My grandfather was born after the death of his father. His mother soon remarried. My grandpa claimed to know little about his own dad. His descendants know very little about his roots.
When a parent dies, their history can easily be lost.
And today I found an article that might involve my great-grandfather or his brothers long ago in southeast Texas. What if this was MY Wiser family? Had to check further!
While searching The East Texas Digital Archives, the phrase 'Wiser's ferry' popped up from The Houston Telegraph newspaper of August 19, 1864. You will recall this was during the Civil War and two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. The horrid practice of purchasing and selling humans was still in full swing.
It is doubtful Mr. Harry had yet heard of President Lincoln's proclamation.
The Trinity River runs several hundred miles in Texas and connects with counties once home to my paternal ancestors. Of course I don't know for certain WHERE this ferry was located in 1864, but it piqued my curiosity.
Wayne Gard's description of Trinity River mentions the very counties where my interests lie: https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/trinity-river
At the northern line of Liberty County the Trinity turns almost directly south, cutting across Liberty and Chambers counties, to drain into Trinity Bay just west of Anahuac (at 29°45' N, 94°42' W). The Trinity flows 423 miles from the confluence of the Elm and West forks to the coast, making it the longest river having its entire course in Texas.
Another man had run away in August of 1843. He allegedly was "bound for Anahuac, on the Trinity Bay" where he might possibly cross into Louisiana? Did he have family there? Many of my ancestors were living on both sides of that divide when Texas was a republic.
A second mention of Wiser's Ferry appeared from an article on September 22, 1870. A gentleman named "R." briefly wrote of his "horseback tramp" in The Houston Telegraph paper:
Again. Where was this ferry located? I can't assume that Texas' only "valley of the Trinity" was near Anahuac. But I'm so very tempted.
I've found no other residents in Liberty or Chambers counties with that Wiser surname until late in the 19th century. I will again check Texas censuses for the mid-1900s for Wisers who lived elsewhere and who operated ferries.
This could be a goose chase, but is one I'll enjoy.
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UPDATE:
The Houston Post on February 3, 1921 has this news from Huntsville, Texas regarding a farmer, Mr. March Charlie Murray, who farmed along the Wiser ferry road:
The Plot Thickens!