Wood County, Texas Genealogical Society Bulletin

Query: Old French Fort in Wood County

netexas — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:56:23 +0000

According to rumor there is an old french fort until about 1830 near Winnsboro.I am told it is on or near the old Billy Jack Attaway land. Near where the spring branch meets the Sabine. Fort La Dout but I’m not sure of the spelling. How do I find more on the fort and do you know anyone I can contact.

Georgia McLain (mclainga@yahoo.com)

Tagged: Fort La Dout, McLain

May Meeting, Research Time, Officer Elections Next Monday

netexas — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:19:28 +0000

Calendar of Events

May 2012
>21 (Monday)
5:00 p.m. – Social time at Peralta’s Mexican Restaurant, Quitman
6:00 p.m. – Time to offer or seek help with genealogy for members and the general public and/or to use the laptops to go online and search databases. If time permits, work on obituary database updates. We meet at the Quitman Public Library.
7:00 p.m. – Regular monthly meeting at the Quitman Public Library. Officer Elections for 2012-2013

June 2012
>5 (Tuesday) — WCGSTX field trip to genealogical collection of the Dallas Public library.
>15-16 (Friday & Saturday) — Society’s Highway 37 Garage and Bake Sale at the Quitman Public Library. Be saving items to sale and deciding which bake goods to bring also.

Tagged: Field Trips, Officer Elections

Keeping Up-to-date Keeps Us From Falling Behind

netexas — Thu, 17 May 2012 23:10:55 +0000

Keeping up with the world of online genealogy sometimes pays off with gems of common sense such as this by Genealogy and technology blogger James Tanner:

What I am saying is that genealogy, as it is today, is a technologically sophisticated pursuit that requires some pretty technological tools. If you are going to survive in the genealogy world today, you need a set of computer skills and part of that set of skills is the ability to keep your tools (computers and software) up-to-date.

Writing on his blog, Genealogy’s Star, Tanner was talking in general about when to upgrade and buy new computer hardware, but his observation on the skills and tools has certainly become more and more true. You can read his entire blog article at this link: http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2012/05/anticipating-market-when-do-i-buy-new.html.

Indeed, as he suggests, we have to be prudent in spending on this hobby (avocation, addiction?), but it costs little or nothing to bring our computer skills up to date.

Tagged: Tanner, Technology

Wood County 1878

netexas — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:52:26 +0000

WOOD COUNTY. This county is west of Upshur county and north of Smith county between the 18th and 19th degrees of longitude west from Washington its northern boundary being the 33d parallel of latitude. Its area is 418 square miles and population about 8,000. It is splendidly watered by numerous streams creeks and springs, and the soil products and climate are similar to those of Smith county. The Sabine river divides it from the last named county. The surface of the county is generally level and well timbered. The products consist of wheat and the smaller grains, cotton, vegetables, and fruits. The prices of unimproved lands range from $2 to $5 per acre while good farms are commanding as high as $12 and $15 per acre. Mineola is now an important town with a population of 1,200 and is the terminus of the northern branch of the International & Gt Northern Railway and the junction formed with the Texas & Pacific road. The last named road extends from east to west through the northern section of the county and its transportation facilities can hardly be excelled. Hawkins is a small town on the line of the Texas & Pacific Railway and has a trade of considerable importance. Fourteen miles north of Mineola is the county town of Quitman with a population of about 900. It has all of the industrious thrift of a busy town. Good schools and churches are scattered throughout Wood county and are well sustained. The people are good people and they are kind and generous one to another. It is a fine county for immigrants to settle in. The mean temperature is about 60 degrees, the rain fall plentiful, the climate genial and the general health good. Mr T. J. Worthy is the county clerk.

Source: James L. Rock and W.I. Smith, Southern and Western Texas Guide For 1878, A.H. Granger Publisher, St. Louis, Mo, 1878, page 133. (Digitized version accessed from Google Book Search May 7, 2012)

Tagged: Hawkins, Mineola, Quitman, Sabine River, Smith County, Upshur County, Worthy

Wood County Late 19th Century

netexas — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:19:18 +0000

WOOD COUNTY TEXAS. This is the most westerly of the counties along the line of the Texas & Pacific Railway having extensive forests of pine timber. All of the county is heavily wooded but the eastern half contains the great pineries from which the supplies for the large number of saw mills are drawn. In the western half the forests partake more of the characteristics of the timber of the black land counties, further west. The general surface is more level than in the other woodland counties, though there is little material variation as to soils, climate, temperature, rainfall, or yield of crops per acre. A larger part of the area, which comprises 702 square miles, can, however, be profitably cultivated. There are about 50,000 acres, in 1,400 farms, under cultivation, producing annually a value about $600,000. The harvest generally consists of 10,000 to 11,000 bales of cotton, 400,000 bushels of corn, 50,000 bushels of oats, 30,000 bushels of sweet potatoes, 35,000 to 40,000 gallons of molasses, 6,000 tons of cotton seed, and orchard and garden products to the value of $35,000 $40,000. As in all of the woodland counties, the raising of live stock is part ordinary farming operations. The live stock in the county, in 1897, was valued at $220,301 and consisted of 5,744 horses and mules, 9,607 head of cattle, 1,211 head of sheep and goats, and 12,465 head of hogs.

The county was organized in 1850 and has 14,000 inhabitants, 3,000 of whom are residents of Mineola, the junction the Texas & Pacific Railway, the International & Great Northern Railway and the Missouri Kansas & Texas Railway; 500 of Quitman, the county seat; 400 of Winnsboro, and 250 of Hawkins, smaller trading points in the county. The assessed values of taxable property, in 1897, amounted to $2,695,113, of which $1,619,538 was assessed against real estate, $499,465 against railways, which have 49 23/100 miles of tracks in the county. The school census reports 3,870 children of school age, for whose education 61 houses are maintained and teachers are employed.

The industrial pursuits run mainly in the manufacture of lumber, railroad ties, shingles, etc., there being about 17 sawmills at work . The other enterprises, principally located at Mineola, consist of 81 mercantile establishments, 1 bank, 1 flour mill, 2 fire brick and tile factories, 1 cannery, 1 furniture factory, and the repair shops of the railways. Improved lands range in price from $5 to $25 per acre; unimproved $2 to $10 per acre.

Source: Along the line of the Texas & Pacific Ry., published by the Passenger Department of the Texas & Pacific Railway, Dallas Texas, corrected to and reissued November 1909, pages 35-36. (Digitized version accessed from Google Book Search May 7, 2012)

Tagged: Hawkins, International & Great Northern Railway, Mineola, Missouri Kansas & Texas Railway, Quitman, Texas & Pacific Railway, Winnsboro

1904 Post Villages and Cities of Wood County, Texas

netexas — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:24:14 +0000

Post villages and cities of Wood County, Texas from the Gazetteer of Texas (1904) Note: All were listed as post villages except for Mineola and Quitman.

Alba, Andrews, Cartwright, Coke, Golden, Hainesville, Hawkins, Mikado, Mineola (City, pop. 1,725), Peach, Perryville, Pine Mills, Pleasant Grove, Quitman (County Seat), Redland, Smilax, Speer, Stagner, Stormville, Stout, Winnsboro (pop. 899), Yantis.

Source: Gannett, Henry, Gazetteer of Texas (Second Edition), Bulletin No. 224, Series F, Geography, The Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1904.

Tagged: 1904 Post Villages

1940 Census EDs 23-24, Wood County, Texas

netexas — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:25:32 +0000

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions – Texas – Wood County – ED 250-23, ED 250-24,
National Archives Identifier: 5884546
Creator(s): Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. Office of the Assistant Director for Operations. Geography Division. (03/13/1947 – 1968)
This item lists Enumeration Districts for: TX ED 250-23: JUSTICE PRECINCT 7 OUTSIDE ALBA TOWN S OF STATE HIGHWAY 182
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Tagged: 1940 census

1940 Census EDs 16-22, Wood County, Texas

netexas — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:21:25 +0000

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions – Texas – Wood County – ED 250-16, ED 250-17, ED 250-18, ED 250-19, ED 250-20, ED 250-21, ED 250-22,
National Archives Identifier: 5884545
Creator(s): Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. Office of the Assistant Director for Operations. Geography Division. (03/13/1947 – 1968)
This item lists Enumeration Districts for: TX ED 250-16: JUSTICE PRECINCT 4 OUTSIDE WINNSBORO CITY W AND N OF WINNSBORO-STOUT-EAST
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Tagged: 1940 census

1940 Census EDs 10-15, Wood County, Texas

netexas — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:18:02 +0000

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions – Texas – Wood County – ED 250-10, ED 250-11, ED 250-12, ED 250-13, ED 250-14, ED 250-15,
National Archives Identifier: 5884544
Creator(s): Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. Office of the Assistant Director for Operations. Geography Division. (03/13/1947 – 1968)
This item lists Enumeration Districts for: TX ED 250-10: JUSTICE PRECINCT 3 E OF CANEY CREEK
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Tagged: 1940 census

1940 Census EDs 5-9, Wood County, Texas

netexas — Sat, 05 May 2012 23:50:32 +0000

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions – Texas – Wood County – ED 250-5, ED 250-6, ED 250-7, ED 250-8, ED 250-9,
National Archives Identifier: 5884543
Creator(s): Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. Office of the Assistant Director for Operations. Geography Division. (03/13/1947 – 1968)
This item lists Enumeration Districts for: TX ED 250-5: JUSTICE PRECINCT 2, MINEOLA CITY BOUNDED BY (N) CITY LIMITS; (E) CITY LIMITS; (
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Tagged: 1940 census