Find Your Dead

Scholefield Family Tree

It turns out that this group REALLY wanted to keep the Armour name alive. What do you do when your mother is an Armour, you have the middle name Armour, one of your brothers has the middle name Armour, and your brother married an Armour? Well, you marry an Armour too!

However, I had to do a little digging to discover this fact. Searching for Hester Moore turns up this family:
John A. Moore, age 54, Merchant, NY¹
Hester A. Moore, age 52, NY
Caroline Williard, age 25, NY
Joseph C. Williard, age 30, Commission Mercht, Vermont
Frederick R. Moore, age 20, NY
Catherine S. Moore, age 19, NY
Joseph R. S. Moore, age 12, NY
Julia T. Moore, age 10, NY
Mary Cunningham, age 20, Ireland
Ellen Lee, age 30, Ireland

So, this is the family of the last brother — John Armour born in 1796. He seems to have been enumerated in two places that year (once at his brother James’s home). Between 1850 and the time of the lawsuit, John appears to have died because the suit names his children and his wife. We can assume that Caroline is a daughter who married a Williard.

We could go back to the IGI in order to verify some actual dates for this family. Or, a web search for “trinity church new york” will lead you to the church’s page. They provide online transcriptions of their registers and burials in their two churchyards: www.trinitywallstreet.org/history/registers. Note that the name fields need to be as exact as possible. John A. Moore’s 1818 marriage to Hester Ann Armour² only appears if you put “John A.” in the search box–no the similar names option doesn’t help. Lesson: Try all variations. In this case, the IGI might be easier to search, but the church’s site has the benefit of providing baptismal records with sponsors and minister’s names on marriages.

I’ll be gathering the exact dates to appear in my final report.

1. 1850 U.S. census, New York County, New York population schedule, New York, Ward 5, p. 128-129 (handwritten), 64B-65A (stamped), dwelling 570, family 920, Household of John A. Moore; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 Jun 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M432, roll 537.
2. Trinity Church, “Parish Registers,” database, Trinity Wall Street (http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/history/registers : accessed 24 Jun 2010), entry for John A. Moore and Hester Ann Armour, married 25 Apr 1818.

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Innis Family Tree

My first search was in Ancestry and simply for John Ennis (the spelling from the 1850-1860 census) to see if I could follow both John and his son John, who was born about 1824. Amazingly, one of the records that came up was a death record for John W. Ennis from the Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1953.¹ The record lists his parents as John and N. Ennis. He died 7 Aug 1853 at the age of 28 in Warren, Kentucky. It also lists his place of birth as Warren, Kentucky, but I can almost ignore that – after all who would have reported these deaths? The thing that lends real weight to this entry is the information about his parents. If it just said John Ennis I would probably have moved on, but it’s John and N. Ennis which certainly narrows that down. He died a day ahead of his son Henry, who was born about 1850. Henry’s parents are listed as John and Rebecca Ennis.²

I believe that this John W. is the oldest son of John H. and Nancy Innis who was born about 1825. This is the John that I was questioning on the 1850 census who was indexed as John R.K..

I got very excited by Ancestry’s collection of Kentucky Births, 1852-1910 and Death Records 1852-1953, until I realized that Morgan and Clinton County were not part of the returns included in the database. I also had little luck in the Marriage Records – it’s all a conspiracy against me.

Actually, it’s time for a little history work Clinton County. A Google search for Clinton County Kentucky Genealogy took me to MyKentuckyGenealogy which has history and information on each of the Kentucky counties. According to their site for Clinton County, Most records were lost in a courthouse fire in 1864. Another fire in 1980 destroyed some records.”

However, it appears that will and probate materials exist from 1863.

According to the same site for Morgan County, “Courthouse records were lost twice: in Oct 1862 and in 1925.” Although it looks like land and marriage records are available from 1823 and probate records from 1866.

1. Warren County, Kentucky, John W. Ennis, 7 Aug 1853; digital image, The Generations Network, Inc., “Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1953,” Ancestry (http:www.ancestry.com: 24 Jan 2010).
2. Warren County, Kentucky, Henry Ennis, 8 Aug 1853; digital image, The Generations Network, Inc., “Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1953,” Ancestry (http:www.ancestry.com: 24 Jan 2010).

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Innis Family Tree

Since I have done some of the basic research on Ancestry to establish the family line, I thought I would take a quick look at the archives in Tennessee and Kentucky to see what other things they might offer.

I was very disappointed to go to the Tennessee State Library and Archives and see this great list of databases online – only to find that most are only available to Tennessee residents. I emailed to ask if they had a way for non-residents to access the archives for a fee. I received a quick response that the contracts with their online commercial vendors specified only the current residents could access the databases. Like everyone else they had no funding to make it “available nation-wide.” I did send back a suggestion that they consider doing a “Friends of the Archive” fee based system for non-residents. I’m not against paying a non-residence research fee for a 30-day subscription. I am against not having access to records just because I live in another state. If there is anyone in Tennessee willing to help let me know.

Kentucky sadly has little to offer of basic use in their online catalog. They offer some of their vital statistic records for purchase on their site, but most of them are available on Ancestry. They do offer the microfilm of the Original Death Certificates from 1911-1958 for a rather large amount of money.

So much for the state archives. Guess I’m going back to Ancestry for some deeper research in their card catalogs and then some Google, GenWeb, County, and newspaper work.

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Scholefield Family Tree

As I continue to check out possible siblings of the direct Moore ancestral lines, I have another apparent match.

According to the law suit, Jacob Moore married Hannah. And if he was born in 1791…

Jacob H. Moore, age 58, Seaman, NY¹
Hannah Moore, age 50, NY
Richd R. Moore, age 22, Blacksmith, NY
Geo A. Moore, age 17, Clerk, NY
Chas B. Moore, age 16, NY
Sarah M. Moore, age 15, NY
Thos W. Henry, age 25, Carpenter, Connecticut
Ann P. Henry, age 20, NY
Willm L. Henry, age 1, NY
Jacob Moore Senr., age 91, NJ
Thomas Rawson, age 24, Stone Cutter, England
Willm Briggs, age 20, Plane Maker, Rhode Island
Margt Rodin, age 27, Ireland

Notice the Senior? The IGI record names the father of these possible siblings as Jacob! If we assume in this case this means father instead of just an elder of the same name, this is looking better and better.

1. 1850 U.S. census, Kings County, New York population schedule, Williamsburg, p. 522, dwelling 1502, family 2607, Jacob H. Moore household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 May 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M432, roll 432.

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Scholefield Family Tree

I suspect that the Moore Lawsuit¹ is between family members. So now I need to determine how those family members are related to the Moore family I am tracing and whether the information leads me to an additional generation.

The first place to look for these people is the 1850 Census. Because they were all alive in 1856-1857, they should be locatable. I tried several search methods – including spray and pray (put in a term and hope that one of the scattered results will match). In this case, I could narrow down my initial search to people with the name who were born in New York or lived in New York City (or nearby).

I think this is one of the couples and their household (they popped right up with a search using his middle initial and birthplace):
James A. Moore, age 61, White Seed Manufacturer, NY ²
Maria S. Moore, age 56, NY
Maria Armour, age 80, NY
John A. Armour, age 54, White Seed Manufacturer, NY
Sarah Ann Castle, age 26, NY
Maria M. Castle, age 8, NY
John A. Moore, age 25, none, NY
DeSa? M. Moore (male), age 23, Lawyer, NY
Also in the home? (I suspect these are other families): Marcus F. Hodges, age 26, Merchant; Sophia A. Hodges, age 26; James M. Hodges, age 6; William M. Hodges, age 4; Annie Hodges, age 4/12; Louisa Gibbons, age 20; Henry M. Dodge, age 9; Catharine C. Dodge, age 6; Nancy Mayer, age 25; Catharine Johnson, age 25; Alexander Thompson, age 20, Laborer; Mary Batten, age 20; Mary Ann Fleming, age 20.

This family is quite exciting because of the matching initials and the connection to an Armour family!

I immediately hopped over to FamilySearch.org to see if I can use James’s date of birth to discover more specifics about this family group. IGI returns a hit for a John Armour Moore and a batch search turns up the following family:

Jacob Moore and Ann had the following children christened at Trinity Church
James Armour Moore, b. 23 Nov 1786, chr. 3 Jan 1787³
Michael Moore, chr. 19 Jul 1789 (the one we are looking for?)
Jacob Moore, b. 30 Oct 1791, chr. 20 Nov 1791
John Armour Moore, b. 2 Aug 1796, chr. 28 Aug 1796

A search for Maria Armour (after all, it appeared that the 80 year old mother-in-law was living with James and Maria) returns their marriage. I went out on a limb and guessed that there was a relationship, but remember to not take something like this as a fact until you prove it!

James A. Moore and Maria “Armar” married 13 Apr 1811 at Trinity Church.⁴

After all this, it appears that the family must have had a close tie with the Armour family for several generations. James was given the middle name of Armour and then married an Armour girl. His nephew, who is in the direct line which we are tracing, also appears to have carried the name. I really want to add all these people into the tree, but I do want to double check to make sure that there is nothing that would contradict my thoughts that this is the correct family (and one more generation to be added to the tree).

Next step – check out the other siblings to attempt to verify the familial relationships.

1. See post dated 22 May 2010.
2. 1850 U.S. census, Essex County, New Jersey population schedule, Belleville, p. 115B, dwelling 58, family 67, Household of James A. Moore; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 May 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M432, roll 449.
3. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [LDS], “International Genealogical Index,” database, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 23 May 2010), North America Region, entry for James Armour Moore, christened 3 Jan 1787, New York, New York, New York; citing FHL microfilm 1,002,776, item 6 (Trinity Church Parish, New York, New York, New York computer printout; births or christenings, 1749-1809), batch no. C510591. (Use the batch number to verify related records.)
4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [LDS], “International Genealogical Index,” database, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 23 May 2010), North America Region, entry for James A. Moore and Maria Armar, married 13 Apr 1811, New York, New York, New York; citing FHL microfilm 0,882,993, item 1 (Trinity Church Parish, New York, New York, New York computer printout; marriages, 1746-1861), batch no. M510591.

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Scholefield Family Tree

This next step in researching the Moore family is getting me into rough waters.

At FultonHistory.com I turned up a legal notice that read (emphasis added):

SUPREME COURT–City and County of New York.–Michael Moore and Maria Moore his wife, plaintiffs, against Archibald Dunlap Moore and Anna Maria Moore his wife, James A. Moore and Maria S. Moore his wife, Jacob Moore and Hannah Moore his wife, William D. Lowerre and Ann D. Lowerre his wife, Joseph Willard and Caroline Willard his wife, Frederick R. Moore, Catharine S. Moore, Joseph E. Moore, Julia Moore, Hester Ann Moore, William Kemble, Horace H. Moore and Ann Moore his wife, Frederick S. Stalknecht, Peter Gilsey, John Jacob Moore, James A. Moore, the son of Michael Moore, deceased, and Samuel A. Moore.–To JOSEPH WILLARD and CAROLINE WILLARD his wife, two of the above named defendants: You are hereby summoned and required to answer the complaint in this action, which was this day filed in the office of the Clerk of the City and County of New York, at the City Hall in said city, and to serve a copy of your answer to the said complaint on the subscribers, at their office, no. 52 John-st., in the City of New York, within twenty days after the service of this summons on you, exclusive of the day of such service; and if you fail to answer the said complaint within the time aforesaid, the plaintiffs in this action will apply to the Court for the relief demanded in the complaint.–Dated New-York, April 25, 1856.
WALLIS & BRADSHAW, Plaintiffs’ Attorneys, No. 52 John-st.¹

I recognize the family group of Moores I was working with!² I know that only one of the sons is actually listed as being the child of Michael Moore, the coincidence is too much to feel that this is not the correct family. It is possible that James A. was left in charge of his father’s estate and was therefore mentioned the way he was. However, with a name list like this, I’ll have a lot of sorting to do!

1. “Legal Notices,” New York Daily Tribune, 25 Feb 1857, p. 3, col. 2, & 4 Mar 1857, p. 3, col. 4; digital images, Fulton History (http://www.fultonhistory.com : accessed 22 May 2010).
2. See post dated 28 Jan 2010.

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Innis Family Tree

Moving back a generation I will now look at the family of John and Nancy Innis. From my 17 Feb 2010 post I have established the family as:

John H. Innis, born c.1800-1805, Virginia,
Nancy [Unknown] born c.1800-1805, Virginia – first wife,
Nancy [Unknown] born c. 1822, Kentucky – second wife,
John, c.1824, Tennessee,
James E., c.1826, Tennessee,
Wiley M., c.1833, Tennessee,
Mary B., c. 1835, Tennessee,
Nancy Ann, c. 1841, Tennessee,
Thomas H., Jan 1843, Kentucky,
Emily M., c.1845, Tennessee

And from 20 Feb 2010 the timeline for John’s family appears to be:

1 June 1840 – Roane Co., Tennessee, census,
9 July 1860 – Morgan Co., Tennessee census (Morgan Co. abuts Roane County),
1864 – Clinton Co., Kentucky Louisa C. (daughter of Thomas H.) is born,
25 Jul 1870 – Clinton Co., Kentucky, census
11 Jun 1880 – Clinton Co., Kentucky, census

While the primary long-term goal is still to take the line back, my short-term goal is to determine what records are available and fill in the family information. So I went to FamilySearch hoping for the same luck I had in Texas, but sadly there is nothing in the pilot search for Kentucky or Tennessee. There does appear to be quite a bit on Ancestry in their card catalog so I got a “fair start” and then I’ll go hunting elsewhere. I’m going to approach this as a family group and begin in Kentucky with the latest records and work back. I’m going to look at the children and see if they can help me get anywhere on John. The Nancy’s I’m just going to look at together and see if I can get some clarification – I’ll probably wind up looking in the family trees for some hints.

Since I have already looked at the census records for John (born 1800-1805) I’m going to do this work through the card catalog of Ancestry looking at some of the other databases available. One of things I want to point out is that I will be looking at Thomas H.’s siblings and I will use their children to see if I can establish more information for them, but I’m not going to be spending time coming down their individual lines. I’m only interested in trying to use them to establish facts about their parents, which may lead me to records to clarify John’s life and discover his records.

Before I began my search for the Innis family I went back and had another look at the 1850 census record. I wanted to look for John Innis, both the father and son, and I was bothered by the indexing of the son as John R.K. Ennis. I looked at the image to see if it could be any other middle initial(s) and I was not convinced on the R.K.. I would have probably indexed it that way myself, but the reality is that it could be anything. The double initial just doesn’t fit the family somehow. While they have some unusual names they are generally a single middle name. So I am open to anything from an A to H (which seems popular in the family) and all the way to Z. Somehow what comes to my mind is a W, but it looks nothing like anything else on the page.

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Innis Family Tree

Before I move back a generation and over to Tennessee and Kentucky, let me tell you some of the places that I looked for this last group of Innis siblings. I don’t always get a chance to tell you in the posts, but there are a lot of side trips made while researching. Some good – some not so good, but it’s always an interesting journey.

I spent a lot of time playing in the TXGenWeb Project. As I have said before some states have a long way to go and some states are really doing some great things. The Grayson County TXGenWeb site was the The TXGenWeb Project County of the Year for 2005 and it’s easy to see why. It is easy to negotiate and has tons of easily searchable information. While I didn’t find my families, they sure made searching for them easy and fun. I got sidetracked (not hard to do) looking at the old photos.

I love the home page of the Fannin GenWeb Page! The site is simple to negotiate and I spent most of my time in the Cemeteries section. I encountered a couple of links that didn’t work and emailed the webmaster. What a gem Suzie Henderson is! Less than an hour later I had a response with information concerning the situation and her projection for not only fixing it, but making it better. Can we replicate her and put her in a few neighboring counties where they need some real help. Keep up the good work Suzie!

I also did very well on the sites by Gloria B. Mayfield, Cemeteries of TX Project Manager. While I found all the clouds, pearly gates and blinking stars make the openings hard to read and extremely distracting, it’s really about the information and the information was good. The material is broken down by county and then by cemetery and appears to be updated frequently.

Apparently, GenealogyBank and NewspaperArchives haven’t gotten into the area yet, because I was stumped for information in those searches. That was painful because I have come to rely on them for the background information on a family. On the upside of that – since they didn’t have the information I went to the Bonham Library and what a nice group of people that is to deal with. They are friendly and interested and willing to help. I have asked for obituaries on Thomas H. Innis and Thomas Ballard Innis. I’ll keep you posted.
There are several sites I haven’t really mentioned because they were quick visits with no results. Yes I know you should note your negative results also, but I’m just tired of telling you how poor Colorado is for online sources.

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Scholefield Family Tree

I’ve found John in 1810! He was misindexed as John Harry. This is understandable because the page is damaged; and therefore, the person creating the index couldn’t have known his real name. I find it now when I go back and recheck the households on the pages near Benjamin and William.

John Hawkins -- notice the damage that obliterated a portion of his name

As you can see, the first 3 letters of the last name are definitely HAW.

The family even fits as it is made up of 5 people: John himself, Lena his wife, his sons William and Horace, and his daughter Susanna. The ages are a tad off, but censuses are not always the most accurate when reporting ages.

John Hawkins, Males: 1 aged 10-15, 1 aged 16-25, 1 aged 45+; Females, 1 aged 10-15, 1 aged 45+; 1 other free person¹

The most interesting thing is that the older man who had been in the home in 1800 and appeared to be the same man in 1820 is not present. Was this John Senior? Did he die between 1800 and 1810? Or did he go to live with another family member (not the two other sons!).

1. 1810 U.S. census, Westchester County, New York, Rye, p. 1165, line 1, John Haw[kins]; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Apr 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M252, roll 37.

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Scholefield Family Tree

The censuses I located in the last post lead me to believe that I have a family group.

I know this is the correct John Hawkins because he is near his daughter Susan Moore and her husband in 1830 and 1820. In 1810, John appears to have been missed or he was living somewhere else. From 1820 to 1800 there are two men, Benjamin and William, who are of an age to be siblings of John. In 1800 there is a man in John’s home who could be his father.

In 1790 there are two Johns. One is noted as “Senr” the other as “Junr.” Many might expect that this immediately indicates that one is the father of the other. However, at the time of this census, the suffix could indicate simply that one is the elder and the other younger. They could be related — or not. They could be uncle and nephew, cousins, or as I propose, father and son. The elder John has in his home two men who are of an age to be Benjamin and William.

The censuses also tell me more about John’s family. I know three of his children, but it turns out that he may have had more.

In the 1820 census, there is a female who is of an age to be Susanna Moore (Female A). She was married earlier in the year so it is possible that she was enumerated twice. By 1830, William is living with his father after his marriage. Based on these numbers, John and Lena possibly had at least 7 children; 3 boys and 4 girls. In 1840, there is a Female (B) who is of an age to be one of the three daughters but could also be another relative, hired help, or a friend.

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