Inroduction

Many hours of work have been put into the research and documentation of these ancestors. I hope you will benefit from the information I present here. Please let me know if you see any errors or if you can help with missing information. Photos and any relevant documents are much appreciated

I started doing research on the Eckfords in 1969. At that my Grandfather’s brothers, Eddie Eckford and Nathanial Eckford were alive. Uncle Nat told me how Elizabeth Eckford, Marvin Eckford, and Scotty Eckford (my uncle) met in New York. Of course they started discussing about how they thought they could be related. I started out to see if I could find the connection. I went back quite far in my research, but so far I have not found the connection. The Eckfords are known for being quite people. However, Uncle Eddie and his cousin, Bessie (Clemons) Calip provide me some background of the Eckfords in my family.

The oldest ancestor that I have been able to trace is Larkin Eckford. According to the 1870 census he was born 1808 in North Carolina. However the 1880 census stated South Carolina as his place of birth. My Uncle said that he was born in South Carolina. He lived in Mississippi and later moved to Texas somewhere between 1851 and 1853. Larkin, his wife Judy (Julia) and their four youngest children were willed to Sarah Ann (McGowan) Eckford in by her father, Samuel M. McGowan when he died in 1853. According the 1860 Slave Schedules, Sarah had 21 slaves in Polk County

Larkin was a Methodist Minister in Coldspring, Texas. He was married Martha Robinson on May 2, 1868 in Polk county. There were Robinsons listed in Larkin's household on the 1880 census.

The last historical document that I found was the 1891 tax records, so I believe that he probably died around between 1891 and 1892.