A Free Afternoon = A New Database

I made sure to get all of my work for Monday’s classes done yesterday so that I could have a genealogy afternoon today! But I’ve been in the process of creating a photo album scrapbook for my daughter’s graduation this May, so my genealogy files weren’t in any condition to do traditional research. Instead,  I decided to work on creating a database in Excel of all of the Stephens gravestones in Russell County cemeteries. It’s pretty mindless work, so I can also “watch” marathons of my favorite HGTV shows while entering information. To keep from getting TOO overwhelmed with it, I decided to only enter information for people who were born before 1900.

I had a column for name, birth date, death date, parents, spouse and cemetery.

I LOVE creating databases like this in Excel because of the information that I see (REALLY see) for the first time based on sorting the database by columns. For example, when I sort by name, I can see all of the men named Andrew J. Stephens and fill in some of the blanks on the various groups sheets that I have. When I consider the location of the cemetery for each man, it helps me see which locations within the county are most likely to go with each man.

I can sort based on date of death and then see a list of people who died in the time frame in which death certificates are available on Ancestry to see if there are certificates that I haven’t discovered yet.

I can sort based on Parents and an incredibly complete group sheet appears before my eyes because of the links added to family stones and images of obituaries that volunteers have added. Often, I’ll find a spouse or child that I didn’t know about by doing this.

Or I can sort based on the Cemetery and begin to see possibilities for family connections that I didn’t think of before.

This sheet of the database is now part of a Stephens workbook that I’ve been working on over the years. Any time I’m at a standstill in research for one reason or another, I try to take one source – a specific book or website – and add all of the entries that I can whether I know they are related to my line or not. I have solved many puzzles with databases like this one! Now, if I have a date of death on the Cemetery sheet, but no parents, I can check to see if I have information on the Death Records worksheet to see if parents are listed there. I have worksheets for Birth Records, Marriage Records, Deeds, Taxes, Census Records, Military Info, Death Records and now – Cemeteries. And of course, every entry has the source included so I don’t have to go back to the actual book or website to add a record to my software database.

While it isn’t an earth shattering revelation for doing research, I’m always surprised by what I discover even though it was looking me directly in the face before!

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Awesome Maps!

2 hour school delay this morning – yes! I love these unexpected chunks of free time when I don’t feel guilty for doing some genealogy surfing!

This morning, I was looking at some genealogy newsletters that I get in my email and I saw a hint to take a map of the area you are researching and to draw concentric circles 5, 10, 15, etc. miles out from the location of your ancestor to see when places on the map might be likely places to research for more information on an ancestor. In the article, it mentioned USGS web site as a great resource for downloading topographic maps – and what a goldmine I feel like I’ve found!

The area of Kentucky that I research is very hilly and covered with little creeks and branches from the Cumberland River. I’ve always intended to take a more detailed look at the County Map that I have to pinpoint the different waterways that have been mentioned. The waterways are always mentioned in the tax records to show the location of the land being taxed.  The maps I’ve found on USGS are excellent for this type of research and you can download them for free!

So now, my plan is to take a look at my County map to make a list of the towns around my ancestor’s locations and to download the maps that are available to put on my research wall. I think that till now, I’ve been a “can’t see the trees because of the forest” kind of person. I know I have the County map, but I’ve never taken the time to focus on which part of the county my ancestors are in – something I should have done loooooooooooooooong ago. This will be my opportunity to do that!

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A Wonderful Find – Now What?

I’m so excited about some discoveries I’ve made doing research with Google since Saturday!

I had read a story that one of my ancestors, along with his brothers, had a trading post in the Danville, Kentucky area around the time of Kentucky statehood and I wanted to try to confirm that.  The last ancestor that I have confirmed information on is John M. Smith from Russell County.  I know that John purchased land in 1827 (Russell County was formed in 1826) and also had two land grants around the same time.  I don’t know if John was in the area before his area became Russell County or where he might have come from before that.  I don’t know his wife’s name or his parents.

I’ve latched onto the Danville area trading post as the clue that’s going to move me back a generation.  But I have not been able to find anything helpful because there are too many Smiths in the county.  While doing a Google search for trading posts, I discovered that I should be Googling the term “Stations” instead of trading posts.  Then I came across a link that listed “Smith’s Station” located on the road from Danville to the mouth of Dick’s River.  Now I had a better idea of which part of Mercer County to be looking for the Smith’s in Mercer County.  Last night, I was THRILLED to find a map showing all of the pre-1800 Stations in Kentucky and there was Smith’s Station!  Another web site told me the 3 people who are attributed with beginning the station. Could these 3 names be John’s father and his brothers?

So I’m excited to get back to the library on Friday to see what I can find in the Mercer County history books and tax lists.  My hope has been to find that some of the people in John’s part of Russell County (witnesses, neighbors, etc) were also in the same area of Mercer County in the early 1800′s to help me confirm which John Smith in Mercer County could be my John Smith.

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Russell County Deaths – 1828a

After a week of Math Teacher Conference, I’m ready to get back into the genealogy mode.  Of course, every time I say that, something ELSE pops up, but that’s life!

Due to a lack of vital records in the early years of Russell County, I’ve been using Court Orders to help me narrow down the date of death for some of my ancestors. I thought that might be helpful to other Russell County researchers as well. I was only able to make it through the Jan – June Sessions of the 1828 Russell County Court Order this morning.

• January Term – James Wariner administrator for William Stapp estate
• January Term – Mary Smith executrix of William Smith
• April Term – Estate of William Stapp (no other names)
• April Term – James Wariner administrator of William Stapp estate
• April Term – James Woldridge one of the executors for Richard Wooldridge
• April Term – Smith Turner executor of Richard Turner gives bond
• June Term – Last will and testament of Edward Long or Lang proven
• June Term – Last will and testament of Richard Turner proven
• June Term – Nancy Hampton widow of Henry Hampton

I’d love to be your Personal Assistant for these records! If you see a record that you’d like to have, I’d be happy to provide a digital copy of the full page for you for only $2.00 a page.  Email me at theshygenealogist [at] gmail [dot] com to tell me which record you’d like.  I use Paypal for fast, convenient transactions.

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Russell County Deaths – 1827

In the quest for information on our ancestors, the books and certificates and other records with specific dates of birth, marriage and death quite often don’t cover the dates that apply to our ancestor.  Sometimes, the information we are looking for is found in unexpected locations.  As I’ve been looking through the Russell County Court Orders, I’ve found information that helps give me a pretty good idea of the month and year that my ancestors passed away.  I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to find an exact date because death records were not required at the time, so I was thrilled to come across this information.

Reading through the records, I’ve decided to write periodic posts with information on the death of other Russell County residents that are not in my line.  Hopefully, these will provide information that other researchers are looking for. Some of these records simply mention that someone is deceased while others are naming administrators for the estate.  Guardians might be named for orphaned children, wills might be proven or inventories might be presented. Even though a specific date of death is not being given, it can help you narrow down the possibilities or name individuals that are related.

1827:

• March Term – William Oldakers and John Oldakers infant orphans of Henry Oldakers dec’d.
• March Term – Jane Stapp widow and relict of William Stapp dec’d.
• Sept. Term – Shadrack Phelps, Job Kerns, Elizabeth Kerns administrators for Abraham Kerns dec’d.
• Dec. Term – last will and testament of Emery Cook proven.  Nancy Cook widow.

I’d love to be your Personal Assistant for these records! If you see a record that you’d like to have, I’d be happy to provide a digital copy of the full page for you for only $2.00 a page.  Email me at theshygenealogist [at] gmail [dot] com to tell me which record you’d like.  I use Paypal for fast, convenient transactions.

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Smith Feast or Smith Famine!

I’m continuing on my search for information on John M. Smith (17?? – 1835). Here’s what I know:

• Russell County Kentucky was formed in Dec/Jan of 1825/26.
• John Smith “of Russell County” bought 100 acres in April 1827 and appears in the Russell County tax list for the first time.
• On Dec 31, 1827, John received a land grant along with James Gilbert for a total of 200 acres.  (If anyone knows why “joint” grants were given, I’d love to know! I’ve ordered the land grant films, but I’m impatient!)
• I have the tax listings for John every year through 1835 when he died.
• John’s land was partially in Russell County and partially in Wayne County.
• Two of John’s sons, George and Elias, also appear in the tax lists, giving me approximate dates of birth based on when they appear for the first time.
• In 1847, the “heirs of John M. Smith” sell all of their shares of land to their brother, Elias.  This deed mentions that the deceased Solomon Smith’s land was one-sixth of the estate. Based on this deed, I know the names of 5 children – George, Elias, Mary Jane, Elizabeth and Solomon.  Was the last sixth for their mother?

I’ve been trying to find where John M. Smith was before Russell County.  Was he in the same area, which was Wayne County before Russell County was formed?  Or did he immigrate from somewhere else?  I have one tiny clue in a great-grandson’s biography, but so far, I have not been able to confirm it. My “Smith Feast” is the fact that there are many John Smith’s in every county that I look at.  Obviously, because this is early 1800′s, I have no census records to see which John Smith might be my John Smith.  My “Smith Famine” is the fact that Solomon Smith does not appear in any tax lists or deeds other than the deed mentioned above.

I decided to look for clues in land and court records.  I currently have films of the first 3 court order books.  I began by using the index to look for records.  As I was scrolling through the film, I happened to stop on a page and John’s name popped out to me.  This was an “Ah-Ha” moment for me – the index didn’t include every mention of a name, only the names of those who initiated something in the court.  Back to the beginning of the film!  I began to read (ok, I skimmed) every page and found many things.

• John was a Justice of the Peace from 1830 till his death.
• John was quite often asked to survey the best location for new roads in his part of the county.
• John was the administrator of the estate of John B. Smith (another “famine” as I cannot find this name anywhere else!)
• John took in a “poor boy of the county”, John Asberry, who became his son’s apprentice after John died.

I had been focusing on locating anything with John’s name so I was concentrating on files before 1836, but yesterday, I began to skim Book 3 and found two “pleasant” surprises:

• Sept 1840 – George A. Smith (son of John) became the administrator for the estate of Solomon Smith.  Ah-ha!  A more specific date of death. Because Solomon never appears in the tax records, I am guessing that Solomon was not yet 21 at his death.
• Oct 1840 – Elias Smith (son of John) became the administrator for the estate of Benjamin Smith. There is more than one Benjamin Smith in Russell County, but I have never researched them because their ages and locations did not match my family.  I went back for a closer look and discovered that this Benjamin does appear in the tax lists, but only once.  In 1840, his is listed between Elias and George.  He owns no land, but does have a horse.  From this record, I am guessing that he had turned 21, and was therefore born around 1819. I believe this is the name for the final sixth of John’s estate!

I’m happy to have found these names and dates, but as usual, I have many more questions.  For my “feast” name – which John Smith is my John Smith? For my “famine” names – who was John’s wife?  I have yet to see her name anywhere, even in deeds.  Who was John B. Smith?  Was he related?  If so, how? Was he from Russell County?  If not, will this be the connection I need to show where John M. came from?  Where can I find more information on the “estates” of John M. Smith, John B. Smith, Solomon and Benjamin Smith?

Today, I will continue reading through Book 3 to see if there is more to glean. I’ve ordered and am greatly anticipating the films for the Kentucky Land Grants and Russell County deeds.  I’ve looked at the deed film before, but now I know that I can’t rely on the index.  And I found an online index that shows that there is an indenture that involves 3 of the siblings – including Benjamin – so I’m anxious to see what I’ll find next! Sadly, Spring Break begins just when I expect these films to arrive. So these mysteries will be swirling in my mind as I lay on the beach. How strange is it that I’m kinda wishing I didn’t have to go???

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John M. Smith (AKA The Brick Wall)

I’ve been researching John M. Smith for years. YEARS! He definitely falls into my “Madness Monday” category!

Here’s what I know about John M. Smith

• I know that John was listed in the Russell County tax records from 1827 – 1835.
• I know that John was listed in the 1830 Russell County Census.
• In the census, John had in his home: 1 male aged 10-15, 4 males aged 20-30 and 1 male aged 50-60.  1 female aged 15-20, 1 female aged 20-30 and 1 female aged 50-60.
• If I assume that all of the younger people in this census are children, then the oldest would have been born around 1800.
• I know that John’s estate inventory was submitted to court in October 1835.
• Based on land records, I know that John had 5 children, 4 of which I can follow:

1. Sarah Smith who married Henry Payne and died before 1845. She is married before 1830, so she is not included in John’s census.
2. George A. Smith 1805-1890 (these dates are on his tombstone.  This is my ancestor.)
3. Elias Smith abt. 1810-1853
4. Jane Smith abt 1813 – 1880.  She married Thomas Simpson in 1838.
5. Solomon Smith – the only thing I know about Solomon is that he received some of John’s land after he died, but he was listed as deceased by 1842 in another deed. George and Elias submitted John’s inventory and took over his tax listings, so I assume Solomon was not the oldest son.

Last week, we had three days of no school due to icy weather so I decided to follow up this little clue that I had found.  In a published biography for one of John’s great-grandsons, there was a line that stated that the great-grandfather (John) was an early settler of Danville, Kentucky.  I had a note tucked away in my files that on another genealogy site, another great-grandson had a descendant who stated that he was told that one of John’s sons was born in Virginia and came to Kentucky with his parents and settled near Danville where his father (John) and brothers (John’s brothers?) operated a trading post. The printed biography corroborated the location in the story I’d read so I thought, Yeah!  Something new to research!

Danville is right on the boundary between Mercer and Lincoln County.  And of course, John Smith is a rather common name so I thought it might be best to start with what I could find in Danville itself.

In the book, “Early Days of Danville”, there was a John M. Smith mentioned for the formation of a Baptist church, but how can I know if this is MY John Smith?  I can find mentions of “John Smith” in other Danville books, but nothing that I’d call “proof”.  I was hoping to find a John Smith mentioned in regards to a trading post since that would be the only way I can think of to feel pretty sure I was on the right track. However, I see information on alot of John Smith’s with a middle initial and I’ve never seen more than 1 John M. Smith, so I did make a copy of this page.

I decided to try a different tactic.  I know that John M. Smith shows up in the Russell County tax records in 1827.  Was there a John Smith in Mercer County tax lists that disappeared about the same time?  The first bio I had read stated that John’s son had followed in the footsteps of his father and “became a planter whose broad acres were tilled by slave labor”. The Mercer County tax lists show about 3 different John Smiths in the time frame I’m looking for, but 2 of them had no land.  The other had 450 acres and several slaves. I followed the tax records from 1811 to 1828.  This John Smith disappeared from the tax records in Mercer county after 1824.  If my ancestor had an uncommon name, I’d be excited by this information, but with the name John Smith?  I could probably find a John Smith in just about every county in Kentucky!

Maybe I would find a lightbulb moment with the census records.  My biggest challenge is that John Smith died in 1835, so that means I can’t use the children’s information to tell one John from another.  And all of the known children of John came of age in Russell County, so I don’t expect to find their names anywhere else. I made a chart – in Excel of course – to help me compare the different Johns and I can say which ones I think are most likely, but I keep coming back to the fact that there are probably John Smiths in every county and there would probably be several that COULD fit the information that I have, so it’s purely a wishful, barely educated guessing process.

I also found a newspaper online from Mercer County in 1804 in which a Lincoln County man lived “six miles south of Danville”.  That reminded me that I have to consider Lincoln County as well to cover all of the Danville area.

I think my next step is going to have to be land records for Mercer County.  I ordered them on Saturday. I’m not holding my breath for a deed that says “John M. Smith, who is moving to Russell County, now sells this land to so and so…” so again, how will I know for sure?

I’m also looking at records at the Allen County Public Library for Wayne County, Kentucky.  John’s land was partly in Russell and partly in Wayne, and Russell County was formed in 1826 so perhaps the clue will be in Wayne Co. I’ve searched the tax records for a John Smith with land entered in the same name as the land listed in the Russell County tax lists – so far, no luck.  Just before leaving the library Saturday, I also found 2 books of records for early Mercer County – court orders and marriages.  It’s at the top of my list to look at next Saturday (or next school snow day, whichever comes first!)

So right now, my strategy is to collect and collect and collect.  Anything that seems likely based on locations and dates.  Keeping track of witnesses and neighbors and such and then hopefully, when the land records film does arrive, maybe something will click.

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Keeping Track of the Clues

A couple of years ago, I posted several articles about using Excel to help with genealogy research.  I created my own version of Family Group Sheets and this week, I’ve begun making modifications to those to help me keep track of clues that I’m finding while I’m trying to determine if a certain family connects to mine. The time frame for this family is late 1700′s to early 1800′s so I’m not able to find potential birth dates based on census records or anything like that, so little clues from wills, deeds and court records can help me put the pieces together.

But I need to be able to keep these clues in an organized fashion – not on post it notes on my bulletin board or even in a notebook because sooner or later, I’ll lose track of those.  So I’m using hidden rows in my Excel Group Sheet. The beauty of hidden rows is that I can print a regular group sheet

or I can print an expanded version showing the clues that I’ve been gathering. A Group sheet fits on one side of a sheet of paper, but these rows can be whatever size I need to add every little clue that I find and I won’t have to worry about it ruining the look of my group sheet.  I can transcribe parts of documents or write out my thought processes to help me match potential ancestors with information I already have.

To include hidden rows in your Excel file:

1) Right click on the number of the row below the location you’d like to insert a row.  Select “insert”.

2)  I prefer for the row to be one cell with centered, red, italic print.  You can select all of these options by highlighting the cells, right clicking and clicking on the options you’d like.

3)  My group sheet has some areas for notes, but I usually add a hidden row under each child’s name and any other place which I might want to add information such as birth/death/marriage dates or parents’ names.  To hide a row, right click on the number at the beginning of the row you’d like to hide.  Select “hide” and the line will disappear.  Notice that the number also disappears, which can be a reminder that you have a hidden row.  If rows are hidden, they do not appear on your print out.

4)  To make the row visible again, highlight the rows above and below, right click and select “unhide”.  Once rows are unhidden, they will show up on your print out.

5)  If you have more than one hidden row, you can reveal them all by highlighting the entire group sheet or a group of rows, right clicking and selecting “unhide”.

Using hidden rows keeps me organized.  Knowing that I can add as much information as I want without messing up the look of my traditional group sheet makes it more likely that I will add the information to my sheet.  I won’t have to worry about missing the clue that ties everything together.

Would you like a copy of the Group Sheet in Excel?  Just click here!

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Genealogy Trading Cards

Happy New Year everyone!

My Christmas Break is almost over and I decided to take some time to work on a project I’ve always thought would be fun.  Being a teacher, I’m always on the lookout for fun ideas to use with my students.  A web site I came across awhile back is called Big Huge Labs and they have free tools to make lots of fun things with photos you upload including calendars, photo cubes, magazine covers, etc. Today, I thought I’d play with the Trading Card option.  Being an algebra teacher, I’m not sure if I’ll ever come up with a good use for trading cards in class, but I’m really interested in the potential for Genealogy Trading Cards!

Here are the cards I created for my grandparents.

Imagine my surprise to see that when download,  this “trading card” is 7″ x10″! When I tried to scale the size down in Paint, it became very pixelated.  So I opened the file in Photoshop and changed the dimensions and also changed the dpi to 300 instead of 72.  That made quite a difference!

So I’m thinking of the possibilities and I’m picturing a set of cards, similar to these.  The background color could be different for each of my 4 grandparents’ lines.  Since I rarely research my Dad’s side of the family (my grandmother was the one who got me started in genealogy and has done a thorough job) I could decide to make my colors different for each of my maternal great-grandparents’ lines.

Would it be helpful to have a set of cards like this when I’m researching?  I like the idea of knowing at a glance which line an ancestor belongs to.  And I love the idea of laying the cards out in a tree patterns to help keep me on track.  But is it worth the time?

The cards would be a quick look at names and relationships, but not many details – unless I could add information on the back.  Would these be easier to carry than group sheets?  I guess that depends on where I am.  To have in my purse to pull out on a whim – yes.  But to have when I’m doing research – I’d probably prefer my group sheets.

I love the idea of pulling out the cards when I’m at a family gathering.  I think that could generate some interest in helping with my research among my family members. They could be great conversation starters to get the stories flowing. But would they be as effective if I didn’t have a picture for an individual?  I could have pictures of tombstones, or icons to show occupations if I didn’t have a picture.  Or a map of the location they are from.

Which made me think that I could have cards for different locations where the photo is a map and the information is all about that county or town. These cards could be helpful in spotting incorrect information.  For example, I often see group sheets which have a location for birth in a year before that county was formed.  Or if I see a town listed in a pension file, I can tell if it was in a certain county. Here’s an example I made for Russell County.

How about cemetery cards?  The card could remind me how to get to the cemetery or could have a list of ancestors buried in that cemetery.

Military Cards?  I have trouble remembering which military unit different ancestors were with during the Civil War.  Perhaps a card for each unit listing which ancestor served and what battles the unit participated in?

Well, now I’m really excited to imagine this pack of genealogy cards.  Would it be worth the time?  Time that could be spent actually researching? It could be a nice little ongoing project for when I just have a little bit of time.  One drawback to the web site is that you cannot save the cards – although it does save the photos that you upload, as long as you become a member (which is free). I also wish that I could change the font or make some parts bold or center all of the text.

So maybe I’ll start working on a Word template that could do the same thing. I can picture in my mind how it could work, and if I actually get it done, you can bet that I’ll post it here!

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Andrew J. Stephens Military Mix-Up

I recently decided to re-examine a military pension file that I have for Andrew J. Stephens.  His pension packet is relatively small – only 8 pages.  When I ordered it, I was hoping to find that this was my GGG-grandfather, but instead found that this was another Andrew who had married my GG-Grandmother, Victoria Coffey.  I have spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out who the parents of this “other” Andrew Stephens were, but I can find no family with an Andrew Stephens of the correct age.

When I read the file, I was disappointed to see that “other” Andrew had deserted from one regiment to join another.  His file indicated that he was home on a 48 hour furlough and his regiment received orders to move on before his furlough was over, therefore, he joined another regiment.

I noticed that in my file, I had 2 versions of the Index Card for Andrew – one from Ancestry and one from Footnote.  The cards were different and the Footnote card had a note on the bottom to see the file for Elias Smith – who was the first husband of Victoria Coffey.  The 2 different cards made me wonder if there was information on Footnote that wasn’t on Ancestry.  When I was comparing the available files on each site, I discovered that there were 2 listings on Ancestry for Andrew J. Stephens.  At first, I attributed this to Andrew being in 2 different regiments, but then I realized that the enlistment dates were so close together – one in July and one in August – and that pushed me to look a little further.

The first thing I realized was that both listings were for the 13th Kentucky Cav, but one was Company C and the other was Company G.  This caught my attention because in the pension file, Andrew had deserted from Co. G of the 19th Kentucky Infantry.  What??  Infantry?  More confusion!  Could I find records for THIS information?  One man was 24 years old and joined in Pulaski Co and the other was 19 years old and joined in Adair Co.  Footnote has SOME pension files scanned and put on their site, but no records for either Andrew yet.  So what could I find?  What I found was another index card for Andrew J. Stephens that shows he was in Co. G of the 19th Kentucky Infantry AND Co. G of the 13th Kentucky Cav.  And the certificate number on this card was different from the pension file that I have.

While I couldn’t find the pension file online, I COULD find the service records, so I spent alot of time downloading every card for Andrew Stephens from all 3 units.  As I read the cards, I noticed that there was a card for the Co. C 13th KY Cav Andrew that stated that “The notations of February 28, 1887 and March 2, 1894, are canceled for the reason that this man is not identical with the Andrew J. Stephens who deserted from Company G, 19 Kentucky Infantry.”  INTERESTING!  This is the man who I DO have the pension file for.  Why wouldn’t that be included in his file?  And who is the other man?  In my mind, I’ve been thinking that these might end up being the same way after all, but when I line up the dates on the cards, the men would have had to have been in 2 places at once, so they are definitely 2 different men.

What else can I glean from these card?.  I’m hopeful, but not very confident that “Co G” Andrew is “my” Andrew.  But his cards have a date of death at the bottom that says June 27, 1928.  My Andrew died in 1920, but his wife Lucy died 14 June, 1928.  Could the given date of death be the date of HER death?  There is no indication that a Widow’s pension was requested, only an invalid pension, so would there be a reason to have HER date of death?  I wish I knew more about these records!  If this isn’t “my” Andrew, who is it?  ANOTHER Andrew???

Here’s a brief summary of what I know from the cards (I can’t get this to line up on the page like I want…)

………………………………….Co. C 13^th Cav …………………………………..Co. G 13^th Cav

Enlisted                         8 July 1863                                           13 Aug 1863
Location                         Adair Co                                                 Pulaski Co
Age                               19                                                              24
Approx. DOB                 1844                                                        1839
Final Rank                      Pvt                                                           Corp
DOD                               Unknown                                              27 June 1928

My first inclination is to ORDER THE FILE NOW!  But I can’t afford that right now.  So come on Footnote!  Scan those files!  I have found the pension file for Welcome Stephens who had “my” Andrew J. Stephens (Welcome’s uncle) and his wife, Lucy, as the witnesses to prove the birth dates for Welcome’s children, so I feel like the records for my area of Kentucky are just sitting on a desk waiting to be scanned any day now!  It can’t be soon enough!

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