Family Stories

These are some of the more outstanding anecdotes sprinkled throughout the Family Tree, collected together for ease of reference and to paint an overall picture of the family.

Fountain Murders - Did Uncle Jim Gililland kill Col Fountain and his young son or not? A famous unsolved mystery in southern New Mexico.

Mountain Meadows Massacre - How John Sherman Baker's family was saved from annihilation by Mormons and Indians (!) - an unsightly story from all sides - by sickness that delayed his joining the Fancher Wagon Train for three days. Or is this the wrong story? New information added 25 Nov 2001.

John D Rockefeller - He put his most despised competitor, our John H Alexander, out of business first, to start his empire.

Daniel Boone - If only Daniel's grandson had listened to our General Jonathan Riggs.

The Mayflower - How our extended family is related to five people on the Mayflower in 1620.

The Letter - How HENRY HARGREAVES and his family shipped from England to New South Wales in 1840, lost a child, lived with convicts, found and lost gold, etc.

Aborigine Saves - How an aborigine saved our Australian ancestors in a flood with his canoe. There was a gathering of survivors of the 1852 Gundagai Flood in Gundagai, 8-10 June 2002. This was a commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Flood (24 June is the actual anniversary date).

Indianola Hurricane - How our Alois Julius Coutret lost his family in the hurricane that demolished Indianola TX.

Texas Ranger - The story of our Wade Hampton, Texas Ranger, fighting alongside his rivals to rout Juan "Cheno" Cortina in the so-called Cortina War along the Texas-Mexican border in 1859.