Saturday, December 31, 2016

Thomas Adcock's 1860 Agricultural Schedule Entry

Friday's #genchat has me examining an 1860 Agricultural Schedule

I try to catch #genchat on Twitter when I can.  This past Friday(Dec 30) was a #genchat night and the topic was non-population schedules.  I haven't really worked with those a great deal so I went looking thru some of them today.  I found my 3rd Great Grandfather Thomas Adcock in the 1860 Agricultural Schedule for Dekalb County Tennessee.It really does give you some idea of your ancestors position in the community and what life must have been like for them.  As expected my Thomas didn't have much. Thomas Adcock's entry recorded:  3 improved acres, 30 unimproved acres,  His farm value was listed as $300. The value of his farm tools and machinery was listed at $10.  He didn't own any horses but had 1 milch cow and 3 other cows, 9 sheep and 9 pigs.  The total value of his livestock was listed at $100.  He did have 1000 bushels of Indian corn though and 12 lbs of wool.   Other items were 2 bushels of peas or beans, 10 bushels of Irish Potatoes and 200 lbs of butter.Thomas was already poor before the Civil War.

The information from the Federal Population census for the same year shows that he was 43 years old with his wife and 6 of their children still living at home. I hope they had some chickens. Thomas would enlist in the Confederate Army's 1st Infantry Battalion Tennessee Company C. He was captured and taken to Camp Morton Indiana. More information can be found in his Confederate Pension Application and at my webpage which lists his answers from his application and also some of the other applications from that area including his Widow's Confederate Pension Application.




This is the front section of the entry which is found on the right side of the  page.  Addition information is located on the back of that page shown below.  I included a few neighbors on each side of him in order to give an idea of where he ranked





I have listed the headings for the columns of the 1860 Agriculture census schedule below to give you some idea of what information was gathered.  It is kind of hard to tell from the record itself so I had to get some of the headings by looking thru a few pages and finding the least blurred.


1860 Agriculture Census Column Headers

  1. Owner, Agent or Manager of Farm
  2. Acres  Improved
  3. Acres Unimproved.
  4. Cash Value of Farm
  5. Value of farming implements & machinery
  6. Livestock:  Horses
  7. Livestock:  Asses & Mules
  8. Livestock:  Milch Cows
  9. Livestock:  Working Oxen
  10. Livestock:  Other Cattle
  11. Livestock:  Sheep
  12. Livestock:  Swine
  13. Value of Livestock
  14. Wheat, Bushels of
  15. Rye, Bushels of
  16. Indian Corn, Bushels of
  17. Oats, Bushels of
  18. Rice, lbs of
  19. Tobacco, lbs of
  20. Ginned Cotton bales of 400 lbs
  21. Wool lbs of
  22. Peas & Beans, Bushels of
  23. Irish Potatoes, Bushels of
  24. Sweet Potatoes, Bushels of
  25. Barley, Bushels of
  26. Buckwheat, Bushels of
  27. Value of Orchard Produce $
  28. Wine, Gallons of
  29. Value of Produce of Market Goods
  30. Butter, lbs of
  31. Cheese lbs of
  32. Hay, Tons of
  33. Clover seed, Bushels of
  34. Grass Seed, Bushels of
  35. Hops lbs of
  36. Hemp, Dew Rotted Tons of
  37. Hemp, Water Rotted Tons of
  38. Other Prepared Hemp
  39. Flax, lbs of
  40. Flax seed, bushel of
  41. Silk Cocoon, lbs of
  42. Maple Sugar, lbs of
  43. Cane Sugar, hhds of 1000 lbs
  44. Molasses gallons & from what made
  45. Beeswax lbs of
  46. Honey, lbs of
  47. Value of Homemade Manufactures
  48. Value of Animals Slaughtered

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Bazell Riddle --Warren Co Tennessee




"Tennessee Probate Court Books, 1795-1927," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:2:77TV-BV3R?cc=1909088&wc=M6Q7-YNG%3A179838801%2C180033501 : 22 May 2014), Warren > image 112 of 488; county courthouses, Tennessee.

The following is the text from the first page of the project containing the information about what was included, how the project is identified and those involved with the project.

Tennessee  Records of Warren County
Inventories, Sale Bills, Statements, etc.
Book 1 1827-1844
Part 1
Historical Records Project
Official Project No 465-44-3-115
Copied under Works Progress Administration

Mrs. John Trotwood Moore, State Librarian and Archivist, Sponsor
Elizabeth D. Coppedge,  State Director of Women's and Professional Project
Penelope Johnson Allen, State Supervisor
Caroline Small Kelso, Supervisor
Mary Cantrell, Copyist
Mary Cantrell and May Manning, Typist
April 13, 1938


So I went in search of the microfilm of the book from which the WPA made the transcription.


"Tennessee Probate Court Books, 1795-1927," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S7WF-SJQC-S9?cc=1909088&wc=M6QW-MMS%3A179838801%2C180050501 : 22 May 2014), Warren > image 74 of 328; county courthouses, Tennessee.

Not a lot of difference Indexed as Brazell Riddle pg 96 by the WPA project I was unsuccessful searching for him in the two indexes that were in the book.
From the Inventories, Sales, Wills, 1827-1844, Vol. 01 portion of the records.Between Document dated Jan 2nd 1834 and A will published April 2nd 1835

I have two questions.  Were there 3 items(Horse, bridle, and saddle) for sale or 2(Horse bridle, and saddle).  I know nothing about horses horseback riding or their value today or in that time period.  $31 seems rather low.

Also I'd like to know who are the 5 heirs?


This Bazell is likely the Bazil Riddle that I believe was either the father of Amelia "Milly" Riddle Hitchcock or an older brother.  I find him first receiving land in Warren Co TN 

Entered a claim on Aug 24th 1807
Surveyed May 21st 1808
State Granted March 1st 1809
Recorded May 5th 1809
Total Land in Grant:  93 and 1/2 acres off of Collins River
Sold:  April 10th 1810   9 1/2 acres to  John Helms $40

Land Surveyed:  May 12th 1825  Blue Springs Creek
Sold 28 acres to Wm Edde(likely father to Joseph Edde son-in-law of  Millie Riddle Hitchcock)

Bazil is indexed as Bogle Riddle in the 1805 Roane Co. Tennessee Tax list.  Milly Riddle would marry in Roane Co. TN on March 11th 1806 to George Hitchcock.

On the 1836 tax list and 1840 Federal Census, there is a Britton Riddle living in Warren County.  Could he be kin to Bazil or Milly?





Monday, December 19, 2016

Why I have not tested my mtDNA path

After reading Roberta Estes' blog post about mtDNA The Forgotten Test, I thought about the reasons why I haven't mtDNA tested.  Let's face it....I'm cheap.  I repurpose many fabrics and mend clothes til they are thread bare.  I save seeds and divide plants and bulbs every chance I get.  So my reason would be a financial one in that I can't justify the amount of money spent on a mtDNA test because it doesn't answer as many questions for me as an autosomal test.  If I did do the mtDNA testing I would want to do more than the minimal test and I don't have that kind of extra money available. The atDNA testing is all I have had and all I have bought for several others while they were on sale.  Thinking about this also made me want to recognize the ancestors who are responsible for passing me my mtDNA

Until then I remain a mtDNA carrying descendant of:
Beatrice Luna Cooke
Minnie Acuff Luna
Emma Frances Hale Acuff
Nancy Arminda Hitchcock Hale
Charlotta "Lottie" Fleming Hitchcock
Nancy Combs Fleming
Wife of Mason Combs Jr.

How to send a Share link of your DNA results from your AncestryDNA test

I've found it useful to send share links to some of my closer matches so they can see who matches my test. The top question after I do that has always been "How did you do that?"
I thought it might be useful to post about the process and include some other information from that page as well.  Hope that anyone wanting to know how to do this or explain it to others will find this helpful.

In order to send a share link you need to be viewing the DNA Insight page for the kit which you want to share.

It should look something like the above image across the top.  You will want to click on the button with the Gear logo and the word Settings.  That will take you to a page which has several different options: Email Settings, Privacy, Family Tree Linking,  Research Content, Sharing DNA results and Sharing Ethnicity Results.  Below I have two images showing how how the page should look at the top and as you scroll down to the section where you can send invites to view your DNA results.  I did edit out the names of people that have a share link TO my DNA results in the example.



Scroll down to the section called Sharing DNA results


If you had sent DNA share invites prior to this there would be a listing of users that were allowed to view your results as well as their permissions/role and the REMOVE buttons which you could use to "unshare" at any time.

Once you click on the Invite Others to Access DNA Results you will have a window pop up which looks like this.  From here you can add emails or usernames of people whom you want to have access to the DNA test.  Choose Roles for that person(typically Guest unless you want them to be able to change trees to which your DNA is linked.)  Click on Send Invitation and you should get a notification when they accept your share link.


Column along the Right side of Webpage
Please note in the column along the right side of this page you will find the links to Download Your Raw Data or to Delete Your Test(This requires that you enter your password--This can not be undone) 

Friday, December 16, 2016

Who are you and how do you know my Grandmother? --Part 3


Another clue found

I was searching through a manila envelope that contained letters which my Grandmother had saved from the veteran's administration and from the company from which my Grandfather retired.  As I was pulling out the papers I notice a tattered empty envelope. (shown below)

I believe this is the envelope in which the Christmas card that Flora sent to my Grandmother was mailed.  I laid the card on the envelope and it is the perfect size for the card.
That combined with the Postmarked date &  place and the partial name and address of the sender on the back are certainly making it look like that is the case  The handwriting on the envelope also matches that in the card.  Sure it could be from one sent at a different time but given the details mentioned in the letter inside of the card I have very little doubt.

So how close did I come using the directories to find the likely time that the letter could have been sent?  I said  "some time in the period from the publication of the 1954 and the 1956. Compare that to what the post mark says Dec 21st 1955 at 10:30am.

If I'd found this envelope when I found the card I probably would have never discovered the City Directories at the Akron- Summit Library"s website

New Address

About 10 years back I had looked at all the crumbling envelopes in my Grandmother's collection and noted the postmark and address(the when and where) of where she was.living. She had lived at many different rental homes in East Nashville after they moved from Old Hickory Tennessee.  This address is one that was not on any other envelope I had found.  So now I knew WHEN the letter was sent.  Still gathering more clues on how she might have known my Grandmother.  

Thursday, December 15, 2016

City Directories contain much more information than you might expect



Just a few of the many bits of information you can find in a City Directory


  • Guide to the Abbreviations
  • Alphabetical List of Names  Example:  From the Smith entries of the Akron 1968-69 Directory.


  • Street Directory
  • Numerical Telephone List
  • Apartment Buildings .
  • Associations and Clubs
  • Business Directory
  • Buyers' Guide
  • Church Directory
  • City & County Officials
  • State & Federal Officials/Government
  • Fire Department
  • Parks.
  • Schools:  Public and Private
  • Postal Information
  • Public Buildings and Halls
Full Directories listings for Akron OH can be found at the Akron Summit library's website on the Historic City Directories page.

An added bonus is that you can use all this information to find other information.  For example you might look up someone's place of employment in the Business Directory section after viewing their Name Entry which lists where they worked.  In some directories companies will list employees.  Of particular importance to me are the years after 1940.  I'd like to fill in some blanks on my family during that time period.  Find out if there are directories covering the area where your ancestors lived.



Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Who are you and how do you know my Grandmother? --Part 2

Questions about Flora's letter and her connection to my family

What year was the letter written?
Flora's daughter was married  to her first husband in 1943.  The daughter would have been divorced some time prior to 1956 as that is when her ex husband marries again.  This leads me to believe that the letter was written some time between 1943-1956.  I searched for a source for divorce records for area of Akron, Summit Co Ohio, USA but didn't find one available on-line.  So I did what I would have done if I were "on the ground" in that area.  I went to their library by way of the website.  As it happens the Akron-Summit Co. Library has done a wonderful job of getting many of the City Directories on-line.  One of the most impressive ones I have seen.  I now totally get the importance of City Directories and how they contain a vast amount of information.

By checking the Directories for the years from 1940 to 1956 I was able to get an idea of the time period in which it was written.  The 1956-57 Directory shows Flora's Son-In-Law and her Daughter living apart from each other.  They were together in the 1954-1955 listing so I think it's safe to say that the letter was written some time in the period from the publication of the 1954 and the 1956.  Flora's son-in-law marries again in June of 1956 so it may be closer to 1954 when they separated and divorced.


Where is their oldest son in 1940 was he already in the Navy?  If so he should be enumerated at the location which he is stationed.

 326. Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines.-Enumerate soldiers, sailors, and marines in the Army or Navy of the United States as residents of the place where they usually sleep in the area where they are stationed. If, therefore, any household in your district reports that one of its members is a soldier, sailor, or marine stationed elsewhere, do not report him as a member of that household. 

Full instructions for 1940 Census are located HERE  (pdf file)


I'm continuing to search for the oldest son in the 1940 Census.  I was able to request a copy of his obit and found that he was living with his sister in 1974 when he passed away.   Oddly it didn't mention the younger brother who I had found through public records and marriage records living in Dade Co FL.  He would pass 6 years after his brother's passing.

As I was searching the directory I also came across some of my Dad's paternal cousins who had moved north from Tennessee to Akron Ohio for work.  Because they had lived in Indiana a good bit of time when I knew them,  I'd forgotten about their Akron Ohio connection.  So I've sent a message to see if any of them know who Flora might be and her connection.

At this point I still kind of think the connection is a chance meeting when my Grandmother went to see her son who was at the naval hospital in the Washington DC area.  Add to this too that I also noticed that Flora's Social Security Application was completed in Washington DC. The years 1952-1954 are listed in parenthesis in the place where the application year is usually located.  These years differ from the time period that my Grandmother would have been there.  I wonder if the older son was living in Washington from 1940-1954.  By the time she wrote the letter in the card he would have been in the hospital in Chillicothe Ohio.

Much more information and research is needed.  A lot of clues but no clear answers yet.








Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Akron-Summit Co. Public Library(OH)

I've been working on a FAN research project today which led me to seek out records from the Akron-Summit County Ohio area.  Let me just say how wonderful it is to see a Special Collections department that has so much on-line for those interested in the local history.  The Akron-Summit County Library  has a wonderful Database section.  The range of dates which are covered by the City Directories they have available on-line is so very impressive and was so helpful in my search for information from the 1940s & 1950s.

The Date Range:  1859-1969
Information Included:  Names, Occupation, Place of Employment, Home Address
Information about businesses, city and public school officials and a vast assortment of items that changed to adapt to the times(think postage stamp cost or notary public listings)

They also have an obituary index from which you can order copies.  Digital(free) or copies by mail.
I only wish I had ancestors from that area.




Sunday, December 11, 2016

Who are you and how do you know my Grandmother? --Part 1

The Holidays
As the holidays approached  I found myself as I do every year looking through my wrapping paper, gift bags & cards and trying to determine what I need to buy more of in order to get thru the current season.  Inevitably, I also find the box which contains cards I have received over the years as well as some older cards that people sent to my paternal Grandmother.  One from her sister, Kitty Jakes Bell, another from Cora Jakes Gibson(another of her sisters)...one from her niece Olive Bell Shriver and her husband Sam.  One of the cards was from someone I couldn't place in her family and I thought it might be a neighbor or someone she has rented a house from as they lived in East Nashville rentals a bunch after moving from Old Hickory and before she moved to Dickson.  I looked inside to get the name which I believe I had done before and just  figured that the card was from family.  In addition to the name I also noticed faded ink across the entire card.  At first it looked like a letter had been in the card and faded, but on further examination I can see that the sender, a lady I'll call Flora had written a letter on the folded inside of the card.  The letter told of some hardships she and her family were going thru and made me further curious about how they knew each other.  My curiosity was peaked even further when she asked about my Uncle Morris and sent her regards.

Clues from the Letter
Flora and her husband live in Akron Ohio on Austin Avenue.  She gave vague details of the health problems she and her husband had been facing.  Flora's son was in the hospital in Chillicothe (OH?) and apparently it isn't a minor hospital stay as she mentioned not having written to him in awhile.  This leads me to believe that it may have been a Veteran's hospital so I want to check the census records for this family and see what I can find. Flora's daughter is also having a hard time. Her husband has left her and her children(Flora's Grandchildren) at the holidays.  What little information I do know is pulling at my heartstrings and I want to know how it turned out for these people....and yes...how they know my grandmother.  I note all of the clues to her identity in the letter so that I can use it in my research.

1940 Akron Ohio but not at the address on the card.

  • Flora was born about 1902 which puts her at about 11 years younger than my grandmother.
  • Her husband works at a Rubber Plant( Goodyear or Firestone?)
  • Living at home is a daughter age 17 and a son age 15
  • Living at the same house in 1935 (Stanford Ave, Akron, Ohio)

A check of the 1930 reveals a bit more
  • Flora and her husband have a son age 11 who isn't in their household in 1940
  • Flora's husband was working at the Rubber Shop(maybe the plant hadn't expanded at that time)
  • All are Born in Ohio and there parents were also according to this census.
  • Flora was 15 when she married and her husband 21.

Checking some of the suggested records that pop up when I view the census records at Ancestry.com lead me to find Flora's marriage record as well as marriage records for her daughter.  The older son was in the Navy as I find his death noted with U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File as well as a FindAGrave listing which shows his Navy marker..  I wonder if this is how the family would know my Uncle Morris.  He was in the Navy briefly in 1945.  Was the older son the one who was in the hospital

More clues....and more questions.
I want to look for a divorce record for the daughter.  That will give me an idea of what time period the letter was written which will tell me how far back their friendship goes.  I wonder if Ohio has the divorce court records and rulings at Ancestry like Michigan does.  

Lots to think about.  





Saturday, December 10, 2016

Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Company Bill



A Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Company Statement 
from my Grandmother's box of saved papers & scrapbook

Not sure of the date of this bill although the Form # appears to
be a print of a form from 1951.  This would have been most likely
from telephone service in  Old Hickory Tennessee, or the Nashville area.

 


List of abbreviations from the back of the phone statement
Click To Enlarge
















Tuesday, December 06, 2016

1840 Van Buren Co TN Will of Robert Boyd--caught in the middle of a county formaton
















The above image is a snippet from the inventory of the Estate of Robert Boyd.  Robert's will was written in 1837(Oct 26th) in Warren Co Tennessee.  Van Buren Co TN was formed from part of Warren Co TN along with parts of White County & Bledsoe County. The act to form Van Buren county passed on January 3rd 1840 but according to the information in the act at the TN.gov site, it appears records didn't start until April 1840.

It looks at though Robert Boyd's probate records were caught in the middle of the formation of Van Buren Co. TN.  A note from Will Armstrong, Warren County Clerk states that it(the will in the Van Buren Co Record Book) is a true copy of the original will on file in his office.  So although the probate records start in Warren Co TN...they end in Van Buren Co TN but do have a copy of all the will there.  In the will Robert left pretty much everything to his wife Jane to use in the support of his "little daughter" Ann. He appointed William Logue and John Boyd as executors. The listing of inventory along with the sale starts May of 1840 and wraps up July the 8th of 1840.  I should note that although Wm Logue is listed on the will as executor along with John Boyd I don't see any more listings of him as a witness or purchaser at the estate sale.  This adds more weight to this being William Marrs Logue, Robert Boyd's Father-In-Law who is known to have passed before September 4th 1839(I need to do a blog post on his estate info.). Wm Marrs Logue was the maternal 1/2 brother of my 4th Great Grandfather, John Fleming.




Person making purchases at the estate sale:  John Boyd, Isaac Hillis, James Hillis, Lemuel Romons, Wm L. Fleming, D. C. Russell, Wm McDonald, Jacob Romons, Wm Johnson, J.A. Miller, Thomas Meders,  Isaac? Tomas, Jesse Mooneyham. Wm McDaniel, Elisha Mayfield, George Ledbetter, Wiley Johnson, and John Russell




"Tennessee Probate Court Books, 1795-1927," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-2RKT-G9?cc=1909088&wc=M6QQ-L38%3A179830201%2C179855401 : 22 May 2014), Van Buren > image 3 of 186; county courthouses, Tennessee.