Hughes' Views & News

Recently I learned through DNA testing that I have a match named Raymond Pierce. Raymond and I are both descendants of my maternal great grandparents, Adolphus Elliott Peirce (1868-1910) and Etta Pearl Bailey (1873-1952), and thus we are second cousins.

Raymond was kind enough to send me a digital image of the wedding certificate for Adolphus and Etta, which I had never seen before. It’s dated August 31, 1890, and it has three signatures at the bottom:  W.G. Breland, C.B. Pierce and C.H. Bailey. It appears to me that the two first two signed as witnesses while the third signed as the minister or celebrant.

I believe that the first signature was from William G. Breland (1839-1890), who was a 3rd great uncle to me. His father, John Robertson Breland (1794-1875), was my 3rd great grandfather, and he was also the grandfather of Etta Bailey, whose mother was Martha Ann Breland. William G. Breland was appointed U.S. Postmaster for Breland, Louisiana, on September 6, 1890, about a week after the date on this wedding certificate.  He died a few months later, in December 1890. Adolphus’ stepmother, Salissa Painter Peirce (1858-1940), was then appointed postmaster for Breland on March 28, 1891. Adolphus Peirce was later appointed as U.S. Postmaster for Breland, Louisiana, on August 5, 1904.

The next signature, I think, was from Charles Buchanan Pierce (1866-1938), who was an uncle of Adolphus. (Some members of this line spell the last name as “Peirce” and some spell it as “Pierce.” This continues to be the case now; both spellings are represented among my DNA matches from this line.)

The third signature, I think, was from Caldwell Houston Bailey (Abt. 1854-Abt. 1919, who was appointed U.S. Postmaster for Bailey, Louisiana on October 18, 1890. I haven’t been able to determine if he was related to Etta Bailey or not. However, I am related to him through the line of his mother, Melissa Bankston Bailey (1819-Abt. 1915).