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- Ebenezer Miller Forman was born in Louisiana in 1838. He married Apolonia Elizabeth Perkins about 1859. In 1860, Ebenezer and wife Apolonia are living in Calcasieu Parish, La. the post office listed at Ballius Ferry La. Listed above Er is his father, William Forman age 69 and mother, Susan age 63. Listed below Ebenezer and Apolonia were his older brother David D. Forman and wife Mary. Listed next to them is Calvert Andrus age 35 and wife Elizabeth age 33. Their children are listed with William age 12, who later marries Rebbeca Butler and fathers Annie Almira Andrus who marries Samuel David Forman Sr.
On April 1, 1862, Ebenezer Forman enlists in the 26th Texas Cavalry Co.C, of Debray's Regiment at Galveston, Texas. It appears the whole group, the Formans, Butlers, and Andrus families moved to Houston about 1858. Ebenezer only served a t time with the 26th as he procurred a replacement in August 1862. He re-enlisted in 1864 in what was known as Ragsdale's Battalion and remained with them until the end of the war.
The family had reported Ebenezer was a circuit preacher. The Census listed his occupation as a farmer. His older brother David D. Forman was an ordained Baptist minister.
In 1880 Ebenezer and family were living in Independence, Texas, (Washington County). They had also lived in Llano, Texas and that is where Ebenezer and Apolonia are buried, at Bluffton Cemetery, Llano, Texas.
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from Steve Forman's FTW site
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/f/o/r/Stephen-D-Forman/GENE8-0008.html#CHILD24
Fought in the Civil War. Ebenezer was a circuit riding preacher. Ebenezer Miller Forman was born in Louisiana in 1838. He married Apolona Elizabeth Perkins about 1859. In 1860, Ebenezer and wife Apolona are living in Calcasieu Parish, La. the post office listed at Ballius Ferry La. Listed above Ebenezer is his father, William Forman age 69 and mother, Susan age 63. Listed below Ebenezer and Apolona were his older brother David D. Forman and wife Mary. Listed next to them is Calvert Andrus age 35 and wife Elizabeth age 33. Their children are listed with William age 12, who later marries Rebbeca Butler and fathers Annie Almira Andrus who marries Samuel David Forman Sr.
On April 1, 1862, Ebenezer Forman enlists in the 26th Texas Cavalry Co.C, of Debray's Regiment at Galveston, Texas. It appears the whole group, the Formans, Butlers, and Andrus families moved to Houston about 1858. Ebenezer only served a short time with the 26th as he procurred a replacement in August 1862. He re-enlisted in 1864 in what was known as Ragsdale's Battalion and remained with them until the end of the war.
The family had reported Ebenezer was a circuit preacher. The Census listed his occupation as a farmer. His older brother David D. Forman was an ordained Baptist minister.
In 1880 Ebenezer and family were living in Independence, Texas, (Washington County). They had also lived in Llano, Texas and that is where Ebenezer and Apolona are buried, at Bluffton Cemetery, Llano, Texas.[SDForman Family.FTW]
On 9-28-1931, Ebenezer and Apalona were moved from the OLD BLUFFTON Cem., a community on the Llano side of the Colorado River where the main BRIDGE was located, to the NEW BLUFFTON Cem., located about 6 miles further west of the original road. They were buried in Lot 5 Grave 1 (Ebenezer) and Grave 2 (Apalona). Persons contacted by the original persons in charge of moving these graves in 1931 (company was originally Chicago based Emory, Peck, and Rockwood, but it went bankrupt, slowing down the project for several years before Roosevelt's New Deal policy stepped in to complete it with the final control going to present LCRA) for permission to move your ancestors graves are listed as:
SONS: Albert of Seguin, Will of Houston, N. G. of Rankin, TX and daughter, Mrs. R. B. Anderson of Seguin.
I don't have much information on the Formans, but I have been able to find quite a bit on the Perkins side. I found the family in Washington Co. TX, Independence Tnshp. in 1880, but nothing further. Of course, Ebenezer was dead by 1900, and although Apalona was still alive until 1909, I don't know where she was, other than to suspect she was living with one of her children.
There were no CHURCH BUILDINGS in the area at that time, and none ever existed in the original community of Old Bluffton. Churches rotated using the upstairs portion of a two-story business establishment, which was also shared with the local masonic lodge, of which I noted that your Ebenezer was also a Mason. In the later days of Old Bluffton before it was covered by the lake, Ike Maxwell did most of his preaching at the local school building. The community of TOW (pronounced like how-now-brown-cow, not TOE) operated under similar religious circumstances, no formal buildings, although much of that community was not covered by the lake. There are a couple of church buildings there today, Church of Christ, for one, but doubt they were there when Ebenezer was in the area. The same is true of Lone Grove, who only has a Church of Christ with a former Methodist and Baptist no longer there.
A main reason I did not suspect him to be a Baptist minister is because the records used to move he and Apalona's graves from Old Bluffton refer to him as REV. Ebeneaer M. Forman. The Church of Christ do not refer to their ministers by this title, and I have known many Baptist ministers who preferred the title of BROTHER in lieu of reverend as well.
A lot of the time, how the minister signed his name on marriage licenses were indications of his religious persuasion, but Ebenezer must have only used something like MOG, minister of God. One reason why it is important for me to know that he was a Baptist minister is because this also gives me insight into the religious backgrounds of the persons whose marriages he performed in the area.
I don' t know if you're interested or not, but I think I have a list of all the marriages he performed in Llano Co. I have one on my ggrandfather, from both Llano and Burnet Co. (people who gave their address as the original pre 1937 Bluffton lived on BOTH sides of the river) as well as other ministers who performed marriages for people whose families lived in my "territory" of interest.
Looking forward to hearing from you. Karylon A. Russell, Box 823, Llano, TX 78643 krussell@moment.net
P.S. Have you visited their graves at Bluffton? They are in good shape. There's a good chance one of their sons owned a store in the town of Llano during the time the parents were in the area---at least the last name was spelled FORMAN---no middle "E." And, I'm also thinking there are a few marriages listed in Llano Co. records.
thought you might be interested in the marriages on file in Llano Co. that were performed by E. M. Forman:
Vol. 1:
#104 Eliza Conway to James Crenshaw 11-14-1883
#116 D. S. Wells to Mary Maxwell 3-17-1884
#143 J. J. Nobles to M. F. Howell 11-20-1884
#148 Silas Collins to Mary Cowan 11-25-1884
#154 F. M. Clendennen to Emma Gooch 12-25-1884
#160 Leon L. Franks to Leora Ellen Dunham 1-15-1885
#196 H. S. Hereford to Mrs. S. A. Hamlet 1-8-1886
#202 Allen Pope to Fannie I. Morgan 4-29-1886
#216 T. J. Alexander to S. A. Forman 12-7-1886
#218 Sam H. Pullen to D. J. Arnold 11-15-1884
#286 J. M. Neely to Ellan Davis 12-19-1888
#288 John W. Morgan to Ruthie Allen 12-24-1888
#288B Samuel P. Miller to Susie A. Bible 12-23-1888
#296 Markus Wyatt to M. J. Pierce 2-26-1889
#322 J. T. Warden to Mrs. H. J. Borders 12-29-1889
#342 J. S. Robinson to M. M. Maxwell 12-7-1890
#388 C. L. Swift to Annie Windham 7-10-1892
#455 G. M. Jackson to Ollie Lockhart 6-10-1894
#472 W. N. Alexander to Rebecca Clendennen 12-16-1894
Vol. 2
#15 ?
#24 ? Hereford to ? Ligon
#32 ? Davis to ? Alexander
#37 D. W. Blair to Mattie Shaw 12-31-1895
#82 J. N. Strong to Lydia Gooch 7-28-1897
#103 J.C. Allen to Pinkey Power 1-12-1898
The reason I copied these down is because my great grandfather, Isaac Byler IKE Maxwell was a contemporary minister in the same area. Ike came to the area in 1854 at age 17 and is responsible for naming the community of Bluffton, TX after his home in Bluffton, AR. I am familiar with 99% of all the names of the people Rev. Forman performed the ceremonies for, which helps me better pinpoint who NEEDS to be in my research. IF he married them, they no doubt lived in that same area.
Here's an interesting item!!! In the book, LLANO - GEM OF THE HILL COUNTRY by Wilburn Oatman, Pioneer Book Publishers, Inc. of Hereford, TX, 1970, pg. 35, Mr. Oatman lists the name of a post office in Llano Co. as FORMAN, with the date of establishment 10-10-1883 and with Ebenezer M. Forman as the postmaster, appointed the same date as establishment. BUT, it was discontinued and moved to Bluffton District 8-17-1888. I am now curious as to the LOCATION of this brief "community." Will check on it.
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