Chasing Our Tales - Queries

Greetings, everyone! Noel Garland, of the Garlands of Garland Bend and the East Parker County area, sent me an interesting website which includes over 14,000 family groups and about 170 generations. This site is called Mark and Mariah's Family Tree, and it can be found at http://mariah.stonemarche.org/genealgy.htm . It is quite a thorough site. Noel also shared a wonderful website for old-time biscuit recipes that can be found at http://www.theeagle.com/columnists/donnisbaggett/biscuitrecipes.htm . Thanks, Noel!

Next I heard from Jerry Moore who is researching the family of J. A., Elizabeth, and Mary McLaren who are buried in the Palo Pinto Cemetery. He shares the following information with us: James Alexander McLaren was born 22 Dec 1823 in Tennessee and died 28 Nov 1888 in Palo Pinto. He came to Palo Pinto in 1855. He was the county's first schoolteacher and when the county was organized in May 1857 he was elected Chief Justice.

Elizabeth Childs Evans married James A. McLaren. Elizabeth was born in March 1833 and died 4 Jan 1884. Mary A. McDougal McLaren was born 25 May 1800 in North Carolina and died 4 Dec 1888 in Palo Pinto.

There are still numerous McLaren descendants in and near Graham. Those still in Graham are primarily descendants of Mary's other son, Francis Marion "Frank" McLaren who was one of the first settlers on the Brazos Indian Reservation.

The unknown grave in the Palo Pinto Cemetery which is south of Mary's but appears to be in the same plot, is believed to be that of Sarah Eleanor "Ellen" McLaren Tucker, the youngest sister of James A. and Frank McLaren. She was born in 1840 in Lawrence County, Tennessee. She married Enoch S. Tucker, and they came to Palo Pinto about the time Frank came. Ellen died sometime after 1880 and before 1897. Ellen and Enoch are listed on the 1880 Jack County census. Enoch remarried in 1897.

It is assumed that James A. told the family about the area and that Francis, Ellen, Mary and family came at about the same time, in the early 1870s. In 1880 Ellen, Enoch, and family were living in Jack County, just across the county line in the Keechi Creek area.

One of their neighbors was George W. Bevers. Jerry is working on the assumption that when Ellen died, they brought her back to Palo Pinto and buried her beside her mother, Mary. If that is true, Ellen died after Mary, or after Dec 1888.

Jerry would like to contact anyone who might have information regarding this upmarked grave or any other information regard the McLaren family. Jerry's email address is varmint59@earthlink.net .

In other information about our area, Randall Erwin, greenegg@lipan.net , has a new webring on the internet. He is trying to list all things "Palo Pinto" and is calling it The Palo Pinto Texas Sitering. That url is http://pub42.bravenet.com/sitering/nav.php?usernum=3554707918&action=list&siteid=39515 .

Finally, Mackee Teague of Weatherford wrote that her husband, Dewey Teague, is the great grandson was Alfred Marion Teague. Dewey's grandfather, William "Billy" Henry Teague, was born to the Alfred's first wife, Mary Ellen Palmer. They also had three daughters, Nola, Edna & Arnel. Billy married Rachel Mevina Jones. Dewey has Teague relations in both Brown and Denton Counties. If you have information, you can contact him at mvdt@juno.com .

Well, that's all for this month. Thanks for all the positive comments and questions. If you would like to contact me, please write to P. O. Box 61, Mineral Wells, Texas 76068-0061 or email me at siouxcitysue@cox-internet.com . Until next time, God bless our wonderful USA,the freedoms and rights we hold so dear, and those troops who make it all possible.