FAMILY MYSTERY: Teague, Texas butcher

RylandW

My 2x great-grandmother and her family moved to Teague, Texas around 1900 after her father died and mother remarried.

My 2x great-grandmother, her mother, and her half siblings were in their cabin one night when one of them noticed a man on the front porch. He stuck his finger in through the door crack, reaching for the lock. The mother smashed his finger with the door.

The next day they went to town and saw the butcher had a smashed finger, discovering it was him (probably drunk). They soon moved back to Bono, Arkansas.

I would like to know who the butcher was, out of curiosity—but I need help. I did an Ancestry search of the 1910 United States Federal Census with the following information:

• gender: male
• relation to head of household: self
• occupation: butcher
• residence: Teague, Freestone, Texas, USA

This searched narrowed it down to about 240 individuals. I need help to get closure on this family mystery. Thank you.

Link to the story:

https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/178249383?p=54884180&returnLabel=Virginia%20Lee%20Browning%20(G2XH-HQP)&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.familysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2Fmemories%2FG2XH-HQP

Randall Jay Philpot

Interesting series of events. A few thoughts came to mind regarding your search:

1. I believe the town was originally named "Bewster" and may have changed to "Teague" between the 1900 and 1910 census'. You may consider looking at the 1900 and even 1920 census as well.
2. Another thought was to add an Age range to the person as an additional filter. You could start out with a broad range and narrow it down.
3. I've wondered in a small town if the butcher could have also had other tasks. Is it possible he could have owned a small grocery store and his occupation in the census is listed as "Merchant" or "Groceries".
4. For additional background information you may consider researching some local papers like the "Fairfield Recorder" https://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/FRSTN/ or the "Teague Chronicle" https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1048196/ It seems that local stores may have run ads or been listed in the local paper.
5. Also, the "Teague Genealogy" website may provide some additional information. https://ldsgenealogy.com/TX/Teague.htm   

These are just a few thoughts that came to mind that you may find helpful in your research project.

Best of luck!