Evaluating Sources: Fictitious Mackay Family:Vital Records II

 Our Mackay family may show up n birth and death records. However, since parents and children were all born before 1800, both may be tricky. All were born and died before birth and death records were required in Indiana.

Cemetery records are the best hope here. Perhaps a family genealogy or local history. Let's consider the following:

[1] A book on the Karl family has a family group  record that includes an Amos Karl who died "about 1829 near Madison, Indiana."  It says he married twice. First to Edna Haas [born 1769 & died 18o2 Madison, IN]. Second: Lizbeth ______ [born abt. 1785 & died abt. 1860]. Two children: James & Rachel.

Could thhis be Elizabeth Mackay?  Quite possibly. Go with it until other sources are checked. Lizbeth Karl's birth and death are close. Madison is in Jefferson Co. Look for Elizabeth in the 1860 Census and track down those two kids James and Rachel!

[2] Someone has saved a Find A Grave entry for a Sarah MacDonald whose birth and death dates and residence all fit our Sarah Mackay. The spouse is an Alec MacDonald, but no birth or death is included.

A maybe? Unfortunately, this Sarah's maiden name turns out to be Wilson, a fact the "saver" overlooked. Delete this one.

[3] Another Find A Grave entry saved to a tree shows Shelby and Ann Mackay "stones overturned, hard to read." They are both buried in a small cemetery in Hendricks Co.

Is this a hit or miss? Possibly a hit. Contact the cemetery and/or  local libraries in Marion and Hendricks Counties. Shelby should be in the 1850-60 census and Ann in 1850-70. How close did they live to the Marion-Hendricks line? Investigate any kids, they should make it to recorded death certificates.

[4] A local history for Jefferson Co., IN mentions a James Makkay who arrived in the county in 1816 and is saved to a Mackay Family Tree as our James T.

We know that James and Betsy were inwhat was to become Jefferson Co. by 1808, This was 8 years before James Makkay arived. Drop it!!

[5] A researcher has saved a list of births for James and Betsy's children from an old family bible in a cousin's possession. In addition to Matthew, Sarah, James, Elizabeth and Shelby there is a daughter Rachel born December 1785.

This could be a major addition, but how to prove it? Start by contacting the tree owner. Then look a census records beginning with 1790.

Evaluating Records and Sources: The Fictitious Mackay Family: Vital Records

 All right , let's pick up where we left off yesterday. We have the fictitious family of James Thomas Mackay and Elizabeth "Betsy" Callahan.

James Thomas Mackay was born in Berkeley Co., SC on 12 Mar 1754 and died 8 Jun 1836 in Jefferson Co., IN

[1] Birth records may be hard to come by in 1754. But a family bible is online for a Mackay family from Winchester Co., Virginia:

Matthew McKAY - born 5 Jan 1728 - died 16 May 1783; Rachel SHELBY, his wife, born 27 Jun 1730 - died 4 Mar 1779. Married 9 Feb 1749.                                                                                                           Matthew, son, born 11 Nov  1751; married Alice Baum 23 Jan 1774. James, son, born [smudged] Mar /May [hard to resd] 1754; Jane. dau., born 30 July 1756 - died  8 Aug 1756; Nancy - born 1 Aug 1758; Racheil - born [smudged] 1760.

Could this be James Thomas? Possibly. The year fits, but the day and month aren't clear. The mother's maiden name is Shelby, James named a son Shelby. Worth saving? Yes, at least until the family group can be verified. By the way, find a copy of that Mackay family book. It could answer many of your research questions!!

You find some posted marriage records for James and Betsy on several family trees with the correct date - all with source citations!!!

England Marriages 1770-1899: James T. McKay & Eliz. Calihan                                                                    New England  Marriages 1700-1800: Jas. Mackee & Betsy Callahan                                                              South Carolina Presbyterian Church Records: James Macay & Elisabeth Callahan                                Virginia Tidewater Marriages before 1800: J.T. Makay & Elizabeth Callahan

Any keepers? We know the couple was not in England or New England. The Tidewater region of Virginia is too far east. Mackay and Callahan are likely Scots, Scots-Irish and/or Irish and members of the Presbyterian Church. Spelling may be a shade off, but that South Carolina record could easily be them.

If you know where a couple was living at the time of their marriage - or any other event - ignore records from places you know they wouldn't or couldn't be, especially in colonial/revolutionary times. The same line of reasoning applies later on. Marriage in a nearby town or bordering county? Yes, but not a great distance away! Just because names and dates match doesn't mean the wrong place is okay/ You need the trifecta: correct people. date and place!

Evaluating Records: Just Because the Name Matches That Doesn't Mean the Record Matches

 I may have addressed this topic a few years ago, but it is worth revisiting. Especially since the topic continues to rear it's ugly head.

Far too many people conduct a search for an ancestor and attach nearly every record/source that matches the person's name. They show disregard for just about every red flag imaginable: chronology, geography, family, vital records, and just about any other source imaginable.

Let's use a fictitious couple to demonstrate the point: 

James Thomas Mackay - born 12 March 1754 Berkeley Co., South Carolina died 8 June 1836 Jefferson Co., Indiana. James married Elizabeth "Betsy" Callahan on 15 April 1778 in Camden District, South Carolina - born 19 October 1758 Augusta Co., Virginia - died 11 February 1841 Jefferson Co., Indiana. James and Betsy had five children: Matthew [1779-1844], Sarah [1782-1831], James Jr. [1784-1853], Elizabeth [1787-1862] and Shelby [1789-1866]. Matthew, Sarah and James were born in Camden District, SC. Elizabeth and Shelby were born in Mason Co., Kentucky.

The Mackay family left Berkeley Co., SC for Camden in 1773. The Callahans settled in Camden in 1775. James moved to Mason Co., KY in 1786 and finally settled in Jefferson Co., IN in 1808.

Matthew married Deborah Stevens [1780-1837] in 1799 Mason Co., KY. Both died in Madison Co., IN.

Sarah married Jacob Bonner [1773-1806] in 1800 Mason Co., KY; then married Alex MacDonald [1781-1856] in 1809 in Jefferson Co., IN. Bonner died in Mason Co., KY, Sarah in Jefferson Co., IN, MacDonald in Delaware Co., IN.

James Jr. married Sally Innis [1785-1854] in 1805 in Mason Co., KY. Both died Morgan Co., IN.

Elizabeth married Amos Karl [1770-1830] as his 2nd wife in 1804 in Mason Co., KY. She never remarried. Both died in Jefferson Co., IN.

Shelby married Ann Cassidy [1792-1877] in 1811 Jefferson Co., IN. Shelby died in Marion Co., IN and Ann died in Hendricks Co., IN.

There we have our family. What records and sources logically fit James, Betsy and their family? To add to the suspense, in tomorrow's post I'll look at census, land and vital records that may or may not fit the Mackay family.

Adopted and Birth Families Come Together

 For those of you who were adopted, did you ever wonder if your birth and adopted families connect at some point? It probably happens more often than you realize.

Here's my adopted/birth connection.

[1] Hugh Mahurin was born in Ulster or Scotland about 1665 and settled in Taunton, Massachusetts by 1692/3. He was probably a collier at the iron works there. Hugh married Mary, probably surnamed Campbell. Ebenezer Campbell was a neighbor and the given names Ebenezer and Othniel were common to both families. Hugh died in Taunton in 1718.

.[2] Ebenezer Mahurin, eldest son of Hugh and Mary, was born about 1691. He married at Marshfield, Massachusetts on 12 December 1718 to Bathsheba Joyce.[1693-aft. 1755], daughter of Walter Joyce and Elizabeth Low. Ebenezer and Bathsheba settled in Morristown, New Jersey in 1738 and were active members of the Presbyterian Church. About 1742 they moved to Pequannock Twp., Morris Co., NJ. Ebenezer died there in 1755.

Then comes the split!

[3a] Stephen Mahurin was born 9 November 1720 in Raynham, Bristol, Massachusetts. The name of his wife is unknown. Stephen was one of the Mahurins who chose to move south. He died after 1763 in either Kentucky, Virginia or North Carolina.

Stephen's son Silas was born in Morris Co., NJ in 1744. He married a woman named Sarah.[1752-1815] Silas may have moved to Virginia with brothers Ebenezer and Samuel, He was a chain carrier for John Pipes in Surrey Co., North Carolina.in 1779. Silas appeared on tax lists for Fayette [1789], Shelby [1792-1805] and Grayson Co. [1811] Kentucky.Silas died in Grayson Co. on 11 April 1822. [He may have accompanied his son Samuel to Illinois.

Mary, daughter of Silas and Sarah, was born 1777-79, probably in North Carolina. She married John Dillon [c1775 - bef. 1820]. Their son Samuel married Caty Hunt. Granddaughter Elizabeth married Hiram Boyles, mentioned in earlier posts. From there eventually to the Hogue and George families.

[3b] Seth Mahurin [1729-1815] married Mary Hazen [1735-1794] in Morris Co., NJ about 1793. Seth signed the Articles of Association in May 1776 pledging support to the Provisional and Continental Congresses. He also supplied goods to the Continental Army in 1780. Seth opted to change the family name from Mahurin to Hurin/Huron. In 1787 the Hurins moved to New Marlborough, Ulster Co., New York. In 1795 several of the Hurins packed up and traveled the Ohio River to modern-day Cincinnati and then acquired land in Warren Co., Ohio. Seth died in Warren Co. in 1815.

Set and Mary's son Othniel married Bethia St. John and their daughter Rebecca married Joseph Faucett. The Faucetts settled in Hendricks Co., IN. This line would marry into the Prall family.

There you have it. Common ancestors to both families.

Orphaned and "Abandoned" Ancestors

 Lucy Jane Clark, James C. and Susan H. Arbuckle, Sarah Akers and John L. Goodman. All my ancestors. All losing one or both parents at an early age.

Lucy Jane Clark: Daughter of James Clark and Ann S. Graham. James died during the Civil War. Ann remarried twice. First to Peter Kesler in 1866 Second to William Henry McIntyre in 1868. Lucy was living with Ann's parents in 1870, but her mother made Lucy beneficiary of her father's pension benefits. Ann died in 1873 leaving Lucy orphaned, although in the care of her grandparents. Lucy married James C. Arbuckle in 1879.

James Crawford Arbuckle lost his father during the Civil War as well. Unlike his future bride, he was raised by his widowed mother Sarh Akers. James would marry Lucy Clark in 1879.

Susan Harriet Arbuckle was James' sister and shared the same story. She married Charles Augustus Everhart in 1875. 

Sarah Akers, mother of James and Susan Arbuckle, was the daughter of William Akers and Abigail Russell. Little is known about William Akers. He died by 1830, leaving a wife and two infant daughters, Sarah married Thomas Arbuckle in 1852 and was widowed in 1865. Sarah lived until at least 1896. Her mother lived into the 1880s.

John L. Goodman, born 1854, was the son of Carl Goodman and Jane Colegrove. Both parents seem to have died by 1860, when John was living with his maternal grandparents. John married Sarah Catherine Boyles in 1875.

Sarah "Sally" Buchanan wife of George W. Colegrove

 Sarah "Sally" Buchanan is one of my mystery ancestors. She was, according to census records, born in Indiana about 1805/06. She married George W. Colegrove in 1823 in Knox Co., IN. Sarah died in Bicknell, Knox Co., IN on 6 April 1864. She was the mother of five children.

But what of her parentage? Thus far, I haven't run across any other Buchanans in the Knox Co. area prior to 1830. Her family should have been in Knox or an adjoining county. Could she have been raised by another family? [maternal grandparents, aunt or unle] Could her family have been missed or incorrectly transcribed in the 1820 census?

While several families have been relatively easy to track down - give or take a spouse or two - Sarah Buchanan is another story. Hopefully, Knox Co. records willl answer some of questions.

Another Cat Day! Knox County Observations

 The new kittens were taken in to the vet today for spaying and neutering. They're going to be cranking for a few days with meds and such!

My paternal families ended up in Knox County, Indiana. The earliest arrivals show up on the 1807 tax list. Knox County covered more territory back then. Other families arrived between 1810 and 1850 from neighboring counties [or old Knox Co.] vThe last arrival was much later - between 1910 and 1915. So there's a ton of work to do in one location. All I have to do is find the time to make the trip!😏