Thursday, January 10, 2013

Thomas Ross Bodyguard of Joseph Smith

Just found out that our Ross family is connected with the early beginnings of the LDS church. Thomas Ross was a body guard for the Prophet Joseph Smith. Thomas married Rachel Smith who was related to the Prophet. The Ross family and the Smiths as well as many other families, suffered many hardships during the persecutions of the Saints. She writes about the Ross house being set on fire by a mob and Thomas Ross, who was sick in bed at the time was carried in a blanket outside the burning home and hid in a corn field. Thomas Ross was her grandfather. She wrote this in 1965. Ella Minerva Parker writes, "Thomas and Rachel Smith Ross lived on a small farm just three miles from the city called Beautiful Nauvoo, first known as Commerce, but rightfully changed to Nauvoo, an ancient Hebrew meaning beautiful." She wrote lots more and I made a copy. George Albert Smith may well turn out to be an ancient Morman relative of ours. I am just starting to do the research on this. As you know, Grandmother Lucretia Ross (your great grandmother) married John David Church and my dad was one of their sons.

William Taylor and Rebecca Moody - Crazy and rebuttal

http://genforum.genealogy.com/taylor/messages/26291.html This is the website This is the contact info for the person who posed the question on William Taylor/Rebecca Moody :LizMcW@msn.com She may have more information? WILLIAM TAYLOR/REBECCA MOODY Posted by: Seana Arrechaga (ID *****8285) Date: March 08, 2011 at 10:56:50 In Reply to: WILLIAM TAYLOR/REBECCA MOODY by Liz Wilson of 34969 William Taylor is my gggggrandfather. This is from an oral history that has been passed down to me. Other than this I don't have much on William and Rebecca, I'm still on the hunt. Their son, Eli Calvin is my ggggrandfather. Grandmother ---- Rebeccah Moody Taylor Our paternal Grandmother, Rebeccah Moody, was from a well-to-do family and a large one. She was dark, of Dutch ancestry, who lived on a plantation in Kentucky and whose family kept slaves. She had never worked and never did work, even after she had married William Taylor, our Grandfather, and orphan boy, who worked as overseer over the slaves. His former life is unknown. Rebeccah was a proud woman and Grandfather would cater to her. He would bring Rebeccah warm water to wash in before she was out of bed in the mornings and then giver her breakfast, in bed. He would warm her shoes, for her small feet and he loved her so ‘good’ he would kiss her tracks in the road. Grandmother Taylor had an awful temper and would do things for spite. They lived on a hill, after they had moved to Arkansas, which was very steep and when she’d get real mad, she would roll down the hill and Grandfather would pick her up, and carry her back up. Grandfather Taylor was not only a large, handsome man, but he was a good one, too. After their eleven children were born, they moved from Kentucky to Arkansas. There they lived on a 40-acre farm that had a log house on it. The children were Frank, Rube, John, Tom, Jack, Jim, George, and (Eli) Calvin. The girls were Martha, the only blond girl, who died when she was a young woman of consumption, and Mary and Susan. Jim was killed in the Civil War. He was considered to be very smart. In the war he carried the mail and on a mission, he and a detail of six men, stopped at a farmhouse for food. They milked the cows and ate the bread they took from the woman who lived there, who was a Southern sympathizer. She was so mad at them, that, as they left, she told them she would have them shot for that and she did. She notified a Rebel detachment and Jim was ‘bush-whacked’ shot from a bush by the roadside. Frank, the oldest son, married Jane Keeling. He was a dark man and so nice and clean. He would not wear a shirt that had a speck of dirt on it, but he got one off the dirtiest woman ever! As an example, Jane killed two chickens and sat spraddled legged on the floor to pick and clean them. They had a ‘raft’ of kids: Amos, Levi, Jode, Loy, Becky and others. Frank left Arkansas and went to Missouri. He drank a lot and died before Jane did. Rube married a sister of Jane called “Sueky.” They also had lots of children. One boy, Jim, became a preacher. They had no girls. They stayed in Arkansas. Rube was fair skinned and had blue eyes. Jack married a Keeling girl, too, “Sis.” He was also fair and blue eyed and he also had a large family: Willie, Riley, Grant, Richie, Roy, Fred, Dock, Rube, Sarah, Emma and Dolly. Dolly had so much hair it reached the ground. She died of consumption while a young woman, in Mineral Spring, Missouri. People said all her strength went to her hair. Jack had a big farm near Mineral, where he died. John married Rhoda, who was so ugly. Papa said she cared Georgie so bad, that Mittie had to take him out-doors. They had a boy and a girl, the girl not bright. They lived at Water Creek, Arkansas. John left Rhoda and went away, leaving the country round-a-bout, with her sister, Minerva, and had five children by her before he professed religion and came back to Rhoda. She died before he did and he took the girl of theirs to keep house for him. Their boy married and moved away. Tom married Rosa-Bella, and had five children: Rufus, Lummy, Charlie, Laura and Zona. Tom was fair with blue eyes. Laura married ‘well-off’. Tom moved to the upper part of the State of Missouri. (Eli) Calvin, who was the youngest, married Betty Ann Murrow, Mama’s sister. He was real dark. They had four boys, Dick (Granville Murphy) and Alfred who became preachers. One boy died while a baby and Tommie died while a little child. Calvin died in Oklahoma. George married Rose-Ann, sister of Tom’s wife, Rosa-Bella. Everybody called her “Rose-Ener.” She was fair, and died of consumption. They had four children: a baby girl died, Sarah-Ellen lived to an old age and died out west. Elmitta Isabel, called “Mittie” lived to 91 years but Jackie died while a young man. George was a big man, medium fair with hazel eyes. After Rose-Anne died, George married Martha Murrow and they had 13 children: George Washington, the oldest child, died at 60 years, John Archer, “Archie” died at 70, Lillie Belle lived 1 month, Ida May lived 1 month, William Hansfred lived 1 year, Monroe Oscar (Adam) is still living at 76, Ivie-Ann (Eve) died at 72, Mary lived 1 day, William Franklin lived 6 months, B.L. (a boy) lived 1 month, Myrtle Lucille is still living at 69 years. Estha lived 2 months, and Hazel May is still living at 64 years. Susan married and had a large family. She was dark. They lived in Boone County, Arkansas but Susan died ‘down south.’ Mary was dark, too. She married Len Rice and they had Frankie, Jim, Jody (Joe, who married Mama’s half-sister, Ellen) Lundy, Lucinda and 3 more girls. Mary died in Arkansas. Grandmother Taylor developed into a large fleshy woman, but was still waited on by Grandfather. Whenever she went visiting she always rode horse back with a side-saddle. Due to her increasing weight it was hard for her to mount, so Grandfather built her steps so she could get on the horse better. She was the first to die; then Grandfather continued living with Betty Ann and Calvin. Betty Ann had taken care of Rebeccah, her mother-in-law, before she died, too. --- Forwarded Message ----- From: Peggy Woodward To: charlotte lucker Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2012 12:23 PM Subject: Re: Crazy story about George Washington Taylors Parents and a little about his life and siblings Perhaps someone needs to tell Seana her GGGG grandfather Eli Taylor was considered a thief in the Moody family. As he had himself appointed guardian of his cousin William Harvy Moody's children's inhertiance which came from their Grandfather George Washington Moody. The estate was sold and the money divided between the six aires. One of the six was the four children of William. They never got the money and shortly after that Eli moved to Oklahoma. Makes one think don't it? There were two Martin girls Mary Rose Ann and Rosa bell Perhaps this letter just told us who they married? Thanks for a good read Peggy PS I don't like spiders