An Impressive Member of the FAN Club

Most genealogists recognize the acronym FAN popularized by Elizabeth Shown Mills. For those not acquainted with the term, FAN represents your ancestor's friends, associates, and neighbors.

Micah Taul, then clerk of courts in Wayne County, Kentucky, granted marriage bonds on 22 Jan 1811 to two couples. The bondsman for Charles Harris to wed Dicey Davis was John Harris, believed to be his father. The bond states Dicey was "of age" and that Charles' parents were present and consented. The other marriage that day was Joseph Mays to Nancy Davis. Presumably Nancy was Dicey's younger sister for John Davis, presumably their father, consented to that marriage. Nicholas Banes served as bondsman. Mays' parents also consented according to the record.

I wondered who Micah Taul was. Born in Maryland in 1785, he moved with his parents to Wayne County, Kentucky, in 1787. His admission to the bar at the age of sixteen in 1801 is notable. He began serving as county clerk that same year. He served as a Colonel in the War of 1812. He served a term as United States representative from 1815 to 1817. He later moved to Winchester, Tennessee where he practiced law and eventually to Talladega County, Alabama where he owned a plantation near Mardisville. Taul's son Micah later served as Alabama's Secretary of State.

Taul wrote memoirs. The originals no longer exist, but they were serialized in the Register of Kentucky State Historical  in 1929 and typescripts are available at University of Kentucky and Appalachian State University. Appalachian State's special collections contain letters from a Taul descendant.

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Sources:

Find A Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25309452/micah-taul : accessed 28 May 2018), memorial for Micah Taul (1785-1850), memorial no. 25309452, citing Taul Family Cemetery, Mardisville, Talladega County, Alabama; memorial created by Bill McKern, 16 Mar 2008.

"Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-893Y-BLFB?cc=1804888&wc=QD3Q-H3V%3A1589735718 : 17 May 2018), Charles Harris to Dicey Davis and Joseph Mays to Nancy Davis, 22 Jan 1811, Wayne County, Kentucky, FHL film 005773126 > image 172 of 707; citing record at Madison County Courthouse, Richmond.

"Memoirs of Micah Taul," Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, vol. 27, no. 79 (Jan. 1929): 343-380; vol. 27, no. 80 (May 1929): 494-517; vol. 27, no. 81 (Sept. 1929): 601-627. 

"Micah Taul," Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micah_Taul : accessed 28 May 2018).

Micah Taul Papers, 1848-1978. Belk Library, Appalachian State University, W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Collection 170. 2 folders. At the time of writing, the special collections web site did not load. Information obtained from Worldcat (https://worldcat.org/ : accessed 28 May 2018).

Why I Became a Genealogist

In the mid-1980s and from 1989-1999, I lived in Cincinnati. At that time the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County's collection often appeared in top ten lists of genealogy research facilities in the United States. I always loved history and often saw lots of people researching their family histories as I used the main library.

On one visit home to Mississippi, my mother and grandmother (Nanny) discussed a trip they made to try to find out more about more about Nanny's grandfather Walton (or Walter) Harris. Nanny believed he came from Clinton, Kentucky, or at least that relatives resided there. The family story states he drove cattle to somewhere around Starkville, Mississippi. He stopped to water his horse and the cattle at the Mosely farm in Giles County, Tennessee where he met the woman who became his wife. She and a couple of female friends or relatives sunbathed in view of the men. After the cattle drive, he returned to the farm, taking her as his bride, never returning to Kentucky. I decided to try researching the story, hoping to locate Walton's parents in Kentucky.

Driving cattle from Hickman County, Kentucky, home of the town of Clinton, to Starkville, Mississippi by way of Giles County, Tennessee did not seem a likely route, and early efforts to find a family there which fit known data about his family from other censuses failed. I spotted Clinton County, Kentucky and wondered if Nanny confused the town and county. Clinton County was established in 1835, more than a couple decades after Walton's birth. However, its parent counties held relevant records. I built a case for his parents, based largely on naming patterns. I know I was a newbie researcher and that my case did not meet the Genealogical Proof Standard. I occasionally work on that line, trying to poke holes in my theory, but so far the conclusion reached remains viable.

It appears I inherited more DNA from Walton's wife than from him, but other cousins whose kits I manage hold valuable clues. My matches indicate a connection to the family, but those of cousins hold more matches showing a relation. I look forward to a day of research at Kentucky Department of Archives and History in a couple weeks when I look for additional things to incorporate in my proof argument.

The search for Walton's family ignited an enduring passion for genealogical research. I always did love jigsaw puzzles, logic puzzles, and the mystery genre. Genealogy releases my inner sleuth!

Thoughts on New Ancestor Discoveries

Last week many people were excited about the "new" New Ancestor Discoveries rolling out on Ancestry DNA. I decided to take a look at them. I listed the New Ancestor Discoveries along with their dates for the kits I manage on Ancestry and made columns for each kit I manage. What surprised me was how little overlap my brother and father had. I had more overlap with my dad than he did, but even that wasn't perfect. For example, Dad had a hint for Malachi Watts (1793-1871) while I had a hint for Malachi's father Garrett Z. Watts (1756-1838). While I haven't figured out the exact connection for this line, I have a "hunch." I need to work forward on some of Garrett's lines to see if I can find the connection. What makes this an interesting match is Garrett's mother is supposed to be Cherokee. Our admixture shows no Native American, but of course, admixture is not very reliable. The trees from our "matches" show several variants of Garrett's mother's name.

I recognized some of the suggestions. Cassandra Parrish is a daughter of Allen Parish and his wife Elizabeth, both of whom are already in the tree. I suspect Cassandra came up as a hint because of the spelling variation and absence of a surname for her mother. John Chism is the husband of John Sheppard Anglin's sister Mary "Polly". The connection is really on Polly's parents William M. Anglin and Elizabeth "Betsy" Sheppard. Ann Eliza Abernathy is the wife of Mary Ann Harris's brother Charles Newton Harris. The common ancestors in that case are Walton A. Harris and Margaret Mosely. Several more with similar situations to these exist.

However, a handful of matches potentially useful in expanding a couple of lines are present. Our John Allred's father is unknown. We have long suspected Isaac who is "running around" the same parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama is probably a brother. Autosomal DNA confirms a kinship between the two although it cannot be determined if the relationship is sibling or cousin. Several Allreds show up in our matches: James Allred (1784-1876), Reuben Warren Allred (1815-1896), and Nancy Cynthia Allred (1840-1901). James is the person some people try to say is John's father. Unfortunately the evidence is not strong enough at this point, and I still need to complete a reasonably exhaustive search before I can build a case. Reuben and Cynthia are too young to be parents, but their family ties may help us establish a connection.I'm also excited about an Abigail Harris (1817-1889). I glanced at it quickly. It appears she was attached to a John Harris I suspect may be Walton's grandfather although she is more the age to be a sibling to Walton. I will want to see if the online tree in the "quick view" in New Ancestor Discoveries differs from the individual trees of persons we match. It's possible the trees omitted a generation also.

New Ancestor Discoveries are, therefore, a mixed bag. In most cases, the "ancestor" is probably a different relationship, but the hint received may be useful.

An Interesting Family

I stumbled across a rather interesting family (at least according to the online family trees which are in various states of documentation ranging from none to mediocre). I had copied various Harris and Davis marriages from the Lincoln County index in Mrs. Harry Kennett McAdams' book Kentucky Pioneer and Court Records: Abstracts of Early Wills, Deeds and Marriages from Court Houses and Records of Old Bibles, Churches, Grave Yards and Cemeteries (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1961). One of the marriages was for a Samuel Harris to an Elizabeth Van Cleve on 25 October 1784. (p. 112) I will admit that this Samuel Harris is in Kentucky earlier than my family appears to have been.

I decided to see if I could find anyone researching this couple in an effort to discover how these families might or might not be related to my Harris and Davis families. As I inserted the couple in a search in WorldConnect (http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/), I came up with something quite interesting just from the locations mentioned for Samuel's birth and death. Samuel was said to have been born 20 Nov 1763 in Bechman Twp., Dutchess Co., N.Y. I recognized that immediately as the area where the Beekman Patent was. At least one tree stated that he was born in neighboring Nine Partners rather than Bechman Twp., but it was still in the area. There is a note in one tree that states he was a member of the Reformed Dutch Church. His death location was listed as Pleasant Hill, Mercer Co., Ky. I immediately recognized this as what we call "Shakertown." In fact, some of the trees elaborated a bit more on this connection. It appears that Samuel and his wife Elizabeth, said to have been a North Carolina native, became Shakers in 1806. Seven children were listed in one of the trees, and it was noted that all of their sons eventually left the Shakers, but that the daughters remained. Samuel and his wife Elizabeth are said to be buried in unmarked graves at Shakertown.

I found this connection between the Beekman Patent and Shakertown to be very interesting. I'd love to do further research on this family to try to prove or disprove the claims made in the online trees.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm . . .

In the process of my efforts to make sure all my notes, photocopies, etc. are filed in a more easily retrievable manner, I began tackling a notebook that contained some of my earliest attempts in genealogy. This particular notebook contains information from at least three families that were connected with each other. I've not worked on one of the families in at least a dozen years (maybe even longer). As I am going through the materials, I'm trying to see what is in my database and what isn't, if it pertains directly, in an identifiable manner to my direct or collateral lines, and add it if necessary. For things that were attempts to crack the brick wall on this line, I'm going back to try to annotate some of the research so that I can see if I can make it a bit more meaningful to try to get past the brick wall, and typing it up (with footnotes) to get it in a more retrievable format. I've come across some interesting things.

I had handwritten notes on notebooks in 3 ring binders without reinforcements. I've discovered a page of notes with the bibliographic information missing on one of the items. What I do know about the source is that on pages 143-147 (at the very minimum) is a list of early marriages of Cumberland County, Kentucky. My notes indicate that the source stated that the county was formed in 1798 and included large parts of several counties, one of which was Wayne County. I also have a note that the list that follows was made by Mrs. Nora C. McGee before the courthouse fire of 1933. (I've summarized for you here, but I had the actual wording in my notes.) Then I included the marriages for two surnames that I was researching in Wayne County. Oh, how I wish I'd known then to make sure that the source information appeared on each page that I wrote by hand. I sent an e-mail to a couple of friends who do a great deal of research in Kentucky. I mentioned to them that I'd probably gotten it from the Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County. I also mentioned that if they couldn't identify the source that I'd have to hope that either the McClung Collection or Tennessee State Library & Archives had it. One of them quickly replied that it was not one source and that it was probably another which was available at TSLA. To look at that source is now on my "to do" list for my October visit to TSLA.

Since I'm trying to identify the parents of Dicey Davis who married Charles Harris in Wayne County in 1811, I thought it might be helpful if I looked at some online family trees to see if any of them could shed some light on some of the marriages that I had collected. We all know how entertaining some of those trees can be, especially the undocumented ones. For example, I found the same marriage attributed to one husband who was said to have belonged to different sets of parents. I was attempting to locate a Marice Carter who married a Betsey Harris 10 Dec 1806 in Cumberland Co., Ky. I found a Morris Veale Carter, who married a Nancy Brown in 1813 in Nelson Co., Ky., whose parents were listed by one researcher as Edward Carter and Margaret Mason, but by most researchers (including ones with a greater degree of documentation) as Peter Carter and Amelia Veale. None of these trees identify an earlier marriage to a Betsey/Elizabeth Harris, but at least I have an annotation about it which might help in unpuzzling something in the future.

Then you have the cases of the underage marriages. Did an 18-year-old man marry a 10-11 year old girl as one tree seemed to indicate in the marriage of Robert Davis to Sally Smith in Lincoln County, Kentucky in 1796? The tree, which lacks documentation, states that Robert was born in 1778 and was the son of Robert Davis and Jane Jopling. It states that Sally was born in 1785/86 to Martin Smith and Hannah/Joannah Stephens. Do we have incorrect birth dates? Or is this a case of misidentifying the wife? Or did an 18 year old really marry and underage girl? Once again, I have an annotation with plenty of questions for further research attached to this one for further investigation.

I'm not a person who uses online family trees as a source for a final report. I'd much prefer to get as close to the original records as possible. These trees only provide clues for me. I want to see if I can build the families from the original records. I just need to know what other people are saying about the relationships and see if I come to the same conclusions from my own research. If there are disagreements between my conclusions and theirs, can I resolve the conflicts? This is a case where my annotated notes will prove more helpful than my genealogy software. I have not identified any of these families as my own, although they are in the same area as my families.

Interesting Household

I'm transcribing the 1850 Bullitt County, Kentucky census right now trying to reach 10,000 before tomorrow night. I decided it might be attainable if I worked on it enough. I found an interesting household. The household is that of Nathan Harris. It's a pretty typical farm household in most aspects. The reason I found it interesting is that Nathan (age 29) has a son Smith in his household. Now that's a name that you just don't see that often as a first name, but my gg-grandfather Walton A. Harris (b. 1812 in KY) also named one of his sons' Smith Harris. I have little reason geographically to believe that Nathan could be one of Walton's unidentified brothers, but I will eventually pursue it just to check it out just because of the son's name.

The other thing that is interesting about the household is that one of the two "boarders" (I'm calling them that since relationships are not stated in the 1850 census and the surname is different) has a rather interesting occupation. It is "learning English." Theodore Castelman, age 22, was born in France. It's a shame that many of today's immigrants no longer feel the need to learn the language of the country in which they are residing.

On this day in 1812

On November 12, 1812, my second great grandfather Walton A. Harris was born. He is believed to be the son of Charles Harris and Dicey Davis who married 22 January 1811 in Wayne County, Kentucky. Better proof of this relationship is needed but it is based partly on recollections of my grandmother about where she heard he was born (and the state of Kentucky is corroborated by census records) and partly on naming patterns. (His first son was named Charles Newton presumably after father. His second son was named John Jasper, presumably after his grandfather John. His second daughter was called Dicey although her name was Dianna C., presumably after his mother. Some of the children were named after his wife's family.) The reason his parents have been so difficult to identify has been because Walton removed from the area in which his family lived. Family tradition states that he was on a cattle drive from Kentucky to the Starkville, Mississippi area. Along the way, they stopped to water the animals at the farm of his future father-in-law Caleb Mosely. Tradition says that his future wife Margaret was lying in a petticoat on a table when they met. He was so enamored of her that after delivering the cattle, he returned to Tennessee to wed Margaret. The best estimate of this date is in 1840 because Walton has not been located in the 1840 census, and it appears that Margaret is enumerated with her father in that year. Their first daughter was born in 1841. I have seen some estimates of their marriage date as early as 1838. No marriage record has been located. Giles County suffered a record loss in 1865.

I have no idea how much truth there is to this family story about the cattle drive and petticoats; however, in discussing it informally with professional genealogists most have said there appears to be at least some element of truth in it. Wouldn't it be neat to find a record of a sale of cattle from Kentucky to someone in the Starkville area? Mississippi State's predecessor (The Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi) was not founded until 1862 so a sale to the land grant university would not have been an option.

I haven't had a lot of time to spend researching this line prior to their arrival in Itawamba County, Mississippi. With the record loss in Giles County, it is going to be difficult. However, I am hopeful that some more progress can be made when I do get to work on this line with such a common surname.

On one census, Walton's name is spelled Walther; however, the majority identify him as Walton as does my grandmother's Bible.

Did Great Great Grandma Own a Spinning Wheel?

The answer according to the Tennessee Civil War Veterans' Questionnaire filled in by my Great Grand Uncle Charles Newton Harris is yes. Genealogue has a post that reveals why your ancestor probably only had one shirt.