This is week seven of the 2015 #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of u
s blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year. To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.
Joy of Life, Love of Joy
Mary Elizabeth Lovejoy lived to be 101 years old. Born in rural McKinney, TX, in 1862. In her lifetime, she witness the urbanization and economic growth of Texas until her death in Bonham, TX, in 1963. Her grandparents arrived by horse or cattle drawn wagon in 1840’s. Her family began to transport goods by railroad in the 1870’s. Streetcars arrived in Bonham in the 1890’s. The first decade of 1900, bought the car and airplane.
Texas Pioneers
Early settlers came to what is now Collin County by the offer of free land. Settlers could get up to 640 acres of land, a gun and help building a cabin. McKinney became the county seat in 1848. The first non-residential building was the Lovejoy store that was moved from Buckner to the new town on May 3, 1848. The store was placed on what would eventually be the northwest corner of the square in the new town.
Early settler cabin in McKinney, TX in the 1840s.
Elizabeth’s grandfather, John L. Lovejoy owned that store. He moved the entire store and contents over three miles of land by wagon. John was also a farmer and hotelier. In his 70’s, John Lovejoy become a Methodist Reverend. Elizabeth’s father, James Lovejoy, was a farmer.
Something about Mary
Mary E. Lovejoy married my first cousin 4x removed, Samuel William Hancock. Mary was one of five children to James Harmon Lovejoy and Melinda Isom Goodman. Samuel Hancock parents were James B. Hancock and Sarah Oliver Weir. Sarah Weir is descended from two of my ancestral links, 2014 #52 Ancestors – No. 45 – Samuel M Weir and Elizabeth Oliver Vanlandingham.
Mary and Samuel had five children out of seven who survived childhood. Several of the children were born near Dallas/Ft. Worth. After the birth of their children, they moved and settled in Bonham. Samuel was a butcher by trade until his death in 1923. Mary never remarried and remained a widow for 40 years. Two of her daughters, Myrtle and Phoebe never married and were successful in their careers.
Lover of Life
Lovejoy is such an unusual name. How did the word originate? How did Lovejoy become a surname? I always interested in the origin of words. Maybe if English classes were more interesting than the deciphering verb tenses, I could have become an Etymologist.
Thanks to Google search, I no longer have to wonder. Lovejoy1 surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin. The derivation, is from the Olde English “lufu” and Middle English “lufe”, or love, that was combine with Old French “joie, joye”, joy. Hence, “lovejoy”, used to denote someone who craved pleasure, or who particularly enjoyed life. The first recorded spelling of the surname is shown to be that of Johannes Lovejoy, which was dated July 6th 1487, on his marriage in Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire.
Sources:
1 http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Lovejoy#ixzz3RgNXdEFz
Photos and background of Mckinney, Texas at http://www.mckinneytexas.org/Index.aspx?NID=122
Wikipedia: Background information on McKinney and Bonham, TX.
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