've already found many areas of intense interest. Thank you so much. Also, I've sent a contribution to the Hopkins County Genealogical Society for being so very helpful.
  • Mary Love Berryman
    Although I have been into genealogy for a long time I am new to "Internet Genealogy." Last week I started looking around and found Laura Irvin's Home Page with the first five generations of the Richard Hyde family. Richard came to Virginia in 1638. Letitia Hyde & James Haley, my ancestors, were listed in the fifth generation. Thanks Laura for the information.
  • Thomas J. Kemp, Head of Special Collections Department
    This message refers to the Hood County Genealogical Society GenWeb page. Congratulations. Thought that you would want to know that your website is featured in the new book Virtual Roots [Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, 1997]. You really have a great site. Makes me wish I was back in Texas.
  • Marilyn Logan
    A great big thank you to Bonnie Wolverton, Anderson Co. Genealogical Society, for the notice to Mike Vaughn regarding my query for information on GGrandmother Georgia Ann Godley. Mike came through with flying colors on information of this ggrandmother. Now to update charts! Thanks to the TexGenWeb and the counties participating.
  • Carol L. Switzer Dean
    This is just to give you and all of your Texas Genweb volunteers a humongous Thank You! I have known for about 20 years that my 3rd great grandfather's brothers had gone to Texas. That is all I had been able to find out about them. Since being on the internet I discovered a letter (posted on the Jackson Co., IL Genweb page) written by my 4th great grandfather (whom it was assumed died in the 1830s in IL since he disappeared from the census) in 1841 from Washington Co., TX. That gave me my first clue and came to the Texas Genweb page. From it went into the TX Land office and looked for land records. Also found the Chappel Hill museum and wrote them. They sent me back information on the families I was researching and the Washington County Clerks office sent me my 4th ggfather's probate records. Found some sons we didn't know even existed and today got the information from the Texas Land office with more information that they had dug up. If not for the Texas Genweb page and all of its links I would not have known where to look and would never have found these people. Again, a Great Big Hug and Thank You's to all of You and Your Volunteers!!!! Please let everyone know of my feelings for you all.
  • Yvonne Hall
    Thanks to Glenn Rutz, Mary Ann Bartlett and Darlene Hildebrand for responding to my queries on the Texas GenWeb. These three persons have enabled me to support (and verify) my speculation that my great grandfather's brother, ADAM HANSHAW left Kentucky for Texas. Glenn provided me with Williamson CO marriage indexes which listed marriages for two of Adam's children. Mary Ann went to the Court House and photocopied these marriage records for me and continues to seek information for me. Darlene Hildebrand provided me with Howard CO cemetery listings which have the graves of Adam's wife and some of his children. I could not have obtained this information without the assistance of Glenn, Mary Ann, Darlene and the Texas GenWeb.
  • PeggyBS@aol.com
    For 20 years I have been seeking info on the sister of my grandfather. She had left Camp County about 1900 visiting somewhere in Florida. I have advestized everywhere including Camp Co, Everton, numerous genealogy magazines. Last fall I became the sponser of the Camp County Home page. One of the first queries was from the granddaughter of my grandfather's sister. This was the most exciting, gratifing, find I have ever had in all my research. Since that time my 2nd cousin and I have filled in all the missing links for our family. I truly believe I probably would never have found this link without our GenWeb
  • Edna
    I sent in a simple request for help with locating a family member in Texas. Mike couldn't find him but went the extra mile and sent me info on others of the same surname (CLACK). Lo! and behold! those others were relatives that I had not been able to locate anyway and had no idea they were out there. With this above and beyond type of help, he has saved me months of searching. Thanks for the wonderful effort and for the Texas Genweb project.
  • Carolyn (Knight) Getting
    I myself have had a couple of success stories from queries I placed on other County pages and one query I found on Karnes Co. page. Joe Lee in Evant, TX place a query on the Karnes Co. page for my 2nd Great Grandmother which I answered. Though answering his query, we made contact, we're fourth cousins. We've shared information and made contact with about six other cousins, and through some info he had I found a 2nd cousin in Dallas. My data base ballooned from around 800 people to 11,000 in just a few months, and after my cousin and I meet on Saturday, that number will jump again. Another contact made, while we are no kin, we have a lot of related family members was made through a query on the Austin Co. page I made. Through this contact I have found a couple of hundred family members. I still find the queries to be the most valuable aspects of the GenWeb.
  • Wanda Irby
    Several weeks ago a number of people forwarded a message to me from a Dr. John Lambshead in London, England at the London Museum of Natural History. He was searching for information on an uncle who came to the U.S. and settled in Throckmorton Co. and left his name on an area. I had never heard of it but looked at a map and found Lambshead Creek and Valley. In checking, found a book called Lambshead Before Interwoven containing a letter from the uncle and a good bit of information about him. I send him the name of the book, arthor and publisher and a copy of the letter. He was thrilled to death. Said the letter sounded like letters written by his own father in pure country language. (I really enjoyed the book too and so did my husband) I do know some of the people who live in that area and had met some of those mentioned in the book.
  • Dana Thomas
    I hate to be the first one to post here because I'm the Cass County coordinator but since no one has sent me anything I'm going to put something in this blank spot. Besides I have a great success story to tell you about. This week because of the Cass County TXGenWeb web page link page I had a bingo with someone. Now, that only sounds like the end of it but let me tell you why I know it was because of the Cass County TXGenWeb project. I have been going to the local LDS Family History Center with the lady who saw my homepage link on the Cass County page, not only that but she has been helping me with some of the Cass County TXGenWeb project pages. She saw my link and clicked on it as she said, "out of curiousity" and found that I am researching two of the same lines she is. Now, since we'd been at the FHC together and volunteering on this project together you'd think we would have know that but we didn't. Due to this project and the web page link page we made a connection. So everyone: Please send in your URL so I can post them on the link page. You never know what's going to happen! Happy hunting to all!