Monday, January 31, 2011

New interactive SC Civil Rights site with interviews!

I previously created a page on the FamilySearch Wiki: South Carolina African Americans where I have been contributing African American Resources for South Carolina.  I just added a great resource under Online Resources that I blogged about on About Our Freedom today:
This is an awesome resource for SC Civil Rights history shared on Twitter today by @Knowitall, South Carolina Educational Television's educational web portal, a collection of interactive K-12 websites for students, teachers, and parents.

Some of my extended family had family who actually signed the signed the Briggs v. Elliot petition!
Road Trip!

"Road Trip! Through South Carolina Civil Rights History is an interactive Web site designed to help teachers and students learn about the people, events and importance of the civil rights movement in South Carolina from the 1940s to the early 1970s." About Road Trip! Through SC Civil Rights History
My favorite part of the site are the interviews with people who participated in the Civil Rights movement.  This interactive website is a definite 10!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Historical Records also points to original images on other sites

In search of a possible Civil War Record for J. K. Vance (James Kincaid Vance)of Abbeville, South Carolina, I started with the Historical Records Collection at FamilySearch Internet.

1. Go to familysearch.org
2. Scroll down to "Browse by location."
3. Select USA, Canada, and Mexico.
Browse by location

4. Scroll down to "South Carolina, Civil War Confederate Service Records, 1861-1865."
5. Notice the camera icon in front of the link. This means the actual image is accessible. Click on the link, "South Carolina, Civil War Confederate Service Records, 1861-1865" to search that collection.

By the way, if you click on the link that says "Learn more," you will be taken to an article which is being developed on FamilySearch Wiki where you can learn more about this collection:

Learn more

6. Enter the the name J. K. Vance in the search field, and click search.
7. Of the four results, two are his son's record, and four are the Confederate Service Record for J. K. Vance.
Results for J. K. Vance in South Carolina, Civil War Confederate Service Records, 1861-1865 collection
 You will notice that the closest matches to your search will appear above the brown bar. The results below the brown bar do not match as closely, but they should not be overlooked.

8. Click on any of the links to see the indexed record.
Indexed Confederate Service Record for J. K. Vance.
















9.  In the above screenshot, you will notice a gray box.  It says "An image for this record may be available at:
www.footnote.com Fees may apply."  Although the image is not available at this time on FamilySearch Internet, it is being made available at Footnote.

If you have a subscription to Footnote, you may proceed to view the image without interruption.  Otherwise, you may contact your local FamilySearch Center.  Many FamilySearch Centers provide free access to Footnote to patrons.  I accessed this record through Footnote.  See Compiled Service Records of J. K. Vance of Abbeville County, South Carolina.

10.  Click on "View Image" below the gray box, and you will be taken Footnote to view the image.

It was so convenient to be able to learn about this record on FamilySearch Internet and to also find out how to access it.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Burwell Chick indexed by Restore the Ancestors

Burwell Chick owned Chick Springs Resort in Greenville, South Carolina.  This is the first record that I have found placing him in Charleston.  The record is part of the Estate Inventories for Charleston, South Carolina, 1732-1872.  It shows you should expand you search to include different counties.  You never know what you may find.

It was indexed by the folks who volunteer to Restore the Ancestors!  Thanks. It is amazing that these records just so happen to be free on Footnote.

Click the image below to view it free on Footnote.  Information about this database had already been added to the wiki:  Charleston County, South Carolina: Probate

Content Source: South Carolina Department of Archives & History Publication Title: Charleston District, South Carolina Estate Inventories and Selected Bills of Sale; 1732-1872
Content Source: South Carolina Department of Archives and History
Content Partner: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Family Search, and Lowcountry Africana
Source Publication Year: 1959
Footnote Job: 10-012
Footnote Publication Year: 2010
State: South Carolina
Country: United States
Language: English
Short Description: South Carolina court records relating to estate and personal assets.
Browse Description: Inventories, Appraisements and Sales Books, 1783-1846
Volume: H
Year: 1834-1846
Document Type: Inventories Of Estates
Page Number: 479
Series Name: Records Of Charleston District, Court Of Ordinary, Inventories And Appraisements Books
Series Number: L10136

Found proof that Pettus is the father of Burwell Chick

Just on Monday of this week I discovered a biography that mentioned Pettus Wales Chick and Burwell. I commented on the fact that I was going to search for a historical record to prove that Pettus Wales Chick of Hanover County, Viginia was their ancestor. See Chick biography at Heritage Quest lists Chick's going back to 1750's.

Well, I discovered the will of Pettus Chick of Hanover County, Virginia, proven on March 11, 1854, and it confirms the biography which showed him to be the father of Burwell Chick.  The will was shared by a Footnote user, moonietunes.  I added this website to the FamilySearch Wiki: Hanover County, Virgina-Websites


Document Description: Will of Pettus Chick, Hanover Co., VA, Chancery File No. 33, pp.185-187, dated Mar. 11, 1854; proved Apr. 25, 1854 (page 1)
Filename: PettusChickWill1.jpg



Contributed by:moonietunes Document Description: Will of Pettus Chick, Hanover Co., VA, Chancery File No. 33, pp.185-187, dated Mar. 11, 1854; proved Apr. 25, 1854 (page 2)
Filename: PettusChickWill2.jpg
Document Title: Pettus Chick, will, Hanover Co., VA, 1854, page 2



Document Description: Will of Pettus Chick, Hanover Co., VA, Chancery File No. 33, pp.185-187, dated Mar. 11, 1854; proved Apr. 25, 1854 (page 3)
Filename: PettusChickWill3.jpg
Document Title: Pettus Chick, will, Hanover Co., VA, 1854, page 3



Compiled Service Records of J. K. Vance of Abbeville County, South Carolina

Last week I found the Confederate Citizen's File for J. K. Vance.  I am pretty anxious to discover all I can about him because he is the half brother to Beverly Vance, and he also owned Beverly.  Beverly is my great great grandfather. 

I discovered J. K. Vance's Confederate Civil War Service Records on FamilySearch Internet in the Historical Records collection.  The records were indexed, but the images were not there.  There was, however, a link provided to the records on Footnote.  I am so grateful for that because it saved me a lot of time.

I noticed  J. K. Vance served with the 1st SC State Troops in Company F and with the 5th Regiment SC Reserves.  I really want to learn more about these regiments in case there may be clues about Beverly during this time.  He could have been either with J. K. or on the plantation. There is an article on the FamilySearch Wiki: South Carolina Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, and I can contribute more that I find.

If you want to trace the steps I took to locate this record beginning at FamilySearch, see: Historical Records also points to original images on other sites.


First State Troops (Six Months, 1863-64) E-Y » V » Vance, J K » Page 1

NARA M267. Compiled service records of Confederate soldiers from South Carolina units, labeled with each soldier's name, rank, and unit, with links to revealing documents about each soldier.


First State Troops (Six Months, 1863-64) E-Y » V » Vance, J K » Page 2


First State Troops (Six Months, 1863-64) E-Y » V » Vance, J K » Page 3




Fifth Reserves (Ninety Days, 1862-63) T-Y, Fifth (Brown's) Battalion, Reserves Fifth Militia » V » Vance, J K » Page 1


Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of South Carolina, NARA, Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Confederate Organizations , compiled 1903 - 1927, documenting the period 1861 - 1865, Record group 109, Fifth Reserves (Ninety Days, 1862-63) T-Y, Fifth (Brown's) Battalion, Reserves Fifth Militia, Vance, J. K., Footnote.com: http://www.footnote.com/image/#75159650 Date accessed: Jan 25, 2011.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Chick biography at Heritage Quest lists Chick's going back to 1750's


My great great grandfather, Anderson Chick, and his mother, Eliza were owned by Pettus Chick in Union County, South Carolina.  I was able to trace Anderson back to 1870 with the help of living grandchildren.

In 1870 and 1880, Anderson and his mother, Eliza lived next to Pettus and his wife Sarah.  I found a great nephew of Pettus who said that according to the oral history, Pettus and Sarah never had children.  Pettus supposedly had a child outside of this marriage with a slave woman.

Will of Pettus Chick
 I discovered a transcript to a will for Pettus at the Union County Public Library recorded on March 19, 1897:
     I, Pettus W. Chick, planter, do make and declare the following pages of writing to be my last will and testament, hereby revoking any and all wills by me heretofore made, to wit:

First--I do nominate and appoint my well beloved wife, Sarah E. Chick, and my friends, Robert McLaughlin and Young Pope, as executors of this my last will and testament--and I direct my said executors to pay all my just debts as soon after my death as practicable.

Second--I give unto my neice, Martha Catharine, daughter of my brother, William Chick, deceased, absolutely the sum of five hundred dollars to be paid to her at the death of my said wife, Sarah E. Chick but without interest until after the death of my said wife.

Third--I direct my said executors to present to my neice, Mrs. Sallie H. F. Pope as an absolute gift, my silver pitcher.

Fourth--I do give and bequeath unto my wife, Sarah E. Chick, absolutely all my household and kitchen furniture and all my silver plates and gold watch and also my stock in the Memphis and Charleston Railroad Company.

Fifth--I do give, grant devise, and bequeath unto my said wife, Sarah E. Chick, all the balance of my estate both real and personal for and during her natural life.--with the power to sell any of my personal property including stocks and bonds, but with the proviso that my said wife shall account for any and all personal property she may so sell but without any interest thereon during her natural life.

Sixth--At the death of my said wife, Sarah E. Chick, I do give, devise, and bequeath unto Eliza, commonly called Little Eliza, (my cook) and Myra Dawkins, share and share alike, each during her natural life, that portion of my estate, starting where the Charleston road crossed the old Avery Ferry road to the gate--thence down the Mill Road across the Caldwell Spring branch to the lands owned by the State of South Carolina, thence down to a Rock Corner on the Mill Road--thence to John Oxner's land--thence up the Charleston Road to the stating point, containing one hundred and fifty acres more or less, situated in the County of Newberry in the State of South Carolina.  The share herein given to Eliza, commonly called Little Eliza, (my cook) for her life, shall at her death vest in fee simple in her two children: Anderson and Pettus, And the share herein given to Myra Dawkins, for her life, shall at her death vest in her in fee simple per stiepes.

Seventh--I do give and bequesth unto John A. Henderson, son of James M? Henderson, deceased, the sum of five hundred dollars, to be paid at the death of my said wife but without interest.

Eighth--I do will and direct that after the termination of the life of my said wife in my estate as declared in the fifth clause of this my last will and testament--one half of all my estate both real and personal, left by me, excepting the bequeaths subscribed in the second, third, fourth, and seventh clauses of this my last will and testament--shall go to vest in fee simple in whomsoever, my wife the said Sarah E. Chick shall by deed or will direct the remaining one half of my whole estate, with the exceptions already in this the eighth clause described, shall go to vest, in my two sisters, Mrs. Louise Farr and Mrs. Wilhemina Chapin in equal shares, to be by them enjoyed during their natural lives and the share of ech of them after death shall vest in fee simple in their respective ipm per ssteipes, But it is expressly provided that either Louisa or the said Wilhelmina, or any of their ipm, should or shall bring suit of any kind against the estate or seek to defeat the expressed objects of this my last will and testament, by the institute of legal proceedings so instituted by either of the said Louisa or Wilhelmina or both of them, or any one or all of their respective ipm, shall operate to forfeit any and all rights, interest, and estate under this my last will and testament, so forfeited shall vest in and be distributable amongst my heirs at law, next of kin and distributed according to the Statutes in the State aforesaid regulating the distribution of the interstates estate--expecting from any share thereunder the person or persons who shall have instituted such a suit or legal proceedings hereinbefore referred to.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal as this the 4th day of AUGUST IN THE YEAR OF LORD, 1877.

Signed, sealed and declared to be the last will and testament by Pettus W. Chick in our presence as the subscribing witnesses and we have his presence and in the presence of each other signed our names hereto.

B. Hillaybin, W. D. Hardy, J. E. Renwick

                                                       CODICIL

I bequeath all I have to Sallie Pope all the right I have in a judgement I held against W. Y. Fair forever, this 11th day of August 1873 1877
E. H. Whitney, L. Shelton, L. L. Henderson

Pettus W. Chick (LS)

Recorded in willbook D pages 152, 153, 154
Box 68 package 1
Recorded March 19th 1897

David Johnson (P. J.)
Anderson Chick

Pettus wills land to Eliza and her two children, Anderson and Pettus, upon the death of his wife, Sarah.  I was intrigued by the fact that Pettus included Eliza and her children in the will with the stipulation that if his sisters sue them after his death, they would forfeit their portions.  The stipulations in this record among other observations lead me to believe there may be a connection between Anderson and the former slave owner, Pettus.

Therefore, I have been careful to also research Pettus and his ancestors further in case other clues exist.  I was able to find a will at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History which links Pettus to his father, Burwell Chick.  Burwell migrated from Hanover County, Virginia according to a biography I discovered at Heritage Quest.

This has extended the pedigree for Pettus as follows:

Pettus Chick
Burwell Chick (father)
William Chick and Jean Ragland Chick (b. 1755)

The book I discovered on Heritage Quest is entitled:
Genealogy of the Ragland families : and numerous other families of prominence in America with whom they have intermarried, by Miriam Margaret Strong, 1928.
The author descended from General Pettus Ragland of Hanover County. I am fortunate that she included the Chick line.  Next, I will find historical documentation for each generation back to William Chick.

Wiki Contribution

I went to the FamilySearch Wiki article: Hanover County, Virginia Genealogy to discover that neither the Ragland nor the Chick surnames were listed in that.  I added this resource here:  Hanover County, Virginia Genealogy, and I added the surnames Chick and Ragland since Burwell Chick migrated from the same place.
_________________________________________________________________
Will of Pettus W. Chick, Union County, South Carolina Wills Recorded in Book "D" 1848-1900, Recorded in will book D pages 152, 153, 154, Union County Public Library.

Genealogy of the Ragland families : and numerous other families of prominence in America with whom they have intermarried, St. Louis, Mo.: unknown, 1928, 129 pgs, pg 44, Heritage Quest: http://persi.heritagequestonline.com/hqoweb/library/do/books/results/image?urn=urn:proquest:US;glhbooks;Genealogy-glh12579716;52;-1;&polarity=&scale= Date accessed: Jan 24, 2011.




Thursday, January 20, 2011

Quick Tip: About Searching Online Databases

I really believe that when we search online databases we are passing up information that we do not realize is there because we only search from the main page of the database.

1.  Spend time getting to know the known records in the geographical area where your ancestor lived.  If you are at a loss, search the county and state on FamilySearch Wiki to see what historical records may exist for that locality.

2.  When you search a database like Historical Records at FamilySearch Internet or Footnote, research the collections in the database first.

3.  Search each collection individually.  This will undoubtedly narrow your results by the 1000's if not by 10,000.

When you search every collection at once, you may never reach the results page containing your ancestor.

4.  Check online databases regularly.  They make additions all the time. Just because you did not find success the first time, it does not mean you never will.

If you ever find a new resource, please feel free to share it with us.  We will contribute it to the FamilySearch Wiki for you.

Happy Hunting!






Reason why We Contribute...

We Contribute because we never know who may also find pieces of the genealogical puzzle on their ancestry.


We Contribute because we are all a part of the human family.  When someone else finds, they are discovering more about the family.


When We Contribute, we are encouraged when you share your finds:

Read recent articles:

Documenting Slave Owners Using The Confederate Citizens File At Footnote.com

Friend of Friends Friday ~ Slave “Nelson” Named In Confederate Citizens File

 

shared by Sandra Taliaferro on
Screenshot of "I Never Knew My Father"

This record has been added to FamilySearch Wiki:  Confederate Sources.    Sandra, thank you for encouraging others!

I found my 3rd great grandfather's request for amnesty

My grandmother Otis, shared a great deal with me about her Tucker ancestral line.  She said her grandmother ,Martha, grew up in the household with George Epps Tucker (1860-1927).  George Epps was adopted by his grandfather, James Anderson Tucker (1802-1885)  after his mother died prior to 1870.  George's father died sometime after the 1860 Census was taken.

I was never sure if my 3rd great grandfather, James Anderson Tucker (1802-1885), of Union District, South Carolina actively supported the Confederacy.  I knew that he had adopted his grandson, George Epps Tucker (1860-1927), my great grandfather,  who was a minor when his mother died.  James became caretaker of George's estate until he became of age.

George Epps Tucker (1860-1927)


In my search to discover more about George Epps Tucker's father, George Anderson Tucker (abt. 1830-abt. 1860), I have discovered the amnesty papers of his father, James Anderson Tucker who is both slave owner and ancestor to me.  I descend from the James Anderson Tucker through George Epps Tucker 20 years after the end of slavery.

Footnote has amnesty papers.  I was not familiar with this record type, so I am sharing it with you as well.  When Andrew Johnson pardoned Confederates at the end of the Civil War on May 29, 1865, some had to apply for amnesty because they were not granted amnesty in the proclamation issued.  James Anderson Tucker had to apply for amnesty because his net worth  was more than 20,000.  To learn more about Amnesty and reasons for exclusion, see "Amnesty Papers," 1865-1867.

This a portion of the application of amnesty of James Anderson Tucker:

The State of South Carolina to His Excellency, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States.
The petition of James A. Tucker, citizen of Union District and State aforesaid, respectfully sheweth that he participated in the late rebellion against the United States by contributing taxation and donations toward the support then of that he may be liable to the pains and penalties of treason and confiscation.  Your petitioner has taken the amnesty oath as prescribed by President Johnson, but as he may be worth more than 20,000 dollars of taxable property, he desires a full pardon. Your petitioner is desirable of being restored to the rights and benefits of a citizen of the United States and obligations of a legal citizen of the same. Your petitioner prays that a full pardon be granted in the premises.


                                                                                         James A. Tucker
I thought this would be a great resource to add to the FamilySearch Wiki.  I contributed to the following page:

FamilySearch Wiki: Confederate Sources.








Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Contributing Confederate Citizens File to Wiki

United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865



This is the page where I will contribute the resource for Confederate Citizens Files.  I will need to sign in on the top right first then I will be able to edit the page. 

Now that I am signed in, I will click on Section 12, Confederate Sources, because this is the section where I want to make the edit.
Confederate Sources


Next, I will Click "Edit."

Click edit to add resource

Notice below that the rich text editor opened up after I clicked on "Edit."  I added a bullet, and typed the text "Confederate Citizens Files at Footnote."
Rich Text Editor
Let's hyperlink the text so that the user can go straight to the collection.  I highlighted the text, and I copied the URL at Footnote.  I clicked on the icon of the world, and a box came up.  I pasted the link in the box and clicked "Ok."

Hyperlink text

You can see my entire contribution in the large red box below.  I added an explanation for the edit in the summary and clicked save.  I will receive an email when the page has been updated.  Someone may come along later and move or add more information to what I contributed, and I welcome that.

Add Summary and Click "Save"

You may now take a look at this section on FamilySearch Wiki:  Confederate Sources

Confederate Citizens File

It was a great day at the FHC.  I volunteer there once a week.  We only had one patron, so I took the opportunity to become more familiar with the FHC Portal where patrons can access subscription sites for free.  I chose to learn more about Footnote today.


I decided to figure out what new documentation I may be able to find on my slave ancestor's line. I know African Americans where not documented very well during that time period, so I must research the slave owners in hopes of gleaning information to document my African American ancestors.

J. K. Vance was a South Carolina State Representative previous to the Civil War.  He also owned my great great grandfather, Beverly Vance.  They were related.  I already found the Confederate service record for J. K. Vance.  I checked Footnote to see if there may be any other type records.

Surprisingly, I discovered the Confederate Citizens File for J. K. Vance.  They are Confederate records documenting citizens and businesses.  Remember the Confederacy set up a whole new government.  I never thought about searching those records before today.

You can learn more about the collection at:

Also, this is an 81 page pamphlet that describes the collection:  Confederate Papers Relating to Citizens or Business Firms.   This evening I checked FamilySearch Wiki where I found Confederate States of America and Texas State Troops  and  United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865.

I noticed section 12 of United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865 is entitled Confederate Sources. I think this will probably be the best place to put this resource.  In my next post, I will add a reference to the wiki about  the collection discovered.  I will post screenshots here so you will be able to follow along.

I suppose since this is the 150th year since the start of the Civil War, people may be especially interested in this resource.  The record of J. K. Vance was several pages long.  

I am also in the process of trying to translate all of the documents.  One page is a letter from the Inspector General in the Columbia office on June 11, 1863 asking permission of General G. T. Beauregard to allow J. K. Vance, of Abbeville District to transport sugar to be used by the people of South Carolina. 
__________________________________________________________________________
Footnote, Confederate Papers Relating to Citizens or Business Firms, 1861-65, pgs 1-22, J. K. Vance

National Archives Catalog Title: Confederate Papers Relating to Citizens or Business Firms, compiled 1874 - 1899, documenting the period 1861 - 1865 
 


   
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