Everything You Need to Climb Your Family Tree Without Falling Out -2: Colonial to Medieval

By Katheryn Maddox Haddad

This second book of the series takes the genealogist back the brick wall by using the not-so obvious and often overlooked. Finding records during the Indian war and colonial times of America are discussed, along with old church records, and records of old insurance companies and banks. Immigration records and ship passenger lists are explained.<

• Language: English
• Publisher: Northern Lights Publishing House
• Release date: Jul 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9781952261091

Katheryn Maddox Haddad

Katheryn Maddox Haddad spends an average of 300 hours researching before she writes a book-ancient historians such as Josephus, archaeological digs so she can know the layout of cities, their language culture and politics. She grew up in the northern United States and now lives in Arizona where she doesn't have to shovel sunshine. She basks in 100-degree weather, palm trees, cacti, and a computer with most of the letters worn off. With a bachelor's degree in English, Bible and social science from Harding University and part of a master's degree in Bible, including Greek, from the Harding Graduate School of Theology, she also has a master's degree in management and human relations from Abilene University. She is author of forty-eight books, both non-fiction and fiction. Her newspaper column appeared for several years in newspapers in Texas and North Carolina ~ Little Known Facts About the Bible ~ and she has written for numerous Christian publications. For several years, she has been sending out every morning a daily scripture and short inspirational thought to some 30,000 people around the world. She spends half her day writing, and the other half teaching English over the internet worldwide using the Bible as textbook. She has taught over 6000 Muslims through World English Institute. Students she has converted to Christianity are in hiding in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Uzbekistan, Somalia, Jordan, Pakistan, and Palestine. "They are my heroes," she declares.

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GENEALOGY: Climb Your Family Tree w/o Falling Out

Volume I & 2: Beginner-Intermediate & Colonial-Medieval

Northern Lights Publishing House

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof.

Copyright 2006 Katheryn Maddox Haddad

First Printing 2006 - Second Printing 2014

ISBN-978-1-952261-09-1

Printed in the United States

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Other Books by this Author

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Illustrations

21 PLAT MAPPING OLD DEEDS

Walk Where They Walked

22 INDIAN WARS

Which Way Did He Go?

23 COLONIAL RECORDS - I

Ye Olde Papers

24 COLONIAL RECORDS - II

British, Spanish, French, Dutch

Strangers in Our Midst

25 HISTORICAL NOVELS AS RESEARCH

Treasures in Your Easy Chair

26 ANCESTRY, LDS, CYNDI & ARCHIVEGRID

At Your Service

27 CHURCH RECORDS

Amen to That!

28 INSURANCE COMPANIES & BANKS

All Fired Up

29 IMMIGRANTS

After a Voyage Like That,

Who’d Want to Go Back?

30 MIGRATION PATTERNS

He Went Thata Way

31 DNA

Straight from GrGrGrGrGrGr Grampa

32 BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, DEATHS

BACK TO THE MIDDLE AGES

It’s a Family Thing

33 EUROPEAN CHURCH RECORDS

Parishable

34 SOLDIERY

Who Goes There?

35 GUILDS

It’s a Crafty Business

36 READING MIDDLE ENGLISH

You Call That English?

37 ARCHIVES BACK TO THE MIDDLE AGES

That’s Really Old

38 VISITATIONS:

MEDIEVAL CENSUSES & PEDIGREES

Counting Those Who Most Counted

39 ROYALTY & PEERAGE

So You Have Royal Blood in You

40 GENTRY

Knights, Gentlemen & Yeomen

Gentleman’s Gentleman

Appendix 8

STATE ARCHIVES

Appendix 9

IMMIGRANT SOURCE CODES

Appendix 10

US CHURCH ARCHIVES

Appendix 11

LATIN WORDS

FOUND IN PARISH RECORDS

Appendix 12

17TH CENTURY WORDS THAT ARE

OBSOLETE TODAY

Appendix 13

A SAMPLING OF VISITATIONS IN ENGLAND

Appendix 14

PEERAGES IN ENGLAND

Thank You

About the Author

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Illustrations

Chapter 33 – EUROPEAN CHURCH RECORDS

Christening Record

Marriage Record

Chapter 36 – READING MIDDLE ENGLISH

Old/Middle English Alphabet

Chapter 38 –

Domesday Book of 1086

21 PLAT MAPPING OLD DEEDS

Walk Where They Walked

Have you ever had a yen to walk the land your ancestor walked? See the views he saw? Touch the soil he plowed? Put your feet in the creek he probably went to for his water? Sit on the types of rocks he probably used as a foundation for his house? Put your arms around the descendant trees of the trees that brought him shade, food, log cabins, and fences?

It is possible.

When you finally got a photocopy of your great-great-great-grandfather’s deed, and managed to transcribe it, you probably figured your effort had all been wasted except to get the date he purchased the land, where he lived when he purchased it, number of acres, and maybe even who he purchased it from. But the rest of it, all that talk about poles and elms and rocks, was a bunch of meaningless legalese that doesn’t look very legal to us today. It definitely has no use to you as a genealogist, right? Wrong!

Follow these directions to make a scale drawing of the property and you will open up a whole new and exciting phase in your search for your great-great-great-grandfather and the type of life he lived.

FIRST write the boundary measurements in the deed (these often follow the word viz or the phrase to wit) in list form. (It may be easier for you later to spell out E-W-N-S.)

A.  Beginning at a honey locust corner to Patterson Brandenburg and James R. Rubart

B. Thence with Brandenburg’s line DOWN THE CREEK South 50° East 68 poles to a stone witnessed by a sugar tree sycamore and white walnut corner to said Brandenburg

C. Thence with his line East 40 poles to a small hickory corner also to said Brandenburg

D. Thence with his line North 71 ½ ° East 22-1/2 poles to two small elms corner to said Brandenburg

E. Thence North 69° East 36 poles to a sugar tree beach and hickory corner to John Brandenburg

F. Thence with his line South 2° West 100 poles passing his corner 52 poles to a stone witnessed by a sugar tree

G. Thence West 159 poles to a hickory and sugar tree

H. Thence North 3° East 110 poles to a stone in said Rhubarts line

I. Thence with his line North 38° East 15 poles to the beginning [where the honey locust is]

SECOND don’t pay any attention to the neighbors’ names. They may help you genealogically since they may be relatives, but that’s usually all. Also, don’t pay any attention to the rocks and witness trees. Just to help the owner, the witness trees were identified with chinks chopped in them by the surveyor and are probably non-identifiable today (though I have seen a pile of witness rocks from a survey in the 1700s in North Carolina).

This is a drawing of a witness tree.  What you do need to know is what the measurements mean.

Link – 7.92 inches

Foot – 12 inches

Yard – 3 feet/36 inches

Pole/Rod/Perch – 16.5 feet

Chain – 66 feet (100 links)

SQUARE POLE – 272 SQUARE feet

Mile – 5,280 feet

Acre – 43,560 square feet

Rood – ¼ acre

Get a piece of paper and keep it handy. Now, look at the longest section of poles in your ancestor’s deed. In my William Maddox’s case, it is G. – 159 poles. From that, decide how many inches or centimeters (whichever kind of ruler you plan to use) or part thereof will represent a pole. For my plat map, I made one inch equal 20 poles. Write that in the top corner of your paper as a constant reminder for now and later. Therefore, his 159 poles was nearly 8" across my paper.

I made 1" = 20 poles

THIRD you need an angle/degree gauge in the shape of a half circle. I picked mine up at a dollar store in a package of other measurers such as triangles and straight rulers. Mine is cheap plastic and about 4 by 2. It doesn’t have to be large

or fancy. If you can’t find one, make one. Just draw an exact circle (360°) on cardboard or heavy paper, then draw a line marking half (180°), then two more showing fourths of the circle (90°), and more lines showing eighths (45°), and so on.

Now notice in the legal description above I identified the number of poles separately from the number of degrees E, W, N or S. You need to identify on your paper where E, W, N and S are. I was lucky in William’s survey, because the 159 poles were straight west. But after that, I ran into degrees of direction. It is a good idea to start with a line that is straight E, W, N, or S or as close as possible on your deed. 

FOURTH let’s start drawing.

I set the top of my paper as N, the bottom S, etc. The first line I drew for my William’s land was G. Thence West 159 poles eight inches across the bottom of my paper right (East) to left (West). That was easy.

The second line was H. Thence North 3° East 110 poles The first direction listed (North) is the main direction. But this wasn’t straight north. It was North, but over toward the East just slightly ~ 3°. So I placed my degrees gauge on my first line (the West 159 poles). North is 90° from West (marked on the gauge), so I counted three markers/degrees to the right (East), and placed a little dot there.

Then I decided how many inches 110 poles was on my scale. Remember, I decided I would let 1 = 20 poles. So my second line would be 5 ½. Using my little dot for the angle as my guide, I drew a second line from the left (west) end of my first line up my paper 5 ½".

And I did this for each boundary line listed in the deed.

FIFTH don’t be discouraged if an angle takes you off the edge of your paper. Just tape a second piece of paper there and keep on drawing. When you’re done, you may have 4 or 5 pieces of paper taped to your original. That’s because, unless you’re a math genius and can tell just by glancing at your legal description where best to start your first line in your drawing, you may not draw that first line in the best place for everything fitting on your original piece of paper. When you’re done with your drawing, just trace your plat map onto a single piece of paper.

SIXTH get a good map of the county where your ancestor’s land was. Make sure that part of the county didn’t break away later and become another county. To find out, do an internet search like this: Bracken, KY, genealogy. The genealogy site will tell you when that county started, out of which parent county, and when/if it was subdivided into other counties.

A good place to get a good map is

www.mapquest.com.

SEVENTH now the fun part starts. On 99% of deeds there is a waterway listed.  This is your big clue on how to find the location of his land.  My William’s was....

B. Thence with Brandenburg’s line DOWN THE CREEK South 50° East 68 poles to a stone witnessed by a sugar tree sycamore and white walnut corner to said Brandenburg

Most deeds listing a creek added in its meanderings or as it meanders. This one didn’t. But it did give a general direction the creek was flowing at that point: South, but 50° in an easterly direction for 68 poles.

Sometimes when you make your drawing, you will end up with the last point not meeting up with the first point at the first corner. That’s usually because of the meanderings of your river or creek. Make your adjustment there.

On my plat map, I traced the creek line with a blue marker so it would stand out. Now look at your map of the county and look at the creek named in your deed.

[As an aside, if the creek doesn’t show up on any maps on the internet, you’ll have to write the county courthouse and ask for a county map. You’ll need to send a large stamped, self-addressed envelope. The maps are free, but the courthouse staff might appreciate a donation for their time. The maps are often about 2’ by 4’, so fold up a piece of paper that large and place it in your large envelope, take it to the post office and get it weighed so you know how much postage to put on it. Their map will show everything.]

It is doubtful your creek will meander in exactly the same direction for the same number of poles/feet more than one time its whole length. (Remember, creeks aren’t usually longer than a county and are usually just a few miles long.) Some ancestors were lucky enough to get land right on a river, but not many ~ it cost a lot more.

Where the creek in your map goes in the same direction as listed in your deed and for the same number of poles/feet, that is where your ancestor’s land was. Now take your plat map and reduce its size so it is the same scale as your map, and draw his land on your map.

The feeling is exhilarating ~ and even more so when you go to where that land was and walk it. And think about your ancestor as a little boy wading, swimming and/or fishing in that creek. And of his mother going to do the laundry there. And of his father maybe digging trenches from it to water his crop, or putting up a fence on the other side so his cattle didn’t wander off after getting a drink. You’ll spot the hill and wonder if that’s where their cabin was ~ and the valley, and wonder if that’s where the log barn was, and walk around up there looking for possible signs like old foundation stones. And you’ll wander around wondering if there are any tombstones lying on the ground. Your imagination will have a field day! Then your ancestor will seem more real to you than ever.

LAST you may get so proud of your work you might want to get the neighbors’ deeds (especially if the neighbors are kinfolk) and draw them to attach to your direct ancestor’s plat map. I did. To the E and NE was his father-in-law, John Brandenburg. To the SE was his brother-in-law, James Hughbanks. To the NW was another brother-in-law, Patterson Brandenburg. And in the middle was the creek that bordered all their land.

You may see faint lines also on my sample map. Those are the borders of the current owners. When land is subdivided between the children for several generations, its later plat maps don’t even resemble the one when your ancestor lived there. In my ancestor’s case, someone a few generations later started buying up some of that same land, but by now it was a different shape.

Good luck. Have fun making your drawing. And then plan your homecoming. Walk where he walked. Go wading in the stream where the kids played. Stand on top of the hill to survey his land and feel that satisfaction he must have felt. There’s nothing like it.  Home at last.

22 INDIAN WARS

Which Way Did He Go?

THERE WERE SEVERAL major Indian Wars in early America, some you may not have heard about, but which involved many thousands of men. We will discuss the major ones and how to find the names of participants. If your ancestors were in the areas of the Indian wars, they were probably involved as soldiers.

KING PHILIP’S WAR 1675-1676

KING PHILIP WAS AN English name given to Metacom, chief of the Pokanoket tribe, part of the Wampanoag federation. He was so arrogant that some Englishmen named him after the arrogant King Philip in Europe.

Some of King Philip’s braves killed cattle belonging to the English for trampling their corn, so the farmer killed one of the Indians. This took place at today’s Bristol, Rhode Island. The Nipmuck Indians, who lived in today’s Massachusetts, joined the Wampanoags to go to war against the English.

They attacked Brookfield, Massachusetts, where the Nipmucks lived. They burned every building in the little village and then set fire to the garrison. The surviving settlers had the choice of burning to death or escaping and being scalped. A sudden rainstorm saved them, and a militia arrived to drive the Indians away. The settlers deserted the town because it was now too dangerous to live there.

The two tribes were then joined by the Pocumtucks, Squakheags, and the Norwottocks, and went to today’s Connecticut