Monthly Archives: January 2014

OneWorldTree – Not A Source!

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Every so often I write a rant about using valid sources.  Since it is the beginning of a new year I thought it would be a good time for another rant!

To sum it all up in one sentence, “THE ONEWORLDTREE IS NOT A VALID GENEALOGY RESEARCH SOURCE!”

OneWorldTree, owned by Ancestry.com, is simply a huge storehouse of various types of  data … some comes from actual primary sources but most (in my opinion) does not.  Instead, it comes from user-submitted trees and there was no attempt to verify this data before it was published.  This means that you might be copying MISINFORMATION that was submitted by: (a) a child who is writing their family tree based on hearsay and family myth, or (b) a well-meaning family member who is attempting to correct or cover embarrassing information, or (c) someone who is determined to prove that they are related to someone else even if it means fabricating data, or (d) someone like me who publishes information thought to be properly sourced which later proves to be wrong but it is too late to remove it from OneWorldTree …. and the list goes on and on ….

Even Ancestry.com has this to say about their OneWorldTree, “OneWorldTree can give you hints about your family history but not necessarily facts. There are a number of sources consolidated in OneWorldTree and it’s impossible to know if there were errors in member-submitted family trees.”

Please don’t misunderstand the intent of this rant.  OneWorldTree is okay to use as long as you recognize that IT CAN ONLY PROVIDE YOU WITH HINTS BUT NOT NECESSARILY FACTS!!!

 

The Children of Samuel & Margaret Parker

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Margaret S Power and Samuel Parker were married 28 Jun 1872 in Clark Co. Arkansas (which borders Pike Co.).

In the 1900 census for Pike Co. Arkansas, the listing for Margaret S [Power] Parker indicates that she had 4 children and 2 are living.

In the 1880 census for Pike Co. Arkansas, two children are listed with their parents, Samuel & Margaret Parker: Larken C. Parker, age 6, and Della Parker, age 1 mo.

The existence of the son Larkin Calvin Parker is well sourced and proven. He is known to have died 18 Jul 1910 in Salem, Pike, Ark.

Several other Ancestry.com online trees list the family as having a son named Rayford Parker b. 20 Mar 1872 in Pike, Ark .. d. 18 Jul 1910 in Salem, Pike, Ark. Other trees list a Thomas Parker with the exact same b. & d. data. Unfortunately none of these trees offer any proof or valid sources about Rayford or Thomas Parker. Those which do list sources only cite other (unsourced) family trees or The One World Tree which is, by no means, a factual source.

If anyone has valid information about the other two children of Samuel & Margaret Parker, I’d very much like to hear from you….

Throgmortons and Taylors

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The THROGMORTONs & TAYLORs of Jefferson County IL & Lawrence County AR

The name THROGMORTON is an obvious derivative of the name THROCKMORTON; the spelling variations are far too numerous to list. The most common include: THROGMORTEN, THROGMORTIN, THROGMARTIN, THOGMORTON, THOGMORTEN, THOGMARTIN, THRAGMARTEN, FROGMARTIN, TROGMORTEN, etc.

The association or connection of the THROGMORTONs and the TAYLORs is first documented in the 1850 census of Jefferson County, Illinois, which shows the families of William Trogmorten and Elizabeth (widow of Drury, Sr.) Taylor to be neighbors.

On October 22, 1853, William C. Taylor (son of Drury Sr.) purchased 40 acres of land near Elk Prairie in Jefferson County, IL. On April 5, 1855, William Thogmorten purchased the adjoining 50 acres of land.

Two of William Throgmorton’s daughters married two sons of Drury Taylor, Sr. Jefferson County, Illinois records indicate that Mathew William Taylor married Eliza J. Throgmorton on February 7, 1855, and, Drury M. Taylor married Mary E. Throgmorton on November 5, 1859.

In the late 1850’s (probably 1859) the family of Drury Taylor, Sr. moved to St. Genvieve County, Missouri, and the William Throgmorton family accompanied them as the 1860 census for that county shows dwelling numbers 889, 890, and 891 to be Taylors, and then number 892 is listed as the family of William Throgmorton.

Sometime after the beginning of the Civil War (probably 1862) the Taylors and the Throgmortons left Missouri and returned to Jefferson County, Illinois. Drury M. Taylor had died in early 1870 and his widow, Mary Throgmorton (along with Drury’s five children) is shown on the 1870 census living in Dodds Township with her parents, William and Lucy Throgmorton. Elizabeth, widow of Drury Sr., and most of her children and their families are shown living nearby in Blissville Township.

The 1870 census also finds a Taylor – Throgmorton connection in Missouri. The Washington Co. MO census shows William Taylor (Mathew William Taylor son of Drury Sr.), his wife, Eliza J. Throgmorton, and their family living next door to Eliza’s brother, Edward (actually Edmond G. Throgmorton) and his family.

The Taylors and the Throgmortons left Illinois and migrated to Lawrence County, Arkansas sometime between late 1870 and mid 1872. The 1872 membership list of the New Hope Baptist Church in Lawrence Co., AR includes William Throgmorton, his wife and two sons (and several other Throgmortons) and, Matthew M. (could be “W”) Taylor, Duain M. Taylor and Mary E. Taylor (perhaps Drury M.’s widow, Mary E. Throgmorton). On July 17, 1872, the widow of Drury M., Mary E. Throgmorton, married Greenberry Taylor in Lawrence Co., AR. Greenberry was a son of Godfrey Taylor, Drury M.’s older brother. The Throgmorton family was already represented in Lawrence County, Arkansas as one of Mary’s cousins, Robert Pinkney Throgmorton had married Elizabeth Foreman there on April 1, 1869. As early as the 1850’s and 60’s, several related Throgmorton lines had moved into Arkansas counties adjoining Lawrence.

Lawrence County Arkansas courthouse records indicate a great deal of official activity during the 1880’s and 90’s in which a Taylor or a Throgmorton was listed (oftentimes jointly).

The 1880 census for Lawrence Co., AR lists the following:
John L. D. Taylor, son of Drury Sr.
Sarah Jane Taylor (Wells), dau of William C. Taylor
Mary Throgmorton (Taylor), widow of Drury M. & Greenberry, along with her sons & dau
L.F. (Lucy) Throgmorton, widow of William Throgmorton & Mary’s mother
Duane Marion Taylor, son of Drury Sr.
Eliza Jane Taylor, widow of William C. Taylor
Martin William Wyatt, widower of Elizabeth A. Taylor (Drury Sr’s dau), along with two sons
Littleman L. Throgmortin, Mary Throgmorton Taylor’s bro & son of William
Isiah Minson, son of Sarah Jane Taylor (dau of Drury Sr.)
E. G. Throgmorton, Mary Throgmorton Taylor’s bro & son of William

The county marriage records include too many entries to list here, but five significant ‘joint’
listings are:
L.L. Throgmorton to Rosanna Taylor 11-20-1881 with J.M Wells as security
Isaiah Minson to Margaret Ward 4-2-1884 with L.L. Throgmorton as security
Jefferson D. Taylor to Sallie Bunch 7-11-1884 with E.G. Thogmartin as security
Leander Taylor to Patsy J. Bunch 8-1-1884 with E.G. Throgmartin as security
John Riley Taylor to Francis Freer 7-8-1893 with E.G. Throgmartin as security

After a mere half century the two families appear to have separated themselves from each other. Just before and during the turn of the century the Lawrence County AR Taylors and Throgmortons migrated again …. only this time they scattered throughout the region as individuals and small family units making them extremely difficult to track. Many of the Throgmortons moved into Craighead County AR where they live today (spelling their name Throgmartin); others may have moved back to Missouri. Many of the Taylors are believed to have died in Lawrence County. Some moved into Oregon County MO, some to Craighead County AR and further into southern Arkasas. By the 1910 and 1920 censuses, several of the original Lawrence County Taylors were in Oklahoma and Red River County, Texas.

Why did the two families leave Illinois … Why did they settle in Lawrence County Arkansas … What happened to separate and scatter them???? After more than a hundred years time which has eliminated any evidence that might have existed, here’s some speculative answers ….. The Civil War decimated many families and our Taylors and Throgmortons were no exception. The move from Illinois to Missouri and then back to Illinois was probably precipitated by the war and must have been extremely expensive for the families who’s meager funds were already stretched by the existing conditions. When the war ended, the families probably followed thousands of others searching for either free or inexpensive land and new opportunities in the southwestern United States. One of the primary migration routes from the northeast to the southwest was the Old Military Road that crossed right through Lawrence County Arkansas making it a typical ‘way station’ for weary travelers. Unfortunately, the Ozark foothills did not provide a very hospitable environment. A yellow fever epidemic killed hundreds during the period of 1897 though 1899 (followed by a meningitis epidemic in 1899). The harsh post-war reconstruction imposed on the southern states caused poverty to be even more epidemic; not one of our Taylors’ names is listed on the 1890 tax rolls of Lawrence County (although two Throgmortons do appear!). With this in mind, and having personally heard the sad stories of misfortune from my grandparents, I believe that disease and poverty finally caused the large family groups to break up (many must have died) and scatter as individuals.