Terry Dacus

Ancestors

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Terry Dacus [send private message]

Biography

He joined the Marines in 1968 when he was 17. After boot camp he went to Naval Air Station Millington, TN for aviation mechanical training. Served in the Vietnam War from May 1969 to March 1970. He was assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 39, Quang Tri, Marine Helicopter Squadron HMM 262. He flew combat mission as an aerial gunner aboard a CH 46 helicopter. He was awarded air combat crew wings with three stars, seven air medals for 140 combat missions flown, Navy Commendation Medal and numerous other awards. When he wasn’t flying his main job was working on the aircraft hydraulic systems. He return from Vietnam and reenlisted at MAS New River, NC. Transferred to Millington Naval Air Station and became an instructor teaching aviation fundamentals. Discharged in 1977. He went to State Tech in Memphis and received a degree in Industrial Maintenance. Worked at a couple of jobs (City of Memphis Hospital, Maintenance. Dept. and Memphis Butchers Div. Maintenance dept. ) before landing at the Kroger Co. Delta Division, Eng. Dept. He was hired as a total store mechanic but his main job was maintaining HVAC and refrigeration equipment in seven store located in Northwest MS. He spent thirty five years with Kroger in various capacities, His last job was Safety Coordinator for the Eng. Dept. He lives in AR. fishing, hunting, camping and traveling.

How I Got Hooked

It all started when I went to a funeral in a small rural community. All the people of the area and the relatives of the deceased knew each other and all about each other’s families. ‘On my way home I got to thinking how I knew almost nothing about my father’s or mother’s families. Most of my older relatives had passed away by that time, so I really had no one to ask about our family history. And, so the quest began.

When my father died he had some letters from his father dating back to the early 1900’s. I retrieve these letters from there worn out shoe box and began to read the ones from World War I. I found out about some of my grandfather's brothers, his sister and his mother and father. Addresses on the letters helped me locate areas to research. My search started in early BC (before computers) at the library in Covington, Tennessee. From there it spread to state archives in Tennessee, Virginia, Mississippi, and South Carolina as well as visits to local cemeteries. The Family History Center in Memphis, Tennessee gave me more clues to my family and genealogy societies in Tennessee provided information on how to do research.

I contacted other Dacus researchers and obtained a couple of family books.

Far Away and Long Ago, Facts, Conclusions, and Deductions about the Dacus Family, By James Alexander Dacus & Anna Lynne Dorsey Dacus of Fort Worth, TX, Jan. 1983.

A Man from Dacia, The Beginnings of a Sparse and Spotty Record of The Dacus Family in America Circa 1700 to the Present, By Robert Warren Dacus, July 15, 1991. (Neither of these had been published at the time).

I also started a research group in the mid 1990’s to share information about Dacus and related families. We provided each other with documents, family trees, worked though the false information we all had gathered and came to consensus on what was correct. This was some of my best time researching my Dacus line. It was a great group and I learned a lot from them. Then in 1998, I lost my computer hard drive. But, not to despair, I had a tape back up! Alas, I tried to restore my files, but discovered the tape that was going to save me was corrupted and thus, ended my research for the time.

I would like to acknowledge all the people in this research group who helped in my research: Thomas E Wilson, Susan Griffith, Stephen & Sheila Dacus, Sherman Jumper, Pat Ervin Trask, Lisa Knight, Lee R Cunningham, Jay Shore, Fred Odom, Kathy Williams, Phyllis Solter, Debbie Stewart, Doyle Dacus, Rene’ Dacus Santana, and a few more whose names are lost to me. When I retired in 2015, I decided to start again, culling through my paper files and diving deeper into on-line research.

"" Research Notes""

The Name Dacus as Found in Historical Documents

I came across the following items while researching the Dacus name. I cannot say if they are true but are interesting tidbits of possible ancient family lore.( I cut and pasted the below in the mid nineties to my research notes.)

THE EARLY SETTLERS OF EUROPE

The "Bavarian Chronicle" records in detail the earliest settlers of Europe after the Deluge. Their encampments and habitations have been recovered by archaeological research and are labeled the "Neolithic" migrations that traversed the Danube and adjoining valleys. Shem or Tuitsch came into Europe with members of his family, as well as with certain of the sons of Japheth and two of the sons of Ham who were of the white stock. From these have descended most of the present-day nations of Europe. The descendants of Shem include many sons of Joktan, son of Heber, and a number of the sons of Mash, son of Aram. The Biblical names (Genesis 10) of the grandsons and great-grandsons of Shem are clearly preserved in most instances by the "Chronicle". In the following chart, together with the names of the patriarchal settlers, appear either the areas settled, the tribes which sprang from them, or their Biblical names. An historical or classical map should be consulted for location of geographic names. In later times the descendants of these early heroes migrated west, south, north and east under population pressure.

Dukes settled by Shem in Europe and the Identity, or Area settled:

1. Sarmata, son of Joktan Settled Sarmtia; is the Hazarmaveth of Gen. 10:26; colonized south Arabia; a son Tanaus gave his name to the river Tanais, now called the Don. 2. Dacus, son of Mash, grandson of Aram settled Dacia, later also colonized in Denmark 3. Geta, another son of Mash (included in Anderson's "Royal Genealogies", but not in "Bavarian Chronicle") from whom came certain of the Getae of Roman history 4. Gotha Gether (v .23) from whom came the Goths 5. Tibiscus, late Latin spelling of Tiobo, an Italian spelling of Jobab (Gen. 10:29) settled on the river Theiss or Tibiscus; descendants migrated into Germany (see "Encyclopedia Britannica", article Archeologyy") 6. Moesa, Mash (Gen. 10:23) settled Mysia and Moesia 7. Phrygus, or Brigus, son of Mash (Gen. 10:23) settled in Phrygia and Europe There are thirty-two names listed altogether.

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An important document for the notion of Dacia as well as the origin and history of her descendants is Chronicle Roll or Moseley Roll, a historical chronicle whose original was lost but whose copies and manuscripts of these documents made in the fifteenth century during his reign Henry VI, can be found at: "Univeristary College" in London, "Corpus Christi College" in Cambridge and "Bibliotheque Nationale" in Paris. This document is a genealogy of the German peoples, a legend of them. Thus, Steph, Steldius, or Boerinus is the first inhabitant and initiator of the German peoples who have nine descendants, the nine ancient Germanic peoples, originators: Geate, Dacus, Suethedus, Fresus, Gethius, Wandalus, Iutus, Gothus, Cinrinicius. (Note: the spelling in Latin on the roll is Dachus)

Dacia country in the old Latin texts of the Middle Ages, also called Dania or Demark. So, we find two groups of populations in two different geographic regions in Europe, bearing the same names of Dacians and Dacia.

What is interesting, as historical dating, Dacia in Eastern Europe was mentioned in the written history of the 2nd century AD while the West, much later, around the IV century AD

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"DACUS - masculine; a Dacian; from the Dacians, a warlike people on the lower Danube. ^[4]

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The English Connection

The items below came from records I downloaded from Ancestry; they show us that the Dacus name appeared in early English records. I have quite a listing of births, marriages, etc. in English records from the Family History Center which I did not include. It appears the Dacus family and name has strong connections to England. I have been unable to make a connection of our patriarch John Dacus (ca 17?? - 1781-82) to the English Dacus’.

Year 1070 William Dacus (Dennis) 1204 William Dacus 1086 Ouuinus...Oin... described as Dacus 1302 Jellanus Dacus the Dane Ca 1653 Sir Thomas Dacus

[It may take a long time to unravel how our family may be connected to the Dacus’ listed in the early history of England. I think it will come through Y DNA testing.]

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Sources

• First-hand information. Entered by Terry Dacus at registration.