Guest Genealogist Barbara Brown Answer Part 2

Guest Genealogist Barbara Brown Response, Part 2. See Part 1 of Barbara's answer (published Nov. 13/09) to Marcia's challenging question

You state that you do not know James' first wife's name. That should be among the first goals for your research. You know the names of his children by that first wife, we know that Elizabeth lived until 1847. Find the death information for Elizabeth, and perhaps you will discover her mother's name. Do the same for her siblings. See the Ancestor Death Record Finder for help with finding death records.

Armed with a name for James' first wife, you can then look for their marriage. Church records may have parents' names or the names of witnesses. Witnesses are often (but not always) related and offer another avenue of research for you. Marriage bonds are usually good pointers to older male relatives (but of course, not always). Of significant help in finding early parents are, surprisingly, brothers-in-law. For example, there may be several James Baggotts, but only one has a sister Hermione who is married to a Saul Leffingwell.

When you find [e.g.] Saul and Hermione Leffingwell selling a piece of land to James Beggit of Ohio as "distribution of estate" you have a probable winner....And once you have collected the in-law names, you can look through Virginia wills & estates records and find like-named devisees to point the way to earlier generations. You may want to see Ancestor Marriage Record Finder for help finding marriage records.

You have James' date and location of death. Have you looked for probate records? Or obituaries? From the 1850 / 1860 census, it looks as though the children of the second marriage were all born in Ohio. I used the census records on Ancestry.com but these are now coming online on Footnote,com too.

When did James and Mary marry? Are there cemetery indices for that county James lived in at the time of his 2nd marriage? Are there female Baggots buried there who died before James' second marriage (and after the birth of Martha the youngest child of the first marriage)?

You have so many opportunities for new knowledge about this family. I hope that you enjoy the process.

And I know that you will be successful. While I was writing this response to your query, I did a bit of looking about. I followed William and George and Martha and James P Baggott. And there is quite a bit to be found, and a large number of descendants for your James Baggott. And a little gift: write Lorine at askolivetreeATgmail.com (replace AT with @) and she will give you the details. Martha Baggott married quite well; she was still living in 1900 in New York, replete with many servants. As she was active in the social scene there, I am sure that you will be able to find a glowing obituary for her, as well as very extensive estate papers.

Guest Genealogist Barbara Brown Answer Part 1

Guest Genealogist Barbara Brown tackles this challenging query, in a 2-part response.

Marcia's Question:

I would be very grateful if you could give me an idea as to how to find information on my great-great grandfather's father/mother, and even further back, if possible.

James was born in Fredericksburg, VA, in 1791. He was a participant in the War of 1812. He died in Osborn (now Fairborn) Ohio in January of 1863. He had three brothers:

1. William, born in Fredericksburg, VA, December 25, 1798
2. George
3. John

I don't know his first wife's name, but you printed a letter from his daughter, Elizabeth, entitled, "Letter to Mrs. Eliza Thornton, Alamucha P.O., Lauderdale County, Mississippi, form Elizabeth Baggott, Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio, March 14, 1847." Thanks for that!

James and his first wife had four children:

1. Elizabeth, born April 6, 1826.
2. William
3. George
4. Martha Ann

In the letter, Elizabeth says, "Father is married again." His second wife was Mary Caylor who died in May of 1877. They had six children:

Oliver Perry (my great-grandfather, who fought in the Civil War. I have a copy of his diaries). He was born in Montgomery County (near Dayton), Ohio on September 1, 1840, and died on October 14, 1906, in Anna, IL.

Josephine Boneparte

Charles L. who died March 02, 1898. He is buried in Murphysboro, IL.

Martin VanBuren, born January 30, 1837, died in Cobden, IL.

James K. Polk Baggott

Virginia Helen Baggott

There is this Spotslylania County, VA, will of 1773 with the same names as my ancestors (John, James, George). I suspect they're relatives, but how do I make the connection?

Will: John Baggott, Spotsylvania Co, VA (1773) [Edited]Names wife Margarett Baggot, daughter Ellinor Baggott , four sons as follows: John Baggott, James Baggott, Thomas Bagott, & George Baggott wife Margarett Baggott & James Went Executors
third day of April 1773. John Baggott (seal)
Witnesses:
Thomas Ruseley
William Hopson
Nicholas Smyth
Source: Library of Virginia,Spotsylvania Co, VA Will Book E 1772-1798Reel 28, pages 185-186

Guest Genealogist Barbara Brown responds: Dear Marcia,

It is tempting to jump upon a surname associated with familiar family forenames in the hopes that you have made a multi-generational leap in your quest. And the James Baggot who left a will in 1773 may indeed be one of your forebears. But proving it will take a bit more buttressing of facts before we can declare it to be true.

I have a number of Virginia resources to hand and I can tell you that there are quite a few Baggott families in the area at the time your James would have been there.

In order to move confidently from one generation to the next, we need to build a framework. That frame holds every fact we know about an individual, and if something or someone looks promising, we can know at a glance if we are on the right track. The structure gives us an orientation in place and time.

The letter from Elizabeth Baggott to her aunt Eliza Thornton which Lorine posted on her website Past Voices: Letters Home gave you a wonderful starting point. Rarely do genealogists come across such a valuable document.

Elizabeth listed her siblings and their ages, named her father's second wife, named other relatives in Mississippi and Virginia. And there is an implied bit of information as well: Elizabeth complains that she has not ever heard from her grandmother. Which means that one of Elizabeth's grandmother's lived to at least 1830s, when Elizabeth would have been old enough to be aware of such a deprivation.

Before you can confidently look for James' ancestors, you need to fill in all the details for James, his wives and children.


For example, fill in the details on James' children, when each of them were born. Follow the children from the first marriage: they may well have clues to offer about James and his first wife. They may be found living with or near other relatives; they may have left a will naming cousins or aunts; they may have a long a detailed obituary. You can Search Obituaries in GenealogyBank.com or NewspaperArchive.com

Where is James in 1820, 1830, 1840?

You state that James participated in the War of 1812. Did he draw a pension?

You do not mention how you know that James had siblings William, George and John, so I will accept for the moment that you have family documents which state that. Have you followed those brothers? They might have lived longer than James, may have left a will or (if you are most fortunate) lived in a locale which had informative death records, and a fully-informed supplier of information who reported their deaths.
The wills may mention "My nephew Oliver" or "My niece Mary Smith nee Baggott, daughter of my eldest brother James." Those death records, if you are lucky may give parents names. And they may have lived in an area where newspapers dutifully reported every social event, and spent much time researching and composing fitting tributes in the form of obituaries.

Every day, more and more early newspapers are brought online, indexed and presented in convenient fashion. But we must have pinned down the relevant locales first.

...to be continued tomorrow

Guest Genealogist Barbara Brown

Ask Olive Tree is very honoured to have Guest Genealogist Barbara Brown this month. Barbara started researching her own family more than thirty years ago, while she pursued a corporate career in data processing. Eventually, this hobby became a full-time calling.

She has taught at LDS wards and stake conferences, and at local libraries, and she has taken on a number of private students. While researching for others, she discovered the NGS Bulletin Board system in 1990, which soon led to other online genealogy societies.

Her articles have appeared in a number of e-zines including Olive Tree Genealogy. You can count on Barbara to find the most elusive ancestors even when you are sure that you have hit the proverbial brick-wall!

Barbara tackles a very intriguing and challenging question for Ask Olive Tree, so please check back tomorrow for her response to Marcia's Question.

Guest Genealogist Kathryn Lake Answers a Query

Bernadette asked

Hello folks, I need some "real" help.. I've searched several years, for my g g grandfather, Cornelius Mastin (masten) Born in NY in the late 1700's ... There are many,, but the one I need to find, is the one who
came to Canada before 1818. His wife was Caroline - or similar,, no surname.. His son Ichabod, was born in Ontario 1818. He had a brother - Minard. (younger) There must have been a Cornelius, and a Rebecca, I have Ichabod's family,, and wife etc. It's just the one section I need."Cornelius and Caroline "and their children .

Guest Genealogist Kathryn Lake of LOOKING4ANCESTORS responds:

Greetings Bernadette,

Researching ancestors in the early 1800’s in Ontario can be very tricky. Ontario at that time was known as Upper Canada. This time period can be quite challenging for family history researchers as records are few and far between. This will require you as a researcher to do some hard work. I would recommend you start at the Archives of Ontario website. Go to the website and read the on-line research guides and tools. Land records, petitions for land, as well as wills and probate records may provide the information you are looking for.

Kathryn

Guest Genealogist Kathryn Lake

Kathryn Lake is the founder and owner of LOOKING4ANCESTORS, the genealogical speaking and research company she founded in 2007 to assist others with their family histories.

Known for her dynamic, humorous and informative presentations, Kathryn is a Canadian and English research specialist in both the on-line and real world genealogy communities

Kathryn has graciously agreed to respond to a query on tomorrow's AskOliveTree blog. Thank you Kathryn for giving your time and epertise to us!

Guest Genealogist & Historian Brian Massey

AskOliveTree.blogspot.com is very honoured to have Brian Massey’s expertise as Guest Genealogist and Historian this week to respond to a submitted question about WW1.

Brian is a WW1 buff and collector and extremely knowledgeable in military history. He has created two military websites – The Canadian Military Heritage Project and The Great War Homepage which focuses on World War 1.

Brian is also an avid genealogist and the creator and webmaster of AncestorsAtRest.com which specializes in death records. Brian has the largest database of searchable coffin plates online. There are over 400 Coffin plates containing the name of the deceased, as well as birth and death dates, on AncestorsAtRest.com. Brian also has a companion Ancestors At Rest blog

Brian volunteers as host for several Ontario GenWeb sites – Victoria County, Ontario Conty and Norfolk County. He is also a member of the Ireland Genealogical Project (IGP) and is the webmaster and host for the following IGP websites: County Wicklow , County Louth and County Meath

Brian also manages to find time to volunteer as host and webmaster for the USGenWeb Cleburne County Arkansas. He also created and oversees two Facebook Genealogy Groups - Pioneers Of St. Marys, Perth County Ontario 1840~1860 and Descendants of the Massey Family of County Wicklow Ireland

Tomorrow Brian's response to a submitter WW1 question will be posted.

Guest Genealogist Brenda Dougall Merriman Answers the Question Is a Crown Patent worth Obtaining?

Jill asked

"My question is about crown patents. I have been told that the information on a crown patent is no better than the information available in other sources, and each patent costs over $30 so it's not really worth the money."

Our Guest Genealogist Brenda Dougall Merriman answers:

Applying for a copy of a Crown patent (the Crown Land Registry is an agency of the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources) means you must provide the name of the patentee, the precise location of the property (township, concession, lot) and the date of the patent. Therefore if you already have that information, chances are you won't learn anything "new" in genealogical terms. On the other hand, many family historians want to collect copies of as much relevant material as they can about their ancestors. Patents are usually over-sized papers, issued in the name of the reigning monarch.

In fine print, they describe the rights of the patent-holder and the "conditions, limitations and restrictions" under which it issued, such as the erection of a building in the early patents when land itself was free. Later patents when Crown land was being sold, will show the purchase price---one fact that may be available elsewhere but perhaps not as accessible. In my experience, people like to order this document for its historical value, often to show the official original title. You can see that it would have great significance for properties held in the same family for many generations, or owners of century farms.

Guest Genealogist - Brenda Dougall Merriman

Ask Olive Tree Genealogy a Question is very pleased to announce that tomorrow's question will be answered by our first Guest Genealogist on this blog - Brenda Dougall Merriman. Brenda has generously given of her time to respond to a question on Ontario Land Records. I am honoured to have Brenda's expertise for this question and I hope I might persuade her to take on a few more challenging questions in the future!

Since 1979 Brenda has been certified by the Board for Certification of Genealogists (Washington DC) and later served six years as a BCG trustee. In 1996 she founded the group that became the Ontario Chapter, Association of Professional Genealogists (OCAPG). After years of client research, speaking engagements and working with the National Institute for Genealogical Studies, Brenda now concentrates on writing, some continued work with the Jackman Foundation-sponsored Petworth Emigration project/website and volunteering with OCAPG.

Brenda has written the following excellent genealogy books.

United Empire Loyalists: A Guide to Researching Loyalist Ancestors in Upper Canada (Campbellville, ON: Global Heritage Press, 2006).

Winner of the 2008 NGS Award for Excellence: Genealogical Methods and Sources, this book published by Global Heritage Press is a long-needed guide to the records and context for researching Loyalist ancestors in the province that became Ontario. It not only assists the beginner, but also those who encounter stumbling blocks as they assemble applications to the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada. Merriman explains what a Loyalist is, then goes on to discuss the background and the contemporary sources it produced. A chapter of case studies provides examples of methodology and problem-solving. This is an essential guide for everyone researching Loyalist heritage. Global Heritage Press publishes both a hard cover and a coil bound edition.

The National Genealogical Society (NGS) 2008 Award of Excellence: Genealogical Methods and Sources is

"Presented to an individual or nonprofit organization for a specific, significant single contribution in the form of a book, an article, or a series of articles published during the past three years that discusses genealogical methods and sources and serves to foster scholarship and/or otherwise advances or promotes excellence in genealogy."

The 2008 NGS awards were announced at their annual banquet on Friday 15 May 2009. Read more about this prestigious award at Brenda's Blog

Brenda is also the author of Genealogy in Ontario: Searching the Records, 4th ed. (2008) and About Genealogical Standards of Evidence, 3rd ed. (2008) both published by the Ontario Genealogical Society.

Thank you Brenda for giving your time to respond to tomorrow's question!