The Quest

There are so many what-ifs and maybes in this Stone family line. I can theorize based on the history of the area(s) in which this family lived. I can make assumptions based on circumstantial evidence. None of that is particularly sound genealogical research. But I need to get my thoughts down on "paper" to help me think it through. So here's my working theory of the life of Matthew R. Stone. My hypothesis is that Matthew R. Stone was one and the same as Robert Stone, son of Thomas Stone (b. abt. 1811 Virginia) and Rhodicine Kelly (b. abt. 1815 Virginia).  The family lived first in Tennessee, then in Missouri. Robert's siblings were James N. Stone, Benjamin D. Stone, and Rhoda T. Stone.  By the 1850 census, Benjamin and Rhoda were living with their maternal grandparents, James and Nancy Kelly, in Moreau Township, Morgan County, Missouri. Family history found online about the life of Benjamin Stone indicates that his parents died in 1849. There is no evidence of ...

The search for the Stones continues. I've had a lot of luck in the past 24 hours. I've found land records, possible siblings or cousins, and lots of Thomases, Rhodas, Benjamins, etc. Alas, no conclusive evidence of Matthew Robertson Stone's parents. If my working theory is correct, he was the son of Thomas Stone and Rhodicine Kelly. But there are no other family trees that support that. If he wasn't a son, he was closely related... a nephew perhaps. It appears that their daughter, Rhoda, lived with Matthew and his first wife Louisa for a time. What I can tell you without a doubt about this particular line of Stones... they were quite adventurous. Maybe they didn't think so - they probably thought it was just self-preservation. But any family whose widows would go live in Indian Territory... well, I think that's pretty brave. I cannot imagine living during this time period. Crossing rivers in covered wagons, losing all your belongings, losing your loved ones,...

Now I know I'm supposed to be researching the Stones, but the Gaults are tied to the Stones through marriage... so I'm in the vicinity of doing what I'm supposed to be doing. The family history states: After the [Civil] War, her (Kansas Elizabeth Gault Stone) mother (Great-Grandmother Gault) loaded her few possessions and three children (Cansas Eliz., Aunt Belle and Uncle John Gault) into an ox cart and came to Texas and settled near Honey Grove in Grayson County and that is where your Grandfather William Thomas [Stone] was born in September of 1884. Okay, so the census records show that Martha/Milinda Gault had the following children: John, Mary Jane, Kansas E., Belle, William and Ellen T. All of them were born in Tennessee. And all of them were living in Fannin County, Texas as of the 1870 census (the first census taken after the Civil War). So why does the family history only mention three children: K/Cansas, Belle and John? PS - Also of note is that Honey Grove i...

So I passed off the Edgren family, and found myself wandering around in cyberspace with no particular place to go. Luckily, Colby was on Facebook posting about his search for a connection within his family leading back to Thomas Stone, signer of the Declaration of Independence. What a noble cause to undertake on July 4th. Of course, I couldn't let that comment go without sticking my nose right in the big middle of his business. So I'm starting to try and trace the Stones to make a connection... or prove there isn't one. So if anyone knows who the parents of Matthew Robertson "MR" Stone are, please holler! It will save us some legwork. Matthew Robertson Stone :   Feb. 9, 1836 ( Tennessee) -  Feb. 7, 1917 ( Higgins, TX) m.  Kansas (or Cansas) Elizabeth Gault Stone (1855 - 1931)