Big Tree Same Name Issues

Do you have 'same name' issues in your genealogy research? I know I have them in mine:

• Hiram Currey
• Noah Briles
• James Crawford
• William Thompson

Thus, I'm a little sensitive when computer algorithms merge them together. 

I first encountered this with Ancestry's One World Tree when my James Crawford research was merged into one profile. 

Recently, Randy Seaver has been writing about Ancestry issues. His recent post, A Reader's Take on Ancestry Problems, Part IV: The Ancestry Big Tree discusses what he has learned about Ancestry's Big Tree. Randy also discussed the Ancestry Big Tree on today's session of Monday's with Myrt. 

I evidently browsed thru Randy's post since I didn't pick up on the Google search aspect. However, when Randy demonstrated a Google search on Monday's with Myrt, I started wondering how the Big Tree would handle my same name issues.

Thus, I started searching.

My first search was for my ancestor, James Crawford. James was born about 1772 in Virginia and died in 1854 in Preble County, Ohio. I was pleased when I found his profile - without any of the other James Crawfords mixed in.

Resolved Indexing Issue

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about issues I was seeing with this blogger site not being found by Google. (Why Not Indexed).

After several days of digging thru Google discussions of the issue, I think I found the solution. My early searches kept pointing to an issue with the sitemap. At that point all I was finding for a sitemap url was one that placed

atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500

after the root of the URL. When I would try to use my Google Search Console to enter the site map, it acted like it was taking the site map. However, when I would return to the Search Console, no sitemap would be listed.

So I kept digging and finally came across a post indicating that Google had changed the site map URL. The new URL ending is much simpler:

sitemap.xml

Thus, I entered that into my Google Search Console and waited. Each time I've returned to my Google Search Console, the site map is listed with the word 'SUCCESS'. I've also been able to search Google for my blog posts and find them -- including very recent posts.

Thus, I think my issue is resolved!

Lincoln County Mystery

Do you have same name issues in your genealogy research? Or, do you have 'mystery men' of the same surname in the same location as your ancestor?

That's what happened when I looked at the Lincoln County, Kentucky tax lists for 1787-1805.

I had found Lincoln County KY marriage bonds where Rebekah Crawford gave permission for Mary Crawford to marry James Sellers and Sarah Crawford to marry William David Sellers. Another marriage bond secured by Nathan Douglas and James Crawford for the marriage of James Crawford and Martha Knight was found in Lincoln County, KY records.

Thus, I was expecting to find the following:

• Sellers family
• Rebekah Crawford
• George Douglass -- who sold land to Rebekah Crawford and may be her brother
• Nathan Douglass -- who signed the bond for James Crawford
• James Crawford -- who is believed to have turned 21 in 1792

I was not expecting to find:

• John Crofford
• Alexander Crofford
• William Crafort on Richland Creek
• James Crawford on Rolling Forks
• Robert Crawford on Hanging Fork 
• Ellis Richard (and other Ellis families) on Noland Fork

Reading History

In your genealogy research, have you read the historical accounts?

Even though the experts recommend 'knowing' the history of a location, I have only skimmed county histories looking for my family name. I've never seriously read the history - until last night.

Last night, I read the book, The Travelling Church: An Account of the Baptist Exodus from Virginia to Kentucky in 1781 under the Leadership of Rev.Lewis Craig and Capt. William Ellis on Internet Archive. This book is about an ENTIRE church community packing up and leaving Spottsylvania County, Virginia for Logan's Fort in Kentucky.

I didn't find mention of the Crawford family in this book. I have clues suggesting my Crawford line came from Montgomery or Augusta Counties, Virginia - not Spottsylvania County. I have clues suggesting the Crawfords were Presbyterian - not Baptist.

Migration Clues

Have you used city directories to help locate a person between census years? Although I'm not finding as much detail in tax lists, I am finding that they help track migration in the early 1800s.

I've been doing FAN club research in early Kentucky. So far, I've been concentrating on the area that became Garrard County. Because of changing county boundaries, I've searched tax lists for Madison, Garrard and Lincoln counties.

• Tax Man Cometh - Madison County, KY 1787-1796
• Garrard County Tax - 1797-1806
• Lincoln County Taxes  

Since I've identified the Crawford land holdings during this time period. I'm now searching the Garrard County tax lists from 1807 to 1824 to identify the time period when the various families moved away.

Families that could potentially be in Garrard County between 1807 and 1824

• Rebekah Crawford - owned land between Sugar Creek and Boone's Mill Creek
• James Crawford, husband of Martha Knight and likely son of Rebekah Crawford
• James Sellers, husband of Mary Crawford (likely daughter of Rebekah Crawford)
• William Sellers, husband of Sarah Crawford (likely daughter of Rebekah Crawford)
• Alexander Moore, husband of Mary Crawford - owned land on Sugar Creek and on Paint Lick Creek
• James Crawford, husband of Sally Duggins
• James Crawford, husband of Rebecca Anderson -- owned land on Paint Lick Creek
• William Crawford - owned land on Paint Lick Creek

Which Alexander Moore

Do you ever check other people's trees to see what they have on someone you are researching? I know I do. I check them for hints. I also check them to see if my work supports their conclusions.

I'm in the position of needing hints from others in my research of Mary Crawford, wife of Alexander Moore.

1811 Garrard County Kentucky Land records indicate that Alexander Moore moved from the Garrard County area of Kentucky to Fleming County. (Garrard County, Kentucky, Deed Book E, page 306). Since Mary doesn't sign the deed and isn't mentioned in the body of the deed, there isn't evidence that Mary was in Fleming County, Kentucky