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Post by Wayne Land on May 5, 2019 11:10:45 GMT -5
YES!!! I can't wait for the movie!
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Post by Mike Bilberry on May 22, 2019 0:13:15 GMT -5
mckinly412, That's another affidavit that belongs in the trash along with those of Robert E. Lee and Elbert DeWitt Travis. "Alias BtK", affidavit, paragraph 2. Martile was born in Cook (sic) County, Texas. Find A Grave Memorial# 121263674 for Martile Bilberry Henderson Abel, with obit. Find A Grave Memorial# 139534549 for John C. Abel (Proves both John C. Able and Martelia/Telia/Martile/Marthie Bilberry Henderson Able are both buried in Concordia Cemetery, El Paso, Texas. 1880 census of Lampasas County, Texas, microfilm page 345a, line 9 (Proves Martelia Bilberry Henderson Abel was born about 1871.) 1870 census of Cooke County, Texas, microfilm page 214a, line 16 (Proves the Bilberry family lived in Cooke County about a year before Martile's birth.) Now, did a 10 year old girl living in Lampasas, Texas, ever see Billy the Kid at any time?
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Post by Mike Bilberry on Feb 28, 2020 23:15:25 GMT -5
What most BTK historians don't know is Martile's family moved close to the Mayhill Cloudcroft NM area and ranched running cattle and sheep. Her maiden name is Bilberry and shes my great great great aunt.
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Post by Texas Truth Teller on Mar 1, 2020 14:33:32 GMT -5
What most BTK historians don't know is Martile's family moved close to the Mayhill Cloudcroft NM area and ranched running cattle and sheep. Her maiden name is Bilberry and shes my great great great aunt. Martilia Demarville (Martile) Bilberry, daughter of John C Bilberry and his third wife, Elizabeth Jane Walker, was born in Texas in 1873, probably in Cooke County, Texas. She married John C Abel 26 Jan 1898 in Taylor County, Texas. Martilia had a brother, Leonidas "Lee", and 5 half-brothers - Esau, Henry, Luther, John, William. John had 6 sons and 3 daughters. John and his family were Overton Co, TN, in 1850; Pulaski Co, MO, in 1860; Cooke Co, TX, in 1870; Lampasas Co, TX, in 1880; and John and his sons were located in Comanche, Stonewall, Kent, or Dickens counties in 1900.
From a Bilberry family tree on Ancestry.com : "He (John C BillBerry) was a stockman and rancher in Mason County, Texas. He served in the Confederate Army as a Sharp Shooter. He had six sons of which three were Baptist ministers and three were Baptist deacons. In the Fall of 1886, with a caravan of wagons and settlers, which included his six sons and two daughters, and other relatives and their families, they left Mason County. Moving in 8-10 covered wagons, they started west from San Saba County, driving the cattle and horses. They came by way of Brownwood, Abilene, and finally settling in Stonewall County a few days before Christmas. Some went a little farther and stopped in Kent County, but Esau stopped on the Brazos river near stock water. Here a community sprang up called Oriana. There were wide open ranges at that time and neighbors were far apart, but very friendly. They lived in dugouts (houses built in the sides of hills, covered wih logs, poles, and dirt).
Around 1897, they came to New Mexico for the purpose of finding new lands and a better area for their families and their stock. They had traded their farms for cattle and headed for the Sacramento Mountains in New Mexico Territory, hoping to become ranchers. They took the route over the South Plains by way of Lamesa, Texas and Shafter Lake. It was a long sandy trip with seven families each in its own wagon with their household goods and children. The men drove the herd. About ten days after they started, the children in the caravan all came down with the whooping cough. Seven women, twenty five whooping children, and 150 head of cattle driven by green cowboys fought their way over deep sandy roads. To add to their problems, there was a scarcity of wood and water. They were pioneers from birth and had what it took to develop the frontier, but this time, they had bitten off more than they could chew. They finally reached the Pecos River and crossed at Roswell, which at that time was just a post office. They settled in James Canyon, near what is now called Cloudcroft, New Mexico. In this new country these settlers encountered great hardships. Food and supplies had to be brought by wagon from Pecos, Texas, and this distance was without roads over the rough territory. The Indians in the area were only partly civilized and at times terrified the little families that were at home while the men were gone for supplies. John and his family moved back to Texas. He later moved to Lingo in Roosevelt County, New Mexico where he was a pioneer minister of the gospel."
Nothing about encountering Billy the Kid, since he was killed in 1881, 16 years before the Bilberrys arrived in NM about 1897.
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Post by Texas Truth Teller on Mar 1, 2020 15:11:47 GMT -5
The arrival date of 1897 of the Bilberry family in New Mexico is inaccurate. The 1888 birth date and birthplace of Esau's daughter, Josephine Victoria "Josie" Bilberry Peacock, is consistently recorded as New Mexico in 5 census records and her death certificate. The February 1886 birth date and birth place of her next older sibling, David O Bilberry, is consistently recorded as Texas in census records and his cemetery marker. That indicates the Bilberry family was in New Mexico in the late 1880s, arriving in 1886 or 1887.
Excerpt from historical marker in San Saba courthouse square: "Wm. M. Henderson with his sons moved to New Mexico 1883, with the Bilberry and other families to follow in 1886. Moved to San Saba Co. Texas by 1888."
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Post by Mike Bilberry on Nov 19, 2020 0:06:28 GMT -5
mckinly412, That's another affidavit that belongs in the trash along with those of Robert E. Lee and Elbert DeWitt Travis. "Alias BtK", affidavit, paragraph 2. Martile was born in Cook (sic) County, Texas. Find A Grave Memorial# 121263674 for Martile Bilberry Henderson Abel, with obit. Find A Grave Memorial# 139534549 for John C. Abel (Proves both John C. Able and Martelia/Telia/Martile/Marthie Bilberry Henderson Able are both buried in Concordia Cemetery, El Paso, Texas. 1880 census of Lampasas County, Texas, microfilm page 345a, line 9 (Proves Martelia Bilberry Henderson Abel was born about 1871.) 1870 census of Cooke County, Texas, microfilm page 214a, line 16 (Proves the Bilberry family lived in Cooke County about a year before Martile's birth.) Now, did a 10 year old girl living in Lampasas, Texas, ever see Billy the Kid at any time?
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Post by Mike Bilberry on Nov 19, 2020 0:15:11 GMT -5
My great aunts family moved to Cloufcroft New Mexico and homestead a ranch close to Mayville. This is how Martile ended up in Lincoln County. I have family records to prove it.
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Post by clydec on Nov 19, 2020 19:27:50 GMT -5
My great aunts family moved to Cloufcroft New Mexico and homestead a ranch close to Mayville. This is how Martile ended up in Lincoln County. I have family records to prove it. MIke, how old was she when Brushy paid her a visit in 1949? I know the say Brushy was pushing 90 at that time.
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Post by Texas Truth Teller on Nov 20, 2020 11:16:02 GMT -5
My great aunts family moved to Cloufcroft New Mexico and homestead a ranch close to Mayville. This is how Martile ended up in Lincoln County. I have family records to prove it. MIke, how old was she when Brushy paid her a visit in 1949? I know the say Brushy was pushing 90 at that time. Martile's age Year of birth:
Find a Grave - 2 Nov 1873 1880 census- ca. 1873 1900 census - Nov 1874 1910 census - ca. 1870 1920 census - 1870 1930 census - ca. 1871 1940 census - ca. 1871 TX death cert - 2 Nov 1873
Martile was probably 86 years old in 1949. She died three years layer, 23 March 1952. Cause of death - hypostatic pneumonia. Contributing factors - fracture, left hip; senile arteriosclerosis
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Post by Texas Truth Teller on Nov 20, 2020 11:28:06 GMT -5
My great aunts family moved to Cloufcroft New Mexico and homestead a ranch close to Mayville. This is how Martile ended up in Lincoln County. I have family records to prove it. True statement that the Bilberry family moved to Cloudcroft. Maybe it was after 1882.
Bilberry family story posted on Ancestry,com "He was a stockman and rancher in Mason County, Texas. He served in the Confederate Army as a Sharp Shooter. He had six sons of which three were Baptist ministers and three were Baptist deacons. In the Fall of 1886, with a caravan of wagons and settlers, which included his six sons and two daughters, and other relatives and their families, they left Mason County. Moving in 8-10 covered wagons, they started west from San Saba County, driving the cattle and horses. They came by way of Brownwood, Abilene, and finally settling in Stonewall County a few days before Christmas. Some went a little farther and stopped in Kent County, but Esau stopped on the Brazos river near stock water. Here a community sprang up called Oriana. There were wide open ranges at that time and neighbors were far apart, but very friendly. They lived in dugouts (houses built in the sides of hills, covered wih logs, poles, and dirt).
Around 1897, they came to New Mexico for the purpose of finding new lands and a better area for their families and their stock. They had traded their farms for cattle and headed for the Sacramento Mountains in New Mexico Territory, hoping to become ranchers. They took the route over the South Plains by was of Lamesa, Texas and Shafter Lake. It was a long sandy trip with seven families each in its own wagon with their household goods and children. The men drove the herd. About ten days after they started, the children in the caravan all came down with the whooping cough. Seven women, twenty five whooping children, and 150 head of cattle driven by green cowboys fought their way over deep sandy roads. To add to their problems, there was a scarcity of wood and water. They were pioneers from birth and had what it took to develop the frontier, but this time, they had bitten off more than they could chew. They finally reached the Pecos River and crossed at Roswell, which at that time was just a post office. They settled in James Canyon, near what is now called Cloudcroft, New Mexico. In this new country these settlers encountered great hardships. Food and supplies had to be brought by wagon from Pecos, Texas, and this distance was without roads over the rough territory. The Indians in the area were only partly civilized and at times terrified the little families that were at home while the men were gone for supplies. John and his family moved back to Texas. He later moved to Lingo in Roosevelt County, New Mexico where he was a pioneer minister of the gospel."
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Post by Texas Truth Teller on Nov 21, 2020 12:03:32 GMT -5
My great aunts family moved to Cloufcroft New Mexico and homestead a ranch close to Mayville. This is how Martile ended up in Lincoln County. I have family records to prove it. Was Martile in New Mexico before 1882? A copy of "Pioneering in New Mexico", by Mary Elizabeth Bilberry Stoneman. Sleeping Fox Enterprises, 1974, is in the Nex Mexico State Library in Santa Fe. Mary was born 10 September 1885 in Mason County, Texas.
"Henry Herrod Bilberry, Sr.
HENRY HERROD BILBERRY, SR., was born December 28, 1853, in Overton County, Tennessee. His parents were John Couch and Margaret Bilberry. The Bilberry family left Tennessee before 1860. At the time of the 1860 census on June 4, 1860, they were living in Pulaski County, Missouri, near Waynesville (Township 36, Range 12).
Their next stop was Cooke County, Texas. Henry’s mother, Margaret Bilberry, died January 12, 1863, after giving birth to a son, William J. Bilberry, on January 3, 1863. At the time of the 1870 census on October 26, 1870, Henry is shown on the census living with his father and stepmother, Eliza Jane Walker Bilberry, in Precinct 1 of Cooke County, Texas.
By 1873, the Bilberry family had moved to central Texas. On September 7, 1873, Henry Herrod Bilberry was married to Mary Elizabeth McKinzie at Austin in Travis County, Texas. Mary Elizabeth was the daughter of Daniel Asa and Martha E. Allison McKinzie. She was born July 9, 1854 in Burnet County, Texas. Their children were: Sanford Columbus Bilberry, born December 5, 1874; James Raldon “Rollie” Bilberry, born June 22, 1879, in Lampasas County, Texas; Martha Elvira Bilberry, born August 9, 1883; Sarah Bilberry, born December 11, 1880; and Mary Elizabeth Bilberry, born September 10, 1885, in Mason County, Texas. At the time of the census in 1880 on June 11, 1880, Henry and Mary Elizabeth and family were living in Lampasas County, Texas, where Henry was listed as a farmer. By September 10, 1885, however, they had moved from Lampasas County to Mason County, Texas.
Mollie Bilberry Stoneman told about the time in the fall of 1886 when most of the Bilberry families left Mason County:
They had traded their farms for cattle and headed for the Sacramento Mountains in New Mexico Territory, hoping to become ranchers. They took the route over the south plains by way of Lamesa, Texas, and Shafter Lake. It was a long sandy trip, with seven families each in its own wagon with their household goods and children. The men drove the herd. The day before they started the community gave them a farewell dinner. About ten days later the children in the caravan all came down with the whooping-cough. Seven women, twenty-five whooping children and one hundred and fifty head of cattle driven by green cowboys fought their way over deep sandy roads. To add to their problems, there was a great scarcity of wood and water.
Henry H. Bilberry and his family settled in James Canyon, near Mayhill in what is now Otero County, New Mexico. The family worked hard to build a house before winter and then had to deal with several other problems. Their cattle were not accustomed to the low temperatures, so Henry and his family traded their cattle for goats. For some supplies, they had to go many miles to the south to Pecos, Texas. It took several days to make a round trip by wagon. By the spring of 1887, almost all of the Bilberry family wanted to go back to Texas. On their return trip to Texas, they went first to Carlsbad, New Mexico, and then across country until they reached the Colorado River, which they followed to San Saba, Texas.
By fall of 1887, Henry and his family had settled in northwestern San Saba County, in a log house near the road between Richland Springs and Brownwood. At first, the children walked four miles to school at Knob. Later, Henry gave the southeastern corner of his property for a Shiloh School, while his brother-in-law, James E. McKinzie, gave the northwest corner of his property for Shiloh Cemetery. They had community church services in a brush arbor at Shiloh. The Shiloh community seemed an ideal place. Five years later, though, the peace was disturbed by operations of a secret organization now referred to as the “San Saba Mob.” The organization was formed to fight cattle rustling, but as time went along the mob members had begun to threaten and kill people in order to take their land. In the end perhaps as many as 43 innocent people were killed in a four-county area around San Saba. In June and July of 1896, two members of the Bilberry family were killed in San Saba County. First, T. A. Henderson, husband of Martelia Bilberry, who was Henry’s half sister, was killed on June 22, 1896:
First Lige Henderson, a half brother-in-law to the Bilberry boys, was killed by the San Saba Mob while chopping cordwood near Richland Springs. He had been ordered by the mob to leave the country. His wife was expecting a baby and he had brought her to her mother’s for care. He was chopping cordwood to make a living while waiting for the new baby. His brother and eleven-year-old son, Tommie, were with him when the mob came. His brother got behind a sapling and emptied his gun at the killers. He told the little boy to say nothing until he got to Uncle Henry’s (my father) and then lost no time in leaving the country himself. He knew his life depended on how fast he got out. Little Tommie had to come by Uncle Bud’s on his way to Pa’s house. He had been running and his nose had been bleeding. Uncle Bud persuaded him to tell what had happened and then brought him over to Pa, who loaded up his old Winchester and went to tell the rest of the family. They picked up Lige’s body and brought it to the old Shilo brush arbor and prepared it for burial. In those days no inquest was held when someone was killed. Their relatives or friends took care of them. The baby was born a month after this, but it died.
On July 28, 1896, another tragedy struck the family with the murder of William Alexander “Will” James, husband of Martha Miranda Bilbrey, who was a cousin to Henry H. Bilberry:
He had been ordered out of the country and had gone down to Arkansas but his family had got sick and he returned to his home. He was killed one morning while he was hauling water. To show how they treated people who did not obey orders the Mob riddled the body with bullets. His son counted the bullet holes in his body and swore he would kill the murderers. He said, “I’ll kill them. I’ll follow them to hell.” Will was killed two weeks after Lige. His wife was also expecting a baby. A little girl was born three months after he was killed. They named her Willuie [Willie Lee James] after the father she was never to see.
Molly Stoneman related that when Texas Rangers were sent to San Saba County to try to destroy the Mob, three Rangers and their cook often came from their camp at Knob to Henry Bilberry’s house for Sunday dinner. She remembered that one of the Rangers was W. J. L. Sullivan and that her favorite was named “Neil,” probably Edgar T. Neal. Eventually the Rangers and District Attorney W. C. Linden were able to break the control of the Mob over San Saba County. But, by that time, the Bilberrys and several other families were acquiring land in the rolling plains area of West Texas. Among those who returned to give testimony against the Mob before the grand jury on April 29, 1897, were John Vinson Bilberry, Henry H. Bilberry, Sanford Columbus Bilberry, Esau S. Bilberry, Luther Myers Bilberry, and James E. “Bud” McKinzie.
In late 1896, many from the Bilberry, McKinzie, and Waldrop families loaded up their wagons for the long trip to Kent County and Stonewall County, Texas. After a very hard trip, Henry and his family arrived at James E. “Bud” McKinzie’s house in Kent County on December 4, 1896. Molly Stoneman explained:
Uncle Esau and Uncle Myers located at Oriana. Uncle Esau bought out John Hinton’s claim on the west side of the Salt Fork River. Uncle Myers located south of Oriana. We went to Uncle Bud’s about three miles west of Jayton.
By the end of 1897, Henry Bilberry and his family had found a section of land with a forty-acre farm on the “Jayton Flat.” They moved there before Christmas. After the New Year, Henry hauled lumber from Abilene in order to build a house. Their first house in Kent County was 12 by 14 feet with a door to the east.
Henry’s wife, Mary Elizabeth McKinzie Bilberry, died on August 25, 1899, in Kent County. Henry remarried on April 5, 1900, to Mel Verda Sumner, daughter of James Duke and Minerva Price Sumner, natives of Georgia. “Melverdie” was born August 28, 1877, in Colbert County, Alabama. Henry and Melverdie had three children, all born in Kent County, Texas: Verda Mae, born January 7, 1901; Henry Herrod Bilberry, Jr., born December 8, 1903; and Nancy Nina Bilberry, born October 5, 1907. The family continued to live in Kent County until 1917, at which time they moved to Taylor County, Texas. They lived in Buffalo Gap in Taylor County until 1921, when they moved back to Kent County. Henry died January 20, 1938, in Jayton, Kent County, Texas. Melverdie died March 20, 1960, in Lubbock, Texas.
Resources:
Bilberry family records
Pioneering in New Mexico. Mary Elizabeth Bilberry Stoneman. Sleeping Fox Enterprises, 1974.
The Texas Rangers and the San Saba Mob. Ross J. Cox, Sr. C & S Farm Press, 2005"
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