Dibrell/Brawner Family Genealogy

Dibrell/Brawner Family Genealogy

These lines belong to a friend of mine. If you can link to either of these lines, or have a thought about the information found herein, leave a comment and I’ll get you in touch with Jane.

Jane’s grandmother is Margaret Blake Dibrell, born in Cuero, Texas, in 1884. She married Thomas Lee Guthrie in Coleman, Texas, in 1913, after working as a schoolteacher in that county. She died in 1949, and is buried in Brownwood, Texas.

Margaret Blake’s parents were James Brazil Dibrell, born 1854 in Somerset, Kentucky, and Mary Snodgrass. They married in 1877 in Sparta, White County, Tennessee. James was a circuit-riding Methodist minister. Mary later served as a postmistress in Seguin, Texas, and much later in life received training as a chiropractor in Coleman County, Texas. James died in 1890 and is buried in Seguin. Mary is buried in Brownwood.

James Brazil’s parents were Joseph Burton Dibrell, born 1818 in Wayne County, Kentucky, and Margaret Brawner, born 1820 in Blount County, Tennessee. They married in 1839 in Whitley County, Kentucky. Joseph served as postmaster in Kentucky, and died in Seguin, Texas in 1883. Both Joseph and Margaret are buried in Seguin.

Margaret Brawner’s parents were Bazil Brawner and Nancy Campbell. Both were from Elbert County, Georgia. Bazil served as a medical doctor in the Mexican War, and is buried in the same grave as many US soldiers outside of Mexico City. I do not know where Nancy is buried.

Joseph Burton’s parents were John Lee Dibrell and Ellender Cocke. John was born in 1777, Virginia, and married Ellender in 1805, Wayne County, Kentucky. John died in 1858, Whitley County, Kentucky. Ellender is buried in Wayne County. I have been unable to locate John’s grave.

John Lee’s parents were Charles Lee Dibrell and Martha Burton. Charles was born in 1757, Virginia, and married Martha in 1776, Virginia. Charles served in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, and died in Obion County, Tennessee. He is buried on a hillside on the outskirts of Union City, a town that will likely encompass the area in a few short years. Martha reportedly died in Silver Creek, Madison County, Kentucky, and I did visit that graveyard and search for her. There are many grave markers of the right time period in that cemetery, but unfortunately, hers was not among them, that I could determine at that time.

Charles Lee’s parents were Anthony Dibrell and Elizabeth Lee. Anthony was born Jean Antoine in 1728, Manakin Town, Virginia. Manakin Town is a community originally founded by French-speaking Huguenot settlers from France and Switzerland. Though not much of the settlement is left, a Huguenot Historical Society exists in the area, with much information on these many families and their unique contribution to Virginian history. Anthony married Elizabeth Lee in 1756 in Buckingham County, Virginia. Anthony died in Buckingham County in 1799. I do not know where Anthony or Elizabeth are buried.

Jean Antoine (Anthony)’s parents were Christoffe du Breuil, born 1680 in Lagny, France, and Marianne Dutoi, born in Manakin Town. They married in 1727, and Christoffe died before Jean Antoine was born. Marianne’s parents were from Switzerland.

All the Dibrells in America are descended from this family (through Anthony Dibrell) and can trace their heritage back to France and Switzerland through this line.

If you are connected in some way, let me know, and I’ll connect you with Jane, also a member of the Dibrell family.

Washington DC Inauguration

The election was held November 6th, of course. So, we all knew the results for some time.

But it wasn’t until the first week of December that we heard about the tour. A group of people (some from our county, some from other counties) were going to the Inauguration in DC in January. We had never even considered going, but now that we knew other folks were heading out…it seemed worth a peek at the agenda. We decided to go for it. We contacted our congressman about Inauguration tickets, but his allotment was already spoken for.

Friday, January 18th, we flew to Philadelphia, corralled our luggage, and boarded a charter bus for DC. Well, Arlington, anyway, but we drove right through DC and along the Mall. The first night we got some dinner, contacted a couple of friends about meeting for breakfast Saturday morning with one couple, and Sunday morning with another young man. After I got off the phone, I realized I had a voicemail. It was our congressman’s office calling: Were we still in DC, and could we use two tickets for the Inauguration? Are you kidding me?! It was on!

Saturday, January 19th, we met with our friends for breakfast, and then they drove us to the Jefferson Memorial to drop us off. I was so excited…I have been to DC a few times, now, but I could never see the Jefferson. It always seemed to be on the other side of the Tidal Basin, no matter what I did. Finally, I saw it. And the FDR Memorial. And the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. All three were just fantastic. From there, we walked quite awhile before catching a cab to the Sam Rayburn Building, where the US representative’s office with the tickets was located. Picked up the tickets, and caught a cab back to the World War II Memorial.  I took a number of pictures particularly in honor of my grandfather, who served in the Navy in the Pacific during World War II.

Next we walked around to the back of the White House, saw the security chamber where the president and vice-president would be watching the Inauguration Parade on Monday, then headed down Pennsylvania Avenue. About half way down, we hailed a pedicab, and rode to the Old Post Office Pavilion, which had a neat statue of Benjamin Franklin, the first US postmaster, out front. We ate inside (they have a food court, and several souvenir shops) and bought some of the best souvenirs we saw all weekend.

That evening, we took the night tour, which visited all the major monuments and memorials that we either saw during the day, or during previous visits to DC. The tour was amazing.

Monday, January 21st, we woke up early…as in, we were waiting at the gates to the Metro Station when they opened at 4am! Took the metro to our station, got off by showing our tickets to security, walked a couple of blocks, then waited with the other Gold Ticket holders until the security stanchions were moved for us at 6:30am. Walked a few blocks more to the security check stations, which were set up by TSA in the same manner as at airports. Then walked a couple blocks more to where our area was located, where we stood and waited for things to begin. They provided plastic platforms to stand on, which were much more forgiving on the feet and knees than ground or asphalt would have been. A megatron showed scenes from past Inauguration ceremonies, and we had a great view of the Capitol. A beautiful sunrise heralded the event, which began promptly at 11:30am.

When the Inauguration itself was over, we headed out immediately, walked clear around the Capitol and its surrounding buildings, kept with the crowd as it seemed prudent, veered away when it wasn’t, and ultimately not only arrived at the Parade route, but got there before it began! We did not see President Obama, but saw his car. Vice President Biden was seen, though. Finally, we headed back to our hotel, tired, but very, very happy. We stayed one more night, then got up one more morning, had one last breakfast, boarded the bus for Pennsylvania, caught our flight back to Texas, and arrived back home safe and sound, with the knowledge that we had truly experienced the trip of a lifetime.