Franklin County Genealogical Society

05/12/2026

Charles Donald Easterling age 90 of the Hagansport Community passed away on Sunday, May 10,2026 at his residence.

Don was born February 8,1936 to William J. and Faye P. (Hightower) Easterling in Franklin County, Texas.

Don married Beverly Ann Ryan on December 1, 1962. He was a teacher and bus driver for Rivercrest ISD for more than 30 years until his retirement. Don was a faithful volunteer with the Franklin County Genealogical Society, dedicating countless hours to researching his own family history as well as that of many others throughout the Franklin County area.

He was also a devoted member of Mount Olive Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon. Don was a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association and a member of Texas First Families. He was an avid arrowhead and archaeology enthusiast who loved all things related to history. He was also a gardening extraordinaire.

He is preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Beverly; son, Douglas Easterling; his parents, William and Faye Easterling.

Don is survived by his sons, Steven (Cynthia) Easterling and, Michael (Carol) Chamberlain; grandchildren, Joshua (Courtney) Easterling, Samantha (Matt) James, Brandi (Craig) Combs, Danielle Manetta, Danica Malone, Katie Torre; great grandchildren, Ashton, Marli, Brylee, Bradlee, Natalie, Odis, Dovie, Irene, Madden, Kazlyn, Macee, Stetson, and Judd; 4 great-grandchildren; numerous nieces, nephews, extended family and special friends

Visitation will be on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, from 6 to 8 pm at Sam B. Harvey Funeral Home and the funeral service will be on May 14, 2026, at 1pm at Sam B. Harvey Funeral Home with burial to follow at the Hagansport Cemetery. Serving as pallbearers are Kason Kelly, Joshua Easterling, Matt James, Russell Conner, Stetson Easterling, Madden James, Judd Easterling and Odis Malone.

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05/10/2026

It is with a very heavy heart that we say so long to one of our long-time volunteers and historian. Mr. Don Easterling passed away this afternoon. He has not been able to be with us due to illness since the end of January and we have missed him terribly. If you were lucky enough to have met Don, you would never forget him. He was the most knowledgeable man I have ever met. He knew the ends and outs of Franklin County and loved to discuss it with you. All you had to do was give him a name or place and he could show you on a map where it was. His memory will live on at FCGS for a very long time. I know he is rejoicing in Heaven today being with his wife, Beverly and seeing his Jesus face to face. We love you Don and you will be forever missed!

05/06/2026

Sharing for Hopkins County Genealogical Society

04/21/2026

Thank you to David Wims for the presentation at the FCGS monthly meeting Monday night. The information was very informative about the William Barrett Travis "Victory or Death" letter memorial. Hopefully enough entities will get involved to make this happen in Franklin County.

04/15/2026

The regular monthly meeting will be Monday night, April 20th at 7 p.m. in the Wayne Bryan Meeting Hall, 108 E. Main, Mt. Vernon.
David Wims will be speaking about obtaining the William Barrett Travis, hero of the Alamo, memorial plaque.
The public is invited to atend.

02/11/2026

The regular monthly meeting of FCGS will be Monday night, February 16 at 7 p.m. in the Wayne Bryan Meeting Hall, 108 E. Main St. Mt. Vernon, Texas. The guest speaker will be Mr. Patrick Chase of Sulphur Springs, Texas. A bio of Mr. Chase and his topic of presentation are attached. The public is invited to attend.

Pat Chase was raised in Knightstown, Indiana, which is located on the historic National Road. The town was named for Jonathan Knight in 1827, who was instrumental in the early civil engineering of the National Road and was the first Chief Civil Engineer for the B&O Railroad.
Chase has degree in history from Louisiana State University Baton Rouge and a degree in education from Southeastern Louisiana University. In addition to his careers in education and business, he has been a lifelong farmer and has been a breeder/trainer of Belgian draft horses. His love of horse transportation has furthered his understanding of the early transportation routes of American history. He has spent the last six years researching the life of Jonathan Knight and has rediscovered Knight’s substantial contribution to the development of the earliest days of the National Road and B&O Railroad. Chase has recently written the biography Jonathan Knight – Pathfinder of American Roads and the book is now available on Amazon. In addition to Chase’s work on the Knight book he has published numerous articles and has lectured extensively on the histories of Indiana, Texas, Michigan, agriculture, sports and equine development.
Chase is very involved with Historic Knightstown Inc., the history museum that is located on the square in Knightstown in an historic 1895 building that is owned by Chase and his business partner.
He and his wife Patricia Cade Chase reside in Sulphur Springs, Texas and Bay View, Michigan. They have three daughters, Menzie, Carrie and Molly.

Jonathan Knight 1787-1858 was an American that had a substantial influence in the development of Indiana and all of American society in the first half of the 19th century.
Knight was employed by the United State Department of War in 1825, to be the Commissioner and surveyor of the National Road through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. The National Road became the largest financial undertaking by the federal government prior to the Civil War. In 1827 the town of Knightstown, Indiana was named in his honor. Knight was the official who determined the route that the National Road took through Indiana. After completing his work on the National Road, he was hired to be the first Chief Civil engineer of the B&O Railroad, American’s first commercial railroad. Under Knight’s management the B&O started at the port of Baltimore passing over and through the Appalachian Mountains to the Ohio River, thus creating a major economic and cultural impact for those states that bordered the Ohio River. Knight was a brilliant self-taught mathematician; he was a devout Quaker that worked to stop the spread of slavery in the years prior to emancipation. Like Abraham Lincoln, Knight was a member of the Whig Party, and a proponent of Henry Clay’s American System. Knight opposed the Presidencies of Democrats Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan. Knight served in the Pennsylvania State Senate for 6 years and in 1854 was elected the United States Congress from his home of Washington, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Chase’s Power Point presentation will have over 70 slides, and he will be sharing maps and images of early Indiana history and development.

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12/20/2025

FCGS will be closed December 24, 25 and 26th for the Christmas holiday.. We will be closed December 31, January 1 and 2nd for the New Year holiday. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of our volunteers at FCGS!

12/16/2025

Thank you to everyone that came out to our Christmas fellowship tonight. The food as always was delicious!! We were honored to have Michael Gunn bring his guitar and share some Christmas songs with us!
Thank you to all of our volunteers and board members for all the hours that was put in at FCGS this year.

12/07/2025

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11/18/2025

A big thank you to the Veterans that spoke at the FCGS program tonight. Pictured are: Ron Barker, Jerry Tittle, Glenn Morris, Ed Joyce and David Wims.
Also added to the group that spoke, are Veterans that was in attendance tonight, Lester Walker, Bo Wafford and Chris VanArt.