James Campbell Stroud (born 21 May 1833-Butts County, GA - died 25 Mar 1922-Devine, Medina County,TX) was my third great-grandfather in my mother's lines of her father. 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge (Week 11) of Amy John Crow is "Achievement."
What do you think of when you think of an ancestor's achievement? Raising a family amidst poor living and working conditions? During war? Being honored for outstanding volunteer work with those less fortunate? Or maybe being the first to finish high school or obtain a college degree?
The list could go on and on and on, couldn't it?
According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, achievement can mean: "the act of achieving something"; "a result obtained by effort (accomplishment)"; "a great or heroic deed"; or "the quality and quantity of a student's work."
My thoughts went directly to J.C. Stroud, blacksmith and inventor. According to family stories, some recorded at Jasper Native Sought Fortune in Texas by John Harvey J.C. Stroud made his own liniment to help with the pain in his legs, and it was patented and sold in the United States. I have not found a patent for this liniment yet, but I will continue to search for it.
An "Improvement in Cultivators" patent was created on September 29, 1868 by J.C. Stroud of Lockhart, Texas. Patent No. 82, 562.
I know what a cultivator is because I'm the daughter of a dry land cotton farmer in the rolling plains of Texas. For readers who don't know, Oxford Learners Dictionaries describes it as follows: "a machine for breaking up soil and destroying weeds (= plants growing where they are not wanted)."
The patent, according to The Portal to Texas History, was "for a new cultivator in the form of a wheel, which includes instructions and an illustration."
Page 1 of 2
No comments:
Post a Comment