The Munsons of Texas — an American Saga
FOREWORD
The preparation of this manuscript has required almost four years. It was truly a labor of love, and occupied many a rainy day. During the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, I frequently visited my Aunt Erma in Stephenville, Texas, and I was always intrigued by her “boxes in the closet.” These were the Munson Papers—about a dozen grocery boxes filled with old papers and her transcriptions and summaries of them. Gradually I reviewed their contents and made copies of many. During the 1970s I often urged Aunt Erma to write a book on the family history, but she had done her “thing” in collecting the papers and adding much in research. As I realized that she could never do it, I had this feeling of great responsibility—this story must be preserved for future generations—and I was the one who would have to do it. When Aunt Erma was forced to give up her Stephenville home due to advancing age, I was delighted when her daughters, Mary Rich Adams and Erma Jo Watson, offered me the opportunity to become custodian of “the boxes in the closet.” After several false starts, I finally got the project underway early in 1984, thanks to “Microsoft Word” word processing and a “Compaq” home computer. Without these it would never have happened.
Most of the material in this manuscript is nothing more than a collection and reorganization of history recorded elsewhere. A continuous problem has been how to “rewrite” this history without just copying it and without overburdening the manuscript with references to sources. A middle course has been attempted. Any material not specifically referenced can be found in the Munson Papers. Much of the history, especially the history of Texas, has been taken (at times word for word) from other sources—heavily from John Henry Brown’s History of Texas from 1685 to 1892. In such cases, notations are always given to identify the major sources used.
Readers will notice that more space is given to the stories of some family groups than to others, especially in the case of the families of “in-laws” who married into the Munson family. This is not because information was omitted from the shorter stories, but because information was not available. In all of the shorter stories of family groups, all available information is given, while in the longer ones information is omitted to hold the length down.
Some readers may wish to know how much research has been done and how and where one would go on from here. Genealogical research can be done in several ways—by one’s self by correspondence, by library research, or by field research (going to the site and searching libraries, museums, archives, courthouse records, individuals, and all other sources); or by hiring a professional researcher. The latter can also be a library based researcher or a specialist in the geographical area of interest. Besides the original Munson Papers collected and saved by Erma Munson Rich, these papers also contain the data from her personal research over a period of about thirty years. Her research included extensive correspondence and considerable on site research in many localities. She added a multitude of facts to the story. This writer has carried out research primarily through professional researchers. For several years during the 1970s a researcher at the genealogical library of the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City, the world’s largest such library, was retained. Numerous significant data on the early Munsons were found, but never the central point—the parents and origin of Jesse and Robert Munson. During the 1980s a specialist in South Carolina genealogical research has been retained. While many new pertinent facts have been found, the failure in finding the central point is the same. Our earliest Munson forebears appear to have been traced back to North Carolina and Virginia in the mid-1700s. This is the next place to search.
My reasons for distributing this manuscript prior to the completion of the book are threefold. My first reason is that there are many Munsons who have been hearing about this book for the past four years and are eager to read it. By distributing copies of the manuscript, I can give them an early chance to read the story. My second reason is that this has been an enjoyable project in retirement, and I do not want it to acquire time pressure. By distributing the manuscript to family members, I will be relieved of the pressure of an early completion of the book. The third and possibly most important reason is to find additions, errors, and corrections before publication. Despite my considerable efforts, there are unquestionably many errors, omissions, and areas for improvement. I sincerely request that every person who reads this manuscript do it with a pencil and note pad handy, and send me his notes on areas that should be changed. A good way to do this is to note the pages where changes should occur, and send me a photocopy of those pages with the changes noted. I feel that this book will be read 100 and maybe 200 years from now by our descendants, and this is our last chance to get it right.
Of course there were many others whose contributions have made this manuscript what it is. Many of the Munsons of Texas have contributed to their family stories. I especially think of the late Mary Kennedy Giesecke and Lewis Munson; also of Ruth Munson Smith, George McCauley Munson, Mary Emma Murray Stasny, Catherine Munson Foster, Eleanor Stevens Vaughan, Jennie Kate Munson Ankenman, Alice Ball, and Ellen Munson Snow. On the big job of editing the manuscript, I owe special thanks to friend and neighbor Dorothy Weiser Seale of Estes Park, Colorado; to nephew-in-law Ed McBride of Plano, Texas; to my professional historical editor, Ann Graham, of Austin, Texas; and especially to my wife, Ruth, for her constant editing and support.
The job of converting this manuscript into an illustrated book is no small job. I have collected about 200 photographs, documents, pictures, and maps from which to choose. These include photographs of fifteen of the sixteen children of Mordello and Sarah Munson and their spouses—all except Sarah Kate Cahill Munson. I now plan on two or more years to complete this job.
All material in this manuscript is copyrighted and all rights
are reserved. However, permission is hereby given for reproduction
of this manuscript by members of the Munson family for their
personal family use.
Thurmond A. Williamson
November, 1987
