September looks great for genealogists

Wow! September looks like it will be a great month for genealogy. This is what I've heard so far.

MyHeritage:

• 1.3 billion census records for free from September 1 through September 8, 2021.
• Improvements to their online tree layout. Read more here!
• Improvements to their colorization tool.
• September Webinars from MyHeritage

FTDNA:

• FTDNA announced the MyOrigins Chromosome Painter for Family Finder.
• Other improvements coming soon to FTDNA are "exact matches" filter as search option, Updating Family Finder match dates to original match date, and the ability to accept the new raw Data format of the AncestryDNA uploads/autosomal transfers.

Ancestry.com:

• This Labor Day weekend, Ancestry® is offering free access to more than 250 million occupation records. See Crista Cowen(Ancestry's Cooperate Genealogist) talk more about this on Ancestry's Facebook Live ( from Tues. Aug 31st)
• Also see their press release about signing agreement to acquire Geneanet(French Genealogy Leader)
• The current banner says AncestryDNA updates are also in the works for September.

23&me

Labor Day Sale on their DNA kits.  Visit their site for more info.

Always check all copies of records which have been filmed multiple times.

This example from Union Co SC records(Will of James Prince--recorded 28th of September 1789) shows the value of checking BOTH copies of microfilmed records. 

Union District, South Carolina, miscellaneous records, v. 1-2, 1785-1800
Format: Manuscript/Manuscript on Film
Publication: Columbia, South Carolina : South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1974
Physical:  1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C959-696F?i=68&cat=341333

Missing(or covered?)  lower left corner

From 1974 Filming(Image 69 of 256)

Listed under the same main catalog entry and noted as follows

Another filming. Made in 1961 from originals at the Union County Courthouse, Union, South Carolina

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9P1-L3JT?i=68&cat=341333

.

From 1961 Filming(Image 38 of 174)

The catalog listing makes it appear that this is an earlier listing done by SC Dept. of Archives and History.  Image 4 of 174 makes it clear that it is not a filming by SC Dept. of Archives and History with the following notice:

"This microfilm is not an official publication of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.  All Queries concerning this film should be addressed to the Genealogical Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

50 East North Temple Street,

Salt Lake City, Utah 84150."

So in this case the earlier filming was more legible and contained the missing or covered left lower corner.  Regardless, the answer of which of the film to check when there are multiple filmings of the same records is ALL.

How are you accessing your AncestryDNA results?

If you have taken an AncestryDNA test and are viewing your results exclusively thru the AncestryDNA app you are missing out on the full experience.  It's easier for some of us who access our results thru a personal computer to forget that there are many who don't do that.  It's hard to compare results with other matches as well if you are not looking at the same layout--especially if you in one state(or country) trying to explain to someone in another place who is not seeing the same thing you see because they are using the app and you are seeing the Desktop version of the website.  So now one of my first questions that I ask other matches before comparing is how are you accessing your results?   

There is a workaround for those who do not have a computer.  Using the browser on your device, view as desktop site.  Directions on how to get to that option in Chrome are in the image below.  

It's also easier to get to the Sharing preferences when you are viewing it as a desktop site.  

See my June Blog Post for How to Invite others to view your AncestryDNA match list

We should not forget that some people do DNA tests merely for ethnicity results and have no desire to actively research their family history.  Too, there are others who don't realize there is more to it than just the ethnicity results especially if they don't see the desktop site view.  So if you have never seen your results other than in the app or mobile view, I challenge you to try just once.  You might like it.  If not, nothing lost other than a few minutes of your time.  

Pondering the 1822 Cook Divorce Petition(Rutherford Co TN)

The TN State Act granting Sally's divorce.
TN State Library and Archives
Acts of Tennessee, 1822 Chapter 203 Section 3

The divorce petition from Sally Cook that I posted about in my previous post left me with a number of questions. It was granted as shown in the image above. Who were John F Cooke's people?. With a Cook "brickwall" in this area and time period I need to know so that I can sort through the families.

The Francis Cook marriage to Sally Mosby in Mercer Co KY has to be John F Cook and Sally Mosby/Mosley as the date of the bond is the day before their marriage date which she mentions in the divorce petition.

Where is Sally in the 1820 Census. My guess is that she is in the household of family there in Rutherford Co TN because I do not see her listed in a household by herself. The signed statement about John F Cooke going off to parts unknown is made in July 1820. In May of 1820 John F Cooke is a witness to an indenture that was made in Sept of 1815 Between John Mosbey and James Will. (Mosbey is given as Mosley in Marsh's Land Deed Genealogy of Rutherford Co TN Vol 3 (1819-1823) pg 87 (Pg 426 Doc 331 of Rutherford Deed book)

The land that Sally mentions that she inherited was land she received as an heir of Samuel Mosby/Mosley(see link below to valuations of all of the lots 1805) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKX-K3ND-C?cat=255153

Others mentioned in addition to Sally Mosbey are Keltry? Mosby, Luckett Davis, Robert Mosby, William Mosbey, John Mosbey, Robert Lewis, Polly McDaniel, June Mosbey

John F Cooke made an indenture to Thomas A Harris in Feb of 1818. Thomas A Harris registers this deed in 3 Oct of 1820
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKH-CLVP?i=654&cat=358486 (Another deed book entry concerning bill of sale names Sally and more of the Moseby/Mosley bunch)

John F Cooke and Sally are witness to a deed for land between Robert Mosbey and John Mosbey(Sally's brothers) which was made 26th Aug 1815 and registered 16th June 1817 in Rutherford Co TN( Rutherford Deed Book K Pg 490 Doc 499---From Marsh's Land Deed Genealogy of Rutherford Co TN Vol 2 pg 131)

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4H-D4KJ?i=481&cat=358486

Who are two children mentioned by Sally in the divorce petition?
I found a few other researchers who had Sally and John in their tree and an interest but they did not have the divorce in their records.

There were some clues that Sally likely went back to Mercer Co KY. Also a note that John Francis Cook died in 1826. It calls him John Francis Whiting Cooke and names the children as

• William Alexander Cooke(1819-1873) married Sarah Grant
• Norbourne Berkley Cooke(1817-1854)

Also in Mercer Co KY a Buckner Miller and Robert Mosbey make bond 18 Dec 1826 for a marriage between Buckner Miller and a Sarah Cook.  I believe that those who have researched this Sarah Sally Mosby Cook do not know about the divorce and are using the date of her marriage to Buckner to estimate a time of death on John Francis Cooke.
https://sites.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/boone/grant.jf.txt

Most of the trees are "Frankenstein" in nature but it appears that John Francis Cooke might have been a son of John Esten/Ester Cooke and perhaps a grandson of Mordecai Cooke 1708-1757) There are SAR files using the lineage of William A Cooke---John and Sally and John's father John Esten Cooke.

I'll likely add to this post as I make more discoveries.

Early TN Cook Divorce--Rutherford Co. TN (1822)

I'd sent off for a copy of this 1822 TN Divorce Petition not only because it is near the area where my Cook(e)s were but because of my interest in Hardy Pope who signs the statement for the petitioner.  There is a Hardy Pope among purchasers at the estate sale of Joseph S Cook(an estate over which my known 2nd Great Grandfather Wm Clifford Cook was appointed administrator)  TSLA sent the images files to me yesterday.  At this time there is no proof what relationship W C Cook was to Joseph S Cook. I can't tell from this document if there is any connection with either Joseph S Cook or Wm C Cook. Below is my attempt at transcribing the files of the petition.  There was pretty much no punctuation and I kept the line breaks of the original documents.

Daisy Cook vs. Clarence Cook--Rutherford Co TN--Feb. 1935

I've had copies of the Rutherford Co TN Court Minutes pages concerning the divorce of my Great Uncle Clarence Cook and his 2nd wife Daisy for awhile but just recently went searching for the case file.  The full documents are on FamilySearch in the Rutherford Co. Tennessee Chancery Court Record Files and was filed in February of 1935.  They contain a lot of details and a major typo in the marriage date that gets carried throughout the entire record.  I have no idea how the error could have gone unnoticed as it causes the marriage date to be AFTER the separation date.(see dates marked with 🌞in snippet below)  Their correct marriage year is 1925 and not 1930. I have a copy of their marriage record.  No time traveling required.  Just an example of why it's important to collect every document you can about an event.

Source:  Rutherford County, Tennessee chancery court records, ca. 1817-1940, Cody, Isham vs. Trigg, John H. - Cooper, Wise A. vs. Sims, Levi [Roll #12]   Cook, Daisy vs Cook, Clarence; Snipped from image(2506 of 3156) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37K-6SX5-W?i=2505&cat=1156784