The Diary of Mary Ann Shrock Burns

Note: As part of Women's History Month, this blog post honors Mary Ann Shrock Burns as one of America's many women settlers who lived in adverse conditions and during difficult times that included dangerous cross country moves, illness, death, and war. 

As many family history researchers will attest, any document created by an ancestor and preserved over time, is a valuable find.  This fact is especially true when the document is a handwritten diary that contains very personal family history that spans over fifty years. The subject of this blog post today, the “Religious Diary of Mrs. Mary Ann (Shrock) Burns,” is all that and more.  For at least two Attala and Madison County families, Burns and Shrock, it is indeed, a priceless family treasure. 

I first became aware of the diary when a Burns family descendant, searching online for  family information in Attala County, Mississippi, stumbled upon this blog and contacted me.  After we had exchanged several emails and various bits of family history information, my contact, an Oklahoma resident, told me about the diary and offered to send me a copy of its transcription.  Based on conversations with my contact, the original diary was found among Mary Ann's possessions. Later, the diary was transcribed and was donated by one of Mary Ann's granddaughters to a museum near where her grandmother died. Although I am not related to the Shrock family or to the Burns family, at least as far as I know, some of my own ancestors lived for decades in Attala County, Mississippi, in close proximity to members of the Schrock family. And it was for that reason, as well as the fact that I write about Mississippi genealogy, that I was pleased when my contact offered to mail a copy of the transcription to me. Our agreement was that I would read the diary, write a blog post about its contents, and donate it to the Attala County Library in Kosciusko, Mississippi. My contact asked only that I honor the museum's request that the transcription itself would not be scanned and made available on the internet. The copy in my temporary possession is a reproduction of the diary’s transcription, part of the Hildegard & Richard Wheeler Collection, contained within the holdings of the E. A. Arnim Archives & Museum in Flatonia, Texas. It was there, in Fayette County, Texas, that Mary Ann Shrock Burns, her husband, William Dennis Burns, and other family members would later settle, where they died, and where they are also buried.

Since I am one of "those people" who often look first through the index of a book, and on occasion, read a few pages near the end, I thumbed through the transcription of the diary to see what I could find. And in this case, I was pleased to find vital information about the Shrock family recorded at the end of the diary. Dates and places of births, as well as dates of marriages and dates and locations of deaths, helped me to better understand names and events contained within the diary's contents. I found that Mary Ann Schrock was born on December 28, 1812, the daughter of Henry and Mary Shrock, and the third oldest of seven daughters and one son born to that couple. Her oldest sister, Elizabeth, was born on March 3, 1809, and Catherine Houseman Shrock, the next oldest of her sisters, was born on March 13, 1811. Grace Shrock, almost two years younger than Mary Ann, was born on November 26, 1814. Two younger sisters, Sarah Shrock, born on May 6, 1817, and Nancy Shrock, who was born on August 17, 1819, completed the list of Shrock daughters.  Mary Ann's only brother was Joseph Kilpatrick Shrock, born about 1821.

When Mary Ann Shrock began to keep her diary on March 22, 1837, she did so with the intention that she had that day “covenanted afresh to the Lord’s” and desired to “be more devoted to his service.”  According to information recorded at the back of the diary, by early 1837, Miss Mary Ann Shrock was an unmarried 25 year old woman who had already experienced enough grief for several lifetimes. On July 4, 1824, she had lost her mother to "bilious fever," and shortly after her mother's death, her sister, Martha Jane Shrock, died in October of 1827.  Tragedy soon struck the Shrock family three more times, when her sister Gracie died, also from bilious fever, when she was only 17 years old, Catherine H. Shrock died at age 18, and her youngest sister, Sarah, died at age 19. Mary Ann's diary states her father remained a widower for eight years before he married for a second time.  According to details included in a diary entry dated November 4, 1852, Henry Shrock "sold out" in South Carolina and in the spring of 1834, moved to an area of Madison County, Mississippi, known as Camden. Other former residents of Camden, South Carolina would call Camden, Mississippi "home," including an early Mississippi Governor, William McWillie, and Chapman Levy, the latter of whom would later serve in Mississippi's legislature. 

In an early diary entry dated August 18, 1838, Mary Ann Shrock's words convey homesickness and sadness as she wrote of being “deprived of some precious friends by death, being removed several hundred miles from the place of my nativity......cast among strangers where there appears to be but little religious.” Almost a year later, in an entry written from Mount Olive and dated July 12, 1839, she seemed joyful in spirit when she wrote that she had “entered into a matrimonial conversion..,” and was now filling “the important station of wife and mother, my dear companion having five children before our marriage.” She added that her step-children “appear fond of me and I love them dearly, and am well pleased with my new home, (and) think I have one of the best of husbands.”  According to information that appears on the last pages of the transcription, Mary Ann Shrock married William Dennis Burns on May 15, 1839. At the time of their marriage, Mary would have been 26 years old and Dennis, 45.

Although Mary Ann's entries were somewhat infrequent after her marriage, at least for the first several years, she continued to write about her family and her strong faith in God. That faith would be severely tested shortly after her marriage, when, on December 2, 1839, Mary Ann's oldest step-son “killed himself accidentally with a gun.....in the 21st year of his age."  Mary’s quiet observation in the diary entry was “Mysterious are the ways of providence," and the impact of the incident apparently caused her to write of her concern to “to live every day as if it were her last.” According to her diary entry dated July 31, 1842, Mary Ann had given birth to two sons since her marriage in 1839 to Dennis Burns, and according to the account, their youngest son was just twelve months old.  In the same entry, Mary Ann notes that she and Dennis have four older daughters who also live at home.

Over the next forty-plus years, Mary Ann Shrock Burns made time to include details in her diary that would chronicle the birth of more children, tell about the death of a baby girl, describe family illnesses, including information about her own “various trials and afflictions,” and would tell about several family moves. In an entry dated November 30, 1856, Mary Ann describes the loss of her baby daughter, sadly writing "Gave birth to an infant, a daughter, that never opened its eyes to behold the sad earth made its early escape to the paradise of God." Various diary entries provided brief insights into the family's moves from Madison County to Forest Hill, to two separate places in Mount Olive, and to Steam Mill, in Attala County, Mississippi, the latter in early 1855. During the time she lived near Steam Mill, Mary Ann expressed feelings of concern when she wrote in her diary of being "shut out from society" and "deprived of church privileges." She wrote of her longing to "see the work of God received in this neighborhood," and the wish that "the time (would) soon come when we shall see the wilderness rejoice and the desert blossom as a rose." In an entry dated April 20, 1858, Mary prays for strength as she writes that her "dear father (Henry Shrock) has closed his eyes in death. He passed away the 11th, .......after suffering for some months, both bodily and mentally."

The next year, on November 2, 1859, Mary Ann writes that she has "left my home in Attala County, Mississippi, Oct. 25th. Have been on the road eight days, am now on the west bank of the great Miss. river, have had a pleasant time, excepting the dust. Passed Oakland College this morning.  visited the burying ground before sun rise saw the tombs of some who had come from the far east to seek their fortunes in the south.  We go to the far west."  Mary Ann's next diary entry is dated May 11, 1861, when she writes "We have again changed our home, are now living in Fayette Co. (TX)."

Over the next several years, according to her diary entries, Mary Ann would see three sons go off to fight in the Civil War. On August 8, 1863, she writes that one of the sons, Billie "....reached home two days ago in tottering health, after being shut up in Vicksburg 48 days living on half rations and then walking one hundred miles home.  Nothing short of the power and goodness of God could have brought him safe through."  A subsequent entry on November 8, 1863, states "My dear Billie, after remaining with us two months has again been called out in defense of his country, to be again exposed to the evils of camp life." The entry includes a prayer that he will be preserved from harm. On May 8, 1864, Mary Ann states she is "now called to give up my Joseph to go in defense of our country, which is a hard trial as he is feeble in health." And she again prays for the well-being of yet another son gone off to war. Mary Ann's prayers would be answered, according to a diary entry on May 28, 1865, when she fervently wrote "My three sons have returned home in safety....."

Although three of Mary Ann's sons lived through the Civil War, another son died on June 4, 1862. According to a diary entry made on June 4, 1878, Mary Ann lamented the sixteenth anniversary of the death of her son, Henry, who "was buried in a distant land, in a soldier's burying ground.....O, who will take care of mother now."

Almost three years later, on May 6, 1868, Mary Ann writes "Oh, what scenes of sorrow and affliction have I passed through since my last entry. My dear husband after twelve days of great suffering closed his eyes in death on.....3rd of May.....O, how dreary does the world appear to me now." On January 3, 1869, Mary would write "He (Dennis) was a good man, and a kind husband and father." And during the next decade, she would continue to mourn the loss of her beloved husband in diary entries written on anniversaries of his birth and of his death. According to information contained in one of those entries, William Dennis Burns had been born in 1794.

Mary Ann Shrock Burns, a woman of intense courage, great faith, and a sincere belief in an eternal future, continued to live in Fayette County, Texas, near living loved ones, until her death on September 10, 1887.  She is buried near her husband in Pine Springs Cemetery, near Flatonia, Texas.  

Netherland Family in Southwest Mississippi Territory - Early 1800s

An early census of the Mississippi Territory indicates James, Joseph, Levi, and William Netherland (Jr.) were already residents of the southwest area of what later became the State of Mississippi.  Most Netherland researchers believe the four men were brothers, having been born in Richmond County, Georgia to William Netherland (Sr.) and Rachel Fenner Netherland. According to the census, James was the head of a household in Wilkinson County, while the other three men were enumerated in Lawrence County. In 1816, a census taken in Wilkinson County validates that James continued to be a resident there, and in 1816, a census of Lawrence County confirmed that William, Joseph, and Levi were still residing in that county. In an earlier post I included the names of the ten children born to William Netherland (Sr.) and Rachel Fenner Netherland, my fourth great-grandparents. I am descended from their son, John Patrick Netherland and his first wife, Elizabeth Jane Smith. Their son, William Bailey Netherland, was my maternal great-grandfather.  I invite you to follow me here for future posts about several Netherland families as they migrated from Mississippi into Louisiana and later to Texas.


References: Missisippi State and Territorial Census Records, 1792 - 1866, accessed online via ancestry.com on September 8, 2010

A New Fenner Cousin

Although my Fenner family research is still in the very early stages, I have already found a new cousin! Actually, this isn't entirely correct - - my new cousin found me!  When I opened my inbox today, I discovered an email from another Fenner researcher I had discovered online and had contacted via email several days ago. The Fenner family member included a phone number, so I called him and we talked earlier today. While my family line descends from Rachel Fenner, my new cousin's line descends from Rachel's brother, William.

According to my contact, William Fenner, the elder, died around about 1777 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Later, William's son, also named William, along with other members of the Fenner family, used the river system to migrate from Georgia, where they had settled after the Revolutionary War, to the Mississippi Territory. Allegedly, the group arrived in the Mississippi Territory about 1790, settling in what is now Wilkinson County, Mississippi.

Family history indicates that William Fenner and his wife, Mercy Ogden, migrated further west to Louisiana, where they settled in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana and raised a family of twelve children. In Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, the Fenner name became a prominent one, with Fenner Road named for family members who surveyed the area, and Fenner's Landing named for members of this family who operated a ferry across the Ouachita River.

My contact recalled family information that says William died in Avoyelles Parish, en route from St. Landry Parish to his home near Monroe, while Mercy's death occurred several years later in Ouachita Parish.

Around 1850, many of William Fenner's descendants migrated to Lavaca County, Texas, where my new cousin's family has deep roots. He and I plan to talk again tomorrow to continue sharing more of our families' histories, so stay tuned for more Fenner posts.

Like most stories, this one has a moral:  The power of the Internet has never been stronger, the world is constantly growing smaller, and genealogy research has never been better! 

"Gone to Texas" - Migration from Mississippi During the 1800s

According to the local histories of some of Mississippi's counties, a large number of residents pulled up what was left of their roots after the Civil War and left the state for Texas. Others had already made the move before the onset of the war. Often, groups that migrated to Texas included extended families, and sometimes the entire population of a community traveled "en masse." One of the counties hardest hit with this type of movement was Carroll County, where signs were left on abandoned houses stating "Gone to Texas." Often, in lieu of a sign, the letters "G.T.T." were carved on the door, a fencepost, or on the trunk of a tree in the yard. One particular area of Carroll County, Mississippi lost such a large number of its residents that it became known "Little Texas."

Carroll County was not the only area of Mississippi that experienced this mass migration to Texas, as evidenced by information posted on a blog entitled authored by Vickie Pounders Everhart. Vickie, a Native Texan, is a descendant of a family whose ancestors moved to Texas from Oktibbeha County, Mississippi around 1869. The blog includes the results of Vickie's research about these Mississippi ancestors who settled near what became the town of Burleson, Texas, now a bustling suburb off I-35 about 15 miles south of Fort Worth. I encourage you to visit Vickie's beautiful and informative blog, "Be-Not-Forgot," to learn more about this Mississippi-Texas connection. Self-described as the "keeper" of her family's history, Vickie is not only a historian and a blogger, she is also the administrator of a MyFamily.com website name "Us Mississippians," developed as a gathering spot to "collect and share" information from descendants of those who migrated from Oktibbeha County, Mississippi in 1869.

In the summer of 2000, Vickie wrote to the Lee County (Texas) Historical Commission advising the group of the existence of her website and the responses she had received from descendants of the Mississippi group who now live throughout the nation. In her letter, Vickie also offered information about an oral account by her great-grandmother, Mollie West Nettles, to her granddaughter, Ruby Nettles Vance, of Lexington, Lee County, Texas, about life in Mississippi during the Civil War. The following information was originally published in the April 19, 1979 edition of The Giddings Times News in Lee Co., Texas. The article was written by Ruby Vance, nee Nettles, of Lexington, Lee County, Texas, and the publication date was timed to coincide with that year's annual Lexington Homecoming:

"Miss Ruby is a granddaughter of Mollie, the original narrator of this family saga. If Miss Ruby and/or y'all prefer to use her 1979 article as she originally wrote it, then just ignore parts 1, 2 and 3 from me, and I'll send you an Alternate Nettles-West Story for Lee County History. In introducing her little Grandmother's story one afternoon in the summer of 1932, this writer visited her aging grandmother for the purpose of taking notes on some of the Civil War stories she had heard her tell all her life. We hope in sharing these with you that many of you will do likewise. . . .' There are an inestimable number of persons with Lee County connections who descend from Civil War-era residents of Oktibbeha Co., Mississippi. Andy Monroe, descendant of Cecelia Parker Sikes, nee Perry, has observed that many of the folks on the 1850 Oktibbeha County census who later wound up in Texas, were earlier in North Carolina."

Part One of Mollie's story tells of her childhood memories of life in and around Oktibbeha County during that time period. Vickie's entire letter to the Lee County Historical Commission can be read on her "Gone to Texas" website.

Some of my own Porter relatives, Elizabeth Jane Allen Porter, the widow of my great-great grandfather, James M. Porter of Attala County, and the children born during this second marriage, also moved to Texas after her husband died. Interestingly, this family settled near Cleburne, Texas, in Johnson County. Allegedly, Elizabeth had relatives who already lived near Cleburne, which is barely a dozen miles away from where Vickie's ancestors from Oktibbeha County had already settled. According to my own research, the descendants of the children born during James M. Porter's second marriage multiplied in number, and many of them still reside in places throughout the State of Texas.

T. Carlton Billups IV - April 18, 1915 - April 19, 2009

Mississippians who are old enough to remember pumping gasoline at Billups gas stations may be interested to know that T. Carlton Billups IV, an independent oil operator in Mississippi and Texas, died on April 22, 2009, at the age of 94.

The obituary reprinted here was published in the Dallas Morning News on April 22, 2009. The photograph is a reprint from an abbreviated version of the notice published on the same date in the Tyler (TX) Morning Telegraph.

"T. Carleton Billups IV died peacefully on April 19, 2009 in Dallas, Texas. He was ninety- four years old. Graveside services will be at Friendship Cemetery in Columbus, Mississippi on May 5, 2009 at 1:30 PM with The Very Reverend James F. Carlyle of St. Paul's Episcopal Church officiating. Mr. Billups was born in Columbus, Mississippi, April 18, 1915 to Thomas Carleton and Lenore Hardy Billups. After attending Packard Business School in New York, he had a seat in 1934 on the foreign exchange desk of Termini and Company at 30 Wall Street. He lived in Manhattan with his aunt and uncle, Columbus natives Dr. John D. Richards and Marcella Billups Richards. Dr. Richards taught him the game of polo, and in the years before World War II he enjoyed the sport along the eastern seaboard during one of the game's historic periods. At the onset of World War II, he joined the United States Air Force and served as an instructor pilot in Greenville, South Carolina. He taught student pilots to fly B-25s and was the only pilot at the base to hold a green instrument card. In 1944 his squadron delivered the first A-26 fighter bombers to Belgium via Puerto Rico, Brazil, the Ascension Islands and Africa. Stationed in France and Belgium he flew seven combat missions with the 9th Air Force, 391st Bombardment Group, 575th Squadron. In 1943 he married Betty Wilder of Tyler, Texas and in 1945 joined his father-in-law, Hugh J. Wilder, in the oil business. He enjoyed a long and distinguished career as an independent oil operator in Texas and Mississippi. He was instrumental in establishing the Norphlet as a productive formation in Mississippi and remained active in the industry until his death. He lived in Tyler, Texas until 1985 when he and his wife moved to Columbus, Mississippi where they lived on a plantation of his childhood. They moved to Dallas, Texas in 2007. He is survived by his wife of sixty-five years, Betty Wilder Billups; son, Thomas Carleton Billups V and wife Debra Huchel Billups of Artesia, Mississippi; daughter, Susan Billups Underwood and husband Dr. Ronald Howell Underwood of Dallas; granddaughters, Anna Underwood Small and husband Dr. Andrew Buchanan Small IV of Dallas, Catherine Evan Underwood of Dallas, and Jacqueline Cameron Billups of Washington D.C.; greatgranddaughters, Annabelle Carleton Small and Sarah Margaret Small of Dallas; sister Ida Billups Ward of Columbus, Mississippi; and nephew Rufus Alexander Ward of West Point, Mississippi. If desired, memorials may be made to the charity of one's choice."