Posted by Sharon <flemingcousin(a)hotmail.com> on Tue, 31 Oct 2000, in response to
Family Bible - James H. & Susan (Wingate) CAPERS, posted by Jo & June Sawyer on
Wed, 12 Jan 2000
Surname: Berg, Capers, Duncan, Fleming, Glaesman, Tyson
Gee, some of these names sound like the Capers in my family.
My dad was named Oscar Fleming Capers dob 5/5/1916, his older brother was John Blair
Capers dob 11-27-1913 and younger brother, James Andrew Capers.
His father's name was John B(possibly Bland)Capers, mother Margaret Jean (Fleming).
John and Margaret divorced when my father was about 15 or 16 years old.
My gf's parents were Caleb and Josephine
sister: Bertie
brothers:
Gabriel V.
Andrew B.
Robert B. I don't know if ther were others.
My grandfather was a talented craftsman and artist. One of my gm's sisters told me
that during the WPA he painted a mural at the Tarbett Sanitorium which was in Marlin, TX.
He hand built, caned and decorated furniture, made bent wood rocking chairs and oil
paintings. My few recollections of him are from 1952 or earlier. I was 4-5 y/o when he
arrived one day at our home, next door to the church my dad was pastoring, in Temple, TX.
He had been drinking heavily. My mother was upset by the condition he was in and asked him
to leave and not return until he was sober. I only saw him a couple of times after that.
In 1966 some months after his death we heard through the grapevine that gf Capers had
died. My father was broken hearted and cried off and on for days. He had been making plans
to try to find his father and heal old wounds.
Dad told us that he had other Capers relatives who were ministers and I seem to recall him
saying that one of them was a bishop in the San Antonio area.
I remember my father speaking fondly of an Aunt Fannie, and a cousin named Texanne. I seem
to remember some female relative who married into the Bozeman family.
The story I heard as a child was that my dad's Capers relatives and ancestors had
lived in the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana before settling in TX. There were
hints of ancestors either working as overseers on a plantation or owning a plantation. My
dad said his great grandmother was Cherokee, or halfbreed Cherokee, and made all the
children wear around their necks "medicine pouches," with stinky smelling herbs
in them.
Some friends I made as a child in California now live in King County, WA, about 5 miles
from me. They envited me over for Thanksgiving last year. Their parents both passed away
within the last 7 years. The eldest sister had found an old ledger from their Robert
family ancestors in the south. There were records of purchases for the household and for
their plantation. There were slave records,too, both as a census and as a record of the
value of each slave at time of purchase and time of sale. There were records of the number
of bales of cotton ginned and horses and hogs purchased. In the front section of the book
were remarks about other things. Believe it or not there was a mention of a Bishop
Capers!
Off and on for the past 12 years I have been trying to find records of Capers families in
TX but hadn't had much luck 'til I got a computer earlier this year.
I would love to know if my Capers family and yours are connected. Thank you for your time.
Best wishes to you and your family.
Sharon
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