Heartland Genealogy

Do you have 'floating' or 'orphan' trees in your Ancestry tree? I know that I do have 'floaters' in my tree. I recently watched a Genealogy TV video by Constance Knox on how to make connections to link some of those 'floaters' to my big tree. Today, I decided to get this set up for some of the members of my Crawford FAN Club: Nathan Sellers James Crawford (wife Elizabeth Vansant) Alexander Crawford (wife Mary McPheeters) James Crawford (wife Rebecca Anderson) James Crawford (wife Rebecca McPheeters) James Crawford (wife Martha Knight) Alexander Moore (wife Mary Crawford) Alexander Duggins (wife Sally Smith -- who married James Crawford) John Anderson (father of Rebecca Anderson Crawford) Bazeleel Maxwell (brother-in-law of James Crawford/Rebecca Anderson) Alexander Crawford (wife Margaret McElwee) Absalom Adams (grandfather of Margaret McElwee) James Crawford (wife Sally Duggins) -- MY ANCESTOR Edward Crawford - yDNA co...

Do you use Ancestry.com in your genealogy research? If so, have you checked out one of their newest sources of shaky leaf hints: Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current ? Randy Searver's instructions on how to access just the hints from this one source in his Using the 'Mining Ancestry.com Hints from a Specific Collection' Tool makes it easy to pull these hints. 

As a genealogist, do you do most of your research online? I have to admit that I tend to concentrate on sources that are online and don't take the time to see what I'm missing by relying on online sources. Since I happen to live a few hours from the Midwest Genealogy Center and since my husband is also hooked on the genealogy habit, we try to visit this fabulous genealogy library at least once a year. Usually, my pre-trip plans center around creating a list of localities I want to research and not a specific list of sources. This time, I had a book that I wanted to find: Descendants of Alexander and Mary McPheeters Crawford . According to WorldCat , this book was supposed be in the collection at the Midwest Genealogy Center. However, it wasn't listed in their catalog. Thus, I knew I would need to ask for help to verify that they did not have the book. I am SO GLAD I asked for help! The librarian verified that the print copy of the book was missing. However, she didn...

FamilySearch Bartholomew County, Indiana Deeds, Vols. W (cont.) - X (to p.651), 1856-1858 FamilySearch Film 1301899 DGS 8059780 This is likely, John S. Crafton [ KP3G-WHX],  grandson of James and Rebecca Crawford. Book W page 519 - Crafton Jno S heir

Have you tested your DNA? If so, have you been able to break through a brick wall using your DNA results? My main purpose for testing my DNA was to learn more about my Crawford ancestry. Since I already have identified my 4th great grandfather on my Crawford line, I was hoping to identify his siblings and parents via DNA. So far, my results have not helped me get thru that brick wall. However, there is one DNA test that has puzzled me for quite some time. This is the sole test that shows up when I search my matches for ancestors born in Garrard County, Kentucky: i****** . I share 23 cM across 2 segments with i****** and one of my brothers shares 24 cM across 2 segments with i****** . When I looked at shared matches with i****** , I found two other matches that appear to have the same common ancestors: Isaac Crawford and Nancy Miller. In looking at matches shared with these two other matches, I discovered a fourth match who descends from a different Garrard County family. ...

Have you heard about Ancestor DNA Projects on GedMatch? Don't feel bad if you haven't. I first heard about them last month when a member of the Clan Crawford group on Facebook posted about it. Several members of the Clan Crawford Facebook group are trying to get a Crawford Ancestor Project started. However, they need FIFTY Crawford researchers to agree to participate to get the project established. If you are a Crawford researcher who has uploaded your DNA to GedMatch, then please consider participating in the project. To join the project, one must first be a member of the Clan Crawford Association Ancestry & DNA Research Forum on Facebook. If you are on Facebook, then you may submit a request to join the Clan Crawford Association Ancestry & DNA Research Forum . This is a great group that discusses Crawford DNA and/or Crawford Research. Once your membership in the Clan Crawford Association Ancestry & DNA Research Forum, you can use the search box on the righ...

Jane Crawford, daughter of James and Rebecca (Anderson) Crawford married David Hall. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find much information on David and Jane Hall. David Hall 1 lived in Jefferson, Indiana, United States in 1820. 2 He filed land entry papers for land being the East half of the Southwest quarter of section 25 Township 10 of Range 5 containing 80 acres on 24 Apr 1820 in Indiana, United States. 3 He   purchased land being lot 104 in Columbus in 1823 in Bartholomew, Indiana, United States. 4 David   purchased land being lot 63 in Columbus in 1823 in Bartholomew, Indiana, United States. 5 He filed land entry papers for land being the West half of the Southwest quarter of Section 25 Township 10 of Range 5 containing 80 acres on 1 Jan 1823 in Indiana, United States. 6 David Hall of Dearborn County, Indiana made full payment for the south West quarter of the North East quarter of Section seventeen in township six of Range two West in the Distric...

Have you ever followed a hint that led you down the wrong path? That's what I feel like I'm doing with the message I found on Genealogy.com. "I am a Whitley researcher. I was sent the following: not my research. Jacob Miller (b1762) md Elizabeth Whitley, 13 May 1794 in Lincoln Co. NC. Elizabeth was the dau of George Whitley, son of Moses, son of Jonathan. They moved to Paint Lick, or Crab Orchard, Ky. There were 11 children. George, Nancy, Henry, Matilda, Moses, Mary, Tobias, Margaret, Isaac (Md Elizabeth Cope), Whitley, Elizabeth. After the death of Jacob (1825) many of the family moved to Clay Co, Mo and other MO counties (1832). Some moved to IN. Elizabeth Whitley Miller remarried to Humphrey Best. Clell was son of Moses and is buried in Muddy Fork Cem. in Clay Co., MO. At least there is a tombstone there. As I said, this is not my research and I cannot give proofs for this but it may serve as a map for Miller researchers. If anyone can prove any of this I would app...

Do you use Ancestry's Message Boards ? What about the mailing lists hosted by RootsWeb? Or, do you remember the forums on Genealogy.com? These tools used to be a regular part of my genealogy arsenal. Unfortunately, my usage has been rare since returning to my genealogy research. However, I'm finding that even though these tools don't provide much interaction, they do contain a wealth of information. And I'm just 'stumbling' across it. I recently did a simple Google search for 'Whitley genealogy Miller' in hopes of locating a family history. Granted this wasn't a well defined search and I didn't find exactly what I was looking for. However, I did find a major hint about Elizabeth Whitley Miller in an old message posted on Genealogy.com .

Bartholomew County Indiana Land and Property Deeds, vols. D-E (to p.515), 1833-1837 FamilySearch Film 1301777 DGS 8059757 Bartholomew County Indiana Deeds, 1822-1887 Deeds, vols. D-E (to p.515), 1833-1837 FamilySearch Film 1301777 DGS 8059757 Deed Book D page 205

Bartholomew County Indiana Land Records Deeds, Vols. M (cont.) - N, 1848-1849 FamilySearch Film 1301782 DGS 8059762 image 329 - start of item 2 Deed Record VOl N 17 Apr 1849 - 27 Dec 1849 Hall David form USA E SW S25 T20 R5 80 acres Nov 1822 Book N page 327 Certificate No 78 The United States of America. To all to whom these presents shall come Greeting. Wherein David Hall of Jefferson County, Indiana has deposited in the General Land Office of the United States, a certificate of the Register of the Land Office at Brookville, State of Indiana whereby it appears that full payment has been made by the said David Hall according tot he provisions of the Act of Con- gress of the 24th of April 1820, entitled, “An act ma- king further provision for the sale of the Public Lands for the East half of the South West quarter of Section twenty-five in Township ten, of Range five, in the District of Brookville and State of Indiana containing

Bartholomew County Indiana Land Records Deeds, Vols. M (cont.) - N, 1848-1849 FamilySearch Film 1301782 DGS 8059762 image 329 - start of item 2 Deed Record Vol N 17 Apr 1849 - 27 Dec 1849 Hall David from USA S SW S25 T10 R5 80 acres Jan 1824 Book N page 326 page 326 Certificate No. 79 The United States of America. To all to whom these presents shall come, greeting: Whereas David Hall of Jefferson County, Ind- iana has deposited in the General Land Office of the United States, a certificate of the Register of the Land Office at Brookville, State of Indiana whereby it appears that full payment has been made by the said David Hall according to the provisions of the Act of January the 24th of April, 1820, entitled

Bartholomew County Indiana Land Records General Index, Vol. 11, 1885-1887 / Deeds, Vol. A 1822-1827 FamilySearch film 1301775 DGS 8059756 Hall David from Farquer John agent page 154 No. 132 Know all men by these presents that I John Farguar agent for the county of Bartholomew in the state of Indiana for and in condition of Dollars to me in hand before the en- sealng hereby David Hall the receipt whereof I do hereby ac knowledged have in my capacity as agent as aforesaid and for and in behalf of the county of Bartholomew granted bargained sold and conveyed and by these presents do grant bargain sell and convey unto the said David Hall his heirs and assignes forever the following described tract or parcel or lot of land situated in the town of Columbus in said county of Bartholomew known and designated on the plat of said town by no Sixty three situated in the town of Columbus con-

Barthlomew County Indiana Land Records Deeds, Vols. E (cont.) to G (to p. 351), 1837-1840 FamilySearch Film 1301778 DGS 8059758 Hall David to Wm Mounts Columbus lot 63 Oct 2 1839 Book F page 692 Volume F starts on image 59 Deed Record Vol F 20 Nov 1837 to 11 Oct 1839 Item 2 Hall David to Mounts William p 692 Book F page 692 Image 434 David Hall & Jane Hall his wife to William Mounts 2 Oct 1839 This Indenture made this second day of October in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty nine between David Hall & Jane Hall his wife of the County of Bartholomew and State of Indiana of the first part and William Mounts of the County and State aforesaid of the second part witnesseth that the said party of the first part for and in consideration of the sum of twenty dollars to them in hand paid by the said party of the second part The receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged have granted bargained and sold and by these presents do grant ba...

Bartholomew County Indiana Land Records Deeds, Vols. E (cont.) to G (to p. 351), 1837-1840 FamilySearch Film 1301778 DGS 8059758 Hall David to Wm Mounts Columbus lot 63 Oct 2 1839 Book F page 692 Volume F starts on image 59 Deed Record Vol F 20 Nov 1837 to 11 Oct 1839 Item 2 Hall David to Shell Solomon page 358 Hall David to Mounts William p 692 Book F Page 358 image 267 David Hall and Jane Hall his wife to Solomon Shell 1 Dec 1838

Bartholomew County Indiana Land Records General Index, Vol. 11, 1885-1887 / Deeds, Vol. A 1822-1827 FamilySearch film 1301775 DGS 8059756 image 177 start of item 2 Deed Record Vol. A 22 Aug 1822 to 2 Apr 1829 Hall David from Farquer John, Agent page 153 No 131 Know all men by these presents that I John Farquer agent for the county of Bartholomew in the state of Indiana for and in consideration dollars to me in hand before the ensealing have by David Hall the receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge have in my capacity of agent as aforesaid and for and in behalf of the sd county of Bartholomew granted bargained sold and conveyed and by these presents do grant bargain sell and convey unto the said David Hall his heirs and as- signs forever the following described tract parcel or lot of land situated in the town of Columbus in said county of Bartholomew known and designated on the plat of said town by number one hundred and four containing seventy five feet ...

  Beverly Vawter 1 was born on 28 Sep 1789 in Culpeper, Culpeper County, Virginia. 1 – 7      He lived in Jefferson, Indiana Territory, United States in 1811. 6 He served in the military as a Sargent in Capt. Elisha Golay's Company during War of 1812. 8 – 9       Beverly was the parent of Pascal Vawter. 6 , 10 He of Jefferson county has made full payment for the Southeast quarter of section 29, Township 4, range 10 East on 9 Oct 1813 in Jeffersonville, Clark, Indiana, United States. 11 In 1818, he advertised 175 acres of land on the Clifty within 2 1/2 miles of in Madison, Jefferson, Indiana, United States. 12 Beverly was the parent of Rebecca Vawter. 6

Do you ever feel like you've figured out a new way to cluster matches and then realize that those clusters you thought you had found included matches from distinctly separate areas of your tree? Well, that was my experience when I expanded my mountain/valley analysis of my Crawford line. As explained in my DNA Clusters: Mountains and Valleys post, I had a 'missing mountain' for the parents of Nelson G. Crawford in my original diagram.

Jefferson County, Indiana Deed Records, 1812-1891 Deed Record v. X, July 1846-May 1846 / Deed Record v. 1. May 1846-Mar 1847 FamilySearch Film 1310277 DGS 8059622 Image 597 Volume 1 Page 528 to 529 Beverly Vawter and Elizabeth Vawter to Thomas Blair page 528

Dana Leeds' recent blog post about " Who Is in a Cluster " demonstrates that although all people in a cluster share DNA with one person in the cluster, they don't necessarily share DNA with another member of the cluster. Curious as to what this would look like with my Crawford branch of my tree, I looked at the DNA matches I share with a first cousin once removed. At first, I was trying to map out all of my known matches. However, this became cumbersome since I have a lot of 2nd cousin matches. As I was creating my matches diagram, I realized that I needed to be looking for matches that were for the different surnames.

Jefferson County,Indiana Deed Records, 1812-1891 Deed record v. N. Feb 1837-Sep 1837 / Deed record v. O sep 837 - June 1838 FamilySearch film 1310272 DGS 8059617 image 266-267 Volume N page 515

Jefferson County, Indiana Deed Records, 1812-1891 Deed record v. H, cont. July 1833-Nov 1833 / Deed Record v. I Nov 1833 - Jan 1835 / Deed record v. J Jan. 1835 - Oct 1835 / Deed Record v. K Oct 1835 - Jan 1836 FamilySearch film 1310270 DGS 8059615 Vol. J page 275 vol. I starts on image 74 vol. J starts on image 346 Image 487 page numbers hard to read may be page 275 for the start of first deed second deed would then start on page 276 and end on page 277 Image 487 - right side of image - likely page 276

Do you use timelines in your genealogy research? I'm guessing that most people who have been searching their family history for some time have used some sort of timeline. When I retired and starting spending more time researching my family tree, I created a spreadsheet for my Crawford family research. In the spreadsheet, I was able to color code the people, locations and time periods. All of this information was copied from my RootsMagic data into the spreadsheet. It wasn't until I read Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Make a Timeline Report blog that I seriously looked at the Timeline Report in RootsMagic. Thanks to his post, I started looking at the built-in timelines on Ancestry and within RootsMagic.

Jefferson County, Indiana Deed Records, 1812-1891 Deed record v. H, cont. July 1833-Nov 1833 / Deed Record v. I Nov 1833 - Jan 1835 / Deed record v. J Jan. 1835 - Oct 1835 / Deed Record v. K Oct 1835 - Jan 1836 FamilySearch film 1310270 DGS 8059615 Vol. J page 275 vol. I starts on image 74 vol. J starts on image 346 Image 487 page numbers hard to read may be page 275 for the start of first deed second deed would then start on page 276 and end on page 277 Middle of page on left side of image 487

The World of Society Mrs. Harris and Mr. Pickett To Be Married Today Other Weddings of the “Best Day of All” — A Debutante Lunch- eon - Notes Mrs. Sallie Vawter Harris and Mr. Theo- dore J. Pickett are to be married at 4 o’clock this afternoon at the residence of the brother-in-law and sister of the former, Judge and Mrs. William A.Milliken, 2017 Massachusetts avenue. The Rev. Frederick D. Power of the Vermont Avenue Christian Church will officiate. There will be no at- tendants, and Judge Milliken will give the bride away. As both the bride and her sis- ter are in mourning, only the immediate members of the family are to be present. The bride has been engaged for several years in journalistic work, and has a wide acquaintance in society, to whom the an- nouncement of her marriage will have a great interest. She is a native of Kentucky, the daughter of the late Rev. Philemon and Mrs. Martha Humphreys Vawter. She belongs to the Beverley, Humphreys, Jamie- son and Vawter familie...

"Social and Personal," The Washington Post (Washington, District of Columbia), 14 November 1906, page 7; digital image, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : viewed online September 2019). Mrs. Sallie Vawter Harris and Mr. Theodore J. Pickett will be married at 4 o'clock this afternoon at the home of Mrs. Harris' brother-in-law and sister, Judge and Mrs. William A. Milliken, 2017 Massachusetts avenue. There will be no attendants. On account of mourning, the ceremony will be witnessed only by the immediate members of the family. IT will be performed by Rev. Frederick D. Power, pastor of the Vermont avenue Christian Church. Mrs. Harris is a native of Kentucky, a daughter of the late Rev. Philemon Vawter and of the late Mrs. Martha Humphreys Vawter. She belongs to the Beverley, Humphreys, Jamison, and Vawter families of Virginia, Ken- tucky and Mississippi. Mr. Pickett, who is the son of the late Col. John T. Pickett, of Confederate fame, was in t...

While trying to verify a death date, I cam across a wonderful article on the VAWTER family that actually provides clues about the Crawford family. These clues are surnames of a potential FAN club for my Crawford research. Newspapers.com The Star Press (Muncie, Indiana) 14 Nov 1909, Sun page 14 “About Our Ancestors” by Eleanor Lexington The Vawter Family

Do you use Ancestry's 'leaf' hints? If so, do you occasionally find a hint or two that have information that doesn't fit with what you already know about the person or family? I usually find such hints among the multitude of hints for the people in my trees. Usually, those 'incorrect' hints are 'way off'. These 'way off' hints are for events in England when the person/family is living in the United States. Today, however, I came across a hint for a death date that was a few months off of the date shown on Find a Grave. The hint was and index record with reference to a film number on Family Search for District of Columbia Deaths and Burials, 1840-1964. Even though the death date was different, the family names matched.

My Crawford line is a brick wall! I'm fairly certain my line goes back to Virginia from Kentucky -- but I can't find any land records, court records or even family members to help me go back a generation. Many other Crawford researchers also have brick walls -- maybe not in Kentucky, but somewhere in colonial America. Not only are we struggling with our paper research, but it is difficult to break thru these brick walls by finding common ancestors from our DNA results. Since we are trying to go back 200 or more years, our autosomal DNA isn't of much help. And, our yDNA matches are for names and places that aren't familiar to us.

Have you had your DNA tested? If so, did DNA help you answer a question? Based on Facebook posts I've seen, it appears that DNA is helping adoptees to connect with their birth family. In my case, I wasn't hoping to identify a close relative. Instead, I was hoping (and still am hoping) to identify my 5th great grandparents -- particularly on my dad's CRAWFORD line. It's been 3 years since I first spit in a test tube (autosomal DNA) and since my brother swabbed his cheek (yDNA). That's 3 years of working with various DNA results and few clues about this mysterious CRAWFORD grandfather. As I'm trying to learn more about our yDNA results, so I can make sense of how we might fit in the Crawford Clan, I've come to a couple of conclusions: There's too little data - I need more 5th, 6th and 7th cousins to do a yDNA test Determining relationships is VERY dependent on the accuracy of BOTH of our family trees

Have you seen DearMyrtle's challenge ? When I first saw the challenge, I thought I should be in pretty good shape. After all, I scanned the family photos and attached them in my The Master Genealogist software several years ago. Since I've worked my way thru 5 generations of data review, I figured I should be set. That was until yesterday when I was verifying descendants for a thru-lines DNA match on Ancestry. As I was working with a known first cousin twice removed, I decided to check FamilySearch to see if there were any additional sources attached to this cousin. To my surprise, I found a slightly different set of parents than expected. I expected to find John Frederick Mentzer and Anna Wells Mentzer as the parents of a family of 8 children, including Mildred Mabel Mentzer. Instead, I found Fred Mentzer and Anna Wells Mentzer as the parents of one child, Mildred Mentzer. After digging thru my Mentzer records to verify that John and Anna did have a daughter named Mil...