Rootsmithing: Genealogy, Methodology, and Technology

1. Andrew Martin Smith

2011-07-17T15:40:00.000-04:00

I thought it might be an interesting genealogical research experiment to post what I know about my direct ancestry, one person a day, using ahnentafel numbers.

For those who may not be familiar with the meaning of the word "ahnentafel", it literally means "ancestor table" in German, and refers to a numbering system for direct ancestry, where the beginning person (in this case, me), is "1", my father is "2", my mother is "3", and you get the earlier generations by doubling the number for the father and adding 1 to that number for the mother. Therefore, your paternal grandfather is 4, your paternal grandmother is 5, your maternal grandfather is 6, and your maternal grandmother is 7.

So if we begin with me, then this posting would discuss the fact that I was born in northern New Jersey, but my family moved to upstate South Carolina when I was 3, and then I moved to Tampa, Florida in 1990 to take a new job. I have a copy of my birth certificate, and lots of childhood photos, including a newspaper photo that was taken of me when I was only 2, as a result of a baby contest. I'll include that one below (in case you're wondering, I'm the kid in the sailor suit):

Google+ and Genealogy?

2011-06-28T16:39:00.002-04:00

Is the recently (a few hours ago?) announced Google+ going to be the next big social networking service (or set of services)?

And if so, how will that impact genealogists? I can see:

1. Circles consisting of your genealogy friends. (And circles for each of your groups of relatives.)

2. Genealogy hangouts (video chats)!

3. Using Sparks to locate cool new genealogy content.

4. And Huddle for impromptu genealogy discussions via text chat.

Did I leave anything out?

More about Mayor Kelly

2011-06-18T20:15:00.000-04:00

I looked again at the New York Times and got some details on his earlier life, based upon his first marriage and the death of that wife.

May 14, 1950 issue: He's elected president of the Essex County (NJ) Board of Taxation (he was already a commissioner), and identified as a real estate broker living in East Orange.

Jan 11, 1951 issue: Barbara Smith marries Edward A. Halligan, Jr. on January 10, and Halligan's sister is identified as Mrs. James W. Kelly, Jr. of East Orange. Kelly is listed as an usher.

April 24, 1951 issue: Mrs. Madelyn Halligan Kelly (his wife) dies at the age of 29 after an operation. Kelly is identified as president of the trucking concern of Ferris & Rossborough, Inc.

August 15, 1951 issue: James W. Kelly, Sr. dies at the age of 86, leaving sons James W. Kelly, Jr. and John F. Kelly, plus 7 daughters, 12 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren.

Jan 3, 1965 issue: Kelly, a widower, remarries, this time to Mrs. Margaret G. Marucci (a widow), an Essex County Freeholder.

Using this information, I was able to use Ancestry.com to find the wedding announcement for his first marriage (January 17, 1948). It identified one of his sisters as Anastacia Elizabeth Kelly, and said that James W. Kelly, Jr. had attended St. Benedict's Preparatory School, and had been a Naval Reserve lieutenant commander in the Pacific during World War II. Kelly's mother was already deceased.

Using Anastacia's name, I was able to locate James W. Kelly, Jr. in the 1920 census (West Orange) at the age of 12. This was the first actual evidence I had for his birth year. He also had sisters named Catherine (born about 1900), Agnes (born about 1902), Josephine (born about 1906 and apparently Anastacia's twin). His older brother John was born about 1896. This accounts for 4 of his 7 sisters, so next I looked at the 1910 census (James was the youngest of the children). This added sisters Margaret (born about 1898), Anna (born about 1894), and Mary (born about 1892).

Finding the siblings or his 2nd wife may help in figuring out what happened to him after 1970.

The mystery of former East Orange major James W. Kelly, Jr.

2011-06-18T15:44:00.001-04:00

My brother Jeff has begun a new blog about the elementary school he attended in East Orange, New Jersey, during the late 1950s: Stockton School. I'm enjoying seeing the photos and reading his postings about some of the people whom he went to school with or who taught there.

One of his more recent postings mentioned an occasion where he met the mayor of East Orange, James W. Kelly, Jr. What baffles him (and me) is that we can't find anything about Kelly after he left office in 1970. I plan to keep searching, but unless Kelly is still alive somewhere (living off the grid in a retirement community?), I find it hard to believe that I can't find any record of his death. Unfortunately, "James Kelly" is such a common name that I can't say for certain that one of the ones in the Social Security Death Index isn't him.

If someone out there happens to know something about what happened to Mayor Kelly after 1970, I'm sure that Jeff and I would love to hear about it.

Altha Corinne Martin - 1938

2011-02-26T18:02:00.000-05:00

Is blogging dying? Well, not exactly...

2011-02-23T14:07:00.001-05:00

This New York Times article suggests that younger people are moving away from traditional blogs to other ways to share information (certainly Facebook and Twitter), but notice the statistics for older bloggers (the age groups into which most genealogists fall):

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/technology/internet/21blog.html

RootsTech 2011

2011-02-11T13:21:00.000-05:00

It would be odd to have a blog about genealogy and technology and not talk about where I am right now, attending the first annual RootsTech, a conference dedicated to the intersection of genealogy and technology! So far, this conference has been like no other genealogy conference I've ever attended. Yesterday was a keynote by Shane Robison, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Technology Officer for Hewlett-Packard Company. Tomorrow, the Founder of the Internet Archive, Brewster Kahle, will be a keynote speaker. Combine those with people already well known to the genealogy community (such as Curt Witcher and Jay Verkler), and you've got a high-powered event full of sessions for all levels of technology experience.

As a blogger and podcaster, I'm flattered that an entire area (the Media Hub) has been set aside for those of us who communicate online. Tables with power and wired Internet connections, plus a glassed-in area for video interview recording and audio interview recording. I'll be sharing interviews that I'm conducting as part of future episodes of the Genealogy Guys Podcast.

The toughest time is squeezing in every fascinating event without wearing out! But I'll be posting a few more entries about the conference before I leave.

A downside to DNA testing...

2010-12-11T18:02:00.002-05:00

http://xkcd.com/830/

SS-5 and the Grandparents

2010-10-24T15:17:00.000-04:00

Let's complete the collection of SS-5 images by looking at the ones for my 4 grandparents. 3 of them were easy to obtain, because three of my grandparents were originally listed in the SSDI.

The 4th, belonging to my paternal grandfather William Henry Smith, required me to use his death certificate as the way to document his death (and thereby obtain his SS-5). Here is his SS-5:

Notes based upon other knowledge: His father's name was Charles Henry Smith, his mother's name was Mary Ann Bannon. (The Bannon surname was sometimes spelled "Bonnon".)

Next up is the SS-5 for my paternal grandmother, the most interesting (in my opinion) of all of the SS-5s:

Notes: In the early 70s (on a visit to my brother, who was living near DC at the time), I learned that Grandmother Smith had converted from Judaism to Catholicism in order to marry Grandfather Smith. So she had taken the name "Elizabeth". I had known her only as "Elizabeth C. Smith", without any idea as to what the "C" stood for, although if I had been asked to guess, I would have assumed another typical Catholic name, such as "Catherine". Imagine my surprise to read "Conceptia". Her birth name was "Rachel", but she was frequently called "Rae". Also surprisingly, she was not born in the NY/Northern NJ area, but instead, in England, Arkansas. And she fails to give her mother's maiden name, which I learned from other sources was "Grodowitz".

Now, my maternal grandparents, beginning with my maternal grandfather:

Note: His mother appears as "Jane" in most records, and with the surname spelled "Bodie".

Finally, to complete the set, the SS-5 for my maternal grandmother:

Notes: In nearly all records, she appears as "Lizzie", but she appears as "Elizabeth" in the 1930 census.

SS-5 and the Parental Units

2010-10-17T13:43:00.001-04:00

If I'm starting my new family database from scratch, then it stands to reason that I should begin by focusing on my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. I've previously posted my mother's birth certificate.

Now let's take a look at the SS-5 applications of my parents, beginning with my father's:

Notes: Dad worked for Reynolds Metals before and after World War II, but after he attended television repair training (RCA, funded by the G.I. Bill), he quit his job and became self employed as a TV and radio repairman. He continued that job until his retirement. Dad's mother was born Rachel Weinglass, but when she converted from Judaism to Catholicism to marry my grandfather, she took the first name of "Elizabeth".

Now my mother's:

Notes: Mom spelled her name "Corinne" throughout her life, but it appears as "Corene" on her birth certificate.

RootsMagic and the Macintosh

2010-10-16T14:29:00.000-04:00

One of the things that I've been using as an excuse to keep me from making progress on my personal genealogical research has been the inability to run my favorite genealogy software, RootsMagic, on my Macintosh. Oh, yes, I know that I can install Parallels Desktop for Mac or VMware Fusion, and then install Windows.

But I recently stumbled upon an easier solution: CrossOver Mac. By installing the Standard version ($39.95), I was then able to install and run RootsMagic 4 without a problem.

One less excuse for avoiding my personal genealogical research!

And now for something completely different...

2010-09-17T21:23:00.000-04:00

Information found online about a cemetery:

"Lakeview Memorial Estates is a private cemetery. If you'd like information on people buried there, please contact them directly."

Hmmm, perhaps they needed to word that better?

Eyewitness Accounts After the Fact

2010-09-15T13:42:00.000-04:00

While family stories passed down from generation to generation may add color to genealogical research, there is a reason why they may not be very dependable for factual history. Even those told to you by a witness to the event are suspect, and this article will explain why.

To DNA or not to DNA

2010-09-13T22:14:00.000-04:00

I have made numerous presentations about using DNA as a tool in genealogical research, although I have not yet had my own DNA tested (or had a cousin take a test). However, with three of my lines involving very common surnames and very common first names, it is very likely that I will need DNA to make better progress. Here are the 3 situations:

1. My Smith ancestry has been traced back to the immigrant Smith ancestor (circa 1850). I know him only as James Smith, and I have not yet identified any siblings for him nor the names of his parents. I do not yet know where in Ireland he was from, although it is possibly County Cavan as that is where an obituary says his wife was from. If I take a Y-chromosome test, I may be able to identify Smith cousins with Irish ancestry who already know the specific location in Ireland of their ancestors.

2. My Martin ancestry has been traced back to the Edgefield area of South Carolina, with my earliest identified ancestor being James S. Martin (born around 1797). There were a number of Martins living in that area at the time. By having a male Martin cousin (my first cousins) take the Y-chromosome test, I may be able to determine which Martin families I should be focusing on.

3. My King ancestry has been traced back to the Laurens area of South Carolina, with my earliest identified ancestor being Charlie King (mid-1800s). I have only recently made contact with male King relatives (2nd cousins), and this provides an opportunity to test their Y-chromosome to make further progress on this common surname.

My other lines of immediate interest involve either relatively unusual surnames or lines that have already been traced back many generations, so DNA is not a high priority in those lines.

How old were your ancestors, really?

2010-09-12T09:17:00.000-04:00

I just came across this posting in a blog I read, which should be of some interest to any genealogists who wonder if their ancestors were being accurate and telling the truth about their ages: Sakhalin Island

Goals for Future Research

2010-09-11T10:33:00.000-04:00

When I present on the topic of using a blog as a research log, I point out that one purpose of using a blog is to put down in writing the research goals.

More than 5 years ago, I posted this:

"My project idea is to identify all descendants of the immigrant (to America) BODDIE ancestor. Before I do that, however, I should do the 'prequel' project, namely, to trace in an organized fashion my own ancestry back to that ancestor."

In reality, I'm interested in more than one project, and having multiple genealogical research projects allows me to keep my interest. So let's enumerate those:

To identify all descendants of the immigrant Boddie ancestor to America, after having traced my own ancestry back to that ancestor.
To identify all descendants of the immigrant Smith ancestor to the United States, after having traced my own ancestry back to that ancestor.
To identify all descendants of the immigrant Weinglass ancestor to the United States, after having traced by own ancestry back to that ancestor.
Other projects as time and interest permit: Martin, King, Foshee, Eidson, Pitts, Satcher/Sotcher, Gradowitz, Bannon/Bonnon, Hyland, Reilly (and a few others).

RootsMagic 4 arrives

2009-03-28T08:01:00.003-04:00

One of the primary things I've been waiting on before re-starting the Rootsmithing blog is the release of the new RootsMagic 4, primarily due to its new abilities to track sources. Now that I've had it installed, I'm creating a brand-new file (ams.rmgc), while maintaining my older, poorly-sourced files as references.

The birth of Alta Corene Martin

2008-02-14T08:23:00.002-05:00

When my mother approached retirement age, she sent off for a copy of her birth certificate so that she could apply for Social Security benefits. The resulting certificate provided a few surprises:

Her "real" birth name was Alta Corene Martin (not Altha Corinne Martin, the name she actually went by her entire life). The "Alta" part was not as surprising as it might seem, given that the story was that Mom's cousin was the person given the honor of naming Mom, and the cousin had a mother named "Alta".
Mom was born in "Moons Township" in Newberry County. This township was named for a family by the name of "Moon", who lived in the southwestern corner of Newberry County, in the area where Chappells and Silverstreet are.
Mom's mother, my grandmother Elizabeth Estelle King, was listed as "Lizzie" King. Not much of a surprise, as she always went by the name "Lizzie".
Lizzie King wasn't really born in "Lawrence", as there is no such place in South Carolina. The place is actually spelled "Laurens".
Mom was born in the P.M., and was delivered by a midwife named "Bulah Coleman". I will have to look for Ms. Coleman in the 1920 census to learn more about her.
The certificate was not filed until 8 days after Mom was born.

I'm fortunate to have this document at all, given that South Carolina had only been requiring birth certificates for a few years prior to 1920!

Home-grown obituaries and online newspaper databases

2008-01-30T19:54:00.000-05:00

When my mother passed away last June, my brother asked if I would write her obituary. After my having read and used countless obituaries as part of my genealogical research, this was my first time in writing one, and I was certainly aware that I needed to include all of the most useful information for future genealogists and family historians. This obituary is preserved in the archives of my hometown's local newspaper, the Newberry Observer. Fortunately, the contents of the Observer are available going back to the beginning of 2006 in the Access World News database (a NewsBank product), which I can access from home thru my local public library or thru the academic library at the university where I work. Here is the text of Mom's obituary:

Newberry Observer, The (SC) - June 18, 2007

NEWBERRY - Corinne Martin Smith, 86, of Newberry, widow of George Smith, died Saturday, June 16, 2007. Altha Corinne Martin was born on Dec. 19, 1920, in Newberry County in Moon Township near Chappells. Youngest of seven children, she was the daughter of George Washington Martin and Elizabeth Estelle King. She grew up in the Mollohon Village neighborhood of Newberry and graduated from Newberry High School in 1938. She married George Thomas Smith of Newark, N.J. on Jan. 31, 1943, at Epting Memorial Methodist Church in Newberry. After World War II, she and her husband established their home in East Orange, N.J., but in 1960 the Smiths returned to Newberry, where they lived the remainder of their lives. For many years, Mrs. Smith was employed as a ward secretary at Newberry County Memorial Hospital. Her husband, George, passed away in 1999.

Mrs. Smith was an avid reader of mysteries, and was well known throughout Newberry for her annual Christmas tradition of making cookies to be distributed to friends and local businesses. She was a longtime member of the Mt. Bethel-Garmany Home Demonstration Club, and of Epting Memorial United Methodist Church and its Mary Addison Circle.

Mrs. Smith is survived by her sons William Jeffrey "Jeff" Smith of Newberry and Andrew Martin "Drew" Smith of Tampa, Fla. and by many nieces and nephews.

Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Newberry Memorial Gardens. Memorials may be made to the Newberry County Library, 1300 Friend St., Newberry, SC 29108.

Preservation and storage

2008-01-27T13:13:00.000-05:00

While at the nearby Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft superstore yesterday, I purchased a 12" by 12" "E-Z Load Memory Book" manufactured by Pioneer Photo Albums. It advertises itself to be of archival quality (acid, lignin, and PVC free). So I now have a place to put the physical photo of my grandparents' family. Since I won't need the album very often, I've put it on a bookshelf on the other side of my home office. Once I've cleaned out and made some room in the office closet, it may end up there.

The size of the pages means that I can use the same album to store originals of other kinds of documents.

To Do: Go thru existing files and locate, digitize, and store original documents.

Starting points, family photos, scanning, and Paint.NET

2008-01-25T20:19:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite family photos is the last picture (to my knowledge) taken of my maternal grandparents and all 7 of their children (including my mother, the youngest of the 7). I was present at the time this picture was taken, and it was taken in the home of my grandparents in Newberry, South Carolina. Because Granddaddy Martin died on 12 November 1964, I know that the photo was taken before then, but I don't know the exact date on which it was taken.

I have scanned a copy of this photo (which had been printed onto an 8.5x11-inch sheet of photo paper) using my HP PSC 950 multifunction printer, and then used Paint.NET (free imaging software) to crop the actual image.

To Do: Preserve the printed copy of the photo using archivally safe storage.

In the photo, seated left to right are Mattie Cleo Martin McLeod (Aunt Cleo), Elizabeth Estelle King Martin (Grandmother Martin), George Washington Martin (Granddaddy Martin), and Altha Corinne Martin Smith (Mom). Standing behind them, left to right, are Walter Lee Martin (Uncle Walter), Anna Naomi Martin Tollison (Aunt Naomi), George Ernest Martin (Uncle Ernest), Marion Virginia Martin LeValley (Aunt Jenny), and Robert Ansel Martin (Uncle Ansel). My mother, who passed away last June, was the last surviving member of this family.

One funny story about this photo worth preserving: Aunt Jenny (my favorite aunt) was not wearing a dress that day (she was likely wearing shorts), so when it came time for the family photo, she needed to borrow the black dress and white plastic belt from her niece (Aunt Naomi's daughter, Billy Jean Tollison Goss). When Aunt Jenny passed away in early 1992, it was then that I first began doing serious genealogical research.

The Bad Side

2008-01-21T20:05:00.001-05:00

In the same room as the "neat" side of the office (the side with the computer desk, printer desk, and credenza) is the "messy" side, as pictured here. This will be the challenge for 2008.

Organizing and Starting Anew

2008-01-21T19:55:00.001-05:00

I've renamed this blog to focus a bit less on my personal genealogy (although I will continue to use the blog for that purpose), but to focus a bit more on the methods of genealogy. Few people will read a blog about someone else's research unless they can learn from the process.

At the same time, I'm long overdue for cleaning up the mess in half my home office. So this blog will also serve to motivate that process. We'll begin with a photo of the good side of the office and another of the bad side.

Tag, I'm It

2007-01-21T23:46:00.000-05:00

Steve Danko has "tagged" me in his blog, meaning that I need to come up with 5 things that most people don't know about me (and secondly, I'll have to come up with 5 other bloggers to tag, which is going to be the real tough part). So at least in this posting, I'll list my 5 things:

Back in the early 1990s, I collaborated with my (now) ex-sister-in-law, Rande Yates (her maiden name, I can't recall her new married name) on writing a number of songs. Rande is a very talented pianist, and after hearing some of her tunes, I volunteered to write lyrics to some of them. When she wrote a tune inspired by her young son (Benji), I wrote lyrics for it. Rande submitted "Benjamin's Song"(also called "Kindergarten Kid") to an annual contest held by the South Carolina Songwriters Association, and our song won first place in the children's/novelty category.
Growing up, I always watched GE College Bowl with host Allen Ludden on Sunday nights. So around 1980, when I was on the computer center staff at Clemson University, I volunteered to play in an exhibition game between Clemson faculty and Clemson students. I ended up on the faculty team with 3 Clemson history professors, but I was the only one on the team who could answer the history questions. I went on to coach the Clemson team for 8 years, and when I left Clemson for the University of South Florida, I coached the USF team, too. I was a regular College Bowl moderator for the regional games in the southeast U.S.
I learned to play bridge in college, and joined a duplicate bridge club in the late 70s/early 80s. I eventually earned enough master points at local tournaments to be a "Junior Master". (Fortunately, it didn't take many.)
I ended up as a co-star of my high school's senior play ("The Phantom Strikes Again", a mystery/comedy), primarily because the original male lead was also busy playing in the high school band, he was so busy with the band (when they played in Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans) that he didn't learn his lines, and I was chosen to replace him. If that hadn't happened, I would have played the butler with only about 3 speaking lines.
In 1970, I came in 2nd in the Newberry County (South Carolina) spelling bee. I believe that one of the words I misspelled was "cemetery".

Now I just have to figure out who to tag...

Sarah Ann YONCE and Nathan BODIE (son of Obediah BODIE)

2007-01-19T19:59:00.000-05:00

My friend Steve Danko reminded me that I need to talk about my recent research activities in Salt Lake City's Family History Library. I found my new digital camera (with its "Text" mode) to be exceptionally helpful in recording pages from books, without the need for transcription or photocopying.

One of the techniques I used was to photograph the title page of the book, followed by the individual pages. I also found it useful to photograph the relevant index pages (which will come in handy if I discover that I missed a key page).

I began by examining the Family History Library Catalog for books relating to the name Bodie (or Boddie). I skipped books that I already own, or whose pages I already have photocopies of, or that are available online in digital form, or that were on microfilm.

The first book I looked at was Yonce families in the United States of America although it is interesting that the book has a slightly different title on its spine and at the top of its pages (Yonce Families in America). It does appear that I missed a few pages in this one, primarily in the descendants list in Chapter 13, but I have the more detailed descendant information from Chapter 14 (beginning on page 313). According to the book, Sarah Ann YONCE married Nathan BODIE, the son of Obediah BODIE. This is not the Nathan BODIE who was my great-great-grandfather (Nathan A. BODIE, Jr.) nor his father (Nathan BODIE, Sr.). The name "Nathan" is very common in the various branches of the BODIE/BODDIE family.

The book indicates that Nathan BODIE died in "Wagner" (in Aiken County, South Carolina), but this town should be spelled "Wagener". The town is spelled correctly in other places in the book.

Although I had details on some of the descendants of this line, the book has brought a large number of new descendants to my attention. I can imagine spending many months verifying the information in this book. I'll return to these individuals after I've reviewed the other material I found in SLC.

Bodie/Boddie marriages in Bienville Parish, Louisiana

2007-01-07T14:44:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I found a little time in the morning, just before our local society's board meeting, to do some research into the Bodie/Boddie family. The John F. Germany Library had recently obtained a copy of a number of new books, including many pertaining to Louisiana. Because a major branch of the Bodie/Boddie family ended up in Bienville Parish, I was glad to find that one of the new books was John C. Head's compilation "Bienville Parish Louisiana Marriage Records 1848-1900". It is the only Bienville Parish genealogy source in the library's collection.

The index to the book listed 11 individuals named "Bodie" or "Boddie", so I was able to copy those pages and then compare the marriage book entries to what I already had. In some cases, I lacked exact dates, or my dates were a few days off. This enabled me to provide a source (if only a secondary source, although I'm not likely to find myself in Bienville Parish anytime soon to obtain a copy of the primary source) for 10 marriages. The 11th entry is for a Bodie/Boddie who I don't already have in my files, so I'm not sure yet where they fit in. That particular one is for George HOLDER married to Eliza BODDIE, on 13 April 1871, and the original record can be found in Book B (1860-1872) on page 363.

A Holder website (http://home.earthlink.net/~bgholder/1880Texas2Wyoming.html) identifies this couple (and their children) as:

Geo. W. HOLDER - Precinct 2, Bell Co., TX - Head of House - Male b.<1850> Bienville Parish, LA
George William Holder b. 1/12/1849
s/o William Pryor Holder b. 1805 Warren Co., KY & Emily Elizabeth Jordan b. 1816 LA
Eliza HOLDER - Precinct 2, Bell Co., TX - Wife - Female b.<1855> SC
Eliza Boddie
Gilbert W. HOLDER - Precinct 2, Bell Co., TX - Son - Male b.<1873> LA
James D. HOLDER - Precinct 2, Bell Co., TX - Son - Male b.<1875> LA
Levi E. HOLDER - Precinct 2, Bell Co., TX - Son - Male b.<1877> TX
Pinkie HOLDER - Precinct 2, Bell Co., TX - Dau - Female b.<1879> TX

This information is most likely taken from the 1880 census (except for George's parents). I don't know yet who Eliza Boddie Holder's parents were.

Nathan Bodie, Sr. in 1840

2006-10-23T00:16:00.000-04:00

According to John Bennett Boddie (on page 386 of his Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight County Virginia) , Nathan Boddie [sic], Jr. states in a petition that Nathan Boddie (Sr.) died 8 November 1841. If so, we should expect to find him in the 1840 census, at approximately the age of 66. However, he does not appear to be heading his own household. If he is in the household of one of his children, which one? Not that of Nathan Bodie, Jr. Which Bodie households appear in the 1840 Edgefield District census, other than that of Nathan Bodie, Jr.?

Felix Boddie
Elizah Boddy
Obidiah Boddy
Westly Boddy
John Bodie

The household of Westly Boddy has a male in his 70s and a male in his 40s, and Nathan Sr. had a son named John Wesley Bodie (the Bodie family had several males who became Methodist ministers) born in 1797. While the age of the older male is a bit old, it's not impossible for that to be John Wesley Bodie's household with his father Nathan Sr. in it. John Wesley Bodie would have been Nathan Sr.'s oldest surviving son in 1840.

What should John Wesley Bodie's 1840 household look like? In addition to a male in his 40s, it should have 4 (or possibly 5) sons: one 15-20, three 5-10, and possibly one less than 5. What does the "Westly Boddy" household actually have? one 15-20, two 10-15, one 5-10, and two less than 5. Close. It's possible that two sons born in 1832 could be listed as two years older. And another very young son could have died prior to 1850. Nathan Sr. also had a son, Michael Boddie, by his second wife, and Michael was born about 1829. Perhaps he's one of the males in the 10-15 group?

Let's now look at the females: We should see Laura Amanda Smith Bodie (John Wesley's wife) at the age of 38, but I'm not aware of any daughters. The census household shows a woman in her 40s, a woman in her 30s, and a female less than 5. Again, the daughter could have died prior to 1850. But who is the oldest woman? Could she be Nathan's second wife, or was she already dead by 1840?

It looks like it's going to be necessary to go forward in time with the John Wesley Bodie household to pin down some names and dates.

Nathan Bodie, Jr. in 1830

2006-10-22T23:34:00.000-04:00

Let's look at what we should expect to find for Nathan Bodie, Jr. in 1830. We would expect to see at least 2 sons under the age of 5 (Jesse Pitts Bodie was born in 1826, and Andrew Jackson Boddie was born in 1828); Nathan himself at the age of 26; possibly no daughters; and Nathan's wife, Mary Edna "Edney" Eidson, who would be 24.

When we search the Edgefield District census for 1830, we find two households headed by a "Nathan Body". The head of the one listed between Isaac Crouch and William Whittle is in his 60s (too old to be Nathan Bodie, Jr., but the right age for Nathan Bodie, Sr.), but the head of the one listed next to W. Deloach is in his 20s. If we assume that this is Nathan Bodie, Jr.'s household, then we have:

3 males under 5
1 male 15-20
1 male 20-30 (Nathan Bodie, Jr.)
1 female 20-30 (Mary Edna Eidson Bodie)

The extra male under 5 may be a son who died prior to the 1840 census. The male born between about 1810 and 1815 may be a younger brother to Nathan or to Mary Edna. So far as I know, Nathan's only younger brother, Joseph Bodie, was born in 1808, so Joseph would be too old. Mary Edna may have had at least 4 younger brothers: William Wiley Eidson, born in 1809; Mahlon Eidson, born before 1819; James Russell Eidson, born in 1821; and Allen Eidson, born about 1832. So Mahlon remains a possibility. It will be necessary to find the household for Mary Edna's parents and some of her siblings to rule out Mahlon living with those other households.

50 years since a significant Bodie publication

2006-02-06T16:30:00.000-05:00

It has been more than a year since I last updated my genealogical research site. Today, I noticed that it was 50 years ago (1956) that Eytive Long Evans published A Documented History of the Long Family, 1578-1956. That particular book was one of the first books that got me started on working on the Bodie family line. Evans especially covers them on pages 230 through 249. She references another source I have frequently used regarding the family: John Bennett Boddie's Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight County, Virginia, which was published in 1938. So far as I'm aware, the two books constitute the only significant published genealogies of the South Carolina branch of the Boddie/Bodie families.

J.B. Boddie refers, on page 389 of his book, to Jane (born 1845), who married Wyley Long. Evans, on page 237, also refers to Jane in a list of the children of Nathan Bodie and Mary Edna Eidson.

It is this same Jane Bodie who appears on my grandfather's SS-5 as his mother ("Janie Belle Body"), and who, according to members of my family still living at the time I began working on genealogical research, was the wife first of Wiley (Wyley, Wylie) Long, then Edmund (Edmond) Manley Martin, and then John C. Farmer. The descendants of Jane by her first two husbands (she had no children by Farmer, who she married much later in life), together with the descendants of Edmund Martin by his wife, often held joint reunions near Lake Greenwood in upstate South Carolina at least until the late 1950s.

Perhaps someday, when my work on this line is complete and is published, it will be cause for a new reunion.

Nathan Bodie, Jr. in 1840

2005-01-13T16:28:00.000-05:00

The 1840 census for Edgefield County/District, SC shows a Nathan Boddie. The data for Nathan indicates:

Males under 5: 1
Males 5-10: 1
Males 10-15: 2
Males 30-40: 1
Females under 5: 1
Females 5-10: 2
Females 30-40: 1

How well does this match up with what is supposedly known about Nathan's family? Nathan was born in 1804, and his first wife, Mary Edna Eidson (Jane's mother) was supposedly born in 1806, so those match up with the 2 adults. Their children should be Jesse Pitts Bodie (born 1826), Andrew Jackson Bodie (born 1828), James Russell Bodie (born 1831), Mary Bodie (born 1832), Anne M. Bodie (born 1834), and Elizabeth J. Bodie (born 1836). Amanda Bodie was not born until 10 June 1840, and so should not be counted as the effective date of the 1840 census was June 1. So we have a perfect match except for the fact that there should be a son born sometime between 1835 and 1840. Yet no such son appears in the 1850 census. Unless there is evidence to contradict it, I'll have to assume that there was another son who died prior to 1850. His most likely birth year is 1838, as there is a 4-year gap between Elizabeth and Amanda.

Nathan Bodie, Jr. in 1860

2005-01-11T16:26:00.000-05:00

We've already seen Nathan's household in 1870, and also in 1850 (when daughter Jane was part of it). So the remaining piece is 1860. In the Saluda Regiment section of Edgefield County (or District), we find the household of "N.A. Bodie" (53), Nancy (40), Virginia (11), Daniel (7), female E.C. (4), and one-month-old Emma.

We'll now have to push Nathan back into the 1840 timeframe, when he should be in his thirties.

Nathan Bodie, Jr. in 1870

2005-01-11T16:23:00.000-05:00

In 1870, 66-year-old Nathan Bodie appears in the census in the Saluda section of Edgefield County, SC with his third wife, Nancy Warren, and three children: 19-year-old Virginia and 16-year-old Daniel (children of his second wife, Elizabeth Warren, who was Nancy's twin sister), and 12-year-old Elizabeth (his daughter by Nancy).

Nathan Bodie, Jr.'s grave

2005-01-09T16:19:00.000-05:00

In the early 1990s, my brother Jeff and I looked for Nathan Bodie, Jr's gravestone at a small church in Saluda County. We didn't find it in the church graveyard, not realizing at that time that there was a smaller cemetery just across the highway but hidden within the pine forest. I did manage to go back later to see it.

The cemetery is across the highway from Bethlehem Church, located in the southwest part of present-day Saluda County, within the fork of SC 121 and CR 39. Many related lines are buried here, including Bodie, Eidson, Rushton, Kemp, and Holmes.

According to Nathan's grave, he was born 7 February 1804, and died 9 November 1873. Next, we'll trace him back starting in 1870.

Jane Belle Bodie in 1850

2005-01-08T16:12:00.000-05:00

Jane isn't hard to find in 1850. Although there are several different Jane Bodies located in Edgefield District in 1850, only one is of the right age. The family is split across 2 census pages. In the second page, Jane appears with her older sisters Susan, Amanda, Elizabeth, and Anne, as well as a younger half-sister, Virginia. On the previous page are head of household Nathaniel (47), Elizabeth (32), Russell (20), and Mary (18).

The focus now switches from Jane to her father, Nathan(iel).

Jane Belle Bodie in 1860

2005-01-07T16:09:00.000-05:00

For now, I'm going to have to skip worrying about Jane's location in 1870 and follow her back to 1860. Here things are a bit easier. She appears as a very young wife of 14 with husband "W.M.W. Long". Located in the Saluda Regiment section of Edgefield District, Wiley and Jane are living next door to Jane's older sister, Susan Caroline Bodie Adams (as Jane would again years later).

In 1850, Jane and Susan should be with some of their other siblings and their parents, so that will be the next entry.

Jane Belle Bodie in 1870?

2005-01-06T15:37:00.000-05:00

OK, now I've got a problem. Where was Jane in 1870? She should be somewhere with her first husband, Wiley Long, and their first 4 children: Martha (7), Emma (4), Joseph Edward (2), and Nathan Calhoun (1). And she should be somewhere between 22 and 25 (depending on which source you want to believe).

Jane Belle Bodie in 1880

2005-01-05T15:28:00.000-05:00

The gravestone says 1848. The 1900 census says 1852. When does the 1880 census say Jane was born? It gives her age as 32, which matches the gravestone.

Tomorrow, I'll follow the family back to 1870.

Jane Belle Bodie in 1900

2005-01-04T15:16:00.000-05:00

Jane married her third husband, John C. Farmer, sometime after the death of her second husband (my great-grandfather) and prior to 1900. I was able to find the household in the 1900 census using my grandfather, George Martin, as the index term. Most things match, but there are some discrepancies. John Farmer and his wife Jane appear in the household with his step-children George Martin, Cora Martin, Jannie Bell Martin, and Hammitt Martin. I clearly remember my great-uncle Hammitt. Cora is the same as the Chicorah Lee Asbill who is buried next to Jane.

The discrepancies relate to Jane's age and the number of children. Jane's gravestone says that she was born in 1848, but the 1900 census indicates 1852. Vanity? Also, the census indicates that she has had a total of 7 children, with 5 still alive. She certainly had 5 living children from her second marriage to my great-grandfather, Edmund Manley Martin, and it's certainly possible that she lost 2 children at an early age for them (who would fit gaps in the calendar).

But the count should have included her children by her first husband, Wiley Long. Perhaps this situation is more complicated than it looks.

Jane Belle Bodie's grave

2005-01-03T15:11:00.000-05:00

Jane Belle Bodie (whose name appears as Janie Belle Body on my grandfather's SS-5) was married three times, first to a man named Long, then to my great-grandfather (a Martin), and then to a man named Farmer. She had children with the first two husbands, but not the third, and she was also helping to raise her Martin husband's children from his previous marriage. My mother remembers attending several Martin-Long reunions, held at a park near Lake Greenwood in South Carolina.

One of the high points in my genealogical research was finding Jane Belle Boddie's grave. Fortunately, I was aided by an extremely helpful librarian at the Laurens County public library, who was actively working on a second volume of the cemeteries of that county. She allowed me to view her notes, which included the listing for Jane's grave, located in the Laurens Mill (Northview) Cemetery. Buried next to Jane are her third husband, John C. Farmer, and a daughter, Chicorah Lee Martin (who had married an Asbill).

Next, I'll trace Jane backwards in time using census records.

Starting with ... who?

2005-01-02T15:07:00.000-05:00

The first connection I have to the Boddie family is through my mother's father, George W. Martin. Granddaddy Martin died when I was 8, and so I have clear memories of him. It was interesting to obtain a copy of his SS-5 (his application for Social Security). The spelling of my greatgrandmother's name on the application certainly points out that the name was pronounced "body", even though it is spelled "Bodie" by most branches of the family in upstate and central South Carolina.

I'll next focus on my greatgrandmother.

Starting a Genealogical Project

2005-01-01T15:04:00.000-05:00

January 1 seems like a reasonable day on which to begin a new genealogical project. Actually, I'm working on an old project, but in a more organized manner. My project idea is to identify all descendants of the immigrant (to America) BODDIE ancestor. Before I do that, however, I should do the "prequel" project, namely, to trace in an organized fashion my own ancestry back to that ancestor.