George Peters - My Cattle Driving Great-Grandfather

(this is not a photo of my great-grandfather)

My great-grandfather George Peters was born in the early 1850s, about 1854.  His parents were born in Africa.  According to the 1870 Census they lived in the Lower Caney section of Matagorda County, Texas.  It is not clear to see who was the last slave owner from this record. He was my mother's paternal grandfather - the father to my grandfather Gillie Peters.

Father - Lemon Peters
Mother - Mary Williams, b. abt 1830

Sisters -

1) Emma, b. abt 1859. She married Charles Munro, but I believe she was married twice; she had two daughters: Thelma & Letha, and they had different maiden names.
2) Martha, b. abt 1857. She does not appear to have been married.
3) Onie, b. 1855. She married Alfred Clark, (they had no children)

A cousin once called George Peters a cowboy; my mother used to tell me what was told to her that he rode a large white horse.  According to the records I have researched he was a cattle driver along with his brother-in-law Alfred Clark, and his brother-in-law's brother, Jerry Clark.  I would love to find out which cattle driver (rancher) they worked for.  I wonder what things he experienced throughout his lifetime as a cattle driver. What trails did he ride on with the herd of cattle? Texas Cattle Trails Map

Death Certificate of George Peters

I can only imagine life must have been rough and rugged. The living conditions probably deplorable - equal to or beneath that of the cattle. I wonder what effect this had on him as a person, husband, father.

My great-grandparents, George Peters and Annie Round were probably together prior to their marriage in 1897.  While it is not known whether George Peters fathered children other than the three sons: Harrison, Marshall, and Gillie - he had with my great-grandmother Annie Round.  I do believe he may have been married prior to marrying my great-grandmother as I am certain that my great-grandmother was married prior to marrying my great-grandfather.

His death certificate shows he died 11 June 1931.  It appears that he was buried in Burr, Texas.  Burr, is also known as Lawson's Corner or Kriegel Switch, which is an unincorporated area of eastern Wharton County.

My Great-Grandfather Calvin Bracy

I never met my great-grandfather, but growing up it seemed as if he lived,  he "lived", at least, in the heart and memory of my mother.  His name was Calvin Bracy.  He was the father of my maternal grandmother, Lena Bracy.

I believe he was born in 1870, but my mother used to say he was born one year or three years after Emancipation, which was in 1863, but because they lived in Texas, Emancipation came two years later in 1865, so it could have been 1866, or 1868.  If I were to say where he was born based on census records - I'd still be confused.  The 1900 Census says he was born in Mississippi, but thereafter census records show he was born in Louisiana.  My mother and grand aunt often spoke about Hammond, Louisiana, but no records have shown up to prove this.

I often wonder how he and my great-grandmother met.

He was a retired minister, I think he may have been a Baptist minister.  He had six children with my great-grandmother, Julia.  My grandmother being the eldest, but she also had older half brothers.  My great-grandfather had other children with Lizzie (Elizabeth), and perhaps other women.

After the death of my grandfather Gillie Peters in 1938, my grandmother, and her children would live with several relatives. My mother often spoke about living with her step aunts, and other times she spent with her grandfather and his current wife Sallie; my great-grandmother died in 1922.  She had had three children from a previous relationship.  Oral history, as I say, rumors that he fathered over twenty children.  Other relatives say 15-18 children. While, it is not impossible, I have not found any records to substantiate those stories.  I explain it, that he may have fathered that many children some who may have been stillborn or died prior to my grandmother and her sister were born; children unfortunately never mentioned.

According to census records he moved around quite a bit.  In 1900 I found him with his wife Lizzie, two sons C.B. and Josh Bracey in Quintana, Texas - a town in Brazoria County.  From there I found him in Walker County in the town of Dodge.  Then in 1940, he is enumerated twice, once with my grandmother in Harris County in Houston, and in San Jacinto County.

When I interviewed his youngest daughter about her father, my grandaunt, she described him having the skin complexion of peanut butter.  She described that he was a hard-working man who once owned a grocery store, and a farm.  She told me his mother's name was Lena Cline.  In addition, both she and my mother told me he had a sister, but I cannot recall her name.  She lived in Louisiana.

He died in 1945.

His name continues to resonate and be respected, and honored throughout the family.  My mother named my youngest brother in his honor, I have a number of cousins with the same first name - Calvin.

My 23andMe DNA Composition

Posted above are my new 23andMe results: 88.2% Sub-Saharan African, 8.9% European, 0.6% East Asian & Native American, 2.3% Unassigned. However, originally my results were:

• 89.8% Sub-Saharan African
• 8.5% European
• 0.5% East Asian & Native American
• 2.1% Unassigned

My experience with 23andMe has been great even with the recent FDA halt of the company's testing services. However, I appreciate being able to connect with others of the same haplogroup.

My paternal haplogroup (E1B1A8A) has many with ancestry from Alabama, which is where my father was from. While I am not surprised, I just find it enlightening and I hope somehow we can connect the dots.

I have not utilized the African Ancestry DNA testing, but two responses, one from Cameroon and the Republic of Congo has sparked my interest to see where my paternal family originated and see exactly where and how I am connected in Africa.

Angelo