Non-Eligable Ancestors

     I'm sort of in a holding pattern right now with my DAR application: I'm waiting for the next meeting while the registrar works on my application.  Meanwhile, I went on a vacation to Colonial Williamsburg, a historically preserved town set in 1776.  I learned a lot about what life was like in the early days of the American Revolution.  In part, I have a better understanding of why many folks choose to remain loyal to the British Crown.  Sure, you didn't feel like you were being treated fairly by your government, but was it bad enough to go to war and face an unknown future?

     On the way home, I visited the Kings Mountain National Battlefield Park, where I learned that citizens of South Carolina were strongly divided on the issue.  Odds are, if you can trace your ancestor back to that time and place, your ancestors were Loyalists.  Mine were.

     The books "Loyalists in the Southern Campaign, Vol I, II, III" are great sources for finding Loyalist ancestors.  The first ancestor that I found was my 5th Great Grandfather, Barnet Bernard Hyler (aka Hiller, Hoiler, Hoyler, etc).  Thanks to his fairly unique name he was pretty easy to identify.  From this book, I know that he was a "prisoner with rebels" while his unit was mustered in Savannah in December of 1779.  I'd love to find out more information on where, when and how he became a prisoner.  I do know, however, that he was back serving again from February through June of 1781.

     I also might have 5th Great-Grandfather, John Meetze.  He is listed with an Orangeburgh militia, along with a Christopher Meetze, which was his father's name.   I'm still looking, but wouldn't be surprised to find more Loyalist ancestors.  I hope I might be able to find out more about them as people and understand their choice.

Surname Saturday: B

   The following surnames belong to my direct line ancestors.  If you see a name that we have in common, please contact me.

• Barfield
• Sarah Barfield was my 3rd Great Grandmother, born in 1851 in Glascock County, Georgia.  There's no record of her before the birth of her children, and some researchers speculate the she was never married and that Barfield was her maiden name.  I think it's likely that it was her married name, though perhaps she did have children from other relationships after this theoretical husband died.
• Beasley
• Theodosia Beasley was my 7th Great Grandmother, born about 1744 in Orange County, Virginia.  She married John McMullen.
• Boatright
• John Boatright was my 7th Great Grandfather, born about 1680 in Virginia.  This line migrated down to Emanuel County, Georgia. 
• Boyd
• Mary Boyd migrated from Northern Ireland to South Carolina in 1767 with her husband, Samuel Armstrong.  The family slowly moved across the state and settled in Abbeville County.
• Braswell
• Kindred Braswell was born about 1740 in South Carolina and eventually lived in Burke and Emanuel Counties in Georgia. 
• Britt
• William Britt was born about 1825 in Edgefield County, South Carolina.  He married three times, moving his family down through Georgia and settling in Emanuel County.
• Burkhalter
• William Burkhalter was born about 1746 in Chatham County, Georgia.  He moved with his family to Edgefield County, South Carolina.
• Busbee
• Rebecca Busbee was the second wife of Armistead Parish.  She was born about 1824 and lived with her family in Edgefield County, South Carolina.

The Problem with Ancestry.com's "Public" Member Trees

     Over the past few weeks, I've seen an uptick in the number of emails I've received regarding DNA matches.  This is great, but it's reminded me of a problem with Ancestry.com's "Public" Member Trees: they are behind a pay-wall.

     Three of the recent emails I've received have sent me to Ancestry.com to find their trees.  None of the sent me a link to those trees, which makes the trees difficult or impossible to find.  But then, even if I do find the tree, I can't access it.  The only people who can access the "Public" trees on Ancestry.com are people with subscriptions.  Right now, that's not me.

     I then ask that the DNA match send me an invite to their tree and usually have to send them step-by-step instructions on how to do so.

     I strongly suggest that if you are doing DNA testing (with a non-Ancestry.com company) that you post your tree on your DNA profile.  So much easier for your matches to review your shared match!  If you are with Ancestry.com, please make your family tree Public.

     Now, DNA testing sites don't have the best family tree functions, so you could also upload your tree to another website.  If you aren't up for really maintaining a second tree, I recommend RootsWeb.  You can simply download a GedCom of your Ancestry.com tree and upload it to RootsWeb.  Every now and then you can update your RootsWeb tree by doing the same thing.  Then, you can send a link to your RootsWeb tree to your match.  Easy for everyone.

DAR Application Process Has Officially Begun

Gwinnett Historic Courthouse

     I had my meeting with the DAR Registrar and a member of the Lineage Committee today.  There was a little confusion over where we were meeting, but we were able to connect when she sent me an email with her phone number - I was at the top of the wrong staircase.

     As I wrote yesterday, I had prepared a binder with all of my documents proving lineage back to my patriot ancestor, John Cash (A020406), and had already sent in a pedigree chart.  The first thing the ladies wanted to know was whether this line connects with the singer, Johnny Cash, which it does (he's my third cousin, twice removed).

     The Registrar has looked up my ancestor in the DAR's Genealogical Research Database, where other members had joined through John's son, Moses (my 5th Great-Grandfather).  They had not, however, joined through Moses' daughter, Elizabeth (my 4th Great-Grandmother).  I paged through the binder I'd brought, browsing through each generation of death certificate, census records and wills, proving the lineage from myself to Elizabeth, and then Elizabeth to Moses.  

     The DAR ladies seemed very pleased with my records and, based upon the meeting, feel that I have everything that I need.  I left my binder with them, and they will start work on my application.  Apparently, I have to be voted in, but the way they mentioned this it seems like a technicality.  Also, because I'm under 36, I would be a junior member.  From some of what they said, I got the feeling that the DAR in general is short on junior members, who have certain rolls to fill within the society.  She said that they're a very active chapter, though didn't go into great detail on what all they are active with.

     And in a moment of genealogical serendipity, as we were discussing nearby research repositories, the Registrar mentioned a great map she found at one library.  The map included a road that lead to the property of one of her husband's Burkhalter ancestors.  I had to stop her there and bring up my Burkhalter ancestors, who were from the same area.  I haven't done a ton of research on this line, so I had to pull out my phone to look up the family, but it looks like I found a new cousin!

     The Registrar thinks that I could be a full member by the end of January.  I'm looking forward to moving forward with my application (though no so excited to part with the $150 in fees and dues) and plan to attend the next society meeting in January.

Tomorrow's Appointment

     I've been emailing the Registrar of the local Daughter of the American Revolution (DAR) Chapter and have set up an appointment to meet with her tomorrow morning at the local courthouse.  I've already emailed her my pedigree chart and decided to print out all of the documents that I have.  I had organized them in Evernote, but decided that I wanted to have a physical copy as well.

     I really hope that I already have the documents that I need.  When I started to get organized for the DAR application process, I realized that I was missing some records.  I've since sent off for a few of those, but the fees do add up.  Here's what I've got:

1. Myself
• birth certificate
2. Father
• birth certificate
• Mother
• marriage license
• birth certificate
3. Grandfather - Thomas S Craft
• amended birth certificate
• death certificate
• 1930 census (with parents)
• Grandmother - Sarah F Britt
• marriage license & certificate
• delayed birth certificate
• death certificate
• 1930 census (with parents)
4. Great Grandfather - B E Craft
• death certificate
• 1910 census (with parents)
• Great Grandmother - Sally Ruth Evans
• obituary (lists parents)
• 1910 census (with parents)
5. 2nd Great Grandfather - George "Bob" Craft
• 1870 & 1880 census (with parents, name variations)
• 2nd Great Grandmother - Effie Powell
• marriage license
• 1880 census (with parents)
6. 3rd Great Grandmother - Rossie Alexander
• 1850 & 1860 census (with parents, name variations)
• death certificate (father's name is wrong)
• 3rd Great Grandmother - William A Craft
• marriage license
• 1860 census (with parents)
7. 4th Great Grandmother - Elizabeth Cash
• 1850 census (with parents, initials only)
• father's will (lists her & husband)
• 4th Great Grandfather - George Alexander
• marriage license
• 1860 mortality census
• will (lists wife & children)
8. 5th Great Grandfather - Moses Cash
• will (lists wife and children)
• deed (lists father)
• father's will (lists children)
• 5th Great Grandmother - Nancy Hudson
• marriage license
9. 6th Great Grandfather - John Cash
• will (lists wife and children)
• pension file (gives service and BMD dates)
• deeds (lists son)
• 6th Great Grandmother - Lucy Campbell
• widow's pension (gives husband's service and BMD dates)