INTRODUCTION

The lure of writing fiction is that you do not have to be accurate, you just have to be sensational. If a writer embellishes history, it is called historical fiction. My experience with public records, family records, and family memories (which I call family lore) prompts me to conclude that most family histories ought to be labeled historical fiction. But error is part of the mystery and contributes to the thrill of finding a supposedly correct piece of the puzzle.

My father, Kay P. Brantner, never did talk much about family history. His tactic was to provide a few tidbits, and then move the conversation on to something else. He seemed neither proud nor ashamed of the family's past. His death in 1973, however, increased my desire to document the family history. I persuaded my mother to write what she could remember. In 1977 she handed me her little spiral notebook containing 40 handwritten pages, and some of the old family pictures. She had done a remarkable job of matching events with dates. It was not, however, until the arrival of a personal computer in 1987 that I began writing in earnest. Obviously, it has been an on-again, off-again endeavor.

In 1989 my sisters Irene Lemley and Doris Maness provided me their recollections and unwittingly became co-authors. Their profuse contribution is included, with only the minimal editing necessary for conformity to style and chronological flow. In addition, Irene's extensive research in Texas counties and contact with relatives has continued, and has been invaluable. These individual contributions are cited in some instances, but more often not.

Desiring to produce more than a listing of births, marriages, and deaths, I have tried to incorporate some of the complementary history. These sources are documented in the Bibliography, but special recognition must be given to Fred Arrington's A History of Dickens County for both the history of the County and its Red Mud settlers. Many pieces of Arrington's information were incorporated, often without specific citation.

Population Census references are shortened to indicate only the date, place, and name (head of household). Complete references are shown in the Bibliography. Many of our forebears were migrating in the late 1800s. It is unfortunate that the 1890 Census was lost, essentially in total, in a fire.

I have written with the third-person point of view to eliminate the personal pronouns and to help keep the story focused. I wanted it to be "their" story, not mine or ours. I found that to be more difficult in the late chapters.

I have written with three generations of family in view: my siblings, our children, and theirs. My approach has been one of documentation rather than entertainment. My priority was the early years, hoping to provide a foundation upon which we siblings could expand our individual stories for our children and grandchildren.

As long as the earth remains, this story has no end. But the teller has to find a place to pause. To find that place, I had to halt the perpetual search, rely upon "the preponderance of the evidence," and present the people, the places, and the dates as they appear to me at the moment. May the pondering of all the searchers continue!

Charles Ronald Brantner
1998