I have decided to accept the challenge of Amy Johnson Crow over at No Story Too Small blog. Amy challenges us: 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks. I think this is an excellent challenge as I tend to focus on my brick walls, and this will force me to fan out in my tree and focus on other ancestors.
This is week 22, and my 21st post. Yes, I missed last week and so I will be doing two posts this week to get caught back up. For this post, I’ll be talking about Joseph F. Herring, my 3rd great-grandfather.
Thanks to bible records shared with me by cousins Martha Harris Horn, and her brother Butch Harris, we know that Joseph F. Herring was born on 11 Mar 1839. From other family stories and notes, we know his father was John S. Herring and his mother was Mary Elizabeth Sutner.
JF Herring Birth Record
We also know that he married Mary George Hooker on the 19 Jun 1865. You can read about her here: 52 Ancestors – #12 Mary George (Hooker) Herring Bickley.
JF Herring marriage to Mary G Hooker
We know he died on 20 Jul 1875.
JF Herring Death Record
We don’t know where he died, or where he is buried.
There has also been some confusion about his name. Every record I have seen either says J.F. or what I thought was Jas. F. Herring. For instance, after finding the date of their marriage in the bible, I found the original record recorded in Lafayette Co., Arkansas.
JF Herring and MG Hooker Marriage Record
Doesn’t that look like Jas. F Herring to you?
However, after finding this deed record, I know his name is Joseph F. Herring. I’m not attaching all the pages, but it does go on to say the land was previously owned by John S. Herring, and Mary G. Herring also signs the deed with him.
Deed Joseph F Herring to Peter R Johnston
So, all this time I thought his name was James F. Herring and now I find out it’s Joseph. After finding this out, I found him in the 1860 census with his mother, Elizabeth, and possibly a sister Ellena.
Elizabeth Herring 1860 Census
And that’s basically about all I know of Joseph F. Herring. I hope to find where he is buried and maybe a picture of him someday. I feel sure that one of the unidentified pictures that Martha and Butch have is surely of him since there were so many of his wife, but since they weren’t named, we will never know for sure if he is in any of the photos. That is such a shame!
This is how I descend from Joseph:
