Family Origins

 Stillwell: arrived by 1638 - Dorking, Surrey, England

NEIL: arrived  1683-1685 - Innerwick, East Lothian, Scotland

EDWARD(S) : arrived 1683-1685 - Stevenson, Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland

More mysteries:

EDDY: 2 generations - English or Cornish

GRAHAM: 7 generations - Scottish

Family Origins: Where Did Each Family Come From?

 It is my hope to get each of my ancestral lines traced back to its European roots. In some cases success is achieved. In other cases, it is a matter of probability based on research. Still, in other cases, the country of origin is never determined.

EVERHART: arrived 1820 - Hanover [then Prussia] Germany

ARBUCKLE: arrived 1742-1747 - Part Glasgow, Renfrewshire, Scotland

MONTGOMERY: arrived by 1769 - probably Ireland

THOMPSON: arrived by 1747 - Port Glasgow, Renfrewshire, Scotland

ROGERS: arrived by 1722 - Gravesend, Kent, England

On-site Research Needed!

Sometimes you simply need to be where the records are located. Getting to the 8-10 eastern Kentucky counties where ancestral families lived is probably off the table in the foreseeable future. However, Hoosier locales are attainable!

It is quite a list!

Knox

Daviess

Greene

Martin

Switzerland

Jefferson

Clark

Washington*

Bartholomew

Jennings*

Rush

Delaware

All but the last two are south of home and perhaps an hour to two hour drive. Rush and Delaware offer long shots at best. Families weren't there long.

The top four on the list were all home to paternal lines. The rest were home to maternal lines.

*I have been to these two counties already, but a return trip may be in order.

Focus on Reseach: Don't lose it!

 Maintaining focus on research is crucial. Lately, I seem to be losing mine. I am bouncing from one family to another! I'm gathering bits of information along the way, but not accomplishing much in the way of completing files on individual family lines [single surnames.]

Perhaps it's just a phase. I don't know, but it needs to end soon. I'm not making much progress.

I may need to pretend I'm back at the old Salt Lake Institute's Problem Solving course. One problem to focus on for five days, Maybe that's the solution?

Research Goals

 Since beginning my family history research back in 1990, I have done my best to accomplish the following:

{1} Accuracy - make sure all of those people in the tree belong there!

[2] Proper documentation - make sure every fact is documented accurately.

[3] Multiple sources, whenever possible - use more than one source per fact, when available. Sometimes one source is a blessing!!

[4] Fleshing out families - collateral ancestors can be vital in finding information on direct ancestors.

[5] Get each family back to the mother country - tricky when you have trouble locating surnames of some female ancestors

The first four are crucial to successful research. The fifth may not be attainable if your ancestors arrived in America in colonial times, but it's a goal none the less - especially for a bull-headed researcher.

Location, Location, Location!

 Location is one of the key elements in genealogy research. You need to know where your ancestors were every step of the way, if at all possible.

Census records, land records, tax lists, military/census files, city and county directories, birth, marriage and death records, local histories and family genealogies are among the sources available to you.

If you know where an ancestor was in 1770, then you know where to look for records. Likewise for 1850, 1930 or 2023.

Be aware of towns in close proximity to your ancestor's home and how close they are to a county line. A marriage or other major event could have happened outside of the immediate "neighborhood."

You also need to be aware of county changes. Your ancestor could have been living in four different counties between 1785 and 1800 and never moved from his original land grant. You may need to check county A records from 1788 while the ancestor resides in county D in 1799.

If your John Smith served in the Connecticut Infantry during the Civil War, pension applications for John Smith who served in the Ohio Cavalry can be dismissed.

If James White was on a tax list in Kentucky in 1793, it's highly unlikely that he was the James White who married in London, England in 1794.

If you are looking for a Thomas Green who died in Mississippi during the War of 1812, a Thomas Green's Maryland record won't help.

LOCATION is key to research!

Evaluating Sources: Mackay Land Records

 Our Mackay family, like most others, acquires land. Here are some samples:

[1] James T. Makey purchases 100 acres in Camden District, Colony of South Carolina in 1773.

[2] J.T. Maccay was deeded 125 acres of land in the Camden District, SC by Matthew Makay in 1775.

[3] James T. Mackay sells 200 acres of land in Mason Co., KY to Matthew Mackay in 1800.

[4] J.T. Mckay Sr. deeds 25 acres to J.T. Mckay Jr. in Mason Co., KY in 1805.

[5] James Mackay Sr. sells 175 acres in Jefferson Co., IN to Elwood Innis in 1837

The first transaction in 1773 is very doubtful. James T. was only 19. You need to find out the legal age at which a man could purchase land in Colonial South Carolina. If Makey is a corruption of Mackay, you need to find this one's relationship to our James T.

The 2nd and 3rd entries are good matches. James was 21 in 1775. You need to identify this Matthew Makay! The Matthew Mackay in #3 is probably James' eldest son now 21.

#4. Ah ha! James Sr. and Jr.! James Jr. has reached the age of majority  by 1800. James T. is still living, thus identified as Sr.

#5 needs some close examination. We have James Sr. in Jefferson Co., IN, but this record is dated 1837. The elder James passed in 1836. Does James Jr. have a son named for him? Is there another James Mackay younger than James born in 1784.