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

Another "lost" Cemetery Found!

Indiana Bones our resident "cemetery geek" has found yet another "lost" cemetery.  Well, it was not exactly lost... it was just unknown to a large group of family members that did not know it even existed until just very recently.  Indiana did not go on a field trip to stand in the cemetery, but he did find a great land plat online showing the plat of the property and the cemetery.  The cemetery is also long distance in Chatham County, North Carolina.

As many of you know Indiana Bones is my alter-ego that is far more adventurous than I am... it is like Superman and the mild-mannered reporter, Clark Kent!  Putting it another way, when Indiana gets involved things get done.  This West Cemetery is listed on Find-A-Grave and was visited back in 1990.  Here is some of the info that Indiana found:
065    WEST [D54.1]
Location - Hadley Township. 1500 feet south of SR 1547, Rock Rest Road, 1.3 miles east of SR 1520, Old NC 87
Coordinates: 35d 48m 17.0s N; 79d 11m 31.0s W Click here for Google maps
On 14 July 1990, the cemetery was visited by Will Heiser, with David and Judith Peterson, property owners, Jerry and Cathy Markatos, neighbors, and Lamont Norwood. On 2 February 2000, Judith Peterson sent to Will Heiser a transcription of the grave markers with supplemental information on dates and family relationships furnished by Dr. C. Nash Herndon, a descendant of the West and Mann families.
Owner: David W. and Judith S. Peterson.
Legal Description: Deed 556-75, 27 Mar 1990, Plat 90-13, 12 Jan 1990.
Topo Quadrant: Bynum.
Family owned: Yes.
Abandoned: Yes.
Number of graves: 30.
Cemetery size: 70' x 100'.
White: Yes.
Restricted access: Yes. Accompanied by owner
Overgrown and easy to identify: Yes.
Not identified explanation: Current owners plan to maintain.
Enclosed: No.
Enclosed conditions: Evidence of old cedar gate posts.
Markers: Yes.
Markers with inscriptions: Yes.
Number of readable markers: 17.
Last burial: 1885.
First burial: 1814.
Markers damaged: Yes.
Damage from vandalism: Yes.
Other damage explanation: Weathering of soapstone.
Significant events: Original West plantation dating from 1780s.
Miscellaneous information: Dr. C. Nash Herndon, Winston-Salem is descendant of Mann and West families.


Curl, Jean (West)   (b. 14 Jul 1789 - d. 19 Jun 1814)
Daughter of Ignatius and Elizabeth Meacham West. 5th child. Location row 2. column 5.
Durham, Cynthia Jane (West)   (b. 8 Aug 1834 - d. 23 May 1857)
1st Wife of Sidney Franklin Durham. Daughter of Isaac and Sabra Petty West (7th child). "The spirit is not dead though low the body lies buried from pain and sorrow to dwell beyond the skies. Meet me in Heaven.". Location row 2. column 4.
Durham, D. E.   (b. 16 Jul 1870 - d. 30 Jul 1870)
Child of Dicea Lucinda West and Sidney Franklin Durham. Footstone: DED. Location row 2. column 1.
Durham, Dicea Lucinda (West)   (b. 11 Jun 1838 - d. 17 Jul 1870)
2nd Wife of Sidney Franklin Durham. Daughter of Isaac and Sabra (Petty) West (8th child). Location row 2. column 2.
Durham, Sidney Franklin   (b. 16 Apr 1833 - d. )
Husband of Cynthia Jane West and Dicea Lucinda West Durham. Location row 2. column 3.
Mann, Isaac H.   (b. 12 Apr 1815 - d. 2 Jun 1848)
Footstone: IHM. Location row 1. column 7.
Mann, John Jones   (b. 21 Mar 1790 - d. 13 Jul 1875)
Husband of Karenhappuch (West) Mann. Son of Roland and Barbara Holstein Mann. Footstone: JJM. Location row 1. column 8.
Mann, John W.   (b. 9 Aug 1827 - d. 1 Nov 1862)
Footstone: JWM. Location row 1. column 5.
Mann, Karen Happuch (West)   (b. 5 Jun 1797 - d. 16 Jul 1856)
Wife of John Jones Mann. Daughter of Ignatius and Elizabeth Meacham West. "Happy". Location row 1. column 7.
Perry, Kezia (West)   (b. 4 Feb 1792 - d. 30 May 1814)
Daughter of Ignatius and Elizabeth Meacham West. 6th child. Location row 2. column 6.
Powell, Lucy (West)   (b. 14 Mar 1779 - d. 2 Jul 1824)
Wife of Obed Powell. Daughter of Ignatius and Elizabeth Meacham West (1st child). Location row 2. column 7.
West, Ignatius   (b. 13 Dec 1750 - d. 1 Jun 1831)
Husband of Elizabeth Meacham West. Son of Thomas, Sr. and Lucy West.
West, Ira   (b. 16 Jun 1821 - d. 24 May 1852)
Husband of Susan Dark. 2nd child of Isaac and Sabra Petty West. "Blessed are the dead which die in he Lord from henceforth yea sayeth the spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them. Rev. XIV:13.". Location row 1. column 3.
West, Isaac   (b. 11 Oct 1794 - d. 28 Oct 1862)
Husband of Sabra (Petty) West. Son of Ignatius and Elizabeth Meacham West. Location row 1. column 2.
West, Kezia   (b. 10 Feb 1830 - d. 13 Nov 1853)
Child of Isaac and Sabra Petty West. 6th child. Location row 1. column 4.
West, Sabra Petty   (b. 7 Mar 1796 - d. 2 Sep 1885)
Wife of Isaac West. Location row 1. column 1.
West, William H.   (b. 16 Oct 1856 - d. 28 Apr 1857)
Son of Jesse B. and Julia (Petty) West. Footstone: WHW. Hand lettered. Location row 3. column 4.
Ignatius West (marked in blue above) was born in 1750 and died in1831 was a brother to Thomas West, Jr. and Richard West (along with other siblings).  A cousin Ron Roy & Indiana Bones worked together, online, to put this all together.  [Ron is a descendant of Richard West.]  Ron found several of the deeds where Ignatius West owned the property (it is in metes & bounds, which is much harder to use, especially 200 years later).  Then using a handy topographic map of Hadley Township (Bynum, NC) we could easily see where Dry Creek empties into Haw River as the deed describes.  This map shows a high area (hill) that is about where the plat shows the cemetery to be.  A search on Google Maps shows the area to be covered by trees.

- Reported by 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