I have been wanting to share our family's history and after receiving all the birthday greetings last week, I decided to try a blog and see if we can share stuff about the family.
I have so much to learn to make this interesting; so far I haven't gotten any photos to attach and don't seem to know where to start. So I will start with what I've done lately and maybe you will post questions or things you are curious about. If I don't have the answers maybe someone else does. Because I have only spent about 3 years living near the rest of the family, there is so much I don't know. And your stories would make this so much more fun to read.
John Wagner's mother was Lizzie to all who heard him speak of her but as a young girl she went by Margaret Collins. John told me she had several brothers from Arkansas, two of whom were named Hiram and Edmund. Although not especially uncommon names, the names within a family made it possible to find the family. They lived in Newton county, Arkansas with their parents, David and Nancy and several additional siblings.
David Collins was born about 1825, probably in Tennessee. He married Nancy Elizabeth about 1852. She was born about 1835, also in Tennessee and died 1 November 1898 in Jackson, Newton, Arkansas. They lived in Missouri for several years, both Hiram and Edmund were born there, but were in Newton county, Arkansas by 1859 when their 3rd son, Ingram was born. Additional children were: Nancy Jane, 1861, Margaret Elizabeth, 1868, and Mary, 1871, all born in Newton county.
Hiram married Hulda Carter on 14 October 1874 in Newton county; Edmund married Sarah Jane Lucas, 5 November 1873, in Newton county, Nancy Jane married Joseph M Madewell on 14 August 1879 in Newton, Arkansas. Ingram married Elizabeth L Martin 1 June 1880, Newton; Margaret Elizabeth married John McArt 1 April 1882 in Johnson county, Arkansas at age 14, they divorced and she married Daniel Henry Wagner 19 July 1896 in Carthage, Jasper, Missouri. Mary may have been married to a J T Pruitt. I found a marriage record that matches but a family tree on ancestry.com puts her with someone else. I have more research to do.
I had a DNA test done through ancestry.com and have been matched to a 3rd cousin, Charles Madewell who is descended from Nancy Jane so am very confident that this is the correct Collins family.
If you are interested in seeing more of what I've found you may view it, even without a subscription, at ancestry.com. The tree name is Priest/Wagner family tree. My user name is jephall. Living persons aren't shown but I can let you know what I have about your personal family if you send me your email address. Mine is judy.hall@gmail.com.
I hope we can use this to share lots of family stories. Rose Worthington recently told me about her visits with Grace (Huggins) Hartman as a child. Grace was illegitimate so was not a Huggins by birth but was raised by Lewis Huggins, so I am opting to follow the Huggins line. Let's have some fun. Please share this with any family member that might be interested. And please give me advise on how to make it pretty. Judy
