Monument to A Cherokee Indian

Fourth Generation great-nephew Clarence Leon Goins with property owner Mr. Christian and Mr. Able (neighbor) on Goyens Hill, Nacogdoches, TX in 1998.  This is where the original centennial marker to Indian Agent William Goyens, Jr once stood.  It was one of 13,000 monuments placed on the grave of the heroes they honored.  The grave is now unmarked, since the monument was restored and moved.  Although the committee was not aware of it at the time, but this centennial marker honors a Cherokee/Native American citizen of the Republic of Texas. 

Trying to sort the Goins family Out

My dad once asked his Uncle, Farley Benjamin Goins about our family history. Great Uncle Farley laughed and said "You'll never figure it out." Hence this article on a soon-to-be published book about a former slave who changed his name to Henry Goings after escaping via the Underground Railroad. The memoirs were published by a small Canadian Press, not far from where Goings lived. I can't wait to read it!

http://bit.ly/xiKcWr

2011 was a difficult year

This has been an extremely difficult year for the Goins family of Randolph County, North Carolina.  Uncle Wade McLendon Goins passed away from lung cancer at the age of 69 in Corpus Christi, Texas in August 2010.  He was surrounded by his loving sister, Janice Marion Goins Bell (Asheboro, Randolph County, NC) and his older brother, Clarence Leon Goins(Corpus Christi, Texas).  He had visits from his nephew and niece, Robert Steve Goins II and Pam Cranford Goins from Asheboro, Randolph County, NC.  Caring for my uncle during his last days gave me a deep sense of peace.

The younger brother, Curtis Ray Goins, passed away in February 2011 in Athens, Tennessee.  It was difficult to get to him because an ice-storm persisted in Tennessee and travel was difficult.  Curtis was born on February 29, 1957 in Randolph County, North Carolina.  He died from intestinal disease.

Then, on October 4, 2011, we lost my beautiful mother, Evelyn Marie Jackson Goins.  She was the daughter of Harris McLoy Jackson and Edna Caroline Roth Jackson of Corpus Christi, Texas.  She was born January 6, 1942 in Alice, Jim Wells, Texas.