Jonathan D

One of the most interesting things to me about genealogy is migration patterns and why people settled where they did. They're often based on very precise historical incidents but also tend to follow certain patterns.

Most of my family are Scots Irish and northern English who came on the linen ships to Philadelphia and left Pennsylvania in caravans on the Great Wagon Road. Others came to Virginia during the 2nd decade of Jamestown or as indentured servants, and my namesake line was exiled here by Cromwell's for participation in the Irish wars. Regardless of where or when they came here most settled in Virginia for various reasons by the mid 18th century, then drifted in the Carolinas (usually the border of No. and So. Carolina) by or after the Revolution, then into Georgia when Creek lands started to be given away by lotteries, then further west in Georgia after Horseshoe Bend/Treaty of Ft. Jackson, then Alabama in the 1820s-1830s.

Where did your family settle and by what route?

Hey-

Like most amateur genealogists I can can trace some branches of the family almost back to the Ark (complete with a copy of their boarding pass) with no problem while one within the past century can drive me nuts. I have two brick walls with my great-great-grandparents and would love suggestions.

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Andrew Mason Caton- I know that he was born 12 Feb 1815 in York District, S.C.. In a book of dates in his own handwriting he lists his own d.o.b. and that "Mary Polly Boggs Caton died 4 April 1815", but he doesn't say who she is. He never mentions his father or any siblings; I've assumed that M.P.B.C. was his mother but do not know this.

I know that Andrew died in 1908 (I have his obit), was survived by all 14 of his children, and have tons of info on him from 1840 onward, but I can't find his parents. The census lists other Catons & Boggs in York District, SC, around the time of his birth, but of course these are the 1810/1820 censuses so no wives and children are named.

There were some 1st-cousin marriages in my lineage way back but they're far from the most confusing relationship.

My g-g-grandmother Amanda married her first husband, George (a widower with 10 children) when she was 22 and he was about 65. They had 4 children, the oldest being Becky. When Geo. died she married a man her own age and had 4 more, the oldest being Henry.

Emily, George's granddaughter by his first wife, married J.L. and had a daughter, Kitty. When Em. died JL married Becky, Em's [half-]aunt, though she was 10 years younger. George and Em's daughter Kitty married Amanda and her 2nd husband's son Henry and had my grandfather.

These marriages made Amanda my grandfather's grandmother, [step] g. grandmother, [step] g.g. grandmother], and Becky his [half] aunt, [step]grandmother, and [half]g.g. aunt. Her kids were his aunts/uncles and first cousins.

Any strange relationships that don't involve actual inbreeding in your line? I'd love to hear about them.

I'm not a fundamentalist and I know that there are a lot of biblical stories that are at complete odds with the historical record and a lot more for which no evidence exists, but I do think that a lot of the Old Testament legends probably have at least their origins in fact. A lot of archaeology and historical study has borne this out (the "house of David" stela, corresponding myths in different countries, etc.). Many historians dispute that the Habiru/Hebrews were ever even in Egypt, but I have no problem believing that at least some were, for taking out the miracles et al, the story sounds reasonable.

So my pet theory of Moses- please tell me what you think of it as a theory and if it has any known factual impossibilities:

As a huge history buff, I would love for Yahoo to start a HOMEWORK answers board (that could be divided into subjects) and a separate non-homework history forum for people who are actually interested in discussing history with other adults (or kids interested in history) instead of bottom feeding school kids too lazy to type 'Marie Antoinette' into a search engine. Out of curiosity, would anybody else like to see this?

I want to give each of my relatives an I.D.# for filing and organizing hard copies of their data and cross-referencing, but I haven't found a ready made organization system I like. Ahnentafel is fine for ancestors but hard to use for steps/siblings/half-siblings, etc., though I do use a modification I've made called "Marital Ahnentafel" with a sort of decimal/letters type classification system (based on the SuDocs call numbers for government docs if you're familiar) that works pretty well, but before I adapt that I'm curious if there's a better one already out there.

Thanks for any suggestions.

I'm doing research on an ancestor's civil war campaigns and while I knew that East Tennessee had a huge percentage of people who remained loyal to the union, I'd always assumed it was because they owned fewer slaves and so didn't side with the planter class, and because Nashville fell so early in the war. I was surprised to learn that no... there were plenty of slaves in East Tennessee- far more, in fact, than in many regions that were fanatically anti-Union, and the central/eastern Tennesseans had huge numbers of unionists before Nashville fell.

Anyone know why so many Tennesseans remained loyal as opposed to other statesl? It's not essential to know for the cavalry battles I'm writing about, but I'm just curious.

(Not a homework question, incidentally.)

I have an ancestor who was in his late 20s in 1861, lived in Alabama where his family owned 6 slaves (i.e. not Union sympathizers) though they weren't rich or politically connected, and from his photograph he appears to have been able-bodied. There is no evidence he served during the Civil War in the army or in the Home Guard. He married in 1862 and had 2 children born during the war, also indicating he was at home and not in the field. He was not an only child or the sole support of anybody at the beginning of the war.

No tales survive of him through his descendants; I only know his name through genealogical research.

Any idea how he would have avoided service? (I know that northern men could legally pay other men (usually $300-$500 and usually Irish immigrants) to take their place, but this doesn't seem to have been an option for Confederates.)

Thanks for any good suggestions.

(Not a homework question, incidentally.)

I have an ancestor who was in his late 20s in 1861, lived in Alabama where his family owned 6 slaves (i.e. not Union sympathizers) though they weren't rich or politically connected, and from his photograph he appears to have been able-bodied. There is no evidence he served during the Civil War. He married in 1862 and had 2 children born during the war, also indicating he was not at home. He was not an only child or the sole support of anybody at the beginning of the war.

Any idea how he would have avoided service? (I know that northern men could legally pay other men (usually $300-$500 and usually Irish immigrants) to take their place, but this doesn't seem to have been an option for Confederates.)

Thanks for any good suggestions.

I have written a book of autobiographical short-stories and essays based on my childhood in rural Alabama. The title

is CASSEROLES FOR THE DEAD and it's about my extremely eccentric (sometimes insane) family I grew up in- especially the very old grandparents and great-aunts who lived with us. Which of these openings do you think would

1- most grab you as an opening line?

2- most fit the theme I described above?

Thanks.

A. "In space, no one can hear you scream, but the same is not true in a grocery store produce aisle."

B. "This little boy is as pretty as any girl... you know his Mama liked to have killed his daddy when he had her..his... curls cut off. You know what would be plum adorable would be to get a picture of him with the body!"

C. Daddy said we could still be to Boone, North Carolina, in time to hear the madrigals as long as Mama decided not to kill herself in the next few minutes. If she did kill herself or took another hour to decide not to, we'd be late.