Family Research – BACKTRACKING THE COMMON

September 16, 2016

Dealing with Discouragement in Your Genealogy

Photo credit: www.quotesnpictures.com — Photo credit: http://www.quotesnpictures.com

Discouragement is the companion of the family historian. You either learn to face it or you get out of genealogy.

Genealogists and family historians come in all flavors. They’re as different as snowflakes. The one constant? They all must learn to deal with discouragement. If you’re going to stay in “the hunt” and continue your “backtracking”, you’ll need to overcome discouragement. Believe me. It will be worth it!

Let me frame it for us. What are some common discouragements in genealogy?

The learning curve – We can’t learn fast enough to prevent mistakes costing us time and money.
The Cost of the hobby – Everywhere you turn, someone appears to be trying to “make a buck” off your interest in your ancestry.
Disinterested family members – Our families may show little or no interest and may even be antagonistic toward our research.
Missing courthouse documents – You put in the time and effort to go to the courthouse only to discover someone has either removed or displaced the record.
Burnt courthouses – Not only is one document missing but all the documents burned up in a fire over 100 years ago!
Online trees that propagate misinformation.
Online tree owners who will not reconsider their tree’s information.
DNA test results without trees attached to them.
DNA test owners who will not respond to your messages or emails.
Lost or corrupted files which are not backed up.
Allowing the undocumented work of others to waste our time going up the wrong tree – an unforced error.

Okay, that’s enough negativity. Most of us have experienced plenty of discouragement. It’s part of the hobby. How do we deal with our discouragements in genealogy?

You might allow them to overwhelm you and force you out of the hobby. But because you’re still reading this post, I assume you want to overcome them and continue your research.
Cut through the clutter by choosing to focus on one family line and one goal at a time. Such as, “When did great-grandfather Ingram first arrive in the county?” Learn, if you don’t know, how you could discover and prove this one thing and set about doing and documenting it. You’ll soon be piling up encouragements.
Spend wisely. Ask others. Listen. Don’t be afraid to drop a subscription for a time. You can pick it up later. I once bought a year’s subscription to a newspaper service. I should have tried the free month and then stopped it when I realized it wouldn’t help me with my current family line. It costs me but I also learned from it. I let my Ancestry.com subscription expire at times and use those times to catch up on what I’ve gathered from their databases.
Don’t trust undocumented family history information. It’s a choice. Use it as a clue but don’t trust it as a fact – until it has been proven.
Take some time to be grateful for the documents you’ve discovered, the history you’ve uncovered, the family you’ve met, the cousins you’ve found and the mistakes not yet made. Gratefulness may be the greatest antidote to discouragement.

Here are some things I’m grateful for today in my genealogy research.

A wonderful glut of online free information to make me a better family researcher and save me time and money.
Incredible library and research facilities within my reach.
The ability to choose where, how and when I spend my resources on genealogy.
Family members who listen, discuss, collaborate and cheer me on in my research.
Hundreds of documents I’ve uncovered and retained in my research that add color and flavor to my family’s story.
Online tree owners who have allowed me to view their private trees and been open to answer my questions.
DNA tests and the wonderful cousins I’ve met (some literally) because of them.
The ability to back up all the files that really matter to me on an external hard drive and/or in a cloud.

So many reasons to be grateful. So little time. Encouragement is a choice. Choose wisely.

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Happy backtracking!

September 14, 2016

Too Busy to Read Blogs and Newsletters? Please Think Again…

I’m too busy NOT to read blogs and newsletters. It’s counter-intuitive. Taking time to read the writings of others saves me both time and money in my genealogy/family history research. You too will benefit from this fun discipline. Here’s how.

“Time is money”, the saying goes. Most genealogists and family researchers have significant limits of both. How we spend our limited time and money will often determine the measure of our success. Our success in family research is measured by uncovering our family’s story and documenting it for future generations. If we’re going to spend the time and money discovering our family’s past, we need to spend the time to do it right.

Books, genealogy site subscriptions, seminars, conferences, research guides, genealogy software, supplies, etc. all cost us money and time. How does reading free blogs and newsletters save us on both?

What Can Blogs and Newsletters Do for You?

Provide you with time and money saving tips and tricks – for free!
Instruct you in a specific area of your genealogical research.
Inform you of other great places to find time and money saving help.
Connect you with others researching your family lines.
Show you the best use of technology in your research.
Alert you to upcoming events in your areas of interests.
Bring to your attention money saving discounts.
Introduce you to someone with whom you can converse about genealogy.
Provide genealogical case studies and models in writing family history.
Entertain you. That’s right, relax and enjoy the stories and foibles of others. Laugh a little.

How to Find the Right Blogs and Newsletters

With hundreds of genealogical blogs and newsletters, how do you decide which ones to follow for their updates?

Think free! My paid ancestry research sites and software often come with a blog included. I use them, but I don’t consider them free. There are many good free sites. They often offer products or services but you need not purchase them.
Use the Google search terms “genealogy blog” in your search engine. You’ll find all you need to get started. Don’t overdo it. Take your time, over time. Be willing to “upgrade” and “kick one to curb” if you find others who do a better job providing you with your research needs or interests.
Listen for a blog in your voice. All blogs are not equal for many different reasons. One characteristic seldom mentioned is “voice”. Certain writers “speak” to me. They write in a way I can “see, hear and understand”. These aren’t the only blogs ending up in my inbox but they’re the primary ones.
Select blog writers who encourage you to use “best use” genealogical practices.
Once you find a blog that meets your criteria, see if they recommend other blogs and check those out.
Your favorite blogs list will always be in flux. Never be afraid to discard one blog for another that better meets your needs.

Blogs and newsletters arrive in my inbox throughout the week. I’ve selected these for all of the reasons previously listed. I always “peek” at these before I discard them for the day. I want to see what they contain but I don’t always read them or all their content. Part of my research time is set aside to determine if these particular blogs or newsletters will help make me successful. Will they save me time or money? The ones that make it into my inbox, by my invitation, will more often than not do both.

Be choosy. Yes. Save yourself some time and money. Select the right blogs and newsletters for you.

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July 28, 2016

Share Your Family’s Exciting Past. Here’s the Why and How.

“One of the most pitiful sights in the world is that of a grown man who has lost all recollection of his past…A school, a state, a nation or a society that has forgotten its own past, that knows no more the great sources of its own vigor, stands in desperate peril.”[i]

Your family story matters. The ability to pass it on is the power to reorient and anchor a life and the collective life of a family. It gives light, purpose and understanding. It explains and empowers.

Chase, Chandler and Clayton Collins at their 4 x great-parents Pleasant Wesley & Rachel Marinda Byrd’s grave in Chico, Texas in 2012.

The ancients in oral cultures used the term “remember”. They set up sign posts, memorials which pointed to and explained the past. Fathers and mothers were instructed to recount and remind their children of their past, not simply their lives but the lives of those who went before them. The goal was to establish “connection” in each generation to their God and their progenitors, to know their vision and values, to understand and restate their goals as a people.

Aubrey and Camy Roberts at their 3x great-grandfather John Anderson Roberts grave in Little Vine Cemetery near Sumner, TX in Lamar County — Aubrey and Camy Roberts at the grave of their 3 x great-grandfather John Anderson Roberts in Lamar County, Texas in 2016

My appeal as an old man is NOT for a return to “old-fashioned” ways and practices. I’m much more interested in function than I am form. I urge you to consider this appeal. We need not convince our children and grandchildren to turn-back-the-clock and give up their mobile devices, dress in a previous fashion, worship in particular ways or spaces, give up their vehicles for horses, enjoy the piano only music of the 19^th century beer halls and churches or the organ music of the 20^th century vaudeville theaters, etc. God-seeking parents can demonstrate and encourage their children and grandchildren to seek God. Freedom loving Americans can demonstrate and encourage their children and grandchildren to love freedom. These driving values of early Americans may constantly be renewed and understood.

When our families know their past, they’re better able to walk into their future. When they understand God-given rights, they understand their freedom to choose how they respond to their family’s unique history and their nation’s call.

ge·ne·al·o·gy

a line of descent traced continuously from an ancestor.

the study and tracing of lines of descent or development.

a plant’s or animal’s line of development from earlier forms.

My genealogy journey is just over four years in duration. The serious research of my family’s history began in 2012. I do not consider myself a genealogist. I’m a family historian using the proof standards of the genealogist to discover and recover my family’s past. My goal is not simply uncovering lines of descent but uncovering lives and telling their stories. I expect their impact to inform, entertain, encourage and inspire. If I do it well.

Our third son Chris recently asked me, “Dad, what is it about you and all of this family history stuff?” Fair question. The kind of question I would expect from this child. He grew up and began his own family before he ever heard his father speak of genealogy. Now…well…you understand. Most of you have seen the glassy stare or family members or watched them roll their eyes as you shared simple or fascinating facts about their ancestor. You’ve seen them express more interest in discussing today’s reality “stars” or some fictional characters in a book than real people from their rich past with whom they share DNA.

What is it about me and all of this family history stuff?

I’ve always been naturally curious, enjoyed a good mystery, and loved history.
I’ve lived a very busy life. I’ve had considerable demands on my time and like everyone else, I needed to prioritize. I’ve lived long enough now to see the end. I have little time left to recover and record my family’s past. I need to prioritize.
I’ve lived most of my life with little knowledge of my family and our history, our story. I felt no connection. I knew nothing of the “source of our vigor”. Our story is in peril.

Hundreds of genealogists and thousands upon thousands of family historians know exactly what I mean. You understand the pull of “all this family history stuff”. What shall we do? What do we do with the facts we’ve recovered? How do we connect them to the present?

How do we tell our family’s story?

Caleb Roberts family at Jeremiah Horn grave in Collin County June 19, 2016 (2) — The Caleb Roberts family at the grave of his 4 x great-grandfather Jeremiah Horn in Collin County, Texas 2016

If our goal is to present a true and accurate family picture, good research must always precede good writing. If we’re going to present fables as facts, we need not “waste our time” doing the hard research. Simply write the fables. If you choose however to do the hard research and wish to accurately portray these facts, think about the kind of writing which holds your attention. Read it. Practice writing it. Take your known facts and write in that fashion.

Four suggestions for writing your family stories:

Have something to share. Do the work. Do the necessary research. Know the family facts and the history surrounding those facts.
Connect your family’s stories to their times. Intermingle well-known historical facts and people with the stories of your family. Provide the context. Connect your family dots by telling a story.
Grab their attention. Use a quote, question, statement or mystery. Dare them not to keep reading. Of course, some may not!
If you want to be interesting, serve your readers and listeners. Always keep them and their interests in mind as you write or form the stories you’ll tell.

Some practical ways to involve our families in their history.

Family Feud. Our immediate family consists of seven grown children and their families. (Yes, same mother, same father) At our Christmas gathering we play a game I’ve shamelessly stolen and named “Family Feud”. The teams consist of the seven family units. They’re playing for the order in which a set of gift cards will be selected from off of the tree, 1 – 7. I prepare a power point series of slides with questions about our family’s history. Photos or historical documents are often used. Points accumulate for each correct answer and are tallied up when all the slides are revealed. The top scoring family selects first and so on down the list.

Crew at BL's gravesite — Ashton and Mia Armstrong at the grave of their great-grandfather B.L. Roberts in Denton County, Texas in 2013. Mia is my biggest blog reader and wonders why I don’t write more about my grandchildren.

Begin an online Blog. Don’t cringe. We live in a written and visual culture. Free blogs are available and easily accessible.[ii] Blogs allow you free space online to share your thoughts and make them available to groups of people or to a broader public. It’s an inexpensive way to make any or all of your research accessible to your family. My grown children spend very little time on my blog. (There is an uptick near Christmas.) My grandchildren are beginning to access the blog some – and some more than others. The reality– our families may never care about our family stories the way we do. But a free blog means that when we’re dead and gone, the research will be easily available online if they decide to access it.

Tell Stories. As you discover new facts about your family, think about an interesting way to introduce these facts in an exciting story-form. Look for opportunities to share these little vignettes with your family members.

Take Trips. Plan “family history tours” with you children or grandchildren. They may be half day, one day or multiple day trips. Visit places of family significance, cemeteries where you have family buried, history museums, libraries, research centers, etc. Do grave marker etchings. Be prepared and always tell stories as you go.

Mom interview 5 006 — Ashley, Camy and Aubrey interview their great-grandmother Bertha Mae Byrd Roberts in 2016

Interview older family members. Involve your children or grandchildren in the process. Set an example with your questions. Then, allow them to ask questions. Capture the event in photos and on video. Make these videos available on free resources such as YouTube. If you need help with the technical side of things, ask your children or grandchildren to help you do it!

Invite your family members to write a guest blog on you site.

Publish sections of family timelines and pass them out at gatherings.

Have family members re-enact episodes of your family’s story.

These are a few of the ways to bring our families into the process. Use the comment section and share some of your ideas to involve our families.

My grandfather Gus Roberts grew up in the Masonic Home for Children in Fort Worth, Texas. His lack of knowing or an unwillingness to tell his family’s story almost ended the knowledge of our past. Backtracking this family has opened up the rich and diverse history of our multiple family lines. The nuggets continue to be mined from our family’s story and their value is incalculable.

I wish for you this same joy. I encourage you to follow this blog. Sign up to the receive free updates. Never stop learning. Be inspired!

Happy backtracking!

Gary Roberts

[i] From a plaque which once hung in the Museum of the Masonic Home for Children in Fort Worth, Texas. Author is unknown to me. Sara Bell called my attention to the pictures online. http://masonichome-exstudents.org/

[ii] https://wordpress.com/ https://googleblog.blogspot.com/ https://www.blogger.com/

January 20, 2016January 20, 2016

Burton Lee Roberts: A Tip of the Cap

My dad was born in the small Texas Hill Country town named after his grandfather, a grandfather he never knew. He knew neither of his grandfathers. His father knew neither of his grandfathers. His grandfather John Anderson Roberts knew only one of his grandfathers, his mother’s father. I assume he knew him because they lived in the same part of Williamson County, Tennessee for the first fourteen years of my great-grandfather’s life and the last fourteen years of my 3 x great grandfather William Giles’ life. He died in 1844. There weren’t many models for parenting and grand parenting in our Roberts line.

Burton Lee Roberts was born in Ingram, Texas on February 24, 1919. It was a Monday. I doubt Dad ever knew that. I wonder if it surprised Dad to discover he wasn’t given a name on the day he was born? My grandfather had to apply for the following amended certificate in 1977. My Dad’s original name? — Roberts. No given name.

That’s one reason I’ve titled these most recent posts using Dad’s full given name. His

name was Burton Lee Roberts. He was, to the best of my detective work, named after his mother’s sister BG Chessman’s husband and his mother Emma Lee Ingram Roberts. I suspect his naming was delayed because my grandfather Gus was not in attendance at Dad’s birth and probably not even in town.

Ingram is a small town in western Kerr County located about 83 miles northwest of San Antonio, Texas. My great-grandfather J.C.W. Ingram located his store and post office on the original wagon road from San Antonio to San Angelo in 1883. The historical markers all say he bought the land from the Morriss family in 1879 but the recorded deed is clear, it was 1883. The six acres were part of the original Francisco Trevino land grant. The Ingrams could not have been there in 1879 because they didn’t leave California for Texas until December of 1881. I’ve documented and written more about that in an earlier post.

In the times in which Dad was born, it was common for expectant mothers to temporarily move in with or very near their mother or other female relative who would assist with the birth and/or after-care. My widowed great-grandmother’s name was Sarah Alice “Sally” Ingram. She was the offspring of a Nichols/Neely union from Williamson County before their families migrated to Texas. She would later accompany her pharmacist/preacher husband to Carrizo Springs, Texas where my grandmother Emma was born in 1898. She returned to her home in Kerr County after J.C.W.’s death. Great Grandmother Sally’s presence was no doubt the reason Grandmother Emma Lee was in Ingram the day my dad arrived. So, where was his father Gus? I suspect he was 83 miles away, a two or three-day journey, in San Antonio, Texas. It’s all supposition on my part. Gus Roberts registered for the World War I draft in September of 1918. The war would end two months later and another two months later my dad arrived. Gus and Emma were newlyweds living in San Antonio according to his registration. They lived at 2118 Nebraska St. He worked for Otis Elevator Company and was probably at work the Monday morning his firstborn child arrived – OR, he joined the service and was away. There are some unknowns here I have yet to uncover – a matter of an early photo of a young granddad Gus in a military looking uniform. (???) I love a good mystery!

My Dad answered to several names. According to Veteran Affairs records (Ancestry.com. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011) he was Burton Roberts. According to the Social Security Administration record “Nov 1938: Name listed as BURTON LEE ROBERTS; 11 Mar 1988: Name listed as BURTON L ROBERTS”. (Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.) Thus the S.S. Death Index list him as Burton L. Roberts. (Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.) He often signed his name B.L. Roberts. Therefore, when I wrote or spoke of him through the years I’ve referred to him as “B.L.” or “Old B.L.” His friends and family of his generation called him “Bob”. My children call him “PawPaw”. These were some of the names of Burton Lee Roberts.

My dad had one more name I’ll mention. It was a name few called him. In fact, I’m the only one I remember ever calling him by this name. In my precocious teen years, I began calling my dad “Pop”. I doubt many even noticed, but he did. We talked about in one day. I brought it up. I asked him if it was okay with him. His response, “I don’t care what you call me.” But I think he liked it. I know I did.

"Charlie and Lee Chan" — “Charlie and Lee Chan”

The idea came from the old Charlie Chan mystery movies. Actor Keye Luke played Lee Chan in the majority of those old black and whites. He was the oldest son of the main character, detective Charlie Chan. In the series he called his father “Pop”. He was the first one I remember using the term and the only one of the Chan children (ten or eleven I believe) who called their father by this name. It could have been seen as insolent in their culture (or mine for that matter); but it felt endearing to me. It must have felt that way to the writers of the series because Charlie never corrects his son. Dad never corrected me.

Grandparents don’t always have a say in what their grandchildren eventually call them – but they generally try. The fact is most of us are stuck with the name our first grandchild can pronounce. When my wife Dee (MeMaw) and I were discussing what we wanted our first grandchild to call us, I said I wanted to be called “Pop”. It stuck. It’s my tip of the cap to “Old B.L.”.

January 12, 2016January 12, 2016

Burton Lee Roberts – 1st Census 1920

Always check the census records first.

Burton Lee Roberts’ military records say he was born in 1917. His amended birth record says 1919. The 1920 census supports his birth record of 1919 as the correct date. Here is part of the census record from Brownwood, Texas and what we learn about my father and his family in 1920.

The household record actually begins on the previous page. It is probably difficult for you to see this page (and you certainly can’t see the previous page because I haven’t included it), so I’ll try to accurately relate the information. This information is available at Ancestry.com and the National Archives.

Gus and Emma L. Roberts are living at 1009 Booker St. in Brownwood City (Today called simply Brownwood), Texas. They are living in the household of Edward and Grace Mohn. Gus is Edward’s brother-in-law. We know from other sources that Grace is Emma’s sister. The Mohn’s have two sons, Edward age 4 and John age 2 1/2. Edward Sr. is working as a machinist in an auto shop.

Gus Roberts is a 21-year-old married white male. He is able to read and write. He was born in Texas. He, or whoever spoke to the census taker that day, gives his father and mother’s birth place as the United States. (I don’t believe Gus, my grandfather, knew the birthplace of his father or mother. Therefore he could not have told his wife or a census taker. He’s able to speak English, works as a machinist helper in an auto shop as a wage earner and is enumerated on the farm schedule at #620.

Emma L. Roberts is a 21-year-old married white female. She is able to read and write. She was born in Texas. She, or whoever spoke to the census taker that day, gives her father’s birthplace as California and her mother’s as Tennessee. (I tend to believe she was the source of this information. What’s interesting is she was wrong about her father and right about her mother. Most “tree builders” online are usually right about her father and wrong about her mother.) Her work is listed as “none” and that makes me laugh.

Burton L. Roberts is enumerated as the only child of Gus and Emma living in the household. He is the nephew of Edward Mohn, the head of the household. He is a ten month old white male who was born in Texas, as were his parents. He could not read, write or speak English. Awww, those were the days. And while he did not work according to the census, I bet he kept his mother busy!

This census record supports Burton Lee Roberts’ birth year as 1919. His amended birth certificate supports this. His Social Security records support this. He told me this was his correct birth year and that he had lied about his birth date to enlist in the Army.

After you interview all of your living relatives, begin your next research with the U.S. Census. Happy backtracking!

December 14, 2015December 14, 2015

Burton Lee Roberts: Murder, mystery, mayhem and Burton Lee

Burton Lee Roberts in North Africa in 1943 (Standing back row right)

Our lives are shaped by what happens before us, to us and through us – and, by our responses to these events. Burton Lee Roberts’ life would be no different. He would not escape. Opinionated and politically incorrect, chased by his own personal demons, keeper of secrets, he was a mystery. It’s left to me to backtrack the truth, unravel the tale and record the most complete explanation of his life. He was my father.

I loved him. I hated him. I learned him. I understood him (somewhat). I love him. And now I share him. I share his story with my children and grandchildren. I share his story with many other children who want to understand their own fathers, who long to make sense of their lives or at least, not to hate. Some of you want to understand. Like me, you struggle. Most of you never met my dad. Those of you who knew him knew little about his inner turmoil. In sharing his life, I share me, because our lives are inseparable. My responses to him shaped me. I doubt you can fully understand me without knowing him.

Our DNA trickles to us from thousands of sources. These millions of droplets collect and gush into our lives through only two — our mother and father. Eyes, hair, facial features, size, muscle structure, feet, fingers, etc. passed down to us by our parents, a mix of what was passed down to them. I sometimes debate with myself what is DNA and what is learned behavior. After all, I not only look like my dad but I have some of the same facial expressions, stand and walk like him. Like the father in the story of the prodigal who easily recognized his son’s gait from a considerable distance, if you knew my father, you can see him reflected in me.

My dad missed the reported murder of his grandfather but his father didn’t. Only three years old at the time, dad’s father, my grandfather, was said to have been in the room when the deed was done. My dad missed his grandfather’s murder (Was it really a murder?) but not the fallout. Dad’s father was raised without a father or mother. He never knew his grandfather. His adolescence was lived through The Great Depression. He experienced and participated in the mayhem of a world at war. He would be shaped by it all and so would we.

I got into genealogy because I love history and a good mystery. My family has both. Once I discovered so many tales to be told, so many lives to be restored, so many dots to be connected, I knew it was my responsibility to be the “teller of tales”, to backtrack the truth. But, where to begin? I’ve been very “hit and miss” so far in my blog, Backtracking the Common. My posts have been things that interested or challenged me. I work better with structure. I need a plan. I want something more sequential. My intent was to save dad’s story for last, less complicated, less painful that way, but I can’t. His story is only explained by his father’s story. His father’s story is explained by his father’s story, etc. So we’ll begin to unravel their collective stories, unlock some mysteries, and tell their tales. We begin with the life of Burton Lee Roberts and the murder, mystery and mayhem that shaped it – and me.

September 14, 2015September 14, 2015

Today’s Document: 1818 Cherokee Agency Payment Record

What: A partial record of payments paid out by the Cherokee Indian Agency.

When: May 26, 1818. This was a Tuesday. Other historical records (Cherokee Council Records) inform us there is a council meeting of the Cherokee chiefs and warriors at the Agency on this day. This Council began on the 20th of May and would conclude on the 28th. Governor McMinn revealed to the Cherokee leaders the U.S. government’s’ intent to move all Cherokees west.

Who: Jeremiah Horn receives a payment from the Agency.

Where: Agency Creek on the Hiwassee River, Cherokee Nation. This is the second location of the agency and was located here from 1816 – 1821. This would be in present day Meigs County, Tennessee named after the agent Return Jonathan Meigs.

Transcription:

” ” 26 The United States ___ To Cash pd Jeremiah Horn for attending on a man who was hurt in the public service. 5.00″

Significance

Confirms Jeremiah Horn’s presence in Cherokee Nation no later than the 26th of May 1818.
Informs how early he may have been aware of the U.S. government’s intent concerning the Cherokee people.
May reveal something about the person Jeremiah Horn.

Questions:

Can you fill in the blank in the transcription?
What do you believe this document says “about” Jeremiah Horn?

Source:

Citation Information

Detail

Page 27 – Cherokee Indian Agency (TN)

Web Address

https://www.fold3.com/image/205282655/

Source Information

Title

Cherokee Indian Agency (TN) at Fold3

Repository Information

http://www.fold3.com

September 9, 2015September 14, 2016

Happy Trails: Finding surprises in my research

It’s always a happy coincidence to cross the trail of an ancestor while tracking an entirely different prey.

My dad’s mother and father met at the Masonic Home for Children in Ft. Worth, Texas in about 1905. They would marry after their graduation from high school at the home in 1916. It’s doubtful they ever knew their families had crossed paths 100 years earlier in Williamson County, Tennessee. It’s doubtful anyone knew…until now.

Gus Lee Roberts 1916 — Gus Roberts portrait done in about 1917

Gus Roberts was born in Lamar County, Texas in 1898. His father, John Anderson Roberts was born in Williamson County in 1830. If you do the math he was nearly 68 years old when my grandfather Gus was born by his second and much younger wife Mary. He was the only child of this union. John A. or “Jackie” as he was known, died in 1901. I doubt Gus had many memories of him and would have certainly not remembered any stories of his origins. Gus would be raised as an orphan. (That’s another story for another time.) John Anderson’s story was very different. His father’s name was John Rivers Roberts. He was born in Virginia but arrived in Williamson County as a very young boy in or before 1804. All of his children would be born in Williamson County and all seven which are known to us would survive to adulthood. Their place was on Rutherford and Flat creeks. John R would be the last of the males in his family to leave the county of Williamson, waiting until after the death of his mother in about 1857. The majority of them would migrate to Calloway County, Kentucky. His father is known simply as John Roberts. I call him “My John Roberts” because I don’t know his middle name and I can’t find his father. He was born in Virginia and arrived in Williamson County by 1804. He is in the 1805 tax list. He and Rebecca’s first children, like John R., were born in Virginia. They would go on to have other children born in Williamson. He died in the county in November of 1823 and I believe he is buried on the old original Roberts home place somewhere near the headwaters of McCrory Creek. I wish I knew where.

Emma Lee Ingram was born in Dimmit County, Texas in 1898. She had a twin who did not survive the birth. Like her future husband, she was the offspring of her father J.C.W. Ingram’s second wife. JCW would die in October of 1902 leaving nearly four year old Emma fatherless. Emma’s mother was named Sarah Alice Nichols when she was born. Most people knew her, like her namesake aunt, as “Sally”. She was born in Tennessee in 1861 (Although she is often confused by Ancestry tree builders with some Nichols in Arkansas). I believe she was born in Williamson like her older siblings but concede it could have been Marshall County. Her father Frederick Shaffer Nichols, however, was most certainly born in Williamson in September of 1834. He would eventually migrate to the Hill Country of Texas and die in Kerr County in 1896. Emma would never know her grandfather. Frederick Shaffer’s father Allen Frederick Nichols was born in Newberry, South Carolina in 1787. He and his family were in Williamson before 1816 when his son Andrew was born. Allen Nichols appears on the same tax records as my 3^rd great grandmother Rebecca Roberts and two of my 3^rd great Roberts uncles Newton and Anderson (my great grandfather’s middle name namesake).

And so there they are. Two kids meet in a children’s home in Ft. Worth, Texas without knowing their families had crossed trails and no doubt travelled the same trails 100 years earlier in Williamson County, Tennessee. The county “marked” both sides of my father’s family and perhaps his family helped shape the county in some small way.

But, that’s not all. My 2^nd great grandfather Frederick Shaffer Nichols married Sarah Elizabeth Neely in Franklin, Williamson County, in 1854. This was Sarah Alice “Sally” Nichols mother and the grandmother of Emma Lee Ingram, my grandmother. Sarah Neely’s father was named William L. Neely and was born in Williamson County in 1804. His father, my 4^th great-grandfather, was named James Neely and was born in Virginia in 1783. He died in Williamson in 1833. The Neely family was somewhat prominent and influential in the county and spilled over into the northern part of Maury County (Goodspeed histories mention them and their descendants in both counties). You can find their “fingerprints” all over various records in Williamson County. There is this one in particular that surprised me.

My 3^rd great-grandfather John Rivers Roberts married Sarah B. Smithson before he married my 3^rd great-grandmother Rebecca Anna Giles. John R. and Sarah had two sons together, Clement Smithson Roberts and James S. Roberts. Sarah may have died giving birth to James in 1825. Sarah’s father, Clement Smithson, had previously died in Williamson in 1814 when she was about eleven. His death and subsequent probate produced a considerable number of document pages which continued growing all the way through the 1849 court session! (It was timber rights and land values based on land and timber on land sold following her father’s death.) Sarah was a beneficiary and her name appears in those earliest documents and on through and including her sons’ names and her surviving husband John R. as their representative. And found in the early days of these documents there is the signature of one of the appraisers of the estate in 1815.

That’s right. It’s the 1815 signature of my 4^th great-grandfather James Neely on a Smithson/Roberts probate record!

And that’s not all. William O. Smithson was born in Williamson in 1831. He married Mary Jane Nichols who was born in the county in 1838. Yes, that’s the same Smithson and the same Nichols families. This couple and their family migrated to North Texas, then the Hill Country of Texas (Kerr and Kendall Counties) and then back to Montague County in North Texas. Just this week the management responsibilities for Mary Jane’s Find A Grave memorial was passed to me.

I’ve only just begun to really look at the Neely family. I haven’t said much about my Giles family of Williamson and Maury Counties. I’m sure I’ll find many more connections. I’m also researching the remarkable number of all family connections between Lunenburg County, Virginia and Williamson County, Tennessee. If you’re researching families in Williamson and lose their trail, look in Lunenburg, Charlotte and Mecklenburg counties, Virginia first for their ancestors.

Emma Lee Roberts with Debbie & Gary — My sister Debbie Roberts Scroggin and me with our “Nanny”

It’s always exciting for me to “strike” the trail of an ancestor as I backtrack the common. It’s especially exciting to see those trails intersect and at times merge with the trails of other DNA contributors.

Happy Trails!

(This, as with most of my backtracking work, is dedicated to my grandchildren. GFR 2015)

https://backtrackingthecommon.com/

July 29, 2015August 8, 2016

Backtracking John Rivers Roberts

Some of us are drawn to cemeteries. I can’t explain it. Finding the final resting place of our ancestors becomes a quest. It completes a picture for me. I want to know where they were born, walk the land they walked and visit the place they were buried. Strange. I can’t explain it. But somehow it connects me.

I’ve “met”, corresponded and visited by phone with a number of Roberts cousins over the past few weeks. One of the newest ones is Charles Roberts of Calloway County, Kentucky. He is the 2 x great grandson of Newton T. Roberts, the brother of my 2 x great grandfather John Rivers Roberts. Charles asked me if I could “shed some light” on where my great great grandfather John Rivers Roberts and his wife Rebecca Ann Giles are buried. I believe I can (or at least I have an opinion). Here’s the story.

I grew up knowing little or nothing about the Roberts family except the names of my grandparents Gus and Emma Lee Roberts. I peppered my dad Burton Lee Roberts with questions as a teenager. He either couldn’t or wouldn’t tell me what he knew. I believe he knew little or nothing. About 30 years ago in the middle of my own growing family and ministry work a couple of college professors, amateur genealogist, shared with me the name and burial place of my great grandfather John A. Roberts. I did nothing significant with this information until 2012. Perhaps it was age or opportunity but I’ve always been curious and had to know some answers.

I backtracked the John A. Roberts family to Calloway, Kentucky. I placed a small ad in the personals section of the Murray Ledger and Times and ran it from Wednesday through Sunday hoping to reach the people who buy the paper for the Thursday ads or Sunday morning paper. My email address was included in the ad. On Thursday I received an email from Deborah Outland of Lexington, KY the 3 x great granddaughter of John Rivers Roberts and his first wife Sarah B. Smithson. Her longtime friend Shirley Parrish had called her and told her about the ad. Shirley and her husband L.B. Parrish live in Murray. L.B. had recently had eye surgery and was looking for some small print to test out his “new” eyes. He read my ad to Shirley and she called Deborah. We arranged a phone visit (one of several over the past 3 years and she has been so generous with her family knowledge). Deborah put me in contact with Rudy Holland back in Calloway County. He’s also the 3 x great grandchild of John Rivers Roberts and Sarah B. Smithson. Rudy owns his grandfather’s old farm place which I believe sits next to the John Rivers Roberts’ original farm in Calloway. I believe it was Rudy who shared over the phone with me the name John Rivers Roberts and “sent” me to Williamson County, Tennessee. In other words, you can’t do good genealogy without a lot of wonderful people’s help! (Note added 7/30/2015, My “newly discovered” cousin Charles Roberts points out that Rudy Holland was also the 2 x great grandson of Newton Roberts on the Holland side.)

I’ve learned much about the Roberts family since “striking” the trail in 2012. By 2013 I thought we (my faithful wife and research assistant Dee Ann) had enough information to make a trip to Tennessee and Kentucky. We picked up the trail in Tennessee a few days after Thanksgiving and enjoyed the end of a weekend of celebrating the anniversary of the Battle of Franklin. The Carnton Plantation is well worth the visit.

On Monday morning we were in the Williamson County Archives as soon as the considerate and helpful staff opened the doors. If you’re doing genealogy research for Williamson County ancestors, this is a must visit. It’s a library, research center and courthouse all rolled into one. We took pages and pages of document copies away from the center at very reasonable prices. They have a computer database from which you can search, access and print records. They have an excellent collection of genealogical volumes for research only purposes. They have books and collections for purchase. They have old maps. And did I mentioned they have informed and helpful staff and volunteers?

I continue to mine the gold and assay the value of the nuggets we unearthed in our visit. The story of my Roberts family continues to unfold in bits and pieces. As we assemble the pieces of the puzzle, the picture becomes brighter and more certain. I’m very interested in any piece you may have to add to the puzzle.

John Rivers Roberts was born October 14, 1800 in probably Lunenburg County, Virginia. (We hope to pick up the trail there someday soon.) Family lore says he was named after his father (John) and his mother’s maiden name “Rivers”. I can’t confirm this. In fact, I find evidence to the contrary. However, I never discount family lore until I can completely discredit it. Even if it’s not true, it often has an element of fact in it. There is a possibility that our family lore is off by one generation and that it was his grandfather who was married to a Rivers and not his father. We have yet to confirm the first name of John Rivers’ grandfather but believe we know where to pick up his trail.

Here’s a quick side note for those researching this family. Pay close attention to allied families and neighbors in both Williamson, TN and Lunenburg, VA. You will see many of the same names and find where the Roberts children obtain their mates. Keep in mind that Lunenburg County changes configuration at least 3 times and maybe more during this Roberts family tenure there. Look at the Roberts and their neighbors on Juniper Creek off of the north branch of the Meherrin River in Lunenburg. This appears to be the beginning area of our specific Roberts family branch’s multiplication in America. My candidates for John Rivers’ grandfather include William, Thomas and James. My leading contender is James, the same name as John Rivers’ older brother who was born in 1798. Keep in mind as you research that there appears to be two James Roberts on Juniper, Senior and Junior. It’s possible that one of these is John Rivers father’s dad and the other his brother. It’s possible that one is his father and the other is his grandfather. It’s possible this is not the name of John Rivers’ grandfather at all!

We pick up John Rivers Roberts’ trail back in Williamson. He and his family can be documented by tax records in the county as early as 1805. Land and legal documents continue to build the picture through the late 1850s. It appears they had land on the Harpeth River first and then settled for good on the headwaters of McCrory Creek which feeds into the Harpeth south of Franklin. Besides James (1798), I have been able to identify two more brothers and one sister. Frances “Fannie” Roberts was born in 1802. Anderson G. Roberts was born in 1808. I suspect he is the origin of my great grandfather John Anderson Roberts’ middle name. Newton T. Roberts was born in 1811. Some say there was also a Joseph but I haven’t been unable to document this person. John Roberts Sr. (John Rivers’ father, I call him “My John Roberts”) may have had other brothers migrate to Williamson. This makes unraveling the Roberts crew in Williamson that much more challenging. (Hidden away in the woods off Roberts Rd. in Arrington, TN there is a “lost” cemetery known by old timers to be the Benjamin Roberts cemetery. You find his son John D. in Williamson County documents. Finding and visiting this cemetery is another story for another time.)

John R. (the name I usually use to identify John Rivers Roberts) married Sarah B. “Sally” Smithson in 1821. Family lore says she was an exceptionally beautiful young lady. She came from a large family with a large presence in Lunenburg, Charlotte and Mecklenburg counties of Virginia. They also had a big presence in Williamson County through the 1800s. They settled on Rutherford and Flat Creeks in the southern part of the county. Brothers John R. and Newton would eventually buy land on these same creeks and begin their own families.

John R. and Sally Smithson Roberts welcomed their first child Clement Smithson Roberts in 1822. He appears to be named after his maternal grandfather Clement S. Smithson. Their second child was a son as well, they named James in 1825. Was this in honor of my John Roberts Senior’s father? I don’t know but it could be a clue. Sadly, I have reason to believe the arrival of this son coincided with Sally’s death. John R. now had two young sons to raise on his own.

John R. married his second wife, Rebecca Ann Giles, in January of 1827. She too came from a large and significant family who lived south of today’s Bethesda, TN. They obtained their marriage license from Maury County just to the south and east of this location and after marriage settled on Rutherford Creek. Their children included William Claiborne, 1827, in honor of Rebecca’s father William C. Giles, Sarah “Sally” (1828) in honor of John R’s first wife (*See note below.), John Anderson (1830), Thomas Paschal (1832), and Lucy Jane (1833). John R’s brother Newton would marry Rebecca Ann’s sister Sarah Jane Giles in 1838. The brothers buy at least one piece of land together in 1838 on the waters of Rutherford and Flat Creeks. Newton will eventually sell back his part to this land to John R. in 1849. I have suspected this was in order to migrate to Calloway County, Kentucky. But one or more of the cousins points out that Newton “drops off the radar” for 20 years and reappears in Calloway in 1870. Wow! Does anyone know where he went? The year sounds like gold fields in California. These dates also include the Civil War. Can we document something? Is there any family lore on the Newton family side? (*See note below.)

John R and Annie’s boys will all eventually migrate to Calloway. Most will stay. My great grandfather John Anderson will be the exception. He migrates to Texas with his son-in-law J.B. Lassiter and family in about 1875. John R. is the last of the Roberts from Williamson to arrive in Kentucky. I suspect because his mother did not die until about 1857 in Williamson. I failed to mention earlier that his father, John Roberts, died all the way back in November of 1823. His wife, John R.’s mother, never remarried and lived on the McCrory Creek property until her death. (Her name was Rebecca Sammons which may come as a surprise to most family tree owners with John Rivers Roberts in their trees. But this is another story for another day.) In the 1850 census she’s living on this property with her daughter Fannie (That’s Francis “Fannie” Roberts) and Fannie’s husband Alfred Tatum and their children. The Tatum family also migrated from Lunenburg, VA and vicinity. At one point we find Fannie and her family living next door to Anderson G. Roberts in Hickman County, TN in 1840. He was her younger brother. He married Alfred Tatum’s sister Celia in 1831. So brother and sister married brother and sister. The Anderson G. family is back in Williamson County in the 1880 census perhaps living on the original Roberts place after a time in Marshall County, KY. (Note: This is where William Penn Roberts once commented he had lost track of them. I’ll talk more about Penn when I write about Rebecca Sammons)

Now, what was that question? Oh yeah, can you shed any light on where John Rivers and Rebecca Ann Roberts are buried? Back on the trail…

Dee and I left Williamson County headed for Calloway in early December. We had pre-scheduled visits to the courthouse in Murray and the Pogue Special Collections Library on the campus of Murray State University. We had also arranged to meet with Rudy Roberts Holland and tour the Liberty/Shiloh area. Only our visit with Nancy Roberts Thurman did not go as planned because of an illness in her family.

Rudy Holland is everything you would expect to find in a Kentucky gentleman. He was warm and gracious, informed and helpful. He shared family group sheets and a copy of his GEDCOM file he had on disc. He allowed me to copy (I photographed) his Roberts family binder. A few years ago Rudy had an old log cabin he was told John R. had built over 150 years ago moved up behind his farmhouse. Rudy built a cedar exterior around it to protect it from the elements. What a wonderful experience! What a wonderful Roberts’ family treasure! Then we were off to the cemeteries where we visited my great-grand-aunts and uncles’ final resting places. There were plenty of cousins as well. But what about John Rivers and Rebecca Ann Roberts place of rest?

I first read about this mythical cemetery on internet inquiry sites. I saw mention of it in the Pogue Library. It was called Roberts Cemetery #2. Some of my cousins had heard of it and thought they might know where it was but had only visited as small children or had it pointed out to them at a distance. Based on some of this information, I had previously found a map on the website Podunk and then used Google Earth software to locate what I thought was a contender. I was wrong. It turned out that I was looking at the Clement Smithson Roberts Cemetery. Now, that was a fascinating visit in itself! But…

Where was John R. and Rebecca Roberts?

John R. and Rebecca bought a farm in the Shiloh community Calloway prior to 1860. They’re working the farm with a young John Childers whose family they knew in the area. The farms adjacent to theirs are owned by the Hollands, Roberts (W.C. and T.P.) and Ivies. By the 1880 census Rebecca is deceased and John R. has married his neighbor Malinda Holland. Her maiden name was Miller. She married Josiah Holland in January of 1843 and he died in 1862. By 1880 she and their youngest son Henry B. Holland are living in the John R. Roberts household. Without an 1870 census for this same Roberts household I can’t be any more accurate on death dates (at least not yet). Rebecca died sometime after 1860 and John R. died sometime after 1880. I’m hoping someone has more information than this. Who knows, I may have it buried in a document I possess and have overlooked it.

The burial place.

I asked Rudy if he knew where they were buried. I understood him to say that he had never seen the graves but his father or grandfather had pointed out a place to him. I asked him if we could go and take a look at this place. On old Hwy 94 just south of Crabtree Rd. there is a small modern home. It is believed to be the original home site of the John R. Roberts farm. Rudy believed the graves might be located under a single tree to the left of this home as you face it from the road. We made our way to the tree and saw nothing. It sits in a spot that has been tilled in the past but on a cold day in December we saw only matted grass, flat matted grass. Pulling back the grass we uncovered stones, several stones. They were lying flat and in soil under the matted grass. Some of the stones had writing. Some were large, flat field stones with scrapes from what appeared to be tractor implements. One recognizable name on an engraved monument stone was Mary J. Martin. The birth date appears to be 1839 and the death date appears to be 1862. The birth date may be 1849. Sarah Ann “Sally” Roberts, John R. and Rebecca’s daughter, was born in 1828 and married Ivason Brooks Martin in 1847 in Williamson County, TN. The dates don’t match her. If the birth date was supposed to be 1849 she could be their child. So, who is Sally J. Martin and why was she buried on the Roberts farm?

There were other flat field stones here. Stones like you would use to mark graves. Stones like we saw in Arrington, TN. Kneeling beside these stones I felt connected. I believe this to be the final resting place of John Rivers and Rebecca Ann Roberts. For this reason alone, it will be a special place for me.

Work needs to be done on this site and I encourage my Calloway cousins to consider if there are options to research, recover and mark this location. (See map coordinates below.)

I want to express my appreciation to all who have assisted and added to my research. Little gets done without people like you. My online tree has a small part of my research and can be found on Ancestry. My DNA results are on Ancestry and Family Tree DNA. Follow my Roberts/Ingram/Byrd/Burns stories at: https://backtrackingthecommon.com/

2015 GPS coordinates for John R and Rebecca Ann Roberts’ burial site

9446-9804 Kentucky 94

Murray, KY 42071

36.688823, -88.182096

Google Maps 2015

This property sits approximately 300 yards south of the intersection of Crabtree Rd. (1551) and Kentucky Hwy 94 in Calloway County. Once you park in the drive way, look slightly to your left and there is a lone tree (2013) in the field that comes near the house place. The gravestones are underneath that tree. When I was there in December of 2013 they were covered over in matted grass. This should mean this is the site of John Rivers Roberts’ old home place.

*Since publishing this post I have been able to document there are no missing years for this Newton Roberts family.

*I now believe John R. and Rebacca Ann Roberts first child Sarah “Sally” was named after John R’s grandmother who lived in Williamson County until her death. Her name was Sarah Sammons but she went by Sally.

May 11, 2015May 12, 2015

Unwrapping Family

When it comes to present day family, we’re generally pulled in one of two directions.

The family I grew up in was near perfect and that’s the way family should be.
The family I grew up in was a mess and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

These are not correct but they’re the directions in which most of us are pulled.

Our twenty-four year old neighbor ran up to Dee and me while we were standing in our front yard last week. We’ve known him since he was in the 3^rd grade. He blurted out something like, Mr. Gary, Miss Dee I’ve just got to know, do you ever argue? Do you ever have disagreements? I’ve known you most of my life and I’ve never seen you fight or disagree with one another. LOL! We assured him we have had many “lively discussions” through our married life. We intentionally left our children and others out of these by having them in private. We may have made a mistake. For example, our friend was relieved to know we “fought”. The idea of an ideal family is a myth.

Family dynamics can be a strange animal. What is right to some can feel wrong to others. What is normal to us is very abnormal to others. Does that make us right? I don’t think so.

These thoughts began to churn in my mind after visiting with a distant cousin and fellow family history enthusiast. I “met” her after putting an ad in the Murray County, KY newspaper two years ago. I was looking for Roberts’ family connections and knew next to nothing about them. My cousin’s friend’s husband saw the ad and brought it to his wife’s attention. His wife passed the information on to my cousin in another city. She contacted me and the rest is as they say, family history!

She and I visited on the phone again last week and she shared an insightful nugget. She said the Roberts family she knew could be cliquish. They tended to stay to themselves and rarely had high regard for their mates’ families. I thought about the family in which I grew up. We knew so little about either side of our family and rarely saw or interacted with them, especially my mom’s. I’m not sure of all the reasons for this. I know Dad and his father, who had been raised as an orphan, rarely agreed. He left home at 16, lied about his age and joined the military. I’m not sure if it was always this way, but it seems that if you disagreed with dad or made him mad (not very difficult) he could just do without you. He didn’t invite you to visit and he didn’t make an effort to visit you. We rarely saw family. My brother once correctly pointed out to me that if dad had not left his Veteran’s check coming to his parents address in Fort Worth we would have seen them even less. I can’t remember ever meeting my mom’s father. I thought I had a faint memory of meeting him once but after a conversation with her, I now realize it was actually my Grandfather Burns. My memories are rare and cherished.

Is this the way our family is today? No. Not really. I have some similar traits but we’re different in many ways. I have tendencies but Dee helps me fight them.

Here is one way I’m very much like my dad. If you can’t come see me or don’t want to come see me, I’m entirely okay with it. I want you to do what you need to do. I want you to do what you want to do.

Our ministry obligations early in marriage kept us from seeing our family as often as we would have liked. I was no doubt primed and ready for this by my upbringing. My parents understood this and were really great with it. I never felt any pressure to visit them or perform in any way to meet their expectations. They had a wonderful “come when you can” and “you’re always welcome” attitude, but don’t put yourself out. I absolutely love this about mom and dad and believe it gave me the freedom to spend more time with my children. Did I mention I love my mom and dad?

I’ve “given daughters away” and encouraged my sons to “leave their father and mother and cleave unto their wives”. I often feel misunderstood and rarely ever (maybe never) asked to clarify my thinking. I’ve told my grown children I’ll stay out of their lives unless they choose to invite me in. (I know this doesn’t sound much like community.) I want them to know they’re always welcome but never obligated.

Dee and I saw the conflict in families when you have hard fast traditions your children are expected to follow. We chose not to have any. We did holidays different, never doing them the same two years in a row. Our grown and married children feel no obligation to be with us on the actual holidays and rarely ever are. They’re usually off with their in-laws. Good. We took our kids on “nuclear family” vacations so we could have time away just to ourselves. Was this good? I don’t know. We had regular meals and family discussions. Was this good? I think so.

We did things the way we did them. Were they all right? No. Would we do some things different? Yes. Should you do things the way we did them? No? Should you consider doing some things differently? Yes.

What part is nature and what part is nurture? The good genealogist is always willing to consider both.

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