Goolsby Family History

1-1-2006
Genealogy is not just the recording of dates.
It is the living history of those people that paved the way for us to be born.
Most were just ordinary people who worked hard just to survive.
They didn't have the things that we have, that would have helped
made their lives a little more comfortable. But they were survivors.
When Sarah Jane High married William Jasper Goolsby in Jasper County Ga in 1838,
they probably didn't know that they would be moving to Texas.
The family moved to Titus County Texas by 1860
They wouldn't know that the eventually they would be sending
their off spring marching out across Texas and further west. .
Their oldest son was James Monroe Goolsby and he married Sarah Frances O'Dell.
Here is an account of their lives as recorded by some of their children and grandchildren.
I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. The author died last year but some of other members of the Goolsby family may want to see this story.
Goolsby Family History was published to honor all his hard work
and to share their story with others.
With an introduction by George Rowley, his nephew ,
who is also a descendant of William and Sarah High Goolsby.

James Z. Goolsby, Jr. was interested in genealogy for many years and had performed a lot of research and had prepared various summaries, charts and drawings through the years. He drew the sketches of the Goolsby homestead in 1991 and completed the text in this document in January 2003. The sketches were incorporated into the document in February 2003 and the document with the combined text and sketches is what James distributed to interested family members during 2003 and 2004.

James also had many other interests. He was in an automobile accident in 1962 that left him in a wheel chair and having only partial use of his hands. In spite of this he tooled leather pictures that won awards at the New Mexico State Fair, he repaired pocket watches and clocks, and he helped individuals and small businesses set up book-keeping records.
James passed away on December 29, 2004.

Readers should note that the bulk of the work in this document is James’ work and for him it was a labor of love. After some intense reflection and discussions with some family members, I believe that James would have liked for the document to be updated and made available for others to use and enjoy. I have not edited any grammar or spelling because doing so would change the character of the document but some information such as dates have been added or corrected. These are living documents. If anyone has information that needs to be included or updated please e-mail us with the information.

Also, please note that James documented only part of the family history only from William Jasper Goolsby and Sarah Jane High Goolsby to the children of William Maynard Goolsby and Arrie Nena Pattillo and documents the lineage to their grandchildren. Additional up-lineage from William Jasper Goolsby to John Gouldsby in Lincolnshire, England in 1646 has been traced by other people and is included in the family tree for completeness. If anyone has information about the family prior to 1646, this information also should be e-mailed to us for inclusion.

Lastly, I wish to dedicate my small efforts to the memory of the family members who have passed on and to those who are still living. Each one has in some direct or indirect way influenced us is as individuals through genetics or by association and has helped define who we are as a family.

George W. Rowley
Son of Dorothy V. Goolsby Rowley and Nephew of James Zacariah Goolsby, Jr.