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Searching for Cave’s Parents

I have searched for months for the parents of my great-great grandfather, Cave Johnson Bearden. He was born 26 December  1870, in Tennessee, and died 15 January 1952 in Montgomery County, Tennessee.

From what I’ve found in census records, it appears he has always resided in middle Tennessee. Through other member stories, his parents died when he was a little child and he was raised by Benjamin William and Betty Turner. I have traced their lineage, thinking they must be related in some way to Cave’s parents, but I was unable to link them. I have his death certificate, but his parents are not listed. Birth records were not required in Tennessee until the 1900s, so I have no birth record.

I contacted the Social Security administration to see if he applied, but they found nothing. Also, he has no delayed birth record or military draft card after searching both Ancestry and Fold3. I am at a total loss on what to do. I have dug through the census records to see if the Turners were living in the same area as his parents, but no hope there either. Please help give me some more ideas to find his parents! I’d be so appreciative!

Taylor Burich

Answer:
Oh, this is a tough one.  You’ve done a good job of tracking down leads that you have found.

You state that he was born in December of 1870, which means he is not in the 1870 census as it was taken earlier that year. We do find him in the 1880 census, living with the Turners and two other laborers in Dickson County, Tennessee.  I do find it interesting that a 9 year old is listed as having an occupation.  Does this mean that his parents have died and he had nowhere else to go?

Also, the 1880 census tells us that his parents were born in Tennessee.  This may or may not be true, but let’s go with that for now.

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We also discover that in 1880, Cave is the only Bearden (checking multiple spellings), living in Dickson County which has 12,462 inhabitants. 

Next, you would want to find possible candidates in Tennessee in the 1870 census.  We discover in Dickson County, that there are 0 Beardens. There are 391 Bearden’s in Tennessee in the 1870s.  Now you can take each family you find and try and determine if they are Cave’s parents, but how?  It is possible that his parents died between 1870 and 1880 and that he is listed in a probate settlement somewhere.  That is going to take a lot of digging on your part and sounds like a very haphazard approach.

If there was any property or anything of value, and Cave’s parents did die, maybe there is a guardianship document.
It is also possible that Cave’s father died, his mother remarried, and for some reason Cave decided not to live with the family or maybe his new family choose to place him elsewhere.

I think you have reached the end of your online search.  Not all of our ancestors leave an easy paper trail.  Cave and his parents have not left much of one at all. I believe that what you really need here, is a Tennessee genealogy expert; someone who knows the area and time and understands where to look.  So how would you go about finding someone to help?  I would first contact the Dickson County Historical and Genealogical Society (www.dicksoncountyhistory.org/) and see if they have recommendations.  You can also check Association of Professional Genealogist (www.apgen.org/directory/index.html).  Also, Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) has a listing of Certified Genealogists (www.bcgcertification.org/associates/index.php) and you can check for genealogists who specialize in Tennessee.

So how do you know if someone can help you? 

  1. Tell them everything you know.  You don’t want to pay someone to redo the work you’ve already done.
  2. Ask for research proposal.  Find out exactly what they plan on doing, where they are going to look and why, how long it will take, and how much it will cost.  This is your money, get the details up front!
  3. Ask for referrals and/or examples of their work. 
  4. You might limit the first research to a certain number of hours so you can assess the work that is being done on your behalf and if you feel comfortable with it.

This one is hard.  Sometimes the trick is to know that you’ve gone as far as you can go and it’s time to raise your hand for help.

Good luck!

Ask Ancestry Anne: Three Andrew Blankinships. How Do I Choose?

Hi Anne,
I’ve run into a brick wall on researching my great grandfather, Andrew Blankinship.  We have very little information about him…parents and siblings are unknown.  Here is the information we do have: 

1) Born in Ohio, believed to be around Cleveland.   I had entered parents I found on my tree, but later deleted them as I found 3 sets of parents who had a child named Andrew around 1845 in Ohio.  All were born in/around Aid, Lawrence, Ohio.  Parents I found were: Madison & Delila; Beverly & Malvna; & Wesley & Hanna.  Also, my father always told us we have Native Americans in our ancestry & I’m wondering it could have been the Blankinships as they are such a mystery.  We have searched census records.
 
2) Andrew fought in the Civil War, believed for the Confederate Army.  He was wounded during his active duty.  Selia drew a pension after the death of Andrew. A record was found in “1890 Civil War Veterans” as follows: "Blankingship, Andrew; Ho-95-1; Pvt H Co, 1st US Inf;  Sep 27 62 to Jun 29 65; McKinnon PO.“
 
3) Andrew Blankinship and Selia Caroline Cathey were married 08/03/1871 in Stewart Co, TN by J.B. Lune, J.P. & had 11 children.  Selia belonged to the Methodist Church & Andrew belonged to none.
 
4) Andrew & Selia moved to Napier, TN around 1889, when my grandmother, Fannie, was 5 years old.  Andrew worked at the coal pits in McKinnon TN & also Napier, Tn.  Andrew died of a heart attack at Napier, TN and Selia died of pneumonia.  They are buried at Napier Lake Cemetery in Tenn.
 
5) Andrew & Selia owned a home in McKinnon, TN, but rented when they moved to Napier, Tn.


– Carol

Dear Carol,

Let’s start with a review of some of what you have told me. 

According to Find-a-Grave, Andrew Blankinship was born February 23, 1845 and died on January 22, 1895.  Selia Carolyn Blankinship nee Cathey was born April 18, 1834 and died on July 17, 1901.

In the Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861 – 1934, we find Andrew Blankinship with his widow Selia Blankinship listed:

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Andrew fought with the West Virginia Ninth Infantry and the West Virginia First Veterans Infantry.  He was a Union soldier, not a Confederate soldier.   You may want to consider the applications from NARA (both the Invalid and the Widow application) may hold some clues to his parents or other relatives.

You’ll notice that Selia filed for a widow’s application on February 25, 1895.  Given that we believe Andrew died on January 22, 1895, this fits.

You found 3 Andrew Blankinship’s in Ohio (all in Lawrence County, Ohio) in the 1860 census.  This is a reasonable guess that one of them is your Andrew.

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 The Andrew who enlisted in 1862 did so in Pt Pleasant, Virginia (now West Virginia):

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Aid, Ohio is about 34 miles away from Point Pleasant.  This is a reasonable distant to travel to enlist.  I found no other likely candidates in Ohio in 1860 and 1850, so these seem to be a reasonable group to focus on.

Family one

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Family Two

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Family Three

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I think we can rule out William and Hannah.  The Andrew living with them in 1860, is also living with Hannah in 1870 and 1880.

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In 1870, we find 5 Andrew Blankinships in the US:

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We ruled out The Andrew living in Ohio in 1870.  The Andrews who are both born in Virginia and are living in Virginia in 1870 do not seem likely candidates.

Montgomery County is adjacent to Stewart County, where your Andrew’s bride to be lives. Giles County is quite a distance away.  Also, if you look at that census image the Andrew in Giles County is stated to be born in Alabama.

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Andrew and Selia were married in 1871 in Steward County.  I searched for Andrew in Stewart County in 1870, and could not find him there but I did find an Andrew in neighboring Montgomery County who may be your Andrew:

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He is the correct age, he is a Collier which is someone who worked in a Coal Mine, which was Andrew’s occupation in later years and he was born in Ohio.  This is hardly definitive proof, but the best guess is the Andrew living in Montgomery County in 1870.

But is he the son of James and Margaret or Beverly and Lovina?

Here is what I recommend:

  • Check the names of Andrew and Selia’s children and compare to the names of James and Margaret’s children and then Beverly and Lovina’s.  Are there similarities?
  • Contact the Lawrence County, Ohio Historical Society and see if they have any information or suggestions on where you might look for Birth announcements and Obituaries that might have clues.
  • Order a copy of Andrew’s pension application.  Even if the parents are listed, there may be brothers and sisters listed that will help you identify the parents.
  •  Track the parents and brothers and sisters in the two families in successive census.  Do any move close to Andrew and Selia? 
  • If you can find death dates for the parents you might be able to find probate records or obituaries that lead you to the answer.

This one is not easy.  But that will make the answer that much sweeter when you find it.

Happy Searching!

– Ancestry Anne



Ask Ancestry Anne: What does CC mean in the 1810 census

Questions: I am (along with a lot of others) struggling to prove the parents of my 4ggrandfather Henry Pitts.  There are 3 Henry Pitts living in Newberry Co, SC but I know my Henry died in 1817. 


The 1810 census lists Henry Pitts and just below him John Pitts (presumably his son John) and after each name is CC or EC or maybe GC.  This is not shown on the 1790 census, do you know what it means?  Is this a title?

– Ann

Answer: I don’t think I’m going to be much help with the parents of Henry Pitts, but I’m willing to take a shot at CC.

I look at the image, and it does look like CC.  That is hard to read.

Henry and John Pitts in the 1810 Newberry County, South Carolina Census

So I googled “abbreviation cc genealogy” and found a couple of links of interest:

A page of Genealogy Abbreviations lists CC as being possibly: County Clerk; county court, county commissioner; company commander

On Genealogy Magazine, CC Is listed as: chain carrier (see chain bearer); also used for County Clerk or County Court, it lists Chain Bearer:

chain bearer / chain carrier / “C. C.”: The person who carried and placed the land surveyor’s chain, a measuring device. An adjacent property owner was often selected for this task

Are there local histories for Newberry County for that time?  A historical society? They might have information on this.  I would be willing to bet it is something along these lines.

And as my readers are proving to be very knowledgable about many things, anyone else got an idea?

I am curious to the actual answer.


Happy Searching!

Ancestry Anne

Ask Ancestry Anne: Who Are Ethel’s Parents?

Question: For years I was under the assumption that my grandmother, Ethel Hall Burtchell, was the child of Wealthy Hall Burtchell and Walter D. Burtchell. Ethel was born on October 13, 1895, presumably in Brooklyn, but I have not had any luck in finding a birth certificate for her with either the name Hall or Burtchell.  What makes this more complicated is that I found a newspaper announcement of Walter and Wealthy’s wedding, which took place in late October, 1899 - four years after Ethel was born. So was Ethel a child of one of them from a prior relationship? Was she adopted by them? If so, was Ethel a child of another member of the family? Without a last name, I can’t find a proper birth certificate, and there are no elder relatives still around who can help solve this mystery. Can you? 

– Cathy Schaefer

Answer: What I like about this question and some of the conclusions that you have reached is that you are letting the facts drive your assumptions. 

You have Walter and Wealthy’s wedding announcement a date of 1899. There are multiple census records and a Social Security Death Index entry that consistently say that Ethel was born in 1895. Adding these two facts together, it’s not clear that Ethel was the child of Walter and Wealthy.

I couldn’t find this family in the 1900 census. But I did, like I’m sure you did, find them in 1910. Ethel is listed as the daughter of Walter, and Walter and Wealthy are listed as having been married since 1895, not 1899. Wealthy is listed as having three children and all three are living. So if Ethel isn’t Wealthy’s daughter, where is the other child? But it is curious as to why there’s an eight-year gap between Ethel and Gerard …

Walter and Wealthy are living in the same house as the family of Thomas Lyne (not sure if I am reading that last name correctly.)

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Fast forward to 1920, we have Walter and Wealthy living with four sons in the same house as Walter Ingram. Ethel is living next door as a boarder in the house of John Hofstad. Are any of these people relatives?

 

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The 1930 census gives us a more tantalizing clue. Walter and Wealthy are living with their four sons. Walter is 57 years old and his age at his first marriage was at age 21. Do a little subtraction and that means he was first married in 1893. Wealthy is 52 years old and her age at her first marriage was also 21. But that means she was first married in 1898. Hmm.

Putting these details together makes me wonder if Walter and Wealthy were married in 1899 as stated in the marriage announcement and if Walter was married previously in 1893, give or take a year.

I dug a little further and found a <a href=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MK9R-75G>1905 New York Census on familysearch.org</a> that shows Walter and Wealthy living with Peter and Maria Burtchell.

Walter is listed as the son of Peter; Ethel and Gerard as the grandchildren of Peter. Again, there’s an eight year gap between Ethel and Gerard

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I could not find Walter in the New York 1892 census.  I found Peter but Walter was not living with him at the time.

If I had to guess, I would guess that Ethel is Walter’s daughter from a previous marriage. But to prove this, I would do the following:

1.     Try to find a marriage certificate from 1892 or 1893 for Walter.

2.     Search for an actual marriage certificate for Walter and Wealthy – something beyond the newspaper announcement. A certificate may give you a clue about whether Walter was previously married.

Happy Searching!

Ancestry Anne

Ask Ancestry Anne: How do I find records on Native Americans?

One of the most common questions that I get in my Ancestry Anne mailbox is:

How do I find records on Native Americans? How do I prove so and so was a Native American?

Well, I’m going to cheat. :-)

Check out Crista Cowan’s discussion on this very subject at:

Native American Ancestry on Ancestry.com

Happy Searching!

Ancestry Anne


Ancestry Anne: An Alternate Way to View Results

If you start on the search page or the home page and do a search, you’ll see results come back as a list of records you might want to look at.

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But there is an alternate presentation of results that you can display.  Instead of Sorted by relevance choose Sorted by category

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And we will present a list of data collections you may want to explore.

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Note, that this option is what we call “sticky” – it will stay however you set it until you change it and do a search or clear your cookies.

Happy Searching!

Ancestry Anne