Miller time was very brief. If there is a silver lining to this genealogical predicament, it is that I believed that my 3rd great grandmother Matilda Jane’s maiden name was Miller for about a month. Poor Vester Garner, Matilda Jane’s grandson, probably lived his entire life believing it. And so he must not have given it a second thought when it came time to identify his deceased aunt’s parents as “U Googer” and “Miller”. That’s what started this mess. But Vester was mistaken. Her maiden name was not “Miller”. In his defense, Vester never met his grandmother as she died in 1881 and he was born in 1883.

Recorded in the deed books of Prentiss County, Mississippi is a transaction from 1877 transferring land from the “heirs of Daniel Pearce” to “M. C. Pearce”. Ulysses Goodger and his wife “M. A.” Goodger (or “M. J.” Goodger) were listed among Daniel Pearce’s heirs. (Keep in mind, in those days, when a woman married her husband took legal precedence in matters of estates, deeds, etc. which is why Ulysses was also listed as an heir. He was the son-in-law – literally.) Presumably, “M. C. Pearce” (the buyer from Memphis, Tennessee) is Matilda Jane’s older brother who was purchasing their father’s land from his collective siblings living in Mississippi. “Tiller” – Matilda Jane’s nickname – and Ulysses Goodger also sold another piece of land to “M. C. Pearce” around the same time.

Matilda Jane was not a Miller by birth but a Pearce.

Crap. You’d think I’d be happier to finally have solid if not definitive proof of her maiden name. But it’s PEARCE which is also spelled P-I-E-R-C-E. Matilda Jane’s daughter, Mary Emma, married John S. Boren. His mother was Harriett PEARCE! She and John’s father were married in Lawrence County, Tennessee. Daniel Pearce apparently owned land in Lawrence County, Tennessee before moving to Mississippi.

Now I begin the task of trying to unravel the tangled vines of the Pearce family tree as Matilda Jane and Harriett were probably cousins. If true, it means that John S. Boren and his wife, Mary Emma, were related to one another.

It’s going to get messy.

Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relationship: 4th great grandfather
Common ancestors: At this time, I have no clue as to the identify of Daniel Pearce or Pierce’s parents