Hallowe'en Greetings

[Art and Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. "Hallowe'en greetings." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e3-477f-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99]

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Timney P. Watts (1805 - 1863) - Probate Records, Part 6, Confederate States of America Bond

Six months after Timney's death, her son J.D. Phillips, the administrator of her estate, deposited $2,750* in Montgomery, Alabama, about 50 miles from Cotton Valley. Although the bond he received promised 4% annual interest, the Confederacy fell a little over a year later which made the bond itself worthless.

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

The 1856 Central Bank of Alabama** where the C.S. Depository Office was located still stands and is a contributing structure to the Court Square Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

[Stephen Travels: Top 5 Buildings in Montgomery, Alabama]

*Confederate dollars.
**You can read more about the building here. It's #3 on the list.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: Citroën

Another Sunday, another Citroën. We saw this Citroën 2CV "deux chevaux" parked on a street in Olargues* in late August of 2009.

[From my personal collection]

*Olargues, about 20 minutes from Roquebrun, is officially one of the most beautiful villages in France.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Tip: Add Notes To Your DNA Matches at AncestryDNA

My mom and I share 3,483 centimorgans shared across 42 DNA segments, by Ancestry's calculation.  I found that out by clicking on the dark circle with the white "i" in the Predicted relationship info, and then copied and pasted the values in the comment section (see arrow).

For the past few years I've been using the comment section for each of my parents' DNA matches at Ancestry, noting any details I can figure out about the match, including shared cousins and any special mentions of certain names and places if they have a  tree to consult.  At a glimpse of the main match pages I can see how these people are related.

When I went to the Institute for Genetic Genealogy last week Blaine Bettinger recommended noting the shared DNA for each match, which totally makes sense, so I've been methodically going in and adding that information to each cousin match profile.  I had just ignored the shared DNA for a long time on Ancestry because I thought it was useless information without a chromosome browser, but even just knowing the amount of estimated shared data can be helpful, as seen in the following chart (by Bettinger):

The chart gives you typical amounts as well as the possible range of shared DNA.  If you have an ancestor match with someone at the estimated 5th cousin match (shared possible range 0-42cM), but actually share 235cM, you or the other person may not have all the correct info on your trees.  I have just such an issue with a match on my mom's side.
From: "Shared cM Project v2 updated". Via  - http://isogg.org/wiki/File:Shared_cM_Project_v2_updated.png#mediaviewer/File:Shared_cM_Project_v2_updated.png

Dad and I share 3,483 centimorgans shared across 39 DNA segments, by Ancestry's calculations.

NOTE:
At GEDmatch the cumulative numbers are presented differently, because it's a different program--and they do tell you approximately where you match, and you have control over the minimum segment cM (I think Ancestry's is 5(?)cM, GEDmatch default is 7cM):



Comparing Kit (*Pat) and (Christine Hartley)

Minimum threshold size to be included in total = 500 SNPs
Mismatch-bunching Limit = 250 SNPs
Minimum segment cM to be included in total = 7.0 cM

Largest segment = 281.5 cM
Total of segments > 7 cM = 3,587.0 cM
24 matching segments
Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 1.0




Comparing Kit (*George) and (Christine Hartley)

Minimum threshold size to be included in total = 500 SNPs
Mismatch-bunching Limit = 250 SNPs
Minimum segment cM to be included in total = 7.0 cM

Largest segment = 281.5 cM
Total of segments > 7 cM = 3,586.8 cM
25 matching segments
Estimated number of generations to MRCA = 1.0





© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Teel

Here's a picture of another fifth cousin from the Warren side of my lineage. Mary "Bethel" Teel (1910 - 1942) is the great great granddaughter of Allen Love Warren, one of Robert Warren's sons that Great Uncle Jeremiah didn't exclude from benefiting from his 1831 will.

[Harry A. Scott, Jr. added this to Mary "Bethel" Teel's profile in his Ancestry.com tree SIMMONS' OF ALABAMA]

Here's how Ancestry.com explains our relationship:

Mary "Bethel" Teel (1910 - 1942)

5th cousin

Alice May Kent (1882 - 1950)

mother of Mary "Bethel" Teel

Rutha A Warren (1859 - 1935)

mother of Alice May Kent

Henry Marion Warren (1834 - 1906)

father of Rutha A Warren

Allen Love Warren (1807 - 1836)

father of Henry Marion Warren

Robert Warren (1783 - 1851)

father of Allen Love Warren

Jesse WARREN Sr (1747 - 1827)

father of Robert Warren

Jesse WARREN Jr (1790 - 1826)

son of Jesse WARREN Sr

Jesse Thomas Simeon WARREN (1825 - 1894)

son of Jesse WARREN Jr

James Chappell "J C" WARREN Sr (1854 - 1924)

son of Jesse Thomas Simeon WARREN

James Chappell WARREN Jr (1897 - 1923)

son of James Chappell "J C" WARREN Sr

Tracy Stuart WARREN (1923 - )

son of James Chappell WARREN Jr

Patricia Ann SLATER

You are the daughter of Tracy Stuart WARREN

She married Julian Evans Ward Sr. (1893-1972) in Russell County, Alabama, on September 9, 1933.

[Amy Koon shared this image on Julian Ward's profile in her DUCKOONS tree on Ancestry.com]

[Another photo shared by Harry A. Scott, Jr.]

The couple had four children before Bethel's death on May 18, 1942, in Russell County.




© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Throwback Thursday: DearMYRTLE's "Wacky Wednesday - About PERSI"

We're in the silly season of this election (will it ever end??), and I'm a little brain dead tonight after spending the day analyzing DNA matches, so I thought it appropriate that tonight's throwback video is a little silly.

In this October 8, 2014 video, DearMYRTLE's "very distant cousin" Fraulein Schmidt discusses PERSI (Periodical Source Index) with a few other genealogists.  There is some great background information on PERSI, some tips on using it, adding citations to downloaded images from PERSI when they are available, and ideas on obtaining the text of referenced articles when they aren't available online.

I've only started using PERSI at FindMyPast.com, so an informal discussion like this is just what I needed.





© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Jeremiah Warren Part 6, The Inventory and Appraisal

On September 25, 1832, Thomas Clayton, Wyatt Harper and Wilkins Smith submitted their appraisal of Great Uncle Jeremiah's "goods, chattels & credits" to the Probate Court of Hancock County, Georgia.

["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.]

An Inventory and Appraisement of the estate of
Jeremiah Warren deceased

No 1     Two Beds and furniture, one bed stead               20.00
      2     One Bed  " furniture               12.00
      3     Five duffel Blankets*               6.00
     4     Three Rose Blankets*               5.00
     5     Five pieces of bed clothing               6.25
     6     One trunk               .50
     7     Two Shot Guns               5.00
     8     One Pine Box               [.]25
     9     one Clock               10.00
    10    one pine table               .50
    11    one Water Bucket               .50
    12    One mahogany beauro & Looking glass               12.00
    13    One mans Saddle               5.00
    14    Seven chairs & one clock reel**               2.75
    15    4 Barrels 1 Bedstead & cord***               3.25
    16    4 Spinning wheels & 4 prs cotton cards****               8.00
    17   1 Loom 1 pr Harness and 3 Slaies[?]               5.00
    18   1 Table & crockery ware               5.87
    19   1 churn 1 Tub & pail               2.00
    20   1 Coffee mill                .50
    21   3 Ovens 2 prs pot hooks 1 Tea kettle Stribit[?]               7.00
    22   9 Jars 1 Jug 1 pair of Shovel and tongs               4.00
    23   1 Ox cart               15.00
    24   1 Grind-stone               1.00
    25   20 pieces of plough hoes            5.00
    26   4 Plough stocks and hoes, 2 swingletrees & clevices               6.00
    27   5 pairs of harness and 4 pair traces               3.75
    28   8 Weeding hoes               2.50
    29   5 Axes               5.00

["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.]

Amt Brot over
    30    1 Lot of old Irons 2 Ox yokes & staples               2.00
    31    3 Smoothing Irons 1 pr wedges 1 pr steelyards*****               2.00
    32    1 pair Scales & weights               1.00
    33    1 Still, case, & worm******               25.00
    34    1 Large pot & 2 tubs               4.25
    35    1 Bay mare Charlotte               15.00
    36    1 Bay Horse Sam               75.00
    37    1 Horse mule, Jack               75.00
    38    1 Bay horse, Fox               30.00
    39    1 Bay horse, Judge                45.00           
    40    1 Bay mare Kesizah               45.00 
    41    1 Bay mare Blind               5.00
    42    1 Sorrel mule colt one eye out               50.00
    43    1 Sorrell horse Jim               30.00
    44    1 Bay horse, Mike               30.00
    45    1 Bay mare Jin             30.00
    46    1 Horse mule Rock               75.00
    47    157 head of hogs @ $2.00 per Head               314.00
    48    50 head of cattle @ $3.00   "      "                   150.00
    49    9     "      "       "    "  $4.00   "     "                     36.00
    50    1 Ox               12.00
    51    1 Lot of plough gear plough stocks, & harrow do               11.00
    52    2 Cows & calves at 7$ per piece               14.00
    53    1 Lot of plough hoes, 1 wedge 1 pair steelyard 2 pair
                                                                hances & traces               10.00
    54    2 plough stocks 1 harrow stock               1.50
    55    1 Lot of Axes, 1 S[c]ythe and weeding hoes               1.50
    56    1 Cotton gin               25.00
    57    137 Barrels old corn at 2[.]50 per Bl               342.50
    58    12650 lbs of fodder at 62ce per cwt               79.06
    59    7000 lbs oats          "    50 c   "     "                 35.00
    60    1 Stack of Rye               12.00
    61    5480  pounds of fodder at 62ce per cwt               34.50
    62    1300       "      old   "      "   50c     "   "                  6.50
    63    5680       "      new   "     "   75      "   "                  42.60
Amt carried forward
-------------------------- amt brot, forward
    64    2600 pounds oats     50 per cwt               13.00
    65    Hannah a woman & her three children (viz) Gideon, Willy, Absalom     900.00
    66    Amy      "         "              four     "     Matt Caroline Joby & Mason          1000.00
    67    Mary      "                 three children "  Sandal, Rhody &  Francis        950.00
    68    Eliza      "         "       two  do    Sophia & Mina               700.00
    69    Judy      "         "         three     "      "  Creasy, Clem & Hilliard            900.00
    70    Pat        "         "           Child     "      "  Fanny                  500.00
    71    Abram a man                                                            400.00
    72    Robbin " boy                                                           400.00
    73    John  "   boy                                                            250.00
    74    Tom a man                                                                  50.00
    75    Lucy " woman                                                        250.00
    75    Letha  "  girl                                                             400.00
    76    Dave a man                                                             575.00
    77   Meredith a man                                                       600.00
    78   Hal a man                                                                575.00
    79   Stephen a man                                                         575.00
    80   Dennis a boy                                                            450.00
    81   Coleman a man                                                        450.00
    83   Buck a man                                                              400.00
    84   Rilla a girl                                                                 425.00
    85   Pomp a man                                                              500.00
    86   Edmund a man                                                          600.00
    87   Jack     "      "                                                             600.00
    88   Anderson                                                                   600.00
    89   Mill stones                                           10.00

We do certify, upon oath as far as was produced
to us by the Executors the above and foregoing contains a true
appraisement of the goods, chattels & credits of the estate of
Jeremiah Warren dec'd to the best of our judgement and
understanding.
Sept. the 25th 1832

Thos Clayton
Wyatt Harper
Wilkins Smith
Appraisers

At the top of the following page are certifications that each and every one of the appraisers "were sworn to do their duty as appraisers according to law..." I'm not including that page now because immediately below it is a list of "notes of account" for sums owed to Jeremiah and I'm going to cover that next week.

Note that either the appraisers themselves or whoever entered the appraisement into court records made several mistakes in the numbering of the items appraised--there are two 75s and no 82.

Looking back at Jeremiah's will, he seems to have made some attempt to keep families together in his bequests:

In Item the 1st "Hannah and her increase" were loaned to his sister Sarah Harton for her lifetime and then to be divided between her three sons.

Item 2nd loaned "Buck, Judy and her children" to sister Mary 

warren for her lifetime and then to his brother Robert Warren's children except Epps and James Warren who were specifically excluded.

Item 3rd loaned Robert Warren "the negroes Eliza and her children Sophia and and Mina and Stephen her husband" for his lifetime then to go to his daughter Sarah "and the heirs of her body."

Item 4th's bequest to brother William gave him "a negro man named Pomp and a negro girl named Rilar that now is with my Mother."

Item 5th was directed at his sister Elizabeth Smith who was not given any of Jeremiah's human property (and she was not to profit from a later sale).

Item 6th covered the two children of his deceased brother James--Martha was to receive "one Negroe boy named William" and her brother James "one negroe boy named Robbin."

Item 7th directed that "one negro  boy named Matt "to his 7-year old nephew (and my great great grandfather J.T.S. Warren "which negro is not to go into his posseson untill he arives at full age twenty one." 

In Item 8th Jeremiah limited his bequest to sister Susan Johnson to the same terms as to sister Susan in Item 5th.

And in Item 9th Sarah Harton's son Jesse W. Harton's share was "one negro boy named Dennis to go into his possession at my death."

And then there's the seven individuals "Coleman Mary and her three children and Pat and John" who, within five years, "if they can at any time be freed by the laws of the Country it is my will it shall be done."

According to the appraisal of September 1832, Pat was the mother of Fanny who's not mentioned in Jeremiah's will which was drawn up in December of 1831. It seems likely to me that Fanny must have been born after the will was made during the six months "severe affliction" Jeremiah suffered for more than six months before his death in July of 1832.

*For a description of these imported (from England) blankets, look here.
**See a picture of a clock reel here.
***You can find a description of various types of bedsteads here.
****There's an explanation of carding here.
*****Steelyard balance wiki here.
*****Jeremiah was evidently following in his father Jesse Warren Sr.'s distilling footsteps.



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Nice Find: "Colleen Fitzpatrick - CSI meets Roots"

Between applying some new ideas I got from attending the Institute for Genetic Genealogy's conference here in San Diego last Saturday, and binge watching Forensic Files on Amazon Prime, I've gained a new appreciation in the last few days for a systematic analysis of small but important details to solve mysteries.

I often wonder if those into genealogy are also interested in forensic science used to solve crimes?  Silly question...

This is the woman behind the Dead Horse Investigation.



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Timney P. Watts (1805 - 1863) - Probate Records, Part 5, The List of Property

There's no date on this inventory but it had to have been completed before the end of 1863 so the amounts are given in Confederate dollars. No personal effects are listed so there's a wardrobe but no mention of clothing and a book case without mention of what books it held.

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

The list of property appraised
on Mrs Timney Phillips Estate Dec'd.
by John L Carmichael A. Lockwood A
McBoysh W S Crawford and W H
Stantin
                                 Value
1 Wardrobe          $12.00
   Clock          8.00
   Beaureau          15.00
   Book case          8.00
   Clock          1.00
   Beil[Bell?]          10.00
2 wheels*          10.00 
11 Chairs          11.00
   Lot Croc[k]ery          80.00
1 Dining Table          8.00
3 Small    "             3.00
1 Large    "            1.00
1 Mirror          2.50
2 Water Buckets          4.00
2 Washstands          1.00
2 Table & workstand          6.00
1 Bed stead &c          40.00
1 Bed stead &c         $30.00
"   "      "      "              50.00
1 Matress stand            25.00
5 Counterpains            7.00
7 Cover lids**            140.00
1 [too faint to read]          20.00
6 Quilts            60.00
10 sheets            50.00
7 Pillow slips          7.00
 Covering of quilt            3.00
2 Trunks 1 box            6.00
34 Pains glass            30.00
100 lbs of Cotton          90.00
1 Loom            10.00
2 Cook spiders***          10.00
1 Pot & tea kettle          5.00
Sheets of  [?]           3.50
Pot [?]            1.00
2 Pot racks            6.00
2 Wash Pots            10.00
3     "     Tubs            3.00
1 D[?]****           25.00
7 bushels wheat        56.00
1 Wagon           100.00
1 ginger jars           4.00
1 Mule            300.00
1 Bay mare            50.00
1 Clay Bank            50.00
3 [?] gear            25.00
1 Gin            25.00
250 bushel Corn            500.00
2000 lbs fodder            30.00
1 Buggy           75.00
1 Thrasher            100
Smiths tools           200.00
228 lb Iron                228.00
16 Carry Plows            424.00
2 shovels [swate? & scouter?]          54.00
Lot Iron old plows            50.00
3 sheep           30.00
? Goats[?]            675.00
4 sows & 4 Pigs            200.00
4 Cows & 4 Calfs            400.00
2 heifers            200.00
1 Beef yearling            50.00
1 steer            25.00
Enoch            1000.00
Doctor            1500.00
Harriett            100.00
Martha            1250.00
1 s[c]ythe Cradle*****            5.00
                                               8494.00


Of the four enslaved persons listed, Enoch and Doctor had been part of Timney's second husband's estate when he died in 1852.


*Spinning wheels
**Coverlets
***A long handled skillet on three legs for cooking on a hearth. If you want to buy one for yourself  you can find them at the Historic Housefitters Co. for $165.00.
****Given the context perhaps some kind of drying rack?
*****Here's one of these in action:

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: Citroën

One Sunday four years and a couple of days ago, Bonnie and I went to the semi-annual antiques fair and flea market in Pezenas, about an hour from Roquebrun.

This gorgeous old Citroën 5CV wasn't for sale but it was sure getting a lot of attention.

[From my personal collection]

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Warren

Continuing my search for distant  cousins who are descended from siblings of Great Uncle Jeremiah Warren, I decided to try looking at the lineage of his nephew Epps Warren (1807-1871)*, the son of Jeremiah's brother Robert Warren (1783-1851). This branch of the stayed in Hancock County, Georgia.

Johnnie Maud Warren (1904-1931) was the great great granddaughter of Epps through his son William Madison Warren's second son Thomas Gresham Warren (1870-1925) which makes her my 4th cousin, once removed. The youngest of five children, she was only two years old when her mother died. She married Roger Dewey Jackson (1902-1998), pictured here with her, in 1923 and the couple moved to Warren County where Johnnie died at 27 along with an infant child, leaving three other children.

[Johnnie Maud Warren Jackson and R Dewey Jackson, about 1925 - Warrenton, Georgia.

From her profile in oak1205's ancestry.com tree.]

*Epps, who Jeremiah didn't want to benefit from his estate, will be getting his own post soon.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Thursday Night Free Webinar: "Educational Preparation for Certification: Many Paths to the Same Goal" by Angela Packer McGhie

I don't work for Legacy Family Tree, but I always enjoy their webinars!

The webinar "Educational Preparation for Certification: Many Paths to the Same Goal" by Angela Packer McGhie, CG is for those who are considering the certification from the Board for Certification of Genealogists, and anyone who wants to improve their genealogical skills:

Developing the skills necessary to produce work that meets the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) takes time and effort. This presentation will highlight some of the educational options that are helpful in learning about each element of the GPS including thorough research, citations, evidence analysis, written conclusions; as well as each element of the application portfolio. The goal is to both understand and be able to meet genealogy standards. There are many educational paths to choose from, and both formal and independent study options will be discussed. 

This webinar is hosted and sponsored by the Board for Certification of Genealogists

Run time is 1 hr 14 minutes, and is free for non-subscribers through November 1, 2016.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Jeremiah Warren Part 5, The Codicil

Sometime after Great Uncle Jeremiah Warren signed and sealed his will in front of witnesses, he wrote out this codicil:

[Georgia, Probate Records, 1742-1990, images,

FamilySearch, Hancock - Wills and administration records 1831-1840 vol N - image 80 of 376; county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

And lastly it is  express will and desire and I do hereby
order and appoint that if any dispute difference question
 or controversy be moved or arise concerning any gift or
bequathed or thing in this my last Will given and bequeathed
expressed or contained that no suit  in law of equity or otherwise
shall be brought for and concerning the same but that it be
refered to my friends Joel Crofford and James Thomas of
Sparta and what   determined shall be binding and conclus-
ive to all intents and every person therein concerned also
it is my wish that my mother Elizabeth Warren Sr. shall
have one choice mule.

Also it is my wish that the support for the first year
to be reserved at the Parker place for said negroes--
also it is my wish that my negroe woman Amey
shall have fifty dollars to be paid when the final division
takes place aso two sous and bigs to be applied for the
use of the above negroes at the Parker place.

Jeremiah Warren

It's clear from this final provision Jeremiah knew he had put items in his will that were likely to cause trouble so he named two of his friends whom he wanted to make the final, binding decisions.

What can we find out about these men?

James Thomas (c.1799-1866) was born in Hancock County and became a successful lawyer whose law practice was based in Sparta. In the 1830 U.S. Census the entry for the Hancock County household of James Thomas lists 4 free white persons: 1 male 20-30, 1 male 30-40, 1 female under 5 years of age and 1 female 20-30. There are also 8 enslaved persons for a total of 12 people.

Joel Crawford's* entry in the same census lists a household comprised of 100 persons, 5 free white persons: 1 male 40-50 and 2 little boys under 5, a female 30-40 and a young girls under 5; of the the 95 slaves, nearly half were under the age of 10.

[The twentieth century biographical dictionary of notable Americans ..vol III

by Johnson, Rossiter, 1840-1931, ed; Brown, John Howard, 1840-1917, ed. Published 1904.

Source: Archive.org digitized from the collections of the New York Public Library.]

And at times Mr. Crawford served as a Justice of the Hancock County Inferior Court:

["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch, Hancock > Wills and administration records 1831-1840 vol N > image 30 of 376; county probate courthouses, Georgia.]

By choosing these two prominent men in the community that he called his friends Jeremiah was probably hoping that his final wishes would be respected.



*Since the transcriber of the original document into the probate record underlined words that were misspelled and Crofford was partially underlined, when I didn't find anyone with that surname in the 1830 enumeration for Hancock County I tried Crawford and hit gold.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Please Let Me Have Been Barking Up the Wrong Tree!

Job Taylor, wife Betsey, and possible children Simeon Taylor, Betsey Taylor, and George Taylor.  All other records I find of "Simeon" list him as Simon.  1850 U.S. census, Johnson County, Iowa, population schedule, Washington township, p. 130 (stamped), dwelling 67, family 67, Job Taylor; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 18 Oct 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 185.

I've spent every which way trying to figure out Sarah Lynchard and Thomas Taylor, and have been disappointed that not one of my mother's DNA matches seems to track in any meaningful way with what I know of those two.  A doubt has been growing in my mind that they are not actually our ancestors.  The woman I thought was their daughter, Elizabeth Taylor (b abt 1845 in Ohio), married George Marion Tomlinson in 1860, and my mother has plenty of DNA confirmation for those Tomlinsons.  But no Taylors from Maryland (well, some moderate matches back in the 1600s but that isn't very promising considering how common the Taylor name is).

So I decided yesterday to get back to basics.  First, was the Elizabeth Taylor who married Tomlinson the daughter of Thomas Taylor and Sarah Lynchard?  Why was I assuming that?  I have no direct evidence that she was, except that she was in the right place (Washington County, Iowa in 1860) and of marriageable age (although I was pushing it, as she was only about 14 or 15 in 1860).

When I had decided to settle on Thomas Taylor and Sarah Lynchard as the parents a few years ago, I thought I had exhausted the likely Elizabeth Taylors in the area of marriageable age.  But being new to the game, I managed to overlook a certain BETSEY Taylor (b abt 1835 in Ohio) who lived in the area between Washington County, Iowa and neighboring Johnson County, Iowa.  An area somewhat closer to where George Tomlinson was living in 1860.  She would have been about 25 (George would have been about 21).

And when I checked my mother's highest Taylor DNA matches, sure enough she had both a Very High Confidence match (51 centimorgans shared across 3 DNA segments) and a Good match (19.2 centimorgans shared across 3 DNA segments) to descendants of this Betsey Taylor's brother, Simon Taylor , who lived most of his life in Washington County, Iowa.

Hello!  Could this be my big Taylor breakthrough, finally?





© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Timney P. Watts (1805 - 1863) - Probate Records, Part 4, More Doctor Bills

The second physician to attend my great great great grandmother Timney P. Watts Warren Phillips during her final illness was Dr. William D. Hall.*

My transcription:

Mrs Timney Phillips

1863                                                           To Wm. D. Hall Dr

May  20     To visit P. & med to MA** (3.00) 2 large Pl. must.*** & 4 small (1.00)     4.00

         21      "  visit    "      "     "     "    morning & Evening     5.00

         22      "  visit    "      "     "     "    -----     2.50

         22         visit    "      "     "     "    -----     2.50

June  12         visit P. & med to Self (5 pills Blue mass**** & opium     3.50

         13         visit "     "     "     "     -----     -----   3.00

Aug   17     Div. Pulv. (25) (19) visit P. & Med to Self (3.00)     3.25

                   mustard Plasters 50 ---         .50

          20     visit P. & med to self   Am ----  must. Pl to back (50)    3.00

         21      visits per day   P. & med                 5.00

         22      visit P. & med     P.M.                      2.50

         23       visit     "     "                                   2.50

24, 25 & 26   Quinine, mus  1. Laud. & morphine            2.00

Sept  1          mustard (1.00)                   1.00

                                                    40.75

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

            Amt forwarded                          40.75
     Med.     a/c of 1862                   $3.45
     St[??]      "     "     1862 & 63           3.40
                                                           $47.60

1862[?]
     Dec 28th ---  Received J.D. Phillips admt.
     Forty Seven & 60/100 Dollars in full of the above
     a/c,                 Wm. D. Hall

Allowed [probate court note]

State of Alabama
Macon County
Personally appeared before
me, John L. Carmichael, an acting
J.P. in & for Sd. County, Dr. Wm. D. Hall, who being duly sworn
deposith & saith, that the above accounts are just &
true & that they have not been paid, nor any part of them.
Sworn to & subscribed before me on this
26th December 1863                          Wm. D. Hall, M.D.

John L. Carmichael Justice of Peace

You may recall from my post about Timney's obituary in the Southern Christian Advocate that stated she died of "bilious fever" which could be a number of different diseases including typhoid or yellow fever.

It appears that Timney's final illness was serious enough that Dr. Hall, who had begun treating her on August 17th, felt the need to confer with her other physician, Dr. Hodnett, 6 days later. Thereafter both doctors made daily visits to their patient who died on September 2nd. The obituary ended with this:

From the commencement of her illness, she seemed conscious of her approaching dissolution, and often spoke of it with composure, expressing herself as willing "to depart and be with Christ," after admonishing those who came to see her as well as those around her, to prepare for death and the judgment.

Since her death occurred nearly two months after the fall of Vicksburg which split the Confederate states along the line of the Mississippi River, it's unlikely that her oldest son J.T.S. Warren (my great great grandfather in Texas)  would have been aware of his mother's illness and death for some time.




*I'm not certain which William D. Hall is referred to as I haven't been able to find a record of a doctor of that name in Macon County in the 1860s.
**Is this Martha Ann?
***You can read more about mustard plasters here.
****Blue mass was a laxative given in small doses with opium to counteract the constipating effects of the drug.




© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: San Diego, the Working Port

Checking out the news this weekend, I find that it's "Maritime Month" here in San Diego and our Port is again sponsoring free bus and boat tours of their facilities like the one I took back in 2012 when I took this photo of cars being unloaded at the Pasha Automotive Services. It's amazing how quickly the whole process goes.

[From my personal collection]

 Last year over 400,000 cars (many different brands including Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Honda, Mazda and Mitsubishi) came into the country through the National City Marine Terminal which means that 1 in 10 vehicles on our roads pass through San Diego.*

Note: Here's a link to a story earlier this year when the cars were arriving too fast to be unloaded right away.


*And let's not forget all the bananas and other tropical fruit that Dole ships to the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal every week in one of their yellow boats. (And they give you a free banana when you board the Port's tour bus.)

[Photo: Unified Port of San Diego]

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Comparing First Cousins: Elizabeth Taylor, Archibald Mullenix, and Elizabeth Henrietta Mullinex (Updated: They Aren't Cousins At All)

Elizabeth Taylor (1844-1863), who married George Tomlinson. Courtesy of Olive Kennedy.

I am deeply uneasy about my 2nd great grandmother Rufina Tomlinson's maternal upline through her mother Elizabeth Taylor, primarily because I have not found one single confident DNA cousin match for my mother to either of Elizabeth's parents (Thomas Taylor and Sarah Lynchard).  In contrast, we have plenty of Rufina's father George Tomlinson cousin matches.  Am I barking up the wrong tree?  Or did we simply not get much of their DNA?

Or, do we already have a bunch of DNA matches but they are all to people who do not have public trees for me to compare?  I'm hoping that is what is happening, and that more Taylor/Lynchard descendants just need to put up both their DNA and develop their trees [let's get cracking on that, people!].

Although I don't put too much stock in looks to discover if people are related, I feel a little better when comparing the photo above of Elizabeth Taylor to known photos of her first cousins through her mother Sarah Lynchard's sister Mary Polly Lynchard Mullenix's children, Archibald Mullenix and Elizabeth Henrietta Mullenix.

What struck me was Archibald Mullenix's (1846-1916) jawline compared to Elizabeth Taylor's jawline.  They are quite similar. Image shared by Ancestry user scoutmaster87.

Elizabeth Henrietta Mullenix (1852-1895). Dark hair seemed to run in the Lynchard side, although I think I read that the Mullenix's were dark.  I haven't a clue what a Lynchard looks like. Image shared by Ancestry user DawnOBrien41.

And Rufina:

Daughter of Elizabeth Taylor and George Tomlinson.  Her jawline is similar to my eyes as to her mother and uncle Archibald. Courtesy of Olive Kennedy.

UPDATE 2018:   This kind of comparison is pretty worthless.  Similar jawlines notwithstanding, I proved a while back that we were not related to the Lynchard/Mullenix's at all, but a different Taylor family in Iowa (Job Taylor and Betsey LNU).


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Warren/Smith

As I've been examining the probate records for my fourth great uncle Jeremiah Warren* over the past month, it's clear that several of his relatives had said or done something that caused him to limit his bequests. One of them was his sister Elizabeth who had married William Smith in 1822.

[Marriage Records, Book, 1808-1879. Ancesrty.com. Georgia, Marriage Records From Select Counties, 1828-1978 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: County Marriage Records, 1828–1978. The Georgia Archives, Morrow, Georgia]

And here's Jeremiah's bequest to Elizabeth:

Item 5th. I give Elizabeth Smith twenty five dollars and the money due
me by William Smith her husband for rent.
And in Item 10th, he stated that she was one of his heirs who wasn't to benefit if it happened that the six enslaved persons had to remain in bondage:
[I]f they cannot have them freed by the Laws of our Country in that time are to be equally divided by my brothers and sisters or their heirs except Epps Warren and James Warren and Elizabeth Smith and Susan Johnson as I do not wish them to have any part in said division.
Elizabeth and William Smith had four children, two daughters and two sons. From the names given to both boys, Warren R. Smith (1825-1851) and Henry Warren Smith (1827-1897), the family's connection to the Warrens was maintained.

While Warren R. died within a year of his marriage and had no known children, his brother Henry Warren had two children by his first wife and six by his second. Of those eight children only one son, the youngest of all, was given Warren as a middle name.

However Henry Warren Smith's oldest son, William Horace Smith (1851-1922), named his second son Jesse Warren Smith (1874-1943) after his own great grandfather Jesse Warren Sr. (c.1747 - 1827).

Thanks to a gentleman in Texas whose wife is the connection to the Smiths, I've found a photo of Jesse Warren Smith, my third cousin, 3 times removed. He was a carpenter.

[From Jesse W Smith Ancestry.com Profile in kenhoc's tree]

Note that in the 1940 U.S. Census, he called himself "Warren Smith".

[Year: 1940; Census Place: Seminary, Covington, Mississippi; Roll: T627_2019; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 16-3.  Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls.]

*So far I've posted about his Life, the Caveat, the Said Will, and Item #10


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.