What do you do when the records don't go back far enough?

Question

I am attempting to join the D.A.R. and need to connect my third Great-Grandmother to her parents, but I'm running into difficulties. In most cases the baptismal records in her area of birth don't begin until at least 20 years after her birth. I'm at a loss as to where else to look for definitive information that her parents are, indeed, hers. Please help. And thank you, in advance.

Comments

Hi April:

I would start by at least adding every record you already have about her, including census, marriage, and so on.  Also, I know nothing about the DAR proof standards, but do they really require a baptism or christening to prove a relationship?  It seems unlikely.  I'm certain that people who *do* know something about DAR proof standards will give you a more definitive answer.  Meanwhile, her profile looks barren, so I'd start adding sources.

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April, I see good suggestions from J. Crook and George Fulton. My only addition would be for you to tag your question "DAR" just as you did for herring and severe. Tagging gets attention of people who know!

Good Luck

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No, they don't require a baptism. That was my best guess as to where I might find her parents listed, is all. I'm reaching out for anything I can find. I will take a few minutes and add the sources I have for Elender. Much of my work is over at Ancestry dot com. Thanks for the heads up. :)

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Thank you, I added the tag. Hope I did it correctly. :O

Answer 1

You might try the DAR Patriot Index and see if there is another member that has a descent from or relationship to this couple. This can be searched through the DAR website. If so, order a record copy of the application.

Are there any wills or probate records that show the relationship?

Are there any published genealogies on this family? While these often are sparse on sources they can provide useful information. The genealogical publications like NEHGR and TAG, just to name two are worth looking at, as their articles are well researched.

Comments

Thank you for your response. Elender's father has a DAR number with his wife, Anna, that connects him to his father, Valentine, on up to the Patriot himself and his first wife.  What I don't have is anything that actually proves John and Anna Friend Sevier are her parents. The only census record is the 1830, but that's before they listed the household members by name, so it isn't worth the ink. Elender married in 1837, so after that she's listed as the wife of Daniel Washington Herring. No mention of her parents. That is why I was seeking a baptismal record, since generally parents are listed.

As for books on this family, yes there are a couple of them. Zella Armstrong's "Notable Southern Families, Vol. IV" is devoted to the Sevier family. Also, in 1961 Cora Bales Sevier and Nancy S. Madden published the "Sevier Family History". Unfortunately, there are some holes. My link being one of them. They have John and Anna Friend Sevier, son of Valentine Sevier, son of Governor John Sevier, but they don't list the children of John and Anna. DAR numbers for John and Anna exist. I just have to connect Elender to them and then I'm home free, so to speak. This is the crux of the problem. Thank you for your suggestions.

Answer 2

Without evidence, I'm just curious about how you determined that these are her parents?

One avenue to explore may be to see if either John Sevier or Anna (Friend) Sevier left a will. If they did, their children might well be mentioned. You could also check for wills of John's and Anna's parents as sometimes grandchildren are mentioned.

Comments

I first discovered the name Helen Ellen on a wide search done on the Internet which took me to a site that had a genealogical rundown for a person's family. Later, I found a marriage record for a female Sevier to a male Herring and found out her name was Elender Sevier. She married a Daniel "Washington" Herring and on a later census record was a list of their children, one of which was my second great-grandfather, John Wesley Herring. In further searches over at Ancestry dot com, I found others who had my family in their trees. I admit to have taken those shaky leaves a little too seriously. A newbie mistake, to be sure. I'm now going back to try to more thoroughly vet these individuals.

When I asked some of the owners of these trees how we knew the lineage was correct, I was pointed toward the SAR records, which does list the the applicant (including the spouse) all the way up to their Ancestor.  I took this as a clue. Family history books have shown that Governor John Sevier did have a grandson, via his own son, Valentine, to be a John Sevier born about 1798, his wife Anna Friend.

As for wills. The good old Governor didn't leave one, as shocking a thing as that may be. He did own a considerable amount of real estate. His son, Valentine, is content to fly under the genealogical radar, frustrating many, including Cora Bales Sevier, who penned "Sevier Family History" 1961. She lamented if only there was a will for him. We're not even certain of his exact year of decease. Somewhere between 1839-1855. Pick a year. I have yet to find one for his son, John Sevier (1798-1863). As for Anna having a will, she died rather young and was still married to John at the time of her decease. Women in that time frame owned nothing.

As you can see, it's quite problematic. Thank you for your suggestions. If you can think of another angle, I'm all ears. (Eyes, who are we kidding I'm reading these responses.) ;)

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Thanks. That is always the problem, isn't it? Very early on, when I first started "tree building", I too was willing to believe what others had supposedly researched. It didn't take me long to realize a lot of it was speculation and some of it was pure fiction.

You should certainly keep looking for her parents, that's why we do this, after all, lol, but perhaps without the focus on these parents. Sometimes approaching things from a different angle brings the answer.

I would look for Seviers in the two places she was said to be born in the 1820 census records. Then try to track those families in the 1830 census to see which ones might have a daughter of the correct age and go from there.

Best of luck to you!

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Thank you for your supportive words. I did find a 1920 census record that has a John Sevier in Kentucky, where family tradition says he married his first wife, Anna Friend, in 1819. There are two people in that household, a male and a female. I also have an 1830 census record for a John Sevier in Morgan, Illinois, where the family was said to have migrated. Anna died in Schuyler, Illinois, so it makes sense to find John there in 1830. (Also, it's where her parents and siblings migrated to, from North Carolina.) Again, the 1830 census only enumerates the household, no names beyond the Head of Household. So, it's not good enough proof, when it comes to Lineage Genealogy. So, here I sit, spinning my wheels. Which is why I've asked for help. After Anna died, circa 1934, John married Mary Bass or Boss Miars and had more children. They ended up in Hiawatha, Brown County, Kansas, which is where John died 11 Jun 1863. He is said to have been buried on his farm. I am unable to find a will for him, to at least verify some of his children. Short of banging my head against the desk, I'm at a loss as to what to do next.

HELP, somebody please throw me a rope!