Date of birth (since modified) comes from the obit in the July 28, 1943 Longview Daily News, which says "Had she lived until August, she would've been 97 years of age ..." This is not very likely.
The census records I've seen for her give a year of birth as 1853. Her death certificate gives her date of birth as Aug 9, 1862. The informant is her son-in-law, who may or may not have known when she was born, but it is a concise date.
(Sep 21, 2020) Update on Isabelle's age - the Aug 8, 1943 edition of the Mineola (Texas) Sunday Record pg. 4 has an article written by "one of her friends", C. C. Ferguson in which he quotes an interview he did with Isabelle where she recounts her life, from her birth on August 9, 1852, her first marriage to James Payton at age 21, the births of their 7 children, to her marriage to Joseph James Minshew (his 2nd wife) in November 1906 after her first husband passed.
The same article also says that "Granny" was laid to rest at the Sand Springs cemetery "3 1/2 miles north of Hawkins." Hawkins, Texas is 18 miles southeast of Mineola and the Sand Springs Cemetery in Find A Grave (#406420) is another 4 miles northwest of Mineola. Therefore, that Sand Springs cemetery is not where Isabelle Minshew is buried. However, there are no other cemeteries in Wood County with that name. Until I can locate the one from the 1943 article, I will keep Isabella's memorial page at this one.
I'm guessing there has to be (or was) a second Sand Springs Cemetery in Wood County and that the "3 1/2 miles north of Hawkins" location was included in the article so that readers did not confuse it with the cemetery near Mineola.
(Oct 17, 2020) Further update - Florence Josephine West Minshew's (#19108813) obituary from 1949 also says that she was to be buried at the Sand Springs cemetery "north of Hawkins". Her funeral order and invoice from the English Funeral Home in Hawkins makes note that the Sand Springs cemetery is the one "N. of Hawkins". She is, in fact, buried along with her husband William Thomas Minshew Sr. (#19108758) at the Liberty Cemetery (#864691) a few miles northeast of Hawkins.
Based on Florence's and a number of other obits I've found online that say the burials were to be the Sand Springs cemetery "north of Hawkins" and who are at Liberty, I'm going to say that at one time, the Liberty Cemetery north of Hawkins was also known as Sand Springs. So I'm placing Isabelle here until I find something which tells me otherwise.
(Nov 22, 2020) According to the Texas State Historical Association "Handbook of Texas", as early as 1848, there was a community a few miles northeast of Hawkins which became known as Sand Springs. In 1852 a post office by that name was established. In 1855 the Liberty Baptist Church was organized by members of this community.
Some time after, the Liberty Cemetery was establish next to, if not on, the church grounds. Although the Liberty Cemetery has never been officially named as such, it would stand to reason that this cemetery would be the one referred to as the Sand Springs Cemetery by the locals familiar with the area.
By the 1950's, the name Sand Springs began to fade into history after the community was annexed into the Hawkins City Limits. All but a couple of the people I talked to in Hawkins while trying to identify the location of that cemetery had no knowledge of the place.
(Jan. 11, 2024) Today I was able find Vol. 1 Cemeteries of Wood County, Texas online through the Portals of Texas website hosted by the The University of North Texas. This collection was compiled and published in the 1970's by Ida Mae Turner and Adele W. Vickery of Mineola, TX. On page 10 was listed a grave for Mrs. W. J. Minchew Aug. 9, 1852 - July 26, 1943, almost the exact dates I have for Isabelle. The spelling of the last name is different, but that is something which happens all the time with the family name. Also the initials "W. J." are different from J. J., but that could be attributed to a weathered stone, or it could have been the result of incorrect information being given to the creator of the marker. That has been known to happen on occasion.
Regardless, I am now convinced that Isabelle is, in fact, at Liberty. Hopefully one day I can get back up there to look for her, now that I know she's there.
The census records I've seen for her give a year of birth as 1853. Her death certificate gives her date of birth as Aug 9, 1862. The informant is her son-in-law, who may or may not have known when she was born, but it is a concise date.
(Sep 21, 2020) Update on Isabelle's age - the Aug 8, 1943 edition of the Mineola (Texas) Sunday Record pg. 4 has an article written by "one of her friends", C. C. Ferguson in which he quotes an interview he did with Isabelle where she recounts her life, from her birth on August 9, 1852, her first marriage to James Payton at age 21, the births of their 7 children, to her marriage to Joseph James Minshew (his 2nd wife) in November 1906 after her first husband passed.
The same article also says that "Granny" was laid to rest at the Sand Springs cemetery "3 1/2 miles north of Hawkins." Hawkins, Texas is 18 miles southeast of Mineola and the Sand Springs Cemetery in Find A Grave (#406420) is another 4 miles northwest of Mineola. Therefore, that Sand Springs cemetery is not where Isabelle Minshew is buried. However, there are no other cemeteries in Wood County with that name. Until I can locate the one from the 1943 article, I will keep Isabella's memorial page at this one.
I'm guessing there has to be (or was) a second Sand Springs Cemetery in Wood County and that the "3 1/2 miles north of Hawkins" location was included in the article so that readers did not confuse it with the cemetery near Mineola.
(Oct 17, 2020) Further update - Florence Josephine West Minshew's (#19108813) obituary from 1949 also says that she was to be buried at the Sand Springs cemetery "north of Hawkins". Her funeral order and invoice from the English Funeral Home in Hawkins makes note that the Sand Springs cemetery is the one "N. of Hawkins". She is, in fact, buried along with her husband William Thomas Minshew Sr. (#19108758) at the Liberty Cemetery (#864691) a few miles northeast of Hawkins.
Based on Florence's and a number of other obits I've found online that say the burials were to be the Sand Springs cemetery "north of Hawkins" and who are at Liberty, I'm going to say that at one time, the Liberty Cemetery north of Hawkins was also known as Sand Springs. So I'm placing Isabelle here until I find something which tells me otherwise.
(Nov 22, 2020) According to the Texas State Historical Association "Handbook of Texas", as early as 1848, there was a community a few miles northeast of Hawkins which became known as Sand Springs. In 1852 a post office by that name was established. In 1855 the Liberty Baptist Church was organized by members of this community.
Some time after, the Liberty Cemetery was establish next to, if not on, the church grounds. Although the Liberty Cemetery has never been officially named as such, it would stand to reason that this cemetery would be the one referred to as the Sand Springs Cemetery by the locals familiar with the area.
By the 1950's, the name Sand Springs began to fade into history after the community was annexed into the Hawkins City Limits. All but a couple of the people I talked to in Hawkins while trying to identify the location of that cemetery had no knowledge of the place.
(Jan. 11, 2024) Today I was able find Vol. 1 Cemeteries of Wood County, Texas online through the Portals of Texas website hosted by the The University of North Texas. This collection was compiled and published in the 1970's by Ida Mae Turner and Adele W. Vickery of Mineola, TX. On page 10 was listed a grave for Mrs. W. J. Minchew Aug. 9, 1852 - July 26, 1943, almost the exact dates I have for Isabelle. The spelling of the last name is different, but that is something which happens all the time with the family name. Also the initials "W. J." are different from J. J., but that could be attributed to a weathered stone, or it could have been the result of incorrect information being given to the creator of the marker. That has been known to happen on occasion.
Regardless, I am now convinced that Isabelle is, in fact, at Liberty. Hopefully one day I can get back up there to look for her, now that I know she's there.
Date of birth (since modified) comes from the obit in the July 28, 1943 Longview Daily News, which says "Had she lived until August, she would've been 97 years of age ..." This is not very likely.
The census records I've seen for her give a year of birth as 1853. Her death certificate gives her date of birth as Aug 9, 1862. The informant is her son-in-law, who may or may not have known when she was born, but it is a concise date.
(Sep 21, 2020) Update on Isabelle's age - the Aug 8, 1943 edition of the Mineola (Texas) Sunday Record pg. 4 has an article written by "one of her friends", C. C. Ferguson in which he quotes an interview he did with Isabelle where she recounts her life, from her birth on August 9, 1852, her first marriage to James Payton at age 21, the births of their 7 children, to her marriage to Joseph James Minshew (his 2nd wife) in November 1906 after her first husband passed.
The same article also says that "Granny" was laid to rest at the Sand Springs cemetery "3 1/2 miles north of Hawkins." Hawkins, Texas is 18 miles southeast of Mineola and the Sand Springs Cemetery in Find A Grave (#406420) is another 4 miles northwest of Mineola. Therefore, that Sand Springs cemetery is not where Isabelle Minshew is buried. However, there are no other cemeteries in Wood County with that name. Until I can locate the one from the 1943 article, I will keep Isabella's memorial page at this one.
I'm guessing there has to be (or was) a second Sand Springs Cemetery in Wood County and that the "3 1/2 miles north of Hawkins" location was included in the article so that readers did not confuse it with the cemetery near Mineola.
(Oct 17, 2020) Further update - Florence Josephine West Minshew's (#19108813) obituary from 1949 also says that she was to be buried at the Sand Springs cemetery "north of Hawkins". Her funeral order and invoice from the English Funeral Home in Hawkins makes note that the Sand Springs cemetery is the one "N. of Hawkins". She is, in fact, buried along with her husband William Thomas Minshew Sr. (#19108758) at the Liberty Cemetery (#864691) a few miles northeast of Hawkins.
Based on Florence's and a number of other obits I've found online that say the burials were to be the Sand Springs cemetery "north of Hawkins" and who are at Liberty, I'm going to say that at one time, the Liberty Cemetery north of Hawkins was also known as Sand Springs. So I'm placing Isabelle here until I find something which tells me otherwise.
(Nov 22, 2020) According to the Texas State Historical Association "Handbook of Texas", as early as 1848, there was a community a few miles northeast of Hawkins which became known as Sand Springs. In 1852 a post office by that name was established. In 1855 the Liberty Baptist Church was organized by members of this community.
Some time after, the Liberty Cemetery was establish next to, if not on, the church grounds. Although the Liberty Cemetery has never been officially named as such, it would stand to reason that this cemetery would be the one referred to as the Sand Springs Cemetery by the locals familiar with the area.
By the 1950's, the name Sand Springs began to fade into history after the community was annexed into the Hawkins City Limits. All but a couple of the people I talked to in Hawkins while trying to identify the location of that cemetery had no knowledge of the place.
(Jan. 11, 2024) Today I was able find Vol. 1 Cemeteries of Wood County, Texas online through the Portals of Texas website hosted by the The University of North Texas. This collection was compiled and published in the 1970's by Ida Mae Turner and Adele W. Vickery of Mineola, TX. On page 10 was listed a grave for Mrs. W. J. Minchew Aug. 9, 1852 - July 26, 1943, almost the exact dates I have for Isabelle. The spelling of the last name is different, but that is something which happens all the time with the family name. Also the initials "W. J." are different from J. J., but that could be attributed to a weathered stone, or it could have been the result of incorrect information being given to the creator of the marker. That has been known to happen on occasion.
Regardless, I am now convinced that Isabelle is, in fact, at Liberty. Hopefully one day I can get back up there to look for her, now that I know she's there.
The census records I've seen for her give a year of birth as 1853. Her death certificate gives her date of birth as Aug 9, 1862. The informant is her son-in-law, who may or may not have known when she was born, but it is a concise date.
(Sep 21, 2020) Update on Isabelle's age - the Aug 8, 1943 edition of the Mineola (Texas) Sunday Record pg. 4 has an article written by "one of her friends", C. C. Ferguson in which he quotes an interview he did with Isabelle where she recounts her life, from her birth on August 9, 1852, her first marriage to James Payton at age 21, the births of their 7 children, to her marriage to Joseph James Minshew (his 2nd wife) in November 1906 after her first husband passed.
The same article also says that "Granny" was laid to rest at the Sand Springs cemetery "3 1/2 miles north of Hawkins." Hawkins, Texas is 18 miles southeast of Mineola and the Sand Springs Cemetery in Find A Grave (#406420) is another 4 miles northwest of Mineola. Therefore, that Sand Springs cemetery is not where Isabelle Minshew is buried. However, there are no other cemeteries in Wood County with that name. Until I can locate the one from the 1943 article, I will keep Isabella's memorial page at this one.
I'm guessing there has to be (or was) a second Sand Springs Cemetery in Wood County and that the "3 1/2 miles north of Hawkins" location was included in the article so that readers did not confuse it with the cemetery near Mineola.
(Oct 17, 2020) Further update - Florence Josephine West Minshew's (#19108813) obituary from 1949 also says that she was to be buried at the Sand Springs cemetery "north of Hawkins". Her funeral order and invoice from the English Funeral Home in Hawkins makes note that the Sand Springs cemetery is the one "N. of Hawkins". She is, in fact, buried along with her husband William Thomas Minshew Sr. (#19108758) at the Liberty Cemetery (#864691) a few miles northeast of Hawkins.
Based on Florence's and a number of other obits I've found online that say the burials were to be the Sand Springs cemetery "north of Hawkins" and who are at Liberty, I'm going to say that at one time, the Liberty Cemetery north of Hawkins was also known as Sand Springs. So I'm placing Isabelle here until I find something which tells me otherwise.
(Nov 22, 2020) According to the Texas State Historical Association "Handbook of Texas", as early as 1848, there was a community a few miles northeast of Hawkins which became known as Sand Springs. In 1852 a post office by that name was established. In 1855 the Liberty Baptist Church was organized by members of this community.
Some time after, the Liberty Cemetery was establish next to, if not on, the church grounds. Although the Liberty Cemetery has never been officially named as such, it would stand to reason that this cemetery would be the one referred to as the Sand Springs Cemetery by the locals familiar with the area.
By the 1950's, the name Sand Springs began to fade into history after the community was annexed into the Hawkins City Limits. All but a couple of the people I talked to in Hawkins while trying to identify the location of that cemetery had no knowledge of the place.
(Jan. 11, 2024) Today I was able find Vol. 1 Cemeteries of Wood County, Texas online through the Portals of Texas website hosted by the The University of North Texas. This collection was compiled and published in the 1970's by Ida Mae Turner and Adele W. Vickery of Mineola, TX. On page 10 was listed a grave for Mrs. W. J. Minchew Aug. 9, 1852 - July 26, 1943, almost the exact dates I have for Isabelle. The spelling of the last name is different, but that is something which happens all the time with the family name. Also the initials "W. J." are different from J. J., but that could be attributed to a weathered stone, or it could have been the result of incorrect information being given to the creator of the marker. That has been known to happen on occasion.
Regardless, I am now convinced that Isabelle is, in fact, at Liberty. Hopefully one day I can get back up there to look for her, now that I know she's there.
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