52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: (Week 1) Family Lore - Unraveling Family Myth of the Stuart Families of Mississippi and Texas

Welcome to 2024 and another engaging round of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, initiated by Amy Johnson Crow. This year, we kick off with a theme close to many of our hearts: family lore. Let me share a personal anecdote that turns a family myth on its head.

Growing up in Texas, my family always proudly identified as the Stuarts. There was another clan in town, the Stewarts. Our family lore was firm: "We are not related to any Stewarts, only Stuarts." This was a line drawn in the sand, separating us from them.

Flash forward to 2004. Curiosity and a bit of genealogical mystery led my male Stuart cousins in Mississippi to take Family Tree DNA's Y-DNA test. Our aim? To trace the elusive father of William Davis Stuart (b. 22 February 1823 in Alabama - d. 20 July 1907 in Neshoba County, Mississippi) (pictured below with his wife, Hannah Jones, who is being incorrectly listed in trees now as "Hannah Mariah Delbridge" of Missouri. Hannah Delbridge married a different William Stuart in Clark County, Missouri).

The results were nothing short of a revelation. Our Y-DNA matched with descendants of the Cowpasture Stewarts from Augusta County, Virginia, originally hailing from Perthshire, Scotland. In a single test, the long-held belief of our unique Stuart lineage was debunked.

As an interesting footnote to this tale, my Stuarts lived near the families of William Stewart in Winston and Neshoba Counties, Mississippi. Despite the proximity, our family narrative was firm even after Y-DNA testing showed we were Stewarts: we were not related to those Mississippi Stewarts.

Intrigued and determined to uncover the truth, we found a descendant of William Stewart willing to undergo a Y-DNA test. The results were eye-opening: he matched with our Stuart men. Subsequent research unveiled that the William Stewart family is, in fact, closely related to our William Davis Stuart family.

This twist adds another layer to our family's rich tapestry, reminding us that sometimes, family lore and historical facts can converge in the most unexpected ways.

Yes, we are indeed connected to those who spell their name as Stewart. This discovery not only reshaped our family's story but also underlined the power of DNA in genealogy. It goes to show, sometimes the tales we grow up hearing might just be waiting for a twist in the tale.

This content was crafted for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge, focusing on the theme "Family Lore" this week.

- Revis

Sunday Obituary: John Mark HARDIN (born 1849-probably Cedar Co., MO; died 1933-Wichita Falls, Wichita Co., TX)

My daddy called John Mark Hardin "Uncle Mark Hardin". So did my paternal grandaunts, the daughters of Helena Olivia ZIEGENFUSS and her husband, James Andrew CAUBLE. James "Jim" Cauble was the son of Julia HARDIN and William Jefferson Lonzo (called "Bill") CAUBLE. 

The first time my daddy told me about "Uncle Mark Hardin" (always using the last name, never just "Uncle Mark"), I was like, "Ummm, wait a minute. He died in 1933 a few months after you were born. You talk like you knew him." 

My daddy laughed and said, "Oh, we all knew about "Uncle Mark Hardin". He lived at times with the Caubles. Something happened with him and his wife, and she left him for another man." I asked about children. Daddy didn't know anything about children, if any.

I left it at that and pondered on "Uncle Mark Hardin". My grandaunts had the same story my daddy had told me, but they knew that he did have children. I searched for several years to find more out about this man everyone called "Uncle Mark Hardin", and I did come to know some of his descendants, my cousins, through genealogy research. I learned the story passed down in their family about his wife leaving him. And then one day, I hit the jackpot in Knox County, Texas. But I'm saving that story for another day! 

This is about his obituary. 

On 24 July 1933 (a Monday), the Wichita Falls Times (Wichita Falls, Texas), page 7, the obituary of J.M. Hardin can be found here at Newspapers.

 J. M. Hardin

   J.M. Hardin, 85, died Sunday

night at his home southeast of

Wichita Falls. The body was taken

in charge by the Thomas Funeral

home of Burkburnett. Relatives in-

clude a nephew, J.W. Cauble, 1004

Eighth street, Wichita Falls, and a 

niece, Mrs. J.B. Basham of Roby. 

That's it??? I'd hoped it would shed more information on this 2nd great-granduncle of mine. But it wasn't full of names or information like I'd hoped. You know the kind of info we genealogists want - his parents' names, the children, what his occupation was, etc. Sometimes we just get what we get. 

The two people named in the obituary I recognized: 

(1) J. W. Cauble was James William Cauble, the son of Arrenia Malinda Hardin (sister to my Julia Hardin Cauble) and James Monroe Cauble (brother to my Bill Cauble). 

In other words, two Hardin sisters had married two Cauble brothers down in McLennan County, Texas. Arrenia and James Monroe married in 1869; Julia and Bill married in 1875.  

(2) Mrs. J. B. Basham named as a niece is Louisa Mae Cauble, a daughter of Julia Hardin and Bill Cauble. I knew the Basham name because Louisa Mae and her husband, J. P. (not J.B.) - John Peter Basham - were my daddy's grandaunt and granduncle. 

Even though I wished there had been more details about "Uncle Mark Hardin's" life in his obituary, it did give a glimpse of what I'd find in upcoming research. Later findings would answer some of my questions about the obituary, such as why weren't any of his children named in it. 

Stay tuned as I'm not finished with the Hardin's of Missouri, Arkansas and Texas yet. 

-Revis