II. Descendants
First Marriage (Charlotte Oliver) Children of William B. (Best) Mitchiner:
(B1) John Harden Mitchiner, (b. ca. 1818 in Georgia, probably Screven Co. and d. ca. 1893 in Louisiana) Married Matilda Travis Brooks (b. ca. 1824 and d. 1902) in Randolph Co. on March 4, 1841. Both her parents were born in Maryland. He was born John H. Best but his named was changed to John H. Mitchiner in 1822 when his father had his named legally changed by the Georgia House of Representatives. John had been named in the will of Tarlton B. Best, filed in 1824, where at the age of around six he inherited three or four slaves. John H. was a Mason and a member of the Methodist church. Reportedly he was a fine looking man, about six feet tall with blue eyes. He served in Captain N. H. Smith's company, Georgia Volunteers, in the Creek Indian War (1836). In 1847 he bought 101.25 acres in Randolph Co. from his brother-in-law, David Rumph. John sold this land back to David in 1864 as well as another 101.25 acres in 1849. John is listed with his wife and two children, Mary, age 6, and William B., age 4 months, in the 1850 Randolph Co., Georgia. Census. He is listed in the 1860 Quitman Co., Georgia Census with his wife and four oldest children. He is listed in the 1870 Clay Co., Georgia Census with his wife and children Emma, George, Maltravis and Susan. He apparently moved to Louisiana about 1872 and bought a farm near Haynesville, Webster Parish, where he died around 1893. He is listed in the 1880 Claiborne Co., Louisiana Census at age 63 with his wife, age 58, and children George E., M. Burnett and Susan. Also in his household is listed his oldest daughter, Mary W. Sales, with the notation "dead" and her children Carrie C. age 8, Mag. M. age 6 and Thomas M. age 4. In that census is given the birthplace of his father, William Best Mitchiner, as South Carolina and his mother's birthplace as Georgia. There is a Mitchiner place name in Richland Parish, Louisiana and a Mitchiner-Gittinger Family Foundation -- New Orleans. John and Mary had the following seven children: Mary W., William S. B., Mariah C., Emma E., George E., Maltravis B., and Sue D. No descendants of this line now carry the Mitchiner name.
(B2) Mary W. Mitchiner, (b. ca. 1820 in Georgia, probably Screven Co., and d. ca.1884 at Jim Ned, Taylor Co., Texas.) She was born Mary W. Best but her named was changed to Mary W. Mitchiner in 1822 when her father had her name legally changed by the Georgia House of Representatives. Married David Rumph (b. 1810 in South Carolina and d. 1876 in Taylor Co., Texas) in Randolph Co. on August 30, 1838, the same day her sister Amanda L. married John Barton. David was a wealthy planter and land owner. Charlotte Holland, David's first wife of less than a year, died in 1837. David resided in Cuthbert, the county seat, where he owned a general mercantile store along with Allen Moye, another early settler from South Carolina. In 1838 the house that he had started building for Charlotte was finished. It was known as the "David Rumph House" and it was distinguished as an historical house in Cuthbert. This house, however, was torn down in 2003. It sat kitty-cornered on Court St. to the courthouse. Mary and David lived there until they moved to Brooksville in Randolph Co. around 1848 where David owned land and a grist mill. (See Pictures of Cuthbert House and Mill Pond.) There David and Mary raised nine children; Virginia C., William V., Susan E., David M., Mary Amanda, John M., Raymond R., Demetries C., and Eugene P. At age 50 David is listed with his wife, age 40 and eight youngest children in the 1860 Randolph Co., Georgia. Census.
Their daughter, Susan E., died about 1862. William V. died during the war in Virginia. Their daughter Virginia C. married James Fillingim in Randolph Co. in 1859. She died by the mid 1860's, leaving one daughter. With the close of the war David lost his property. He chose to move on to Texas. James Fillingim who had been a widower following the death of Virginia C. married her sister, Amanda. They chose to remain in Georgia. Amanda went to Texas after James died in 1873. She married Anthony Moser Hestand in 1874 in Grayson Co. near Sherman. Mal and his wife Eliza Ann went with David to Texas and settled in Stephenville, Erath Co., where he started a general store. David took his wife and his four other sons first to Hunt Co. and then to Taylor Co. where he homesteaded. The Texas Rangers were still guarding the territory that included Taylor Co. against the Comanches and Kiowas. The strength of these tribes was finally broken in the Red River War of 1874-1875. Following the defeat of the Confederacy General Sherman became the Commanding Officer of the Army's Department of the West. He waged the same type of total warfare against the Indians that he waged against the Confederacy. He sent General Sheridan to flush the Kiowas and Comanches out of their hideouts and deprive them of food sources and ponies. Shortly after David moved to Taylor Co. he died there in 1876 of pneumonia. Mary continued to live on the homestead with her four sons. Raymond hunted buffalo and farmed, while his three brothers managed to leave to attend Southern Medical College in Atlanta, Georgia. They all returned as frontier physicians. Mary died in Taylor Co. around 1884. Some of their descendants are living in the Fort Worth, Texas area. A full account of the life of David and Mary Rumph is given in the book, This Man David.
(B3) Amanda L. Mitchiner, (b. ca. 1824 in Georgia, probably Screven Co. and d. November 19, 1882) She is buried in the Fort Gaines Cemetery, Clay Co., Georgia. Married (1) John Barton ? - ?) on August 30, 1838. There are no known children from her first marriage. Married (2) Wade Crapps (b. ca. 1827 and d. ?), but the date of marriage is unknown. Wade served as a private, Co. E., in the 13th Regiment GA Volunteer Infantry known as "Randolph Volunteers". Her father, William, left her a Negro woman, Harriet, in his will in 1865. Wade and Amanda lived a few hundred yards from her sisters Elizabeth Thompson and her husband George W. King, and Charlotte L. and her husband William Poole along the road from Cuthbert to Benevolence. The old front door steps to their house were allegedly still standing as of 1986. (Information from Mrs. S.L. (Ruby) King.) They are listed in the 1860 Randolph Co., Georgia Census on page 657. With the last name spelled "Craps" they are listed in the 1870 Randolph Co., Georgia Census. Their children are Harriet S. age 14, Smith G. age 14, and Stonewall J. age 1. By age and location and the last name spelled "Cropps", Wade appears to be listed with a wife and two children in the 1880 Clay Co., Georgia Census. Her death as reported in the Cuthbert Appeal, November 24, 1882, reads: "Died. With cancer, on Sunday morning the 19th, Mrs. Amanda C. Crapps, wife of Wade Crapps, in the 59th year of her age. Mrs. Crapps was well and favorably known to almost all the citizens of Randolph Co. having resided there since 1845. She leaves a devoted husband and three children and a large circle of admiring friends to mourn their loss but, have abundant assurances that their loss is her eternal gain. In all the relations of life as a wife, mother and friend, she was true and faithful. In 1849 she connected herself with the Methodist Church and lived up to her death a devoted christian. She bore her long and painful illness with fortitude and with submission to the will of her Heavenly Father often expressed a willingness to go and be at rest. Realizing a short time before her death that her end was near she prayed earnestly to be called away. She sleeps peacefully by the side of her mother in the Cemetery at Fort Gaines awaiting the resurrection of the just." Children; James R., Samuel T., Harriet S., Smith G. and Stonewall J.
(B4) Elizabeth Thompson Mitchiner, (b. September 27, 1825 in Randolph Co., Georgia and d. January 10, 1910 at Fort Gaines, Clay County, Georgia) Married (1) Jasper W. Lawrence (b. ? and d. 1845) on November 29, 1841 in Randolph Co., Georgia. Jasper W. was a graduate of the Medical College of Georgia and practiced at Fort Gaines. He died of pneumonia and is buried in Eatonton, Putnam Co., Georgia. Children: Seaborn. Married (2) George Washington King (b. ? and d. by 1900) around 1847. She is listed with her second husband and family in the 1850 Randolph Co., Georgia Census and the 1860 Randolph Co., Georgia Census on page 657. She is listed with her husband and nine children in the 1870 Randolph Co., Georgia Census and with her husband and seven children in the 1880 Randolph Co., Georgia Census. At age 76 she is the head of the household consisting of her sons Virgil and Owen and a grandson, George F. in the 1900 Randolph Co., Georgia Census. G.W. King was the son of John Washington King and Elizabeth DuBose King of Box Springs (near Colombia), Georgia. He was allegedly a gifted musician and vocalist and taught music. He also had his own band. He served in the Civil War and was wounded. He and Elizabeth farmed the land that her father had given her, which was four miles from Cuthbert along the road to Benevolence and about one mile from the William B. Mitchiner farm. The King farm is now part of a timber farm. Elizabeth was a Methodist. G. W. King was a clerk at the Benevolence Baptist Church. (Information from Mrs. S.L. (Ruby) King.) Children: Seaborne, Mary E., William T. L., John W., Susan, Virgil H., Tallulah, Florence N., George W., Owen H., H. Bee, Ernest L., Amanda G. and Clarence G.
(B5) Thomas William Mitchiner ("Tom"), (b. April 2, 1828 in Screven Co., Georgia as noted in the family Bible and d. September 30, 1909 in Texas) There were three stories that a grandchild, Thomas Richard, remembered from his father, Ross Clarence, about Thomas W., his grandfather. It was my father, Thomas Richard, that told them to me. First, he fought in the Civil War and after the war he moved his family to Texas. This is well verified by his Texas Confederate Pension and war record. Second, he and his brothers, Jim and Raymond, participated in the California gold rush. This has now been verified. Unlike their older brother, John Harden Mitchiner, there was probably not much of a future for them back in Georgia. Their oldest brother had inherited both land and slaves at the age of six in 1824 from Tarlton Best. John was married in 1841 and by 1849 he had two children. In 1847 in Randolph Co. John had purchased 101.25 acres. By then their father, William B. Mitchiner, already had eight children by his second marriage. The three younger brothers apparently saw that their best bet for their future was taking a gamble on striking it rich in the gold fields of California. Gold had been discovered in California in January 1848 by James W. Marshall while constructing a saw mill for John A.Sutter on the American River northeast of Sacramento. The news quickly spread. They are first noted in New Orleans in 1849 awaiting transportation in The New Orleans Delta on the 27 ult. (February?) having arrived the previous day. Their temporary residence is given as 49 Marigny St., Third Municipality which is near the French Quarter. They are reportedly a "sterling bunch of fellows" from Talbot Co., Georgia having arrived from Mobile and planning to go California via the Matamoras land route which is in Mexico near the mouth of the Rio Grande. The New Orleans newspaper, The Daily Picayune, on March 4, 1849 listed the three brothers among the passengers for California leaving that morning for Brazos Santiago on the steamship Globe. Brazos Santiago was also known as the Port of Matamoros. Their names were spelled "Thos. Mitchener," "J.A. Metcheyor" and "R.C. Metcheyor." They were in the company going to California that orginated in New York under the leadership of Col. Webb. The second in command was John W. Audubon, son of the great naturalist." The Cairo Delta," March 22, 1849, reported "This fine California company, under Col. H. L. Webb, departed from New Orleans on the 4th, on the steamer Globe, bound for the Brazos. They will take the Monterey route, which is one of the most pleasant."
Based on newspaper accounts and personal accounts this company going overland through Mexico under the leadership of Col. Webb faced much hardship including the robbery of $12,000 and cholera.
The Roman Citizen, New York, April 4,
1849 reported.
Dispatches from New Orleans: March 30, 1849. "The steamer Globe,
has arrived from Brazos, bringing later advices from the Rio Grande. Col. Webb's
California expedition had disbanded, and eight of their number have been swept
off by the cholera, on the Rio Grande; four of whom were from New York. The
Globe brought from Rio 18 of the company to New Orleans."
The New Orleans Picayune,, reported concerning
Col. Webb's company:
"It is with inexpressible regret that we learn the untoward events which
have befallen this company. A gentleman lately a member called on us last
evening and gave us this following melancholy account of recent casualties among
them on the Rio Grande.
The company left New Orleans on the steamship
Globe, on the 4th inst., all in good
health, on route for California, via Brazos Santiago and the Rio Grande. They
arrived at that port on the 8th, and on the same day proceeded up the river.
They reached in safety 2 days afterwards an encamping ground, immediately
opposite Clay Davis’s rancho or village, and there pitched their tents being on
the Mexican Territory. That evening the cholera broke out amongst them, and
among those attacked, one man died. The next day three others fell victims to
the disease, which had spread alarmingly among the company, developing itself in
its gravest type. The following day four more were carried off, and the
consternation among the survivors, of whom a large proportion was more or less
affected by the same morbid symptoms, became general. To complete the
disorganization of this unfortunate company, Col. Webb, who probably not dreamed
of the extent to which the ravages of the cholera were destined to go, left the
encampment the day after its formation, and accompanied by a medical man and an
interpreter proceeded up the river for the alleged purpose of purchasing for the
use of his company. Mr. Audubon, the business agent of the association, was
left in charge, and when the malady became so grave, immediately gave orders to
break up the encampment, hurrying forward those who were still in health, and
remaining behind himself with the sick, and a few attendants to minister to
their necessities. Seventeen members of the company on the third day after the
cholera had declared itself, returned to Brazos, where they met Mr. Isaac H.
Williamson, of New Jersey, and Mr. H. C. Mallory, of New York, two other members
of the company who had been detained at New Orleans and were then en route to
rejoin their comrades on the Rio Grande, having left this city with stores for
the company on last Sunday week (the 18th) inst. The whole of these gentlemen,
except Mr. Mallory, returned forthwith to this city on the same steamship, the
Globe, which arrived here yesterday from
Brazos.
We have another painful piece of information from the same source in
relation to Mr. Audubon. It appears that during the prevalence of the disease,
which he also was attacked, the saddlebags of that gentleman had as a measure of
safety, been taken from beneath his bed by his attendant, carried across the
river, and placed in charge of the barkeeper at the hotel in Clay Davis’
rancho. These bags contained $12,000 in gold. When Mr. Audubon reclaimed his
property, the barkeeper stated that it had been delivered to a member of the
company. This being clearly an evasion, he was arrested and threatened with
summary punishment, in case he did not reveal what had become of the money. He
was steadfast, notwithstanding a rifle was placed to his head. Having been
attacked with the cholera, however, his obstinacy gave way under the fear of
approaching death, and he confessed that he and another man had divided the
contents of the saddlebags, indicating a spot where a portion of it was buried.
$4,000 were thus recovered. The accomplice of the barkeeper had also been taken
into custody, but his stubbornness was proof alike against solicitation and
menace. A loaded rifle was presented at his head, a watch drawn froth and he
was told that unless he declared what he had done with his plunder at the
expiration of a given time he should be put to death; he furiously tore his
short bosom open, and bade them “fire and be d----d!” This is the substance of
the information we have received; it comes from an authentic source, and we
await further intelligence of the company with extreme anxiety."
The Cairo Delta, April 12, 1849, reported:
"We published a couple articles today in
relation to Colonel Webb’s company. We regret to hear that a portion of this
fine band have fallen victims to the cholera, and that others have returned
home. We presume Col. Webb will continue on his journey undismayed by the
unfortunate commencement. As he has been a resident of this portion of
Illinois, all our citizens feel an interest in his progress, especially as his
company was one of the best arranged and equipped bands that has left this
country for California."
The Corpus Christi Star, Corpus Christi, TX April 21, 1849 reported: "The government steamer Hetzel arrived at Lavacai, from Brazos Santiago, on Tuesday last, and left for New Orleans on Wednesday. We are informed that she carried over some forty or fifty Californians who found it impossible to proceed by the Brazos route, among whom were the remnants of Col. Webb's party, whose misfortunes we mentioned a week or two ago. The Colonel himself, we understand, is in San Antonio. The remains of two or three other parties were also on the Hetzel, including the sole surviving member of a company of fifteen. Two of this party were murdered at Matamoros and twelve died of cholera, leaving but one man alive. Our informant was unable to learn the name or starting point of this party."
After John Audubon, who replaced Col. Webb after he
deserted because of health problems, agreed to lead the
company to California they were delayed an additional month by cholera. The 48
men with him did not start overland toward Monterey until April 28, 1849. Those with him did not
arrive in San Francisco until December 21, 1849. The three brothers who were
not part of the original New York company apparently
did not wait the additional month but continued
with others in the Mining Co. party from Mobile on the overland route through Mexico
going by the way of Monterey
to the Pacific where they could take a ship
from Mazatlan to San Francisco. Tom and Jim, but not their brother, Raymond,
are listed as pioneers
from Georgia that took the overland route. Tom was older than
Raymond and Jim but still only 21 years old. All three brothers are listed
as arriving overland in San Francisco on May 8, 1849 as part of a
Mining Co. party
from Mobile.
As they left New Orleans on March 4, 1849 it is remarkable that they made it
overland to San Francisco in just two months.
Arriving in California would have been a very multicultural
experience for him with the Chinese and Spanish-Mexicans and gold miners
from many countries and every state. There was little law and order in San
Francisco with an average of twenty-five murders a year and even less law
and order on the gold fields. The prominent citizens in San Francisco organized
a Vigilance Committee. This has given some credibility to the story my dad
told me about the death of Jim. Jim was said to have been killed in a shoot-out
over a card game on a river boat on the Sacramento River. Tom and Raymond
sought justice and took revenge. If true they probably left the gold fields
shortly after that incident. By January 1852 Tom was back in Georgia where
he winessed the sale of two lots by his father to David Rumph. Raymond probably
left California by October 1854. As posted in the
Union Democrat on October 7, 1854, one of the letters to be sent to the General Post Office
as a Dead Letter by the Post Office at Sonora, California in three weeks
from September 30, 1854 if not called for was addressed to "Mitchiner".
Third, as a young man he went to sea on a whaling ship. This has not
been verified but whaling was done out of San Francisco both before and after
the gold rush period. During the gold rush period ship captains did not go
to San Francisco because their crews would desert for the gold fields. Outside
the harbor Humpback and Gray whales swim close to shore on their migrations.
By 1870, long after Tom had left California, San Francisco became the whaling
capital of the world. It is unknown by what method or route Tom took for
his return to Georgia. The next record of Tom back in Georgia is from the
November court term of 1858 in Cuthbert, Randolph Co., Georgia. There is
a case of Henry A. Cook vs. W.B. Mitchiner and Thos W. Mitchiner. The judgment
conferred "to the plaintiff in the sum of three hundred and 59 dollars and
3 cents with interest and cost of suit reserving right of appeal."
On May 20, 1859, at the age of 31, he married
NANCY A.V. (C) COUCH in Randolph
Co. Georgia. (See
Marriage License.) She was born in Georgia in June 1840 but her parents
were both born in South Carolina. Her father, John, was the son of Drury
Couch and grandson of Thomas Couch. The will of Thomas Couch was made in
the Ninety Six District of South Carolina on February 12, 1776.
To get enough soldiers to continue the war both the North and the South started drafting men into military service. The Confederate States started drafting in April 1862. The Union started drafting in March 1863. At the age of 34 Tom was probably drafted rather than volunteering to join the Confederate Army on April 29, 1862. Later that year, on November 5, 1862, he bought 40 acres of land in Tallapoosa Co., Alabama where he may have located his wife . Today on or near the property stands the Elder Christian Church, built in 1891.
Tom served for three years as a private in Company K, 47th AL Inf. Rgt. until General Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse. Probably because he was drafted into the army and had no desire for promotion that would have put him in a position of responsibility and leadership he remained a private. He fought in fifteen engagements and was slightly wounded twice; first at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863, and later at Darby Town on October 7, 1864 near Petersburg, Virginia. After being wounded at Gettysburg he was detailed for 40 days during July and August 1863 to the Jackson Hospital near Richmond, Virginia where he served as a nurse. He stood for an historical record roll near Richmond, Virginia on January 13, 1865. He was paroled, at the age of 37, as a Prisoner of War on April 10, 1865 at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia on the day that General Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to General Grant, the Commander of the Armies of the United States. (See War Record.) After being paroled he when back to, Tallapoosa Co., Alabama where his three daughters were born. He is listed with his wife and three daughter in the 1870 Tallapossa Co., Alabama Census and his occupation is a farm laborer.
From Alabama Tom moved his family to Hunt Co., Texas.
On January 3, 1871 he purchased 25 acres of land out of a 40 acre survey
about 4 1/2 miles East of Greenville, Texas on Wolf Creek from his
brother-in-law, David Rumph. He still owned this property when he died. In
the book, This Man David, it references Tom purchasing two more separate
tracts of land from his brother-in-law in March 1872, shortly before David
and his family moved on farther west to Taylor Co., Texas. The clerk for
Hunt Co. in 1983 could not locate those deeds. Tom is listed, at age 72, with his wife,
age 40, and three daughters in the 1880 Hunt Co.,
Texas Census. Also in the household is Henry Swift,
age 27, a laborer. A month after the census Ross was born on July 10,
1880 and raised as their "son." Based on Y-DNA Henry Swift is the father.
On July 3, 1899 Tom applied in Hunt Co. for a Texas Confederate Pension which was approved on October 4, 1899. He gave his health as feeble, suffering from hemorrhoids and chronic bronchitis, and seemed near destitute, having no income and unable to work. He then owned 42 and one half acres with 23 in cultivation worth $250 and two mules worth $50. (See Texas Pension Application.) He was 73 years old when his wife died. The will of Tom and his wife, Nancy A.V., was written October 12, 1889, almost two years before Nancy passed away on December 4, 1901 at the age of 61. Henry Swift, apparently looking after the interest of Ross was a witness.When Tom passed away on September 30, 1909, at the age of 81, the will was probated by their "son," Ross Clarence, in Greenville, Texas. Henry Swift proof the will. They gave their daughters, Leonora and Mollie T., five dollars each and five dollars was to be shared by the heirs of Susan. Susan had passed away by the 1900 census since Nancy states she had seven children but only three were still alive. Leonora married R. L. Clements on November 19, 1884. Mollie married H. S. Dunkin on May 26, 1889. Family life for Tom and Nancy was somewhat more complicated for them as they got older. In the 1900 Hunt Co., Texas Census Tom is listed as a farmer at 72 and Nancy is 59 and they have been married 41 years. In the 1900 census their 19 year old "son," Ross was living with them along with their daughter Mollie, age 30, and her three children, ages 3, 5 and 7 by her first marriage to H. S. Dunkin as well as two grandaughters, ages 13 and 16, from their daughter Susan's marriage to J.J. Weaver .
When Tom died he had been living for about two years with his daughter, Nora, and her family in Houston, Texas. According to the funeral notice for Tom in the Greenville Herald Banner dated October 6, 1909 he was to be buried in Liberty Cemetery located in Hunt Co., Texas where his wife had been buried and that he was a Methodist. The funeral notice states that only two granddaughters, Mrs G.S. Robbins and Mrs. Fred Smith were still living in the area as the other family members had moved away. (See funeral notice and cemetery photo.) Rossie Dunkin married Fred Smith. Her mother is Mollie. Lula Weaver married George S. Robbins. Her mother is Susan. She and her sister were living in the Tom and Nancy Mitchiner home in the 1900 Hunt Co., Texas census. I believe that she and her husband and their three daughters may have been living in the home of her grandfather, Tom, after he left to live with Nora and her family in Houston. Lula and her family apparently moved to Childress Co., Texas right after the funeral when Ross inherited all of the property of Tom his father's property which he later sold and then moved to California with his family. Lula is listed with her husband, George S. Robbins, and their three daughters in the 1910 and 1920 Childress Co., Texas Census records. I do not know what happened to Lula's sister. (For more information contact THOMAS W. MITCHINER.)
Molly Mitchner married (2) Dexter E. Converse, Sr. (b. January 20, 1846 in North Carolina and d. October 13, 1932) He is buried at Condom Grove Cemetery, Johnston Co., Oklahoma. They moved to Oklahoma. He was about 23 years older than Mollie and was previously married. He had come from North Carolina were he was known as Lawson A. Mitchum. Their known children are: Wintos D. Converse (b. October 4, 1905 in Oklahoma and d. March 26, 1976 in Tyler, Smith Co., Texas) and Dexter E. Converse, Jr. (b. March 30, 1902 in Five Mile Praire, Oklahoma and d. March 18, 1998 Greenville, Texas and buried in the Bethel Cemetery, Greenville, Hunt Co., Texas). Dexter, Jr. worked for the Cotton Belt Railroad and married Sarah Francis "Sally" Inabinette. Their known children are Helen Francis Converse and Billy Edward Converse. Mollie may have also married a Burrell McCormick on August 20, 1899 in Hunt Co., Texas.
By 1920 Mollie and Dexter, Sr. were separated and she returned to Texas. He is listed in the 1930 Johnston Co., Oklahoma Census as being 84 years old and living with a son, Frank Converse, from his first marriage. She was living in 1920 with her two sons by Dexter, Sr. in the household of her oldest daughter and her family, Rossie Smith. In the 1920 Hunt Co., Texas Census Mollie and her two sons with Dexter, Sr. are listed with "Duncan" as their surname as if her first huband was their father. In the 1930 Hunt Co., Greenville, Texas Census Mollie is listed living in the home of her son Dexter and his family. For more information on Mollie Thomas Mitchiner and her descendants contact Debra LaMel dlamel@sw.rr.com.
Two years after Tom died, Jesse M Gowen received on September 13, 1911 from R.C. Mitchiner the 42 acres he had inherited from his parents (Hunt Co., Deed Book 179, page 222). Shortly after that Ross moved his wife and two babies, Thomas Richard (Dick) and Emma Sheila, with his wife's parents who had both turned 70 and her six brothers and their families to Highland in San Bernardino Co., in southern California. (See Lineage and Descendants of Richard Edward Garner.) During the 1860's many Southerners settled in the nearby Bear and Holcomb Valleys of San Bernardino. In the 1870's, navel oranges were planted at Riverside (then in San Bernardino County). The oranges did extremely well and opened up the San Bernardino Valley to establishing communities over the next 30 years built around farming and the citrus groves. These communities included Ontario, Upland, Fontana, Rialto, Highland, and Redlands. In Highland, Ross and his wife had two more children: Marge and John Ross (Jack). Ross, who still had cousins in Texas, apparently had little or no knowledge of prior Mitchiner family history or just failed to pass it on to his children. His children also never knew their cousins by their Dad's three sisters. Ross did not pursue teaching in Highland, but managed and later purchased orange groves in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains. As reported in the Walhalla newspaper on October 16, 1918, p3, Col E., his wife, Ressie, died suddenly after giving birth following a difficult pregnancy where she seemed to have overcome appendixcitus. The baby "never opened his eyes upon the world." His daughter, Marge, went to live with her grandparents, Richard and Francis Garner. (See picture and tribute by Marge.) His son, Jack, when to live with his Uncle James Richard Garner. After the death of Ressie he married (2) Iva Allmon of Elkland, Missouri (b. December 14, 1886 and d. May 1966 Pasadena, CA). Her father was Thomas Benton Allmon and her mother was Amanda Reaves. (See Allmon Genealogy # 22.) In Missouri Iva had attended in Berry Co. the Ozark School and became a teacher. (See Ozark School Picture.) When Ressie died, Iva was still a teacher in Grayson Co., Texas who Ross had gotten to know when he taught there. After they married she became a school teacher in Highland. In the 1920 San Bernardino Co., California Census they are listed with two of his four children, Dick T., age 10, and Emma L., age 8. In the 1930 San Bernardino Co., California Census Ross, age 49, is an orange rancher and Iva, age 43, is a public school teacher. They are listed with three of his children, Dick T., age 21 and working as an operator for the Santa Fe Railroad, Emma, age 18, and Margie, age 13. They had no children. His children called Iva "Mom." Ross died on March 11, 1944 at the age of 63. His widow, Iva, married Judd Farrell. The San Manuel Indian Reservation where the Serrano Indians live is located on the hills directly behind Ross' ranch home. One day Ross' eldest son, Thomas Richard "Dick", walked up to the village to see a friend from school. On the way there he saw a cougar kill one of their cows. The next time he was at the village the Indians had killed cougar. Today the land where the orange groves stood in Highland are housing developments and shopping malls. The Serrano Indians run the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino. Dick was slow to start talking because he could get what he wanted by pointing. However, at the age of two he spoke his first words when he came into to the ranch house to tell his parents, "Big black snake ate daddy's chickens." (See Dick's Story.) Some of the descendants of Tom asnd Nancy are still living in southern California. Some have moved out of the state. Iva is buried in the Mountain View Cemetery, Highland, California
In Texas the Mitchiners stayed in touch with each other. Mrs. Katie Mitchiner Talley, a descendant of Robert Hayes Mitchiner, remembers going to Hunt Co. to visit Tom at his home. His son, Ross, returned to Texas during WW II by train. On the train he met some cousins on his mother's side. On his father's side he had stayed in contact with his second cousins, the Hestands'. They were the descendants of Anthony Moser Hestand and Mary Amanda Rumph, daughter of Mary W. and David Rumph. They lived in the area of Sherman, Texas where Ross had attended college and taught school. He was close to his cousin George W., but is believed to have gone to see David Mal Hestand, M.D. in Houston for treatment of skin cancer on his lip. He had surgery twice but the cancer was still present. In Los Angeles radiation treatment was first being used. He was treated knowing that either the radiation would kill the cancer or the cancer would kill him. The radiation treatment was successful.
In Los Angeles, Ross, had one cousin, Emma________ who also moved from Texas to California that he would visit. She owned a theater in Culver City and had lived in Texas where she had previously own a theater. She was probably born around 1860 and was referred to as "Big Emma". She had a daughter also named Emma and she was referred to as "Little Emma". Her daughter, "Little Emma", was married to a physician in Texas that delivered Ross's daughter, "Emma Sheila" in Texas. "Little Emma" was about the age of Ross so she would have been born around 1880. Emma Sheila remembers that her dad really enjoyed his visits with "Big Emma" and that she always gave them gifts, including a set of china. Emma Sheila also remembers a son of "Little Emma" named Charlie Nason who she thought was spoiled. She remembers him being just a liitle older than her so he may have been born about 1909. What is interesting is that in Texas "Big Emma" helped care for Katie, the oldest daughter of Robert Elmo Mitchiner, son of Robert Hayes Mitchiner. Thelma Elsie, a sister of Katie, remembers that Emma was also called "cousin" and owned a theater which she sold and moved. She thought her name was Emma Ross. She also gave Katie a doll that she treasured all of her life. So far neither "cousin" Big Emma, nor her daughter, Little Emma, or Charlie Nason have been identified.
Obituary: Ross C. Mitchiner, who had resided at Orange and Pumalo streets in Highland for the past 32 years, died there Tuesday. He was 63 and a native of Greenville, Texas. Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Iva Mitchiner of Highland; two daughters, Mrs. E. H. Franz and Mrs. R. J. Stromboys, both of Los Angeles; two sons, T. R. Mitchiner of Los Angeles and J. R. Mitchiner of San Bernardino; and three grandchildren. Funeral services will be held Friday at 2 p.m. (Source: The San Bernardino Sun, San Bernardino County, CA, Thursday, April 13,1944, Page 17.)
Ross C. Mitchiner, Well Known Highland Man, Dies Suddenly (Special Staff Correspondence) HIGHLAND, April 12 Ross C. Mitchiner, well known citizen and citrus grower passed away suddenly at 7:10 p.m. Tuesday, leaving family and friends shocked. Death was due to a heart attack. Mrs. Mitchiner and son. Jack, were with him when he died. Mr. Mitchiner was born in Greenville, Texas, July 10, 1880. He had lived in the Highland District for the past 32 years. The present home is on Pumalo street, West Highlands. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Iva Mitchiner, four children, Mrs. R. J. Stombrys, Mrs. E. H. Franz and T. R. Mitchiner, all of Los Angeles, and J. R. Mitchiner of San Bernardino. He also leaves three grandchildren. RITES PLANNED Funeral services will be held on Friday afternoon at 2 o'clock at the Stephens & Bobbitt chapel. Interment will be in Mountain View Cemetery. Mr. Mitchiner enjoyed a recent visit to his old home in Texas, he and Mrs. Mitchiner having gone to Sherman, Texas, called by the illness of her brother. From there Mr. Mitchiner went to his native town, Greenville, where he spent his boyhood. He returned to California in a couple of weeks, but Mrs. Mitchiner only arrived home last Thursday, leaving her brother much improved. (Source: The San Bernardino Sun, San Bernardino County, CA, Thursday, April 13,1944, page 14.)
(B6) Raymond R. Mitchiner, (b. ca. 1829 in Georgia and d. ?) Raymond and his brothers, Tom and Jim, participated in the California gold rush. Jim and Tom are listed as pioneers from Georgia that began crossing the continent from St. Joseph, Missouri around the first of March 1849 for San Francisco. Raymond and his brothers, Tom and Jim, are listed as arriving overland in San Francisco on May 8, 1849 as part of a Mining Co. party from Mobile. Raymond is mentioned in the will of his father in 1865, but no other records have been found on him. He may have died in the aftermath of the war. There are no known descendants.
(B7) James W. Mitchiner ("Jim"), (b. abt. 1831 in Georgia and d. ?) He is listed as "J.W. Michener" with his brother "T. W. Mitchener" as pioneers from Georgia who left St. Joseph, Missouri around the first of March 1949 to cross the continent for San Francisco, California. Jim and his brothers, Tom and Raymond, are listed as arriving overland in San Francisco on May 8, 1849 as part of a Mining Co. party from Mobile. In the 1850 California Census for Mariposa Co. he is listed as James Mitchner, age 19, and a miner born in Georgia. There is no other record of him. According to Thomas Richard, a descendant of Thomas W., he was told by his father, Ross Clarence, that Jim was killed in a shoot-out on the Sacramento River in California over a card game on a river boat during the California gold rush. He is presumed dead by 1865 since he is not mentioned by his father in his will. There are no known descendants.
(B8) Charlotte L. Mitchiner, (b. October 19, 1835 in Georgia and d. August 12, 1901) She is listed in the 1850 Georgia Randolph Co. federal census living with her father and stepmother. She married William J. Poole ("Bill") (b. March 31, 1825 in South Carolina and d. October 12, 1881) on November 20, 1850 in Randolph Co., Georgia. They are listed in the 1860 Randolph Co., Georgia Census on page 657. Like her brother, Tom and sisters Elizabeth and Amanda they were living with their family as neighbors on land given by their father. Charlotte, age 35, and her husband, age 53, are listed with their two youngest children at the time, John and Martha in the 1870 Randolph Co., Georgia Census. Charlotte, age 44, and her husband, age 56, are listed with their three youngest children with the name spelled "Pool" in the 1880 Randolph Co., Georgia Census. (Note: Neither could be found in later census records.) Their children are Amanda, Mary, John, Martha A., Riley J. H. and Charlotte J. (For more information contact SUE WEBB.)
Copyright February 1999 by Thomas W. Mitchiner, Greenville, NC. These documents may be freely used for private purposes, and included in your own genealogy. However, this document is copyrighted as stated above and may not be sold, nor given to anyone, who may attempt to derive profit from same. Any verifiable information to substantiate changes or additions is welcomed by the author.
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