Heartland Genealogy

How broadly do you research? Do you stick strictly to your known family lines—or do you take notes on everyone with the same surname in a particular place? Over the years, I’ve definitely leaned toward the second approach. If a record mentions a surname I’m researching in a specific location, I save it. That habit has left me with a collection of notes about people I can’t yet connect—but every now and then, one of those records deserves a closer look. Today’s Friday Find comes from my Crawford Kentucky folder. It’s a brief but meaningful 1816 court entry from Garrard County—a guardianship record for Polly Crawford. Transcription Polly Crawford infant orphan of John Crawford came into court and made choice of James H. Moore as her guardian. Whereupon he executed bond in the penalty of 1000.00 together with D. Mon Boyer and Thomas Kennedy his security conditioned by the law directs. Oct Court 1816 Even though this is a short record, it provides several...

Do you struggle with 'same name' issues in your genealogy research? I know that over the years I have struggled to either separate two people or prove that the records I found apply to my ancestor and not to someone else of the same name. My newest struggle is with someone that I currently can't even connect to my tree. I found an Alexander Crawford who married Margaret McElwee in Lincoln County, Kentucky in 1788. This marriage is one of four Crawford marriages that occurred in early Lincoln County: 1788 - Alexander Crawford married Margaret McElwee 1791 - Mary Crawford married James Sellers 1793 - James Crawford married Martha Knight 1796 - Sarah Crawford married William David Sellers My ancestor, James Crawford married Sally Duggins in 1799 in Garrard County, Kentucky. Garrard County was formed from Lincoln County, Kentucky in 1796 -- the year Sarah and William Sellers were married. Thus, these 5 Crawford couples were married in the area of 1788 Lincoln C...

In your genealogy research, do you have a FAN (Family Associates, Neighbors) club ? If so, do you ever see a name and question whether to add him/her to your FAN club? If so, that's how I felt about Moses Dooley. It was like that name, Moses Dooley, kept cropping up in different places and times. My first notes for Moses Dooley are from tax records for Preble County Ohio -- living in the same community as my ancestor, James Crawford (wife Sally Smith Duggins) and 'big' James Crawford (wife Martha Knight). Thinking that I should find Moses Dooley in Kentucky with these same Crawford families, I looked back at my Kentucky notes and discovered that I didn't record anything about Moses Dooley. Rechecking the tax records, I found Moses Dooley in 1794 Madison County, Kentucky -- on the same page as several Crawfords. [Kentucky, Madison. Tax Books, 1787-1874. Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort, KY. Film #8126 DGS 7834478. Crawford James, William, 1794 Tax bookx ...

My mind is 'jumping up and down' with joy this morning. Another CRAWFORD researcher contacted me this morning to let me know he had found out his haplogroup: R-Y88686. That is the SAME haplogroup as my brother. We FINALLY have some evidence that we are related! We both descend from James Crawford of Preble County, Ohio. His James Crawford was born in 1770 in Augusta County, Virginia and died in 1833 in Warren County, Indiana. My James was born in 1772 in Virginia and died in 1854 in Preble County, Ohio. Both men were living in Kentucky prior to 1800. His James married Martha Knight in 1793 in Lincoln County, Kentucky. My James married Sally Duggins in 1799 in Garrard County, Kentucky. (Garrard County was formed in 1797 from Lincoln and Madison counties.) In 1811, his James filed land entry papers showing he had made the final payment for the SW 1/4 of Section 14, Township 7 Range 2 East in Preble County, Ohio. In 1816, my James filed similar land entry pape...

Garrard County, Kentucky, Courthouse, Bond for marriage of James Crawford and Sally Duggins, #101, James Crawford, 12 September 1799; County Clerk, Garrard County, Kentucky, Lancaster, KY. This is to certyfy that I am willing to join in marriage with James Crawford given under my hand this day duly [signed] Know all men by these presents that we James Crawford and James Sellers are heto and firmly bound unto James Garrard Esq. Governor of Kentucky in the just and full sum of Fifty pound currant money to which payment will and truly to be made we bind our selves our heirs & jointly and severally firmly by these presents [sealed] and dated this 12 day of Sept. 1799 The condition of the above obligation is such that whereas there is a marriage shortly into to be solemnized between the above bound James Crawford and Sally Duggins for which a license has issued now if there be no lawful cause to obstruct the sd marriage then the above obligation so be void Else to r...

In your genealogy research, have you ever suspected a relationship but never could find evidence to support your suspicions? Well that's been the case with my James Crawford research and I now have yDNA evidence to support that suspicion! My brothers yDNA has been placed in the R-Y88686 haplogroup. My first match was to descendants of Edward Crawford of Tennessee. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to verify that our two lines resided in the same area at the same time let alone discover a family connection. With today's notice of a new Big Y match, I now have a match with a familiar line. The new match is a descendant of James and Rebecca (Anderson) Crawford. The James and Rebecca Crawford family is one of several Crawford families in the Garrard County area of Kentucky prior to 1800 that I've been researching. Although I have been able to piece together a lot of information on these various Crawford families, I've never been able to find anythi...

Do you use a list of FAN (Friends, Acquaintances, Neighbors) club names when researching county records for your family? If so, do you ever struggle with remembering how the members of your FAN club fit together? If so, you are not alone. As I'm getting back into my CRAWFORD research and Garrard County, Kentucky records by reading an order book, I've found that I not only need a list of names, but a diagram of how they might fit together. Since I don't own any software to easily create such a diagram, I used Microsoft Publisher and multiple text boxes to create my diagram of the CRAWFORD families in early Garrard County, Kentucky along with some associated families. In the early tax records for the area, I have identified four CRAWFORD families with land in what becomes Garrard County: Rebekah Crawford, William Crawford, James Crawford and Mary Crawford. Based on research of these four families, their spouses and potential children, I have been able to identify...