Tag: bloggers

Uncovering the Story of Susanna Clark Rootes, My 9th Great Grandmother: A Tale of Witches and New England Founders

📸Microsoft Designer AI

So, witches run in my family.  Why doesn’t that surprise me?

Susanna (née Clark) was the wife of Josiah Rootes (1613-1683). Josiah Rootes, originally from Great Chart, Kent, England, was a passenger on the Hercules of Sandwich, under the command of Captain John Witherley. The ship was bound for “the plantation called New England in America” in the spring of 1634/5. Josiah, along with his mother and brother, migrated to America and was instrumental in founding the Beverly Church.

Josiah had taken the oath of allegiance and supremacy at Great Chart and received his certificate from Robert Gorsham, curator of Great Chart, on 20 March 1634/35. The Hercules of Sandwich is probably the same as the Hercules of Dover mentioned by Winthrop as being here in the summer. ~~Samuel G. Drake, Result of Some Researches Among the British Archives for Information Relative to the Founders of New England: Made in the Years 1858, 1859 and 1860 (n.p.: H.W. Dutton and Son, Printers, Transcript Office, 1860; reprint Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1963), 84.

On June 25, 1678, Josiah made a sworn accusation of thievery against William and Elizabeth Hoar. He claimed the family had stolen (clothing, apples, wood, and hay) from him for nearly twenty years, and he had only just discovered proof – in the form of Goody Hoar’s apron.  

When several neighbors came under suspicion of receiving stolen goods from Mr. Hale’s maid, Margaret Lord, Josiah Rootes complained to the court in a written statement that “for neare twenty years together we haue ben Aflicted by hauing owr goods stollen At sundri time And we not Abell To make due profe haue ben forsed To sufer owr seuellfes To be wrownged in estat And name: And god by his prouidens hauing latlie discouered sum of Theas wokes of darknes wee Judg yt. To be owre duty To speake in vindicasion of Truth and Conuictccion of sine…. He deposed in Salem Court that same month, aged about 65, and again, aged about 60, as did his wife “Susanah Roots, aged about forty-eight years…”

Their son, Jonathan Rootes, aged about thirteen years, affirmed…” Among those who testified were Abigell Stone, Jr., Abigall Ston, Jr., John Lovet, Jr., and Bethiah Lovet (Sussanah’s daughter).”

That same day, Susanna first appears on record: Susanah Roots, aged about fifty-three years, Mary, wife of Heugh Woodbery, aged about forty-eight years, and Sarah Roots, aged about twenty-four years, deposed that about two months ago they saw Mary, wife of Samuell Harres and Tabitha Slew carry a parcel of small linen into Samuell Harris’ house.

Five years later, in the spring of 1683, Josiah Rootes passed away. He named Susanna as the executrix of his will and stipulated, “…my loveing wife Susanna [have] the use & improvement of all my small estate, what ever untill such time, as my son Jonathan cometh to the age…” and if she did not remarry, “[Jonathan] shall pay unto her, his said mother eight pounds, [yearly] duerring the terme of her widdowhood, or her natural life, and let her have the use of the west end of my now dwellinghouse, of a bed, beding, her firewood brought to the doare [door].”

For the period, this is an appropriate provision for a wife who worked land, maintained a household, bore and nurtured six children. Josiah’s specification that Susanna have the sunny west-facing room with cozy bed and fire burning is lovely and fitting after 40 years of toil at his side. –Poor Irish & Pilgrims. New World Shoots from Old World Roots. 

Inventory of the estate of Josiah Roots of Beverly, who deceased June 3, 1683, taken by Samuel Corning, sr., and Andrew Elliott: one coverlaide, lOs.; 1 bed ticking, iSs.; coverlaide, ili.; 4 yards of red Cloth at 6s. per yard, 21i. 4s.; 7 yards of Lining Cloth, ili. 8s.; 4 yards of Dowless, 8s.; 4 yards and 1-2 of kerzey, ili. 6d.; New England money, 71i. 8s.; old England money, 16s., 81i. 4s.; 2 yards of broad Cloth, ili. 2s.; 1 yard & 1-2 of broad Cloth, 18s.; 2 yards and 1 quarter of Red Cloth, 155.; 1 Carpet, lOs.; 11 yards of sarge, 21i. 4s.; 7 yards of white Cotten, 14s.; 1 Chest, 2s. and his woolling wearing Cloths, 51i. 5s.; and his wearing Linning, ili. lOs.; 61i. 17s.; 6 yards of kerzey, ili. 16s.; 4 yards and a quarter of kerzie, 31i. is. 6d.; 3 yards of Lining Cloth, 55. & 1 hatt, 45. 9s.; 8 pair of sheets for beding, 41i.; bed and its belongings, 41i. lOs.; 1 bed and 2 bed steads with other furniture, 5 li.; 1 bed with its furniture, 21i. lOs., and other Lumber, 31i.; 3 chests, ili. 2s.; 1 Table and 3 Joint stooles, 1 Table, 18s.; Cushions, 6s.; 1 Little Table, 4s. 21i. lOs.; 2 Chairs, 3s.; pewter, 21i.; brass & Iron, ili. 13s., 31i. 13s.; I Cart & wheels, plowghs & plowgh tackell, 41i.; 1 sled & 4 axes, 6s.; 3 hoes, 3s. 9s.; barrell, Tubs and other Lumber, 12s.; 3 other Tubs, 2s. & 2 spades, 55. 7s.; 1 horse, 2li. lOs.; parcel of shingles, ili. 55., 31i. 155.; 10 thousand of shingle nailes, ili. 105.; 2 oxen, 71i. & 4 Cows at 121i., 19 Ii., 2 Steeres, 41i. los.; 19 Sheep & Lambs at 3 Ii. 19s., 81i. 9s.; houses, land and orchard, 2601i.; 6 Acres of meadow, 301i.; 5 swine, lOs. per, 21i. lOs.; total, 3841i. 19s. Several debts, 191i. 8s. 3d.

In his will dated 15 May 1683, Josiah Rootes, “of the town of Beverly,” leaves his entire estate to his son Jonathan, after settling legacies for his other children, Bethiah, John, and Thomas. He entrusts the management of his estate to his wife Susanna, whom he appoints as executrix until Jonathan reaches adulthood. After Jonathan comes of age, he is responsible for his mother’s support as long as she remains unmarried.~~ George Francis Dow, Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, IX: 66. 67.

On June 26, 1683, Susanna Roots, now a widow, renounced her role as the executor of her husband’s will in a Salem court. She stated that she had “many weaknesses and infirmities of old age” and, therefore, could not serve as executor.

The court appointed John Hill and Nehemiah Grover to bring in an inventory as soon as possible, and the inventory was sworn to on 6 July 1683. (Andrew Elliot, who would, in 1692, accuse Susanna Rootes of witchcraft, was one of the appraisers).~~ George Francis Dow, Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, VIII: 66, 6

Nine years later, as she approached her 70th year, she found herself being taken to Boston and thrown into jail with irons on a charge of witchcraft, which carried a sentence of death.

Accusing neighbors of theft in a close-knit community is a serious matter. It’s possible that friends of William and Mary Hoars, Mary Harres, and Tabitha Slew held a grudge against the Rootes family, or they might have been jealous of the Rootes’ wealth, leading to the accusations.

                         (Warrant for Arrest of Susannah Roots )

Salem May 21-1692

To the Constables of Beverly.

Whereas Complaint hath been this day made before us, by Sergent Thomas Puttnam and John Puttnam: both of Salem village yeomen against Susannah Roots of Beverly widdow for sundry acts of witchcrafft by her Commited on the bodys of Mary wallcott Abigal williams Marcy Lewis Ann Puttnam and others.

You are therfore in their Majesties names hereby Required to apprehend and forthwith bring before us Susannah Roots of Beverly widdow, who stands charged with Committing Sundry acts of witchcraft as aboves’d to the wrong and Injury of the bodys of the above-named Persons, in order to her Examination Relateing to the aboves’d Premises faile not Dated Salem May the 21’st 1692

John Hathorne

Jonathan. Corwin

[Pbar ]r order of the Govener & Councell

To the Marshall of Essex or his Deputy vera Copia attest

May 21 — 1692

*Geor: Herrick Marshall of Essex

I doe apoint mr Jonathan Biles to bee my Lawffull Deputy to serve this warrant

*Geo: Herrick Marshall of Essex

(Reverse) I have prosecutted the within written warant and have apprehended the person of the within mentioned Suzannah Roots and Brought her befour awthority. 23: may 1692

By me *Jonathan Biles Constible of Beverly

( Essex County Archives, Salem — Witchcraft Vol. 1 Page 133 )

( Andrew Elliott v. Susannah Roots )

An information if it might be any help in the examination of the person before you goode Roots I being in the house of Mr Laurence Denni’s some time since she was suspected for what shee is now before you & there was Likewise Leonard Austen of our Town of Beverly s’d Austen then s’d that he thought she was a bad woman, his reason was that he Living in the house with s’d Roots not Long since and when he went to prayer at any time with his wife & thought s’d Roots would acompany them in s’d Duty but Did not at any time but would withdraw & absent herselfe: & further when my self were gone to bed & she unto her bed. she would rise in the night & we Could hear her talk in the roome below I lying in the Chamber over s’d roome as if there #[there] were: 5: or six persons with her more s’d Austen might speak if caled thereunto as far as know more concer[n]ing Roots

*Andrew Eliott
(Reverse)
Andrew Elliot ag’t G. Roots
( Essex County Archives, Salem — Witchcraft Vol. 1 Page 133 )
Complaint Letter

Susannah was eventually released, but while she was in prison, her grandson John Lovett III visited her and gave the following deposition about his conversation with Dorcas Hoar, another prisoner:

The depersision of John Lovet aged about 25 years this deponant tetifieth & say that he the s’d deponant sume time in June last past went into the prisan to see my gran mother then goodee hore asked me the s’d. deponant whether I knew of any witnesses that would Come in or be brought in against hear.&.I the s’d deponant told her I did not know of any and then the s’d. hore asked me whether goodman witreg would not Come in against her about his Cow I the s’d debonant tould the s’d whore I did believe he Would the s’d whore replyed she did not know that he had ara Cow, furder saith not 

Supposedly Susannah was released due to insufficient evidence but died less than a month later.   Susannah ended up in the care of Ambrose Gale after Josiah died since she had no known family members who survived her. However, the arrangement was not without a business-like aspect. In June of 1684, the court ordered that Susannah’s inheritance should be given to Gale to reimburse him for expenses. It was agreed that with the transfer of her assets, Gale would care for her for the rest of her life. (Note: Susannah was the mother of Ambrose Gale’s deceased son-in-law, Thomas Rootes, husband of Elizabeth Gale.   Not much is known about how she died.  Maybe her decline in health and the conditions in jail made her too weak. 

A student essay submitted in the UK states an interesting theory:

“Some of the witches like Susannah Roots were also accused for entertaining people late at night or adultery, but just because they did those kinds of things did not mean they were looking for power or attention from the whole town, but from the people they did it with. What we know now that did not know then is that the accused must have had been sick in some way or form. We can conclude this with the fact that the symptoms of witchery are the same symptoms as the Encephalitis Epidemic that accrued in the early 1900s to the mid-1900s.” https://www.ukessays.com/essays/history/salem-witch-craft-hysteria-history-essay.php

The entire case of the Witch Trials can be found here for anyone interested.

By the way, dear family members.  This is on the Logan side of the family.

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Essential Tips for Correctly Recording Names in Genealogy:

A Beginner’s Guide

Have you ever looked at other family trees online? I have, and they are pretty interesting. You can certainly tell the beginners from someone who has been doing it a long time. I am not judging, not harshly, anyway, because I was a beginner, too.

If people use the trees only for aesthetic value, they can insert their ancestors’ names in the way they like. However, if you are using an online service and expecting hints or assistance from DNA matches, it’s essential to input names and dates correctly.

Here are the rules for correctly recording names in genealogy.

USE WOMEN’S MAIDEN NAMES. Always enter a woman’s maiden name if you have it (her surname at birth) in parentheses on a written/typed chart or a database’s last name field. When you do not know a female’s maiden name, insert her first and middle name on the chart, followed by empty parentheses (). For example, to record Sara Elizabeth, whose maiden name is unknown and who is married to John ROWAN, write “Sara Elizabeth ()” or “Sara Elizabeth () ROWAN.” When using a database such as Ancestry, MyHeritage, or Family Search, use the maiden name in the last name field. If you do not know the maiden name, leave it blank.

UNKNOWN NAMES. Do not put “LNU,” (Last Name Unknown), “UNK,” (Unknown), “MNU,” (Middle or Maiden Name Unknown) as these databases do not pick those up as you mean them. UNK is an absolute last name in Dutch. LNU is Vietnamese (Lưu) from the Chinese surname 劉 in central and southern Vietnam. It is the Chinese variant of Lu or Liu. When it comes to names you do not know, you accept that you do not know it and leave the field blank or use () on a typed or written chart.

NAMES IN SEARCH ENGINES.

🌱Ancestry: For better search results, provide more information for the search engine to match against. For example, specifying a middle name like “Lemuel” can help narrow down results when searching for someone with a common name like “John Smith.” There are fewer John Lemuel Smiths globally than John Smiths. Ancestry automatically considers common nicknames, abbreviations, and alternate spellings. An example of their tips is that a search for “Bill Smith” could also return results for “William Smith,” “Wm Smith,” “Bill Smyth,” or “B. Smith.” An exact name match is the most relevant, followed by common misspellings, nicknames, and other variations. Remember that names can be misspelled or mistranscribed in original records or indexes, so looking for alternate spellings may lead to the right match despite the name appearing incorrect.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👧🔎Family Search: They state, “The more of a surname you type as a search term, the smaller the results list will be. Since many surnames have spelling variations, you may want to broaden your search. To do this, you can type only part of the surname. (Or truncating your search.) For example, if you type “Newcombe” as your search term, the computer will find only that spelling of the name. However, if you type “Newcom” as your search term, the computer will find any surname that begins with those letters, including Newcom, Newcomb, Newcome, Newcombe, and so forth.”

👤👥My Heritage: When typing in the name in their fields, advanced options appear and allows you to specify whether you want an exact match, whether to include spelling variations, matching initials, and so on.

🚨The critical takeaway is to take a few minutes at the beginning of your search and learn how the particular database search functions. Most sites have a tips section.

RECORD NAMES IN THEIR NATURAL ORDER.—first, middle, last (surname/maiden name). Using full names whenever possible makes lineage easier to trace. If a middle name is unknown, you may use an initial if you have one. Write names just as they appear on a birth certificate or spoken aloud upon introduction; no commas are necessary.

LAST NAMES. In the computer world, typing in all capital letters is considered yelling. Most genealogists choose to print surnames in all capital letters. Capitalizing the last name is a matter of preference rather than correctness. However, capitalized last names make it easier to read and distinguish surnames from first and middle names on family trees and in publications.

NICKNAMES AND ALTERNATE NAMES. Most databases have a separate field for nicknames or “also known as” names. You should not put them in the main name fields. If using written or typed charts, include them in quotes after the first given name. If the nickname is customary (i.e., Dan for Daniel), it is unnecessary to record it because only more unique nicknames need to be written (i.e., Esther “Hettie” HAWK.) If a person is known by multiple names, perhaps due to adoption or a non-marital name change, include all alternate names in parentheses after the surname on charts or a written tree. Clarify this with an “a.k.a.”, also known as, before the full alternate name, so that anyone reading your chart understands that the following is an alternate name. An example is Johann Leopold SCHWITTKOWSKI (a.k.a. John Paul HENNIG). Record it even when parts of the name are the same.

ALTERNATE SPELLINGS. When researching your ancestor’s surname, consider alternate spellings, particularly if the spelling has changed throughout time. There are several reasons why a last name might have been altered, such as illiteracy. It was common for ancestors who could not read or write to spell their last name phonetically, based on how it sounds, and this often led to slight variations between generations. When documenting surname usage, start with the earliest known usage, followed by all later known variations. For example, as in my family tree, you would write John LOGEN/LOGGAN/LOGAN or Johann SCHWITTKOWSKI/ HENNIG.

MAKE NOTES. Most databases have a place where you can insert notes. When recording names in your family tree, write notes or use the notes field. Specify unusual or confusing details for clarity. For instance, if a female ancestor’s maiden name is the same as her husband’s surname, briefly note why you have entered the same last name twice for her. Explaining prevents others from assuming it’s a mistake and helps them understand its reasoning.

Adhering to these straightforward guidelines ensures that your genealogical data is sufficiently clear for others to comprehend.

💁‍♀️EXTRA TIP: Are you finding the best search results for locating your ancestors? Did you know that misspellings and transcription errors limit your search? Unsure about the spelling of your ancestor’s names in records?

It’s time to try a wildcard search!

One of the best search secrets is using wildcard characters like “*” or “?” to substitute for letters you don’t know or are unsure of. When you use these characters in a search, it instructs the search engine (such as Google or Ancestry) to consider any letter in that position as a match.

Before using the genealogy wildcard search, remember that “*” replaces zero to multiple characters, while “?” replaces just one character. Read the search tips section for the database you use for their wildcard characters.

Read my tips and tricks on Maximizing Your Genealogy Research with Google: Proven Strategies for Effective Online Searches for your family history research.

📸Microsoft Designer AI

Maximizing Your Genealogy Research with Google: Proven Strategies for Effective Online Searches

Google is a valuable tool for genealogy research, providing access to various resources and information. Here are some tips for using Google for genealogy:

Specify Your Search

Identify what you want to find. Formulate your question to Google just as you would to a research librarian or archivist.

Use Search Operators

  • Use quotation marks to find exact matches. (You don’t need to put around the whole sentence. For instance, Where is the “National Dairy” in “Butte”)
  • The word “AND” includes multiple words or phrases.  How do you tell the search engine that you want to find Web sites that contain references to Keyword A and Keyword B? (Coal and Mines)
  • The word “OR” combines searches. It is beneficial for finding synonyms or related concepts. Using “OR” allows you to conduct multiple similar searches simultaneously, saving time.
  • Placing a tilde character (~) immediately in front of the keyword. asks Google to find pages with the word or words similar to it. The resulting pages for ~genealogy may include genealogy, family tree, roots, ancestry, heritage, vital records, or other words.
  • Use the minus sign (-) to eliminate keywords. The minus sign is just a hyphen in front of a term you want to have excluded from the search results. For example, if you were looking for a salsa recipe, you might search for salsa and discover multiple definitions. There’s the dance. There’s the music. Don’t forget the food. By using -dancing or -music, we can focus solely on salsa recipes: salsa -dance -music. Or, if you do not want onions, add -onions.
  • Don’t use “stop words.” Google often ignores small, commonly occurring words, such as ‘the,’ ‘at,’ and ‘of,’ and refers to them as stop words. When we search The Great Wall of China, we get about 471,000,000 results. By searching Great Wall China, we get about 815,000,000 results. And if we use the parenthesis around “The Great Wall of China,” we only get about 5,570,000 results.  
  • Use 3-5 keywords for the most relevant results in a search query. Using too many keywords will limit your results.

Google Alerts

Google Alerts enables you to set up multiple keyword searches to track specific information for free. It allows you to monitor any keyword or phrase you like without manually entering it.

Use Google Maps

Select a location and then use the “find businesses” tab to identify points of interest like churches, cemeteries, and historical societies. You can also see the surrounding areas.

Use Google Earth

Discover your ancestors’ hometowns, see how they look today, and locate nearby buildings, schools, and churches. You can also utilize Google Earth Pro to generate personalized maps of your ancestors’ surroundings. Click and drag the image to take a virtual walk down the street where your ancestors once lived.

Use Google Images

Google Image Search will display photos with a brief title and website address when searching for ancestors’ names, surnames, or places they lived, including nicknames or abbreviations. It provides exact matches and visually similar images based on your uploads and critical phrases. Clicking on a result will bring up a pop-up with more details about the image, potential copyright status, and a gallery of related photos.

You may also want to try Google’s Reverse Image search. This technique uses a photo rather than text to search Google.  

To perform a reverse image search on Google, follow these steps:

1. Go to Google.com and click the “Images” link in the upper right corner.

2. Click on the camera icon in the search box.

3. You can drag and drop a photo from your computer onto the Google Search page or click “Upload” to select an image from your computer or mobile device.

4. Review the search results page for the related images and information.

Use Google Photos

You can create, edit, and add maps and text to your photo albums, containing up to 20,000 photos or videos. You can organize your albums by family, surname, individual, or event and label them with relevant information.

Google Books (One of my favorites!)

You may already know that Google Books will keyword search within billions of pages of text in published books worldwide. Some of these books are even available to read on the site. Searching Google Books can lead you to facts, stories, new sources for your research, and even images. I’ve found many ancestors this way.

Google News Archive

Google News Archive is no longer actively digitizing and indexing newspapers. However, it can still help you find online content for specific newspapers. You can access an alphabetical listing of newspapers and enter keyword searches in the search box on the webpage for all the newspapers listed there.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar is the go-to resource for accessing scholarly articles, theses, dissertations, and other academic sources. It specializes in searching for high-level academic content. You can find specialized content on Google Scholar, such as biographies of little-known ministers or histories of small towns.

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Image created with Microsoft Designer AI

William Bean- Trans-Appalachian Pioneer; Longhunter (Logan Family)

There is much information on the World Wide Web regarding my ancestor, William Bean.  His is a fascinating story of pioneering strength.  He was the husband of Lydia Russell; I mentioned her in my blog, Native American Heritage.  You can read of her capture by the Cherokee and her freedom by Nanyehi (Cherokee: “One who goes about”), known in English as Nancy Ward.  It is rumored that Lydia’s nephew, Lewis (Louis) Russell, son of George, married (or had relations with) a Cherokee, which produced descendants.  But I digress…

William was born on 09 Dec 1721 in St. Stephens Parish, Northumberland, Virginia, and was baptized there.

Will Bean Baptismal Record_LI

He married Lydia Russell in 1744.  Before leaving Virginia, William was a captain in the Virginia Militia and a Revolutionary War Veteran.  Before settling in Tennessee, he settled in Pittsylvania (Danville) County, Virginia.

They were the first “white” settlers in Tennessee.   Some say the first “European-American settlers.”  William was of Scottish descent, and Lydia was of English descent.

William was a longhunter.  He was also friends with fellow longhunter Daniel Boone.

Daniel Boone
Longhunter with dead deer

Daniel Boone                             Longhunter with a dead deer

Longhunters were explorers and hunters in the 1760s who went on expeditions for about six months into the wilderness of the American frontier.  As was William Bean and his friend, Daniel Boone.  They may have met by being agents for Richard Henderson, a land speculator who later played an essential role in the early settlement of Tennessee.

1769, Bean moved his family (5 to 8 children) from Virginia to Tennessee.  There, they cleared land and built a cabin close to the junction of Boone’s Creek (just above the mouth of the creek) and the Watauga River, near what is today Johnson City, Tennessee.  Bean camped here with Boone and was familiar with the country.   He liked the secluded part of the land where he built his cabin.  It was hidden from the river by high rock formations and thick overgrowth.  The creek provided plenty of water from the springs.  The cabin was concealed from Indians who might pass by on the river, and the mouth of the creek was marked by a large waterfall, which kept boats from entering the creek.  The spot around Bean’s cabin became known as the Watauga settlement.

William and Lydia were now the first permanent white settlers in Tennessee.  Their son, Russell, was the first white child born in Tennessee.  Most of William’s siblings, as did Lydia’s brothers, George and John Russell, joined him.  You can read more about this area, the Beans, the Russells, and the settlement at The Overmountain Men by Pat Aldermen.

https://amzn.to/2Yf9KK6

Bean Cabin_Artist's ConceptionWoman Settlers

William is said to have been “a man of parts,” a substantial landowner in Pittsylvania County. Members of the Bean family were prominent in civil and military affairs in the Watauga Valley for many years. The colony was outside of any governmental control, so they founded the Watauga Association.  William served in the Revolutionary War from 1776 to 1780 as a Captain in the Watauga Riflemen. At the Battle of Kings Mountain, it is rumored that Captain Bean and his men scattered a band of Tories and hanged nine.

Source: Notable Southern Families, Volume 2

William Bean was one of the first patentees of the land leased from the Indians by Charles Robertson as trustee for the settlers and later secured by treaty. His name is found to the petition for annexation to North Carolina, which is in the archives at Raleigh, and was received by messenger August 22, 1776.

At the end of the Revolutionary War, William Bean was granted 3000 acres of land for his outstanding service. He decided on a piece of land in what is now Grainger County Tennessee.

William Bean was also a businessman; he built Bean Station at a significant crossroads. William built the Bean Tavern, outside of the fort, the largest tavern between Washington D. C. and New Orleans. Travelers coming from all over stopped there on their excursions. It was a bustling crossroads for the surrounding settlements in East Tennessee.

Interesting Note: Abraham Lincoln’s mother was a waitress at the Bean Station Tavern.  And Davey Crockett traveled there as well.

This is a beautiful video of the history of Bean Station.  It is only 7:49 minutes long but packed with information!  I highly recommend viewing it.

To read more, visit Grainger TN History


https://amzn.to/2OlSqyu

Source: Notable Southern Families, Volume 2

https://amzn.to/2Yjoyat 

Like Daniel Boone, his old friend and companion, Captain Bean “did not like to be crowded”. He had helped blaze the Boone trail and watched emigrants settle upon the Watauga and Holston until they numbered perhaps a thousand people, then he began to look around for a home with more latitude, and where game was more plentiful. It is a family tradition that he selected the site of Bean station because of the gap in the mountain, and because of the sulphur springs, and salt licks, which latter attracted deer and other game.

Captain Bean erected Bean Station about the year 1778. Since he had grandchildren at this date, he could no longer be considered a young man, but as this is the year of his activities against the Tories it will be seen that he was still very active in frontier military affairs. The fort is said to have been strongly built and well defended, when occasion necessitated, by the few families who settled in its proximity.

The number of years that pioneer families lived in fear and suffered the atrocities from the Indians is shown by the massacre of Jane Bean, a daughter of Captain William Bean, twenty-one years after the family had moved to Bean Station.

Jane Bean had gone to a nearby spring for the purpose of doing a washing when Indians hidden in a cedar thicket jumped out, killed and scalped her. The grave may yet be seen in the rear of a barn near the public road, and is marked with a rough stone bearing the inscription, “Jane Bean, Nov. 12, 1799,” now on the place of Mr. Ethelbert Williams, once part of the estate of the Cobbs at Tate.

The only remaining daughter of Captain Bean of whom we have record is Sarah, who became the wife of John Bowen, brother of the brave Lieutenant Reece Bowen, whose death is so graphically described by Mr. Draper in “Kings Mountain and It’s Heroes”.

https://amzn.to/2Ty3fi8

There are many interesting traditions extant in this branch of the family of the early days at Bean Station.

The story goes that “on the day preceding the marriage of Sarah Bean, when all plans had been made for the celebration, John Bowen was called away to assist in quelling an Indian uprising, and the wedding had to be postponed”. Two weeks later, however, the wedding took place and after the culmination of the ceremony the groom took his bride to his cabin five miles distant from the station.

The honeymoon was spent in continuous trepidation and fear of the Indians, who at this particular time either through real or imaginary grievances against encroachments and broken faith of the settlers, were stealing into every settlement, massacring and plundering.

In the early morning Sarah Bowen would take her pail, and while her husband stood guard in the doorway with his gun, hasten to the spring for water.

One night Sarah and John Bowen were awakened by a stealthy and suggestive tapping outside the door. They arose, armed themselves with hatchet and gun and awaited the moment of attack.

Moments and hours passed and nothing more alarming transpired than the same suggestive Tap! Tap! Tap!

With dawn, the mystery of the delayed attack was solved. While dipping candles on the doorstep, Mrs. Bowen had spilled some of the tallow, which had attracted a gander one of several that Mrs. William Bean had brought her daughter the same day that she might collect feathers for a new feather tick!

When Indian danger threatened and Mr. Bowen was off on duty, one of Sarah Bean’s brothers would hasten for her, forcing her to jump astride the horse behind him, a feat shocking to the modesty, but necessary in the emergency, and dash away with her to the protection of the fort.

From David Crockett: The Lion of the West
By Michael Wallis

https://amzn.to/2YhHqa4

One of Crockett’s good friends was old Major Russell’s son, George, the namesake of his uncle Captain George Russell, who followed his brother-in-law, William Bean, to Tennessee in 1770 and was promptly killed by Indians while on a hunting trip near his home at German Creek.

Lydia (Ancestor #: A132561), William (Ancestor #: A008045), and Bean Station are listed in the DAR Genealogical Research Database.

William died four months after he made his will on 06 Jan 1782.

William Bean's Will

william-beans-will-translated.jpg

His descendants are many and all over the country.  Descendants lived in Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Louisiana, and elsewhere.

As always, please do let me know if you see any discrepancies or errors.  Thanks for reading!

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A Video Through Time: Ruby Louise Chapman Wescott

My MeMa, my great-grandmother, Ruby Louise Chapman Wescott through the years.

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Martha “Mattie” Lee Chapman

Martha “Mattie” Lee Chapman was born on this day in 1888. She was my great-grandmother’s sister, so my great-grandaunt.

She married Charles Hobdy Forbes at the age of 21 in Norfolk, VA. Her last year of schooling was when she was a freshman in high school. She was a housewife, a mother of two, and a member of First Baptist Church in Norfolk. Her husband was a barber and owned his own shop by 1930.

She had a fractured hip, which the coroner put as the main reason for her death, but generalized arteriosclerosis “contributed” to her death three weeks later. Her daughter died a year before her death.

There were many references to Mattie from my great-grandmother, so I presumed them to be very close.

Stay tuned for more blogs regarding the Chapman family coming soon.

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Behind the Scenes With Loganalogy

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

Spring has sprung, and soon the yard will start bursting with new growth and the flowers with new buds. My other passion is gardening, or ‘yardening’ as I call it. I love getting out in the fresh air and enjoying what nature offers. It is excellent for my mental health, tending to plants, bees, pollinators, and birds.

But I love researching my ancestry too. Lately, I’ve been dabbling and making headway into some ancestors who have been sitting on my branches waiting to be explored. I proved a so-called family myth: “Wild Bill” Hickox William Hickox- 1608-1645 (Logan Family) was related to my Hickok line. I also connected him to his 4th great-grandmother, who was accused of being one of the Salem witches. Warrant for Arrest of Susannah Roots (Logan Family).

FamilySearch has this “Are We Related?” feature where you can see if you are related to famous people or others you follow in social media groups, etc. One thing they don’t really explain to the novices of the genealogy world is that the accuracy is only as good as the tree it is based on. When you place your tree on FamilySearch, anyone can change it anytime. This is because the premise behind FamilySearch’s trees is to have one shared tree.

This is not meant to be your private working tree. It is one public tree where anyone can provide input and collaborate. But, because not everyone understands this, things get changed and deleted without information. In other words, when you click on the “Are We Related?” feature, beware! You may not be related at all. I spent several weekends digging into several of these so-called relations. Most were untrue because of the wrong information in the tree, but a couple of them were correct, which was pretty exciting.

Do not get me wrong, I love FamilySearch for its immense repository of free information compiled and maintained by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Their records are second to none! I highly recommend using their records for your genealogy research.

Several years ago, I wrote about my 9th great grandfather, a Scottish POW, John MacBean – Scottish POW (Logan Family). A few weeks ago, as I was dabbling in my tree, I discovered that his daughter married his POW friend, John Sinclair, making them my 8th great-grandparents. Sinclair evidently comes from the noble St. Clair family of Roslin, Scotland. And, as intermarriage goes, John MacBean’s grandson married John Sinclair’s granddaughter.

I also researched my Coffyn/Steven’s line, which stems from my Convicted of High Treason! Oh No, 9th Great Grandfather! (Logan Family) Gove family. Dionis Stevens was part of the Great Migration to New England and arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1642. She was quite the businesswoman. More on her after some more research.

Things have also been changing in my personal life, giving me more time for gardening and family history. In a couple of months, I will be going part-time. I’ve been working towards this goal for a while now. It is exciting and scary at the same time. This means you’ll be hearing more from me, I hope.

Until then, keep researching your own family tree. As always, let me know if I can help.

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Working the Dead Ends

If you’re reading this hoping to get great clues on finding your brick walls, do not get too excited. I do have a few for you, though. 

Today, I searched for more of my dead ends using techniques taught to me by fellow family historians and professional genealogists. They provide some great tips and websites for research.  

One such tip is to get the most out of Google™ searches using “Boolean Operators.” Here are some examples.

From the Southern Adventist University

Some others are:

*

Acts as a wildcard and will match any word or phrase.

Example: christmas*trees 

( )

Group multiple terms or search operators to control how the search is executed.

Example: (Christmas OR trees) decorations

$

Search for prices. Also works for Euro (€), but not GBP (£) 🙁

Example: Samsung $329

define:

A dictionary built into Google. 

Example: define:entrepreneur

cache:

Returns the most recent cached version of a web page (an old version of a web page) (provided the page is indexed, of course).

Example: cache:samsung.com

site:

Limit results to those from a specific website.

Example: site:samsung.com

related:

Find sites linked to a given domain.

Example: related:samsung.com

intitle:

Find pages with a specific word (or words) in the title. In our example, any results containing the word “Samsung” in the title tag will be returned.

Example: intitle:Samsung

allintitle:

Similar to “intitle,” only results containing all the specified words in the title tag will be returned.

Example: allintitle:Samsung android

Another excellent search tool in my research has been Google Books.

  • Go to Google search
  • Type a surname or subject and hit enter
  • Click on the “More” menu
  • Click on “Books.”
  • You can leave the search as is or click on “Any Books”
  • Then click on “Google EBooks” to search for books online.
  • Again, you can use the above Boolean Operators here.    

I used these techniques today, searching for brick walls of mine and some of my clients, family, and friends. I was able to find some information that may help, but I have many names that stump me at the moment. Here is just a sample of my particular toughies:

Abigail Soper (cannot find proof of last name)

Daniel Logan’s marriage record to the above Abigail

Margaret Johnson Carr 

Letitia Porterfield and John Rowan

John McMahan and Margaret Hargrove

Horace Case (could be John Horace Case)  

Himan Chapman and his wife, Ann

Kezia(h), who married Isaac Burns

Williams Morrison and Christina Spiker

Charles William Davis and Eliza Wake’s parents

Jožef Fugina

Katharina Ilić 

Andreas Henning 

Maria Kriese

Franz Sierotzki’s family

Josephine(a) Tesmer

Jesse Decatur Simmons (researching for my uncle) 😉 

There are many more, but these are my frustrating names now. I hope those searching these same names will find this blog, and we can collaborate.

 I have many emails to different historical societies, churches, and county clerks trying to gather information or possible avenues for me to search.  

Another great tool to find older, archived items is https://archive.org/.

For instance, go to that website and type in the search engine “Wood County, Ohio.” You get 1,147 results! Once you click a book or similar, you can then search inside the book itself.  

And, always, always work sideways! Research the siblings, the aunts, the uncles, and cousins. You will be amazed at what you can find. You can even find others who are researching the same family.  

So, do not give up. Keep trying and dig, dig, dig. I have broken many brick walls. It has sometimes taken years, but it happened.  

To all those reading, have a Merry Christmas, Festivus, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Boxing Day, Ōmisoka, or any other holiday you celebrate. Make beautiful memories together, and write them down for your descendants while you’re at it!

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Getting The Most Out Of Your Family History Research

To get the most out of your family history takes time. You need to research and verify facts and sources. Sometimes you need to order documents. But, what you get out of it is so much more than the time and money you spend. It helps you to understand your family members a little bit more, and it may just help you to understand yourself a bit too.

And, don’t underestimate your children. As I explained in my Family History for Children blog, children are very curious and avid learners of their history. A good age, in my opinion, is about 4th grade.

There are many online programs out there to help you find records but do not ignore the many other outlets that can help you. I have reached out to many other researchers and genealogists in the past to help guide me in the right direction. Some I have hired to look up documents for me in a place I was not able to go to myself. Also, see my post on using Facebook to help you in your research.

Maybe you are not curious enough about your family roots to spend hours digging through historical databases. That is where Family History Researchers like myself can help.

At www.loganalogy.com, there are many ways in which I can assist you in your family history research. I not only blog about my ancestors and family research in general, but I also offer other services.

An online genealogy basics class, I provide one-on-one tutoring as well as group tutoring in the Florida, online consultations, and I offer my Family History Research Specialist service.

So, visit me at www.loganalogy.com today, and let’s build something together! 

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