Searching for Ragland Ancestors

Someone once told me that if we trace our family tree back as far as the beginning of time, each of us is related to 1, 011,001 other individuals. Although this is a fascinating story, the number is not an even one, and I simply don't understand the math. But you will have to agree, it certainly explains why a genealogist's search is never complete.


Recently, I began a serious search for my Ragland ancestors. When I say "serious" it means that I have searched before, several times before, in fact, but each time I ran up against those so-called "brick walls." This time, I hope to be more resourceful, more productive, and end up with several Ragland family members that I can add to my tree.

One of the first bits of genealogical data that I discovered when I began to research my family history was that Edward Tillman Branch's wife was named Winiford Ragland. Edward and Winiford were my fourth great-grandparents. Shortly after I found Winiford's name, I searched Mississippi marriage records for the date of her marriage to Edward Branch. According to Hinds County, Mississippi marriage records, Edward and Winiford were married in 1830, when Winiford was barely 18 years old. Born in 1798 in Virginia, Edward was almost 15 years older than his bride.

According to the 1850 U. S. Census taken in Attala County, Mississippi, "Winney" Ragland was born in "LA," but ten years later, her birthplace was shown as "Mississippi." Further research at that time was fruitless, and I was unable to determine neither Winiford Ragland Branch's place of birth nor the names of her parents. I put the information aside, vowing to continue the effort when time allowed.

Later, I was fortunate enough to locate Edward's records of his service in the War of 1812, and to obtain photocopies of the documents from the National Archives. Based on affidavits that Edward submitted in connection with Edward's application for a pension, I found names of some Ragland family members. I put those documents aside for later reference and more research.

Sometime later, while examining deed records for the mid-1800s in Attala County, Mississippi, I accidentally found that Winney Ragland Branch's father may be Arthur S. Ragland. Ironically, Arthur is a name that has been passed on to male Branch family members for several generations now, beginning with one of the sons born to Winney and Edward, Joseph Arthur Branch, my third great-grandfather, and to one of my own brothers. At this point, I knew I was on the right path. But I didn't follow-up. There were other ancestors whose information qualified as "low hanging fruit," and I followed those research paths, instead.

Today, I made a promise to myself that I will complete the Ragland family research that has been started for so long. And I began with a search of Mississippi Land Patents Database. What I discovered was that almost 400 acres of Attala County lands were transferred to Arthur S. Ragland on February 27, 1841. These lands were described as the following:

02/27/1841, 158.88 acres in Section 17, T12N, R5E
02/27/1841, 79.44 acres in Section 17, T12N, R5E
02/27/1841, 159.4 acres in Section 8, T12N, R5E
Now I know that Arthur S. Ragland lived in or near Attala County in 1841, and tomorrow, I plan to begin a search of census records. In a few days, with some diligence and hopefully, some good luck, I may know the name of Arthur S. Ragland's wife, and the name of my fifth great-grandmother.

Smile For The Camera, 11th Edition - My Bubba and Me

The word prompt for the 11th Edition of Smile For The Camera at

Shades of the Departed is Brothers & Sisters.

My submission here is a photograph of my brother, James, and me. I called him "Bubba" until he was old enough to be embarrassed by the nickname and shortened it to "Bub" after we started school. Fortunately, it never caught on with his friends, who called him James, Jimmy, or Jim. The photograph was made on Easter Sunday morning when he was 4 1/2 years old, and I was almost 6, in front of the fence that surrounded our front yard where we lived in the Mississippi Delta. My paternal grandmother was the photographer, and she used a Brownie camera that I recall from my childhood. Since we grew up on a working farm and spent many hours playing outside, I am certain that our grandmother enjoyed snapping a picture of us when we were "all cleaned up." I can still hear her say to me "o oui" when I got "all dressed up," meaning " O yes - you look so pretty." My mother, a talented seamstress, made almost all the clothes we wore during our early childhood, and the white organdy dress and petticoat that I am wearing, as well as my brother's dress shorts and white shirt, were most certainly products of her handiwork. Unfortunately, our younger brother, who was still a toddler, was not included in this picture.

Froggie's Friday Book Review

Last week here I reviewed Gena Ayers Walls' book, "The Netherland Leatherlin Legacy and Allied Families Crane and Walls." When I opened my email a couple of days ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see an email from Gena, advising me that she had stumbled upon my blog and thanking me for reviewing her book. Also, Gena mentioned that she still has a number of books that are available for purchase. The cost of the Netherland book that contains 175 pages of documents and photographs and mentions over 10,000 names, is $65, with shipping and handling included.

From Gena's email I learned that she has now published a second family history book, entitled "Franklin Folks, Descendants of Job and Hannah Wheeler Franklin." Gena's new book chronicles this large family of Habersham, Georgia, beginning with Job and Hannah and their seven children, Nancy, Jeremiah Richard Warren, Wesley, Thomas Alfred, Jonathan Mitchell, Sarah Jane and Moses. According to Gena, Job and Hannah Franklin's seven children produced a total of 54 grandchildren, and today these descendants have familial links with almost everyone in Habersham County, Georgia. Published by Gateway Press, a division of the Genealogical Publishing Company of Baltimore, the 600 page book is 8.5 x 11 inches, hardbound, and contains 280 pages of photographs and evidentiary documentation.

The index included in "Franklin Folks" is a handy reference itself, since it contains over 10,000 names that represent approximately 1150 families. Among the surnames in the book's index are Allen, Adams, Barron, Belew, Benefield, Brown, Burrell, Carter, Church, Davis, Dawkins, Dodd, Dover, Edmonds, Fry, Garrett, Henderson, Ivester, Loudermilk, Rudeseal, Shirley and Shore families. "Franklin Folks," like the Netherland family book, can be purchased directly from Gena Ayers Walls for $55.00 plus $5.00 shipping and handling.

Gena's books, comprehensive and well-documented with copies of photographs and actual family records, are indeed finds for family researchers everywhere. If you have ties to Crane, Walls, Leatherlin/Neatherlin/Netherland, families, or to the Franklin family of Habersham, Georgia, these two books are must-haves.

To order a copy of either of these books by Gena Ayers Walls, please contact Gena by email at HFRsearch@aol.com, or by snail mail at: Gena Walls, 7418 Swanson Drive, Richmond, Texas 77469.

Wordless Wednesday

Three Generations and the Dog

The Battle of the Bottle

August 6, 1966 was an infamous day in Greenville, Mississippi, as it was in the State of Mississippi. As the historic marker pictured above states, the "Jigger and Jug," owned by the Azar Brothers, became the first legal liquor store in the state. Still in business today, the store is advertised in McRae's Business Directory as a "specialty" retail store that sells liquor.

It is difficult for many people my age to remember that manufacturing and selling liquor was illegal in Mississippi for over half a century. But the fact that liquor was not legal in Mississippi did not prevent those who wanted to buy a "bottle" from making a trip across the Mississippi River Bridge to a liquor store in Louisiana or from buying from local sources known as "bootleggers."

Throughout the prohibition years, local law enforcement officers and political and religious leaders alike waged very public wars against the sale of alcohol while often looking the other way when dealing with those who were selling it. Non-drinking private citizens, some with both money and influence, often took up the controversial cause. One of those private citizens was Hazel Brannon Smith, a newspaper editor who owned the Lexington (MS) Advertiser. Mrs. Smith's frank and revealing editorials in the 1940's eventually led to the arrests of a number of Holmes County bootleggers.

The illegal sale of liquor, however, continued until the law was changed in the mid-sixties. When the new local option law became effective on July 1, 1966, Mississippi entered a new era: it became the last state to end prohibition.

Dances with Daffodils

"For oft when on my couch I lie,
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils."
- William Wordsworth


With snow blanketing many parts of the country last weekend, my thoughts have turned to spring again. And it is definitely encouraging that instead of having snow today, we are seeing a few more signs that spring is truly on its way. Spring to me means new life, flowers, fresh-smelling new green grass, birds, baby animals, and Easter - life's simple things. It is a joy to watch the palette of colorful flowers unfold around me, and to see the lovely wispy blossoms appear almost overnight on flowering pear, peach, and plum trees is a delight. Just this morning, I saw another lovely sight, more confirmation that winter is gone for another year. A small flock of migrating goldfinches were feeding on their delicacy, black Niger seed, at the yellow feeder outside the breakfast room window.

Maybe tomorrow my tulips will be blooming.

Names, Places, and Most Wanted Faces

On February 20th, an article posted by Craig Manson on GeneaBlogie describes a way for geneabloggers to enlist the help of readers in locating difficult to find ancestors. The idea is to publicize surnames and locales in the hope that others will have some information about these same people. Craig's suggestion sounds like a good one, so here is my list:

Surnames and Locales:

ATWOOD: Mississippi (Attala, Carroll, Madison Counties)
BALDRIDGE: Mississippi (Carroll, Madison, and Leflore Counties)
BRANCH: Mississippi (Attala, Holmes, and Madison Counties)
COGGINS: Mississippi (Holmes and Madison Counties)
GARRARD: Louisiana (Parish Unk) Mississippi (Holmes County)
GIBSON: Mississippi (Calhoun, Carroll, Monroe Counties)
JEFFRIES: Mississippi (Adams, Washington, Madison, Attala Counties)
MARBLE: Mississippi (Carroll, Madison, and Montgomery Counties)
MERIWETHER: Mississippi (Calhoun and Carroll Counties)
NETHERLAND: Mississippi (Amite and Holmes County)
PETTUS: Mississippi (Attala, Holmes, Lafayette Counties)
PINKSTON: Mississippi (Attala and Madison Counties)
PORTER: Mississippi (Attala, Chickasaw and Holmes Counties)
RAGLAND: Mississippi (Attala, Leake, Madison, Montgomery Counties)
THOMAS: Mississippi (Attala, Holmes Counties)
TRIGLETH: Mississippi (Holmes County)
WILLIAMS: Alabama (Dallas County) Mississippi (Monroe County)

MOST WANTED ANCESTORS: Parents of John P. Gibson, b. 1799 in South Carolina; Parents of Margaret J. Williams, b. circa 1820 in Alabama; Parents of Wilds Meriwether, b. circa 1870 (state unk,) died circa 1930, possibly KY)