The Family Tree Problem Solver: Tried-And-True Tactics for Tracing Elusive Ancestors (30 page)

There were forty-two marriages in Greene County before 1850 for people named Johnson. None were named Benjamin.

Remember that the county history gave a relationship for Benjamin Johnson. The history stated that in “1832 John Headlee settled on the Little Sac River followed by two brothers-in-law Benjamin Johnson and James Dryden.” That sentence is not completely clear. Did the history mean Benjamin and James Dryden were in-laws just to each other, or to John Headlee as well? Also remember that the county history related that John Headlee's mother-in-law was Fanny Sims. You may recall that Robert W. Sims and John Headlee were listed on the same page as Benjamin Johnson in the 1840 census. We have made only two attempts thus far to enlarge the circle for Benjamin Johnson. We have not started looking for other men named Johnson. We have started looking for people who may be connected to a
specific
man named Benjamin Johnson, and we already have three: John Headlee, James Dryden, and Fanny Sims.

The nonalphabetized tax record of 1834 gave him more associates: John Sims, Fanny Sims, John Headlee, Henry C. Morrison, Zachariah Sims, Harris Joplin, and James K. Alsup.

In 1835 he paid taxes for one horse, one cow, and a poll. What does this tell us? This man was not King Midas. We know he was in his forties and had a large family, but he owned only two animals. He would undoubtedly fit today's poverty guidelines.

Let's look again at the 1840 census and note that other now-familiar names appear on page 254: Fanny Sims, Zachariah Sims, Joseph Headlee, L.H. Sims, James K. Alsup, Andrew B. Guinn, and Elisha Headlee.

Now what?
Let's check some other records commonly used by genealogists.

1.
Not surprisingly, there was no probate for our Benjamin Johnson — nor for anyone of that name. What about his associates? In November 1835, John Headlee became administrator for the estate of James Dryden, deceased. In 1839, widow Franky Guinn signed a receipt for her dower, so we know that Franky, James Dryden's widow, had remarried.

2.
No one named James Dryden was listed in the census or on tax rolls. In 1835, widow Franky Dryden paid taxes, and in 1837, she married Andrew Guinn. They were married by Harris G. Joplin.

3.
Now we go to the land records. I found four deeds made between 1841 and January 1842 for men named Benjamin Johnson. Three were purchases and one was a mortgage. Let's return to our chronological list.

A man named Benjamin Johnson was making significant purchases of land, all located in township 29, range 24. This was not the same location where the first Benjamin Johnson had lived.

On 15 January 1842, Benjamin C. Johnson mortgaged “land which has not been entered, but where he now resides” located in section 19, township 30, range 20 of preemption land, one bay mare, one brown cow, and one common clock for $150, payable in twelve months to Zachariah Sims. Signed Benjamin C. Johnson. The witnesses were T.M. and Henry C. Morrison. There was no release to the mortgage.

A number of significant items are apparent here. One man named Benjamin Johnson was making large purchases, while the other was mortgaging everything he owned. Thus, we know that as of January 1842, we have two men. Two other significant facts emerge from this mortgage. First, this Benjamin Johnson was now using the middle initial C. Second, we have a new man who is willing to loan our Benjamin C. Johnson money — Zachariah Sims.

Let's now look at the only surviving tax record of the 1840s. Three men named Benjamin Johnson were paying taxes in Greene County. None were paying taxes on land, so they were either squatting, renting, or were exempt from taxes because they had recently entered federal land. The tax list was alphabetized.

a.
One Benjamin Johnson was listed between J.C. Johnson and Joseph Johnson. This man paid taxes on seven horses, two cows, and one timepiece, but no poll.

b.
One Benjamin Johnson turns up between H.G. Joplin and Napoleon Jarrett. He paid taxes on one horse and six cattle, but no poll.

c.
The next Benjamin Johnson was listed very close to the man named Benjamin Johnson in section “b,” above, and was between William Johnson and C.A. Jameson. This Benjamin Johnson was paying taxes on one horse, two cattle, a timepiece, and one poll.

Can we make any guesses here as to which one of the three
might
be the man we seek? Clearly, he wasn't the man who owned seven horses. We know
our
Benjamin Johnson lived near Harris G. Joplin, but this man owned six cows and he didn't pay a poll, which
our
Benjamin probably should have done, given what we believe to have been his age. The live-stock and one other possession, a timepiece, fit most closely with the third man. We learned from the county history that Benjamin R. Johnson was born in Greene County, Tennessee, on 1 September 1824. His parents were Benjamin and Mary Johnson, the former a native of South Carolina, the latter of Virginia. Benjamin's father came to Greene County in 1841 and settled in Center Township, where the subject still resided, and lived there until his death in 1867. Note:
When this local history was published in 1883, Center Township included the land in Township 29, Range 24
. Who is this guy? Benjamin R. Johnson was the man who purchased the land in 1841. In the 1850 census, five men named Benjamin Johnson were listed. All were studied and eliminated.

Figure 8-5
Web of Benjamin Johnson's connections.

What should we do now to find
our
Benjamin Johnson? Notice that a pattern of names has emerged around our subject — Dryden, Headlee, Sims, and Joplin — suggesting a web of relationships. So, we put aside our study of the name
Johnson
and look at the names of the other individuals. It was easy to learn that Fanny Sims and her son-in-law, John Headlee, came from Bedford County, Tennessee. In that county, the following document was uncovered.

Benjamin Johnson had indeed moved to Greene County, Missouri, with relatives. None of them, however, were named Johnson. This deed shows how the various people with whom he interacted were related. They were his in-laws and descendants of Fanny Sims. Notice how much more you can discover when you think of people as connected by webs rather than by the straight lines and boxes you see on pedigree charts and family group sheets.

Sorting out individuals with identical names can be a frustrating challenge, but it's not as hopeless as it may sometimes seem. In fact, if you follow the eight steps outlined in this chapter, it may be a lot easier than you think.

Whenever you research a name, remember that you are seeking a person, a real human being, one just like you and me — not just a person who may share a name with someone completely different.

¹
Personal Reminiscences and Fragments of the Early History of Springfield Greene County Missouri Related by Pioneers and Their Descendants
. (Springfield, Mo.: Springfield Printing Company, 1979.)

G
enealogists often have difficulty tracking their ancestors in the years between 1790 and 1850. Many give up. The most obvious reason is that the requirements for the federal census changed radically between 1840 and 1850. I have heard some genealogists tell others that the censuses taken before 1850 are of little value for family research. How wrong they are! Another factor adding to the difficulty of tracking ancestors during this period is the huge migration that took place between 1795 and 1812 — the greatest movement of peoples America had known. Overcrowding in New England, soil depletion in the South, and the pioneer spirit of those in the Mid-Atlantic States pushed people westward to the Appalachians until the War of 1812. Scarcely was the last shot fired in that war when the movement began again, this time on an even grander scale. The lake plains of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan; the Gulf Plains of Western Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi; and the trans-Mississippi frontier all experienced immense growth from 1814 to 1839. The people were restless, always looking for greener grass and new opportunities. Unfortunately, keeping accurate records for future genealogists was not a priority for them.

John Wilkinson was a typical pioneer of this period. He was a jack-of-all-trades of Ulster Scot heritage, with a limited education and even more limited aspirations. He was unusual, however, in that he wrote an autobiography in his old age. He began writing in 1861, tracing the nineteen moves he made from his birth in 1793 in Greene County, North Carolina (now Tennessee), to his Missouri residence in 1867. Figure 9-1 (below) illustrates the relocations of just this one man. Some of your ancestors may have been as restless as John. The surprising thing is that other than in 1800 and 1810, when John lived in eastern Tennessee, where census records have been lost, he can be found in every census from 1820 through 1860 — if you know where to look! See
Figure 9-2
.

Figure 9-1
John Wilkinson's migration.

Figure 9-2
John Wilkinson's census listings.

1.
The first element one must consider when tracking westward migration is geography. Figure 9-3 on page 160 is a “hardiness” map from a gardening book that shows shaded bands running somewhat parallel across the country.
¹
The bands mark zones that indicate temperature variations, especially the expected highs and lows, so that the farmer or gardener can determine what kinds of flowers, vegetables, and crops are likely to best grow there. These bands are called
life zones
.
Demographers have found that before 1850, people seldom moved more than two life zones from their original location.
In other words, someone living in upstate New York probably would not move to southern Missouri. Who is most likely to move to southern Missouri and northern Arkansas? People from Tennessee, Kentucky, western Virginia, and western North Carolina. The reasons are logical. Farmers from those areas would know how to make a living in southwest Missouri. They could expect the same climate, so they could bring seeds to grow the same plants and use the same tools. Where did the people from upstate New York move? This map makes it clear: northern Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan. Where did those from South Carolina and Georgia move? Into the opening territories of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

Figure 9-3
Hardiness Zone map.

I found the theory that people geographically stick to what they know fascinating; but being from Missouri, the “show me” state, I couldn't just take the demographers' word for it, so I performed two tests. First, I surveyed the three volumes of Virgil D. White's
Genealogical Abstracts of Revolutionary War Pension Files
(Waynesboro, Tennessee: National Historical Publishing Company, 1990–1992). I randomly selected fifty pensioners to determine where they served during the war, and where they applied for their pensions. Figure 9-4 on page 161 shows a map detailing their migration patterns.

Next, I surveyed 838 pioneers of Southwest Missouri. In their move to Missouri, only two men moved more than just one life zone from where they previously lived. One was a doctor who had been born in Massachusetts; he migrated first to Vermont and then to Ohio before coming to Missouri. The second was a lawyer from Hartford, Connecticut. The reason for these deviations from the norm is simple: neither man depended on the land for his source of income. Three people came from more than two life zones away, but one was from Ireland, one from Canada, and one from southern Alabama. Interestingly, the family from southern Alabama did not fare well in Missouri. After the deaths of several family members, they moved to southern Arkansas and northern Texas.

2.
The second element to consider is the prevalent economic conditions at the time your ancestors moved. Few job opportunities, exhausted soil, the breakup of large land holdings, and overextended credit all were economic conditions that could push our ancestors from their communities. Land available on credit or for low capital investment, the need for extra hands on frontier farms, and the need for blacksmiths, tanners, merchants, and wheelwrights in new towns were conditions that could pull people who were economically strapped toward a new community. Become familiar with the history of major economic “booms” and “busts” on both the national and local levels. Although the Panic of 1837 created major problems in the east during the late 1830s, the resulting hard times did not reach some areas in the middle of the country until the early 1840s.

Figure 9-4
Migration of Revolutionary War soldiers.

3.
The third element to consider in studying frontier migrations is the distance between the old location and the new. One example involves the opening of what previously had been Cherokee territories until after the treaties of 1817 and 1819. People who lived in central Tennessee and western North Carolina flocked to the southwest section of Tennessee and the northern part of Alabama. It was new, virgin territory, often only a short distance from where they had lived. The opening of the Chickasaw territory in western Tennessee provides another example. Migration into Iowa from Illinois and northern Missouri when the Iowa Territory opened constitutes a third example. The period between the War of 1812 and 1850 involves dozens of such examples. From what region did many of the people who lived in the newly opened area come?

In the vast majority of cases, you can find an individual's origins by tracking the origins of his neighbors and associates.
Sometimes that's the only way you can track them, because some individuals simply do not create enough records in their lifetime in either community to definitely identify them. But, by placing one person within a community of others who have recently moved into a pioneer neighborhood, you can usually find enough records produced by the others to identify the individual that you seek.

Sometimes it takes the identification of a number of connected individuals before you can find the one with records that can provide the information you need. You probably won't encounter anyone who jumps out of the records and hollers, “Here I am, the one individual out of the thirty who is going to prove significant to you as you try to find the home of Andrew Hayes.” Instead, you must patiently review, analyze, and distill the data until that pivotal individual or record appears. You may have to stop and turn around on a number of paths before you finally see a signpost that will point you in the right direction.

People began traveling farther across the continent when they began experiencing the same economic conditions that had pushed their parents out of the eastern states a generation earlier. Pulls came from as far away as Texas, Oregon, and California in the late 1840s and early 1850s. Sometimes people “hopscotched” across the country, remaining just a few years in one location before moving on to the next. Hopscotching became impossible, however, when the trailled west across the “great American desert” and the Rocky Mountains; there was no place to stop.

How did people travel during the time your ancestor was moving from one place to another? Become familiar with both land and water routes, and the geographic barriers your ancestor would have had to overcome. Study the modes of transportation that would have been available to him.

4.
The fourth element to consider in examining migrations is the personal and social motivations behind them. These might include the death of parents and subsequent division of property, the “honeymoon migrations” of young people wanting to start off on their own, or the desire to maintain the “clan” system by keeping a family together. Sometimes entire church congregations moved together. Debt, personal obligations, and legal entanglements motivated many individuals to leave their homes, and more than a few unhappy marriages ended by desertion.

Although there were many reasons for people to risk the move into new territories and communities, one of the strongest was the possibility of acquiring land. In the process of transferring land from the Indians to the federal government to individual landowners, many records were created that can benefit genealogists. Although land documents vary according to the area and time period, there are some general principles you can follow to locate the records you need.

From the time of the American Revolution until after the Civil War, the federal government followed the same basic procedures. First, the Indian title had to be cleared. Sometimes this involved working with a number of tribes, which could take extended periods of time. If you are interested in Indian ancestors, records documenting the agreements between the federal government and the tribes — as well as their individual members — can reveal a great deal of information about both the Indians and the “intruders.” In theory, white settlers were not to move into an area before the title was cleared, but seldom did they wait until all the arrangements had been formalized — they simply intruded and squatted. Next, surveyors went into the area and laid out the land. After the War of 1812, they used the rectangular survey system, dividing the land into sections, townships, and ranges.