The Brightman name dates quite a ways back into history of heraldic times in England. Without checking the Burke's book of Armory that shows all the history and textual description of the Coat of Arms, I was provided copies of the Brightman Coat of Arms by David Brightman.

1. WILLIAM¹ BRIGHTMAN He married MERCY HOARS.

Child of WILLIAM BRIGHTMAN and MERCY HOARS is:

2. WILLIAM² BRIGHTMAN (WILLIAM¹) was born November 04, 1718. He married SUSANNAH CORNELL December 21, 1738, daughter of GEORGE CORNELL and DELIVERANCE CLARK.

Marriage Notes for WILLIAM BRIGHTMAN and SUSANNAH CORNELL:

Married by Rev. William Sanford

Children of WILLIAM BRIGHTMAN and SUSANNAH CORNELL are:

3. JOHN³ BRIGHTMAN (WILLIAM², WILLIAM¹) was born in Portsmouth, Newport, Rhode Island. He married ELIZABETH ANN TAYLOR March 27, 1783 in Portsmouth, Newport, Rhode Island. She was born Abt. 1761 in Portsmouth, Newport, Rhode Island.

Notes for JOHN BRIGHTMAN:

Revolutionary Service of John Brightman

Appears with rank of Private in Muster and Pay Roll of Capt. Henry Brightman's Co., Col. Hathaway's Regiment.

Time of Enlistment: August 4, 1780

Time of Discharge: August 7, 1780

Service: 3 days on alarm at Rhode Island by Order of Council on July 22, 1780

Town to which soldier belonged: Freetown.

Notes:

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Office of the Secretary

Revolutionary Service Of John Brightman

Child of JOHN BRIGHTMAN and ELIZABETH TAYLOR is:

4. GEORGE CLAVER⁴ BRIGHTMAN (JOHN³, WILLIAM², WILLIAM¹) was born September 23, 1791 in Newport, Rhode Island, and died December 29, 1857 in Goliad County, Texas. He married NANCY MOORE August 11, 1814 in Charleston, Clark County, Indiana, daughter of WILLIAM MOORE. She was born May 25, 1793 in Near Black River, South Carolina.

Notes for GEORGE CLAVER BRIGHTMAN:

Copy of record in the George Claver Brightman Family Bible. This Bible was published by the American Bible Society Society under the date of 1851, and was presented to the Brightmans by his son-in-law, Charles Arden Russell, on the occasion of a visit by the latter to the Brightmans who were then living in Sabriego Bend of the San Antonio River, some 15 miles by wagon road below the town of Goliad, in July 1855, when the principal purpose of the visit was to be present at the marriage of Lyman Brightman to Miss Harriet Catherine Howard, at the residence of the Howards some two or three miles more or less from the Brightman residence. The wedding took place July 10, 1855, and after it, the Russells continued their visit for perhaps a week or two. It was during this extension of the visit that the presentation of the Bible was made was made and the entries therein up to that time were made by the said Russell as shown by his handwriting. The Bible is now in the possession of Mrs. Camille Neighbors, widow of Robert Neighbors, deceased, and her residence is in San Antonio, Texas. The Bible was given to her as a great-granddaughter of George C. Brightman, by the writer, as she has two daughters, and would probably appreciate the Bible more than any of the rest of the family. The copy from which the following is taken was made while in the possession of Movelda Mayes, and is accurate. (See decendancy list of George C. Brightman). The latest entry by Russell was the record of the said wedding of Lyman Brightman and Harriet C. Howard.

Notes:

Research by Movelda Mayes.

Sketch of Life of George Claver Brightman

Born in Newport, Rhode Island, September 23, 1791, he served six years as a cabinet-maker's apprentice, and was nearly of age, when his father, John Brightman, sold out the ancestral home and emigrated to Indiana, settling in Elizabeth, Harrison County. After serving some three months in the Indiana State Militia during the War of 1812, meantime his daughter, Emeline said, helping to drive the Indians out of the country, he plied his trade as a cabinet-maker.

In 1806, William Moore, born in South Carolina, about 1760 and married about 1785 to Elizabeth Baker, also a South Carolina family, settled on Black River, about three miles from Sumter, where all of his children were born. We only know of James, died in young manhood, another son, perhaps died in infancy. William Baker Moore, born in 1791; Nancy, born May 28, 1793; Mary and Elizabeth. The year 1806 was noted, in that state for persecution by the established church (of England), of Baptists, Quakers, and other Dissenters, and William and his family being Baptists, decided to emigrate and go west. In that year he moved to East Tennessee and in a little more than a year afterwards, he went north across Kentucky, and settled in Clark county, Indiana, some fifty miles more or less above Elizabeth.

While living there in 1814, a young man in his 23rd year, travelling as a journeyman cabinet-maker, brought up in the settlement where Moore lived. Being a good Baptist, on his first Sunday he went to the local church. The young man was George Claver Brightman. Entering the church he took his seat on the men's side - - you know in those days the men and women sat on separate sides of the room - - he looked across the aisle and his eyes were glued to a very pretty girl. In telling this story himself, he almost ejaculated aloud: "That's my wife!" He was a large, bony man, nearly six feet tall, with a nose that Diego who went to the Promentory of Noses and picked a lovely one for himself, would have been proud of. At the conclusion of the services he asked one of the few acquaintances he had made among the young men, to introduce him to the very pretty girl, then about 20. The introduction was made, and after exchanging a few commonplace words, they separated, he going to his boarding-place, and she to her home. She never did weigh over 90 pounds at her heaviest, was as sprightly and active as a kitten, and when she got home she told about being introduced to a strange young man. Being asked what his name was, she had forgotten it, but said it was either Brackett, Hooket, or Tucket, she couldn't remember which.

But she found out his name later, and actually took possession of it, making George Brightman's foresight come true. They were married at her home in Charleston, Indiana, August 11, 1814, and resided there until the second child was born, James Brightman, April 30, 1817. They moved before the birth of the third child, John, to Floyd county, Indiana where he was born May 21, 1819; and moved from there to Orange county, where my mother was born January 27, 1824. Before the next child was born, William, they moved to Hendricks county, where George located his bounty land warrant, and lived and farmed on it until about 1833. William was born June 11, 1826 and the other two younger children, Lyman and Annette, were both born there. Lyman on February 29, 1828, and Annette on November 27, 1830. By 1833, the elder children had attended the district school. It then developed that Mother Nancy's health had broken down, and the doctors advised the family that it would be necessary for them to move to warmer climate, or she would not survive. The result was, George sold his farm and in the Spring of 1834, they moved to Florida, settling at St. Marks. My impression is they went down the Mississippi River and into the Gulf and to St. Marks by tide water. I remember hearing mother tell about that trip - - I think it was the trip to St. Marks, rather than the removal back to Indiana. They had a stormy time on the Gulf, and thought they would all go to Davy Jones. But they didn't, and they lived at St. Marks about three years.

They lost the two oldest children there of malarial fever, Betsy and James. About this time the Seminole War broke out, and they moved back to Indiana, settling in Salem, Washington County, in 1837. Here were good primary schools and a seminary for advanced students, which mother and her brother, John attended. John attended steadily for five years. Both received the best education given the family.

In 1842, the Brightman's health had begun to give way; and they were again advised to seek warmer climate. Accordingly, they packed their household goods, made a flatboat and shipped the family and holdings to Jeffersonville, Indiana on the Ohio River and were about three months floating down the river and to the Mississippi River, to New Orleans. They must have stopped off at Louisville, Kentucky for a day or so, as they received certificates for land in Peter's Colony for the father, as the head of a family, and for John Claver Brightman, the oldest son, who was the only one of the children then of age, as a single man. These certificates were good until a certain date in 1843; I have them. They arrived in Texas too late to avail themselves of the certificates, and thereby perhaps hangs the difference between a story of settling in North Texas and settling in Goliad.

As they were three months on the trip, (according to a writer's statement of Emeline Camilla Brightman Russell in her lifetime, in which she doubtless remembered the salient features of the trip from Indiana to Texas), this statement says that on Christmas Day they arrived at the mouth of Red River, and on New Year's Day they arrived at New Orleans, they must have departed from Jeffersonville about the first of October, 1842. They sold the Belmont, and Nancy Brightman, the mother of the family was taken sick so they had to stop in New Orleans until she recovered, they rented a dwelling and stayed there about two months, or more. It was some time in March that she recovered sufficiently for them to renew their journey. About this time there was a rare war between two passenger boats plying between New Orleans and Galveston, which favored the travelors, and they took shipping on the steamship Neptune. Brightman had fallen in with a "con" man in New Orleans, and invested into some kind of mercantile (grocery) speculation, and the fellow, named Lewis, swindled hom out of all his money. Mother never said anything about recovering any of it, but I found a reference in an old letter which seemed to imply that after he arrived at Galveston, that he had recovered a part of his loss. But I think mother never knew anything about the recovery, for she never mentioned it that I heard of. If anything was recovered, it was after they went to Galveston.

I found the certificates referred to above, one of which was issued to G.C. Brightman as the head of the family for 640 acres of Peter's Colony, provided he settled on it before February 1, 1845; the other was to John Claver Brightman, as a single man over seventeen, for 320 acres subject to the same time limit. Thus it seems that Mrs. Brightman's getting sick, when they arrived at New Orleans on New Year's Day, defeated their claim to the land by the delay occasioned by it. It was no doubt regarded as severe misfortune, but the present descendants may well rejoice that it occurred, because, it they had complied with its terms, they Brightman family would have settled in North Texas instead of Southwest Texas; if the family married, it would have been to a different persons; they would have never met their fates in Goliad; and the writer of this data, as well as all the other descendants, while the present, would have been an entirely different set of descendants, while the present act would have been nill but to proceed.

When the Brightmans arrived in Galveston, they were virtually destitute, owing to the swindling operation at New Orleans, already alluded to. They had a fair supply of clothing and bedding, but it was a problem to get food. The three boys devoted themselves at once to catching fish for sale, and occasionally hunting small game. My mother, the oldest daughter and next to the oldest child living, who was John, found herself under the necessity of trying to get up a private school - - she had never taught before, and it was a bitter pill to get out and solicit patronage. Her father, as has been said, was in poor health, and was unable to work at his trade. Her mother was a little diminutive woman of highly nervous tension and not in the best of health at that. The other daughter Annette, was only thirteen years of age. However, "where there is a will, there is a way," and she succeeded in getting up a school that relieved the stringency very greatly. I have found a list of the pupils in an old faded memorandum, made by her during the term; it contains the names of Mary Jane Cleveland, George and Mary Howe; Mary and Louise Richard .....

Well, they got through the year and into about March 1844, without starving; and meantime Mr. Brightman had heard a great deal of the San Antonio River Valley, and decided it was the El Dorado of Texas (I think he hardly made a mistake, for I regard it as the finest country in the world yet!) By that time, they had recouped themselves enough to travel again, and I am pretty sure it was in March, 1844; that they took passage on the Brig Rover, owned by Captain Luke Falvel, who had been one of the patrons of the school; and sailed for Prt LaVaca which was then only a shipping point on the Texas coast between Galveston and Brownsville, or Point Isabel.

During their residence in Galveston of about a year, they made an intimate acquaintance with "Squire John R. Tally, who at that time was a justice of the peace in Galveston. Not many years later, he also moved to Goliad, where the acquaintance was renewed. He was the grandfather of Mr. J. Littleton Tally, who is one of the owners of the Goliad Advance Guard. Mother said in one of her letters published in the Galveston News in November 1801, that Squire Tally had already traveled over most of the settled portion of Texas: Quoting from her letter: "He retained up to his death one of the most remarkable memories for the details of events I ever knew. In our social intercourse he was asked and consulted frequently as to what portion of the Republic, in his opinion, would suit us best. He thought the San Antonio River Valley was decidedly the best part of the country - - a veriable paradise. My father was captivated by his glowing description of the country in Southwest Texas and wrote to Col Kilmey of Corpus Christi, one of the most prominent men of that section, and besides being a large land owner, was engaged in various immigration schemes, inquiring of him what could be done by our family and the general prospects of success. Col Kilmey's reply was, that the prospects would be good, but the country was subject to raids by Mexicans and Indians and that the women and children frequently had to take refuge on the vessels at anchor in the bay for safety. There was a mail and trade boat plying between Corpus Christi and Galveston called the "Tom Jack," and we had made arrangements to go to Corpus on his boat; but Kilmey's letter discouraged us and we abandoned the move for the time being."

But the lure of the Valley was too strong to be forgotten, and in March, 1844, just a year after landing in Galveston, the family took passage from Galveston to Port Lavaca, on the brig "Rover," Capt. Luke A. Palvel, Master. The voyage took about a week. They stopped there (Lavaca) perhaps about two weeks, casting about for further plans. They found a wagon and six yokes of oxen for hire, and then got a man named Eli Hankins to drive the wagon up to Gonzales. This trip took nearly a week. At Gonzales they again sojourned about two or three weeks. Hankins had been in the Battle of Plum Creek, with Captain Jack Hayes. At length they found their opportunity to settle for a time, offered by a ranchman named Ben Duncan, who had only recently lost his wife by death, and it had left him with a lot of motherless children, with no one to care for them but the father. He offered them free rental of the place and all the milch cows they could attend to, for the sake of company and care for his family. The place was in the forks of the San Marrens and Guadalupe rivers. And they had almost riotous living for a brief period, when they accepted his offer and moved on the place but it was only for a few months' duration. An overflow came and the sequel was a lot of chills and fever that compelled the family to move to Sequin temporarily for medical aid to get away from the malarial influences of the low flats.

Two of the Brightman boys mounted horses and carried the news of the Indian massacre of the Kemper family to Victoria where a company of scouts was collected, and to make a long story short, they pursued the marauding Indians down to the coast and killed most of them.

Shortly after this, Mr. Brightman rented a farm near Victoria, known as the Warren Farm, and cropped it in 1845, and was very fortunate in raising a good supply of corn, sweet potatoes and pumpkins. Harvesting this crop in the fall of 1845, they decided to move to Goliad, and were there before January 1, 1846 as I have tax receipts showing they were liable for taxes at the beginning of the year. He soon established a ferry very near where the iron bridge was located when I was there some years ago. The Annexation of Texas to the United States and the claim of Texas to the territory between the Nueces and the Rio Grande Rivers brought on the war between the United States and Mexico, and this made the ferry a remunerative venture.

The town of Goliad was probably incorporated in 1846. George Brightman was elected one of the aldermen. Somewhere I have evidence also that he was elected County Treasurer of Goliad County, but it has disappeared. However, it must have been so, for whatever I had allowed it officially. This could probably be proved from the archives in the State Library. It must have been between 1846 and about 1852, as the family moved down the river during that year and I am quite sure he was not elected to any office after he moved from the town. (I have found the certificate of election later.)

That he was capable of making very devoted friends is well established. One of his most intimate friends was James Lansing of Galveston. All his children attended the school taught by my mother, (Emeline Brightman), and after the Brightmans moved to Goliad, he also moved from Galveston, and there are a number of letters from him to Mr. Brightman, all crouched in terms of high esteem, and the letters themselves show a well educated man and one who knew the world and human nature.

It will be noticed that George Balderson died about five years after the removal to their last home. Niether father nor mother were at his bedside when he died, nor were they at the funeral and burial. But the other son-in-law, Major I. M. Rogers and his wife were present, and the following is from a letter written by him surrounding the death:

"Goliad County, January 1st, 1858.

Dear Brother and Sister:

It becomes my painful duty to inform you that Father now sleeps the last long sleep from which there is no awakening. He died about day-light, last Tuesday morning, the 29th of December in full faith of rising in a better world.

Although his bodily sufferings were extremely severe and agonizing, his mind was calm, composed and perfectly clear to the last.

He had been rapidly sinking for several days, but did not lose the power of speech until about midnight on Monday night. He was buried in the graveyard near Sutton's on Wednesday evening, there to await that summons for which he so often declared himself prepared which should be a great consolation to us that are left behind.

The balance of the family are in good health and hope this may find you all enjoying the same blessing. I will write more at length in a few days, for which I cannot call to mind what I wish to write at this time.

So farewell for the present."

Notes:

Research conducted by Movelda Mayes

Children of GEORGE BRIGHTMAN and NANCY MOORE are:

1. LYMAN⁵ BRIGHTMAN (GEORGE CLAVER⁴, JOHN³, WILLIAM², WILLIAM¹) was born February 29, 1828. He married HARRIET CATHERINE HOWARD July 10, 1855 in Sabriego Bend of San Antonio River, below town of Goliad, Texas.

Children of LYMAN BRIGHTMAN and HARRIET HOWARD are:

2. WILLIAM SYDNEY⁶ BRIGHTMAN (LYMAN⁵, GEORGE CLAVER⁴, JOHN³, WILLIAM², WILLIAM¹) was born June 07, 1871 in St. Mary's, Coleman County, Texas, and died April 02, 1899 in Providence Indian Territory, Oklahoma. He married CORDILIA CORDIE FOREE WISE.

Notes for WILLIAM SYDNEY BRIGHTMAN:

William Sydney Brightman was a minister on an Indian Reservation.

More About WILLIAM SYDNEY BRIGHTMAN:

Burial: Providence Cemetery, Carter County, Oklahoma

Children of WILLIAM BRIGHTMAN and CORDILIA WISE are:

3. THOMAS CLAVER (TEX)⁷ BRIGHTMAN (WILLIAM SYDNEY⁶, LYMAN⁵, GEORGE CLAVER⁴, JOHN³, WILLIAM², WILLIAM¹) was born August 25, 1892 in Providence Indian Territory, Oklahoma, and died November 1972 in Crane, Crane County, Texas. He married (1) OLA PAINE. He married (2) ADA BALDERSON^{1,2,2,3,3,4,5} October 03, 1919 in Marysville, Kansas, daughter of WINFIELD BALDERSON and MINNA STABENOW. She was born February 19, 1905 in Beatrice, Nebraska, and died March 08, 1988 in Searcy, Arkansas.

Notes for THOMAS CLAVER (TEX) BRIGHTMAN:

He was in the Carnival and met Ada when he was 21 years-old and she was 14. He was a son of a Methodist traveling minister.

He met Ada at the Carnival and married her before departing Beatrice, Nebraska. They moved to Texas. He soon went to work for Gulf Oil Company as a "hauler" and trouble shooter. He built up a reputation in those days as "not to be the man to be messed with." He feared not man, and won nearly every fist fight he found himself in.

There was a story Ada remembered about a flood that took place where he became a hero. He took Ada with him and a rope to save victims of the flood where he tied the rope around himself and swam against the currents to save the victims from drowning.

After the divorce, he met and married Ola Paine or Payne and together they raised Tom, Clotille and Alta. He eventually retired from Gulf Oil Company and stories had it he had a lot of Stock issued to him from Gulf Oil Company while he was in Crane, Crane County, Texas.

After retirement, I found papers where he became the city dog catcher, working against odds to control the situation where people had ambandoned their pets. Some of his old co-workers said he would do everything humanly possible to find homes for these animals in order to avoid putting them to sleep.

His last wife was a Mexican woman named Gloria.

His grandchildren had nicknamed him "PAPA".

He stood over six feet tall, always wore Western Stetson hats and refused to wear caps or any other kind of head gear as he was proud of his Texas heritage. He passed on down the stories of his father, the minister to Uncle Tom and his two sisters. However, it appears that "Tex Brightman" did not pass down stories of his grandparents or great-grandparents and the great struggle they went through to immigrate to Texas. It may be due to the fact that it did not get passed down to him.

He was in his 80s when he finally died. His mind was still well composed, and still carried his "hot" temper which he never got 100% complete control of due to that time period, tempers and fighting was considered more hero like than compared to a "Peacemaker". He was always referred to as "Tex" which helped later generations out in order to keep him separate from his son "Tom" since both had the same names. I had always wondered where the name "Claver" came from, but apparently that particular name was well established in the Brightman history.

More About THOMAS CLAVER (TEX) BRIGHTMAN:

Burial: November 1972, Crane, Crane County, Texas

Notes for ADA BALDERSON:

SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ADA BALDERSON

Ada was born in Beatrice, Gage County Nebraska during a blizzard. She remembered stories that her parents lived on a farm back then. Her mother was an immigrant from Germany. She had been lied to by her father about her paternal history, so she came up always believing that her father was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian and that the Balderson name was created by the United States Government in order for her father and his brothers to leave the reservation. Ada never knew her father's full name was Winfield Scott Balderson. She had always called him "Scott Balderson" which made it very difficult to trace the Balderson history.

Ada's parents divorced when she was 7 years-old based on the divorce papers. It was doomed to failure from the very beginning as Minnah was in a continuous fight from her previous marriage with a Bourma. Minnah had two children from the Bourma marraige that she had custody of and Bourma continued to take her to court continously in order to take custody back. Compounded was the fact that Scott Balderson had a problem with alcoholism which did not work too well with Minnah being a 7th Day Adventist.

Minnah remarried again to a Civil War veteran who was crippled and ambulated on a cane. Apparently he did not like children and could not work. Minnah was the main supporter washing clothes for everyone in order for the family to survive.

When Ada reached the age of 14 she wanted to go to the Circus that arrived in Beatrice, Nebraska. The step-father, the Civil War vet, took his cane and beat both Minnah and Ada for Ada asking to go to the Circus. Finally Minnah sneaked Ada some money where Minnah kept some money tied up in a handkerchief and in her bosom.

Ada went to the circus and met a tall young man named "Tex Brightman." Tex took a shine to her as Ada was a very pretty young girl, and in that time frame, to marry at the age of 14 was very common and normal.

He finally got Ada's permission to drive her home. Upon reaching Ada's house, Tex saw where the step-father clubbed Minnah over the head and knocked Minnah out and was after Ada, as he considered it a waste of money to go to the circus. Tex hauled off and slugged him, knocking the step-father out. He then picked up Minnah and carried her through the screen door into the living room and nursed Minnah's head wound until Minnah regained conscious. He then asked for permission to marry Ada and it was granted.

Ada had three children by the Brightman marriage, first Clotille a daughter, then a son she named after Tex as Thomas Claver Brightman Jr., and a third child, a daughter, she named Alta.

More About ADA BALDERSON:

Burial: March 14, 1988, Peasant Valley Cemetery, Cushman, Arkansas

Child of THOMAS BRIGHTMAN and OLA PAINE is:

Children of THOMAS BRIGHTMAN and ADA BALDERSON are:

4. MYRTLE CLAIRE⁷ BRIGHTMAN (WILLIAM SYDNEY⁶, LYMAN⁵, GEORGE CLAVER⁴, JOHN³, WILLIAM², WILLIAM¹) was born February 24, 1895 in Providence Indian Territory, Oklahoma, and died June 01, 1968 in Denver, Denver, Colorado. She married JAMES ARCHIE MAYES April 08, 1911 in Commanche, Comanch County, Texas, son of THOMAS MAYES and FRANCES MARTIN. He was born January 14, 1886 in Kaufman County, Texas, and died January 12, 1946 in Whichita Falls, Texas.

More About MYRTLE CLAIRE BRIGHTMAN:

Burial: Fairmont Cemetery, 1331 Sherman, Denver, Colorado

Notes for JAMES ARCHIE MAYES:

Archie was very much overweight and was in a depressed state from the time of the crash in 1929 when he lost everything until he died.

More About JAMES ARCHIE MAYES:

Burial: Rosemont Cemetery, Block 5, Space 367) Whichita Falls, Texas

Children of MYRTLE BRIGHTMAN and JAMES MAYES are:

5. CLOTILLE⁸ BRIGHTMAN (THOMAS CLAVER (TEX)⁷, WILLIAM SYDNEY⁶, LYMAN⁵, GEORGE CLAVER⁴, JOHN³, WILLIAM², WILLIAM¹) was born Abt. 1921.

Notes for CLOTILLE BRIGHTMAN:

First born child of Ada.

Youngest girl in Texas History to pass the state Beautician's license. She eventually owned several beauty salons in Beeville, Texas before her health went down hill from lung cancer. She never smoked so believed the cancer may have been caused from the smell of chemicals used in her profession.

She was the closest child to her father. She can always be remembered as always keeping up with the high society etiquette procedures. She had two children by two different marriages, a Cecil Lewis Williams and a Devia Jane Hoheard.

Apparently one of her husbands was a member of the Masonic Lodge which allowed her to join the Eastern Star, women's group who are wives of masons. (Masonic Lodge Records: Beeville Chapter 108, Vol VII, p. 127).

She had given up the life of alcoholism at a young age, then joined a community Baptist Church where she worked heavily in the ministry for battered women in her community from 1965 to 1970. (Beeville Community Baptist Church Records 1970 p. 125)

Children of CLOTILLE BRIGHTMAN are:

6. THOMAS CLAVER⁸ BRIGHTMAN (THOMAS CLAVER (TEX)⁷, WILLIAM SYDNEY⁶, LYMAN⁵, GEORGE CLAVER⁴, JOHN³, WILLIAM², WILLIAM¹) was born December 31, 1923 in Texas. He married ELLA MAE ROBERTS Abt. 1939 in Crane, Texas. She was born October 19, 1927 in Graham, Texas.

Notes for THOMAS CLAVER BRIGHTMAN:

Oldest son to Ada and Tex Brightman.

Became a self-made millionaire. (See pictures, newspaper article).

Married Mae when she was 14 and he was about 16 years-old. According to Uncle Tom, He claimed he had to leave Crane, Texas in order to get away from people who were alcoholics. I cannot even see him touching the stuff as he has always been against alcohol, he would claim this as part of his Christian testimony.

He is very strong in his Christian faith. When I first met him in the early 1970s, he was a member of the Church of Christ, which would not allow musical instruments in the church. He finally left the Church of Christ following his oldest daughter Elaine to a non-denominational church which believes in the gift of tongues like the Pentecostle.

He had more knowledge in knowing the different species of birds and trees than anyone I could ever know. He finally learned the truth about his mother in the year 1999 after being raised in untruths about her which appeared to have caused a great healing process in his heart.

He has a smile on him which is out of this world as he enjoys his speaking on Christian talks. He also loves piddling in the kitchen making food in his younger days. He also developed diabetes and heart problems like a lot of other Ada's descendants. As a hobby he likes having a garden in the back yard. He used to love playing dominoes in his younger days.

He and Aunt Mae still lives like they are on their honeymoon even though they had been married for over 50 years.

More About THOMAS CLAVER BRIGHTMAN:

Occupation: 1923, Oil Producer

Religion: 1998, Non-Denominational

Children of THOMAS BRIGHTMAN and ELLA ROBERTS are:

7. ALTA⁸ BRIGHTMAN (THOMAS CLAVER (TEX)⁷, WILLIAM SYDNEY⁶, LYMAN⁵, GEORGE CLAVER⁴, JOHN³, WILLIAM², WILLIAM¹) was born August 11, 1926 in Burkbannett, Texas. She married JACK LEWIS.

Children of ALTA BRIGHTMAN and JACK LEWIS are:

8. JAMES ARCHIE⁸ MAYES (MYRTLE CLAIRE⁷ BRIGHTMAN, WILLIAM SYDNEY⁶, LYMAN⁵, GEORGE CLAVER⁴, JOHN³, WILLIAM², WILLIAM¹) was born December 14, 1920 in Stamford, Jones County, Texas, and died January 08, 1974 in Mobile, Alabama. He married VIRGINIA LEWIS 1941 in Denver, Colorado.

Notes for JAMES ARCHIE MAYES:

James was very overweight, the same as his dad. He had diabetes and had problems getting around. He was a very brilliant person and was a superior TV technician. He could get a job anywhere, anytime and that was a benefit as he and wife moved around often. James also served in the Air Force during WWII. He did some Lay-preaching and was with a church in Corpus Christi shortly before he died. He seemed to be a restless person so perhaps he was very much like his grandfather, William Sydney Brightman. James married Virginia Lewis when he was in the Air Force stationed in Denver, Colorado about 1941.

Notes: Research conducted by Movelda Mayes

More About JAMES ARCHIE MAYES:

Burial: Memory Gardens Cemetery, Section E, Lot 79, Space 4 at 8200 Old Brownsville Rd. Corpus Christi, Texas

Children of JAMES MAYES and VIRGINIA LEWIS are:

9. ROBERT BRIGHTMAN⁸ MAYES (MYRTLE CLAIRE⁷ BRIGHTMAN, WILLIAM SYDNEY⁶, LYMAN⁵, GEORGE CLAVER⁴, JOHN³, WILLIAM², WILLIAM¹) was born January 21, 1923 in Stamford, Jones County, Texas, and died 2000 in Texas. He married MOVELDA PEARL MITCHELL June 06, 1942 in Henrietta, Texas. She was born April 11, 1920 in Knox County, Texas.

Notes for ROBERT BRIGHTMAN MAYES:

Robert has been somewhat overweight a lot during his adulthood, but not as much as his brother and two sisters. He had diabetes, high blood pressure, some arthritis and also Alzheimer's disease. He was placed in a nursing home until he died after amputation of his foot due to grangrene. He was admitted in November 1997.

Robert's mother and two sisters have moved to Denver, Colorado to be with his older brother and he stayed in Wichita Falls, Texas. Movelda was going to Draughn's Business school there. They met in January at a blackout party during the war. It didn't take them long to decide marriage was for them. They went to Denver to have her meet his family and stayed until he was drafted. He served in WWII and Korea. He attended Texas A&M on the GI Bill after WWII and received his first degree and his commission in ROTC. He served in Korea as a Lieutenant and came out as a Captain. Robert received his Master's degree in Social Work in 1961 at Worden School of Social Work, (Our Lady of the Lake College) San Antonio, Texas. I didn't try to go on to school beyond High School, but I worked to help us survive while Robert completed his education.

Notes: Research conducted by Movelda Mayes.

Children of ROBERT MAYES and MOVELDA MITCHELL are:

10. PEGGY LOU⁸ MAYES (MYRTLE CLAIRE⁷ BRIGHTMAN, WILLIAM SYDNEY⁶, LYMAN⁵, GEORGE CLAVER⁴, JOHN³, WILLIAM², WILLIAM¹) was born December 20, 1926 in Burkburnet, Texas, and died February 08, 1996 in In her home in New Braunfels, Texas. She married (1) JOSEPH DRAKE CARTER. She married (2) ALOIS THEODORE LEWIS ZGLINICKI.

Notes for PEGGY LOU MAYES:

Peggy Lou was also overweight and had heart problems, very severe arthritis, and possibly had Alzheimer's disease. Her memory was of very short span at the last.

Child of PEGGY MAYES and JOSEPH CARTER is:

Children of PEGGY MAYES and ALOIS ZGLINICKI are: