Lessons From The Wall (III) Boots on the Ground

There is nothing like learning and doing things for yourself in this tree climbing business.  Boots on the ground I call it.  Using your own eyes, ears, touch, and senses to gather the facts about those who have come before it is.  For me, this was the way around many of my own brick walls.

To visit a cemetery, see an original document, touch the headstone, and rummage though the stacks often gave me an opportunity to recognize additional facts that would open other doors and branches to the tree.  For example, for many years there seemed to be major conflict between the name "Griffin Jones".  He was listed as the father of my Nicholas Jones in the Revolutionary War record S16169.  This Nicholas was born November 14, 1762 in Caroline county Virginia.   What a deal I thought, a father's name and a birth location!

Being in Kentucky at the time of this discovery, I set about learning all I could about Caroline Co., VA.  It soon became evident that there was conflict in the records I uncovered regarding the name Griffin.  In one he was found "tax exempt" from taxes, and the next year placed in charge of road maintenance.  To be exempt from taxes at this time meant your were either "old" or "infirmed".  It did not make sense that he would then be placed in charge keeping the road in the area surrounding his home.  A healthy old man I thought.  The name appeared in many court records, and suits during the same time period.  What the heck? 

It took a trip to the court house of Caroline county VA to help set the record straight. [My boots on the ground.]  On one court record folded in a box was the name "Griffin Jones, Sr." written lightly on the outside of the record!  This was the first time that gave me the evidence that explained why there was such confusion.  No other record made a distinction between "Sr." and "Jr." except this one case.  I would have only seen it by looking in the bushes (boxes) myself.  Even a transcription of each case would not have given the information. 

Seeking things for yourself... in settings that are real... being able to judge the documents yourself... may often make the difference in going around one of those brick walls.  Boots on the ground I call it.

Lumpers and Splitters

Decision making is a process.  It involves taking information, processing it in the recesses of the mind, and producing a course of action.  Having been involved in the "higher educational system" for some 27 years [taught at three Universities], it would seem that there are roughly two methods involved.  There are the "lumpers" and the "splitters".

The "lumpers" were the folks that needed more information.  Give me more facts, more details, more information, etc.,....,etc.,...so I can make the best decision.

The "splitters" were the folks who said, don't confuse me more information.  I need to split away any useless information to get down to the bare facts.  All this excess is just making things worse.

For the genealogist, it takes both!  At times during ones tree climbing, it is necessary to collect as much information, dates, facts, etc...etc...to get a clearer picture.  At other times, it is necessary to split away all the excess information and ask what is necessary to help make this decision.  For example, the following table shows my "lumping" process.  It says, give me all the individuals named "JONES" during the early period of Virginia settlement.

This "lumped" all those with the JONES surname between 1609 and 1666.

Then it was necessary to "split" out those who had the name "John Jones".  This would give me a list of those who shared this name.  I could then evaluate the relationship of these individuals to my own family. [This work as been stored in my research notebooks #206 for lumping, and #207 for splitting.]

Lumping and splitting,  processes for decision making they are.

Color Coding: Brighten Up Your Day

Tree limbs and branches on the old family tree can get complicated fairly quickly.  After a few generations "bunches" of them start to appear.  Keeping them kind of organized, and grouped appropriately, can be a real challenge.  Over the years I have found that a color coding system can be helpful.

The figure to the right shows my own system, developed after a few generations had passed.  Three sons of one grandfather started things off.  Each son was given a color (magic markers were used) and from that point onward in the family tree, this color was applied to this branch of the tree.  Pink to the oldest
[his line descended through a daughter ], yellow to the second son [the color I had at the time], and blue to the youngest which was my direct branch [ Go Big Blue ! cause we grew up in Kentucky under Adolph Rupp!]

You can see the branches bloom before your very eyes.  The second son seemed to get the advantage with more children around the tree. It became evident that the baby of the family must have remained in contact the oldest branch since one grandfather married into this group.  Each page can then be used to show the relationship between the branches. [For us visual learners, this can be very helpful.]

The "square and circle" method has been presented in my blog entitled: Ge-ne-al-o-gy 101.  My complete family tree using this method is given in my blog entitled: Jones Surname DNA.  Have a go at it if you like to color...it will brighten up your day.

Spelling Words

Sounds to symbols has been a task since the first scribe dotted those symbols in the hardened clay of the Tigris River. Now how do you spell ...? This must be a question asked repeatedly throughout generations. For the genealogist, it is often a source of trouble, finding the spelling of the same name (words) occurring in various forms, even in the same document. "Be prepared!" The old scout motto would say. Sounds to symbols, what trouble it can be.

The following is an example of such a phenomena found in English records. "Peuman's End" it was called at first. It would seem that when Governor Bennett, in January 1653, ordered all Dutch ships seized, one fellow failed to get away. Both Wingfield [History of Caroline County, Virginia, p. 36] and Campbell [Colonial Caroline, A History of Caroline County, Virginia, p.16] relate the story. According to legend, a Dutch pirate was raiding the waters of the Rappahannock River. He was chased into a creek and met his death. The creek was named after the place where Peuman met his end! The two words thereafter were combined to become "Penmansind Creek", or "Powmansend", or "Powmansend", or ... . The following is an outline of the various spellings which were recorded in Cavaliers and Pioneers, by Nugent. The spelling is given first, followed by the reference (volume) and page number. You can begin to see the spellings, and why it is important to view a broad range of words when checking an index for your name.

The first listing of this name appears in Cavaliers and Pioneers (CP), Vol. I, p. 440:

Puamunaremo (?) CP I, p. 440
Puamunvien CP I, p. 442
Powmansend CP I, p. 526, 528
Pewamamcsee CP II, p. 138
Pewmansend CP II, p. 371, 380, 397
Puesmonseen CP II, p. 73
Pwomansend CP II, p. 8, 18, 20, 382
Pewamanesee CP III, p. 87
Pewmondsend CP III, p. 12, 136, 148, 182, 217
Powomasend CP III, p. 12
Peumansend CP III, p. 350, 355 (swamp).

Wow, how would you spell Peuman's end?

BWP(26): Ping-Pong

Methods to get around brick walls often vary. A method frequently used I call "Ping-pong Genealogy". This method is presented in a post:

http://thejonesgenalogist.blogspot.com/2010/12/ping-pong-genealogy.html

Any one want to play?

BWP(22): Maps form History

Making maps can be a key ingredient to moving back some of those brick walls. [BWP(21).] Likewise, using maps from history will often provide addition information and understanding regarding those ancestors.

The figure to the right is such a map of the Virginia , 1754. A post entitled: "Maps from History", June 3, 2011, discusses this help.

It is to be found in the blog: The Jones Genealogist. It is intended to be a help.

BWP(21): Making Maps

When genealogy becomes geography, it is frequently necessary to make maps of the geographical area that you wish to explore. A post, titled of all things, "Making Maps", is presented on March 31, 2011 at the blog The Jones Genealogist. The official location is:

http://thejonesgenealogist.blogspot.com/2011/03/making-maps.html

whew, they get longer every day!

If you have an interest in making maps, check it out. Hopefully, it will help some who like to go exploring!

BWP(17): A Family Coding System

Over time, the family tree grows. The number of folks that share the same name, and the same geographic location, begin to get confused with one another. It was evident, fairly early in my own tree climbing, that a coding system would be helpful. This system is discussed in a post titled: "My JONES Family Coding System". This was presented as a method to help those who need a simple way to keep everyone in the family tree straight. The blog is:

http://thejonessurname.blogspot.com

and the post date is January 19, 2011. If you need a simple coding system, please check it out.