Pitard.net: Texas Ancestry

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Texas was the home state for Metta Tomlinson Lansdale, whose ancestry provides one of the core trees for this site. Her family includes (among others) Simpsons, Tomlinsons, and von Rosenbergs who moved to Texas (from abroad or elsewhere in the United States) around the middle of the nineteenth century.

The house of William Carl von Rosenberg
when it was first built in 1889, Hallettsville, TX

Histories here refer to no living people. If you have any information which might amplify these histories--documents, pictures, or references--PLEASE get in touch! You are free to browse and download. If you cite or use them elsewhere, however, please give credit. To view the articles on this page, you will need to download Adobe's (free) Acrobat Reader.

The Simpson and Dye Families

Emily Dye and her husband James Hendley Simpson migrated from Northern Virginia to Texas in 1857. The Simpson family and related lines (including Dyes, Hixsons, Hutchinsons, Johnsons, and others) go back to German, Dutch, and English families who originally immigrated to New Jersey and Pennslvania. Some queries about this family can be found on the Virginia Mysteries page.

The Family of Hans Laurentszen Duyts is family website almost in a class by itself. Hans Duyts was the direct ancestor of Metta Tomlinson. His descendants became "Dyes," among other variations on the name. The pattern of his family's immigration between the 17th and 19th centuries, recounted here, tells the story of American immigration patterns from the East to the Mid-West during a primary period of US expansion. I recommend that you start with the Overview as a way in.

Friench Simpson (1848-1923), banker and poet, migrated to Texas with his parents James Hendley and Emily Dye Simpson. He was the father of family genealogist James Hendley Simpson (b. 1888).

The Tomlinsons

The Tomlinsons have proven to be one of the more difficult families to trace. I know of two sources for this family. The first is the notes of Metta Tomlinson. The second is the essay (below) on Capt. Augustus Austere Tomlinson. This name disappears into the mist after the parents of Augustus Austere; see the Louisiana Mysteries page for specific queries. For more records of his military service, see the Civil War page.

Captain Augustus Austere Tomlinson CSA, 1830-1898. This biography focuses on Tomlinson's service in the 35th Regiment of the Confederate Cavalry (Liken's Cavalry), which saw action in east Texas and Louisiana. It was written by his descendant Francis McDonald. McDonald also discovered Mexican War pension claims filed by Tomlinson which reveal that he fought in that War as well, between June and August of 1846, in Co. G of the First Texas Foot Co. of Volunteers. His unit was commanded by then Col. Albert Sidney Johnston, who as a Confederate General would be killed at Shiloh in April, 1862, where Tomlinson was also engaged. This is an unretouched copy of McDonald's essay, save that only 2 of its Appendices (nos. 5 and 8) are included. (Posted Apr. 29, 2005; 15 pages).

Military Adventures beyond the Mississippi. This essay from

vol. 30 of Harper's Magazine (Dec. 1864-May 1865), found on-line at Cornell University's Making of America project, follows on from the two articles on "Heroic Deeds of Heroic Men" (about Vicksburg and Port Hudson) kept on the Louisiana Histories page. This tells of the Opelousas, Texas, and Red River expeditions by General Banks' Federal troops during 1863 and 1864. Capt. Tomlinson's regiment fought against Banks in the Red River campaign in battles described in this article (including Mansfield and Pleasant Hill). (Posted Apr. 30, 2005; 19 pages)

The von Rosenbergs

The research on the von Rosenberg family is the most extensive of any on this website. This is because the descendants of immigrant ancestor Peter Carl von Rosenberg formed a family association in the early twentieth century. Three volumes of family history have been published (see S35, S109, and S110) along with a collection of letters (S115), a newsletter (S181), and now a CD of images.

Peter Carl von Rosenberg immigrated from what is now Lithuania (and then Prussia) to Texas in 1849 with his (second) wife and an array of children. Articles on the Handbook of Texas On-line include biographies of his wife Amanda Fallier; his son Carl Wilhelm, a surveyor; and the land at Nassau where the family bought land upon their arrival in Texas.