Jumping to Conclusions

“Do Not Let the Trash Can Get in Your Way!”

While working at a business recently, I went into a small room that had swinging doors. The entry way was partially blocked by a large plastic trash can. I moved it slightly and slipped past it pushing one of the doors into the small room. Within a few seconds I was heading out of the room, pushing the same door I went through before. It was blocked by the trash can. I reached through pushing the can back so I could open the door to get out. I just went through the same door seconds earlier, I thought how in the world did this can get in the way? Did someone come along and move it? My first, immediate thought was that someone must have moved it! So, what were the facts?

When I went into the room, I pushed the door in and away from the trash can that I had moved a little to get by it. Then as I was going out I pushed the door away from me toward the trash can. I had not moved the can far enough for the door to swing both ways. So, it turns out that I was the only one that moved the can. I had to laugh at my thought that someone moved the can in my way. It was a foolish conclusion based on circumstantial information.

In our genealogical research, we often do not find solid documented evidence; and we have to make reasonable conclusions based on circumstantial information that often leads to false assumptions and conclusions. This is also compounded when you want the evidence to prove these conclusions to be true facts! When we have only circumstantial evidence, we need to ask what are the facts? Then try to piece all of the evidence together to reach a reasonable conclusion. Accepting weak evidence for fact can cause you some serious stumbling blocks to go back in time about your family.

- Written by JGWest.

"Open letter to a Cousin"

'
Dear Cousin,

A few pointers about family history research.   As you might know I have been learning about my family for over 50 years with the more serious (trained) researching beginning in 1978, providing me nearly 35 years of trial & error work and many workshops & seminars to learn about pitfalls to our research. Here are a few I have found: 1.) Always be like a detective wondering why, where, when, etc.; 2.) look for evidence that proves the facts you find; 3.) family members are good sources for general info, but their memories may not always be completely correct... the facts that they were given or discovered may not be correct; 4.) documents are not always completely accurate - many rely on informants with typos & miss-spellings; 5.) the census is a good source and gives a nice picture of a person's life & family since it is taken every 10 years, but, again relies on an informant and the census taker (both capable of errors, plus the difficulty with some census being able to read the handwriting or faded ink!). With the census a person's ages are not always about 10 years apart from one census to the next which means you need to treat the ages as being approximate ages and sort of averages out over several census reports. Always try to get at least 3 documents or sources to establish facts. It is important to cite your sources and where you can find them again! It is always a possibility that records are intentionally falsified to protect the innocent and/or guilty! Names are changed to start a new life.  Remember that names were recorded by others in records and according to how the recorder thought it should be spelled and over time the name's spelling would evolve to a different spelling.  Names often vary in spelling from generation to generation, from location to location and many times from individual to individual... look for all possible variants of how the name might be spelled.  Many times the name was spelled as it sounded (just think how accents might play into that problem!)  Avoid assuming that someone has died because you can no longer find any records about them... from experience these people have a tendency to show up 20, 30 or 40 years later!!! You can suggest that such and such happened, but avoid assuming that it is fact!  One final point... not everything written in stone is correct!  Grave markers are ordered by someone to mark the grave of themselves (before they die) or by another person taking that responsibility (usually after someone was buried - sometimes many years later!!!).  The information on it is subject to the knowledge of the person ordering the marker.  Do not rule out that the engraver may have made a mistake, as well.

I suspect that you are far enough along in learning about your family to know about much that I have said, but I hope it helps you to avoid some of the common problems with researching your family history.  All of us that are learning about our family history should try to avoid these common problems.  That includes me for sure!  Often the longer we are learning about our family lines, the more we tend to forget basic problems.  Sincerely, your cousin John

Readers, do you have some other common "pitfalls" to avoid?  Please share them with all of us!

- Written by JGWest

NAVIGATING ALONG the RIVER - Research Tips

'
Ok! I know...
you are asking what is this photo about?

During our last TSGS meeting, I was taking photos for the blog of different things going on during the meeting. While I was up front by Lyn Martin's desk at Willard Library taking a photo of those in attendance, I looked down and noticed this small stack of new booklets covering some 1700's court information from Maryland. Having several lines in Maryland in the 1700's I just took a photo of the books to remind me later that these will be on the shelves in the near future that I will look for!

My research tip is probably used by a lot of family historians these days with the great digital cameras available. The tip is to take photos with your digital cameras for info you might normally use a photocopier to save the information to bring home. Caution: remember that a camera flash may be distracting to other patrons in the library or courthouse.

Do you remember those old detective/spy TV shows where they would sneak into the records in some office in the dark and using their little spy camera to photograph the pertinent files and used later in court? We can do that, too... only during day time! Digital cameras can take hundreds of photos and you can check to see if you got a good image.

Happy spying...er... I mean documenting your research!

- JGWest

"Episode 2 'Who Do You Think You Are?' Season 2"

'
Tim McGraw

When Tim found his Birth Certificate, he discovered that the man he called "Dad" was not his father after all! The country music superstar uncovers his father's heritage among the Founding Fathers. The show is on NBC tomorrow night (Friday, 11 Feb 2011).

As genealogical researchers, we teach others to look for primary records and to cite your findings about that person. We tell you to do that so you & others will be able to verify your proof of relationships in your family history. We always say: "Start with yourself and work back into time!" This episode with Tim McGraw illustrates the reason to start with yourself. You may not discover that one or both of your parents are not blood parents, but you may discover that they used different names for you or for themselves. My wife discovered that her birth certificate had the correct day & month, but had the year of her adoption instead of her birth year! When they typed up the birth certificate after she was adopted the typist carelessly put the current year and recorded it in the local county registry! We were getting our marriage license to get married. Becky was 19 years old, but the "new" birth certificate showed her as only being 17... and she would have to obtain both of her parents permission to marry. Without going into a lot of details, we got proof of her actual birth year and the wedding was on! I just demonstrated two examples of why you need to start with yourself and work backwards.

- Preview by JGWest

NAVIGATING ALONG the RIVER - Research Tips

'

This is a post card with a photo of Evansville's St. Mary's Hospital submitted by TSGS member Claudia Gleason. She stated that this card was mailed 03 Feb 1910 (about 100 years ago!). Please click on the photo to get a larger image.
I may be using the modern campus at St. Mary's in the near future to have a pacemaker defibrillator installed to make sure my old engine is performing at maximum efficiency.

This reminds me of a good research tip to pass on. Since I judge the 4-H Genealogy project exhibits in several of the counties surrounding Evansville, I have discovered that many of the kids & their families do not think about where their family members were born or died. Taking Warrick and Posey counties as examples... at the time this postcard was created some people were being born or died at home, but as time went along more were going to the nearest hospital to have a baby or to get medical treatment and, hopefully, not to die. If they came to St. Mary's Hospital to give birth or died there, the place of the event would be in Vanderburgh County and that is where the event is recorded and certificates can be obtained. They may have been born and lived their entire life (and even buried) in Warrick or Posey County; however, their record of birth or death would be in Vanderburgh County.

Where there are rural counties surrounding a larger town or city... there may be only one hospital and that would be in the larger community. Check the county they lived in first. If you can not find a record of birth or death, check for a nearby county with a hospital. Also, consider this: your county may have had a hospital, but it was not the one your family would use. St. Mary's is a Catholic hospital, Deaconess is a Protestant one with Welborn being a Baptist hospital... religion affiliation might have played a factor, as well.

- Post card submitted by Claudia Gleason
- Article compiled by JGWest

"How to Spot an Email Hoax!"

'

As we travel along our journey to find our ancestors, most of us are going to begin using the Internet to help us make connections with distant relatives, find some documents/photos, read U.S. Census & other records published online. We will decide to subscribe to email lists, maybe get a paid subscription to Ancestry.com or some other commercial genealogical organization. We will often get involved with all sorts of things on the Internet: FaceBook, Twitter, Blogs, Websites... we may even volunteer to be a County Coordinator for the USGenWeb Project. We will begin to get quite a few emails daily including junk mail, generally called "spam." Sooner or later (mostly sooner), you will start getting messages from well meaning people warning you of the latest disasters which generally are mostly false if not totally untrue. You will get messages that urge you to forward whatever message to everyone in your mailbox... some will even state that good fortune or bad luck will happen if you send it off (or not forward it) within a short time span. Most if not all are hoaxes based on rumors or partial truth - often total falsehoods!

I found a nice short (about 2 minutes) video "How to Spot an Email Hoax!" by Jonathon E. Stewart http://video.about.com/urbanlegends/Spotting-E-mail-Hoaxes.htm?nl=1

This is on About.com: Urban Legends. Another great site to check possible hoaxes is Snopes.com: http://www.snopes.com/

Before you forward a message to everyone you know... it might be wise to check and see if it is valid. There is nothing worse than one of your friends proving that you were a big, gullible fool passing on false information. Sadly, from then on you are guilty of spreading hoaxes. Remember to just think a little... if it sounds unbelievable, it probably is false! Most of these messages are designed to damage a person's reputation (usually for political purposes). It amazes me that too many genealogists will forward on these hoaxes without checking for documentation. There are a lot of family history hoaxes that you need to track down & prove or dis-prove before you pass it along to others. Your reputation hinges on passing along information that is as factual as reasonably expected... not just because you want it to be true or worse that you suspect it to not be true, but wish to pass it along anyway!

-Compiled by JGWest

"Red Flags"

.

When you see a red flag it is a serious warning of some sort.

While researching your family history, you will come across red flags all of the time. You have to look for them as you try to determine the validity of the information you gather. Just recently a fellow researcher sent me some new information on one of my lines with a big red flag waving at me immediately. The information was without sources [red flag all over this info], but the big red flag was that the claimed father died four (that's 4) years before the son was born. There is something wrong here... that just does not happen! So, the red flag should pop-up in your mind to suspect this information. A genealogist has to be a good detective and good researcher... you do not have to know everything, but you need to know to follow-up on info and know where to look to verify information. Rarely should we just accept something because someone has it in their database or family tree without citation of legitimate sources (documents - primary sources) or at least a discussion of the logic in arriving at the theory being offered.

So, here we have this father that seems to give birth long after he is dead. How do we check it out? If the information had a source (for the death date) we could go to it and find that there was a typo error on the date or that it was valid. You need to check the birth date of the son, too! How was the date determined (no source listed again). This means that you can not accept the father/son relationship until you prove it is so. Just because it is printed in a book, on the Internet or sent to you by your very "smart" cousin does not make it correct... someone needs to prove it; otherwise, it is just a guess or theory that needs to be proven. Generally, if the red flag pops up and there are no sources to work with, I tend to think it is probably false... just wishful dreaming.

Another Red flag should pop-up when someone says: "I have conducted a complete (or exhaustive) search and there is no records available to prove my theory, so we must accept it on the basis of circumstantial evidence." This means they do not know where else to search and have given up - basically, they are willing to accept a guess or theory as fact. The person that had the father who died 4 years before the supposed birth (after I pointed it out) stated they never noticed that gap. But, gaps and other problems have red flags that we should be looking for.

I hope the idea of "red flags" is helpful to researchers to question what they find or receive from others. We should always ask, "how do you know that?" Another question: "Is this really proof?" I plan to include "More Red Flags" in future articles. If you have some "red flags" send them in to me, I will give you credit for the warning you point out.

- Written by JGWest

"Amelia Earhart"

.
Amelia Earhart...

One of America's most interesting women, who was lost in her solo flight around the world. Ancestry.com is offering the story and documents for us to look at for free.

"Her bold achievements in aviation made history. Her adventurous spirit remains legendary. But Amelia Earhart’s magnificent and inspiring life was lost in a tragic mystery. In the decades that followed her disappearance in 1937, many theories arose about her fate. Now, for the first time ever online, you can see a unique government case file containing evidence of many questions and investigations that followed." - Ancestry.com

http://www.ancestry.com/amelia?sssdmh=dm13.222064&o_iid=40958&o_lid=40958

The search went on for years, spanning over decades. Here’s a chance to conveniently view once-classified letters written between the U.S. Congress, the State Department and the U.S.Military — and newspaper reports discussing theories on Amelia Earhart’s disappearance!

Ancestry.com is a subscription (paid) site for genealogical records... this is being offered for free for a limited time. - Submitted by JGWest

"Bureau of Indian Affairs 1906"

.

Application for share of money appropriated by Act of Congress 1906 (Bureau of Indian Affairs). This one was rejected, but look what all is provided for us genealogists!

Reuben Poe
A transcription of the Cherokee
claim of Calpernia Cicero Whitely.
By Jose Luis Mendoza Jr.

No. 15074
Eastern Cherokees.
Application of Calpernia Cicero Whitely.
For share of money appropriated for the Eastern Cherokee Indians
by the Act of Congress approved June 30, 1906, in accordance with
the decrees of the Court of claims of May 18, 1905.
Indian office
Eastern Cherokees.
Rec. Jan. 31, 1907
No. 15074
Name: Calpernia C. Whitely
With No. 9192
Remarks:
Commissioner of Indian Affairs
Washington, D.C.

Sir:

I hereby make application for such share as may be due me of the fund appropriated by the Act of Congress approved June 30, 1906, in accordance with the decrees of the court of claims of May 18, 1905, and May 28, 1906, in favor of the Eastern Cherokees. The evidence of identity is herewith subjoined.

1. State full name
English name: Calpernia Cicero Whitely
Indian name:
2. Residence: Short Creek, Ky.
3. Town and post office:
4. County: Grayson
5. State: Ky.
6. Date and place of birth: Oct. 14, 1841, GladesVille, Tn (now Tatesville, Wilson co., Tn)
7. By what right do you claim to share? If you claim through more than one relative living in 1851, set forth each claim separately: Mary Ellen Wood whose grandfather was an Indian named Reuben Poe.
8. Are you married? Widow
9. Name and age of wife or husband: John Whitely deceased.
10. Give names of your father and mother, and your mother’s name before marriage.
Father-English name: Luke Wood
Indian name:
Mother-English name: Mary Ellen Wood
Indian name:
Maiden name: Mary Ellen Thornton
11. Where were they born? 6-624
Father: In Virginia in 1805
Mother: In South Carolina in 1811
12. Where did they reside in 1851, if living at that time?
Father: Grayson co., Ky.
Mother: Grayson co., Ky.
13. Date of death of your father and mother-
Father: Aug. 1879 Mother: Jan. 26, 1891
14. Were they ever enrolled for annuities, land, or other benefits? If so, state when and where: No
15. Name all your brothers and sisters, giving ages, and if not living, the date of death.:
Name Born Died

39728 (1) Wm. G.H. Wood Oct. 23, 1833 Living
Mrs. Eliza A. Craig Oct. 16, 1835 Jan. 14, 1903
13429 (2) Melissa H. Spurrier Dec. 26, 1837 Living
Mrs. Irena E. Spurrier Feb. 11, 1839 ``
(3) Mrs. Ellen McCullough 1843 1901
(4) Mrs. Amanda Caplinger 1845 1886
(5) Uriah Paly Wood 1847 1891
9192 (6) Mrs. Nancy C. Kipler 1851
16. State English and Indian names of your grandparents on both father’s and mother’s side, if possible:
Father’s side Mother’s side

Wm. Wood Nancy Thornton
Elizabeth Wood Seth Thornton
17. Where were they born?
18. Where did they reside in 1851, if living at that time? Nancy resided in Wilson co., Tn
19. Give names of all their children, and residence, if living; If not living, give dates of deaths:
(1) English name: James Thornton deceased.
Indian name:
Residence: Wilson co., Tn
(2) English name: Mary E. Thornton deceased
Indian name:
Residence: Grayson co., Ky
(3) English name: Sallie Thornton deceased
Indian name:
Residence: Wilson co., Tn
(4) English name: Mathias Thornton deceased
Indian name:
Residence: Wilson co., Tn
(5) Ranson Thornton died in Tn.
Huston Thornton ``
Joseph Thornton ``
Irene Thornton ``
Eliza A. Thornton `` 6-624
Danise Thornton ``
20. Have you ever been enrolled for annuities, land, or other benefits? If so, state when and where: No
21. To expedite identification, claimants should give the full English and Indian names, if possible, of their paternal and maternal ancestors back to 1835: Maternal: Reuben Poe lived and died prior to 1835. His daughter was Nancy Poe and her daughter was Mary Ellen Thornton, my mother.
Remarks:
(Under this head the applicant may give any additional information that he believes will assist in proving his claims.)
Reuben Poe through whom or by whom I submit my claim was an Indian. I can’t say whether Reuben Poe was English or Indian name. That is only name held sacred. He was a Cherokee Indian.
Note.-Answers should be brief but explicit: The words “Yes”, “No”, “Unknown”, etc., may be used in cases where applicable. Read the questions carefully.
I solemnly swear that the foregoing statements made by me are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Witnesses to mark
B.M. Tilford her
Lillian P. Tilford (signature) Calpernia Cicero X Whitely
mark
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 28th day of January 1907
My commission expires January 21, 1908
R.W. Tilford
Notary Public.

Affidavit.
(The following affidavit must be sworn to by two or more witnesses who are well acquainted with the applicant.)

Personally appeared before me B.M. Tilford and Lillian P. Tilford, who, being duly sworn, on oath depose and say that they are well acquainted with Calpernia Cicero Whitely who makes the foregoing application and statements, and have known her for 25 years and 20 years respectively, and know her to be the identical person she represents herself to be, and that the statements made by her are true, to the best of their knowledge and belief, and they have no interest whatever in this claim.
Signature of witnesses
B.M. Tilford
Lillian P. Tilford
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 28th day of January 1907
My commission expires January 21, 1908
R.W. Tilford
Notary Public.

Note.-Affidavits should be made, whenever practicable, before a notary public, clerk of the court, or before a person having a seal. If sworn to before an Indian agent or dispersing agent of the Indian service, it need not be executed before a notary, etc. 6-624

No. 15074 Action: Reject.

Name: C.C Whitely and X children. Residence: Short Creek Ky.

Reasons: Sister of # 9192

Copied from: http://poefamilyresearch.net/NC/Studies/ReubenPoeApplication.htm

Don Counts sent this link for the Bureau of Indian Affairs: http://www.doi.gov/bia/ia_genealogy.html

- Submitted by JGWest

“So, It Is Really True!”

IT WAS THE SPRING OF 1958...
...when I was in the fifth grade and was made aware for the first time that many, many generations of ancestors came before I was even born. I realized, that year, that the stories of long ago were based upon real times and real people, in spite of the fact that the actual story was fiction. It was truly a difficult thing for me to just accept – although Mom and Dad, my teacher and others were trying to convince me that things actually happened before my time or even my parents' time. So, my parents took me to several areas in Kentucky to visit the graves of some of my more recent ancestors (my great grandparents). They must have existed because they no longer existed. Now, that was hard for Dad to explain, but he said he knew these people and they were his grandparents. I saw no reason for Dad to lie about this. My West great grandparents were John William West & Hettie (Hester) Martin. Whoa! On their tombstone was a picture of them!!! They must have lived because there was their photo and Dad made a positive ID of them... he claimed that was exactly how they looked. Also, I was named after my great grandfather. This was proof that they existed and my father verified that it was true! [Us genealogists call that "documentation," something I needed to have then and still insist upon today!] Dad said boldly and with pride, “These are my grandparents!” I thought that if I had grandparents and Dad had grandparents, did my grandparents have grandparents and did these people (my great grandparents) also have grandparents. Dad said that, indeed, that was true. Well, who were these people; and, sadly Dad said “I do not know!” Well, I have been searching ever since for who these people are. That was over 50 years ago!

By the way, we went to see my great grandfather's grave in Owensboro, Kentucky. It was a Civil War Marker for James Tobias Long. I looked at Mom and Dad and stated with my newfound wisdom and experience - “So, the Civil War really happened!”

- Written & submitted by John G. West