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Messages - kdunn

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1
Dumfriesshire / Mary Fletcher married William Boyes
« on: Friday 13 May 11 10:31 BST (UK)  »
Mary Fletcher married William Boyes 21 November 1794. (IGI Batch M118514, Source Call 1068240, Printout Call 6901361)

It appears that, early in my family tree adventures, I accepted somebody's assertion that Mary's father was Richard Fletcher. I have recently been contacted by a distant relative who questions that assertion. What records are available for this time period?

2
United States of America / Re: 19th Century Tennessee Birth Records?
« on: Monday 11 April 11 18:19 BST (UK)  »
Tacking another question onto this one -

Sally/Sarah's mother was Elizabeth Coker, who had at least 6 children before she married Green (Greenberry) Cliften/Cliffen. I haven't found any record of her before she lived with him, but the (1850?) census shows her and her children under the name 'Coker'. The marriage was in 1854, as I recall.

I recently ran across a family tree in Ancestry (and couldn't find it when I went back to look for it again) that showed Elizabeth married previously to a James Coker, and the first 4-5 children (including Sally) as his, instead of Green Cliften's. There weren't any records attached to support the earlier marriage, but the tree's owner appeared to have private information sources about Cokers.

If true, this would mean I have misidentified my GGGgfather. Everything I have found shows the children using the Cliften/Cliffen name, but that's not unheard-of with adoptive fathers.

I'm looking for any information I can find to support or refute this scenario. Can anybody help me?

3
United States of America / Re: 19th Century Tennessee Birth Records?
« on: Tuesday 05 April 11 01:50 BST (UK)  »
Ok, I'm home and I checked. It was the 1900 census that showed Bolivar as a newlywed, age 26. Wife Frances was 19. His occupation is shown as Boat Hand. I can't find the marriage on Ancestry, but it does show up on FamilySearch.

Going looking for Mahala now.

4
United States of America / Re: 19th Century Tennessee Birth Records?
« on: Monday 04 April 11 21:54 BST (UK)  »
Thanks for the reply!

The marriage for Boliver seems plausible, and I found a family tree on Ancestry that includes that marriage. I was working from memory, so I may have meant the 1900 census rather than 1910 (I'll check on that when I get home). Boliver couldn't be a common name (although when I googled Bolivar Newman (assuming he was named after Simon Bolivar - other family members named their children after famous people), I got a hit from the Galveston Daily News of 1868 - there actually was a person of that name elected to the board of directors of a railroad company or something). He's too old to be "my" Boliver, but the thought that he may have traveled to Tennessee is intriguing.

The names associated with the Mahala entry don't look familiar, but I'll have to check my info when I get home. I'm still working from memory here, but I think Mahala was 3 in 1880, and Boliver was 5. The name Mahala wasn't rare in that time and place, but I don't know of any other Bolivers. I assume she was probably married by 1900, but didn't find any marriage recorded for her.

You've given me more avenues to explore. Thanks!

5
United States of America / 19th Century Tennessee Birth Records?
« on: Monday 04 April 11 16:27 BST (UK)  »
My gg-gparents, Hugh Newman and Sarah/Sally Cliffen/Cliften married in 1865 at the Justice of the Peace, Knox, Tennessee. Hugh was a Civil War veteran whose health was apparently broken during the war (technically, he deserted and returned home to his parents in Thorn Grove). He died in 1869, 28 years old.

Sally shows up in the 1870 census living with her inlaws and 1-yr-old son James (my g-gfather). In 1880 she is living independently with 11-yr-old James and two more children, ages 5 and 3 (Boliver and Mahala). All are using the 'Newman' surname.

On the 1900 census she reported being married 4 years, widowed, with 5 children, 4 still living. In 1910 she is listed as head of household, but Boliver and his wife (married 6 months) are living with her.

Even assuming that the 4-year marriage was long enough to have produced an earlier child than James, that still leaves 2 children unaccounted-for. I haven't found any sign of them. Can somebody help?


6
Other Countries / Re: Argentina - How to Trace Family Members?
« on: Tuesday 29 March 11 01:18 BST (UK)  »
Thank you; I'll have a look at the link.

James Bell was born 21 Sep 1864; William Bell 16 Mar 1868; both in Dudley, Worcestershire, England. My grandmother was the youngest in the family, and ended up with the family Bible, so I'm sure of those dates.

Based on the letters, I estimate that William died c. 1951, and James c. 1953. I doubt James would have been seeking heirs in Canada if he had any in Argentina, but I don't know whether William left his estate to James, or if he had other heirs.

7
Other Countries / Re: Argentina - How to Trace Family Members?
« on: Tuesday 08 March 11 18:13 GMT (UK)  »
That site has a lot of information. I guess I expected these great-uncles to stand out among the Spanish names, but it was a time of settling into new lands in the southern hemisphere as well as the northern. Now I wonder whether any of the other Bells were related to us.

Thank you! You've given me more opportunity to explore.

8
Other Countries / Argentina - How to Trace Family Members?
« on: Tuesday 08 March 11 16:47 GMT (UK)  »
Two of my grandmother's brothers - James and William Bell - moved to Argentina about the time the rest of the family moved to Canada and USA (c. 18951885). I have correspondence between an agent of one of the brothers (James, I think), shortly before his death (early 1950s), and another branch of the family, asking if one of their nephews would be able to move to Buenos Aires and inherit his estate (the other brother had already died). No family member was able to qualify, and the estate was appropriated by the government.

One of their nephews had been able to visit them several times, as he worked in the maritime trades. He didn't speak Spanish, however, and was unable to determine whether either of the brothers was married (it would have scandalized the family if they had married native women, so they had incentive to conceal the fact).  He noted that there were several children with names similar to 'Bell.' The agent mentioned above was named 'Bellucci' and described "Mr. James" as "like a grandfather to me."

How would one find information about these two and their lives in Argentina?

9
The Lighter Side / Re: What is your favourite tree 'howler'?
« on: Friday 24 September 10 21:00 BST (UK)  »
Re: Pocahontas: My mother's mother's family had a tradition that they descend from Pocahontas and Captain John Smith. I have found reference online to the alleged son of this pair (allegedly named Peregrine) in somebody's family tree, and he even comes up in FamilySearch.

I'm not brave enough to list either Pocahontas or Captain John Smith in my tree, but I have looked for some evidence (anything!) that there might be some truth in the story. It doesn't look promising: John Smith never married, and Pocahontas is recorded as having only the one son (Thomas Rolfe).

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