Milam County Historical Commission - Milam County, TX
Statue of Ben Milam at Milam County, TX Courthouse
Old Junior High School Building, Rockdale, TX
Milam County Courthouse - Cameron, TX
Preserve America
Milam County Historical Commission
Milam County, Texas
Requests for Info
Received via Website

2014-02-05
Lisa Gowen
lgowen(AT)mtsba(DOT)org
863 Great Northern Blvd #301
Helena, MT  59601
406-four95-two3four2
I descend from
Benjamin Franklin Bryant through his son Samuel Houston Bryant.  Benjamin died at Bryant Station March 24, 1857.  I am interested to know where I would find a copy of his will?
Thank you for your assistance.  Lisa
*****
2014-02-05
reply: From: Mary joy Graham <maryjoygraham(AT)yahoo(DOT)com>
I needed a will from Aden Worley - my husbands Great Grandfather.  I know the 3rd courthouse burned in 1874...and don't know if the County Clerk's office was located in the courthouse at that time what ...but this I do know.
I needed information on Aden Worley the owner of what is now Apache Pass. One of his son's was Frank Worley, who is Kit Worley's Grandfather.  Kit was adopted by Lefus Worleyl, the son of Frank Worley..Kit and Linda Worley wanted a Texas Heritage Agriculture Award ....and I found a copy of Aden Worley's probate information in none other than Botts Co....still in Cameron, Texas.  They let me go through some old file cabinets in a storage room....and there was the file on his Probate information.
Maybe someone can check this out for the request that was made.
*****
2014-02-05
reply: From: "Mary Ann Eanes" <kittenmae(AT)sbcglobal(DOT)net
Birth Certificates may be obtained from the County Clerks Office.
Mary Ann Eanes
*****
2014-02-05

reply:From: John Brooks <bjohnr2010(AT)hotmail(DOT)com>
Hello Ms. Gowen,
Regarding your inquiry, I'll share some insight with you, hoping that someone with more legal experience than myself is able to contribute.
If you'll note attachments No. 1-3, they deal with the legal documentation of the total destruction, in 1874, of all of the  Milam County Courthouse records and the Courthouse itself. If the Will that you spoke of, was submitted for probate, any record of it would have been lost in the above fire.
Would it have been  possible for an Attorney, an Executor or even an ancestor to have had a copy?. If so, would it have been re-recorded after the fire. If not, after 157 years, it is quite possibly lost to time. I have been told that, after the fire, the public was given a certain amount of time to submit reconstructed records with as much documentation as possible to get new deeds filed. I don't know this for a fact. If the previous will was executed, and property was distributed and filed(recorded), it seems to me, as a layman, the 17 year earlier Will, would be a moot point. Deeds are what would have been needed to be reconstructed.
In an earlier inquiry, not related to yours but in the Bryant Station community, I had taken photo's of much of the community in question. They were taken from a 1925 map of Milam County that is located in "Texas Country Title" in Cameron. If you'll note attachment No. 4, you'll notice no less than six parcels of property deeded  to various Bryant's in just this one photo. I'm sure that you already know this, but for others reading this post, I would like to relay a portion of what Norinne Holder Holman wrote about your famous ancestor in "170 Years of Cemetery Records in Milam County, Texas". "After the war for the independence of Texas where Benjamin Bryant served as Captain and then Major over the company he recruited from Sabine, he was given a land grant of 1,200 acres in Milam and Coryell Counties for his services. He built a fort in the frontier Milam County to protect the settlers from the Indians, and it became a trading post and stopping point for stagecoaches and wagon trains going west". He and his first wife, Rebecca Parker were buried in the Bryant Station Cemetery, but were reinterred at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin in 1931".

I called Mr. John Henderson, who is a retired attorney with over 40 years of experience practicing law in Cameron. Unfortunately he was not available to assist me.
I then called Linda Hall at the Milam County, County Clerks office to see if she would be able to further enlighten me. She re-enforced the above with emphasis on a probated Will being the key to Courthouse records.   The following is a probate index that I was able to find on line at this web site;    HTTPS://www.lksfriday.com/MILAM/milam-856.htm .This is a list of probate, guardianship, and non-composmentis/ lunacy hearings on file at the County Clerks office. It further states, to order copies of these records; Milam County Clerks Office, PO Box 191, Cameron, TX. 76520, tel. (254) 697-7049   When I discussed this with Ms. Hall, she said that they use a different registration number and was unable to correlate the "145A" case number. It would be interesting to see what this actually is. This could be anything, but also possibly a "long shot" might be a re-recorded Will?. The next time that I'm in Cameron, I'll visit the County Clerks office to see what I can "turn up" for Probate 8/20/1874 and I'll let you know what I find. I personally hope that you take pride in the pioneering heritage of this great man and of the following descendant's that precede you.  Sincerely and respectfully,  Jack Brooks

For more info:

Bryant Family Property


Courthouse Fire 01

Courthouse fire 02

Courthouse fire 03

*****

2014-02-19
reply:From: John Brooks <bjohnr2010(AT)hotmail(DOT)com>

Dear Ms. Gowen,    This is just a note to let you know that the "operation" was a success. Copies of Ms. Rebecca Bryant's and Mr. Benjamin Franklin Bryant's Wills are on their way to you. You will
(no pun intended), receive 43 pages. They were mailed, this morning, via USPS. Expected delivery Tuesday, 02/25/14. Tracking number 9114901189866404010684.    Would you be kind enough to let me know when you receive them and after you read them, that they're satisfactory for your needs. I know, that you'd prefer the 1857 original!.?? It ought to be worth a sizeable sum, to a collector, at auction.   Sincerely,  Jack Brooks
P.S. "Snail mailed" due to monthly data usage issues.








                                                                       
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