Family Friday: Webb/Siemsen

In this photo (printed in April of 1973) we see my maternal grandmother Anna Delilah Webb Slater (1891-1973) with her nephew Alan Dale Siemsen (1923-1993, his wife Delva and an unnamed black dog.

Alan's mother Mildred Evelyn Webb had died the previous month and my grandmother would pass away in October.

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Throwback Thursday: San Diego Gas and Electric Used to Have a Home Economics Department

The recipes from this undated pamphlet include a roast turkey dinner and various baked desserts.  Based on the next page it is likely that these women are Mary, Shirlee, Marie, and Thelma.  From my personal collection.

My grandma Bernice kept a little binder filled with groovy mid-century promotional recipe pamphlets from various companies.  Three of them were from the Home Economics Department at San Diego Gas and Electric.  I had no idea SDGE had an economics department!

They even had a weekly TV show on KFSD Channel 10!

The back cover of a different year.  I'm not sure who is who,

If you'd like to look at the recipes, HathiTrust digitized a circa 1960 edition of the recipe pamplet, "Holiday recipes" held by The University of California,






© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Jeremiah Warren (About 1772 - 1832), Part 2, The Caveat

Here is the Johnsons' caveat presented in the Hancock County, Georgia, Probate Court which attempted to stop the "establishment" of Jeremiah Warren's will:*

And my transcription of the above text:

Joseph Johnson & wife
vs
John Graybill &
Jesse G. Butts

Caveat to proving the will of Jeremiah Warren dec'd.

Joseph Johnson the husband of Susan
Johnson, formerly Susan Warren comes forward and caveats
the establishment of the will of Jeremiah Warren dec'd upon
the following grounds--

First     The said Jeremiah was incompetent to make a
Will on the day the said will purports to have been
made, and was totally incompetent at the execution
of the same, on account of mental derangement.

Second     Said Will has been revoked by a will subsequentally made.

Third     Said Will has been revoked by subsequent alterations

Fourth   Said Will is void on account of interliniations.

Fifth     Said Will is void on account on undue influence
used by other persons, and not made in  accordance
with the intention of the testator at the time.

Sixth     Said Will is void because it was not Known at
the time of the signature of the said Will by said
testator what were its contents, and because said
bequests in said pretended Will is totally unlawful
and no bequests at all.    Thomas & Gonder[?], Attys for Caveator

However, the Court wasn't impressed by grounds put forward in the caveat, as we see in the lines that followed it in the probate records:

[All images are from "Georgia, Probate Records, 1742-1990," Hancock - Wills and administration records 1831-1840 vol N; county probate courthouses, Georgia. FamilySearch.org]

Here's my transcription of the above text:

And the due execution of said Will and of the Codicil thereto
being fully proven by the oaths of the three subscribing witnesses
to said Will - and the Court being satisfied of the competency
and sanity of said testator at the time of executing said Will and
Codicil by the evidence of Jesse Simmons and Wilkins Smith 
two of said witnesses sworn in Court, the Caveat of the said
Joseph Johnson is overruled - and it is further ordered and 
considered by the Court that said Will and Codicil is legally
proven and that the same be admitted to record.

By the time I reached this point the first time I saw these documents, I couldn't wait to see what was in Jeremiah's will and codicil that caused one of his sisters and her husband to publicly question his sanity, competence and judgement. And I wasn't disappointed because Jeremiah's will contains some items that would have distressed at least several of his relatives and heirs.

But you'll have to wait until next week.

*Part 1 of Jeremiah Warren's story is here.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Quick Tip: Finding Leads on Colorado Records

Clarence Franklin Jones is a 3rd cousin 2x removed on my Hartley/Gwinnup side. More details on the marriage record can be found on FamilySearch.  Other records indicate that his wife died in 1977, so I'm not sure what other reasons Clarence appears on two probate files.  I suspect he died in either 1957 or 1962.

In addition to Colorado digitized newspapers (1859-1923) and FamilySearch's Colorado online record collections, I just found a nice place to find a variety of Colorado records (from the late 1800s-mid 1900s) at the Colorado State Archives "Archives search".

I discovered this after working on one of Solomon Hartley's descendant branches that ended up in Denver in the early to mid 1900s. After the trail went cold on census, marriage, city directory, and gravestone records, I was able to at least get some leads on a few people who just seem to disappear.

There are links at the bottom of the Colorado Archives search page that give you directions on how request files.

Not a lot of detail, but it's better than nothing!

Ancestry's U.S. Will collection is still very sparse on its Colorado holdings, so I'll probably use this as a substitute until they improve their selection.



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Timney P. Watts (1805 - 1863) - Probate Records, Part 1

I love probate records--you can learn a lot from them.* And those of my 3rd great grandmother Timney P. Watts Warren Phillips** (who died without leaving a will) are filled with many details about her last years that we would not know about otherwise.

On September 21, 1863,*** her son Jeremiah D. "J.D." Phillips received Letters of Administration for Timney's estate and posted a bond for $10,000**** joined by two other men, James O.A. Adams and E.B. Zachry.*****

[Ancestry.com. Alabama, Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Alabama County, District and Probate Courts.]

[Ancestry.com. Alabama, Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Alabama County, District and Probate Courts.]

From examining the above inventory we can deduce that Timney's house was filled with furniture including a book case, a clock and a mirror.

[Ancestry.com. Alabama, Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Alabama County, District and Probate Courts.]

Nor is it likely she was forced to do much manual labor as she had four enslaved people living with her.

[Ancestry.com. Alabama, Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Alabama County, District and Probate Courts.]

Timney's  probate file contains 110 pages, covering a variety of subjects including a suit against J.D. filed by her other heirs, a lot of bills brought to court by various people (the ones her doctor submitted tell their own story) and the final settlement of her estate.

I'll be sharing some of the information I've learned about Timney through her probate records in subsequent posts.

*I've begun to share the story of my great uncle Jeremiah Warren (Timney's brother-in-law from her first marriage to Jesse Warren Jr.) as gleaned from his Georgia probate court documents in the 1830s.
**We still don't know what that "P" stands for.
***Earlier this year I posted about Timney's obituary in the Southern Christian Advocate. It's clear from this court document that she didn't die on this day as the obit stated
****Since Alabama had seceded from the United States in 1861 and was part of the Confederacy at the time, this sum would have been in Confederate dollars.
*****Adams doesn't seem to have a connection to J.D. but Zachry appears to be his father-in-law, Edwin Baker Zachry.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: Our Carriage Awaited Us in Marrakesh

Ten years ago I joined Bonnie in Europe for my first trip that required a passport. It included nine days spent in Morocco--four in Fez and four in Marrakesh where we went on a carriage ride through the streets, beginning and ending at the famous Djemaa el-Fna, the city's historic main square.

[From my personal collection]

How did we choose which carriage to ride in? This one displayed several testimonial letters from animal welfare organization commending the driver for his humane treatment of his horses.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

The Family about 1974

Dad (George Hartley), me, and mom Pat, I think for my 3rd birthday (I'm pretty sure this polaroid was taken at Grandmother Margaret Fister Hartley's home in La Jolla).  From my personal collection.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Slater

This trio is composed of my biological mother Alta Mae Slater (1917-1986) and her brothers James (1919-1984) and Jack (1923-1943).

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

For the past few weeks my genealogy focus has been on my 4th great grandfather Mahlon Hibbs and his possible origins using the FAN principle.  Once I started to convince myself that maybe Hibbs might actually be Hobbs (in other words, probably starting to lose my mind) I realized my brain needed a break and I needed to come up for some air.  The rest of my focus this week will be on the bigger picture.

Tom Kemp conducted this webinar, "Bringing it All Together and Leaving a Permanent Record," on November 13, 2015:

Perhaps you’ve been researching for 5 years – 15 years – or even 50 years. Your skills improve with each year. Learn how to review and prepare your data – so that you can leave it – permanently – on multiple sites.  Make sure your data is available for your family into the rising generation.

I think I'm doing some of this already by blogging and having a tree on Ancestry, but I'm sure I can do more/better.



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Jeremiah Warren (About 1772 - 1832), Part 1, His Life

Over his lifetime Great-Uncle Jeremiah, the oldest son of Jesse Warren Sr., prospered as a farmer in Hancock County, Georgia, where he had moved with his parents around 1791.

From 1812 Property Lists we can see that Jeremiah was paying taxes on nearly 300 acres in Hancock County and on another 202 acres in Laurens County and he owned seven slaves.

[Ancestry.com. Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Original data: Georgia Tax Digests [1890]. 140 volumes. Morrow, Georgia: Georgia Archives.]

In the 1820 U.S. Census Jeremiah was the only white person living on his property along with 15 enslaved persons.

[1820 U S Census; Census Place: Claytons, Hancock, Georgia; Page: 91; NARA Roll: M33_7; Image: 96. Township : Claytons. Ancestry.com. 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Fourth Census of the United States, 1820. (NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

And by the 1830 census enumeration, Jeremiah had a young white lad between 10 and 14 living with him (perhaps one of his nephews?) and now owned 28 slaves. Jeremiah never married and after his father's death in 1827 he appears to have been the person his siblings turned to when they needed money.

[1830; Census Place: Hancock, Georgia; Series: M19; Roll: 18; Page: 171; Family History Library 

Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Original data: Fifth Census of the United States, 1830. (NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

On July 12, 1832, the Southern Recorder published his obituary:*

Died, at his residence, in Hancock county, on the 14th ult. JEREMIAH WARREN, in the 60th year of his age, after a severe affliction, of which he was confined more than six months. By his death, a large family connexion are deprived of an affectionate relative and invaluable friend, and the chasm in society will long remain to be filled. When in life, he was respected by all who knew him, and now he is dead, many deplore his loss.

So far what little we know about Jeremiah is pretty standard for his time and place. However, his will, first introduced in Hancock County court by his executors** on July 2, 1832, was so shocking to his brother-in-law Joseph Johnson and his wife Susan (Warren) Johnson that they sought to have the will voided by filing their first Caveat.

["Georgia, Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-30371-15650-88?cc=1999178&wc=9SYB-7M3:267654601,267802801 : accessed 04 Dec 2014), Hancock - Wills and administration records 1831-1840 vol N - image 77 of 376; county probate courthouses, Georgia.

I've read quite a few Georgia probate records over the years and this was the first t ime I'd ever seen a will contested.*** The whole situation got more intriguing as I read on through the documents so I'm going to share this story with you in subsequent posts.



*Source: Georgiagenealogy,org
**Note that Jeremiah didn't name any of his family as executors of his will.
***In 1844 this same couple contested the will of another of Susan's siblings, her sister Mary Warren.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

I'm Going to the 2016 i4gg Conference Next Month!

While I continue to wait impatiently for my Bettinger/Wayne DNA workbook I'm happy to report that my dear mother has bought me a two day pass to the upcoming 2016 International Genetic Genealogy Conference (sponsored by the Institute for Genetic Genealogy) right here in San Diego.  I just have to drive down the road--no extensive traveling needed!

Here is the promo for the event.




© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Most of What I Learned from Mother Was True

I literally can't remember when I first learned that Mother and Dad weren't my birth parents--it was just something I knew. 

Mother and Dad always said that they brought me home when I was three days old because they wanted me so badly. Originally they had been scheduled to adopt a different child but as soon as Dad saw me in my crib at Quintard Hospital he told Mother, "That's our baby!" and started crying.

Fortunately they were able to make the switch.*

[From my personal collection]

Mother and Dad then went about formally adopting me and I always believed that they had done so. However, that wasn't what happened and I didn't learn the truth until I needed my birth certificate to apply for a marriage license. Mother had to produce it then and the name at the top was "Baby Girl Slater" not Patricia Ann Currey as I expected. Explanations were needed.

It turned out that the State of California had denied their petition to adopt me, giving two reasons: First, my birth mother hadn't signed the final release papers, and second, the welfare worker handling the case didn't consider the Currey household a suitable place for a baby. Part of the reason was the relatively advanced age of the Curreys (45 which was old for the time) but mostly because they were still bereaved by the loss of their only child who had been killed during an air raid over Tokyo in 1945 and whose remains had not yet been identified.

The Curreys hired a lawyer who was able to trace my biological mother to Iowa and furnished her married name.** 

[From my personal collection]

But then as far as I know the Curreys didn't pursue my adoption any farther. and except for a home visit when I was about two years old from a different welfare worker responding to a false report that I was being abused,*** I remained with the Curreys until I got married in 1966.

Imagine the distress Mother and Dad had to have felt over the years--they had a child whom they loved very much but I could have been taken away from them at any time and they would have had no legal recourse.

That situation certainly had its effect on me--not only were the Curreys over-protective of me, it was the sole reason I was sent to St. Rita's School and later to Rosary High School. The public school would have demanded my birth certificate before I entered kindergarten but the Mother and Dad were able to explain the situation to the Catholic school principal who was more understanding.

When I applied for my first passport in 2005 the information I had at hand wasn't sufficient and I applied for a court order to un-seal my adoption papers so I've seen the official file.****


*That little girl became the daughter of the woman who was arranging these private adoptions. Mother and Dad stayed in touch with the family over the years and I always was aware of how we came to know them.
**Mother gave me this letter right after she handed me my birth certificate. Of course having this information was enormously helpful when Christine began her search for my biological parents.
***The visitor warned (off the record) that the complaint had come from someone close by and Mother blamed one of her sisters-in-law who had openly resented my presence in the family. (This part of the story was known to me from the beginning also.)
****And I was able to convince the U.S. State Department to issue my passport.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: National Railway Museum, York

During our visit to England in May of 2013, Bonnie and I spent hours at the National Railway Museum.

[From my personal collection]

If you're ever in the neighborhood, I strongly recommend you pay this wonderful collection a visit.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Happy Birthday to Me: Waiting for Bettinger and Wayne's "Genetic Genealogy in Practice" To Arrive

My husband's birthday gift to me this year will be Blaine Bettinger and Debbie Parker Wayne's "Genetic Genealogy in Practice" workbook (available at NGS).  He ordered it 5 days ago but unfornately the receipt did not indicate when I would receive the book (I'm so spoiled by Amazon Prime LOL).  As always, I find it hard to wait!

I've analyzed my DNA and my parents' DNA for the past couple of years now, but I still feel like a novice.  A workbook is exactly what I need.

Debbie blogged about the table of contents here.




© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Who Is this Kid?

Although my notes say this is a portrait of my great grandfather Lewis Logan Slater (1855-1905) as a baby, I don't think it is. For one thing, Lewis Logan had light eyes and this little guy clearly doesn't. Also the photographer was in Wichita, Kansas, and the Slaters didn't leave Illinois until Lewis Logan was 28. And this photograph doesn't look like it dates from the mid-1850s.

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

A search for a photographer in Wichita named Rawlins in Langdon's List of 19th & Early 20th Century Photographers brings up only two names, both at the same address in an 1890 city directory.

[Photographers: R. Langdon road.com]

Under the heading of Photograph Galleries in an 1889 Wichita city directory there's a listing for W. J. Rawlins.

[Directory of the City of Wichita, 1889. Source: Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.]

And there's only one Rawlins listed in the general pages of the same city directory.

[Directory of the City of Wichita, 1889. Source: Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.]

So I believe I've disposed of the idea that this photograph can possibly be a picture of my great grandfather and was likely taken around 1890. But I'm no nearer figuring out who he is.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Free Thursday Night Legacy Family Tree Webinar: Judy G. Russell presents "The Treasure Trove in Legislative Petitions"

Legislative petitions?  How boring.  The very phrase puts me to sleep...

Not so fast.

I've been waiting for this webinar "The Treasure Trove in Legislative Petitions" from Judy G. Russell (of The Legal Genealogist blog).  She has been key in helping me understand that there is no thorough genealogy without some understanding of the laws our ancestors lived under (or even helped create).

The video comes with a subscription to Legacy Family Tree Webinars, and is free for non-subscribers through 21 September 2016.



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Hibbs Trajectory I had Not Considered

The yellow arrows show where I know Mahlon Hibbs lived (Anderson County, Tennessee and Putnam County, Indiana), and the heat map points (red with green halo) are where I find Hibbs in DNA matches to Dad and records.  I also find some DNA matches that hint at Hibbs who lived in Kentucky.

Loudoun County (indicated on the above map by the marker right near Washington, DC) is where I suspect Mahlon Hibbs was born about 1747  (I think he ultimately descends from the Quaker Bucks County/Philadelphia Hibbs).

I had thought that he had gone down the Shenandoah River Valley area to Knoxville and Anderson County, Tennessee (sometime in the 1780s/1790s), but I had forgotten that Virginia had also meant West Virginia (until the Civil War).

My dad has numerous DNA matches to Hibbs in Ohio, and many of the Ohio Hibbs went on the Jasper County/Polk County, Iowa, where a quite a few lines of Mahlon Hibbs descendants also ended up (including a grandson James Milo Nosler).

I think Mahlon was possibly up in the western Pennsylvania/eastern Ohio at some point.  I find it quite interesting that many of his children named one of their daughters Sciota/Syotha/Sciotha, which I can only surmise is in honor of the Scioto River in Ohio??  Why else would people in Tennessee name girls after an Ohio river?

I think I need to reevaluate where I'm researching my Hibbs, and focus more on western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Days of Heaven: Inspiration for Genealogy

I used to watch HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax a lot when I was kid in the early 1980s.

One of those channels aired Terrence Malick's visually lyrical "Days of Heaven" quite a bit.  That film's ending in particular somehow became entwined in my psyche with my growing curiosity about who my mother's birth parents were.  Tracy and Alta's stories seemed to end abruptly when the information about them was typed into Mom's birth certificate.  Like the girls walking down the train tracks in the film, their lives continued on to some undetermined direction that I thought (at the time) I'd never know.


BTW the ending scene was filmed at the Heritage Park Historical Village in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Margaret Fister's 5th Grade Report Card (1922)

Note Margaret's father Ben Fister's signature.

My father recently gave me this photocopy of his mother Margaret Fister's 5th grade report card.

Her teacher that year was Nettie Matilde House (1899-1982), who later married Clifford Stanton and died in Kingman, Arizona.  Records indicate Nettie was born to Norwegian immigrants like my grandmother, and a teacher for many years in Kendall County, Illinois.

Good grades!

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: Goat Carriages

I'm still having computer "issues" so instead of one of my own pictures I'm using this one from Shorpy Historic Picture Archive.

[New York, 1904. "Goat carriages in Central Park." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company.]

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Quick Tip: How I Keep Up in Genealogy News, Trends, and Sources

I just discovered that the Library of Congress has a slew of blogs.  Here is one just on maps.  How can I keep up with all this stuff??  It's like a never ending candy store.

There is always something new in the genealogy world, and I personally do not have the time to keep up.  Thankfully there are many others who do this already so I don't have to!

Here are the few blogs that I normally check out to see what's new and interesting:

Genea-Musings by Randy Seaver -- Best of the Genea-Blogs

Empty Branches on the Family Tree by Linda Stufflebean -- Recommended Reads

Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog -- Fab Finds



BTW There is much more to each blog than the "best of" links I give.  I find they give me all kinds of ideas on methodology and even just how to present and think about genealogical problems.





© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Tomlinsons

From our notes for this snapshot we know that we have here Aunt May (Mabel May Tomlinson Scott, 1873-1940), Aunt Matt (Martha E. Tomlinson Burke, 1867-1939), and my great grandmother Rufina Ellen Tomlinson Slater (1863-1943).

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

We've seen Aunts Matt and May before, in an earlier Family Friday.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Land Genealogy Gleanings: Focus on early Hibbs in Anderson County, Tennessee

Anderson and Campbell counties, in Tennessee.  It is a little hard to see but the orange arrow points to the winding Hinds Creek and it is interesting the there is both a Hibbs Island and Llewellyn (Lewallen?) Island along the Hinds.  I think it is likely that Mahlon Hibbs and Richard Lewallen lived in those areas, with Mahlon's son Samuel Hibbs living further upstream in Campbell County.

Here is some initial information from my land genealogy book (Anderson County, Tennessee Land Deed Genealogy, 1801-1831) that mentioned a few days ago.  I'm happy to report that my 4th great grandfather Mahlon Hibbs (1747-1852) and his (likely) son Samuel Hibbs (1791-1849) appear in land dealings:


[page 105 in book]
page 272
15 July 1817.  RICHARD LEWALLEN of Anderson Co., to MALON HIBBS, for $100, 100 acres in Anderson Co. on Hinds Creek, in Henderson & Co.'s Clinch survey, on LEMAR's line, crossing Hinds Creek, at the old waggon road, along said old road to HART's line to LEMAR's line, with his line to the beginning.  Reg. July Sess. 1817.
Wit:
HENRY H. DUCKER
ARMISTEAD BARTON
RICHARD (X) LEWALLEN


[page 117 in book]
page 26
12 Dec. 1817.  ISAAC HORTON, Sr., of Anderson Co., to SAMUEL HIBBS of Campbell Co., for $270, 200 acres in Anderson Co., in middle of line of lot B on JACOB WEAVER's line, corner near a small sink running on said middle, with line to top of Chesnut Ridge, to middle of upper half of lot B, including half of said upper half, a parallel line to conditional corner between HORTON & FLEM McCOY.  Reg. 20 Jan. 1819.
Wit: 
JACOB WEAVER
WILLIAM WEAVER
ISAAC HORTON


[page 145 in book]
page 19
29 Oct. 1822.  SAMUEL HIBBS of Anderson Co. to ISAAC ROBBINS, for $200, 200 acres, beginning on the middle of the line of lot B, JACOB WEAVER's line, to Chestnut Ridge, up the extreme height of the ridge to the middle of the upper half of the lot, including half of the said upper half of the lot, to the conditional corner of ISAAC HORTON, Sr., and FLEMING McCOY, to the beginning.  Reg. 18 Jan. 1823.
Wit: 
JOHN WHITSON
JOHN WALLACE, Jr.
SAMUEL (X) HIBBS


page 20
31 Aug. 1822. WILLIAM HOGSHEAD of Anderson Co. to JOHN McADOO, Sr., for $75, 100 acres, part of northeast half of lot H in the Henderson & Co.'s Clinch survey, sold by CHARLES Y. OLIVER, Sheriff, for double taxes on 20 April 1819 to WILLIAM HOGSHEAD.  Beginning near the bank of Hine's Creek, corner to a 220 acre tract claimed by RICHARD LEWALLEN, north to the upper line of lot H. HIBBS' corner, south to HIBBS' corner, northwest with HIBBS' line to the bank of Clinch River, HIBBS' beginning corner, down the river to the divistion line of lot H, with the division line to the corner of McADOO's land, the place where he now lives, thence with his line to LEWALLEN's tract, wih his line to the beginning.  Reg. 22 Jan. 1823.
Wit:
JOHN (X) FOX
WILLIAM McADOO
WILLIAM HOGSHEAD


[page 150 in book]
page 86.
4 Sept. 1822, MILIN HIBBS to HENRY LONG for $300, 100 acres on Hindses Creek in Henderson & Co.'s Clinch Survey, beginning on LEMAR's line, south crossing Hinds Creek, the wagon road, along the road to HARTZ line, with his line to LEMAR's line, to the beginning.  Reg. 5 Dec. 1823.
Wit:
JOHN McADOO, Jr.
ALFRED DUNCAN
MALIN (X) HIBBS



The dates on these land sales tracks very nicely with what I already know about their migration to Indiana (they showed up around 1823).

I looked up Henderson and Co's Clinch Survey, and found a page on Rootsweb dedicated to info and research by Phillip A. Walker on the Henderson Grant plus a map:

The Henderson Grant area.  Mahlon and Samuel would be in the center lower part, per the description in the land records.

Based on the land descriptions, I think this is about where Mahlon and Samuel Hibbs were (closeup of the above picture)

I think this is great boost for my research in this area.  I have more names to play around with (Lewallen, Hogshead, and Oliver) than I did before, which I hope will help me figure out who Mahlon Hibbs' parents were (and his wife Nancy Ann LNU's parents as well).  

I already recognized the Weaver name since a man named William Hibbs (about 1785, possibly Mahlon's son or close relative) married Elizabeth Weaver and they were lifelong residents of Anderson County, Tennessee.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Slater

The notes for this family photograph tell us that this was taken in Bob Burke's hay field in September of 1916. My maternal grandfather Harry Slater (1888-1956) is the man on the stack and Bob is on the ground.

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

This is the same month Harry married my grandmother Anna Webb (1891-1973) and he was still working as a pharmacist so I don't know what he was doing on top of that hay stack.

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Awaiting My Bright and Shiny Objects: Two Books on Anderson County, Tennessee

This is the kind of stuff that excites me.  Keeps me off the streets I guess!

I believe I've reached a point where online research is not going to reveal any more about my mysterious 4th great grandparents Mahlon Hibbs (1747-1852?) and his wife Nancy LNU (1764-1846).  They appeared to have spent about 20 years in Anderson County, Tennessee (about 1801-1823) before showing up in Putnam County, Indiana in about 1824, and may have been in Tennessee at least as early as 1785.

I think it is time to buy more books!

A few years ago I purchased Anderson County, Tennessee, County Court Minutes, 1801-1809 and 1810-1814. Two Volumes in One by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) published by Mountain Press***, which revealed a lot of names to research as well as a few mentions of Mahlon and likely family members (jury duty and several court cases).

I'm hoping the next two books I've purchased will help me tie together some of the information I've gleaned from the court minutes one as well as various census and other records.  These books may or may not have specific information about my ancestors, but even if they don't I hope they will help me understand the family groups and communities better in Anderson County, Tennessee in its earliest years.

Anderson County, Tennessee Land Deed Genealogy, 1801-1831

This East Tennessee County was formed in 1801 from parts of Knox and Grainger counties. It lies partly in the valley of East Tennessee and partly on the Cumberland Plateau. This book contains abstracts of the deeds for this county running from 1801 and going through 1831 with some references going back into the late 1700's.

Anderson County, Tennessee:: History Revealed Through Biographical and Genealogical Sketches of its Ancestors

This features a brief but fascinating history of the county, as well as numerous biographical and genealogical sketches of many Anderson County ancestors. Included are nearly forty Revolutionary War veterans that made their home here. Among the personal sketches, you will also find many fully transcribed wills. Through these sketches an interesting history of Anderson County, Tennessee is revealed!

***By the way, a big shout out to Mountain Press publishing.  Their works each have an online description including a complete index of all last names mentioned in that work.  REALLY helpful if you need to quickly assess if a particular book will have relevant info for you.




© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.