Happy New Year!!

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (Christmas card c1880-1890).

I hope you all have a very happy new year!   Let's see if 2017 is as strange as 2016 was!



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Celebrations: As 2016 Comes to a Close

[Life's ups-and-downs -- Puck's improvement on Cole's "Voyage of Life" / J. Keppler. N.Y. : Published by Keppler & Schwarzmann, 1883 July Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.]*

Here's a look backward at Ancestry Island at some of my favorites for the year.

I think Christine's discovery that out ancestor John Warren Avery (1835-1900) was a target of KKK attacks in Winston County, Alabama, in the 1870's easily ranks as the biggest surprise all year.

Christine is also responsible for finding a letter written by my great grandmother Nannie Freeman Warren (1857-1934) describing her family's move to Johnson County, Texas, in 1870.

I'm rather proud of my successful search for my paternal great uncle (Henry) Hill Freeman Warren (1896-1956) a graduate of Vanderbilt University's medical school. (Honestly, I never expected to find him in Connecticut!)

A multi-week (and still not completed) review of the Macon County, Alabama, probate records of my third great grandmother Timney P. Watts Warren Phillips (1805-1863) has been fruitful, bringing to light (among other things) the medical care she received during her last illness and the names of three more of her stepchildren and even a daughter, Martha Norman Phillips Adams (1833-1916), that we didn't know about previously.

An important outcome of researching the will and probate records of my fourth great uncle Jeremiah Warren (1772-1832)** was learning the fate of several of the enslaved persons named in 10th Item of his will through a comment posted by a descendant of the woman named Mary. And I will be posting more about Jeremiah's probate in the coming year.

Finally, and just for fun, I'm including a link to one of my most memorable experiences abroad: French Pirate Bikers. Enjoy!

*LOC's commentary on this image is priceless: Illustration shows two men on bicycles, one just starting out on life's journey, being towed by Father Time, the second one is nearing the end of life's journey and about to get caught by a scythe and thrown from the bicycle into a grave. Milestones and signs mark the journey: in youth there is "Health", between 20 and 30 there is "Happiness", at 40 there is "Pleasure", at 50 "Hope", at 60 there is "Neglect", between 60 and 70 there is "Regrets" and "Sickness", at 80 there is "Fear", and at 90 is an open grave with an owl perched on the mile-marker. At the top center is a "Half Way House" and at bottom center, in a floral arrangement, is an hourglass on top of a clock.
** Timney's brother-in-law


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

5th Day of Christmas: Five Gold(en) Rings

European goldfinch, photo by By Pierre Dalous - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, 

One party we missed this year was at my mom's former coworker Barbara's house.  A highlight of Barbara's party is the caroling--she has a pianist and plenty of Christmas lyrics booklets for all the guests, and we sing all the classics.  There is one rule--Barbara is the only one to sing the "five...golden...rings"  line for "The Twelve Days of Christmas.

I always thought this a strange lyric, as the true love seemed to offer up only measly birds until the 5 gold rings, but according to Mental Floss "12 Things You Might Not Know About "The Twelve Days of Christmas" it is just likely refers to even more birds lol:

5. AND "5 GOLDEN RINGS" PROBABLY DON'T REFER TO WHAT YOU THINK THEY REFER TO.
There’s pretty good evidence suggesting "five golden rings" is actually a reference to the yellowish rings around a pheasant’s neck or to “goldspinks,” an old name for a pretty little bird called the Goldfinch—not to the hand jewelry. And that actually makes sense, considering every other lyric in the first seven days of the song references a bird: a partridge, turtle doves, French hens (or “fat ducks,” depending on the version), calling birds (or black birds), swans and geese.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Tudor Christmas Cookalong from Hampton Court Palace

Thanks to The History Blog for bringing these videos to my attention.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Celebrations: Marc's First Christmas - San Diego, 2002

[My grandson Marc with his parents on the stairs to my home, from my personal collection]

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Timney P. Watts & Jesse Warren Jr.

My paternal fifth great grandparents Jesse Warren Jr. and Timney P. Watts were married on December 24, 1824* in Morgan County, Georgia.

[Morgan County Marriage Book, 1821 - 1835. Marriage Books, Morgan County Ordinary Court, Georgia Archives.]

Jesse Jr. died on January 6, 1826, just over two years after their marriage leaving his widow Timney and their 3½ month old son, my ancestor Jesse Thomas Simeon (J.T.S.) Warren.

*Although it may seem strange to us to have a wedding on Christmas Eve, we have to remember that the Christmas customs we're familiar with date from the mid-19th century and later.



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Celebrations: Les Grands Magasins - Paris, 2009

November, the final month of my visit to France in 2009, was spent in Paris. The famous department stores (grands magasins) on Boulevard Haussmann, Au Printemps and Galeries Lafayette, certainly know how to put on a Christmas show!

[All from my personal collection]

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Celebrations: Christmas, 1902/03

[Graves, C. H. , -1943. Christmas Morning. [Philadelphia: The Universal Photo Art Co., C.H. Graves, publisher, c1903, ca. 1902]

Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/90709344/. Accessed December 25, 2016)]

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Celebrations: Christmas Eve, 1876

[Christmas eve--getting ready for Santa Claus. [published, 1876] Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/92520926/. Accessed December 24, 2016. ]

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate files: Jeremiah Warren Part 14, Account Current - January 26, 1835

Once again the executors of Great Uncle Jeremiah Warren's estate filed a report with the Probate Court which included a list of enslaved persons and who hired them for the year.

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-893G-8V9M?cc=1999178&wc=9SYB-7M3%3A267654601%2C267802801 : 20 May 2014), Hancock > image 250 of 376;

county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

Acc't. hiring of the Negroes belonging to the Estate of Jeremiah
     Warren dec'd. for 1833, to wit,
     Jack            to    Jno. Graybill                            105.00
     Hal              "     Wm. Warren                            100.00
     Anderson    "             do                                     100.00
     Meredith     "     R. Warren                                100.00
     Lucy           "             do                                       40.00
     Lethe          "     Mary Warren                              35.00
     Edmund     "     P. Equals                                    100.00
     Dave          "     Geo. W. Butts                            100.00
     Abram       "      Jno. Graybill & J.G. Butts          65.00
     Amy & 3 children " Jno. Arnold Jr.                     45.00
                                                                              $790.00

Hancock County
     Jno. Graybill & Jesse G. Butts Executors &c. being duly
sworn says that the above acc't. hiring &c. is just & true
Sworn to & subscriber before
this 26th day of Jan'y 1835                    John Graybill
     Henry Rogers C.C.O.                         Jesse G. Butts             

Compared with the hiring list for 1833 we can see that Jack and Hal are the only ones to be hired by the same people. Two of Jeremiah's siblings, Mary and Robert, were among the hirers this time. Abram was hired by Graybill and Butts jointly, perhaps to work on the plantation Jeremiah set aside in his will for the benefit of the seven slaves he hoped to see freed within five years? There's no mention of Tom, described as "insane" on the 1833 list but it could be that the $10 coffin bought from John H. Breedlove in the previous year's accounting was for him. John Arnold was also a resident of Hancock County but I've not been able to find any mention of P. Equals in census records.

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-893G-8V9M?cc=1999178&wc=9SYB-7M3%3A267654601%2C267802801 : 20 May 2014), Hancock > image 250 of 376;

county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

John Graybill & Jesse G. Butts Exor's 
1834        In acc't. current with the Est of Jere'h. Warren dec'd
Aug't. 26 To balance pr. acc't rend'd.                                         $ 1974.02-3/4
                " am't. rec''d. upon a final distribution of the assets of }
                  A. Slaughter & C. Labuzan                                        }  75.94
                " " rec'd. J. choice note $24. In't. on do 6.27                    30.27
               " Hire of Negroes for 1834 per acc't rend'd.                    790.00
                                                                                                   $2870.23-3/4
                                                        Cr
               By Cash paid Epps W. Warren                              1          20.34
               "    Eliz'th. Warren                                                 2          21.62-1/2
               "     do  paid   William Warren                               3          31.26
               "      do   "      George Amoss                                 4            3.14
               "      do   " Cha's. Jenkins Atty Com'n collecting   5            3.75
               "      do  " for recording this acc't, & acc't. hiring negroes  1.75
               "  Com'n. on 896.21 am't. rec'd.                           22.40
               "      "        "  81.86-1/2 " paid acct                         2.04     24.44
               " am't. Bal'ce' due                                                           2763.93-1/4
                                                                                                     $2870.23-3/4
Georgia Hancock County
      John Graybill & Jesse G. Butts Exoc's of &c. of Jerem-
iah Warren dec'd being duly sworn says the above acct
current is just & true                                                        
Sworn to & subscribed before               John Graybill
this 26th day of Jan'y 1835                   Jesse G. Butts       
     Henry Rogers C.C.O.    

Census records show that George Amos and Charles Jenkins were residents of Hancock County too.



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sick and In a Bad Mood

Play for blood

You're not going to get any research from me today!

When my son was little I could tell that he was coming down with a cold because he would curl up and watch Disney's The Black Cauldron.  I am not sure why but I think it made him feel better.

I had a very bad cold when I went to see Tombstone back when it came out in 1993.  I was feverish and a little delirious, although it was not ultimately anything serious.  Somehow that made Val Kilmer's performance as the often delirious, tuberculosis-ridden Doc Holliday, who looked like how I felt, especially delicious, particularly his scenes with Michael Biehn.  Whenever I'm sick and feeling sorry for myself I find myself looking for my favorite Doc Holliday clips.

Doc Holliday (1851-1887) was a contemporary of my 3rd great granduncle James Milo Nosler (1843-1886) out West (and who also died of tuberculosis), although they obviously moved in very different crowds.

In Vino Veritas

I'm your huckleberry

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Gone for Soldiers: Abraham Heath at Valley Forge

Two hundred and thirty-nine years ago this week (December 19, 1777) Abraham Heath (c.1740-c.1807),* a private in the Virginia line of the Continental Army, found himself in winter quarters** with the rest of Washington's Army in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

[Valley Forge—Washington & Lafayette, 1856. Engraving, 7½ x 10½ inches (image). Henry Bryan Hall (1808–1884), after Alonzo Chappel (1828–1887). Martin, Johnson & Co., Publisher.

Photo Credit: David Bishop Skillman Library, Lafayette College, Easton, PA]

During my ancestor's time at Valley Forge his commanding officer was General George Weedon. In the map below you can see the location of the 6th Virginia Regiment's encampment.

["Encampment at Valley Forge 1778" by George W. Boynton (engraving) - Sparkes, Jered "The Life of George Washington" Boston: Tappen & Dennet 1843"The Cooper Collections of American History" (uploader's private collection)Scanned by the uploader, Centpacrr..

Licensed under PD-US via Wikipedia htps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Encampment_at_Valley_Forge_1778.jpg#/media/File:Encampment_at_Valley_Forge_1778.jpg]

Abraham's term of service was over in February of 1778 and as far as we know he went home to his wife and family (including my direct ancestor, his daughter Sallie Heath Chappell) as soon as he was mustered out.


*My paternal fifth great grandfather--I wrote a series of posts about what we know of his military experiences from the records in 2015: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI
 .
**You can learn more about the huts built by the soldiers at Valley Forge here.



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

L. A. Noire: Los Angeles As It Likely Looked Driving Around in 1947

Video from "LA Noire - Random Cruising Along the Streets of Los Angeles" on Youtube by JayShockblast (2011)

It seems like every Christmas vacation starts out with a bout with the flu--this year is no exception.  So being brain dead, I've spent the past few days curled up on the couch watching my husband play "L.A. Noire," a 2011 game that entails a lot of driving around in 1947 Los Angeles.

Joseph Bernstein and Dan Nosowitz at Popular Science provide some insight in "How L.A. Noire Rebuilt 1940s Los Angeles Using Vintage Extreme Aerial Photography."  More interesting info about the game from Nathan Masters at KCET at How Archivists Helped Video Game Designers Recreate the City's Dark Side for 'L.A. Noire'.

Ever since I saw the first video games that allow users to run or drive around vast areas in the late 1990s, I've fantasized that maybe someday there will be programs that will allow me to drive around Philadelphia in 1810, or Cincinnati in 1830, or San Francisco in 1849, just to get a better idea of what my ancestors experienced while there.  Games like L.A. Noire make me think that might be possible at some point, using maps, city directories, and photographs.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers - December 2016

But it's also for my annual Christmas party. Here's a picture of the house before the guests arrived. Once they showed up we were having too much fun for me to remember to take any photos.

[From my personal collection]

And I had the bones of a good post ready explaining the identity of those heirs of my great great great grandmother Timney P. Watts Warren Phillips' whose names I didn't recognize but it's getting late so I'll postpone it.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: French Biker in Kilt and Lace, Beziers 2012

Or perhaps he was from Scotland?

[From my personal collection]

In case you missed them, there's been two previous posts of this event: One and Two.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Saturday Night Free Webinar: "From the Heartland - Utilizing Online Resources in Midwest Research" by Luana Darby

Do you have ancestors from the Midwest (including states Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missourit, Ohio, Wisconsin)?  I sure do.  Luana Darby, who specializes in Midwest research, has some great resources to check out in her webinar "From the Heartland - Utilizing Online Resources in Midwest Research":

From Wisconsin to Missouri, many free online resources are available if you know where to look. This class will explore where to find and how to use these resources. Creative techniques for finding future sites will also be discussed.

Free for non-subscribers through December 21, 2016.  Runs 1 hour 34 minutes total.





© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate files: Jeremiah Warren Part 13, Account Current - August 26, 1834

As required, Great Uncle Jeremiah Warren's executors John Graybill and Jesse G. Butts filed an accounting with the Probate Court for 1833 and part of 1834.

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L93G-8FC5?cc=1999178&wc=9SYB-7M3%3A267654601%2C267802801 : 20 May 2014), Hancock > image 208 of 376;

county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

Dr. John Graybill & Jesse G. Butts
     1833     In acct. current with the Estate of J. Warren dec'd.
May 29 To bal[an]ce. due Est for acct. rendered                                  5582.44
       1834
Feb 12   "  amt. collected on a note due by A. Slaughter & C       }
                  Labuzan* in part -- bal[an]ce.not considered desperate}       573.75
Jan 31   "  cash rec'd. Fred'k. Scotts note $27 In't. $3 due dec'd.             30.00
              "    do      "    John I Berrys note 76.50 do 6.81 due dec'd           83.31
Aug't 12 "   do      "   John Ropers note 20,00    do 3.86 due to dec'd.      23.86
               "  Gross sale  3 Bales Cotton in Augusta                                 142.44
                                                                                                            $6435.80
                                            Cr

              By Cash paid Henry Rogers C.C. O.                                   #1      4.56-1/4

               "      do    "  Prince & Ragland 2/Bills $6.75 & &               2&3   13.75

                                                                Forwarded                             $    18.31-1/4

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L93G-8FC5?cc=1999178&wc=9SYB-7M3%3A267654601%2C267802801 : 20 May 2014), Hancock > image 209 of 376;

county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

404                                                          

                                                               Am't. bro't. over                    $       18.31-1/4

            By Cash paid John H. Breedlove making Coffin                    #4     10.--

               "      do    "  Wm Warren services as overseer                        5     27.--   

               "      do    "   A.G. Breedlove                do                              6     75.29

               "      do    "  Jas. H. Burnet acc't proved                                 7     10.79

               "      do    "  Taxes 1832 & 1833  $14.34 & 4.41                 8&9   18.75          

               "      do    "  Chas. J. Jenkins prof'n services                          10    28.65

               "      do    "  Wyatt Harper proved acc't.                                 11    17.86

               "      do    "  Francis H. Cone prof'n services                          12  100.--

               "      do    "  A.C. Layre               do 2 receipts                       13  100.--

               "      do    "  postage, travelling expenses to sell Land etc.    14    10.92

               "      am't paid to Jho. Graybill for ginning 3 Bales Cotton            10.00

               "      am't retained by J. Graybill & Jesse G. Butts under the}

                        will of Jeremiah Warren**                                             }  4000.00

               "      am't paid H. Rogers C.C.O.                                           #15     2.12-1/2

               "      Com p. on $823.36 rec?                                 (21.33) 21.33 }

               "   do " 429.70-1/4 am't. paid out exclusive of the $4000(10.74) 10.74}  32.07

1834

26 Aug's " Balance on hand carried down                                                1974.02-3/4

                                                                                                                 $6435.80                                     Georgia Hancock County

      John Graybill & Jesse G. Butts Exer's of etc. of Jeremiah

Warren dec'd. being duly sworn says that the within acc't. current

is just & true.

Sworn to & subscribed before}                         John Graybill

me this 26th August 1834      }                          Jesse G. Butts

     Henry Rogers C.C.O.

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L93G-8FC5?cc=1999178&wc=9SYB-7M3%3A267654601%2C267802801 : 20 May 2014), Hancock > image 210 of 376;

county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

Georgia Hancock County
     Know all men by these presents that we the undersigned
legatees of Jeremiah Warren later of said County dec'd. in conseque-
ence of the recent failure of Messrs. A Slaughter & C Labuzan who
were indebted to said dec'd. at the time of his death to the amount
of seventeen hundred dollars and upwards, the claim upon them
due the estate of said Warren being in jeopardy we authorise
and consent that the Executors shall adapt such measures as
they may deem expedient to secure said debt or any part of it
by compromise or otherwise other than a suit at Law for the
recovery of the money and we do hereby acquit & forever bare harmless
the said Exrs. from any liability on account of the above nam-
ed debt this 5th March 1834                          Lott Harton
                                                                       William Warren
                                                                       Robert Warren


*Augustine Slaughter and Charles Labuzan were businessmen active in Augusta for many years. Here's a listing for them in an 1823 Commercial Directory:

**In Item 10th in Jeremiah's will.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Throwback Thursday: Position Wanted

"Wanted: Position, by middle-aged widow woman of German descent...," Morning Examiner (Bartlesville, OK), page 7, col 1; digital image, The Gateway to Oklahoma History (http://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc143253/m1/9/zoom/?q=buchholz : accessed 15 December 2016).

The wanted ad in its its context.

The fate of my husband's 2nd great grandmother M Louise "Lizzie" (Malchow) Buchholz (born about March 1862, likely in Brandenberg, Germany) remains a mystery.  The wanted ad is the last record I find for her (I can't find her in the 1910 Federal Census).  She had daughters in Dewey, Washington County, Oklahoma about 1910, and one of her daughters married a man in Polk County, Missouri in 1911 (I'm not sure how they met, Polk County is over 200 miles away).

Modern Bing map showing Dewey, OK and Polk County, MO.  I will start on my journey to pick up Mrs. M. L. Buchholz's trail somewhere along that way along these corridors.

Mrs. M. L. Buchholz was the maternal grandmother of my husband's paternal grandmother Kathleen Murphy.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Chopping Wood for the Smoke House, Winchester Bay - 1954

I've posted before about our visits to friends at the Fisherman's Trailer Park* in Winchester Bay, Oregon. Lena (Helen Dunn) Spooner (1903-1972) and her husband Stanley (1898-1970) managed the trailer park for their son-in-law and Lena also smoked salmon for sports fishermen using her special recipe**. In this photo taken in 1954, Dad is chopping alder wood, I'm stoking the fire and Lena is posed in front of her smoke house. 

[From my personal collection]

*Now known as Fisherman's RV Park, it's operated by Lena's great granddaughter.
**If I recall correctly the salmon was soaked in a brine that included brown sugar. I've never tasted smoked fish that could match Lena's--still warm from the fire. Somehow whenever the time came to sample the salmon we kids would always be there.



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Finally! The Video of the Genetic Genealogy Conference from October 2016 in San Diego Has Arrived!

I attended the Institute for Genetic Genealogy (i4gg) conference in San Diego for only one day (I fell ill after the first night), but since Dear Mother had paid for the two-day pass with a promise of full video of the conference to follow later, all was not lost.  Now that the videos are finally available I am excited to review what both what I learned the first day, and I can also see what I missed on the second day.

Unfortunately, I cannot share the link/access to those videos with my readers, but I am looking forward to reviewing them and using new techniques with my DNA results.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Timney P. Watts (1805 - 1863) - Probate Records, Part 10, The Commission and the Depositions

As we saw in the previous post about probate records for my third great grandmother Timney P. Watts Warren Phillips, her heirs petitioned the Court to allow her land to be sold because "Said lands cannot be equitably fractioned or divided between Said Joint Owners without a Sale [.]" and that the Court appointed W.F. Hodnett as Commissioner empowered to take depositions of witnesses. Here's the official Commission signed by Judge C.A. Stanton which was misfiled in John P. Phillips' probate records.

[Description : Estate Papers, Petteway, Ignatius W to Phillips, Nancy. 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.]

Below is a printed form* describing the process.

[Description : Estate Papers, Phillips, Nancy (Minor) to Piques, Sarah.

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.]

[Description : Probate Records, Vol 10, 1863-1866; Probate Records, Vol 11, 1866-1868. 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.]

Thomas H Phillips       } Petition in Macon Probate Court
Jeremiah D Phillips     } to Sell Real Estate for a division
          vs                       } Interrogatories to be propounded
William R Phillips       } to William H Stanton & Alanson
                           Etal   } Lockwood Material Witness for the
Petitioners
Interrogatory 1, Are you acquainted with Certain lands, Situate
in Said County of Macon, and Known as the South half of the
north west Quarter, and Eighty Acres on the west half of the
South half of Section Eighteen (18) Township Fifteen (15) of Range
Twenty Four (24) being the dower Interest of Mrs Timney Phillips

Interrogatory 2, Are you acquainted with the heirs of John
Phillips? if Yea, name them, which are Minors, can or not
cannot Said land be equatably divided between said heirs without
a Sales? if not, state why not?                       Clopton & Ligon
                                                                      Attys for Petitioners

Depositions of Alanson Lockwood and William H Stanton
witnesses Sworn and examined under and by Virtue of a Comm-
-mission issued out of the Probate Court of the State of Alabama
for Macon County, in a Certain Cause therein depending between
Thomas H Phillips & Jeremiah D Phillips Plaintiffs and
William  R Phillips Etal Defendants,
   The witnesses being duly sworn to tell the truth, the whole
 truth and nothing but the truth, do depose[?] and Say as follows

To the first Interrogatory, they say they are acquainted with the
lands described in Said Interrogatory.

To the Second Interrogatory, they Say they are, their names are 
as follows W.R. Phillips, Josiah Phillips, Thomas H. Phillips,
Littleberry B Phillips; Jeremiah D Phillips, Lucinda I Varner

[Description : Probate Records, Vol 10, 1863-1866; Probate Records, Vol 11, 1866-1868. 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.]

Martha Adams, Mary Lane, Elizabeth Ann Lockwood, Elizabeth
Phillips, Eugenia Phillips, Columbiana Phillips & John T Phillips
of who the last named five (5) are minors, they further answer,
that Said lands cannot be equitably divided without a sale for
the following reasons (Viz, 1st there is not enough of it, 2nd there is
no timber on it, 3rd there are two public Roads running through
it, with a lane fence to be Kept up
                                                                     A. Lockwood
                                                                    W.H. Stanton
We the Commissioner in the Said Commission named, do hereby
Certify, that the evidence of the witnesses A Lockwood & W H
Stanton, was taken down under Oath & Subscribed by them in
in our presence on the 4th day of November 1863 at Cotton Valley in
the County of Macon State of Alabama, and that we have
personal Knowledge of Said witnesses
                          Witness our hand and Seal
                                            W F Hodnett {L.S}

The living children of John P. Phillips (1792-1852) by both his wives** are named as Defendants in this "Certain Cause." And the first two men, William R. (W.R.) and Josiah***, weren't previously identified as his sons. Because William's name leads the list I'm assuming he's the eldest. It's equally unclear to me who Martha Adams and Mary Lane are as they aren't accounted for in our family tree.

The named minor heirs include Elizabeth Ann Lockwood (1851-1917) the only child of Timney's oldest daughter Elizabeth Ann Phillips and her husband Alanson Lockwood. However the connection of Elizabeth, Eugenia, Columbiana and John T. Phillips to this family are unknown to me at the moment.

So thanks to these two pages of probate records I have new people to research.



*This form is part of the records for the 1866 petition but it's unlikely that the procedure changed in the meantime.
**His first wife was Ann Nancy Pennington (1798-bef.1827).
***Our tree did have a Josiah Phillips (b.1822) who married my first cousin 4 times removed Martha Ann Chappell but we hadn't connected him to John P. Phillips and Nancy Ann.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: Triky, Beziers 2012

Returning to the photos I took of the Beziers motorcycle rally in Beziers four years ago, here's today's offering: Triky.

[From my personal collection]

From the number 58 on Triky's French license plate we can tell that its home base is in the department of Nièvre* in Burgundy, about 350 miles north of  Beziers.


*I haven't been to this part of France (yet).


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Using DNA Databases to Solve the Identity of Unidentified Bodies and Family Members of Serial Killers

The Boy in the Box mystery might eventually be solved using DNA.  The DOE Network profile on him indicates that DNA was extracted in the 1990s--hopefully an updated DNA test could yield more clues?

Friend and "Ancestry Island" blog reader Bonnie brought up an interesting question the other day about what the genealogy community has to say about using the DNA matches of family members to search for killers.  I myself have often wondered if the genetic DNA databases like Ancestry and Family Tree DNA have been used to solve unidentified body cases.  Are some of my DNA matches to unidentified dead people?

A Google search revealed that this practice of using the DNA of family members is called "familial DNA searching" (an example of the phrase can be found in the recent AP: Big Story article "Could familial DNA crack case of slain New York City jogger?").

As Bonnie pointed out, DNA databases seem like an obvious place to look but there are legal objections that must also be considered.  Forensic genealogy (defined by the Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy as "genealogical research, analysis, and reporting in cases with legal implications") is the most likely genealogical field to be involved with familial DNA searching.

The National Forensic Science Technology Center (NFSTC) has a page Forensic DNA Education for Law Enforcement Decision Makers that includes an overview about familial DNA searching.

Some cases solved with familial DNA searching, plus a pro and con discussion, can be found here at DNA Forensics: News and Information about DNA Databases.




© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate files: Jeremiah Warren Part 12, Receipt for Bequest to William Warren

The fourth bequest listed in great uncle Jeremiah Warren's will of 1832 was to his brother William who was to receive land and two enslaved persons:

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch, Hancock > Wills and administration records 1831-1840 vol N > image 78 of 376; county probate courthouses, Georgia]

Item 4th.  I give my brother William Warren plantation whereon I now
live and all the money that he now owes me and a negro man named
Pomp and a negro girl named Rilar that now is with my Mother.

And here are the appraised values assigned to those two slaves in inventory of Jeremiah's estate and the note executed by William as listed in the account of his money and notes filed with the Probate Court.

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-30371-16129-19?cc=1999178 : 20 May 2014), Hancock > Wills and administration records 1831-1840 vol N; county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G93G-8JZH?cc=1999178&wc=9SYB-7M3%3A267654601%2C267802801 : 20 May 2014), Hancock > image 108 of 376;

county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

On March 11, 1833 William formally acknowledged receipt of Pomp and Rilah and the note representing his loan that Jeremiah forgave him in his bequest.

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G93G-8JMK?cc=1999178&wc=9SYB-7M3%3A267654601%2C267802801 : 20 May 2014), Hancock > image 151 of 376; county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

Received of John GrayBill and Jesse G Butts Exrs of the last will & testament of
     Jeremiah Warren late of Hancock County dec'd two Negroes Pomp a man and
     Rilah a woman they being the negroes bequeathed by said dec'd in his said last
     will to me & I do bind myself my heirs & assigns to forever acquit the
     said John & Jesse of any claim that may be raised or attempted to be raised
     to said negroes. Also one note made the second of February 1829 due the
     fourth of February 1830 it being also given to me by said Will this 11th
     March 1833.
                                      William Warren

In the 1840 Georgia Property Tax Digest, William Warren's listed property included 25 enslaved persons but it's impossible to tell if Pomp and Rilah were among them.

[Militia District Number: 101, 1840. 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.]

The 1850 U.S. Census Slave Schedule listed 59 men, women and children as the human property of William Warren, but again none of their names were recorded.

However William Warren's will, admitted to probate on January 9, 1860, mentions four men including Pompey in a bequest for the benefit of his niece Delilah (Warren) Breedlove (c1813-1860)* and her children along with a 500-acre plantation given by Jeremiah Warren for their "sole and separate use."

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G935-V82K?cc=1999178&wc=9SBM-GPF%3A267654601%2C267833701 : 20 May 2014), Hancock > image 171 of 586;

county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

William only named a few of his slaves in his will and Rilah wasn't one of them. I spent several hours today looking through the pages of the Probate Court records for the inventory of his estate but I haven't found it yet.**


*She was the daughter of his brother Robert Warren (1783-1851). Delilah and her husband Nathaniel G Breedlove had seven children, three sons and four daughters.

**Usually the inventory happens not long after probate is given but there's no trace of William's in the subsequent 200 pages.



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.