December 29, 2014
Martha F. Fenstermaker (1943-2014) recently passed away, and in her published obituary it mentioned that she was “a direct descendant of Samuel Augustus Maverick, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence.” Her obituary also states she was a member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
Her ancestor’s last name “Maverick” is where we get that word from, based on his tendency to be “individually minded.” He refused to brand his cattle—and in Texas, unbranded cattle came to be called mavericks, and the term stuck.
Genealogy Tip: Don’t only search obituaries looking for your known relatives—you also want to do a search using an ancestor’s name who died long ago. It just might be that a cousin unknown to you has mentioned a mutual ancestor in their obituary.
Related Descendant Articles:
- Mayflower Pilgrim Thomas Rogers: Are You a Descendant?
- Are You a Descendant of Mayflower Pilgrim John Alden?
- Lineage, Hereditary, Heritage & Patriotic Societies Have Genealogy Resources
Note: FamilySearch International (FamilySearch.org) and GenealogyBank are partnering to make over a billion records from historical obituaries searchable online. The tremendous undertaking will make a billion records from over 100 million U.S. newspaper obituaries readily searchable online. The newspapers are from all 50 states and cover the period 1730 to the present. Find out more at: https://www.genealogybank.com/family-search/
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