52 Ancestors #26 - Alcinda Alexander Bryan Hodges: Member of the RLDS Church

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Amy Crow has posted a challenge on her blog 'No Story Too Small'.

Alcinda Alexander Bryan

b. 3 Dec 1826 in Ohio  

d. 3 Apr 1908 in Limestone County, Texas

m. 25 Nov 1847 in Houston County, Texas

Spouse: Isaac James Hodges

My paternal 2nd great grandparents

Alcinda left behind a paper trail but so much is lacking. Nothing is known of her early life, siblings, and parents. She moved to Houston (Republic of Texas) in 1845. It was here that she married Isaac. There is one possible person listed on the 1850 census that could qualify as her father. His name is Lewis Bryan, born about 1782 in North Carolina. He is living alone on the census. However, the only census with Alcinda's parents birth place shows them born in Ohio.

Alcinda and Isaac were members of the Clear Creek Baptist Church in Leon County, Texas. Isaac died in 1871 leaving Alcinda a widow. She never remarried. She did make a change in her life eleven years later.

She joined the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She was baptized on February 27, 1882 in Anderson County, Texas. Anderson and Leon are adjoining counties.

Name:	Alcinda A Hodges
Birth Date:	Dec 1826
Birth Place:	Ohio
Marriage Date:	1847
Death Date:	Apr 1908
Death Place:	Mexia, Limestone, Texas
Burial Place:	Mexia, Limestone, Texas
Cemetery:	Mexia Cemetery
Spouse:	I J Hodges
Source:	RLDS Deceased Files/ Zion's Ensign Obituaries, 19:22:7/ Early Reorganization Minutes, 1872-1905, Book D/ Elkhardt, Texas, RLDS Branch Records
Notes:	Alcinda A. (Hodges) moved to Texas in 1845. She was baptized a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on 27 February 1882 by Heman C. Smith. She attended the Elkhardt, Texas Branch.

 Ancestry.com. Early Members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

I'm not sure why she made the change. Was she previously a member of the original church while in Ohio? I have not been able to obtain any other information concerning her change in religious beliefs. There is no documentation showing her children having belong to that church. Did she have siblings that were members?

Alcinda filed for Civil War Widows Pension on June 13, 1899 while living in Kosse, Limestone, Texas. The document gives much of her personal information as well as Isaac's. 

Texas State Library and Archives Commission; Austin, Texas; Confederate Pension Applications, 1899-1975; Collection #: CPA16526; Roll #: 433; Roll Description: Pension File Nos. 02913 to 09648, Application Years 1859 to 1900.

Alcinda and Isaac had nine children:

• Jacob W. Hodges 1848-1880 m. Mary H. Vardy
• Sarah Ellen Hodges 1850-after 1900 m. John Andrew Sowders (my ancestors)
• Abel James Hodges 1853-1933 m. Bernetto Rasco
• John Bryan Hodges 1854-1921 m. Lydia Margaret Holland
• Edmond D. Hodges 1855-1925 m. Alice Virginia Johnson
• Benjamin Hodges 1857
• Mary E. Hodges about 1859
• Drusilla Ann Hodges 1864-1935 m. Julius Sheldon Johnson
• Parthena Jane Hodges 1867-1955 m. William Jasper Hannah 

Alcinda is buried in the Mexia City Cemetery located in Mexia, Limestone, Texas. Who were her parents and siblings. Did she grow up in Ohio or another state? What led her to change her religious beliefs?

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