Other Events:

• Social Security Number: 460-16-6297
• Census: Jan 26, 1920, Corrigan, Polk county, Texas, USA

Notes:

Social Security Number:
VIOLA COMMINSKY, 09 Jun 1910, 28 Aug 1999, LR 77429 (Cypress, Harris, TX), LB 15425 (Connellsville, Fayette, PA), 460-16-6297, issued TX

Viola married Luther Allen Keen circa 1927. Luther (son of William Gorden Keen and Jerusha (__)) was born Oct 28, 1906, Trinity, Trinity county, Texas, USA; died Dec 1972. [Group Sheet]

1. Murrell Wiess Keen was born Feb 15, 1928, Trinity county, Texas, USA; died Feb 06, 2012, Tomball, Harris county, Texas, USA.

Viola married Percy L. Young Bef 1933. Percy died Y. [Group Sheet]

1. Samuel David Young was born Nov 11, 1933, Trinity county, Texas, USA; died Sep 05, 2021.

Viola married Eugene Cooper "Gene" Carothers circa 1941. Eugene (son of [son] Carothers) died circa 1944. [Group Sheet]

1. Geneva Nell Carothers was born Jan 16, 1942, Trinity county, Texas, USA; died Feb 19, 2002.
2. Robbie Louise Carothers was born Dec 07, 1943, Trinity county, Texas, USA; died Jan 17, 2011.

Viola married Anthony Comminsky 1945. Anthony was born May 30, 1908, Trotter, Pennsylvania, USA; died Aug 06, 1980. [Group Sheet]

1. Living
2. Living
3. Living

Other Events:

• Census: Jun 29, 1900, Tyler county, Texas, USA

James married Amy Lea Wiess Aug 27, 1899, Hardin county, Texas, USA. Amy (daughter of Willie Simon Wiess and Mary Mellissa "Nannie" Sims) was born Mar 02, 1882, Cairo, Jasper county, Texas, USA; died Sep 13, 1958, Houston, Harris county, Texas, USA; was buried Sep 15, 1958, Trinity county, Texas, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Census: Jan 26, 1920, Corrigan, Polk county, Texas, USA

Notes:

(My grandmother, her half-sister, told me she was undisciplined and so, when her father died, was taken to live at a place near unto but unknown to her half-siblings Jessie and William Simon.  They were not allowed to see or associate with her half-siblings because she was considered a bad influence.  When Jessie was an adult, she attempted to find Amy but was unable to locate her.)
1930 census, Trinity, Trinity, Texas, pct 2, series T626, roll 2403, p. 63
e.d. 228-5, sheet 19-B, May 5, 1930, lines 70-82, HH 60/62
Whitter, Tilman, head, rent, $17/mo, M, W, 48, m. at 43, MO, MO, MO
  "  , Gussie, wife-H, F, W, 22, m. at 17, TX, TX, TX
  "  , Birdie M, dau, 4-6/12, TX, TX, TX
Bumstead, Amie, mother-in-law, 48, widowed, TX, TX, TX
  "  , Viola, sister-in-law, 19, TX, TX, TX
  "  , Willie D, bro-in-law, 25, TX, TX, TX
  "  , Jacob, bro-in-law, 18, TX, TX, TX
Ford, Frank W, bro-in-law, 44, TX, TX, TX
  "  , Dixie, sis-in-law, 30, TX, TX, TX
  "  , Mary, niece, 12, TX, TX, TX
  "  , Charles, nephew, 10, TX, TX, TX
  "  , Erlene, niece, 8, TX, TX, TX
  "  , Frankie M, niece, 6, TX, TX, TX

Notes:

1920 census,TX, Polk, Corrigan, ed 126, 10-A, (T625-1840, p.138)
January 26, 1920, Trinity county Road
HH 215/218
Bumstead, Jake B, head, M, W, 68, TX, NJ, FL(?)
"  , Lara M, wife, F, W, 36, TX, TX, MS
HH 216/219
Bumstead, J.W., head, F, W, 36, widowed, TX, TX, TX (this is Amy)

"  , Willie D, son, 15
"  , Gussie, dau, 12
"  , Viola, dau, 9
"  , Jake, son, 7

Other Events:

• Census: Jun 29, 1900, Tyler county, Texas, USA
• Census: Mar 25, 1910, Trinity county, Texas, USA

Notes:

His death certificate gives his name as J.R. (or J.P.) Bumstead with his place of birth and parents' names listed as unknown.  His date of birth is given as July 9, 1851.  The physician is recorded to have attended him from Jan. 3 to Jan. 6 when he died.  His cause of death is listed as inluenza, 3 days.

Jacob married Laura Amanda "Amanda" Fairchild Nov 04, 1879, Hardin county, Texas, USA. Laura (daughter of [son] Fairchild) was born circa 1857; died Jan 06, 1929, Trinity county, Texas, USA; was buried , Cedar Grove Cemetery, Trinity, Trinity county, Texas, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Census: Jun 29, 1900, Tyler county, Texas, USA
• Census: Apr 25, 1910, Trinity county, Texas, USA

Notes:

Sister of Henry Fairchild.

Notes:

Left Hardin Cty by 1880 and moved to Chester, Trinity Cty, Texas. They both became ill and died at home on the same day.  (His death certificate says he died of influenza.)
-
1900 census, TX, Tyler, pct 9, ed 104, 15-A, (T623-1674, p.174)
June 29, 1900, HH 258/270
Bumstead,Jake, head, W, M, Oct 18??, 44, m Un, TX, TX, TX, farming
"  , Mandy, wife, W, F, May 18?6, 44, m Unk, 1/1 child, TX, TX, TX
"  , Jim, son, W, M, Sept 18?? (78 or 88), 2?, single, TX, farm laborer
1910 census, TX, Tyler, 3rd pct, ed 161, 5-B, (T624-1594, p.233)
April 25, 1910, HH 90/90
Bumpstead, Jacob B, head, M, W, 57, m1 30 yrs, TX, NJ, GA, odd jobs
"    , Laura M, wife, F, W, 51, m1 30 yrs, 3/2 children, TX, US, MS
"    , Robert, son, 18, TX
1920 census,TX, Polk, Corrigan, ed 126, 10-A, (T625-1840, p.138)
Trinity county Road
HH 215/218
Bumstead, Jake B, head, M, W, 68, TX, NJ, FL(?)
"  , Lara M, wife, F, W, 36, TX, TX, MS

HH 216/219
Bumstead, J.W., head, M, W, 36, widowed, TX, TX, TX
"  , Willie D, son, 15
"  , Gussie, dau, 12
"  , Viola, dau, 9
"  , Jake, son, 7

Other Events:

• Census: Jul 16, 1870, Jasper county, Texas, USA
• Census: Jun 15, 1880, Jasper county, Texas, USA

Notes:

He was killed in an accident at Hooks Switch (aka Ariola) (Hardin county) in a sawmill owned by his sister Aunt Maggie's (Margaret Wiess Hooks) husband, George Washington Hooks.  George Washington Hooks and Dr. S.B. Turner had founded the mill and Turner had died the previous year).
Galveston Daily News, November 15, 1893, pg. 5
FATAL BOILER EXPLOSION
---------
THREE INSTANTLY KILLED AND SIX
SERIOUSLY WOUNDED
--------
The Mill of the Hooks Lumber Company
near Beaumont, Blown to Atoms.
Some Narrow Escapes.
--------
  Beaumont, Tex., Nov. 14. -- A terrific boiler explosion occurred this morning at 10:30 o'clock at the saw mill of the Hooks lumber company at Hooks Switch, fourteen miles north of here on the Sabine and East Texas railroad, killing three men and seriously wounding six others.  The list of the dead is as follows:
  J. W. Kirksey, engineer.
  Willie Wiess, log scaler.
  Bob McKinney, colored, scalded to death by the steam and water.
  Injured as follows:  George Whittington, collar bone broken; E. B. Baird, arm broken, John Holley, a stranger, hurt in the head and leg; Mack Armstrong, colored, blown forty yards and internally injured; Jack Mckinney, colored, hit in the head; Geo. Payne,  colored, also hit in the head.  Several others were slightly injured.
  The boiler room is completely blown away and the mill will have to be entirely rebuilt to be of use.
  The Hooks lumber company had been shut down for about two months and had just started up yesterday morning.  Had the explosion occurred ten minutes sooner the death list would have been a great deal heavier as there were then about twenty men near the boilers warming.  Willie Wiess and Bob McKinney were warming when the accident occurred.  Mr. L. R. McGregor, the saw filer, but who was taking the sawyer's place for a minute, was completely covered with the debris but escaped with only a few bruises.
  One piece of the boiler was found 150 yards from the mill.
  The cause of the explosion could not be learned.
  Kirksey leaves a wife; Willie Wiess a wife and three children and the negro McKinney leaves one child to mourn their loss.
  (Lemial Waldrep, also in this database, is said to have been another casualty of that disaster, though his name is not listed in the newspaper article and this researcher could not find a later article about it.  That Lemuel was killed in the accident was told to this editor by a member of that family branch.  However, the Lemuel Waldrop/Waldrep in this dataset was born 1888 and would have only been 5 years old.  It is assumed the data is either incorrect or perhaps an uncle or other relative by the same name died there.)

  Mr. W.T. Block, historian, wrote (May 24, 2003) "Amy Lea's birth at Cairo in 1881 means that her father was working for Yellow Bluff Tram Co. either as logger, or on their steam tram road, or in the crosstie sawmill there. There are 5 pages about Yellow Bluff under "Jasper County" in Vol. 2 of East Texas Mill Towns etc WTB"

Willie married Mary Mellissa "Nannie" Sims circa 1880. Mary was born Apr 08, 1861, Blakely, Miller county, Georgia, USA; died Mar 11, 1889, Beaumont, Jefferson county, Texas, USA. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Mourad Whitfield Bumstead was born February 12, 1811 in Hempstead, New York to Jacob Bumstead and Rhoda Martin.  He was a fourth great grandson of Governor Robert Treat and of Jasper Crane -- cofounders of Newark, New Jersey -- and  distant cousin of Robert Treat Paine, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
    According to Arthur Irving Bumstead, he traveled to Georgia where he got sick and lost contact with his family.  By the time he became well, his family had moved from their home to Ohio and he was unable to find them, causing his mother great distress.
    Mourad arrived in Texas in 1831.  In June of 1832, he participated in one of the earliest armed resistances to the Mexican authorities when he joined forces with about 200 other Texians with Amos Thames and James Drake under Captain Frank Johnson, the alcalde at San Felipe de Austin.  They sought to rescue William B. Travis and his law partner judge Patrick Jack who had been arrested by Colonel Juan Davis Bradburn, Commander of the garrison at Anahuac.  Colonel Bradburn had already earned the ire of the Texians by, among other things, dismissing the city council at Liberty, declaring martial law in all of East Texas, conscripting labor and supplies to construct the fort and failing to control his disorderly troops -- most of whom were reported to be convicts.  Bradburn was a Virginia native and veteran of the War of 1812 who married a wealthy Mexican heiress and was serving in the Mexican military.
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/jca01
http://www.bchm.org/Austin/panel44.html
http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/bradburn.htm
http://co.chambers.tx.us/anahuac/ahistory.html
http://reflectiveeclectic.org/bradburn.htm
http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/anahuac&velasco2.htm
    In 1835, Captain Andrew Briscoe of Anahuac organized the "Liberty Volunteers".  Mourad joined Briscoe and is on his November 21st, 1835 muster roll.  Captain Briscoe wrote "Of these men I think there are six or eight who will refuse to follow me into San Antonio.  The rest will go, intending to conquer or to die."  Briscoe's men joined Ben Milam in the battle of Concepcion and the siege of Bexar on October 24th.
    Stephen F. Austin was in command in San Antonio.  Mourad, Drake and Thames, dissatisfied with his command, joined the company of James Chessher, a long time ferryman over Pine Bayou, who mustered a company of Jefferson and Jasper volunteers and joined Ben Milam's forces in the siege.  (Members of the company were:  David Chessher; William and Adam Byerly; James Drake; Amos Thames; Enoch and Nathaniel Grigsby; William, Moses George and Elisha Allen and Murad W. Bumstead.)  Milam led the attack on San Antonio for five days, from December 5 - 9, 1835.  Mourad was discharged from this service on the 13th of that month.
    Listed in the records as "M.W. BRIMSTEAD", he served at the "SIEGE OF BEXAR / THE STORMING OF SAN ANTONIO", December 5-10, 1835.  Their victory won by the vastly outnumbered men served to impede the progress of Santa Ana's Mexican Army, giving the Texians more time to prepare for the perilous days ahead.  The original muster list is housed at the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum and his name is written "MW Bumpsted".
Lee Paul writes at http://www.theoutlaws.com/alamo.htm
    "October found San Antonio under military rule with 1,200 Mexican troops under General Cos' command. When Cos ordered the small community of Gonzales, about fifty miles east of San Antonio, to return a cannon loaned to the town for defense against Indian attack -- rightfully fearing that the citizens might use the cannon against his own troops -- the Gonzales residents refused. "Come and take it!" they taunted, setting off a charge of old chains and scrap iron shot from the mouth of the tiny cannon mounted on ox-cart wheels. Although the only casualty was a Mexican soldier, Gonzales became enshrined in history as the "Lexington of Texas." The Texas revolution was on.
    "December 5th found 200 Texan volunteers commanded by Ben Milam attacking General Cos's troops in San Antonio. For five days, the Siege of Bexar raged with a house to house assault unlike anything the Mexican army had ever before experienced. As brave as any when attacking, the Mexican soldiers were not primed to defend themselves against the fury of Milam's men, who relished fighting as individuals or in packs, like ravished wolves. In the words of Robert Hancock Hunter, whose family was the first of Stephen Austin's colonists to settle within the present limits of Harris County, "...we had about 150 men, & our guns no a count, little dobble barrels shot guns. Some men had rifels....the Mexicans, had fine muskets. We had a bad show for our lives 8 or 10 men to one, a ganst us, but I tell you we pulled threw."
    "The Mexicans were driven back at each advancement from the Texans until General Cos flew the white flag of surrender from the Alamo on December 9th. More than 200 of his men lay dead, and as many more wounded. He signed papers of capitulation which gave the Texans all public property, money, arms, and ammunition in San Antonio, and by Christmas Day, the Mexican army was back across the Rio Grande. To the Texans, who lost but two men, including Ben Milam, the victory seemed cheap and easy.
    "The Siege of Bexar and Cos' surrender brought immediate retaliation from Santa Anna. He whipped together a force of 8,000 men, many of them foreign adventurers from Europe and America. One of his deadliest snipers was an Illinois man named Johnson! Marching at the head of this massive army, Santa Anna, the self-styled "Napoleon of the West," determined to stamp out all opposition and teach the Texans a lesson. The word went out to his generals: "In this war, you understand, there are no prisoners."
    The Battle of the Alamo occurred the following March (1836) and all  of its defenders were massacred after 13 days of siege and assaults on Sunday, March 6th, 1836.  One month later, General Sam Houston and his outnumbered troops soundly thrashed the much greater Mexican troops at the Battle of San Jacinto.  (See interesting account of Susanna Dickinson, who was a survivor of the Texian defeat at the Alamo and whose husband served at the Siege of Bexar.)
http://alamo-de-parras.welkin.org/history/bios/dickenson/dickinson_susannah.html
    On July 7th 1836 (four months after the battle of the Alamo), Mourad enlisted at Beaumont under Captain Ben Harper, who joined ranks with the army under Brigadier General Thomas Jefferson Rusk near San Antonio.  He was discharged from this service on October 7th 1836 at Dimmit's Landing, which was on the west bank of the Lavaca River near its mouth at Lavaca Bay.
    Mourad is listed in both the Name Index to Military Bounty and the Donation Land Grants of Texas (for service between 1835 & 1846), by Thomas Lloyd Miller, Univ. of Texas Press, Austin, 1967.
http://www.mindspring.com/~dmaxey/rep_bd.htm
    On May 11, 1848, Mourad married Jane Cravey in Jefferson county. Jane was born July 3, 1829 in Florida, the daughter of Henry Cravey of South Carolina and Mary Sapp of Georgia.  Mourad and Jane Bumstead had 10 children.  Mourad died May 17, 1887 in Fletcher, Hardin county. His wife, Jane survived him and died July 12, 1912 at their home-place in Fletcher (now Lumberton), Texas.
    In 1908, T.J. Russell, a long-time resident of Jefferson County, wrote that "Murad W. Bumstead lived on the west side of Village Creek, near Cook's ferry".  Later, in the same piece, he wrote "Down on Village creek lived at the old Cook Ferry, Capt. James Chesher; then Murad W. Bumstead on the West side of the creek and near him was Job Foster..."  (Village Creek is a popular stream North of Beaumont, Texas that flows into the Neches River.)

In his pension application (June 1874), he states:
    "I, M.W. Bumstead, resident of the county of Hardin said state being duly sworn upon my oath do say; that I am 63 years of age and a native of Essex County in the State of New Jersey; that I immigrated into Texas from the city and state of New York in 1831 that continuously since, I have resided in the present territory of the county of Hardin, Texas save, and except a residence of about one year in the present territory of Liberty County; that am identically the same person whose application for pension supported I think by the proofs of witneses James Chessher and Adam and William Byerly, the first of Hardin County since deceased and the latter of Jasper County, Has been heretofore forwarded through Messers C.R. Johnson and Co of Austin to the Comptroller's office at the state of Texas.
    That I served in AD 1832 in an expedition under Frank Johnson against Bradburn in command of the Mexican post of Anahuac; that in AD 1835 with a body of men who left here with Henry Millard I went to San Felipe de Austin where we organized into a company where of the said Henry Millard was elected Captain; that thence proceeding with said Company or a number there of to a point about 15 miles below ..... consolidated with the company of Captain Andrew J. Briscoe that all of the last mentioned Company except to the best of my recollection Amos Thames, James Drake (both of whom are now dead) and myself having become dissatisfied left the army then commanded by Stephen F. Austin I think and Thames, Drake and myself attached ourselves to the company commanded by Capt. James Chessher.  Edward Burleson having about that time assumed the command of the forces near San Antonio (in) the place of Austin; that after having participated in the fighting which resulted in the reduction and capitulation of San Antonio, I was on or about December 13th 1835 honorably discharged of said service for which I have since received a bounty of 320 acres and a donation of 620 acres of land from the Republic of Texas.
    Further, that ------ way in 1836 July, I entered into the service of Texas at Beaumont Texas, under Captain Benjamin Harper and proceeding with his company joined the Texas Army under Rusk I believe on the Coletta (?) near San Antonio, and remaining in said service time that now remembered until I was discharged honorably near the mouth of the Lavaca River at a place called I believe Dimmit's Landing, that for .... another bounty of 320 acres of land, my discharges and other evidences of my services aforesaid having been heretofore filed in the Archives of Austin are hereby referred to for greater certainty.
    And I do further solemnly swear that I have never yet received any pension or part there of due me under the act of August 13, 1870 (of the State of Texas) or any ad amendatory or supplementary thereof.
Mourad W. Bumstead
J.B. Langham
Cave Johnson
    This foregoing affidavit was subscribed and sworn to before me by Mourad W. Bumstead who is to me well known on the 29th day of June A.D. 1874 and the witnesses J.B. Langham and Cave Johnson who are credible, also subscribed the same or the same time in my presence to certify which I have unto set my pen and seal of office, this date last written.
        W. Hubert Clk District Court, Jefferson County

Mourad married Jane Cravey May 11, 1848, Jefferson county, Texas, USA. Jane (daughter of Henry Cravey and Mary Sapp) was born Jul 03, 1829, Georgia, USA; died Jul 11, 1912, Hardin county, Texas, USA; was buried , Bumstead Cemetery, East Walton Road, Lumberton, Hardin county, Texas, USA. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Her granddaughter, Jessie Wiess Whittington, said she learned the Bible at her grandmother's knee.
handwritten notes from my grandmother, Jessie Wiess Whittington  ... some garbled
    "Henry O'Cravey or Cravey -- came to Georgia in somewhere about 1790 or before -- he was serving as a slave overseer for a Georgia planter by the name of Sapp.  I do not know his first name, or the exact location of the Sapp plantation.  Could have been near or in what is now Savanna, GA or Atlanta, but I somehow feel that Savannah is the more likely place.  While Henry was so employed as slave overseer, he fell in love with the boss' daughter, Mary Sapp.  They finally eloped together and lived in the woods out of reach of Mary's father, who had certainly not planned for his daughter to marry a penniless immigrant Irishman.  Mr. Sapp, who was very angry, hunted his daughter and her husband for two weeks -- with his Negro body servant riding with him to carry the muzzle loading rifle.  The body servant, when told to load the rifle always spit in the firing pan, so that the rifle would not fire.  Finally Henry O'Cravey and Mary settled in a small home, and she ventured home to get her clothes. Her father does not speak to her at this time.  Later, Papa Sapp decides to go see how Mary is making out.  He found Mary rubbing out her wash at a tub, which slaves had always done for at her father's house, so he goes home and sends eight Negro slaves over to take care of Mary. When Henry came home he took an ox whip and ran the slaves off.  But later he bought slaves of his own.  He made quite a fortune moving across the South buying and selling abandoned homesteads, and renovating and reselling these plantations.  He and his Mary had a large family.  My grandmother, Jane O'Cravey was one of Henry O'Cravey's youngest daughters, born about 1820-26, died 1912 somewhere near that.  There were about six daughters and six or seven sons -- and then Mary died."
    "After that, Henry O'Cravey immigrated across the Mississippi River across Louisiana on their way to East Texas.  On crossing the Mississippi on a ferry, my grandmother said there were two mules carrying the gold on the way to Texas.  By now Henry is getting up in years but, in Texas, he remarries a widow with two children and there are two or three more children born to old Henry and his new wife.  I do not know her name, but one of the half brothers was named Charlton O'Cravey -- so there must have been 16 or more children of this Irishman Henry O'Cravey.  He last settled at a place now called Old Hardin a few miles West of Kountze Texas in Hardin County.  His great reason for remarrying was to get a governess for his young daughters. But this stepmother was not to use any harsh discipline, and he almost sent her away for slapping my grandmother, Jane O'Cravey."

Notes:

They were on the 1860 Hardin county census, p. 338, Concord P.O..
In 1908, T.J. Russell, a long-time resident of Jefferson County, wrote that "Murad W. Bumstead lived on the west side of Village Creek, near Cook's ferry".  Later, in the same piece, he wrote "Down on Village creek lived at the old Cook Ferry, Capt. James Chesher; then Murad W. Bumstead on the West side of the creek and near him was Job Foster".
Byron and Ezra died in a diphtheria epidemic in 1869.
-
1860, TX, Hardin cty, Concord PO, (M653-1296, 338)
June 28, 1860, lines 29-35, HH 67
Morad BUMSTEAD, 49, M, farmer, 830, 290, NJ
Jane BUMSTEAD, 30, F, Geo
Joseph BUMSTEAD, 10, M, Texas
Jacob BUMSTEAD, 8, M, do
Morad BUMSTEAD, 4, M, do
Byron BUMSTEAD, 2, M, do
Ezra BUMSTEAD, 11/12, M, do
-
1870 census, Hardin county, Concord, TX, pct 2; p. 460B, (M593-1589, p.460)
July 8, 1870, HH 130/130
BUMSTEAD, M.W., 59, M, W, Farmer, NJ
BUMSTEAD, Jane, 40, F, W, Keeping House, Georgia
BUMSTEAD, Joseph, 20, M, W, Farm Hand, Texas
BUMSTEAD, Jacob, 18, M, W, Farm Hand, Texas
BUMSTEAD, Morad, 14, M, W, Farm Hand, Texas
BUMSTEAD, Henry, 4, M, W, Texas
BUMSTEAD, Olia, 7, F, W, Texas
BUMSTEAD, Ella, 1, F, W, Texas
-
1880 census, TX, Hardin cty ,e.d. 29 p. 15, (T9-1308,422C)
June 18, 1880, lines 10-22, HH 113/119
Bumstead, M.W., W, M, 69, farmer, NJ, NY, NY
BUMSTEAD, Jane, W, F, 50, wife, keepinghouse, GA, GA, GA
BUMSTEAD, Joseph P, 30, son, farmer, TX, NJ, GA
BUMSTEAD, Henry, 15, son, farmer
BUMSTEAD, Ellen, 10, daughter, at home
BUMSTEAD, Dora, 8, daughter
BUMSTEAD, Mary E, 28, dau-in-law, at home (Mary Johnson, wife of Joseph, above)
BUMSTEAD, Beulah E, 9, g-dau
BUMSTEAD, ?Joseph?, 8, g-son
BUMSTEAD, Cave J, 9, g-son
BUMSTEAD, Olia, 4, g-dau
BUMSTEAD, Margret J, 3, d-dau
BUMSTEAD, Ida G?, ?/12, b. Oct, g-dau
-
lines 23-24, same home, different family HH 113/121
FAIRCHILD, Henry, W, M, 28, lumberman, TX, MS, LA
FAIRCHILD, Olia, 19, wife, keepinghouse, TX, NJ, GA
-
Mourad died in 1887.  In 1900, Jane is living with her daughter, Dora Wiess (dwelling 221, households 229 and 230, 1900 Census Hardin county, Texas, 2nd pct, p. 256B).  Next door is her son Herman.

Other Events:

• Census: Sep 30, 1850, Jasper county, Texas, USA
• Census: Jul 28, 1860, Newton, Jasper county, Texas, USA
• Census: Jul 16, 1870, Jasper county, Texas, USA

Notes:

Captain Napoleon Wiess was born at Port Neches Texas.  In his book "East Texas Mill Towns, etc" Vol II, Dr. W.T. Block, he is said to have been the first white child born in Port Neches.  His parents soon thereafter moved to the family's new home at Wiess' Bluff, where he lived the rest of his life.  He was a pioneer Neches River boatman, owning and operating two Neches River cotton steamboats: the "James L. Graham", the second largest boat of its time ever to go to as far inland as Concord, Hardin county, Texas and the "Albert Gallatin" (no. 2).  Prior to 1840 cotton was primarily shipped by wagon, but it began to increasingly be shipped by boat.
    Capt. Napoleon Wiess was one of the best-known steamboat masters to ply the Neches River, at various times in command of the sternwheelers "Adriance", "J. H. Graham" or the "Albert Gallatin." One record in Texana states that, in 1870, Captain Wiess of the "Gallatin" (an early vessel built at Beaumont) sent word ahead that "he would come and get the cotton" as soon as the river was at flood stage. It added that the "Gallatin" then docked at Boone's Ferry in Tyler county. For two days and nights, a grand ball was held aboard the steamer, while guests from as far away as Woodville and Moscow attended, "to hear the best fiddlers available."
    In January of 1863, he and his brother, William Wiess, both steamboat men on the Sabine River, were involved in the breaking of the Union blockade of Sabine Pass (January 21, 1863).  The steamboats "Josiah Bell" and "Uncle Ben" were armed with cannon and about 200 musket sharpshooters were selected by drawing straws.  Napoleon and William lost the draw so they each paid a soldier who had won the right to participate $10 to take their place. They were then detailed as sharpshooters from Co. A, Spaight's Battalion.
    Below is Napoleon Wiess' letter to his mother while serving in Louisiana in the Civil War.  In the camp were also his brothers, William and Mark Wiess and he mentions his cousins David and Peter Gellatly, sons of his mother's older sister, Nancy "Agnes" Sturrock Gellatly.  It was written from Carion Crow, Louisiana on November 12, 1863.
" Dear mother;
    " I set myself by a little oak fire in the dark to write to you a few lines, I can hardly see so you must do the best you can about reading it ....
    " We are all around this same little fire in good health and enjoying ourselves as well as could be expected for soldiers.
    " We have had one little Battle (Battle of Carion Crow Bay) among all the little fights .... We lost 37 men killed, 60 wounded, 15 prisoners.
    " The Yankees lost 355 killed, and wounded I have no idea.  We exchanged wounded prisoners with them and had 60 more than they had and we took a receipt fore them, we also took 1,244.  Cousin David and Peter was in the fight and came out safe ..... the battleground is about 4 miles long.
    " We also captured two pieces of artillery and a great many small arms.  Some of the boys got ... clothing and a good many horses ...
    " I THINK THEY ARE leaving us as fast as they can, they have ruined this country from Opelouses down about 100 miles of very rich country .... destroyed all fences, burned and tore down a great many houses and took away all the sugar and cotton in their reach.  They also used up a great deal of corne potatose and beefe ... they paid dearly fore it ...
    " I almost forgot how you all look -- and I have not had a scratch of a pen from a Soule since i have been over here ... take care of yourselves and do the best you can...
" Your affectionate son,
"    Napoleon
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" WIESS, NAPOLEON:
    " The records show that napoleon Wiess, surname also borne as Wiess Private, Company A, 11th. Battalion (Speights) Texas Volunteers (Calvary, Artillery and Infantry) Confederate States Army, enlisted at Sabine Pass July 3, 1862, age 23 years.
    " By consolidation of Organizations about November 20, 1864, he became a private of Company A, 21st Regiment, Texas Infantry, Confederate States Army.
    " His name appears on a regimental returns of the Last Names Organization for the month of March 1, 1865, which shows him "Det. service Jan. 24, 1864 Eng."
          " (Signed)
          " E.S. Adams, Major General
          " The Adjutant General
'By S.J.R.
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From "The Neches River Cotton Steamboats:  A Romantic Interlude Of Frontier Days",  by East Texas historian W. T. Block ( http://www.wtblock.com/wtblockjr/neches1.htm ):
    "The fact that Sabine Pass cotton shipments dropped from 20,000 bales in 1860 to 6,000 bales in 1866 reflects the adverse effect of the war on East Texas' major industry. But the Neches River cotton trade revived rapidly nevertheless, if the number of new boats on the river by 1867 is any indicator. Between 1866 and 1872, two Neches River skippers, Captains William and Napoleon Wiess brought three new packets, the "Alamo," the "Adrianne," the "James L. Graham, to the Neches River, and built a fourth boat, the "Albert Gallatin," on the banks of Brake's Bayou at Beaumont.
    "The "Graham" was probably the river's fastest packet of the post-bellum era and soon established a new 4 1/2 hour record between Beaumont and Sabine Pass. Soon after, the Sabine Pass "Beacon" ran an editorial lamenting the fact that Jefferson County had to tolerate "a contemptible pony mail to Beaumont" when much better service by water was available.
    "During the 1870s, an arch rivalry developed between Capt. Napoleon Wiess of the "Graham" and Capt. G.B. Burr of the Sabine River cotton boat, the "Era No. 8."  In May, 1873, the Beaumont "News-Beacon" carried a long account of the racing sternwheelers, and event won handily by the "Graham," which ended as follows:
    'The black smoke rose in perfect clouds, indicating an unrestricted use of pine knots. In the race from Sabine Pass, the "Era" left 56 minutes ahead of the "Graham," but as they passed up the reach below town, the "Era" was only one or 200 yards ahead. We suppose the "Era" will not give up yet, and we will have the pleasure of seeing a little more of the fun ourselves.'
    After the war, in 1866, both Napoleon and his brother, William Wiess, began their careers as steamer masters and owners on the Sabine-Neches waterways.  He may have also co-owned or captained the "Alamo" and the "Adrianne" with his brother William.  Napoleon piloted the second packet to bear the name "Albert Gallatin" up until 1870. J.P. Landers in "Valentine Burch", Texana, III (Summer 1965), pp 109-110 records "...the steamboat "Albert Gallatin", built in Beaumont, with Captain napoleon at the helm, sent word ahead when the river was at flood stage in 1870 that he would come and get the cotton.  The boat docked at Boone's Ferry for two days and a great ball was held for two nights on the upper deck, and people from 20 miles away came -- Woodville to Moscow -- by ox wagon ..."  After 1870, he became master and owner of the "James L. Graham".  His career was cut short in 1872 when he died of pneumonia at 33 years of age. His brother, William Wiess continued until 1875.  (Much of the above came from Mr. W.T. Block's book "Cotton Bales, Keelboats and Sternwheelers: A History of the Sabine River and Trinity River Cotton Trades, 1837-1900".)
    Capt. W.E. Rogers, who married Sophia Kappas, had served in cavalry Co. A, Spaight's Battalion during the civil war.  He sometimes served with Capt. Napoleon Wiess and, after his death, Rogers and two partners purchased the Graham, and he served the next 3 years as captain on that vessel.  (Source: CAPT.  WILLIAM  E.  ROGERS: BEAUMONT  STEAMBOATMAN; by W.  T.  Block)
    An 1869 photo of Capt. Napoleon Wiess appeared in the Beaumont Enterprise, Diamond Jubilee Edition, of November 16, 1955.
    On January 18, 1872, his younger brother, Valentine Wiess, published a column in the Jasper News-Boy.  "The steamer J.L. Graham passed up this morning with heavy freight.  The steamer Laura is now in heavy coming down -- presume she has a full load.  The steamers Tobe Hurt and Era No. 8 arrived at Sabine Pass Saturday, the former with 364 bales of cotton, the latter with 415 bales of cotton, from the Sabine River, River falling here slowly."  Valentine wrote these words just two months before Napoleon was to die of pneumonia.  The article was referenced in the Beaumont Enterprise, Monday, January 26, 1961 (p. 5-B) in an article by Joe Combs entitled "Steamers".

Napoleon married Cynthia Ann Sorrels Jul 20, 1861, Jasper county, Texas, USA. Cynthia was born Aug 15, 1845, Arkansas, USA; died Feb 06, 1891, Texas, USA; was buried , Wiess Cemetery, Wiess Bluff, Jasper county, Texas, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Census: Jul 16, 1870, Jasper county, Texas, USA
• Census: Jun 15, 1880, Jasper county, Texas, USA

Notes:

The Jasper county marriage record lists her surname as "Cynthia SORRELLS".
This researcher believes Cynthia to be the daughter of Green Matthew Sorrels and Rebecca Parks Tollett.  A search for other research to confirm this has been unsuccessful, but the evidence is convincing:
- In 1861, Cynthia Ann Sorrels married Napoleon Bonaparte Wiess in Jasper county, TX.
- In 1870 Jasper cty, TX census, Cynthia's age is given as 24 and her birthplace as Arkansas.
- In 1880 Jasper cty, TX census, she is widowed and her age is 34 and birthplace Arkansas.
Cynthia died in 1891, so the census is all the evidence this researcher has found as to her place of birth.
- Cynthia Ann Sorrels was born 1845 in Arkansas and married Napoleon Wiess in Jasper county, TX in 1861.
--
Proofs that Cynthia is the daughter of Green Mathew Sorrels and Rebecca Tollett:
- Their residence -- near Texas.  Cynthia and her family of Green Mathew Sorrels lived in 1850 near the Texas border at Texarkana.
- Cynthia's name.  No other Cynthia Sorrels (or variant spelling) of the same age and birth place has been found (there is a Cynthia Ann Sorrels born 1840 in Sebastian county, AR which is near Fort Smith and the Texas state line, but this Cynthia was the daughter of James Little Sorrels and married Richard Huckaby and she died in Oklahoma.)
- Cynthia's age and place of birth (see 1850 census reference below where she is 7 years old, b. ca 1843 and ca 1846 for 1870 and 1880 censuses).
- The fact that her father was in Texas by 1846 (though it may have been temporary) and that her mother was permanently in Texas by 1859.
- On the 1850 Washington, Ouachita cty, Arkansas census, Matthew and Rebecca Sorrels have a daughter named Cyntha A. Sorrels, 7 years of age and born in Arkansas.
- On July 1, 1846 Green Mathew Sorrels enlisted in the Mexican War in Washington, Ouachita cty, Arkansas.  The regimental record (in the records of the National Archives) indicates they left Washington, AR on July 17 and reached San Antonio, TX August of that year (1846).
- Matthew died before the 1860 census.  The data says he died in Ouachita cty, AR (which is about 30 miles NE of Texarkana).
- His wife, Cynthia's mother, remarried Andrew Jackson Straley about 1858.
- Rebecca Straley, Cynthia's mother, is in Springville, Wood county, TX in 1860 (about 110 miles SW of Washington, AR), in Clarksville, Red River cty, TX in 1870 (about 50 miles NNE of Springville and a little closer to Washington, AR), in Lampasas cty, TX in 1880 and in Stonewall cty for 1900 census, where she died in 1908.
- All of Rebecca's children by Andrew Straley were born in Texas.
- This proves that Rebecca and her children were in Texas by 1859, the birth date of her daughter Virginia Straley.
Problems:
- Cynthia Sorrels is not found in the 1860 census.  (Rebecca Tollett Sorrels Straley was in Wood county, TX in 1860 and Cynthia's younger siblings, Green, Joshua, David and Marcella, were living with her, but where is Cynthia?  Did she die or marry or is she living with someone else -- she would be 14 to 17?)  Her older sister Elizabeth married Henry Lax in 1856.  They were living in Shreveport, LA which is near where Cynthia would marry Napoleon Wiess the next year.  There is an S.H. Sorrels, Female, 17, seamstress, living with Henry Lax and Elizabeth -- could this be Cynthia? ... she is the right age and there is no Sorrels sibling of Elizabeth who has the initials S.H..)


Birth:
Her birth date computed from her gravestone: "Died Feb. 6, 1891, Aged 45 yrs, 5 mos & 22 d's.".

Notes:

Napoleon apparently died without a will and all fiscal and probate papers relating to the Wiess brothers "were removed at some time in the past and were never returned".  His wife and children got nothing from his death, the description and disposition of his property, if any, is unknown.  One of the riverboats he owned, the "James L. Graham", was in service for several years after that until it blew near Redfish Reef in Galveston bay in May of 1876.  In a lawsuit filed by Cynthia A. Wiess, et al against Margaret Sturrock Wiess, she alleged that 160 acres taken over by Margaret were Napoleon's and hers as his widow.
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1870 census, TX, Jasper county, sub 23, p 29; 497, July 16
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213/214
WIESS, Margaret, 56, F, W, Keeping House, Scotland
WIESS, Valentine, 24, M, W, Dry goods merchant, Texas
WIESS, Mary E., 19, F, W, Texas
WIESS, Massena, 21, M, W, Dry goods Merchant, Texas
WIESS, Elizabeth E., 19, F, W, Texas
WIESS, Ann E., 18, F, B, Domestic Servant, Texas
Burks, James, 18, M, W, Farm Laborer, North Carolina
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216/217
WIESS, Joseph, 27, M, W, North Carolina
WIESS, Catherine, 21, F, W, Texas
WIESS, Matilda, 6, F,, W, Texas
WIESS, Laura, 5, F, W, Texas
WIESS, Milton, 4, M, W, Texas
WIESS, Kittie, 2/12, F, W, Texas, b. April, 1870
WIESS, Julius, 2/12, M, W, Texas, b. April, 1870
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219/220
WIESS, Napoleon, 31, M, W, Steam Boat Captain, $400 property, $2000 personal, Texas
WIESS, Cynthia, 24, F, W, Keeping House, Arkansas
WIESS, William S., 8, M, W, Texas
WIESS, Edward S., 6, M, W, Texas
WIESS, Martha A., 4, F, W, Texas
WIESS, Margaret, 2, F, W, Texas
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1880 census, Jasper county, Texas, ed 39, pct 4, (T9-1313, 12), p. 164B
June 15, 1880, HH 99/99
WIESS, Cynthia A., W, F, 34, widowed, keeping house, AR, AR, AR
WIESS, William S., W, M, 17, son, mail carrier, TX, TX, AR
WIESS, Margarett I, W, F, 11, daughter, 1, at home, TX, TX, AR
WIESS, Walter, W, M, 5, son, single, TX, TX, AR
PICKEL, Thomas R, W, M, 30, boarder, single, rafting timber, GA, NC, GA
McVAY, Isabele, W, F, 30, boarder, widowed, TX, NC, Ireland
McVAY, Robert L, W, M, 9, boarder, TX, Ireland, TX
McVAY, Mary E, W, F, 3, boarder, TX, Ireland, TX
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(There is no indication of the marital status of William -- he married Amy Sims circa 1880, but she is not living with them if they're married at the time of the census.)
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lines 38-41; dwelling/household 100/100
???, Joe, B, M, 35, farmer, NC, NC, ??
???, Lossia(?), B, F, 40, wife, keeping house, Gia, Gia, Gia
SAUNDERS, Matilda, B, F, 18, Ward, at home, TX, NC, MS
SAUNDERS, Lossia, B, F, 15, ward, at home, TX, NC, MS
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lines 42-44; dwelling/household 101/101
WIESS, Margaret, W, F, 65, widowed, merchant, Scotland, Scotland, Scotland
COFFIN, Pauline, W, F, 40, daughter, widowed, keeping house, TX, Poland, Scotland
SAUNDERS, James W, W, M, 40, single, boarder, clerk in store, FL, GA, GA
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lines 45-47; dwelling/household 102/102
PIERCE, Aaron, W, M, 65, widowed, farmer, MS, TN, TN
PIERCE, Thomas, W, M, 7, son, TX, MS, IL
MILLER, John N, W, M, 46, working in farm, Via, Via, Via
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lines 48-50; dwelling/household 103/103
FIELDER, Em??? R, W, M, 45, works in timber ???, AL, AL, GA
FIELDER, Martha A.R., W, F, 18, wife, keeping house, LA, AL, AL
FIELDER, Early P, W, M, 2, son, TX, AL, LA
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