A Doodle a Day Keeps the Brick Walls Away

During childhood, doodling was one of those activities that kept my mind involved.  It is defined as an aimless scribble, design, or sketch.  I prefer the design or sketch definition, but to be honest it was probably the aimless scribble most of the time.  As things would have it, the concept of a "kinesthetic" learner  gave me an understanding of this process. [ Gr. kinesis = motion ]  Genealogy has given me the chance to apply these skills to tree climbing.  The following "sketches" show how one doodle can be used again, and again. (Only three of them are shown here.)

Sketch 1:

Well, it is actually a map sketched using tracing paper.  It outline the major water routes flowing into the Ohio River.  My JONES family came to Kentucky from Virginia, and my HENDERSON family came from North Carolina.

Sketch 2:

This takes sketch 1 and adds a little color to the picture. [Always liked to color!]  Additional information was placed in order to give my mind a visual picture of the geographic orientation.  The "New River" seemed to connect those from VA and NC.

Sketch 3:

A little more color, and a few mountain ranges doodled into the picture.  Physical barriers in place not letting those get to the families' land yet to come.  How did they do it?  A wonder indeed...brick walls...well, a doodle a day will help keep those brick walls away.

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.

Additional Helps

Additional helps come from all sort of resources.  Books, text, libraries (remember what those are?), court houses, museums, historic landmarks...etc....etc... and etc.  Two additional blogs that I have started are intended to be of help.   The first is:

      http://tjgresearchnotebooks.blogspot.com

      (intended to give an outline to my collection of genealogical research over the past 53 years)

and second:

      http://tgj3rs.blogspot.com

     (intended to give my opinion of those "Readings", "References", and "Resources" which have been the most helpful in my own JONES surname tree climbing.)

The first blog is essentially an index (outline) of the topics/subjects that have been collected over the past 53 years.  They begin with Wales and then move on to other subjects that have been part of my JONES surname tree climbing.   This blog can be searched using the spot identified for searching.  This will give a general idea of the subject matter (thus resource) contained within the notebook identified by "RN #" which stands for "Research Notebook", and the number (#) that it has been given.  As you might imagine, I have quite a few. [Over 300 now and counting!]  There are surname groups, history, chronologies, and many other topics that have been helpful for me doing genealogy.  They also contain my own family research and documentation of this endeavor.

The second blog is intended to give the reader a view of the readings, references, and resources [thus the "3 R's"]  that have been helpful to me.  Not everyone would agree of course, but these are things (mostly books) that have provided much in the way of brick wall destruction. 

Any comments or additions are welcome.

Early Landmarks

Time travel has its difficulties.  Names, places, locations, streams, creeks, and all sorts of geography can change.  This often generates a great deal of confusion when reading wills, deeds, surveys, land grants, and historic records from the time period that you are traveling...or wish to travel.  Finding early maps that give this information can be very helpful in breaking down some of those brick walls.

The following is an example of an early map of Kentucky.  It was published 1784 and presents the major landmarks, settlements, roads, and waterways into this "dark and bloody ground".

The picture is focused around my own area of interest. [Written a book on Walker Daniel and the naming of Danville, KY]  Here the path of the "Wilderness Road" is given as it approaches the geographical center.  Kentucky's first Constitution was framed and adopted here.

Col. Shelby's station is clearly shown on the map. [Issac Shelby was the first governor of Kentucky.]
I can go to his cemetery today and see this geographic location.  It is essentially a landmark in time.  I know that standing here, I am located in time upon this map.   I  have a physical location from which to work.  A present landmark found on a map more than 200 years old!  Which way to one of my brick walls?  I have a place to start...an early landmark.

Flow Charts

At times, the leaves on the branches seem to get extra thick.  How am I going to see through all the cluster of names, dates, marriages, wills, deeds, surveys, patents, etc...etc...until there seems little hope.  A flow chart may helpful in these times of troubles.   The following figure is an example of what I mean.

David Jones of Charles City Co., has been one of those times for me.  His life begins in the documents of time around 1635.  Many genealogist have associated his name with many different family groups.   The chart below shows how one can take the date (beginning record), geographic location, and given information to form a "flow chart" of these leaves that seem to be getting in the way.

The reference is Cavaliers and Pioneers, Vol. I, 1623 - 1666.  [CP I in upper right corner.]  The date 1635 is placed in the upper left, and the number of acres, followed by the name of "David Jones #1." [Using squares and circles.]   Any associated names, places, or information is added as each reference is examined. [ Page number given under CPI.]  Thus, a "flow chart" begins to appear with a variety of information that can be used to link other family groups into the family tree. 

For example, Tappahanna Marsh becomes Weyanoake, where David Jones names "David Jones his creek".  Any future document using any of these names would place them connected to this David Jones.  Others by the same name could then be separated among the clusters of names.  A pattern can them be recognized in which to place associated surnames and individuals of interest.  This flow chart is from 1635 to 1655 and identifies this David Jones to be active at least 20 years. 

Go ahead, get into the flow, the "flow chart" that is.

A Chronology Cluster

Putting together a family tree is one goal of the genealogy endeavor.  Brick walls often get in the way, and can be frustrating to the tree climber.  When trying to get around some brick walls, a chronology cluster may be helpful.  By this I mean placing your family tree into a chronology that outlines "dates" and "clusters" (groups) the family members into a single view.  The following figures show two methods.

The figure above is taken from my own research showing how one may go about designing such a cluster.  Starting with a blank sheet of graph paper (one of my favorite tools), the dates are placed along the outside margins, top to bottom upon the page.  You can use any sequence of dates, but I usually begin with "50 year" periods. [Assumes a generations is 20 - 40 years.]  Then I place the "known" family members  along the dates that "best fit" these folks. [Using squares and circles.]  Then I connect the family members along this "time line" (Chronology).  It helps to color code distinct family groups, so that a visual picture can be seen.  This also means that if you have an individual out of line, they should become evident.

The above figure takes a more "linear" approach with wider intervals for dates, and keeping the family members in straight lines.  This allows you to add more comments, facts, and information to the family tree as you are trying to put things together.  Again, color coding each family helps keep every group separate as the tree gets bigger and longer.

A chronology cluster I call it...shake some tree branches with it.

For a discussion of "squares" and "circles" see my blog -
              http://ge-ne-al-o-gy101.blogspot.com .

Finishing The Task

Genealogy is a way to find our family's past.  The roads we follow to discover this past are often full of curves and bends that seem to block our way.  Family stories give us some direction in this tree climbing process, but they may not always be correct.   My own genealogy experience has followed a lot of family stories told me during my childhood.   One such story was "W.C.". 

The kitchen table was the location of my grandmother's family stories.  She could remember that the first JONES was named W.C.  She did not know what the W.C. stood for, but she was certain that he lived and was buried at the mouth of the Red River.  It would take me some 20 years to find this family cemetery, and discover the "W.C." stood for William Carter.

In 1999, my father and I managed to walk back the road to the ground that contained this cemetery.  It was a rainy day, and my plan to chalk his head stone was dampened by the rain. [My chalk and paper were wet.]  The head stones were buried, and it took a good effort to raise the stones.   The following picture shows me and ground that surrounded our family cemetery.

Lots of grass, lots of dirt, and a cast iron fence kept us company.  After raising the stone, and cleaning its surface, I used my t-shirt to make a impression of this headstone.  This impression now hangs in my library. [Along with several other impressions of grandfather's headstones.]

The following picture shows this headstone as it came up from the ground.

 "Peaceful be thy silent slumber" it reads.  For me, it was finishing the task.