FINDING THE OLD MOORE HOTEL CONNECTION
Brenda Kellow
August 14, 2011
Last week’s column contained an inquiry from a reader about the Moore Hotel. In it I mentioned a family relationship between Mr. Weatherford of Weatherford Jewelry Store, Ms. Moore and the man working with Mr. Weatherford. I could not remember that man’s name, but I thought there was a connection. Reader and resident Jean Gregory Christian talked to me this week and explained the relationship between the three people. She said the employee’s name was Forest Moore, grandson of Mr. Weatherford and the son of Mrs. Moore who operated the variety store. The hotel was long before Jean’s time.
Jean also mentioned that Albert Taylor who ran Co-Op Grocery Store on the Jockey Yard was related to someone who went to the Corinth Presbyterian Church on Parker Road, founded by Comfort Allen McMillen in 1846. Intrigued, I checked the 1910 Collin County census for information and found Mr. McMillen living with his daughter Martha Jane and son-in-law Albert Taylor. They lived at Parker Road and Murphy Road. Martha Jane and Albert Taylor have a 15-year-old son named Albert Taylor Jr. Wonder if this Albert Jr. is the Mr. Taylor I knew who ran the grocery store. Could the Albert Taylor mentioned by Jean be the one known to me from the grocery store? Genealogists love mysteries! Thanks, Jean.
NEW WYLIE HISTORICAL SOCIETY: On July 12th a group interested in preserving the history of Wylie met in the historic Birmingham House in downtown Wylie to gauge the interest in forming Wylie Historical Society. The attendees were diverse in occupation and interests but all were drawn to preserve the town’s history. The next meeting will be August 16 at three in the afternoon at the Birmingham House, 301 North Ballard. The Wylie group follows the recent interest by Murphy and Parker in collecting and preserving their cities past history.
LEGACY USER GROUP: The webinar at last week’s User Group by Thomas MacEntee was so interesting that other researchers who do not use Legacy Family Tree genealogy program should find it extremely interesting. It was on Building a Research Toolbox. You can find out more about the webinar and CD that comes with a syllabus at http://hidefgen.com/legacy-family-tree-webinar-building-research-toolbox/. They also keep it online for a brief time after the initial broadcast. It really was exceptional and I would not want researchers to miss it. The links alone were worth getting out in the heat. If you have ever stored something on your computer and cannot find it readily, this is for you. The User Group meets the fourth Tuesday of each month in the Genealogy Library. For more information, contact the coordinator Joanne Corney, [email protected].
JOHN PHILIP COLLETTA SPEEKS IN TYLER: The East Texas Genealogical Society sponsors professional genealogist John Philip Colletta, Ph.D. on September 10 at the Fairwood United Methodist Church, 1712 Old Omen Road. The topics covered are libraries, courthouses, pensions, land records and he finalizes his talk with fresh research ideas. For more information on attending, contact June Everheart at 903-877-4501 or by email at [email protected]. Box lunches are available for $10. Make checks to East Texas Genealogical Society, c/o June Everheart, 16986 County Road 3215, Winona, TX 75792-5748.
FINDING RECORDS LOST IN THE 1906 SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE: Catastrophes such as fires, floods and earthquakes destroy records and demolishes genealogists’ efforts to reconstruct a family. The California Genealogical Society has a guide to finding those supposedly lost records of the 1906 disaster. Nancy Simons Peterson’s book, Raking the Ashes: Genealogical Strategies for Pre-1906 San Francisco Research. It provides valuable information to finding what lesser known records do exist and where they can be found. The book is available from the society. More information on the book is athttp://rakingtheashes.weebly.com/.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries to: [email protected].