Another Cold Case: Felix McMasters Died 1773

State of North Carolina 1795 : Source 

http://www.mapofus.org/_maps/atlas/1795northcarolina.html

Nordic Noir, cop shows, mysteries.  Tonight I watch another drama unfold. Apparently the human mind thrives on detective stories, judging on the number of Netflix choices about crime and detection. As I watch my mind is wanders. I feel the pull of the computer screen in the other room. My mind  wants to get back to the problem I have been working on today:  Felix McMasters, died 1793, North Carolina.

I've been on the case all day.  Three search sisters are investigating Felix McMasters. Stella whose headquarters are in Alameda County. LA whose offices are in Marin and Jeannie who works from somewhere in Texas. 

We are operating today as a team because of DNA matching. We share proteins. We share great great grandparents. We share curiosity. We share the the urge to investigate cold cases: long ago ancestors long ago dead. 

It's a hot email conversation all day long. Probate documents, census reports, maps and newspaper articles fly back and forth.  We are trying to ID the perpetrator: Felix McMasters. Did he father our lineage? Is he Mary Catherine Evans aka. Kate's grandfather?

The evidence is pointing to him as the culprit. But the Search Sisters need that clinching piece of evidence to convict him. They are not even sure what that evidence will be or where it will come from. What they do know for sure is no evidence will be coming from any eyewitnesses.

Kate Comes West

Cats, birds, caterpillars. 
I can't even keep the peas I planted in my back yard alive.  

Today I am trackiing the path of Kate (Mary Catherine Evans Allison) and her family's migration.  What would it have been like to pack up your family? Leave your home soil of North Carolina. Cross mountains. Hike your gear a thousand miles to the wilderness that was Mississippi, Arkansas or Texas. 
Clear the land.
Then plant crops. 
Then fight off cats, birds, catepillars and any number of unknown predators while having  a new baby every other year and keeping those kids alive. 

You would have to be some kind of tough. Some kind of resourceful. Some kind of lucky.
But why?  It still doesn't answer the question why go west at all.

This morning I wondered about the why enough to research: emigration N. Carolina 1800.
I found out why...

"By the 1830s, almost as many people were leaving North Carolina as were being born there! "

The reason for this mass exodus according to a web presentation of the UNC school of Education was the"  “present languishing condition” of North Carolina.
 This article says that during the first half of the 1800s North Carolina was the third most populated state in the Union. It was also known as the Rip Van Winkle State. Bad roads, poor education and farming practices that depleted the soil made it harder and harder to survive as a farmer.  

People poured out of N. Carolina and went west. By 1860 this state was 12th in population.   "Thirty percent of North Carolina’s native-born population, amounting to more than four hundred thousand persons, was living outside of the state in 1860."

Our Evans are some of those folks. Kate's papa William M Evans was born in North Carolina in 1813. His clan was in Neshoba Mississippi to meet the census taker in 1840. Lucky for us they could grow peas…. and everything else they needed.


Source: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-newnation/4389  Searching for greener pastures: Out-migration in the 1800s - North Carolina Digital History

The Letters: Reading Between the Lines

But who ARE all those other people in the Evans/Ivans letters? 
Hmmmn. LA pours over  these old letters vs comparing them to the Evans names in our family tree. Head scratching, squinting and tree sketching ensues. 

Gradually the Evans clan comes into focus. The counties, the names, the kids: All the pieces fit!  This is AMAZING.  As the forensics detective says, striding into the police station "we have a match."    LA is beside herself with excitement. OK, only a "genebuff" could possibly care about this neat bit of primary research. But it is extreme good luck to be able to first find such letters, then to to match them to people and place in rural America 170 years ago is astonishing. 

Letter 1:

To: Mr. John O. Florida Areadelphia, Clark Co, Ark                                                                                                            August 1, 1852    

Ditear BROTHER and SISTER  (John Osborn Florida and Elizabeth M Evans Florida ) 

 It's with pleasure I take my pen in hand to let you no how we are doing. We are all well and hoping these few line may find you and family injoying the same blessing or greater have nothing of importance to write tho we (?) own such as we have. We sole the plaice that we were on when you came to see us and bought brother WILLIAMS (William M Evans) place (this checks with census in 1850 William Evans was in Bradley Co. Arkansas, the 1860 census shows him in Columbia Co. Arkansas) that he was on when you was here and has my second crop on hand and has got the best crop that I ever have made. Crops are generaly very good throo June. OSBON, (John Osborn Florida) we could tell you of moor ups and downs and bad luck than you have thought of for the last too years and light rightly on the nail now? After all an I hope so at least. OSBON, We would be glad to see you and your family. All I want you to come and bring your lady and all of the children to see us for I think that we could muster up a right pirty little show of children. Now we have FOUR BOYS, (William Ritchie, Thomas Ritchie, Stephen Ritchie) the too oldest is going to school and learns very fast. MOTHER (Mary Catherine McMasters) says that she wants you to com and bring your wife and all of the children to see her and thaty must write to her and rite often for if she cant see you she wants to hear from you often. She is sick at this time. She has the Chills and veever every other day. CAROLINE (Julia Caroline Evans Reaves) and LOVET (Lovett Reaves) is living in too miles of us. There oldest child (Martha Reaves) has chills and feever every day. The rest of there family are well. We haven't heard from JAMES (James Felix Evans) since spring. There were all well then. They have 5 boys. CAROLINE has 2 girls. (Martha Reaves, Jerusha Reaves or Sarah Reaves). We have not herd from CHARLES (Charles Bussey Landers) and MARY (Mary Catherine Evans Landers) (since February. Mary and the children were in bad helth then. LOVET (Lovette Reaves) got a letter from BILL (William M Evans) in March. They were all well at that time. JAMES (James Felix Evans) lives in Drew County about five miles from Montongoo. MARY and CHARLES live in Loosianna but we cant tell you where. (Van Buren, Union, Arkansas note: borders Union Parish Louisiana)WILLIAM lives in Union County. Do come and see us and write soon for we are anxious to hear from you all. WILLIAM (son William Ritchie?) says to tell UNCLE OROM (John Osborn Florida) howdy. MOTHER and CAROLINE send there love to you all. CAROLINE says you must both write to her. Give all our love to all of the children. (?) nothing more but remains you bother and sister until death.

 Uel H. and Sarah Ritchey (Uel Hardy Ritchey and Sarah Ward Evans Ritchey) 

Letter 2:

To: John O. Florida, (John Osborn Florida & Elizabeth Evans Florida, sister of Julia Caroline Evans Reaves)Terrenoir (Terre Noir Township),Clark Co, Ark State of Ark   (County of Bradley )
                                                  February 3, 1853 

Dear Sir,
we received your letter after so long a time found us all well as common hoping these lines may reach you all enjoying the same like Blessing. Mother (Mary Catherine McMasters) has recovered after about three months illness and is as well as could be expected. Richey and family is well. (Uel Hardy Ritchey and Sarah Ward Evans Ritchey) William (William M Evans) was hear in December and expected to go to Camden but I do not now where. Lis (?) his wife (has a son and a daughter. (Benjamin F Evans and Julia Josephine Evans) Mary (Mary Catherine Evans Landers) has three sons, (Hezekiah R Landers, Charles F Landers, James E Landers) they are still living in Union county. James (James Felix Evans) is still living in Drew County (Arkansas) and is doing well as he ever did, he has a house full of boys, (I do not now how many, six or seven. (William Evans, John Evans, James Evans, Peter Evans) We have had a grate deal of sickness in our County, a grate many deaths, we have lost our oldest child, Mary Catherine (Mary Catherine Reaves) in October. Mother and Caroline is desirous to see aan hear from you all and how your are geting on in this world and what the rospect is in the world to come. Paul says be all way ready to give ( ? ) reason of the hope that is within you that is seen is not hope for what a man seeth ( ? ) doth he yet hopes for but if we hope for that we see not then do we with patience wait for it and not onley so but we glory in tribulation, also knowing that tribulation woreth patience and patience experience and eperience hope and hope maketh not ashamed. No more to right for it is late. Let us hear from you when you can make it convenient. Your (?) (?) of love to fare you well.
 Lovett ReavesJ.C. Reaves (Julia Caroline Evans Reaves )

 

Not only does our mysterious Kate (Mary Catherine Evans Allison) have siblings,  she has an army of aunts, uncles and cousins spilling across Arkansas and over into Texas and "Loosiana."    Kate had family and a big one at that.

Kate: Discovering the Letters

Stella discovered the letters.  Actually she rediscovered the letters. Months ago she found an item posted on Ancestry called Evans / Ivans letters. They were interesting because they were labeled  Evans and came from Arkansas about the time our kin lived there. At first read they didn't seem connected to our Evans clan.  

Rereading them, Good God! Lovett Reaves, we now know married to our second great grand aunt. Julia Caroline Evans  Old Lovett is writing to John Osborn Florida who is married to Julia's older sis, Elizabeth M Evans.

This is OUR aunts and uncles talking!. We can eavesdrop on our kin in 1852 swapping news across the county lines of Arkansas.   Kids, crops and fever….its all here.  

Letter 1: Uel Ritchie, married to our second great grand aunt Sarah Evans, writes to John O Florida, August 1852...  

Letter 2: Lovett Reaves writes to John O Florida Feb 1853 

Source: James New the poster of the Evans Ivans letters had graciously allowed permission to use these letters in Search Sisters blog. http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/51023219/person/26651788874/media/5?pgnum=1&pg=0&pgpl=pid%7cpgNum