Sunday Search: Who’s Next?

With the first supplemental application nearly done it is time to start looking through the family tree to see which line I will be submitting next. Now that the “easy” ones have been documented, all of the other options are going to require some more work. That being said, now that I have traced one ancestor on my father’s side and one on my mother’s side, I can at least look at all possibilities without having to limit my options. With that in mind, I have to look and see what information I do have and how likely it will be to find the supporting documentation I need for the additional lines.

Looking back at the list I compiled in March, there are certain things that still need to be worked on for each of the ancestors listed. While we have already submitted documentation for the Redcross and Noblit lines, there are still twenty eight (28) other names on that list. However, from that list, I have at least narrowed the selection down to a few ancestors where the mysteries are minimal and acquiring the documentation is realistic pursuit given my limited time at the moment.  

Jacob Duffordt, Virginia Patriotic Service, Provided supplies to the Continental Army. We have the documentation of him paying the supply tax as well as, what I believe to be his service in one of the Flying Camps. Additionally, I have all marriage certificates and other documentation going back to his grandson, my 4^th great grandfather Jacob Teaford, whom I wrote about in May regarding his service at Norfolk during the War of 1812. The issue with this line is that we aren’t 100% certain as to the identity of this Jacob’s mother. It is a mystery that the family has been working on for decades but I believe that I am making some headway.

This is likely the next supplemental application that I will be completing but there are other patriots in the family that I will be researching at the same time including:

• Johann David Von Nida, Virginia Patriotic Service, Paid Supply Tax
• Frederick Boyer, Philadelphia County Militia
• John Snider/Snyder, Corporal, Flying Camp Maryland Militia; Wounded at White Plains.
• George Michael Wilfong / Wildtfang, Virginia Patriotic Service, Paid Supply Tax
• John Cook, Private, Logan County Virginia Militia
• William Terry, 3rd and 5th Virginia regiments
• John Philip Mumbauer, Private, Bucks County Pennsylvania Infantry
• John Norbeck, 1st Battalion, Berks County Pennsylvania Militia
• John Phillip Young, 6th Battalion, Philadelphia County Militia
• Rufus Cone, 7th and 17th Connecticut Regiments; Taken prisoner at the Battle of Long Island; Died aboard the prison ship off the coast
• Matthias Kerlin, Pennsylvania Patriotic Service, Paid Supply Tax

Again, all have their small gaps in the documentation but I am confident in tracing these names and we will eventually be able to verify them. The real question for me is whether we will be able to trace back through the Muhlenberg line as this requires my research on one generation to be supported through documentation as the maiden name is the one that I have traced. This will require a considerable amount of effort which is why it will be worked on in the future, after a number of other patriots have been proven. That being said, I welcome any information on the Muhlenberg family tree to get things started.

Sunday Search: In Flight Questions

I am not someone who flies well. In fact, there have been many times when I have barely been able to open my eyes on the plane. It isn’t really the flying part that gets me it is the taking off and landing that doesn’t play well with my stomach. However, there have been moments from time to time when, for some reason, there hasn’t been even the slightest twinge of queasiness. Ever hopeful, I always have a project or two on hand when I fly with the hope that I will actually be able to remain productive during these unusual moments.

Today was kind of an in-between flight for me. While I was not in a position to start pulling out books and files or flip open my laptop, I was still able to think about some of the questions that still linger in the family tree. Keep in mind that these are topics that I keep on hand, jotted either on a post it note at my desk or, as was the case here, written as a note on my cell phone. Here are the questions that I keep coming back to hoping that I can think of a new angle or a new place to look:

• Why can’t I find any record of Marcellias Nicholas Love prior to his marriage to Laura Belle Redcross in 1889?
• Who was the third Jacob Teaford’s mother? Can this information be found in his service record from the War of 1812?
• Where is the marriage certificate of Paulus Redcross and Frances Beverly?
• When did the original William McKenna immigrate to the United States? Where did he enter?
• Where are the records for Alexander Fulton? Any relation to the Fulton family in Lancaster County?
• Why is there so little information on Mary Eppright? Is the family really tied to the Muhlenberg line?
• Who is John W. Ardis’ father? Was he in the Revolutionary War?
• Where can I find more information on the Yeagle and Corner families?
• Who was John Uttley’s father? What did he do (his son and grandson became Philadelphia Police Officers)?

These are the questions that I am most eager to answer at this point in my research. This is why I keep this list with me nearly everywhere I go. It is a simple reminder that I am sure most genealogists keep on hand not just for when we are sitting among the stacks or at our laptop at home. Sometimes we just need to step away from the inundation of information and just think about the possibilities of where we might find the answers as well as mull over the many theories that we all have regarding our family mysteries. In the end, there are times when these undistracted moments can be the most fruitful. But, for now, for me, they remain questions.