This blog was recorded as I did the research, thus there are some surprises, and some things that I had to correct as I went along. All in all, about 2-3 things are new and make me feel good, and at least one is new and leaves a lot of questions.
I have such a satisfaction when I can add the details of a relative's life to my Ancestry data.
I started looking at my great grandmother Elizabeth "Bettie" Bass Rogers' sisters and brothers. Since I discovered the youngest sister was actually a sister of other folks named Mary Mason (married to a Bass), I wanted to know about these pioneers of Texas, who were really my relatives.
1) The first one, Julia A. Bass Barton (1841–1899) was born in (probably Perry) Alabama. But before she was a year old, her family (Col. Richard and Mary Ann (Mae) Powell Bass) moved to Union Parish in northern Louisiana. She moved with her family again to Walker County Texas between 1854 and 1860. She didn't marry until she was 28, to John Matilda Barton, in 1869.
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| John Matilda Barton |
Perhaps the Civil War interfered with her romantic life. He had a son from his first marriage (wife died when son was about 6 mos old.) Julia and John Barton had a son and two daughters. They had moved upon marrying to Milam County, Texas, which is where Julia died at age 57-8.
2) The next sibling to be born was James M. Bass Sr , who (on Ancestry) had no date or place of death...though many census reports included him with his family. But after doing a search to no avail, I looked a bit at the census reports of his wife, who (as often is the case) outlived him. This was the excitement of my day!
By the time I was done, I had his approximate death date from a pension request from his widow, for his service in the Confederacy.
James M. Bass Sr. - Birth 05 DEC 1842, Union Parish, Louisiana, Death sometime in 1907 Harris County, Texas. He married when he was 28, in 1870 in Walker County, TX to Laura A. Cunningham Bass, 1844–1924. They had 5 children, of whom at least 3 lived to adulthood. Richard Clarence Bass became a dentist.
The 1880 census of Walker County lists Laura A. and probably J.M her husband, living with his father-in-law.
- J.D. Cuningham 57 Farmer, Head of household
- M.A. Cuningham 51 housekeeping, wife
- L.A. Bass 35 daughter (this must be Laura A. Bass, James M.'s wife)
- John Bass 32 son (not sure who this was) farmer
- J.D. Bass 28 son farmer (who?)
- G.M. Bass 14 son at school (too old to be Laura and JD's son?)
- J.M. Bass 37 son-in-law merchant (probably Laura's husband James b. 1842)
- J.N. Bass 8 son (s. of Laura and J. M. Bass, James M. Bass Jr, born in 1872)
- R.C. Bass 6 son (s. of Laura and J. M. Bass, Richard Clarence Bass b. 1873)
- T.O. Bass 1 son (s. of Laura and J. M. Bass, Thomas O. Bass b. 1874)I admit to wondering where the Cunningham's own children had gone.
The earlier 1870 list of the Cunningham census report for Walker County say this:
James Cunningham 47 life insurance agent Margaret Cunningham 41 keeping house Laura Cunningham 25 at home James Cunningham 17 at school Samuel Cunningham 12 " Edgar Cunningham 7 b. in Tx Greeville Cunningham 4 b. in Tx
There's a reason (see down below) why I'm trying to figure out who were Cunninghams and who lived together...
By the size of the monument for Laura Cunningham Bass I imagine her children were well off. She died 11 Mar 1924 (aged 79) in Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, and is buried in Fairlawn Cemetery. Oklahoma City, OK. The monument also holds her son James' remains, as well as his wife, and children. (I don't know if her husband James is buried there or not.)
The next 4 Bass siblings of Great-grandmom Bettie Bass have places of birth and general dates, but I don't have much information about their lives.
3) Ellen Bass, born in 1845 in Louisiana, was part of the family in the 1850 census. But by the 1860 census in Walker County Texas, where the Bass parents (Col. Richard and Mae) are farmers next to her Powell parents, there is no Ellen in the family.
4) John H. Bass was born about 1851, no place given. Not on any census reports of the family. But he's listed in Ancestry sites without any primary source.
5) Nancy E. Bass was born in 1853 in Louisiana. She is on the 1860 census as being 7 years old, in Texas. She is not on the 1870 census.
The 1870 Census. This is where it gets a bit weird. Confusing? There's now a 16 year old Sarah Bass living in the Richard Bass household! Older son James is still living with them, but is listed below the 2 servants...he's now 27 and employed as a dry goods clerk (and this is taken in August 1870, the same year he married). But his wife Laura Cunningham Bass isn't listed. (She is on the Cunningham household for this census.)
6) Susan (or Sarah?) is listed in the 1870 census, being born in 1854 by that age given on the census. Born in LA. No other information about this person. Of course you're thinking Nancy E. changed her name to Susan (Sarah.) But neither of them continued to have any records.
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| An old plantation house, not one owned by my family as far as I know |
7) My great grandmother, Elizabeth "Bettie" BASS ROGERS Birth 12 FEB 1860, Old Waverly, San Jacinto, TX Death 17 JULY 1924, Galveston, Galveston, TX. I just celebrated her birth HERE.
8) Ella Bass, born around 1861 in Texas, appears on Census of Walker County TX in 1870 as a 9 year old. No other information on her. And of course not to be confused with Ellen born 1845 who also disappeared. I'm afraid these children all died.
9) Martha E. "Mattie Bass Cunningham. BIRTH MAY 1863 • Walker County, Tx, DEATH 08 JAN 1929 San Antonio, TX. The following information is on Ancestry sites, and in a minute you'll see how sometimes they just fall apart.
Again the 1870 census record of the family has names of children that don't compute with other records. (No Mattie, no Martha E.) Children are listed in age order...Sarah, 16; Elizabeth 10; Ella 9; Minni 7; Mary 5.
Martha E. "Mattie" Bass married James Durrah Cunningham Sr, (1852-1925) the younger brother of Laura Cunningham Bass who married our James Bass (see above number 2.) Mattie was listed in many census and city directory records (finally an Auntie who was documented! - well, second Aunt.)
The 1880 Census of Walker County has her listed as a 16 year old boarder, but the household name is missing as it is on the previous sheet, but she is "at school." And her name is given as M. E. Bass. But not for long, because she married J.D. Cunningham in 1881, according to the later 1910 census data which gives information of "married 28 years." They had 3 children, all of whom lived to adulthood, and one lived until 1974.
Again the 1870 census record of the family has names of children that don't compute with other records. (No Mattie, no Martha E.) Children are listed in age order...Sarah, 16; Elizabeth 10; Ella 9; Minni 7; Mary 5.
Martha E. "Mattie" Bass married James Durrah Cunningham Sr, (1852-1925) the younger brother of Laura Cunningham Bass who married our James Bass (see above number 2.) Mattie was listed in many census and city directory records (finally an Auntie who was documented! - well, second Aunt.)
The 1880 Census of Walker County has her listed as a 16 year old boarder, but the household name is missing as it is on the previous sheet, but she is "at school." And her name is given as M. E. Bass. But not for long, because she married J.D. Cunningham in 1881, according to the later 1910 census data which gives information of "married 28 years." They had 3 children, all of whom lived to adulthood, and one lived until 1974.
In the 1900 census of Huntsville TX, she is listed as Mattie E Cunningham. (There were very few 1890 census records that escaped the fire in the Library of Congress.) In 1910 she was Mattie E. Cunningham in Houston TX. In 1920 she is Martha and lists herself at 56 as a real estate agent, while James Cunningham, her husband is an insurance agent...in Houston.
In the Houston 1911-12 city directory, James and Mattie are listed living at 111 York, and he is a mailing clerk genl, at the passenger depot for the T & N O R R. Their son, James Jr. is also a clerk and living with his parents. And of course in the 1919 Houston City Directory, Mattie is listed as widow of James D. But James D. Cunningham III, their son, is listed in the same directory as a teller at City Bank and Trust, and married to Willa. I love how little tidbits come to light which aren't offered as Ancestry information...but there the son was listed on the same directory.
James died in 1925, so by the 1930 census of Houston, Mattie is head of household, widowed, no longer working, and owns a home worth $2000. Before his death the couple were listed in the Houston City Directory as agents of Great So Life Insurance.
Mattie died in January 1929, but is still the property owner listed in the 1930 Houston census.
Interestingly the son who lived until 1974, lists (at Find A Grave) his mother as Mattie Ratliff Cunningham Robinson...not Bass. This listing says she remarried after the death of James Cunningham.
The only document (primary source) saying that James Cunningham and Mattie were married is the 1910 census where they list the number of years they've been married, thus the event happened in 1881. But nothing says what her maiden name had been. So technically this could have also been Mattie Ratliff.
Interestingly the son who lived until 1974, lists (at Find A Grave) his mother as Mattie Ratliff Cunningham Robinson...not Bass. This listing says she remarried after the death of James Cunningham.
The only document (primary source) saying that James Cunningham and Mattie were married is the 1910 census where they list the number of years they've been married, thus the event happened in 1881. But nothing says what her maiden name had been. So technically this could have also been Mattie Ratliff.
And there IS a Ancestry document of a marriage between J. D. Cunningham and Mattie Ratliff, Dec 22, 1881, in Grimes County TX, based on Texas county documents.
There's also a record of a marriage of J. D. Cunningham and a Miss M.E. Christian. How this connected to M. E. Bass is a bit of a stretch without any other documents.
There's also a record of a marriage of J. D. Cunningham and a Miss M.E. Christian. How this connected to M. E. Bass is a bit of a stretch without any other documents.
| J D Cunningham | Male |
|---|---|
| Marriage Date: | 16 Dec 1884 |
| Marriage Place: | Anderson, Texas, USA |
| Spouse: | M E Christain |
So if Mattie Ratliff was James Cunningham's wife, all the information in Houston would be about her, not Mattie Bass. The last time we heard about Mattie Bass was in Huntsville when she was a student boarder in the census of 1880, age 16. So between being called M. E, and Mattie Bass, we know that is the girl who was sister to Bettie Bass Rogers. We don't know that she was the wife of James Cunningham Sr.
Oh, there was still at least one more younger sister!
10) Minnie Bass Zellner, - Birth 29 FEB 1864 • Texas, Death MAR 13, 1939 • Port Neches, Jefferson, TX She was 7 when her mother died. And yes, she was listed on the (infamous) 1870 census of Walker County Texas, as a 7 year old, with 5 year old Mary also listed (who doesn't appear elsewhere.)
Minnie married when she was 20 (1885) to Frances Edward Alexander Zellner (known as Frank). They had 3 sons and a daughter, and lived on several farms through their lives. She lived until 1939, dying at 75.
Of the siblings who had death certificates, often they would give Richard Bass as their father, but they all gave "unknown" as their mother. Of course these were the adult children of the siblings. I just find it interesting, probably there was some great family secret that they all kept, or didn't know, about the mother of Bettie and her siblings. It sure fits in with all the strange census listings of children.
11). As mentioned before, there was a Mary Bass listed in the 1870 census of Walker County TX. She was listed as 5 years old. So I've added her as a child of Richard and Mae Bass. Nobody has given any more information about her.
I would imagine Mother Mae Bass must have given some of the information about the children on the census reports. Perhaps she cared for other people's children, as often is the case with families. Perhaps she had a disability, maybe a speech impediment, or was otherwise incoherent. This is following the suggestion of her own grandchildren not remembering her name on those death certificates. But it also could have been a political stance, given the times of the Confederacy, the loss of the war, the reconstruction political turmoils. Perhaps in the next year I'll learn more about them. It sure makes it hard to keep track of ancestors.
10) Minnie Bass Zellner, - Birth 29 FEB 1864 • Texas, Death MAR 13, 1939 • Port Neches, Jefferson, TX She was 7 when her mother died. And yes, she was listed on the (infamous) 1870 census of Walker County Texas, as a 7 year old, with 5 year old Mary also listed (who doesn't appear elsewhere.)
Minnie married when she was 20 (1885) to Frances Edward Alexander Zellner (known as Frank). They had 3 sons and a daughter, and lived on several farms through their lives. She lived until 1939, dying at 75.
Of the siblings who had death certificates, often they would give Richard Bass as their father, but they all gave "unknown" as their mother. Of course these were the adult children of the siblings. I just find it interesting, probably there was some great family secret that they all kept, or didn't know, about the mother of Bettie and her siblings. It sure fits in with all the strange census listings of children.
11). As mentioned before, there was a Mary Bass listed in the 1870 census of Walker County TX. She was listed as 5 years old. So I've added her as a child of Richard and Mae Bass. Nobody has given any more information about her.
I would imagine Mother Mae Bass must have given some of the information about the children on the census reports. Perhaps she cared for other people's children, as often is the case with families. Perhaps she had a disability, maybe a speech impediment, or was otherwise incoherent. This is following the suggestion of her own grandchildren not remembering her name on those death certificates. But it also could have been a political stance, given the times of the Confederacy, the loss of the war, the reconstruction political turmoils. Perhaps in the next year I'll learn more about them. It sure makes it hard to keep track of ancestors.
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