Add Another Wagon

Jack Dossey and his wife Mary ‘Mollie’ lived in Erath county in 1900.  They were living near his widowed sister Elizabeth Dossey Moates.

‘Genie’ Hatcher was a boarder in the home of Jack and Mollie before he married Fannie Moates in 1897.  ‘Mollie’ is said to have starched Genie’s shorts as stiff as a board on his wedding day.

Jack and Mollie added another wagon to the group that came from Georgia in the early 1880s. 

Wagon 1 was John Bolton Moates with his wife Elizabeth Dossey Moates, and their 6 children. 

Wagon 2 was widowed sister Mary Ann Moates Barnes, her daughter Mary Elizabeth Barnes, and Elizabeth Bolton Moates, widowed mother of Mary Ann and her brother John Bolton.

Wagon 3 was Jack Dossey, younger brother of Elizabeth Dossey Moates, and his wife Mary (Mollie).  I need to check to see if they brought children. 

Anyone looking for Hatchers and Moates will find a lot of them in Crawford County, Georgia.  Part of  Crawford County was taken, in 1924, to form a new county called Peach.  Most likely it is that area where the Hatchers and Moates were located.

The Hunt For Hatchers

I spent most of the day with the Hatchers yesterday.  We’ve never known much about the Hatcher side of our family.  Our little grandpa Hatcher was orphaned at an early age and moved around among people with names other than Hatcher.  Before computers it presented a real challenge finding him by combing through reels of census records.

A few years ago cousin Neal Hatcher and his wife Betty traveled to South Dakota to attend a Hatcher Genealogy event.  As you would expect from those two, they returned home ‘Hatcher line’ in hand.

I spent time yesterday attempting to enter the Hatcher line in correct order.  About the only thing I can say after that experience is, the Hatchers were fertile people!  I was in no mood to proofread after entering information on all their children.  If you find mistakes or have questions please contact me at hillinlinda@gmail.com.

I’ve also added a link on the right side of the page to Major John Hatcher, our Revolutionary War hero, and a link to the Hatcher Family genealogy site that was so helpful to Neal and Betty in their search for Hatchers.

Photo by Neal Dwayne Hatcher, 2009

Mary Ann Moates Barnes

Now that we know John Bolton Moates brought not only his widowed mother, Elizabeth Bolton Moates with him to Texas, but also a widowed sister, it’s a good time to learn more about her.

Mary Ann Moates Barnes was the third child of Levi and Elizabeth Bolton Moates.  John Bolton was their fourth child.

Mary Ann was born June 22, 1845 in South Carolina, and died January 24, 1910 in Erath County Texas.  She was married to George Thomas Barnes in 1866 but was a widow, 35 years of age, in 1880.  She was the mother of one child, a daughter, born in 1868.  The daughter’s name was Mary Elizabeth Barnes.

In 1900 Mary Ann was living with her daughter and son-in-law, William Marian Scott and Mary Elizabeth Barnes Scott, in Erath County, Texas.

There is no record of Mary Ann in 1910.  The Hatcher family Bible gives her date of death as January 24 of that year.

I have requested Mary Ann Moates Barnes name be added to the list of names of unmarked graves in Wesley Chapel Cemetery.  That request has been approved.  I based my request on the fact her daughter and son-in-law, her grandchild, her brother and her mother are all buried in Wesley Chapel Cemetery.  It is my opinion she was also buried there but the sands of time have taken her away from us, and her grave can no longer be found.

Sources:

US Census 1850, 1880, 1900, 1910

Hatcher Family Bible

Wesley Chapel Cemetery Book, compiled by Barbara Rogers Kirkland, 2009

An Early Introduction

My mother, Winnie Hatcher Tidwell, introduced me to the Moates at an early age.  These were her people she said.  From the time I could walk I followed my mother around Wesley Chapel Cemetery, listening to her stories, as she walked among the gravestones of her family.  They were all good people, no faults among them.  She never said bad things about her family.  She loved them, consequently I loved them.

As we strolled along she would point and say “That’s Grandma Smoker’s grave.”  She never seemed to notice only rocks marked her grave.

Then she would point to the gravestone of John Bolton Moates and comment that he was her grandfather.  She seemed not to notice his wife, Elizabeth Dossey Moates’ grave was marked only by the footstone from her husband’s grave.

My mother seemed at peace as we walked, her talking and me asking questions.  When it was time to leave she seemed to feel as though she’d been home for a visit.

Photo by Theron Magers