Echoes of My Nola Past

I previously did a post with all my Ancestors Surnames that I knew about up until this point.

I have some more information that I want to share.

Looks like my Robertson Line used two other Surnames: Robinson and Roberson.

I knew about the Roberson Surname because on the 1870 Census the Family was listed as Roberson, but by 1880 and beyond it was Robertson.

Now on the 1870 Census there was a Charity Roberson that was listed as a daughter and she was age 10. Never thought anything of it, just thought Mandy started having children a little early. By 1880 Charity had moved on and married Edmund Livingston. Charity and Edmund had seven children: Frank, Aurela, Emanuel, Mary, Ella, Hattie, and John.

Frank married Ida and had 6 children: Rosie, Artis, Isie, Frank, James E, and Cora E.

Ida passed away sometime between 1910 and 1920. Frank then married my Great Grandmother Amanda and had a son: Amos Livingston.

Not really sure what happened to Amos, just asked my Mom and she said “No one ever mentioned Amos”. Her Mom or Uncle Joe never mentioned him. What happened to Amos?

Frank Livingston passed away January 26, 1919. I checked his death record on Family Search.org. His father was listed as: Edmund Livingston and his mother was listed as: Charity Jackson.

Jackson, where did this Surname come from? If my Great Grandmother Amanda was the Informant for Frank, she would have known Frank’s Mom Surname since they grew up in the same household maybe.

Was Charity kin to Ben or Mandy or was she just someone that they took care of? Who knows I know I have to find this out since the Ancestors guided me here.

For the rest of the Family I found and obtained Death Certificates for:

Minerva Roberson Lewis: who was married to J D Lewis(Nickname was Babe). Babe was connected to the Longs. Minerva passed away March 08, 1940. Babe was the Informant for her death and her Mother and Father was listed as Amanda Roberson and Ben Roberson both from GA. Minerva and Babe had one son named Son and he was Mentally Challenged.

Reverend Cornealous Robinson: son of Ben and Mandy. Cornealous passed a way July 24, 1943 and his wife Angeline was his Informant.

Babe Roberson: daughter of Ben and Mandy. Babe passed away October 12, 1954. She was listed as a widow and no information on a husband or her parents was listed on her Death Certificate.

Amanda Bryan Roberson/Robertson: My Great Great Grandmother herself. Mandy passed away March 19, 1926. Was able to obtain her Death Certificate from the information obtained from Minerva’s Death Certificate. She was listed as Roberson not Robertson and that is  why I was unable to find a Death Record for her. She died from Influenza and she suffered from it for at least a month or so.

Looks like Babe was buried at New Zion Cemetery in Minden and no burial information for Mandy, but looks like she passed away in a Hospital somewhere in Minden(rural).

I am slowly but surely putting some puzzle pieces together, but each one leads somewhere else and where ever these pieces lead me to I’m going to put my Tree together one piece at a time!

Source cited: Louisiana Secretary of State, Family Search.org, Cousin Eddie McMurray(Sam Long’s Nephew), and Cousin Clarene Long(Sam Long’s Granddaughter)

                                May 1938-February 04, 2010

Arlene(sitting on the left) is my moms first cousin(her dad was Joesph Amos). This picture was taken in January 1988, when my mom(on Arlene’s advice) packed everything up and decided to move from Chicago, IL to Maryland, and our family has been Blessed ever since.

Arlene was an inspriration to us all and encourage us to be and do our best. She was my bother’s Godmother and she will be truly missed.

James was the oldest son of my great grandmother Amanda. Born abt 1901 in Cotton Valley, LA. I never met my great uncle, but if you let my mom tell it, I did. I found this photo going through old photos and it turned out to be one of my favorites. It shows what a loving African American couple looks like.

When Amanda fell ill, rumor has it that James took her from state to state trying to get her help. On her death bed, Amanda made James promise to look after his sister Odessa, and that he did. Once Amanda passed away, James moved to New York where he met and married his wife Ruby. I was able to find out through census records that Ruby was from Virginia.

He lived the rest of his life there and passed away in 1975, Ruby later followed him in 1981. Although they never had any children, I can tell that they had a happy life together and really loved each other. Thats what this research leads us to believe. We find old photos that shows much happier times and no matter what our ancestors were, this is the way we always want to remember them, HAPPY!!
Felicia

Now I know madness mondays are for those ancestors that drive you mad. Although Aunt Carol did not drive me mad, but she did a number on my mom and the family.

Although my NaNa Odessa only had one girl(which is my mom), her and NaNa Dora were real good friends so mom and Aunt Carol grew up together. Once my NaNa Odessa passed away NaNa Dora stepped in a mother figure for my mom and our families grew from there. Aunt Carol was like a sister to my mom and thats the way she treated her just like a sister.

All sisters and brothers argue but Aunt Carol was a totally different breed. She gave mom and Aunt Che Che(Angela) HELL!! She would cuss you out with a smile on her face. I used to laugh so hard because mom and Aunt Che Che would talk about her in a whisper, but Aunt Carol would say whatever she had to say about them in front of their faces. She would always tell me don’t let them take advantage of you. See while at family gatherings everyone would be full so I would be left to put things away. Although Aunt Carol would be full too, she would always say make them help, but didn’t offer any help herself. It was ok though i alwasy knew what she was trying to say. See once we moved to MD, she would call my mom everyday and leave these hour long messages on the anwsering machine and when you called her back, she would just say “where is your mama that piece of sh..”. God I miss her.

On one visit home Aunt Che Che entertained us with a story about how my Aunt Carol lost NaNa Dora’s medication and blamed it on everyone she could. She had Aunt Che Che so frustrated, she put Aunt Carol out of her house and Aunt CeChe was her ride home. Che Che said “she had me thinking that I lost the medicine”.

See those are the things Aunt Carol did. She passed away suddenly from complications of COPD. She would not stop drinking or smoking. You would think that someone with the diease would change their bad
habits, but not Aunt Carol. She was her own person and everyone knew that. I miss her so much that I have not returned to Chicago since her funeral which was 3 years ago. See whenever we flew home, that was where we stayed. One year she picked us up in a car that had flowers for an antienna. I laughed about it until she pulled over and told me to find my way. Although I have other family and freinds back home, that was always our first stop and where I stayed. She always made room for me and my boys and even when my mom traveled with the boys(without me) she would make my mom leave them with her so they didn.t have to get caught up in my mom’s madness of trying to visit everyone.

I miss you Aunt Carol. I think she would be so proud of what I have done with the family genealolgy and her memory probably would have been much better than moms. I know it. RIP Aunt Carol
Felicia

EMMA ROBERTSON: 1876-1941

As you all know I recieved feedback from a post that I have left on ancestry and actually Mr. McMurray was one of the persons that I sent my letter to in Quest For Information. Here is his response:

Felicia,

WOW! I can’t believe how serendipitous your letter is for me. I was just about to wade back into this family history since I’m having to do a historical book on THOMASVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL here in Sarepta. I started the research into our family while I lived in Atlanta, GA. I am a native of Sarepta, born, bred, and “buttered” here. Sam Long was my Grandmother’s oldest brother. He indeed married Emma Robertson, and if EVER there was a CHRISTIAN WOMAN and a woman of VIRTUE, it was Emma Robertson. She was a beautiful person, loving, kind, and her mantra was “Honey, don’t get angry, it’s a sin to get angry.” She lived that, because Uncle Sam was NOT an easy man to live with. Sam Long was perhaps the most influential man to be born in Webster Parish after slavery. He was well respected, revered and feared because his control of this area was ultimate. What Sam Long said, was LAW. His funeral in 1958 was attended by anyone and everyone, and he is responsible for the inchoation of nearly every church throughout Webster Parish/Louisiana, and Columbia County/Arkansas.

I say this not to venerate him, though he richly deserves that, but to show by contrast that Emma Robertson was actually the DRIVING FORCE behind him and the source of his strength and ability. Had she been a woman of lesser character, Sam Long would NOT have been as successful as he was. My mother is Juanita Wynn McMurray, and she always speaks with disdain of the fact that Sam Long grave is at the front of the cemetery and when Aunt Emma died, they buried her in the back and now you cannot find the grave, though I have looked and will continue to try to locate it. Uncle Sam was my MOTHER’S uncle and her mother’s oldest brother.

I hope to hear from you soon and I’d relish the opportunity to compare information with you. My contact information is as follows:

Eddie R. McMurray
P. O. Box 494
Sar
Home: 318
Cell: 318

Evenings are best, but I’d love to hear from you anytime.Warmest, friendliest regards,
Eddie

Notice the kind things he had to say about my great great aunt Emma. Boy would I have loved to have met her and know just a bit more about my Robertson line. Can’t wait to talk to him. Will keep everyone posted.
Felicia

As you all know I have been trying to get information on my Louisiana Line. I have reached out to living family that might have some information on the Robertson/Robinson line, but no one had sufficent enough information. Was able to get bits and pieces here and there. Enough to build on my family tree.

Since I know of the website AnyWho.com, where you can but a persons name, city and state and it would let you know of those that live in that area. I decided to put several of my ancestors last name in and see what happens. To my surprise I was able to get at least three families in Cotton Valley that had my ancestors last name.

Last night I decided to compose a letter to these families and here is a copy of that letter:

I hope this letter finds you well. My name is Felicia R Mathis and I am researching my family genealogy and I am hoping you might have some connection to my family and are willing to share or can connect me with someone who has some information and might be willing to share some information on my family. Let me start by giving you some of my family history that might show a possible connection.

My family history began in Webster Parish Police Jury Ward 2, Cotton Valley. My families surname is Robertson/Robinson. Some family used either name but I think Robinson was the one used most. My family members are:
Ben Robertson
Mandy Bryant-Robertson
Henry Robertson
Georgia Robertson
Minerva Robertson-Lewis
Thos (Thomas) Robertson
Cornelius Robertson
Emma Robertson-Long
Mary Robertson
Babe Robertson
Amanda Robertson-Amos-Livingston
Martha Robertson-Bell
Annie Robertson

The family members that I have information on are: Emma, Amanda, and Martha. I know Emma Robertson married Samuel Long and had 8 children, Martha, Cleveland, Paul, Albert, Carter, Julia, Centralia, and Coleman. Martha married Garfield Randle and Julia married into the Hampton family and had a son named J.C. who married a woman named Hattie. Amanda Robertson (my great grandmother) married a James Manuel Amos and had 4 children: James, Willie, Joseph, and Odessa (my grandmother). My grandmother Odessa married Augustus Banks and had 2 children: Earl, and AJ, she also married a Robert L Smith and had 2 children: Beverly Esther Smith-Mathis (my mother), and Robert Smith Jr. My mother remembers Martha, Cleveland, and Centralia as my grandmother cousins. Sometime in the 1920s, Amanda moved the family to Chicago, IL. Where she later died in 1926. My grandmother Odessa died in 1969. Martha Robertson married Robert B. Bell. She married Robert Bell around 1900 and they had about 7 children: Savannah, Robert Jr., Jessie, John, David, Dezeria and Alberta. Savannah married Charles Pyles and Dezeria married into the Cook family. I was hoping that there might be some descendents in the area. My grandmother Odessa had some cousins from the area, there names were Bob and Arthur Robinson. Their mother was believed to be one of the Robertson girls. Bob had a wife named Colona. Somewhere in the family there is a Mary Lee and her mom is one of the daughters also. I know some of the family moved to California, Chicago, and some stayed in LA.

I know this seems like a lot of information to take in, but this is what I have learned through my research, and if you are not of knowing any of my ancestors listed above I am really sorry to bother you and want to thank you for taking the time to read my letter. If some of this sound familiar to you, then fill me in on the blanks that I have missed. Please consider my request for information and if you have any photos of the family you are willing to share so I can add to my tree, I would love to have them. Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Now what if this is not my family? What if I get no response? Do I seem crazy? I am so scared that the families might not know anything, or they might even be my ancestors.

My question is: What woud you do if you recieved a letter like this?
Felicia