Double-thumb Jim and his siblings

Great-granddaddy Double Thumb Jim. You can see the double thumb

distinctly as he holds his thumb in the "gig'em Aggies" gesture. Next to him 

is Benjamin Franklin Porter, the famous Texas Rangers. Anybody know the 

others? 

Richard's 2016 Southern Ancestral Trek

Named for Our GGGGG Uncle Benjamin Taliaferro

Edward Newton, great-grandfather on our paternal grandmother's side

 

Ed Wilburn Newton, born Pulaski, TN

  Born: April 2, 1858

  Died: Morningside Hospital, Tulsa, OK

           January 6, 1926, after a year illness.

            He was buried January 7, 1926 at 4 pm

             at the Red Fork Cemetery.

 

He settled in Durant, OK in 1885, In 1887 he married Miss Mary Webster at Paris, Texas. He

was survived by Mrs. Earl Porter (our grandmother), James and

Robert of Yuma, AZ. Homer of Detroit, Michigan,

Effie Casler, Odie Weyland, Grace Newton, and

Ray Newton of Muskogee, OK  Harry Newton of

Tulsa, OK and 6 Grandchildren.

 

Mr. Newton was a skilled carpenter and blacksmith.

The Red Fork Cemetery was sold and is now the

Clinton Oaks Cemetery. The city of Tulsa maintains

this cemetery now. The Red Fork cemetery was

owned and maintained from 1893 to 1945. This

cemetery is maintained with fences but no gates.There are many stones broken and not

readable. Ed has no grave marker. This cemetery

is located in the middle of a housing development.

However the cemetery is well maintained

Our paternal grandmother was Edna Earl Newton. She was married to Hugh Porter. This is her father.

The original homestead in Virginia before it was moved to San Antonio, Texas. The post-move and restoration photos are posted below.

Ancestral home of William Porter, Rockbridge County, VA.

These are some of the best photos I've seen of our ancestral home.  It was constructed just outside Lexington, VA in the mid 1700s for the family home of Wm Porter and then his son Wm Porter and his family, the last of whom was OUR Reese Porter. 

It lay for decades used as a hay storage barn.  In the mid 20th century a San Antonio builder who was really into colonial homes commissioned someone to find him one that was for sale and moveable.  He had someone mark the logs and stones and put them on a flatcar and moved it all to a vacant lot in San Antonio for reassembling.

I've been inside and it pretty big.  A freshly minted MD and his wife were living there in the mid 90's.  The split and it came on the market for $89,000.  I almost bought it but I knew it would be nothing but a headache.  Landlording is really not much fun.  It is located inside the "loop" circling SA at about 10 o'clock.  It borders the "barrio" and the old country club.

Robert P. Porter and Lillian Thames first and second born.

Gary (Buddy) Porter
Robert Berl (Bobby) Porter
Taken around 1936

Hugh Porter and family

Hugh Porter

Edna Earl Porter 

Robert Percival Porter

taken early 1920s

Grandmother Porter told me that they rode their wagon 20 miles to town to have the photo taken. 

Hugh Porter  1884-1965

Edna Earl Newton Porter 1888-1971

Robert Percival Porter  1909-1966

 

All buried in the main city cemetery at Roswell, NM

Richard Porter visiting in Venice with cousin, Maristella Tagliaferro

We had a 5pm time set to meet the cousins in San Marco Sq.  We had noticed some fine looking people milling around the patio chamber orchestra (doing "O Solo Mio of course).  No one looked like Maristella.  Liz moseyed down the way to peruse some shops and I stayed.  Then I spotted her across the square approaching the others.  Then we met in the middle.  It was like we hadn't seen each other in 500 yrs or so.  Maybe it was since Bartolomeo left in 1562 heading to London to seek his fortune.  He was the trade representative of the Doge (king) of Venice which at that time was one of the most powerful and influential city states in the world.  He was also a concert violinist and played at the court of Queen Elizabeth 1st.  Also he opened a music store in the arts district and befriended a struggling young actor.  They became drinking buddies and the actor from Stratford-upon-Avon was young  Wm Shakespeare.  We are about 18 generations removed from Bartolomeo Tagliaferro whose grandson Robert the Immigrant decided to sail to Virginia to seek his fortune (he found it).   His decendents included Richard who taught architecture to youngTom Jefferson and whose son in law was TJ's law partner and and a signatory to the Dec of Independence (Geo Wythe).   In our group were cousins Maristella, the entertainment and arts editor of the Venetian newspaper, her uncles, their wives and two cousins.  They all lived outside Venice (mostly Verona) and came in by train, bus and water taxi.  We were impressed and honored that they'd spend the time and effort to meet "new" cousins.  After our visit at the meeting cafe, everyone had to return home except Maristella who took us to the best restaurant in town where the Italian president dines when he's in Venice.  It's been there for over 100 years.  I had veal scallopini and Liz had veal cannoloni.  It was excellent and Maristella regaled us over the next two hours with tales of the Taliaferros.  One was actually the mother of King John of the Magna Carta fame.  There were other almost equally as famous.   After the dinner, around ten, she walked us back to San Marco Sq and showed us the place where Bartolomeo's father Antonio had a shop and the church they attended ( a little Baptist church on the square).  Kidding a little bit here,  according to jackie and gary it was Lutheran.   When we got back to the ship's shuttle, it was delayed for almost an hour for the 20 minute shuttle to the ship.  Come to find out, the ship had broken lose from its moorings and was adrift.  There was a quick wind shear and we felt it at the cafe when the outside patio umbrellas were knocked down and out.   We got back around 11pm and are starting out this am for another misadventure in the "Most Romantic City in the World".   More later   R&L

Benjamin Franklin Porter by Dan Porter

Benjamin Franklin Porter

By Dan Porter, Great Grandson of BF Porter

April 24, 2004

Former Texas Ranger ‘Ranger Cross’ Dedication Ceremony

Valley Springs Cemetery, Llano County, TX

On behalf of all of the descendants of Benjamin Porter I would like to thank everyone who came out to take part in the celebration of these four former rangers’ lives and to recognize their accomplishments and service. 

I would especially like to thank the Former Ranger Association for their work and the former rangers who are present today to support these efforts.  I would like to recognize a close friend of the Porter family who came all the way from McKinney Texas with his wife to share these ceremonies with all of us.  Lee Young is a recently retired Texas Ranger who has been a friend for many years.  While on the job Lee and I had the good fortune to work together and have continued to be close friends so I especially appreciate his support and for being here for all of us.

A few weeks ago we were here to prepare for these ceremonies and during those meetings Mr. Hallmark mentioned that it would be nice if any of the rangers’ families had any mementos or memorabilia associated with the early days in Llano County or with these former rangers to please bring them with us today.  I asked the question then “if the only thing I have is an old ranger can I bring him?”  Probably thinking that I was being a smart aleck he answered “yes.” So, to let everyone know I did my part.  Lee Young is my contribution to the ceremony today.  Lee, thank you for being such a good sport and a good friend.

It is a great honor for me to stand up here and share my thoughts about Mr. Porter and these heroes that we have gathered to celebrate today.  I appreciate the opportunity to represent the Porter family.  It is a wonderful tribute that so many folks turned out for this celebration.  As Mr. Hallmark said earlier, when he first started searching for Mr. Porter’s descendents he wasn’t sure if he would find any or not but after only a couple of telephone calls he discovered a great number of Porters still living in these parts.  Especially meaningful to me is the fact that branches of the family tree that I have never met came out to share these honors.

Instead of simply reading Ben Porter’s biography that is included in today’s program I would like to share some thoughts that have come to me as I researched Mr. Porter and looked for clues to who he was and what may have brought him the hill country of Texas in those early years. 

As I searched the family history I found evidence that our family of Porters arrived in Philadelphia Pennsylvania from Essex England in 1628.  They fairly quickly migrated to Virginia and through three sizeable land grants established themselves in Rockbridge and Spotsylvania Counties of Virginia.  Records indicate that they became fairly affluent and successful through the Revolutionary War and into the early 1800’s. 

In the fall of 1842 Ben Porter’s grandfather, father, mother and much of their extended family liquidated most of the holdings in Virginia and from Alabamaand Tennessee migrated to Texas.  In considering this move I wondered what would cause this family, who obviously enjoyed a relatively successful lifestyle, to move to another country.  We have to remember that in 1842 this was the Republic of Texas – another country, and to put it into perspective, this was only six years after the fall of the Alamo and the battles for Texas’ independence from Mexico.  Without knowing for certain I have to assume that they moved because of the promise of opportunity and possibly adventure. 

Their migration to Texas appeared to have a purpose and direction because they acquired several land grants and established themselves in northeastTexas near the settlement of Mount Pleasant in what would later become Titus County.  We can also assume that Mr. Porter’s family was active in politics and civic affairs because both his father and grandfather signed petitions to establish Titus County and later to incorporate the city of Mount Pleasant as the county seat.  Ben Porter’s father, Benjamin T. Porter served as sheriff of Titus County and reports show that he was killed in the line of duty “by outlaws” in 1856 when Ben was only 11 years old.

I think it is worth considering how these early events might have shaped Ben’s life and it’s important to note that after loosing his father in such a seminal event he would still embrace the notion of law and order after he moved to Llano.   

Family history states that young Ben lived with relatives until he was about 16 years old when he struck out to work as a trail hand and came to ride with a company of Texas Rangers until being called into service in the Confederate army.  As I think about Ben’s life I consider that he was the same age as my son, 16 years old, when he struck off on his own.  I can’t imagine giving my son, Dan, a carbine and telling him to “hit the trail.”

At the end of the Civil War Mr. Porter returned home to Mount Pleasant and married his first wife, Nancy Adeline Duff, and they quickly moved to LlanoCounty.  As we can read in his obituary the hill country was wild and untamed.  Indians and outlaws were very active in the area and it was described as “rough and wooly.”  As Mr. Porter’s obituary so vividly recounts these were days of high adventure and danger but it also describes a life that Mr. Porter, and I have to assume the rest of those we are here to honor today, came to love and value so very much.  These pioneers saw the beauty that is the hill country and obviously came to believe in the potential that this country has to offer.  

We have heard numerous stories about Mr. Porter’s adventures and even more importantly about the love that he had for his family and his honesty and integrity when it came to this community.  I believe that this dedication is what led all of these men to leave their homes and families to join in the effort to bring law and order to this country.  These early Rangers served for thirty days at a time and were paid only $ 40.00 a month for their service.  They provided their own horses and were issued a carbine but had to post a $ 20.00 deposit that was returned at the end of their service.  Records show Mr. Porter serving in Company Q of the Texas Rangers under Lt. John Smith of Llano County.  His formal service extended through the 1870s.  Journals document his participation in several pitched battles with Indians and outlaws during his time with the Rangers.

All of this history causes me to reflect on what it is about this hill country of Texas that so appeals to people’s hearts.  Obviously Mr. Porter felt a great opportunity and came to love this country.  Looking back at my own youth, our time was filled with trips from San Antonio to Mason to spend time with my father’s family.  My first memories are of trips to my Aunt Emm’s house and my Cousin Gayle, my grandfather, Harve Porter – Ben’s son, and time spent at the Llano River. 

What is it about this country that gets into peoples blood?  I’d have to say that it “just is” and that if I have to explain you probably wouldn’t understand.  My wife, Jean, will attest to that.  Not having experienced the hill country she has a hard time understanding why this country is so important to me. 

I’ve heard people say that the hill country is the heart of Texas.  From what I know of those of us who love this country I say that the soul and lifeblood ofTexas resides in the hill country.  I have to believe that these feelings are the result of Ben Porter and these early pioneers embracing this country and passed that connection down the family lines.

These original pioneers – these four heroes we came together to honor today are the ones who allowed this country to become what it is for all of us. Through their dedication and sacrifice we are all able to share the same beauty that they came to love.  We owe these men and former rangers all across this great state a debt of gratitude; a debt that we have started to repay by honoring their memories and erecting these memorials so that everyone can know of their affiliation with this organization.  Every time we see a Ranger Cross we should recognize our heritage and be proud to stand up and proclaim “God Bless Texas”.

Robert Percival Porter, USN, 1945

Descendants of Benjamin Taliaferro PORTER

Descendants of Benjamin Taliaferro PORTER - 9 Jul 2008
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

FIRST GENERATION

 

1.  Benjamin Taliaferro PORTER was born about 1817 in Lincoln County or Bedford County, Tennessee.  He died in October 1856 in Titus County, Texas. 
Killed in the line of duty while serving as sheriff of Titus Co., TX.  Listed in Wills-Probates of Titus Co., November term 1856, William Porter, Administrator.

 

Listed in Franklin Co., AL 1840 census.  Moved to Red River (now Titus) County, TX about 1842.  Benjamin T. purchased land 2 miles W. of Mt. Pleasant, TX in 1844.

 

1850 Titus Co., TX census:
Porter, Benjamin, age 33, b. TN, farmer
Porter, Rebecca, age 32, b. AL
Porter, William, age 12, b. AL
Porter, Reese, age 11, b. AL
Porter, Charles, age 9, b. AL
Porter, George, age 8, b. AL
Porter, Nancy, age 7, b. TX
Porter, Benjamin, age 6, b. TX
Porter, Frances, age 4, b. TX
Porter, James, age 2 mos., b. TX

Richard Porter's Thoughts on Our Father

Robert P. Porter

On Fathers' Day by Richard Porter, third son of Robert P. Porter

I have never written anything to anyone about my/our father, Robert Percival Porter, born Hazel Porter in Butner OK  on 6 August 1909.  He changed his birthdate in the family bible to read 1908 in order to get into the US Navy when he was 16.  He always maintained that his birthday was 1908.  His mother, our "Ma", said it was 1909 because she and Hugh were married in Nov 1908 and he was not born before they were married.  I would think that would be the case as children were not usually born "out of wedlock" in those days.  However, the proof positive shows up in the 1910 Oklahoma census recorded in June.  It shows the Hugh Porter household of one male 27 years old and a woman 23 years old and a "baby girl" named Hazel, age nine months.  I supposed the census taker never ask the sex of the infant but only the name.  They made the assumption that the infant was a girl.  So now we've verified by the US Census that Hazel (Bob) was indeed born in 1909. 

His childhood was unremarkable as he was not a good student.  Rumor has it that his mother spoiled him rotten as they were successful farmers with some assets and he was the only child.  She was over protective and would not allow his father to discipline him.  He left school after the 8th grade and served a four year hitch in the US Navy in the 20's and upon discharge, went pretty much from job to job not really accomplishing much. He'd met a "pen pal" named Lillian Thames, a west Texas farm girl who couldn't wait to get off the farm.  Her mother had long since died and her father had just remarried and she was not comfortable with her new mother in law and her lecherous grown son.  (Editor's note: Her daddy died shortly before she graduated from high school. She was very close to him and at her own death bed talked about her being reunited with him in Heaven. She lived off and on with various relatives, but had no home after her daddy died.) She wanted to get away bad enough to marry a immature sailor boy from Oregon who wasn't ready to settle down and accept the responsibilities of a family.   He wound up going into partnership with Hugh and Edna Earl Porter (his parents) in a hotel in Chemult, Oregon.  This did not work out as he and Hugh did not see eye to eye on very much so he forced his dad to buy him out.  At that point he hadn't much to do so he re-enlisted in the Navy just before WWII retaining his rate at Boatswain's Mate First Class.  During WWII, he quickly rose to Chief Petty Officer and felt he'd pretty achieved anything a man could want. 

After WWII, he went to work selling chemical products eventually getting his own west Texas franchise for Turco Products from Houston.  It went well for some years while in Big Spring but his restless nature got the best of him and he began to wander, letting his business go to pot.  Our mother persuaded him to move to Odessa where she thought business opportunities would be better. After a couple of years there, he lost his family and wound up in Bakersfield and started another one.  He was even less successful as a father on this venture than on the first one.  He abandoned his wife and dropped his kids off at various places for others to raise.  He eventually was reduced to manual labor jobs and died in the Veterans' Hospital in Big Spring, TX at age 56.  He is buried in Roswell near his parents, Hugh and Earl Porter.

I've been trying to come up with some positives in his life.  His children never felt a hug or an "I love you" or "good job"  or "you are going to college".  I guess the only thing positive I can say about him is that he was not a tightwad.

Sincerely

Richard Porter

Reflections on Robert P. Porter from our cousin, Georgie Sikes

My thoughts and remembrances for Uncle Bob.  My dad, (Uncle Bill to most of you) thought Uncle Bob acted like a dandy; wearing white shoes!  Real men did not wear white shoes!  (Editor's Note: Daddy was a meticulous dresser and was extremely attentive to his personal hygiene. I think Georgie characterized him with the word, Dandy.) 

He was partial to girls and would let me get a head lock on Gary... so I would WIN. 

When I lived in Roswell in about 1960 or 1961, Uncle Bob was cooking at the jail in Roswell.  Uncle Bob came to visit us several times and cooked dinner at our house one time.  Was very good. He had some good stories to tell.... some of them might have been tall tales.

I know he was not easy on you boys and Aunt Lillian but he was good to me. Georgie

Bob and Lillian 

Double-Thumb Jim (James W. Porter, great grandfather

James W. (nicknamed Double-Thumb Jim) Porter was born the 14th of March 1850, Titus Co., TX. He was married to Joan Landers in 1869, possibly in Titus Co., TX. Joan Landers was born the 28th of October 1848 in Texas. She died the 7th of January in 1920, near Wetumka, Hughes Co., OK, and is buried in Wetumka Cemetery. DT Jim died the 7th of June 1921, near Wetumka, OK, and is buried next to Joan in the Wetumka Cemetery. (Photo of their gravesite posted elsewhere on this site.)

DT Jim is our great grandfather, father to Hugh and grandfather to Robert Percival, our father. He was so named because the thumb on his right hand was extra wide and he had two distinct and separate thumbnails. His left hand was normal. He seemed proud of that "deformity" and displayed it prominently in the only two photos we have of him.

He was nine years old when Billy the Kid was born and just 12 when the Civil War began. He was our earliest known progenitor born in Texas. Texas had been a state for five years. Sometime before 1880 he moved his family from Titus County (Mt Pleasant) to Spanish Fort (Montague County) a town most known as a ferry crossing into the Indian Territory. The railroad missed it and it died up.

According to A History of Montague County, the Porters were known to have been involved in at least one Indian skirmish. A huge boulder on the courthouse square, in St. Jo, has a list of "prominent families of Montague County and the Porter name is listed). He was probably a Sooner as he went north across the Red River and claimed a good homestead just north of what is now Wewoka OK. It was fertile land and produced many high quality cotton crops. Oil was later discovered on this property but he had since died and is buried in the Wetumka cemetery next to his wife, Joan Landers Porter, his wife of 51 years. He survived her by 17 months to the day.
(Thanks to Richard Porter for this biography of our great-grandfather.)

Dr. Reese Bowen Porter, uncle of Hugh Porter (our grandfather)

Dr. Reese Bowen Porter of Town Creek, ~ Lawrence Co., AL ~


REESE BOWEN PORTER, son of Reese Porter and Elizabeth Taliaferro, born Dec. 8, 1836 in Franklin Co., AL; died July 16, 1905 in Town Creek, Lawrence Co., AL; buried Lightfoot Cemetery near Town Creek, AL.

He married HENRIETTA "Nettie" LIGHTFOOT, daughter of Robert W. Lightfoot and Catherine Delia Read, Oct. 8, 1861 in Lawrence Co., AL. She was born Nov. 8, 1843 in Lawrence Co., AL; died Jan. 23, 1891 in Lawrence Co., AL; buried Lightfoot Cemetery. Their children included:

LUCY A. PORTER, b. c1865 in Town Creek, AL; died young.

SARAH E. PORTER, b. c1867 in Town Creek, AL; died young.

ANNA MARY PORTER, b. Jan 1870 in Town Creek, AL; died Jan. 19, 1878 in Town Creek, AL.

FANNIE PORTER, b. c1879 in Town Creek, AL; died young.

Reese married again into yet another familiar family, FRANCES "Fannie" TALIAFERRO, daughter of Benjamin Taliaferro and Nancy [----], Jan. 17, 1892 in Lawrence Co., AL. She was born May 4, 1850 in Lawrence Co., AL; and died April 19, 1930. She’s also buried in Lightfoot Cemetery. They had no known children.


Reese B. PORTER's parents were married about 1815, probably in Lincoln Co., TN, where they were recorded on the 1820 U.S. census (p. 125). They reportedly later moved with Charles C. TALIAFERRO (Reese B. Porter's uncle) to Lawrence Co., AL, settling "at or near" the village of Town Creek. However, the 1840 U.S. census finds the PORTERs in neighboring Franklin Co., AL (p. 236).

The elder Reese PORTER moved his family to Titus Co., TX, in the mid-to-late 1840s and purchased several hundred acres near Mt. Pleasant. Reese B. PORTER, listed as 13 years of age, was recorded in his parents' household on the 1850 U.S. census of Titus County (p. 109). Nothing is known of the younger Reese's existence in Texas. By the next census of 1860, he had left the family home. He eventually made his way back to the Town Creek area and was married there in 1861. He later served as 4th sergeant in the 35th Alabama Infantry, Co. C, C.S.A.

The 1870 U.S. census of Lawrence Co., AL, reveals that Reese B. PORTER had become a practicing physician. He reported real property valued at $3,890 and a personal estate worth $1,300 (p. 129). By the standards of the day, he would have been considered a wealthy man. A report of the Lawrence County Medical Society in 1877 establishes that his full name was Reese Bowen Porter. Later U.S. censuses list him as a farmer and a dry goods merchant, so he appears to have prospered in a variety of ventures.

Reese's first wife (Henerietta) died in 1891 and was buried in the Lightfoot family cemetery near Town Creek. One researcher's visit there in the 1970s established the cemetery's location in a pasture on the property of one Billy LEE, III. Reese later married Fannie TALIAFERRO, his first cousin, once removed. The couple was recorded in Town Creek on the 1900 U.S. census (p. 164). Reese died there five years later.

(RBP obituary from the Leighton News 21 Jul 1905) Dr. R.B. Porter, one of the most prominent professional and business men of North Alabama, died at his home in Town Creek last Sunday night after an illness of about one month. He would have been sixty-nine years of age on the 8th of December next. He served with distinction in the Confederate army, was a prominent member of Camp Fred Ashford, U.C.V. [United Confederate Veterans], and took a great interest in the meetings of the camp and the annual reunions. He was a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, holding the office of High Priest in the Royal Arch chapter, as well as high office in the Blue Lodge. The funeral services were held in the Methodist church at Town Creek Tuesday morning, and the interment was in the Lightfoot cemetery. He leaves a devoted wife to mourn his death.

During the probate of his estate, some of Reese's real property was sold and the proceeds were to be divided among his heirs. He had no surviving children, so his heirs included the offspring of his deceased brothers and sister(s). The names of these 39 individuals and their last known places of residence were published presumably in the Moulton Advertiser in January 1907. Our grandfather, Hugh Porter, (a nephew of Reese) was among those listed as an heir. This "Probate Notice" has been an invaluable tool in identifying the descendants of the elder Reese PORTER. Two of the men listed, however, have yet to be connected to this family — Lee Murphy PORTER, who is over 21 years old, and whose particular place of residence is unknown; and Dr. J.L. JEFFREYS (sic), who resides at Roff, Indian Territory (now Pontotoc Co., OK).

More research is needed to locate the elusive Lee M. PORTER. The good doctor has been identified as John L. JEFFRESS (1869–1927). He had been living in Hopkins Co., TX, before moving to the Indian Territory shortly after the 1900 census. John was the nephew of Dr. D.H. JEFFRESS (1837–1885), whose son Charles married Mary Indiana BROOKS in Hood Co., TX, in 1886. Miss BROOKS's mother, nee Nancy Jane PORTER, was the niece of Dr. Reese B. PORTER (the subject of this sketch). The Probate Notice, however, points to an earlier, and as yet unknown, PORTER-JEFFRESS connection.



***WARNING***
There undoubtedly are errors on this page. Please use this information as a guide rather than a gospel.
Sources:
This article came from:
Bobby J. Wadsworth
bobby.jay@verizon.net
Carrollton, Texas
©2004-2009


1. Jonathan Kennon Thompson Smith, Death Notices from the Christian Advocate, Nashville, Tennessee 1877-1879, , (©2000). ["MARY PORTER, only child of Dr. R.B. and Nettie Porter, died Town Creek, Ala., Jan. 19, 1878 aged about 7 years; the only one of seven children who had survived."]

2. Mary E Porter, A Family History, William Porter, Jr., of Rockbridge County, Virginia (1740-1804) and Five Generations of His Descendants, (by the author, El Reno, OK, 1984), p. 41.

3. Transactions of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama, (The Brown Printing Co., State Printers, Binders & Stationers, Montgomery, AL, 1889), pp. 189-190. [“Lawrence County Medical Society — Birmingham, 1877 ... Moved out of the county ... Reese Bowen Porter, Town Creek.”]

4. Hoyt Cagle, "Colbert County, AL, Ancestor Sightings: 1836-1919," , 01 Jan 2004. ["The Moulton Advertiser, still published in Lawrence County, is the oldest weekly in AL. The Leighton News was published weekly in Leighton, Colbert County. Until 1895, Leighton was half in Lawrence and half in Colbert County."]

5. "Probate Notice ... R.B. Porter, deceased, Estate of." Loose newpaper clipping in the possession of Freddie Wayne Cox of Arlington, Texas, in July 1994.

WILLIAM BOWEN CAMPBELL 1807-1867

WILLIAM BOWEN CAMPBELL 1807-1867

Was in the US Congress (three terms) and governor of Tennessee 1851-1853. This guy looked like Elvis and fought like Andrew Jackson. He was the nephew of our Mary Bowen Porter and a first cousin to our Reese Porter or our first cousin fifth removed. We visited his home/plantation when we were on the ancestral trace in April 2008. Guides there were dressed in period costumes and since we were the only tourists there, gave us a wonderful personalized tour. You can find photos of him and his home here in the blog.

Courtesy of the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture.

William B. Campbell, lawyer, soldier, state legislator, congressman and governor, was born on Mansker's Creek, Sumner County, on Feb. 1, 1807, the son of David and Catherine Bowen Campbell. He studied law at Abingdon, Virginia, with his relative, Governor David Campbell. He returned to Tennessee in 1829, settled in Carthage, and was admitted to the bar in 1830. In 1831 Campbell was elected as district attorney, and four years later, his district sent him to the Tennessee General Assembly. That same year, he married Frances Owen, daughter of Dr. John Owen of Carthage. He resigned his seat in the legislature to serve as captain of a mounted volunteer company in the Creek and Seminole War (apologies to my Native American friends from Florida) under Colonel William Trousdale. When he returned from the war in Florida, he was elected and served as a Whig member of the twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth, and twenty-seventh sessions of the United States Congress.

When the Mexican War broke out in 1846, Campbell was elected colonel of the First Tennessee Volunteers, which saw action at Monterey, Vera Cruz, and Cerro Gordo and earned the dubious recognition as the Bloody First. At the storming of Monterey, Campbell's command, "Boys, follow me!" became the slogan for the Whig Party in the Tennessee gubernatorial campaign of 1851. In the summer of 1847, Campbell was elected judge of the circuit court where he served four years.

In 1851, Campbell ran as the Whig candidate for governor and defeated Democratic incumbent William Trousdale. After serving one two-year term as governor, Campbell retired to private life in 1853 and accepted the presidency of the Bank of Middle Tennessee. In 1859, he returned to public service as circuit court judge.

During the presidential campaign of 1860 Campbell supported John Bell, the Constitutional Union candidate. Following the election of Lincoln, he canvassed the state in opposition to secession. Commissioned as brigadier general of volunteers in the Union army by President Lincoln in 1862, Campbell resigned later that year because of poor health.

Following the readmission of Tennessee to the Union in 1866, Campbell was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Congress, where he supported the conservative Reconstruction policies of President Andrew Johnson. Campbell died at Lebanon on Aug, 19, 1867, and was buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery.

In 1942, the War Department established a World War II army training camp on the Kentucky-Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee. The adjutant general of the United States Army named the camp in honor of William Bowen Campbell to perpetuate the memory of this outstanding soldier, lawyer, judge and public figure who devoted nearly four decades to the service of his state and country.

AMOS THAMES (Lillian Thames Porter) our mother's side of the family)

Amos Thames (Tims), on our maternal side, was probably our earliest progenitor in the new world. Amazingly he landed on our shores on the Fourth of July. How's that for timing? However it was 77 years before THE Fourth of July.

He ran away from home in Northamptonshire England at age 13, indenturing himself as a cabin boy to Capt Richard Tibbetts on the good ship Anne and Mary, which sailed from Southampton. He arrived at Surry, North Carolina on July 4, 1699. For seven years, he had to work out his indentured servant status.

On January 22, 1717, he purchased 30 acres of land and began to farm it. He had several children, some of whom became prominent in the area. After a generation or two, the Thames family began to move west, settling in Mississippi, again for a couple of generations and then some worked their way into Texas. There is an account of an Amos Thames who fought in the Texas Revolution and was a personal family friend of William Barrett Travis. I've not found his link to us but I am still researching it. He is more than likely related to us. Thames is not a common name, nor is Amos.

There are very few families in England that retained the river spelling of Thames (Tims), which can be traced back to the Roman occupation of what is now Great Britian. In England the family surname is almost always spelled Tims or Timms.

As the Thames family moved west, they may have tired of trying to correct the pronunciation, which they were still calling itTims. They probably threw up their hands and adopted the phoenetic pronunciation of Thames, pronouncing the Th and adopting the long vowel a. It has been that way for four or five generations. So, when you find a Tims, say Howdy Cuz. Submitted by Richard L. Porter

Son of Rose Berryman
Buried at Mt. Nebo, Georgia
Inscription:
JOHN
TALIAFERRO
CAPTAIN VA. BN.
REV. WAR
APRIL 7, 1821

Rose BERRYMAN--our GGGGGGgrandmother

Rose Berryman is our G6 grandmother. She was the mother of Richard Taliaferro, the colonial architect, Charles Taliaferro, the carriage maker and Dr. John Taliaferro, Revolutionary War surgeon and Baptist minister, and many others. Her ancestry was from Berri (Devon) England. Rose's father was a man from Berri.

I.) Capt. Richard TALIAFERRO and wife Rose BERRYMAN.

Capt. Richard TALIAFERRO was born at The Mount, Virginia, in 1706, the son of Zachariah TALIAFERRO. He married Rose BERRYMAN, June 10, 1726, in Caroline County, Virginia.

Rose BERRYMAN was born in the historic County of Westmoreland, Virginia, probably in the year 1708. She came of distinguished ancestry, her father, Major Benjamin BERRYMAN, being a man of prominence in the Colony.

Rose BERRYMAN was one among a family of seventeen children, and she spent her girlhood days on the BERRYMAN estate in Westmoreland County. On June 10, 1726, she was united in marriage to Captain Richard TALIAFERRO of Caroline County. Their home was blest with thirteen children, one of whom died in infancy. * Children's names listed below.
This family resided in Caroline County and probably belonged to St. Thomas' Parish, the records of which have been destroyed. Captain Richard TALIAFERRO was a large landholder and patented 10,000 acres in the present counties of Amherst and Nelson. He passed away on September 27, 1748. The cause of his death is unknown; although traditional accounts in the family of his granddaughter, Anna TALIAFERRO McCRARY state that he was killed while crossing the Potomac on a flatboat, and only a few of his men escaped death.

The sad loss of her husband left Rose BERRYMAN TALIAFERRO with entire responsibility of her home and the rearing of twelve children. She reared and educated them according to the standards of the old Virginia Colony; breathing into their lives love in its truest form; love for one another; love for their fellowman; love for their country; and love for their God. Several of her sons and grandsons served with honor and distinction in the Revolution; one son, Dr. John TALIAFERRO, was not only a soldier, but a prominent physician and a Baptist Minister. In her declining years, she could have pointed to these boys with pride and said, "These are my Jewels." Her parents could not have chosen a more fitting name for her than Rose. In the garden of life she lived and grew and bloomed, not for herself, but for the pleasure of others. Though she sleeps today in an unmarked grave, she is not forgotten.
*Rose's children:

•Sarah Taliaferro
•Benjamin Taliaferro
•Zachariah Taliaferro
•Richard Taliaferro
•Dr. John Taliaferro
•Colonel Charles Taliaferro
•Beheathland Taliaferro
•Peter Taliaferro
•Elizabeth Taliaferro
•Rose Taliaferro
•Mary B. Taliaferro
•Francis Taliaferro
•Richard Taliaferro

Bartolomew Taliaferro--the Merchant of Venice

Bartolomew Taliaferro was our direct ancestor, 13 generations back. He was born in 1530 and died in 1601. He was a citizen of Venice, then a powerful city-state off the coast of what is now northeast coast of Italy. It is important to note that he was not Italian as the country of Italy was not consolidated and organized until the mid 1850s. He was Venetian and was appointed an official trade representative of the Doge (Duke) of Venice to the Royal Court of London, making him a Merchant of Venice. He was a contemporary of Shakespeare and while there is no direct evidence of their friendship, Bartolomew could very well have been the model for the famous play.

8.Bartholomew TALIAFERRO #5225 b. 1530,abt, Venice, Italy,[11]
Occupation Court Musician to Q. Eliz., m. 1-Jan-1583/84, in St.
Michael's, Cornhill, London, England,4 [4] Joane LANE LANEJoane
#5226, Buried: St. Olave's, Harte St.,London, England.
Bartholomew died 1601, London, England,7 [7] Buried: 22-Sep-1601,
St. Olave's, Harte St.,London, England,4 [4] 1601, Will was
probated in London. "A subject of the Duke of Venice," removed to
London, England, by or before 1562. Virginia Magazine, Vol. 77,
Jan., 1969, pp. 22-25, Sir Anthony Wagner Garter Principal King of
Arms, one of the greatest of the English genealogists stated that
'The Virginia Taliaferros have their origin in a Venetian Family
that settled in England before 4 March, 1562." Correspondence of
Pres. Thomas Jefferson in the Archives Dept. of the Congressional
Library, Washington, D.C. document the Italian link. Or buried 2
Sep., 1602 in Canterbury, Eng.

9.Joane LANE #5226 m. (1) 1-Jan-1583/84, in St. Michael's,
Cornhill, London, England,4 [4] Bartholomew TALIAFERRO #5225, b.
1530,abt, Venice, Italy,11 [11] Occupation Court Musician to Q.
Eliz., d. 1601, London, England,7 [7] Buried: 22-Sep-1601, St.
Olave's, Harte St.,London, England,4 [4] 1601, Will was probated
in London., m. (2) 15-May-1602, in England,4 [4] THOMAS GRAYE
#5227. Joane Buried: St. Olave's, Harte St.,London, England.
Joane may have been the daughter or granddaughter of John
Lane/Laynere of Cornhill, London, court musician, whose family
owned much property on Hart Street where Bartholomew & Joane
Taliaferro lived. Bartholomew's will is on file at the Prerogative
Court of Canterbury, Eng. Bartholomew was made a denizen of London
in March,1562. By tradition the Taliaferro family originated at
Mugello, Italy, where there is a place called Tagliaferr.

---

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Taliaferro has many spellings, and in English is generally pronounced Tolliver. The families with that surname are from the same line of families. Taliaferro in Venetian is iron worker. He never set foot in the New World but his grandson, Robert "the Immigrant" did and sired a family known far and wide in the South who helped build America into the new world. Among his progeny is Dr. John Taliaferro, a Revolutionary War surgeon and Baptist minister who died just outside Macon, GA in 1821. Also a grandson, Richard Taliaferro, was the primary architect of colonial Williamsburg, VA and a mentor and teacher of Thomas Jefferson. He designed the governor’s mansion and several of the homes there. His brothers (or uncles) were also prominent in Williamsburg. Charles was a carriage maker and has a restored home on the main square. Another is mentioned on a plaque in the town church.

His son-in-law was George Wythe (pronounced With) who was Jefferson's law partner and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Booker T. (Taliaferro) Washington was probably a slave of one of our ancestors. That’s nothing to brag about certainly, but probably a fact.

Our closest Taliaferro relative was Elizabeth, known as Bettie, Taliaferro, a grand daughter of Dr. John and married to our Reese Porter. She probably is buried in Mt. Pleasant, TX.

Bartolomew's father was Bartolomeo Taliaferro and that is all we know of him. Probably all of the Taliaferros in the USA are related in some way and there are numerous websites and blogs dedicated to their memories.

Back in the geneological saddle again

It's been some time since I posted any information about the Porters. At the family gathering after Christmas in Dallas, Richard suggested I start publishing family biographies. Here's one about Mary Bowen--our earliest matriarch. She was born some 30 years before the American Revolution, so lived during very interesting times. If you have any questions or suggestions of what you'd like to see on this blog, let me know at jantweiler@msn.com/

MARY BOWEN'S GRAVESTONE UP CLOSE
(The best that we could tell, it reads:

Sacred to the memory of Mary Bowen Porter Wife of Wm. Porter Mother to eight sons and five daughters

William Bowen Campbell, governor of Tennessee

We visited his plantation, which is staffed with guides in period costumes demonstrating life in the 1800s. He related to the Porters through his aunt who just happens to be our G7-grandmother, Mary Bowen Porter.

Mary Bowen 1748, mother of Reese Porter

Mary Bowen, born in Augusta County VA 1748

was the mother of our Reese Porter and the wife of William Porter Jr.

She was the daughter of John Bowen and Mary (McIlhaney) Bowen. The name Bowen was Welsh and was a derivative of an old Welsh name "Ap Owen" meaning "son of." The Owens and Bowens are from the family.

She drew a military pension for knitting wool socks for the soldiers at the pivotal Battle of Kings Mountain which turned the tide of the Revolutionary War. After the death of her husband in 1804, she and five of her sons, including our Reese, migrated southwest into southern Tennessee where she lived until her death in 1820. We dug her headstone out of the mud and scraped it off enough to read "mother of nine sons and five daughters". She is our GGGGGGGrandmother.

John Bowen, father of Mary Bowen Porter

John Bowen was the father of our Mary Bowen Porter. He was the grandfather of Wm Bowen Campbell, the governor of Tennessee from 1851-1853.

Mary Bowen is not listed in this post as she was #1 a woman #2 never did anything famous except to knit wool socks for the soldiers at the last pivotal battle of the Revolutionary War (Battle of Kings Mtn) We saw the gravestone of Mary Bowen in southern Tennessee on our genealogical trip last May.

John Bowen, a wealthy planter of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, as was the custom of the times, at harvest, gathered the lads and lassies of the surrounding country to his harvesting. One of these, Lilly McIlhenny, by her grace and beauty, so attracted the old bachelor's heart that he bowed at the shrine of matrimony. From this marriage came Captain William Bowen, the Indian fighter, and the more celebrated Reese Bowen, who was killed at King's Mountain. Captain William was one of the early settlers of Sumner county; the father of John H. Bowen, lawyer, and idol of his county of Sumner, and of whom the venerable Judge Thomas Barry says, he was the best and most loved man he ever knew. Such was his reputation for probity, that the juries gave him credence when he differed with the court on a point of law; he was elected to Congress before he was of the age to take his seat. His sister married David Campbell, a son of Colonel David Campbell, and brother of General John Campbell, of the war of 1812. This David Campbell and Catherine Bowen were the father and mother of Governor William B. Campbell, of our good State of Tennessee. Speaking, therefore, for our home, your annalist and his wife, daughter of W. B. Campbell, represent, of the Scotch-Irish blood, the united strains of the Kelleys, the Thompsons the Montgomerys, the Hamiltons, the McIlhennys, the Cunninghams, Hays, and Adams.

The Porter Trek across the South
5,000 miles behind the wheel, 1,000 of which were U-turns
or
“It didn’t look that far on the globe!”

End of the road in Wetumka

At the grave sites of Stell Porter Jaynes and G-granddad Double-Thumb Jim and G-grandmother Joan Landers Porter

Days 14 and 15

In Branson:

It was a restful couple of days here. We were able to unpack and rearrange and repack, do laundry and just kick back and relax. The back of the minivan had begun to look like the Clampetts. All we needed was a rocking chair and Liz strapped to the roof of the car.

We went to see Leatherheads with George Clooney and Renee Zellweger. It was probably a good choice for Bob. He actually remembers playing in leather football helmets when he was a freshman and sophomore. Richard had never even seen one, except in museums.

The second day, we explored our Irish roots by attending Spirit of the Dance and the Twelve Irish Tenors. Both were entertaining, but could have included more Irish protest songs for Bob and me. Where was The Rising of the Moon?

Saturday was Bob's 74th birthday. We left Branson about nine o'clock and cut across to Wetumka, Oklahoma to visit the grave sites of our great-grandparents: Double-Thumb Jim Porter and Joan Landers. We saw many Darnalls (the cousin we had lunch with in Gallatin, Tenn. He is the descendant of Grandad Hugh's brother.

When I was a kid and acting my usual boisterous self, my grandmother would tell anyone who would listen that I was just like Stell Porter, my granddad's sister. It was no compliment. We have photos to post, but I think I'll wait until I get back to Colorado to do that.

We arrived back in Rockwall in time to have a surprise dinner for Bob. Two of his children (Bonnie and Bobby (Dr. Banjo) came over, and Leslie (Richard and Liz's daughter) and her family came, too.

Bob and I came home with Bonnie to spend the night to let Richard finally be done with us. Bob left at the crack of dawn to get home to San Angelo. I had a luxurious sleep in and plan to teach Bonnie to purl this afternoon.

I intend to fill in all the blank spaces on the blog when I have a bigger keyboard and bigger screen. My laptop is great, but all the extras on my desk help me work better. So, look for photos and more details in the near future.

So, ends the Porter ancestral trace and the 5000-mile round trip. Thanks to Richard for organizing the trip and being our tour guide, chauffeur and social director. He was a natural.

Day Thirteen-April 23

We spent the night in Nashville and visited the Gibson Guitar Center and the Country Music Hall of Fame this morning. The CMHOF was a trip down memory lane for all of us. We grew up listening to the radio with Hank Williams, Lefty Frezzell, Red Foley, Bob Wills, Jim Reeves, Willie Nelson, Kitty Wells, Patsy Cline, Gene Autry, the Carter family and more. It’s as big a part of our history as the Porters and the Taliaferros. Some of my earliest memories are of Bob or Richard playing guitar and singing these old songs. On Saturdays in particular, Mother would play the radio and sing along with Jim Reeves and Willie as she cleaned house.
After the Hall of Fame, we went over to the Gibson store. Richard has been asking Santa for a blue Gibson ES-335 with F-holes. They only had red ones. How sad! If anyone knows where he might find this left-handed monkey wrench, let Richard know at rlp4129@aol.com/
We stayed in Nashville until about noon and then headed out for Branson via Memphis. It was a long, long day, but we stopped in West Plains, Missouri for dinner for some very good chicken-fried steak and smashed taters with the skins on—my favorite. As we left the restaurant, it started to rain gently; as we got closer to Branson, it rained cats, then dogs, then donkeys. It will be nice to be able to relax for a couple of days, repack and reorganize everything.
We plan to attend one show, go to Silver Dollar City and see if we can find a movie that suitable for Bob’s innocent view of the world. (He’s not as jaded as the rest of us.)

Day Twelve--Gallatin/Nashville

Today, we picked up R&L at Eloise and took off for Gallatin, Tennessee, where we toured the Bowen Plantation. The plantation was established by Samuel Bowen, Mary Bowen's brother. His son was governor of Tennessee right before the Civil War. It is now a working plantation with re-enactors giving lectures about the carpentry, gardening, etc. While we were there, one of the gardeners was hoeing a plot right outside the main house; he dug up some blue and white pottery shards. I REALLY wanted them, but alas, now they're artifacts to go in the museum.

After we left the plantation, we drove about 10-20 miles toward Nashville to the Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's home. (He was the seventh president.) It was a beautiful plantation, too. Just a bit grander than the governor's! He had a little over 1000 acres where he raised cows, pigs, chickens, geese, ducks and all manner of livestock. It was a long, hot walk around the grounds, but well worth it.

I have a new roommate now that Liz is traveling with us. All the gang is piled in our room; we're watching the Pennsylvania primary and eating pecan brittle.

Tomorrow we plan to visit the Gibson Guitar factory and the Country Music Hall of Fame. No more ancestral trekking until we get to Oklahoma. If anybody is reading this, drop me a comment; I'm beginning to think I'm the only one checking the blog.

Day Eleven--Louisville, Kentucky

Day Eleven

Monday was a travel day; we were trying to get to Louisville, Kentucky by dinnertime to hook up with Eloise Lening and Richard’s wife, Liz, who was visiting Eloise. I wish I had words to describe this 81-year-old hoot. She is a great friend to Richard and Liz and everyone who meets her, wants to adopts her.

She had lived in Evergreen for years and had gone to the same church with R&L. She moved to Kentucky shortly after we moved to Evergreen. We were sick that she left. We wanted her to build a log cabin on our property.

We went to Outback last night; R&L spent the night with Eloise; Bob and I went back to the hotel. I did laundry, so we all have clean clothes again. Yippee.

Day Ten—Sunday in Lexington, Virginia

Lexington is the home of the Virginia Military Institute and Washington & Lee. It’s a beautiful little college, looks a lot like an English village. Today, we spent the day in Rockbridge County, where the Porters had their homestead. The cabin pictured at the side was built here and moved to San Antonio in the 1950s. Bob and I are standing by a cabin built at the same time and was on the hotel property where we stayed. The next photo tells that Sam Houston was born here and his dad gave the land for the church. Mr. Robert Houston was an elder at the same time as Wm. Porter, Sr.; and Sam Houston was born the same year as Wm. Porter, Jr. We attended church at the Timber Ridge Presbyterian Church—the 250-year-old church where our ancestors attended and were elders, deacons or whatever the Presbies call them. It was a lovely service and had all familiar hymns. The members were very friendly; many were descendants of some of the originals. Probably a couple of them were sixth cousins, twice removed. It had a cemetery, but we found no recognizable ancestors.

However, we met the church historian who showed us to their library where the artifacts were displayed. We found a reference to William Porter Senior and Junior, Benjamin Porter and his wife, Jean Black Porter; her family ( Rev. Samuel Black) started Blacksburg and Virginia Tech. I digress, so back to the church.

A group of Scot-Irish came across the Blue Ridge Mountains and settled in the Shenandoah Valley. It’s absolutely gorgeous and I cannot believe they left this lush, green valley to go to points West. The Porters were contemporaries of Sam Houston’s family whose homestead was very close to the church. Robert Houston donated the land for the church. Since they were celebrating their 250th anniversary, they had made commemorative plates with a drawing of the church on them. Bob and I bought one each. (Correction from Richard: The Scot-Irish didn't cross the Blue Ridge. The Brits were in the Tidewater I(coastal) areas and the SI on the other side of the state . They'd gotten there by sailing up the Delaware River into what is now southeastern PA, around York. Whilst they were there, one Benj. Borden got a huge grant and to encourage settlements in that area opened it to ONLY those who were not presently living in VA. The SI were the recipients of this largess. The only folks who crossed the formidable Blue Ridge Mtns in those days were surveyors and soldiers.)

After lunch at the Southern Inn, we went back to our rooms, had a quick nap and then went out to the Natural Bridge. George Washington had surveyed this area (which was the untamed West at the time). He carved his initials in the side of the canyon; we could where it was, but I couldn’t make out the initials. We walked about three miles yesterday from the visitors center, under the natural bridge and on to the waterfall at the very end of the trail. The creek (more like a river) was called Cedar Creek. Along the trail, we saw a reconstructed Monacan Indian village, a butterfly garden, a green snake chasing a little frog and about a gazillion gnats.

We loaded up on Virginia ham and wine, then we made our way back to the hotel where we picnicked in the boys’ room. We’ve had way too much fun making fun of each other and calling each other by our nicknames. Our granddad, Hugh Porter, had a nickname for everybody, except me. Bob was Chongo, Gary was Cholo, Richard was Beau-Dick, our Mother, Lillian, was Susie. Go figure! He didn’t give me a nickname, so Bob has started calling me Jay-Roo. If you don't know the reference, I'm not going to tell you!

Bob also told me a story about Granddad: when Bob and Gary were little, if Granddad made them cry, he would take off his Stetson and offer to let them hit him on the head. They always said, “no, no, Granddad, we love you; we wouldn’t hit you.” Evidently, he made me the same offer when I was about two years old; he gave me a golf club and I cold-cocked him. I suppose that was the last time he offered to let any of us hit him on his old bald head.

Day Nine-Monticello and Shenandoah Valley

Day Nine

We were very tired after our busy day yesterday, so slept in (until about 7:30). We had intended to spend another day in the DC area, but had pretty had it with the traffic. I’m sorry Bob didn’t get to see the Holocaust Museum, but we had been to Auschwitz when we traveled to Eastern Europe together some years ago.

There seemed to be an inordinate number of people for this time of year. We thought perhaps that people who had come to see Pope Benedict had stayed in DC for the weekend. Larry said that it’s just always that bad. It’s a little bit different from riding the Metro from a downtown hotel to the IRS office. Guess I got a little spoiled.

We took our time leaving Gainesville, Virginia and meandered through the countryside. One village called Culpeper (one p, not Culpepper) was celebrating Remembrance Day. We stopped at a yard where Loyalists and Patriots were re-enacting. Their costumes were authentic; some played the fifes and drums.

This site just happened to be the county museum; it had quite a selection of historic books about the county, including one on the church register. About a dozen Porters and that many more Taliaferros were listed in the index. In the museum, we found a crib that been crafted for a baby in the Taliaferro family.

We stumbled across a German bakery (reminded us of F’berg, Texas). We bought some spice cookies and three croissants that the ladies sliced for us, then Richard and Bob ferreted out some goodies to stuff in the buns for our lunch. (They found some pimento cheese for me; I had been whining for some time for a pimento cheese sandwich.)

We picnicked in a little garden/fountain area and on the way out of town; Richard saw a sign for historic ruins. The ruins happened to be in a vineyard, so we turned in and drove down the little country road. We saw a tiny cemetery, not a group to by-pass the opportunity to kick over a tombstone; we went for a stroll through it. I think there were about a dozen graves; lo and behold the two biggest grave sites were Mary and John Taliaferro! This is crazy.

We were actually on our way to Monticello, but stopped on several serendipity sidetracks that we got to Thomas Jefferson’s home too late to take the tour. We went through the museum, which was incredible. It had tons of TJ’s handwriting: his expense accounts, his pithy sayings, and his farm records. Very interesting.

Tonight we’re in Lexington, Virginia, home of Virginia Military Institute. We’re going to the Porter homestead tomorrow and to Natural Bridge. The Shenandoah Valley is a beautiful place. I drove over the Blue Ridge Mountains this afternoon while Richard and Bob took their naps. We’ll soon be looking for a place to have dinner. More tomorrow. J