CELEBRATING 250 YEARS OF FAMILY HISTORY
Emily and Ron Finch share an appreciation for old stuff, including historical buildings, places, and people. Similar thinking about history and preservation brought the couple together and led them to a historical home, the H.P. and Mollie McCartney House, 11 years ago at 504 Sycamore Street. Ron began doing genealogy more than 25 years ago. Over time, his interest evolved from trying to get a better understanding of his own family legacy, to being applied towards artifacts and historical places to better appreciate the challenges people overcame. Most of the genealogy research he does is on behalf of others. He has created around 325 trees on Ancestry.com.
Ron’s research topics are wide-ranging. For instance, a Latino father and son from South
Texas didn’t know how they acquired their Anglo name, so Ron found their ancestor
George Atkinson of England served in the Republic of Texas army in 1837, and married
a widow, Mary Anna Cisneros-Cavazos, who had their children baptized in the Catholic
Church in Old Mexico. A research project for an African American man uncovered details in the life of his absent father, who danced for Harlem entertainer Cab Calloway, started
his own entertainment club in California, and gave comedian Red Fox his start.
Over the last half-dozen years, Ron has written biographical sketches for property owners
of historical homes shown on the annual Gingerbread and Christmas Tour of Homes. A
USC film producer plans to use some of Ron’s research in an upcoming work about the
black female aviatrix Bessie Coleman.
In regard to his own family history, Ron’s direct ancestor John Finch arrived on this
continent nearly 400 years ago aboard the flagship Arabella in Governor John Winthrop’s
fleet. Ron ascends directly from Colonial Governors; Benedict Arnold (Rhode Island), Thomas Dudley (Massachusetts), the first published American poet Anne (née Dudley)
Bradstreet, two key figures in the Salem Witch Trials; Dudley Bradstreet (Magistrate),
Job Tyler (accuser), and many Revolutionary Patriots. He has also taken his German
mother’s ancestry back into the 17th century. More recently, Ron has focused on proving
ancestry to individuals with Revolutionary War service in order to join the relatively new
Ellis County chapter of The Sons of the American Revolution.
Family heritage was a tradition on Emily’s mother’s side. Her grandfather, Joe Gordon Simmons, made inquiries of distant family members from his desk at the First National
Bank of Miles, where he was President. Joe was proud of his family’s accomplishments. The Simmonses and Warnocks (Mother and Uncle) left Arkansas for Coleman County
about 1880, with high hopes and not much else. After toiling on the farm for many years, Joe’s father bought a Sears & Roebuck home that was shipped to Valera via rail.
His parents, six brothers, and two sisters lived in that small home. Several Simmons’
boys became successful bankers. Joe hadn’t quite figured out his Revolutionary War
ancestor, Charles Simmons, who served as a Lieutenant after the fall of Charleston. Joe’s
grandmother was a Barmore, and from this line is kept a diary of crossing the country by
covered wagon. How appropriate that Emily’s ancestor, James Barmore, was a wagoner
for the Continental Army in Virginia.
Joe’s better half was Jane Ferris Damon. Through this connection, Emily is related to a Hollywood star named Matt from Cambridge. She is also a descendant of the Bennett
for whom the street in Dallas is named. Ron delivered a presentation about the Damon and Bennett families to the Dallas County Pioneer Association in March. A great-uncle,
and War of 1812 veteran, Major Joseph Anthony was murdered in the Arkansas State
Assembly. His father, Rev. Joseph Anthony, was a cantankerous Baptist preacher in
Virginia who left his bible at home to fight with the Patriots.
Emily’s ancestry in North America goes back to Plymouth Rock. Through her mother, Carolyn, she descends from Mayflower passengers Henry Samson, John Howland, and
Elizabeth Tilley, and is likely descended from Mayflower Compact signer Edward Winslow
or one of his brothers. Emily’s father, Robert William Glidewell, was a U.S. Marine who
fought in the South Pacific. An exceptional swimmer, Bob trained in Honolulu with U.D.T., then known as “frog men”, which later became the Navy Seals. Emily has an equally fascinating family history through her father, going back to her Patriot ancestor William Glidewell, and early settlers of New Amsterdam (Cossart/Cozad).W.P.D. officer O.T. Glidewell is a distant relation, their trees diverging in the Revolutionary era.
