Calvin Caston Homestead Part 1

A Place To Live

Calvin Caston is enumerated in the Pike County  Federal August 12, 1870 census.  In the 1870  census, familial relationships are not identified but the individuals listed with him all have the same surname.  I have listed the family members in previous blogs. Interestingly, post-Civil War most black people with the Caston surname lived in nearby Amite County.  I have not been able to connect Calvin Caston to that county. The Bureau of Land Management is a source of information concerning land patents and homesteads in the United States.   Calvin a farmer applied for a homestead in Pike County, Mississippi on August 15, 1870.  His application was for 80 acres. 

The homestead process to obtain land consisted of filing an application, improving the land, and filing a deed of title.  The homesteader had to live on the land for 5 years, improve the land by planting crops and build a dwelling 12 by 14 size. Proof of residency had to be established before the deed was issued. Calvin's homestead records give an insight into his life and family.  He had life circumstances that cause a long delay in receiving title to the land. He did not receive a title deed for 21 years until  August 19, 1891. More to be discussed.

------ The Tree Gardener

Irvin Brumfield son of Liddie

It has been my attempt in research to try to find evidence that identifies the Brumfield children of Liddie Brumfield Caston.  Prior to November, 1912 in Mississippi, there were no death or birth certificates registered with the state.  Many of the ancestors also could not read or write.  I have not been able to locate a family bible which may have vital records.  I suspect that a bible of this type may not exist.  Some of Liddie's children had the good fortune of long lives such as Tom and Richard Brumfield and death certificates have been located. 
I have been unable to establish a  maternal relationship between Liddie and Ervin (Irvin) Brumfield.  I however been able authenticate that Ervin (Irvin) Brumfield definitely knew Calvin Caston. In my blog post "Ervin, Irvine, Irving, Irvin Part Two" published in November 21, 2012, I mentioned that Calvin Caston signed the homestead affidavit for Irvine Brumfield

Affidavit  of residence for the homestead of Ervin Brumfield 

Henry Conerly and Calvin Caston stated that they knew Ervin Brumfield for 7 years past which would have been 1870. His settlement was established September 1, 1870. Ervin had a wife and four children in 1877. Ervin is thought to have been born in 1846 according to the 1900 Federal Census. In 1870, Ervin would have been 24 years old.

------The Tree Gardner

Six Degree of Separation: Caston & Brumfield Families Part 12

Thomas Brumfield

Thomas Brumfield had a land homestead in Pike County, Mississippi. From research, he is known to have a wife Celia (Selia) her last name unknown and had one child a daughter Mary. Mary attended school  in Pike County.  Mary Brumfield and Willis Bowens at the age of approximately 17 and 27  years old married. Tom enumerated as the head of the household in the 1910 census with Mary and Willis Bowens having had nine children listed with six surviving Isaac 12, Thomas 10, Mattie 8, Willis Jr. 6, Rosabel (Roosevelt) 1 10/12 and Nehemiah 4.    Courtny a 4 year old child in the 1900 census is no longer listed and presumably dead.

Tom as a farmer, provided economic support for his family and extended family. I was unable to uncover any additional information related to Mary and Willis Bowens after the 1910 census. Tom employed his grandchildren on the farm.

In the World War I registrations, Issac and Tommy Bowens are farmers and list Tom Brumfield Sr. as their employer in September 12,1918 and October 28, 1918 respectively.

Isaac Bowens WWI Registration

Tommy Bowens WWI Registration

During my genealogy trip to the Allen County library, I found additional school census for Pike County, Mississippi. Tom Brumfield also was listed as the guardian for his grandchildren Nehemiah and Roosevelt Bowens 17 and 14 years old respectively at the Pike County  Yale School in 1923.

1923 Pike County, Ms. School Records Tom Brumfield guardian Roosevelt Bowens & Nehemiah Bowens children
The children of Silas Caston, John Gatlin  & Squire Gatlin are also listed in this record

In 1926, Tom Brumfield had apoplexy which is defined as a stroke and died 2 weeks later. On his death certificate, Lidia Caston is his mother and Celia Brumfield was the informant. This death certificate and the Federal 1870 census which I posted in part 2 of this series are the two items that establish Thomas Brumfield as a child of Liddie Caston.

----The Tree Gardener

Six degrees of Separation: Caston & Brumfield Families Part 11

Thomas Brumfield in the 20^th  Century 

Thomas Brumfield May, 1853  age 47 years old  and Selia Brumfield July, 1850 49 years old

Tom, Celia and Mary Brumfield are enumerated in the Pike County, Mississippi 1900 Federal Census.  Mary  who is Tom Brumfield daughter is now been married to Willis Bowens for 6 years and has 3 children Courtny  4 years, Isaac 2 years and Thomas 4 months.

Willis Bowen Oct.1861 32 years old,  Mary Bowen Dec. 1877 23 years old, Courtny Dec. 1895 4 years old, Issac Mar. 1897 2 years old, and Thomas Jan. 1899 1 year old 1900 Census

Six degrees of Separation: Caston & Brumfield Families Part 10

Parent Guardian	Name of Children	Age	Male	Female
Bob Brumfield	Harriett Brumfield	16		x
	Sena	14		x
	James	12	x
	John	9	x
	Jesse K.	7	x
Thomas Brumfield	Mary Brumfield	13		x

The year 1890 is important to anyone interested in genealogy research,  This is the year that the majority of the United States federal census  was destroyed in a fire. The school records provided some of  information that would have been available in the census enumeration. Thomas Brumfield  and his daughter Mary 13 years old are listed in the 1890 Pike County, Mississippi school records at the bottom of the image. Thomas whose birth year of 1853 derived from the 1870 census would have been 37 years old. I have included the children  of Bob (Robert) Brumfield who will be in future blog posts.


The Tree Gardener

Six degrees of Separation: Caston & Brumfield Families Part 9

 Thomas Brumfield Family

School records have been a good source for genealogy information for me.  The records I have found are actually enrollment records. The act of racial segregation has also separated the records  into colored and negro from white students.  In  most enrollment records , the race, name, age and sex of the child along with the name of the parent or guardian are given. These records have filled in the 10 year gaps in the federal census enumerations. The information in the school records are sometimes more accurate because it was recorded by someone who actually knew the student and parent.   

 With Thomas Brumfield, I have been able to identify his daughter Mary who is 8 years old in the 1885 Pike County school record. Thomas whose birth year of 1853 derived from the 1870 census would have been 32 years old. I have included  Irvine Brumfield children in the school record which I will refer to in a latter blog post.

"Mississippi, Enumeration of Educable Children, 1850-1892; 1908-1957," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-14208-41161-22?cc=1856425&wc=M6NC-7P8:167436801,167437202 : accessed 21 December 2014), Pike > 1885 > image 7 of 178; Government Records, 

Jackson.

Name of Child	Age	Sex	Color	Parent Guardian
Brumfield Martha A.	13	F	Col	Irvine Brumfield
“        Irvine R. H. W.	11	M	“	“
“        Sherman S.	10	M	“	“
“       William W.	8	M	“	“
“         Louis M.	5	M	“	“
“          Mary	8	F	“	Tom Brumfield

Six degrees of Separation: Caston & Brumfield Families Part 8

Isham Brumfield

 Irvin and Robert Brumfield homesteaded 80 and 160 acres respectively in Pike County Mississippi. My mother Irvin Brumfield’s granddaughter stated that Isham or possibly Isom Brumfield was Irvin’s father.  I have yet been unable to verify this information.  Isham Brumfield (Broomfield/ Bromfield)   however homestead 160.26 acres of land in Walkers Bridge, Pike County, Mississippi beginning in December, 1870. At the time of his homestead, his family consisted of 3 children.  The 1870 Federal Pike County census lists Isham Brumfield 49 years old with 3 children Eli 14, Henrietta 18 and Hester 10.  His initial application was filed March 6, 1873. 

  He almost missed the opportunity to own the land because of a missed proof filing date. He missed the filling date after five weekly notices dated from March 12^th to April 9^th 1880 in the newspaper Magnolia Gazette.   He requested that his homestead application be reinstated which was cancelled January 14, 1881.   The reasons for the missed filing in the request for reinstatement was secondary to “severe disease of   both of his eyes from which he became totally blind.” and ignorance of the law.  In the testimony of claimant dated October 21, 1881, he stated he was 63 years old with three children.  He had a dwelling house, stables valued at $200.00 and cultivated 20 acres and raised 5 crops. His witnesses Solomon Singleton and Jacob Ellzey also verified his homestead from December, 1870 to October 12, 1881.    Isham Brumfield displayed fortitude of character because with sightlessness his homestead was reinstated and he received title to the land in December 13, 1884.

Lost & Not Found

The Allen County Library has a section on the second floor which has the genealogy books and materials. It appears relatively safe with one main entrance. While  I  was at the library, my laptop computer was stolen. I notified the library security and filed a police report.  The  policeman told me that the likelihood of getting it back was slim.
The four year old computer itself had little financial value. The information contained within was of great personal value. The  good news for me is that my computer is password protected. I however changed all my passwords that are  available.  I used  an external hard drive to backup my computer prior to my trip.  I also  used Evernote to store my genealogical  research which is on my smartphone.
  Since this loss, I have learned more about computer security and reminded myself  that no place is truly safe.

Worth The Trip

Allen County Public Library

I made my first road trip to the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana which is the  second  largest genealogy library in the county. With a lot of anticipation to make new discoveries I tried to prepare to utilize my time efficiently.  Prior to my trip, I reviewed the library’s online database for information.   I came equipped with my smartphone, computer laptop, pencils, paper and money for photocopies. There are two smartphone apps which helped me organize information. The app CamScan allows you take a picture of a document fine tune the image, label or tag, share or store. This app helped me save money. Instead of paying ten cent per copy I used the app to make copies from books.   I then organized my information on the app Evernote.  With CamScan, I could sync information onto the Evernote app which was installed on my smartphone and laptop computer. I purchased the premium edition of Evernote because I wanted to save a large amount of data. Organization is  key in genealogy research. Thru the years, I have found information and saved it, lost it and saved the information again thinking it was new information.  The Facebook group The Organized Genealogist has helped tremendously with organizational ideas.

The library is located in downtown Fort Worth.   I drove my car to the library and for a small hourly fee parked in their garage. Preparation is the recipe to success for research at the library. Be prepared. The librarians are not going to help you with your genealogy research.  Knowing what you can find and what you can’t find saves time.  I had a list of call numbers for books I wanted to review from the online catalog. I have made trips to the National Archives, the Mississippi Department of History and Archives and the Tennessee State Library and Archives on previous research trips.  Allen County Library has books that I have not previously found. My inability to find information in the past may stem from my previous inexperience in research or the library is user friendly and has a great collection. 

I found new information about the family trees which I plan to share. 

-------The Tree Gardener

Veterans Day November 11, 2014

Remembering Veteran Family Tree Members

On the 11^th hour of the 11^th day on the 11^th month in 1918 an armistice between Germany and the Allied nations during the Great War known as World War I was established.  This day has transformed to an official holiday to honor all members of the United States Armed forces.  I would like to honor ancestors on my trees who were in the armed forces. My research has not allowed me to identify all the veterans past or present.  They however are not forgotten.  Grateful for their service. God bless them all.    Let’s support our living veterans

Ernest B. Strickland Sr.

Ollie Brumfield World War II
 Isom Brumfield Jr. World War II

Hollis Caston Jr.  World War II  

Jessie Caston   World War II

Wiley Caston World War II
James Bearden World War II
Edward Elam Sr. Viet Nam






Wiley Caston

James Edwards Sr.

Bertha B. Bearden

Bertha B. Bearden

Wallace Caston

Cicero Caston




Six Degrees of Separation Caston & Brumfield Family Part 7

Thomas Brumfield Family

“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much”   Helen Keller

I looked for Thomas Brumfield in the 1880 census but was unsuccessful.  I was able to communicate with a fellow family historian Cousin Roger who gave me a missing bit of information.  Thomas Brumfield is listed in the Mississippi, Pike County census as Tom Black. I probably never would have made that association. This experience demonstrates the importance of collaboration in   genealogy research. 

He is listed with his wife Celia and child Mary.

Learning Curve

Instruction in Genealogy

Judy G. Russell JD, CG, CGL

When I began to research my family history, my methodology was erratic and somewhat ineffective.  I basically used only family stories and the “trial and error method”. Nowadays with the Internet genealogy websites a great deal of information is available online. Some of the family tree information on the popular websites has information errors. The Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) is not used. My personal investigative results improved when I began reading genealogy research books attend conferences and joined the local and national genealogy societies.  I learned that I did not have to recreate the wheel.  I could learn the skills of the professional and experienced researcher.   

 

I recently had the opportunity to attend the Tennessee Genealogy Society fall seminar on October 18, 2014. The guest speaker was Judy G. Russell JD, CG, CGL.  

Judy is a lawyer, certified genealogist and certified genealogy lecturer.  She was a dynamic speaker discussing  1) making the first trip to the courthouse 

2) laws and statues which affect records 3) records of widows and orphans 4) DNA analysis in genealogy.

I am fired up and ready to go the courthouse! I might even do mitochondrial DNA analysis sometime soon.  
                                                                                                      The Tree Gardener

Six Degrees of Separation: Caston & Brumfield Families Part 6

The Thomas Brumfield Family

In genealogy research, it is often difficult to discern family  members who have a common name and the same name as unrelated persons.  The name Thomas or Tom is a very common name.  To find Thomas Brumfield son of  Louis Brumfield and Liddie  Brumfield Caston,  I looked at geographic location, timeframe and relationships. The major relationship is Liddie who lived Pike County, Mississippi which can be verified by the Federal Census.

I have relied heavily on census records which is not always accurate for information.

In the 1870 Federal Census for Pike County, Mississippi, Calvin and Lydia Caston are listed with Thomas Caston age 17 years old.  In the 1870 census family relationships are not identified. This Thomas Caston is probably Thomas Brumfield with a birth year of 1853.

Source Citation: Year: 1870; Census Place: Township 2 Range 9 East, Pike, Mississippi; Roll: M593_745; Page: 128B; Image: 262; Family History Library Film: 552244.