The Adventures of Indiana Bones Feb 2013

Indiana Bones will be off soon, this morning, for another adventure in genealogical research. This time in the Christian County Courthouse looking for deed records of another John West born sometime between 1760 & 1775 in North Carolina. This John West is somewhat elusive, but bought the land inherited by the heirs of Thomas West, Jr. in Nov. of 1836 in Christian Co., KY. It says in that indenture that John West was the brother of Thomas West (the deceased)... others say that is not correct that he is the son of Thomas West and brother to the other heirs. Indiana Bones is on a quest to find out about this John West's actual relationship is to my direct ancestor Thomas West.

I have some U.S. Census records for a John West (or perhaps for more than one man) beginning in North Carolina and then in Christian Co., KY.  there is a John Trip West in Christian Co. that is more than likely the son of Thomas West that is in the 1850 Census (born about 1773).  The one that bought the land in 1836, we believe was born about 1762 and would be the young uncle to the 1773 John West.

I will begin by trying to locate the disposal of that 1836 land (250 acres) and see if I can find any other deeds and tax records for the brother John West.

- Indiana Bones

Field Trip... What's New?

Yesterday, I decided to make a field trip to Hopkinsville (about 1.5 hours drive from my home) to check on some deed records in the courthouse.  I have made a lot of advances in my genealogical research knowledge about my family since the days that I spent hours and days at the Christian County Courthouse going through indexes and deed books.  I had been recently pairing up deeds... as in, when someone acquired property and then finally when it was passed on to someone else.  I noticed that I was missing one end of that equation or the other on far too many pieces of land for my family!  Thus the reason for the trip.  As I was going through the index books, I discovered some family connections that I did not know before.

While Wills & Probate Records are great for showing relationships, deeds often do the same, in fact, in some cases, deeds are another form of an estate settlement (Will) before the person dies!  Legal abstracts of land ownership are essential to ensure that property is free and clear of any legal rights of others.  The Christian County Clerks Office has the newer deed transactions computerized that you can track back seeing this abstract of previous ownership.  It can map out a wonderful picture of the history of that particular parcel of land and how it might have been sub-divided and merged together over time to the beginning of the county (1797 for this county).  Unfortunately, most do not go back more than about the 1940's for now, but it can help you work your way back on the computer and then through the deeds on your way back to when the person you are interested in acquired the land (and from whom).  Using this approach you will learn the facts behind an acquisition and disposal of the property in connection to the party you are researching.  It can provide you with a history surrounding the land and can provide relationships of the owners over time.

I began this quest in search of "Why is the West Cemetery deep in the middle of the woods, abandoned and mostly forgotten?"  I suspect the cemetery is on the property of the family of some of those buried there.  Who owned the land that this cemetery is located?  Why is access to the cemetery no longer in existence?  The cemetery seems to be only of West family members, perhaps 20 or less graves... it does have seven grave markers in reasonable shape with burials on the markers from 1875 to as late as 1934.  These dates are not all that old as cemeteries go.  Being exclusively family members, it suggests that this was not a church or even a community cemetery. This cemetery is not even on the topographic maps. I have lots of questions with no answers... yet!  Perhaps some of our readers can make a few suggestions to help me discover the story about this cemetery.

But this was not what I intended to share with everyone.  After the courthouse closed, I stopped by the public library a few blocks away.  I have not been here for a while - nice library!  They have some great new resources and records.  I only had about one hour before they closed, too.  I discovered a great, very large, wall-mounted, 1878 Farm Plat Map of the property owners of all of Christian County.  With my brand new Droid Razor cell phone camera, I took many photos of the map in the area of Wilson Precinct around Ovil, Kentucky where this cemetery and several others that my family are buried is located.  By the way, I took many photos at the courthouse of the deed records... a quick, inexpensive way to copy printed data.  The library now has most of the county's marriage records and lots of the deed records, wills & county court order books.  The library is open all day on Saturdays!  The courthouse is only open during the business week: Mon - Thurs 8AM-4PM, Fri 8AM-4:30PM.  Look for me in Hopkinsville at the library on Saturdays and in the courthouse on a few Mondays or Fridays (my days off from work).

A tip for all researchers, especially those of us that have been at this family history stuff for a while, is to go back to the places you have not been to for a number of years and see what is new.  More records are available & accessible than ever before, plus changes have been made due to advances in technology.  Plan for a field trip in the near future before it gets too cold or there are too many threats of snow or icy roads.

- Compiled by Indiana Bones

NAVIGATING ALONG the RIVER - Research Tips

"Land is always acquired by someone and later (eventually) transferred to someone else!"

It is important to remember this statement when doing genealogical research. It is one of two genealogical basic truths or facts. The other one is that if someone died they were born or, conversely, if someone was born they eventually died. When you are researching and you find a record of land being obtained or being disposed of for someone, then you need to find the other end of land ownership. A will or estate probate might transfer land to a child... a great find, since you can look for how the deceased obtained that property and then how the son disposed of that property. Brick walls can be knocked down when you use this rule to find both ends of land ownership.

Often in our research, we find where the family lived in one county and later were living in another county (sometimes a distance away from the first county). In this case, generally, they disposed of the property in that original county and bought new property in the new county. It is important to find that diposal of the first county's property and then find when they obtained property in the new county. Sometimes, you will discover that they actually did not move, but rather the county boundaries changed and new counties were formed that separated the two counties on the map of more modern times. For example Kentucky once had three counties covering the majority of the state... new counties were formed out of each one making the original county smaller & smaller until it reached its size (and location) of today. It is possible for property to begin in Knox County, Indiana and end up being in about four other counties due to new counties being formed out of older ones. Important note: records concerning that property will be found in the county courthouse of where that property existed at the time of the creation of that record. Thus making it appear that the family moved from county to county, property to property... when in fact they could have lived on the same piece of land and possibly in the same house!

- Composed by JGWest

"Recent Microfilm Purchase By TSGS"

From Brenda Joyce Jerome, CG (TSGS Acquisition Chair):

The Tri-State Genealogical Society recently acquired a sizeable microfilm collection from the personal library of a long-time professional genealogist. Included in this purchase are the following with number of rolls in parenthesis:

Kentucky records for Boyle, Clark (8), Fleming (2), Garrard (12), Green (5), Harrison (3), Henry (4), Jessamine (7), Knox (1), Madison (23), Simpson (1), Union (41), Whitley (7) counties.

Virginia records for Louisa (23), Loudon (36), Orange (22), Prince William (9), and Stafford (13) counties.

Illinois records for St. Clair County (2).

North Carolina records for Guilford County (2 vols. 7-13).

The most exciting part of this purchase is a portion of the Draper Manuscripts. They include the following:

Kentucky Papers, Series CC, volumes 1-36 on 8 rolls

George Rogers Clark Papers, 64 volumes on 17 rolls

George Rogers Clark Misc. Papers, 5 volumes on 1 roll

Virginia Papers, Series ZZ, 16 volumes on 2 rolls

The above collection will be catalogued and placed in Special Collections at Willard Library. The addition of this microfilm will enhance the already fine collection at Willard Library.