Demi Lovato - We're Related or Are We?

When I first read about an app for iPhone and iPad that Ancestry developed called "We're Related" I honestly didn't give it much thought.  Then about a month ago I read a post on Ancestry website users Facebook page that piqued my interest.  A couple of people said they downloaded it for fun and others said they used it for hints for their own research because it listed ancestors they didn't know about.  So...I decided to download it - after all, it was free and I had nothing to lose. Sometimes you just need to take a break from the serious research, have a little fun, and you never can imagine who your "possible" relatives may be!

The first "possible" relatives were:
Barack Obama - Cousin 3x Removed
Michelle Obama - 8th Cousin
Bill Clinton - 7th Cousin
Demi Lovato - 6th Cousin
Michael Jackson - 8th Cousin

The app also gives you the possible common ancestor that connects the two lineages as well as each ancestor, including dates of birth and death unless still living, in both lineages.

None of them seemed at all likely but I just had to work on at least one just to see if I could make a match. Demi Lovato's was the most likely and would take the least amount of time and effort to research. I had done all the research and documentation proving each person in my lineage leading to Amelia Gunter, my 5th great grandmother on the maternal branch of my family tree.  All I had to do was find documentation and prove the relationships in Demi's ancestry up to Amelia Gunter, also her 5th great grandmother. This was what I had to work with regarding Demi Lovato's ancestry:

It took me two full days and part of another couple of days to do the research and find the documentation for proof.  Fortunately, Demi Lovato had done quite a bit of genealogy of her own and had done a DNA test which she shared on Twitter.  There is a lot of information - really too much - online about celebrities but the problem is separating fact from fiction.  Her father, Patrick Martin Lovato, was of Mexican descent, with mostly Spanish and Native American ancestors.  He also had distant Portuguese and Jewish ancestry.  Her mother has English and Irish ancestry.  My connection was through her mother, Dianna Lee Smith, who also went by Dianna Hart at times (her stepfather's name was Hart) which made it a little confusing at first.

I had DNA testing in 2013 by 23and Me and so I was able to compare our results in a very basic and simple-minded way.  This is what Demi posted on Twitter:

I don't know what company tested Demi's DNA but I suspect Ancestry because it looks just like my brother's results page from Ancestry.  Ancestry describes Europe West as primarily located in Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein.

And these are my results:

A little explanation about where some of these places are located.  The Iberian Peninsula is represented today as the people of Spain and Portugal.  East Asian and Native American seems like an odd combination until you read about the ancient migration patterns of the East Asian people. I won't bore you with that now!

The DNA results are not proof of any connection unless you have a professional analyze the results.  In this case, they are just another piece of information to support a possible relationship and compare ethnicity.

I had no motive other than curiosity and to meet the challenge of trying to prove or disprove the assumption of an app that said Demi Lovato and I could be related.  Another reason for researching this connection with Amelia Gunter is that I have hit a brick wall - a genealogy term - regarding the parentage of Amelia Gunter and had hoped that I might find something in Demi's ancestry that would either give me the answer or at least a few hints to follow up.  I didn't find Amelia's parents but I discovered other relations besides Demi that might lead me in the right direction.

My children are probably very familiar with Demi's music, television and film career.  I had heard of her but knew little about her except that she is a beautiful woman with a beautiful voice.  I did not post photos of Demi Lovato because I don't want to take a chance on infringing on copyright laws.  Anyone who doesn't know what Demi looks like - just Google Demi Lovato images - you won't be disappointed!

The results of all of my research are that Demetria Devonne Lovato is indeed my 6th cousin!*

*To my children - Demi Lovato is your 6th cousin 1x removed.
 

Addendum - Relationship Chart- To show you how this all works!

Sources and Documentation:

U.S. Federal Census, 1850 Randolph County, Alabama.
U.S. Federal Census, 1860 Randolph County, Alabama.
U.S. Federal Census, 1880 Wise County, Texas.
U.S. Federal Census, 1910 Roosevelt County, New Mexico.
U.S. Federal Census, 1920 Johnson County, Texas.
U.S. Federal Census, 1940 Harris County, Texas.
FamilySearch.  Texas, Birth Index, 1903-1997. 
Ancestry.com.  Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1932.
Ancestry.com.  Alabama, Marriage Index, 1800-1969.
Ancestry.com.  Texas, Divorce Index, 1968-2014. 
Find A Grave <https://www.findagrave.com/>
Ancestry.com.  Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982.
GenealogyBank.com <https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/obituaries/obit/1472B16D657D5210>
Ancestry.com.  U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014.
Twitter, Inc. <https://mobile.twitter.com/ddlovato/status/835340717681627136/photo/1>
Wikipedia <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demi_Lovato>
Ethnic <http://ethnicelebs.com/demi-lovato>





    

My Father's WWII Story in My Mother's Words

As I was re-organizing some of my genealogy research files I came across this letter from my mother which she wrote on Memorial Day, 1998 to her children.  This is exactly as she wrote it.  I will let her words say the rest.

MEMORIAL DAY - 1998

For some time I have felt that the experiences of my husband during World War II should be recorded for the benefit of our children and grandchildren.  So this is what we remember about Curtis Day Trevathan's service (in short form, of course).

We were married about 2 1/2 weeks after Pearl Harbor Day in 1941, with full knowledge that he would be called to serve his country.  We wanted to spend what time we could together before he had to go.

He enlisted the latter part of 1942 in order to get into the branch of service he preferred, the Army Air Force.  In January of 1943 he left for Mineral Wells, Tx. for processing.  He was then sent to Shepherd Field in Wichita Falls, Tx. for Air Force Basic Training.  His next move was to San Antonio, Tx. for Cadet Officers Training.  From there he went to Pine Bluff, Ark. for primary pilot training - late into his training there, the Air Force decided they did not need to train more pilots, so he was sent to Biloxi, MI for re-assignment.  At each of the places he went to, I followed if he was to be there long enough.

Curt was re-assigned to Radio School in Sioux Falls, SD and as you will later realize, this was a blessing in disguise.  He was stationed there for about 6 months during the dead of winter - and of course, I followed.  Snow! Snow! Snow!  Since we had no money, we walked everywhere we went. He was able to leave the base every evening and return early the next morning.  It was a new experience for us and we just had fun being together.  He was then to be sent to Gunnery School - he was actually boarding the train when he was pulled off and told that he would be there for 6 more weeks.  He called me and said "don't leave yet".  I was ready to take a train back to Tyler, Tx.  What we did not then know was that the FBI had been investigating his background thru acquaintances of the family (we learned this after the war was over).  They offered him an opportunity to do something different but would not say what at this point.  Anything was better than being a gunner in the Air Force so he blindly accepted.  This was an offer to become a part of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) which was the forerunner of the CIA.  This was organized in WWII and agents were places in all Theaters of Operations.  As a result, he was sent to Washington, DC - detached from the Army at that time and sworn into the OSS.  The OSS Training Center was his next stop - a camp deep in the woods near Quantico, VA.  All personnel were stripped of any ID that denoted rank, etc.  He never knew the status of the person next to him.

Sioux Falls, SD with Velma Trevathan, Curt's mother 

On D-Day in 1944 Curt was on board ship in the Atlantic for England.  They were sent to the country at a place called Ailsberry northwest of London to set up operations.  His job was sending coded messages to agents in enemy territory in the European Theater of Operations.  At times when they failed to get a response from the agent they knew he had been discovered.

By the latter part of 1944 the war in the ETO was de-escalating somewhat and Curt was to be sent to the China-Burma-India Theater.  I was expecting our first child in December 1944 and by a stroke of luck my husband was being routed through the States to his destination and managed to get a 30 day leave (all of his group did not come thru the States).  He was home when our baby girl, Iris Jean, was born and he had the opportunity to get some rocking chair experience - and we all had a wonderful Christmas together!  When it was time for him to leave we took him to Troup to board a train for Washington, DC to get on another train to go to the West Coast to take a "slow boat" to China.  Mail was scant and so censored and old by the time I received it the only thing I knew was that he was o.k. at the time it was written - but I had a letter!

China, July 1945

China, July 1945

When President Roosevelt died we all became concerned about the future of the boys in service but Mr. Truman handled everything quite well.

After arriving at their destination in the CBI Theater they were transported by truck, flew over the Hump, truck again and finally reached their post which was near a place called Hing-Ning.  Not only were these boys in touch with their agents but this field station was an operational center for a gorilla unit.  There were 14 men in Curt's group and when the war was over in 1945, this small group had to travel by boat down a river to get out.  They knew there were perhaps about two thousand Japanese soldiers along the banks of the river - they wondered "did these Japanese soldiers know the war was over"?  This small group went to Canton and were put up in the American Embassy there - in fact, they were in control of Canton at that time.

Finally, they got to India to wait for a boat home (everybody was waiting for a boat home) and Curt waited there 6 weeks before he could board a ship for the States.  He arrived in Tacoma, Washington and was put on a train again for Washington, DC - upon arrival in DC this group was taken to the Congressional Country Club and feted royally.  He called me from there and wanted me to come to Washington for Christmas with him.  Our little girl was only a year old and I felt that I should not leave her.  Curt was then sent to Ft. Meade Maryland to be sworn back into the Army so he could then be discharged.

1945 - possibly India

We did not celebrate Christmas 1945 until Curt arrived home, which was the latter part of December, but we had very wonderful Belated Happy Christmas in 1945!  A new start in our lives, as I am sure all service men felt at that Christmas.

I know very little about what they did - I did hear a time or two from a buddy in their camp telling me that "Tex" was away but that he was o.k. - I do know their transportation was by motorcycle and they carried a .45 revolver - so I still am very much un-informed. 

I am very proud of him and thankful the Lord allowed him to return to Jean and me - we later added a little brother, Michael Day, to our family and some time later, another little daughter, Debra Joyce, to complete our family unit.  We have been very blessed!

WITH ALL MY LOVE TO MY HUSBAND,

CURT'S WIFE

My beautiful & loving
mother

NOTE:  I would also add a P. S. "like father, like son". Michael also enlisted in service for the Viet

Nam war.  We put our only son on a plane in Dallas to go to Nam and it was no easy thing to do - saying "goodbye" to go to war again.  We are so proud of his service to his country and again thank

the Lord for his safe return.

MOM and DAD

Mama and Daddy were married on December 24, 1941 at the home of Daddy's parents, Harvey and Velma Trevathan in Tyler, Texas.  Mama died on December 28, 2006, four days after their 65th anniversary and Daddy died five months later on May 27, 2007.  They were never apart again after the war. 

John C. Gallion (1805-1877), Gone To Texas

Mexican Land Grant 

John C. Gallion, my third great grandfather, and the first of my ancestors to settle in Texas, received a land grant from the Mexican government on June 19, 1835 for a league of land which consisted of 4428.4 acres.  In his petition to the empresario, Lorenzo de Zavala, he stated:

     "I, John Gallion - a native of the United States of America, with all due respect present myself before you and state: That attracted by the generous provisions of the laws of colonization of this state I have come, with my wife and five children, to settle in it and to determine if, in view of the attached certification, you may see fit to admit me as a colonist in the above-mentioned land grant, granting to me the amount of land that is due me in the uncultivated portion of the same, taking into consideration that I am a farmer and cattle rancher.
     Therefore, I beg of you to grant my petition, by which I shall be justly favored."

                                                                     Nacogdoches, April 21, 1835
                                                                     (signed) J. C. Gallion

This is the report of the commissioner and special agent for the land grant of Lorenzo de Zavala:

     "I certify that the interested party is one of the colonists who has been admitted by my constituent in fulfillment of the contract he has made with the Supreme Government of the State under date of March 12, 1829.  Therefore, you can issue an order for the surveying of the land he is seeking."

                                                                     Nacogdoches, April 21, 1835
                                                                     (signed) Lorenzo de Zavala
                                                                     by his Proxy (or Attorney)
                                                                     Arthur Henrie

John Gallion's Petition for Land Grant (Spanish)

John Gallion's Petition for Land Grant (English)

Texas Resident and Conditions of Colonization

This indicates that John Gallion had resided in Texas since 1829 but he did not petition for land until 1835.  The colonization law of March 24, 1825 states that in exchange for a small fee, heads of families could obtain as much as a league or sitio (4428.4 acres) of grazing land and a labor (177.1 acres) of cropland.  Under the provisions of the decree foreigners had to take an oath promising to obey the federal and state constitutions, practice Christianity (meaning Catholicism), and prove their morality and good habits.  After agreeing to these conditions and establishing residence, foreigners became Mexican citizens.  The Law of April 6, 1830 by the Mexican government was initiated primarily to prohibit or limit immigration from the United States by suspending existing empresario contracts.   In addition, a commissioner of colonization was appointed to supervise the empresario contracts to make sure they were in conformity with the colonization laws.  This law and its requirements also lead me to believe that John Gallion was in Texas by 1829 since the commissioner mentioned his fulfillment of the contract and immigration was banned the following year.

Texas, 1836-1845
(partial, showing Zavala's Grant in East Texas next to Louisiana border and proximity to Natchitoches, Louisiana)

Character Certificates

Character certificates were issued by local authorities in Nacogdoches to settlers who intended to petition for land grants in that area.  I believe this is the "attached certification" John Gallion is referring to in his petition.  These certificates may give place of origin, year of immigration, marital status, and size of the settler's family.  These certificates provided proof of good character which was required to become eligible to receive land.  Character Certificate from Texas General Land Office with the remarks: native of Kentucky, family of 6 persons.

Character Certificate for John Gallion

Early Life and Family

John C. Gallion was born in Kentucky about 1805 and was the youngest child of Elijah and Eleanor Jenkins Gallion.  He married Sarah Roberta Rhodes about 1825, probably in Kentucky since that is where the first of six daughters, Sena Roberta Gallion was born on March 2, 1826.  By 1830, they had moved to Sullivan County, Indiana according to the 1830 census.  They had three more daughters born in Indiana; Ellen born in 1830, Lucy born in 1831, and Phoebe born in 1833.  Sometime after 1833 the growing family migrated to Texas and were listed in the 1835 Sabine District, Texas census with a fifth daughter, Dalphia, age two months, and are of the Catholic faith (one of the requirements of Mexican citizenship).  Dalphia is later referred to as Dollhean or Dollie for short.

John Gallion must have been on the road most of the time to have been in Nacogdoches, Texas by 1829 and still managed to have three daughters that were born in Indiana during the next four years. His parents had also moved from Kentucky to Sullivan County, Indiana and were neighbors to John and his family on the census so Sarah was not alone and had help when her husband was gone.  John also had two older brothers, James Hawkins Gallion and William A. Gallion, who migrated to Louisiana around 1828 and settled in Natchitoches county.

Eleanor Jenkins Gallion's Request for Land Grant Certificate

According to an article submitted by Sarah Roberta (Rhodes) Gallion, in the book Trinity County Beginnings, Volume I,  "Eleanor Gallion, widow, mother of John Gallion, appeared in the courthouse of St. [sic] Augustine County before the St. Augustine Land Commission on June 30, 1838.  She stated that she was a widow, came to Texas in 1834, applied for land grant of 1 league and 1 labor. Headright certificate for 1 league and 1 labor was granted by the General Land Office, but was never located and surveyed."

On June 1, 1872, the Board of Land Commissioners of San Augustine County, Texas issued a duplicate certificate to Eleanor Gallion for one league and one labor of land.   A league of land and an additional 2352 acres was surveyed in Runnels and Coke counties - Patent No. 371, Vol. 21, dated November 29, 1875 was complete.

Duplicate Certificate of Land Grant for Eleanor Gallion

Protest Filed by Heirs of Eleanor Gallion

However, a protest was filed at the General Land Office in Austin on January 13, 1876, by Henry V. McCall, protesting the delivery of the patent to any person, stating that he represented the heirs of Eleanor Gallion.  There was a response to the protest by J. W. Lawrence on May 30, 1877, stating that he represents the heirs of Eleanor Gallion, had located and patented the land.  And lastly, Mrs. M. F. Rodgers appeared before a Justice of the Peace in Erath county on February 4, 1898 stating that she is the sole legal heir of Eleanor Gallion, deceased, and as such heir is entitled to the possession of Patent No. 371, Vol. 21 issued to said Eleanor Gallion for 1 league and 1 labor of land in Coke and Runnels counties.  That is the final document found regarding this certificate.

Gallion Family in Texas

John Gallion was listed on the following lists in Texas:  1836 tax list for Sabine District, 1840 tax list for Nacogdoches County, 1846 tax list for Houston County, and the 1846 Republic of Texas Poll lists for 1846.  John C. Gallion and family was on the 1850 census in Houston County, Texas in the household of his sister, Nancy Gallion James, her spouse Jesse James, and their son John James.  John and Sarah Gallion's family now included their sixth daughter, Eliza N., age 14, and born in Louisiana.  The first recorded permanent white settler in this area was Jesse James, who settled on Alabama Creek in 1844, near a large Indian settlement.  In 1845 John Gallion moved into the settlement and purchased the Indians' livestock and improvements.  The Indians moved away and it is unknown as to where but it seems they may have moved to the Indian Territory.  On February 11, 1850, the Texas legislature established Trinity County.  John Gallion, Jesse James, and five other men, were appointed to a commission to locate the center of the county and to select the two most desirable sites within five miles of the center suitable for the site of the county seat and to hold an election to determine which would receive the most votes.  In 1854 Sumpter, a primitive village, was declared the county seat.  In September of 1855, John Gallion purchased two land certificates, one from John Conklin for 320 acres, and the other, also for 320 acres, from Thomas L. Trevathan, his son-in-law.  Both tracts of land were located in Trinity County near the Trevat community.  The land was developed into a cattle ranch and farm where John lived out the remainder of his life.  I have found no other record of John Gallion after the purchase of the land in 1855. His wife, Sarah, is on the 1860 census living with her daughter, Phoebe Rogers, in Caldwell, Burleson, Texas but no record of John.  Sarah Gallion is a widow, age 75, on the 1880 census for Trinity County, Texas and living with daughter Lucy Pope who is also a widow, and four of her children.   In article mentioned above in Trinity County Beginnings, Volume I, Sarah Roberta (Rhodes) Gallion also stated that " The probate court decree for settlement of estate of John Gallion, deceased, is on file in the County Clerk's office, Groveton, Trinity County, Texas."  I have been unable to find his probate record but there have been a couple of courthouse fires in Trinity County in the late 1800s and it's possible this record was lost in a fire. Other genealogists have John Gallion's date of death as 1877 but I have found no proof or documentation to support this date.

News of the fall of the Alamo reaches Gonzales and Gen. Houston,
spurring retreat of the settlers eastward.
(www.sanjacinto-museum.org)

Runaway Scrape

There was an incident known as the Runaway Scrape which occurred in early 1836 during the Texas Revolution when settlers were advised by General Sam Houston to evacuate their homes as Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna began his conquest of Texas and moved eastward after the fall of the Alamo. It's probable that John Gallion took his pregnant wife and daughters and fled to Natchitoches, Louisiana to stay with one of his two brothers who lived there and this would explain why their youngest daughter, Eliza, was born in Louisiana instead of Texas.  John Gallion was also in the Texas Militia from January 12, 1836 to December 1, 1836 according to the Index to Military Rolls of the Republic of Texas.  John was 31 years old during this period and many of the younger, more able-bodied men stayed behind to protect their homes and fight, if necessary.  Their families traveled in oxen carts and on foot with neighbors.  They returned after the news of the victory in the battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836.  There are many journals and recorded memories passed down by the settlers who endured this frightening experience of running from their homes and the ruthless Santa Anna.

Texas land was wild, beautiful and plentiful but it took a great deal of courage and true grit to be an early Texas settler.


Sources:

The Portal to Texas History, (http://texashistory.unt.edu)

Bowles, Flora Gatlin, 1881-. A History of Trinity County Texas, 1827-1928. Groveton, Tx: Groveton Independent School District, Publisher, 1966.

Hensley, Patricia B. and Joseph W., editors. Trinity County Beginnings. Edited for the Trinity County Book Committee, 1986.

Texas General Land Office, established 1836. (www.glo.texas.gov).

Texas State Historical Association, A Digital Gateway to Texas History, (www.tshaonline.org).

Harvey David Trevathan (1892-1960), Orphaned at Young Age

I remember my father saying that his father had a sad life.  Unfortunately, my grandfather's early life was very much like his father, James Augusta Trevathan's life.  Fortunately, he didn't die young and tragically. I was only seven years old when my grandfather died and remember very little about him. I have memories of riding piggyback on him while he worked in the gardens.  I don't know how he did this since he was in his early to mid-sixties at the time.  I know he loved to pour cream over his peach cobbler - guess it was no different than ice cream really.  I used to go with him on errands to the icehouse near the town square in downtown Tyler, Texas and the lumberyard to get supplies. He was strong in his faith and active in Calvary Baptist Church from teaching Bible classes to delivering boxes of food to people in need. And I have memories of him reading his Bible at night and he seemed to always have it with him. He was a gentle and kind man.

My grandfather was born in 1892 in Trinity County, Texas to James and Lucinda (Richardson) Trevathan. He was their third child but the first to live beyond infancy.   He and his younger sister, Mae, were raised by their Aunt Kat (Katherine Roberta Trevathan) and her husband, George Jones.  His mother died in childbirth when he was four years old and his father was killed in a shoot out when he was six years old.

Harvey & Narcia (Mericle) Trevathan

Harvey grew up to be a tall, handsome man and on 1 October of 1911 married the beautiful Narcia Vivian Mericle.   Their first son, James Augusta Trevathan (Sonny), was born on 27 September 1912 but died on 22 November 1912.  Their second child, Paul Levier Trevathan was born 29 October 1913 but he too died in November 1913.  This was a great disappointment for Harvey and Narcia but he told her that next time she would have twins.  By the fall of 1914, they were again expecting a child.  On 5 June 1915, they were blessed with twins, a daughter, Ora Nell and a son, Olen.

Harvey, Velma & Curtis Trevathan

Harvey and family moved to Woodville, Texas, a sawmill town where Narcia's sister and husband lived. His WWI Draft Registration Card states that he was a sawmill laborer for West Lumber Co. in Westville, Texas. 

In January 1918, Narcia had the measles that turned into pneumonia. She died and was buried in Bennett Cemetery, Apple Springs, Texas. Like his father, Harvey was alone with two small children to raise. The twins went to live with their grandparents, the Mericles, who lived in Apple Springs and were quite happy there.  They lived there until they were 5 years old.

Harvey is listed on the 1920 census living in the household of H. W. and Annie Day as a boarder in Lufkin, Angelina County, Texas, not far from Trevat or Apple Springs.  His profession is listed as a machinist in a foundry and mechanic shop.  He married my grandmother, Laura Velma Cobb, daughter of John Franklin Cobb and Susan Jane McCullough of Lufkin, Texas, on 1 February 1921.  After he remarried, he brought Olen and Ora Nell (the twins) back home to live with him and Velma.  Harvey and Velma had one child, Curtis Day Trevathan, my father, who was born on 8 November 1922.  Curtis's middle name, Day, was in honor of the family Harvey boarded with while working in Lufkin.

In 1930, Harvey, Velma, the twins, and Curtis were living in Tyler, Smith County, Texas.  He worked for the railroad until he retired.  In the late fall of 1960, Harvey went into the hospital for surgery and developed complications.  He died on the 20th of November at the age of 68 years.

James Augusta Trevathan (1862-1899), Killed in Texas Shoot-Out

James Augusta Trevathan was born on 19 February 1862 to Thomas Leander Trevathan and Sena Roberta Gallion in Trevat, a small farming community in Trinity County, Texas, which was settled by Thomas Leander Trevathan and his mother, Rhoda Leander, sometime around 1844-1845. Trevat was named for the Trevathan family and was in East Texas, along the Alabama Creek which had previously been inhabited by Native Americans.

My father told me that his father's father was shot in the back and killed in a dispute over a quarter in a mercantile store in Trinity County and that his grandfather killed the man who shot him before he died. Unfortunately, that was all the details he remembered about the incident.  This story always stayed with me, and I hoped someday to find more information.  My grandfather was not yet seven years old when his father was killed, so I doubt he was told all the details, and maybe never asked.  I was only seven years old when my grandfather died, therefore I never had the opportunity to talk to him about it.  So...I finally got around to researching James' death.  My sister, brother and I visited the area and did some research at the courthouse looking for information and records.

James & Lucinda (Richardson) Trevathan

James married Lucinda Elvira Richardson on 27 February 1887 in Groveton, Trinity County, Texas.  They settled in Trevat since that was where the Trevathans and Richardsons had their homesteads.  James and Lucinda's first child was born in 1889 and died shortly after birth without being named.  They were soon expecting their second child who was born in 1890 but they were once again saddened by the death of this infant.  Two years later, they were blessed with the birth of a healthy son, Harvey David on 12 November 1892.  On 14 July 1894, James and Lucinda were happy to welcome their daughter, Mary Frances (Mae), into their world.

In 1897 Lucinda was expecting another baby but this time the sadness and tragedy doubled.  Lucinda, at the age of only 27, died in childbirth, as did the baby.  They are buried together in the Trevat Cemetery with the other two babies who died.  James was now alone with the responsibility of raising Harvey, who was five years old and Mae, who was only 3 years old.  Since there was a lot of extended family living nearby,  he probably had help from his siblings, but it must have been a very difficult time.

In the 1880 census, James is still in the home of his father and working as a farm laborer.  Since there is no 1890 census I don't know if he was still farming but I do know he still lived in the same area because his father had given him some land.  The biggest industry during this period was lumber and it is possible he worked at a sawmill.  The sawmills brought many people to the area for work, as well as an abundance of saloons, and conditions grew worse for the citizens at the close of the century in Trinity County.  At this time, Groveton was the county seat, and where people came to buy supplies but it was also the only town that permitted saloons.  Drunkenness was common, as was fighting, and killing was one of the fine arts of the gunman.  It reached a point at the close of the century that women and children never appeared on streets on Saturdays, and many Saturdays the merchants closed their places of business at noon and went home.  There are no records left to tell me if James and his children were living in Trevat or Groveton but I'm sure he had to go into town for supplies.  On Saturday, 22 April 1899, James went into one of the stores and had some sort of disagreement with the merchant, L. C. Harding.  Edwin Harding, the brother of L. C., overheard the disagreement and went to his brother's assistance, and during the course of the argument, James was shot in the back by Edwin.  According to the papers, during the scuffle, James got L. C. Harding's pistol and shot Edwin Harding, killing him almost instantly.  James then turned and began shooting at L. C. Harding, striking him above the right temple.  Apparently, the ball just grazed his head and he was not seriously hurt.  James was shot a number of times in different parts of his body and died that day at the age of 37.  He left a young boy of six and a little girl of four orphaned.  None of us will ever know the truth of what happened that fateful day.  I wish I knew for sure that James was completely innocent and only acted in self-defense.  This is what I want to believe of my great grandfather because his son grew up to be a gentle, kind-hearted man, as did his grandson, my father.  We found no records at the Trinity County courthouse regarding the incident.  The only thing I have found was a newspaper account which is where I got the names of the other two men involved and the few details.

Laredo Times

Dallas Morning News

Fortunately, James had a very generous and loving sister, Katherine Roberta Trevathan (Aunt Kat) who took Harvey and Mae into her home and raised them.

On a side note, a lot of the records for Trinity County, prior to 1900, are in a huge warehouse room in the back of the county clerk's office in Groveton and in a complete state of disarray and deterioration. The clerks were hesitant to allow us in because the metal file boxes were stacked up high on unstable shelves in some areas and strewn in piles in other areas.  They were apologetic and explained that there had been a fire some years before and apparently these were saved and put in this room but nothing more was ever done.  There is a wonderful Trinity County Museum in Groveton which is a very good source of information and for research.

My source of information on Trinity County during this period of time was A History of Trinity County, Texas, 1827-1928 by Flora Gatlin Bowles.