Bluebonnet Country Genealogy

Archive for November, 2009

An exciting evening! When I got home from work, I started reviewing my second great-grandfather Miles Francis Stanley’s file. As I do with each ancester, I plugged his name into Google to see if there was anything “out there” about him. Nothin’.

Then I entered his name into the Google Books search engine and hit the jackpot! Seems my 2GGF Stanley testified in a trial about a man killed in a gunfight in 1905… and the case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court!

So I wrote a long post about the trial, the appeals and the trip that my 2GGF (or at least his testimony) took to Washington, DC and the U S Supreme Court. Pretty exciting!

My granddaughter Stacie and I went to see the new Twilight movie, “New Moon”. Now mind you, before seeing this moving, I have not read any of the books or seen the first movie. Nor am I 14 years old and get all silly and flustered by the young men in this movie. I’m well over the hill! But my granddaughter wanted to see the movie and we haven’t been to a movie together in a while, so I called her Friday night and of course she wanted to go see New Moon!

So Saturday morning before it was time to go to the theater, I wrote my entry for the 85th Carnival of Genealogy: Orphans and Orphans.

I also posted about being awarded the Kreative Blogger award. Thanks, Tonia!

By the way, I actually liked New Moon. After driving my granddaughter nuts with questions at the beginning of the movie, I finally figured out what was going on and it was kinda fun, like going to see House of Dark Shadows was when I was 12 years old…

Kinda hung over today from all of yesterday’s wonderful food! Didn’t do much genealogy today. A little RSS reading…

I did happen upon a couple of city directory listings for my 2GGF, Miles Francis Stanley, from Mineral Wells, Texas in 1909 and 1920. Pretty cool! I found these at The Portal to Texas History:

The Portal is a gateway to Texas history materials. You may discover anything from an ancestor’s picture to a rare historical map. From prehistory to the present day, you can explore unique collections from Texas libraries, museums, archives, historical societies, genealogical societies, and private family collections. The Portal continues to grow as additional partners contribute digital versions of their collections. We hope you’ll return often to discover our latest additions.

If you have Texas ancestors, definitely check out the Portal of Texas History. In addition to city directories, they have old maps, photos, newspapers… all sorts of goodies!

Well, not the flesh and blood Mr Stanley, but the testimony of my second great-grandfather Miles Francis Stanley did make it all the way to the United States Supreme Court!

As long as I have been doing genealogy, I still get so tickled when I make a new discovery! Such a rush!

I have begun to review my 2GGF Stanley’s file. As I always do when I research a person, I plug that name into Google to see what’s out there. You never know. So this afternoon, I did just that, but didn’t find anything new.

Then I went to Google Books, to see what I could find. My 2GGF was a County Commissioner in Hill County, Texas in the late 1890’s, so as a public person, perhaps I might find mention of him or his political activities in some old book.

Well, guess what I found: Miles F Stanley testified on behalf of a women whose husband, a local physician, was killed in a gunfight in 1905 Texas, for Heaven’s sake!

From Cases and points of the Supreme Court of the United States, printed in 1908:

The good doctor had a $20,000 life insurance policy, which the insurance company refused to honor upon due notification of his death. Apparently this case went all the way from the local Hill County jurisdiction to the Dallas, Texas District Appeals Court and then onto the United States Supreme Court!

Wow, this is great! (Sorry, you gotta hear how my daughter pronounces “great”. More like “gg-rr-aa-tt-e”, spoken in a low, flat, sarcastic voice.)

This article came from the 27 Jun 1905 edition of the Dallas Morning News (via GenealogyBank). I’m trying to read through all of the legalese of the court case, but apparently Dr F B Maner and E E Griffin got into an extended argument, possibly over Dr Maner’s alleged abuse of a woman. The argument escalated to violence and a shoot-out ensued, with Dr Maner being killed by E E Griffin. This occurred in downtown Itasca, Texas in front of numerous witnesses!

The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company of Philadelphia refused to pay the $20,000, since the death was the result of Dr Maner’s participation in a criminal act (the gunfight).

Mrs. Maner then took Penn Mutual to court and lost the initial court decisions, as the case was appealed and eventually reached the Supreme Court:

My 2GGF Stanley testified as to a conversation that he had with Dr Maner over the original incident with the woman in question, apparently as a witness to the doctor’s good character. (Click on each page to read his testimony)

So, what happened with the trial of E E Griffin, accused of murder in the gunfighting death of Dr F B Maner?

The 13 August 2005 edition of the Dallas Morning News:

And the law suit? The Supreme Court ruled that the insurance company must pay $5000 plus attorney fees:

From the 7 May 1908 edition of the Dallas Morning News.

The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is: “Orphans and Orphans”

The first type of orphan refers to those ancestors or relatives who lost their parents when they were young.

The second type of orphan would be those siblings or cousins of our ancestors whom we think of as “reverse orphans.” They are the relatives who, for whatever reason – death at a young age, never having married or had children, or having children who did not survive to provide descendants. They have no direct descendants of their own, so it falls to us,
their collateral relatives, to learn and write their story.

I can’t imagine losing both of my parents and having to grow up without them. How difficult that would be! Who would take their places and teach me how to ride a bike or drive a car, or how to make that perfect Pineapple Upside Down Cake or how to deal with the death of a beloved pet. How could I grow into a loving, responsible adult without my parents to guide me?

Two members of my family tree especially stand out for their transition from orphaned child to trustworthy, mature and loving adult.

My great-grandfather John Thomas Stanley entered my family as an abandoned 2-year-old, grew up in a loving adoptive home, created his own happy home consisting of a wife and 4 children, and became a respected member of the early 20th-century Fort Worth banking community.

My great-grandmother Mary Tennessee Turner Rogers lost first her father when she was only 9 years old and then her mother when she was 18. Mary entered her adult years without her parents to guide her. But due to the love and security provided by her older brother John Joseph Turner, who became head of the family and father to not only his own children, but to their younger brother James Bowie Turner and orphaned nieces Mattie and Lizzie Turner, Mary also grew up to be a warm, caring and much-beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

And what of the “reverse orphan”? What would the future have brought? What might have been?

As the only son born to my grandparents, my uncle Miles Francis “Mike” Stanley III should have carried on the Stanley name. But it was not to be. Mike was killed in a tragic gun accident at age 14. By all reports, Mike was a bright and inquisitive boy, active in the Boy Scouts and interested in his community. When he died only 3 days before Christmas, he had been planning to join his father in delivering Goodfellow bundles to area children whose families were suffering financial difficulties at Christmas time. My branch of the Stanley surname died along with him. My 93-year-old grandmother is the last surviving Stanley.

What might Mike have become? Would he follow his grandfather into the banking industry or perhaps become a draftsman and engineer like his dad? Or travel a different path, that of a physician maybe, like his second great-grandfather Dr Nathan Blunt Kennedy?

“If you save one life, it is as if you saved the world!”

What might have been?