As I was growing up in the small Southeast Texas town of Baytown, my father and grandfather were prominent business men in the community. I thought that tracing their ancestry would be easy since everyone knew them. If I had started my research at the age of thirteen, I would have had as much information as I wanted. Unfortunately, I did not start really building my family tree until I was fifty-six years old in the year 2000. When I started I had only memories, a book, a few pictures and newspaper clippings with which to create a family history.

I had purchased a very small family tree book at a Hallmark store sometime back in the '70s and had recorded as much information as I knew. The only information I had on my great grandfather was a name that I found in a hardback "Modern City Directory" published in 1952 that included a mini-bio of some of Baytown's most notable citizens. Fortunately, for me, my grandfather and father were in there. (My name was in there too, misspelled!) It said my grandfather was born in Rusk, Texas, in 1882, the son of David Wm Arnett of Scotch, Irish and American ancestry.

I bought my first Pentium computer in 1997 and started to explore the internet. Then on a trip to Sam's Club I saw Seirra's Generations Family Tree Software. I brought it home, installed it, went through the free disks that came with it and was no further along than when I started. Three years later I decided to make a real effort to trace my ancestors. I went to Sierra's Generations web page, which led me Cyndi's List (I found it quite overwhelming at first), then to Rootsweb and their wonderful tutorial, then to Ancestry.com who had begun to put census images on-line.

I would search on Rootsweb and Ancestry for David Wm Arnett many, many times. I requested information on every message board I could find. I subscribed to mailing lists in every state and county I could think of that might produce a lead. Then one day I searched on Ancestry.com using Soundex (I should have paid more attention to the tutorials at Rootsweb) - BINGO! There he was - David W. ARNETTE on the 1880 Rusk Co, TX Census.

There were still stumbling blocks. My grandfather was born in 1882, so the 1880 Census did not help to confirm that I had the right Arnett. David Wm's wife, Eudora Caroline Kavanaugh, later moved to Beaumont in Jefferson Co, TX where she married a J. W. Rutherford. The 1900 Census for Jefferson County, TX shows Eudora Rutherford with the Arnett children (including my grandfather) under the name of Rutherford. So in my mind I have confirmed that this is the right David William Arnett. There are still many blanks in my tree, some may never be filled, others will come with time and the help of others along with the ever-increasing information on the internet.

With the help of work done by people like Gloria Mayfield, Barbara Yancey Dore (Rootslady), Kerry Acker, Sage McKenzie, John Arnett at Arnett Forrest, Rootsweb.com, and Ancestry.com I have been able to piece together, the following information about my Arnett ancestors.

My Arnett Ancestors

The source of my family as I have been able to determine goes back to David Arnett¹ b. 18 Aug 1775 in SC, who married Rhoda Tabitha Curlee² b. Nov 1781, Buncombe, SC, in 1804. They had eight children:

John Curlee Arnett³ b. 29 Aug 1805, TN* d. 19 Aug 1851, Huntsville, Walker Co, TX
Rebecca Arnett⁴
Mary Arnett⁵
Cullen Arnett⁶
Milton Arnett⁷
Calvin Arnett⁸
James Arnett⁹
William Washington Arnett¹⁰ b. 5 Jan 1823, Tuscumbia, Franklin Co, AL d. 1892, Bracketville, TX

John Curlee Arnett³married Margaret Elizabeth Kirkwood¹¹ b. Dec 1820, TN*, d. 27 Nov 1907, Huntington, TX on 15 Jul 1840 in TX and had seven children.

Mary B. Arnett¹² b. 1840, MS
James F. Arnett¹³ b. 1841, MS
Rebecca Jane Arnett¹⁴ b. 6 Oct 1841, Tyler Co, TX
Melvina C. Arnett¹⁵ b. 1843, Tyler Co, TX
David William Arnett¹⁶ b. 1844, Tyler Co, TX
George K. Arnett¹⁷ b. 1847, Tyler Co, TX
John Calhoun Arnett¹⁸ b. 9 Oct 1848, Tyler Co, TX

David William Arnett¹⁶ married Eudora "Dora" Caroline Kavanaugh¹⁹(See photo - Dora Arnett and Mrs Mullin were the names written on the back of this metal photograph found with other papers in my grandmother's desk after she died in 1967.) She was born in Palestine, Anderson County, Texas on 14 Jul 1857.

Dora was the daughter of Alfred Leroy Kavanaugh²⁰ b. 12 Jun 1819, Davidson Co, TN**, d. 31 May 1857, Palestine, Anderson Co, TX and Martha Agnes Frazer²¹ b. 10 Feb 1823, TN** d. 8 Feb 1901. David Wm and Dora had the following children:

William T. Arnett²² b. 1877, Rusk Co, TX
Ella Arnett²³ b. 1879, Rusk Co, TX
Eugene Tullis Arnett²⁴ b. 19 Feb 1882, Rusk Co, TX
Calvin Leroy Arnett²⁵ b. 1884 Rusk Co, TX
W. G. Arnett²⁶

Dora¹⁹ was married a second time to J. W. Rutherford²⁷. Whether she remarried due to death or divorce is not yet known. It is known that she moved to Beaumont in Jefferson Co, TX sometime in or before 1891 and had the following children:

J. Archie Rutherford^19a b. Mar 1891, Jefferson Co, TX d. 9 Feb 1969
Johnnie Rutherford^19b
Emma E. Rutherford^19c b. About 1895, Jefferson Co, TX d. Abt 1918

William T. Arnett²² - Not much is known about him except that he was England in 1918 according to a newspaper obituary on Emma E. Rutherford.

Ella Arnett²³ - I don't remember much about her. She is listed in the 1880 Census and appears in the 1949 Reunion photo. I have not seen her name in any other family records.

Eugene Tullis "ET" Arnett²⁴ married Emmaline Young²⁸ on 24 Dec 1910 in Paris, Rusk Co, TX. Emmaline was born 24 Oct 1884 in Red River, TX, the daughter of G W Young²⁹ and Martha Ann Cook³⁰. ET and Emmie had no natural children. They adopted David Young Arnett³¹(11) on 31 October 1913 in Beaumont, Jefferson Co, TX. David Young Arnett was born 22 Jul 1913 in Dallas, TX d. 16 Jun 1963, in Richmond, TX.

Calvin Leroy Arnett²⁵ married Mattie Eula Billingsley³²(12) on 15 April 1907. They had the following children:

Ella Zenobia Arnett³³
Louise Arnett³⁴
David Leroy Arnett³⁵
Sadie Virginia Arnett³⁶

W. G. Arnett²⁶ became Mrs W. G. Chaison and lived in Beaumont and Houston. Little else is known of her at this time. I seem to remember visiting her with my grandmother when I was very young. I can remember the street being lined with hugh old oak trees that created a canopy over the road.

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J. Archie Rutherford^19a lived in Baytown, TX for most of his life. He was deaf and dumb and lived with ET and Emmie Arnett until about 1967 when Emmie passed away. He moved back to Beaumont after that and lived with members of the Rutherford family until he died in 1969.
Johnnie Rutherford^19b married and became Mrs Johnnie Barnes. It is believed that she remained in Beaumont, TX. Nothing else is known of her at this time.
Emma E. Rutherford^19c married C. E. Backley³⁷. Apparently they had no children. An obituary in a Beaumont newpaper around 1918 reads a follows:

"The funeral of Mrs C. E. Backley, aged 23 years, who died Sunday morning after an operation, was held Monday afternoon at the home of her mother, 190 Ogden Ave....internment was made in Magnolia Cenetery.

Mrs Backley was a Beaumont girl and a graduate of the 1913 class of the high school. She was a member of the Methodist Church. Before marriage she was Miss Emma E. Rutherford.

Besides her husband she is survived by her mother Mrs E. C. Rutherford; her father J. W. Rutherford; a sister, Miss Johnnie Rutherford of Beaumont; and a brother, J. A. Rutherford of Wynnewood, Okla.; also half brothers W. T. Arnett of London, England; E. T. Arnett of Goose Creek; C. L. Arnett of Shreveport, LA, and one half sister Mrs W. G. Chaison of Beaumont.

The pallbearers were A. J. Mizke, George G. Barnes, P. F. Lloyd, W. J. Kelly, W. W. Morgan and J. G Housman."

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David Young Arnett married Dorothy Lillian Cornell³⁸ born in 1917. David and Dorothy had one child:

David Cornell Arnett³⁹ born 25 Jun 1935 in Baytown, Harris Co, TX

After a divorce from Dorothy Cornell, he married Marjorie Lois Haley⁴⁰(19) on 2 Aug 1941 in Baytown, Harris Co, TX. Marjorie was the daughter of Albert Haley⁴¹ and Katie Lura Jones⁴². Marjorie Lois Haley was born 1 Aug 1923 in Pine Bluff, Jefferson Co, AR.

David Young Arnett and Marjorie Lois Haley had the following children:

Randy Eugene Arnett⁴³ b. 20 May 1942 in Baytown, Harris Co, TX
Milton Ray Arnett⁴⁴ b. 15 Feb 1944 in Baytown, Harris Co, TX
Patricia Lois Arnett⁴⁵ b. 18 Jul 1946 in Baytown, Harris Co, TX

They were divorced during 1950 in Baytown, Harris Co, TX. Marjorie Haley Arnett remarried in 1951. She married Charles Lee Harrison⁴⁶(23) and they had one child.

LeAnne Harrison⁴⁷ b. 26 Nov 1954 in Baytown, Harris Co, TX

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Ella Zenobia Arnett married Bedford Forrest Booth⁴⁸ and had one child:

Zack Leroy Booth⁴⁹(26)

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Ruth Louise Arnett married Edward Samuel Stewart⁵⁰ and had one child:

Edward Samuel Stewart Jr ⁵¹

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Sadie Virginia Arnett married Delmar Lloyd Busey⁵² and had the following children:

Gary William Busey⁵³ b. 29 Jun 1944 in Baytown, Harris Co, TX
Carol Lloyd Busey⁵⁴ b. 12 Sep 1947 in Baytown, Harris Co, TX

*According to the 1880 Census for Rusk County, Texas, David William's parents were both born in Mississippi.
**Per 1880 Rusk County Census father born in Arkansas, mother born in Mississippi.
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