Charles and Bettie Bastian

My great-grandfather was Charles Bastian. He was born 11 Oct 1875 in Austin County, Texas. Another variation of the name that I have seen in some records is Bastain. I also have an alternate birth date of 11 Oct 1872 from Charles' WWI Draft Registration. However, his tombstone shows 1875, so I am inclined to think that is the real date. Charles married Bertha Ernestina Schmook (aka Bettie) on 05 May 1905. Bettie was born 01 Sep 1885 in Lavaca County, Texas. They have the following known children:

• Otto Bastian b. 19 Apr 1907 in Calhoun County, Texas; d. 07 Jun 1974 in Calhoun County, Texas.
• Ernest Charles Albany Bastian b. 19 Feb 1909 in Calhoun County, Texas; d. 15 Apr 1970 in Harris County, Texas.
• Letha Bastian  b. 13 Feb 1911 in Calhoun County, Texas; d. 29 Jun 1989 in Calhoun County, Texas.
• Henry Bastian (my grandfather) b. 20 Sep 1912 in Atascosa County, Texas; d. 24 Nov 1984 in Harris County, Texas.
• Lena Bastian b. 11 May 1914 in Atascosa County, Texas; d. 08 Feb 1986 in Calhoun County, Texas.
• August Paul Bastian b. 06 Apr 1917 in Atascosa County, Texas; d. 16 Mar 1973 in Calhoun County, Texas.
• Jessie Bastian b. 01 Sep 1918 in Atascosa County, Texas; d. 30 Apr 1987 in Fort Bend County, Texas.
• Robert Lewis Bastian b. 01 Sep 1922 in Calhoun County, Texas; d. 05 Apr 2000 in Victoria County, Texas.
• Cora Eugene Bastian b. 17 Mar 1924 in Atascosa County, Texas; d. 18 Jun 2000 in Harris County, Texas.
• Murray Bastian b. 07 Mar 1927 in Calhoun County, Texas; d. 23 Dec 1977 in Victoria County, Texas.

As you can see, the births of their children indicate that Charles and Bettie moved from Calhoun County, Texas to Atascosa County, Texas several times. Additionally, the 1910 Federal Census shows that they were living in De Witt County, Texas, which is somewhat in between the other two. Charles' WWI Draft Registration shows the family living in Atascosa County, Texas in 1918. None of these counties are neighboring counties, so one question that arises is why would they move such a distance from their families?

This is the basic information I have on Charles' family. I have been unable to locate his father conclusively. I have two possibilities that will be covered in upcoming posts.

Stacey

Who am I and Why am I Doing This

I have been working on my family history off and on for about 12 years. My drive to find my roots stems from not having them as I grew up. I had bits and pieces of histories done by other family members that were passed on to me by my mother. Most of what I have does not have citations, so I do not know where the information came from. That has been the bulk of my genealogy research for most of those years.

For the past five years or so, I have focused on my paternal line. I do not have much information on them, and since my family was not close growing up, I do not have family members to ask. I have been building this tree mostly blind. My current sticking point is Charles Bastian, my great-grandfather. I do not know who his parents are, so going further back has been a challenge. I have two possible families that may be connected, and through future blog posts, I hope to work out which one (if either) is the right one.

I welcome any questions or feedback, and will respond as quickly as possible. Thanks for joining my on my journey!

Stacey Bastian Stewart