52
Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 6 (Feb 8-14)
Prompt:
Maps
#52ancestors
I love doing research with maps because they often point the way to further research, help create fan (family, associates, and neighbors) groupings, and locate local churches and cemeteries. One of my favorite maps to search is published by Arphax Publishing. They have taken the original landowner maps from the land survey states and created books. The books are not intuitive. I had to actually read the instructions to figure out how to use them and find the landowners related to me. Even with that, they are so much easier than the information at the Bureau of Land Management. The BLM website helps in letting you know which county to search and information about the land itself. The Family Map books shows where the land is located in context with the entire county and it is easier to see how close the land is to other relatives. There are also maps showing local landmarks, such as rivers, churches, and cemeteries.
Family Maps of Ozark County, Missouri book has patent maps showing the land patents and where they are located for my 4th Great Grandfather, George Herndon, my 3rd Great Grandfather, Isaiah Herndon, my 3rd Great Grand Uncle, Goodman Daves, and a number of other surnames who married into the family including Piland and Norris.
After studying these maps, I could see that in one case even though a groom lived fairly far from the bride by road that following the river, they were not that far apart. It gave me a ready made list of neighbors and I could see who was signing as witnesses on deeds. When the same surname showed up close, I knew to research that name and fit them into the family. I can see that Isaiah Herndon owned land near his brothers, Stephen and Henry.
When I find a new name or place, I check to see if there is a Family Map
book. Then I check my local library to
see if they have the book and if not, then WorldCat to find the nearest library
that has it.
What an idea! I have a great grandmother who I believe when a teenager eloped across state lines to Arkansas. 10 years later he's out of the picture with no explanation. I THINK he returned to his birth family as a bachelor. Now I know to try a map search to see if that family lived near to where my g-grandmother grew up. She went on to have two more husbands - all 3 are mentioned on her tombstone! There are no records of this first marriage or divorce or his death - and the 1890 census records which would have shown the young family were destroyed.
ReplyDeleteIf you can't find the Family Map books, let me know. Our local library has most that are available and I could run by and check them for you. Although I would bet the downtown Ft. Worth library has them.
ReplyDelete