Brick Wall #1

Up until this point, I have focused most of my posts on my maternal line.  There is a reason for that.  There is much more known about my mother's side than my father's.  My maternal line is made up of well-documented old New England families for the most part.  That's not to say there isn't any brick walls on her side.  There just seems to be more on my father's side.  So today I'm going to focus on my paternal line. My Wimsatt line. Otherwise known as the line that makes me bang my head on the desk and conceive of various new ways to use every curse word known to man!

  I can make it back five generations on my Wimsatt line.  Me, my father, my grandfather(Richard L Wimsatt), great grandfather(John Collins Wimsatt), great great grandfather( Arland Wimsatt) and great great great grandfather (George Will Wimsatt).  To put it bluntly, George Will is a pain in my....well, you get the point.  So here is what is known about good ol' George:

George Will Wimsatt was born on 4 July 1820 in Nelson County, KY.

 He married Sarah A Wright on 12 December 1842 in Nelson County, KY. 

He's found in the 1850 US Census living in Ohio, KY with his wife Sarah, three children, Mary, Lorenzo and Goldena, James Wright (brother-in-law) and Ignatius, his brother.

He's found in the 1860 US Census living in Campbell, Warrick Co., IN with wife Sarah, kids Mary, Lorenzo, Goldena, Rawlin [Roland], Wayne, Arlin [Arland], and Willis.  Brother-in-law James is still with him along with James Nicholson, a farm laborer.  I believe James belonged to James and Margaret A Nicholson, the neighbors of George and Sarah's.

He's found in the 1870 US Census living in Upper Town, Henderson Co., KY with wife Sarah, kids, Lorenzo, Goldena, Roland, Wayne, Orland[Arland], William , James, Wheeler,  and Lucretia and a Valson Wimsatt who I believe was a son of Lorenzo.

He found in the 1880 US Census living in Blue, Jackson Co., MO with wife Sarah, and kids Roland, Wayan [Wayne], Ailand[Arland], James, George W [Wheeler] and Lucretia.

George Will Wimsatt died on 6 June 1890 in Jackson County. MO.  He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Independence, Jackson Co., MO.  Wife Sarah died on 7 November 1910 in Kaw Township, Jackson County, Mo.  Joseph Wright is listed as her father on the death certificate.  The informant was L. Zumwalt or Lucretia (Wimsatt) Zumwalt, her daughter.  Sarah is also buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Independence, MO.

There were some Wimsatts that migrated from England to St. Mary's County, Maryland and then to Nelson Co., KY.  These Wimsatts were Catholic and had fled England due to the Church of England.  I have found one baptismal record for George and Sarah's daughter Mary Ellen who was baptized in St. Catherine's Church in New Haven, Nelson Co., KY.  So this leads me to believe that my Wimsatt line was at one time practicing Catholics. 

There is some speculation that George Will and Ignatius were the sons of  Ignatius and Nancy (Thompson) Wimsatt.  Ignatius and Nancy Thompson's marriage bond was dated 24 April 1818 and the surety is John Ballard.  Ignatius filed for divorce on 15 May 1840 stating that they had been together for  "10 or 12 years" but that she had "left his bed and board".  It is strange that he couldn't remember how long they had been married which at this time would have been over 20 years, if you consider the date of the marriage bond.  Of course we don't know when she exactly left.  If it was after 10 years of marriage, I find it hard to believe that there wasn't children conceived.  There is an estate settlement dated 12 December 1840 for Ignatius and the Administrator was James Ballard.  On another estate settlement there is a Linus Wimsatt listed as plaintiff.  He states that he "holds a note under seal on the defendant, James Ballard, Administrator of Ingnatius Wimsatt, dec. in substance as follows, to wit, Twelve months after date I promise to pay Linus Wimsatt one hundred and twenty-five dollars fifty cents. As witness my hand attest this 4th of September 1839. [note signed by] George and Ignatius Wimsatt.   Are these the brothers George and Ignatius? 

I have been unable to find what happened to Nancy (Thompson) Wimsatt after her divorce.  Nor have I found her parents.  And this is pretty much all the information I have on this line.    There are subtle clues to the parentage of George Will and Ignatius Wimsatt but nothing concrete.  Maybe it's time for that DNA test I've been wanting to get?

A Bag and Three Abigails!

The Abigail (Dewolf) Ingraham Bag. Courtesy of the Bates County Museum.

Today I'm going to share yet another find from the Bates County Museum.  Being a volunteer there does have it's perks!  Pictured here is a small silk bag that was once owned by Mrs. Abigail (DeWolf) Ingraham, the second wife of Capt. Jeremiah Ingraham.  Abigail (DeWolf Ingraham presented this bag to her grandaughter Abigail Rebecca Ingraham in 1818.  Abigail Rebecca Ingraham was the daughter of Thomas and Peggy (Wardwell) Ingraham.  Abigail Rebecca then presented this bag to her niece, yet another Abigail Rebecca Ingraham in 1852.  This Abigail was the daughter of Thomas Swan and Julia (Balis) Ingraham.  After Rebecca (as the last Abigail Rebecca was known) passed away in 1856 at the age of 18, it then passed to her sister, Mrs. Mary (Baldwin) Ingraham and then filtered down to my great great grandmother Maud (VanSant) Grimes who then donated it to the museum.  

The bag is is remarkable condition considering it's almost 200 years old!  

Julia (Balis) Ingraham with daughter Rebecca.  Rebecca was the last Abigail Rebecca to own the bag.

Paying It Forward

If there is one thing I have learned in all the years I've been doing genealogy it's this:  it's all about sharing.  I can't count the number of times that some generous soul has furthered my research with a look-up, or a scanned document, or just an email saying I have the same ancestor, so let's share information!  Genealogists are generous souls.  They love to share their knowledge and pass it along.

That being said,  credit should be given when using another's work.  If you want to use something that I have created, send me an email and ask my permission.  More than likely I will give you that permission as long as you agree to give me credit for my work.  If I happen to post a photo of an ancestor that also happens to be your ancestor, send me an email and ask me for a scan.  I understand the excitement of coming across an unknown photograph of an ancestor you may never have seen before.  I have felt that same excitement.  Asking before you use it just builds goodwill.  I have come across a number of trees on Ancestry that have included pictures that I posted on FindaGrave. Actually they were screenshots of the whole page.  Not once have a I received an email from any of these people asking for permission or even for more information, although my email address is provided. This is just laziness and poor research coupled with bad morality.  

Since the title of my post is Paying It Forward , I guess I meant that to have a dual meaning.  Give credit where it's due and I'm more than happy to help you in your research.  Take my information without asking, and you can pretty much forget my help with anything.  Use my intellectual property as your own on a continual basis, and I will take action.  That is my rant for the day.  

Scrap Day Sunday

Here is a scrap of paper I found in the pages of the Ingraham/Wardwell bible.  It's a little note that read;

"you can talk with Ferd about Franks coming out here if you dont if you can make a bargain with him all right. he may be there this week or next."

Note from Ingraham/Wardwell Bible

Now, I have absolutley no idea what this note means.  Ferd is a name I have never come across before so I'm thinking it might be a nickname.  Frank may refer to Francis Baldwin, brother to my 3rd great grandmother, Julia Ingraham (Baldwin) VanSant.  I do have a letter written by Frank to Julia that discusses him going away.  Why he went away, I don't know.  Frank is a mystery that I will get into at a later date.

One of My Favorites

Standing; L-R Stephen Decatur Grimes and Merlin Ellsworth Grimes. Seated Jesse D Grimes holding Walter L. Grimes

This is one of my favorite photos.  It is a four generation photo showing my grandfather, Walter L Grimes, great grandfather, Merlin Ellsworth Grimes, great great grandfather Jesse D Grimes and my great great great grandfather Stephen Decatur Grimes.  I just wish it would have scanned better. 

Relative Stranger Thursday

Here's yet another unknown couple.  This one is courtesy of my paternal side.  The possible surnames for this couple could be Gillis, Strange, Braucht, or Wilson.   I'm thinking it may be Seneca McNeal Gillis and his wife Eleanor but that isn't 100 percent. 

A Conundrum of Sorts

For the past two years I have been working tirelessly to complete my application to The General Society of Mayflower Descendants.  I filled out the preliminary application.  I got a positive answer from the State Historian who informed me of the application process and the types of documentation that would be needed.  Generation one (John Howland) through generation seven (Thomas Swan Ingraham) had already been accepted by the Society. That left generations 8-14 for me to prove.  I was off and running!  It was that generation 8 that was giving me problems.  Mary (Ingraham) Baldwin, daughter of Thomas Swan and Julia (Balis) Ingraham.  I just wasn't having any luck finding the primary (or secondary for that matter) documents that I needed.    I sent off for death certificates.  I searched high and low for a missing family bible.  I found the bloody thing too, I might add! I sent out emails to the four corners of the world.  I virtually stalked anyone that could help me with my search.  And now it has all come together.  I can prove my case.  I am a descendant of four passenger of the Mayflower. John Howland and his wife Elizabeth Tilley and Elizabeth's parents John and Joan (Hurst) Tilley. 

So what's my conundrum you ask?  Well, now that I have pulled all this information together and put in all the hours of research, I don't really know that I want to finalize my application.  I don't need a certificate to tell me my heritage.  Sure, it would make it official, but do I really need a society to tell me who I am?  Joining would also preserve my research for posterity and make it easier for my descendants to join.  But then again, it's my research.  I've tracked down the original documents and done the legwork.  If  I join, am I robbing future generations of the joy of tracking down who they are? 

 I still haven't decided one way or the other.  I might make it official or I might not.  That's my prerogative.  For me it was all the thrill of the hunt. All that time digging and analyzing and creeping around in dark, dank basements made it worth it.  Not to mention all the wonderful people I have met along the way!  I will let my nieces and nephew know their ties to the beginning of this country.  I want them to own their heritage.  I'm just not sure if I want to hand them the proof.  I think they can become little researchers themselves.