Back It Up; Back It Up

This is why I scream, yammer and otherwise carry on about making genealogy backups.

Within the past year, I lost my laptop. Lost as in I woke up one morning and it did not work. So, I got a new one. The smug bastard that I am (literally...my bio parents weren't married), I thought that I saved everything to Dropbox or OneDrive.  Except - my Moberly text file that had everyone in it and all generations since God was a boy and had a Moberly as a childhood friend

So! What do I do, but go to Google and think that it will help me find the discussion group that had the text file in the first place, except it mocks me! What does it show me?! Ads for those stupid family crest websites which we all know are hoaxes and nothing but ways to cheat people out hopeful genealogists' $$$$. I know this because before I ever did any genealogy, I sent $$$$ to one for my ex-husband's surname and I got a made-up family crest and a telephone listing for every <insert surname> in the United States!

I need to take to drinkin' again..... Heavily.....

It's Going to be One of Those Days

Due to my own odd physical issues, medicine side effects and general, all around weirdness, I usually don't sleep longer than 4:30 am.  That give all sorts of opportunity for Internet mischief-making, except I use mine for genealogy.  

The Husband spit in a cup (vial) for a couple of reasons.  

First, he wanted to see what made him.  Knowing migration patterns of ancient and not so ancient man, we weren't surprised - 63% Great Britain, 20% Ireland, 5% Scandinavia, 5% West Europe, 4% Italy/Greece, 1% Iberian Peninsula, 1% East Europe, <1% Finland/Northwest Russia.  Anything else is so far back it doesn't show.  I should wear eclipse glasses when I look at him, he's so pale.

Second, he is, as am I, adopted.  In every adopted person, there is a hole.  It doesn't matter how well adjusted that person is or what type of parents they were raised by.  That Hole exists.  I know this from experience.  I'd seen edges of the Hole, but didn't know how big it was until 1992 when I was being hugged by my birth mother in her front yard and she whispered, "Now I feel complete."  

The question is, how deep is that Hole.

So, he spat in the cup and we sent it off.  I started building his mirror tree.  Using information already known, I entered his birth mother and him.  Then we got the results.  The Husband was born in Appleton, Wisconsin so we both assumed his people had lived in the Upper Midwest.  Imagine our surprise when his test came back and he had very strong connections to the Ancestry Genetic Community "Settlers of Central Georgia & Central Alabama".  Wait, what?!?!  *insert the sound of a record needle screech here* 

I worked more on the mirror tree and kept finding one specific family again and again.  I exported his information to GEDMatch and who do I find, but the same user that matched so highly on Ancestry.  She's his first cousin, once removed. 

Comparing their DNA, if I'm reading the information correctly, it appears that her father and his grandfather were brothers.  This family bounces between Alabama and Georgia.  So, I'm working on pulling all brothers' families forward to see if I have a candidate before I drop this in her lap.

Oh, and a relative on The Husband's father's side from this family?  Actually, much closer than "a relative" - if not a half sibling, then another first cousin, once removed.  I went to high school with him in far western Kentucky.  It's going to be one of those days.

The Spice of Life!

First, let me say that this is satire. I have so much more that comes first that anything that I would like to buy on Ebay. That's for my sister. However, only my sister would really and truly get this next part.

Growing up, my mother had the Spice of Life pattern of Corelle/Corning Ware stuff in our kitchen. I believe that my sister had something to do with it since she sold wallpaper because our whole kitchen was decked in orange, avocado, olive (because I believe those are two distinct and different colors of green), gold, and amber (see previous statement regarding green). Now, before you go "Blech" or any other disgusting noise, remember, we're talking sometime between 1974 - 1982 (I don't know what happened after that...I moved out). Mind you, we not only had wallpaper, our fridge was decked out with wallpaper. Not only wallpaper on the fridge....cut out veggies from the wallpaper ON the fridge. It was spectacular. No, really, it truly was. Like I said, topping it off, she had the Spice of Life stuff. Now, when I got ready to move out, I had a few pieces of it (how could I not), but never to that extent.

The years pass by and we moved into the house we live in now. Our family comes together in various forms through the years and I look around my dining table and it hits me. My kitchen colors were the same as my mothers - right down to the avocado, olive, gold and amber.

I say all that to say all this - I looked at Amazon, Ebay and various other shopping venues today at "Spice of Life" and was reminded of that 20 some-odd year old young lady who thought I'd NEVER buy THAT!!!

My mouse finger is itchy.

How are You Spending Genealogy Leap Day?

I just may have found the most interesting thing having to do with my genealogy ADD.

I was looking at things on one surname before I went back and concentrated on a different one. See? I'm leaping around?! Genealogy Leap Day! Yeah, that was bad. Anyway. I'm looking through old copies of the Sparks Quarterly and what do I find? Best Name Ever - Archibald Wimpy Sparks. I thought, "Ok, I need to investigate this more.  Forget what I was originally doing!" Mind you, I have no connection whatsoever to this person.  The name just caught my eye. He went by Wimpy and was born in 1843 in Lumpkin County, GA. There was a family near his boyhood home with the last name of Wimpy so there is likely some connection. 

He enlisted in Phillip's Legion Infantry, CSA, Company E, known as the Blue Ridge Rifles. The ages of the members of the BRR ranged from 13 to 47 years of age.

Wimpy was killed in action on 23 Aug 1862 at Beverly's Ford, VA on the Rappahannock River by artillery fire.  This doesn't say where he's buried.

By the time I got to this point, Wimpy became more than just a fun name. Within 15 short minutes, he became real to me. He became flesh and blood. And within 15 short minutes, I felt loss.

Crawford, Crawford, Who's Got the Crawford?

Drinking coffee and browsing these books. Rambling thoughts:

First off - I am not disputing anything that has previously been put out there by other genealogists.  I am merely stating what I have found in these books. This can be found in "The Brothers Crawford, Volume II, Pages 341 - 346."   This is something that I will be researching as well.   Do not kill the messenger!!

Two volume set. While Volume I is about Col. William, Volume II is about our Valentine Jr. I'm reading Volume I right now. Will work on Volume II later. If you're unfamiliar with Col. William Crawford, do a Google search on him - tragic end to his life. These brothers were friends of George Washington in their younger days. Letters between all three are in the National Archives.

Their father, Valentine Sr., traded in Redemptioners (white persons unable to pay their passage over the Atlantic who were sold for seven years of service - indentured servants). I have problems with this.  I know, I know.  I'm bringing my 21st Century sensibilities to this (which I tell people to never do in genealogy).  His wife was Irish.  Is that how she came over?  Is this how he met his wife? Was she one of these Redemptioners? See what I mean by for every question answered there are 5 more asked? One of Crawford's Redemptioners was Richard Stephenson. He married Crawford's widow so there's an assumption (you know what they say about assuming) that there was a civil relationship between him and at least a few of "his" Redemptioners.

I will say this. Volume II suggests a different parentage set (an extra generation) for Frances Crawford, second wife of Isaac Sparks, Jr. Mind you, I'm concentrating on Miss Frankie out of the bunch of these prolific Crawfords as she's the one from which I sprung forth.  The problem, as with other genealogy research in the region, is the fact that there are large families and everyone is named after everyone else. As a result, you end up with many people named the same thing.

Volume II suggests that Josiah/Joseph Crawford b. c. 1742, VA, d. b. 1830, Estill County, KY. married 1) UFN (Unknown First Name) Isaacs; Married 2) UFN Townsend (Some say first name Betsy).

Children from the first marriage:

Valentine Crawford

Archibald Crawford

Gideon Crawford

Austin Crawford

Oliver Crawford

William Crawford

Martitia Crawford

Cecelia Crawford

Lucretia Crawford

Children from the second marriage:

Maude Crawford

Anne Crawford

Ida Crawford

Valentine Crawford, born in 1770 in Albemarle Co., VA and died in 1860 in Estill Co., KY. He married Susan/Susannah Ray/Rhay in Madison County on 21 Jan 1800 d/o Benjamin Ray/Rhay. On 06 Mar 1815, Valentine purchased 5,491 acres on Millers Creek in Estill County. According to this book and the documentation within, Valentine and Susan had the following children:

Frances Crawford (wife of Isaac Sparks, Jr.)

Robert "Ripper" Lee Crawford

Valentine Vance Crawford 

Oliver Crawford

Harrison Crawford

Joseph Crawford Jr. (married Nancy Gray; buried in Sparks Cem)

Martitia Crawford

Daughter Crawford

Nancy Crawford

William Crawford

Syrildia "Quilda" Crawford

Armilda (Arminda) Crawford 
Lourana Crawford
Elizabeth Crawford
Laurinda Crawford
Hardin Crawford

Valentine and Susan are both buried in the Crawford Cemetery located in the Crystal community in  Estill Co., Kentucky near the Estill/Lee Co. Line.  This is a family cemetery with several of the older graves being unmarked.  It's located on the land that he originally purchased in 1815 and deeded to his descendants.  I've been there once, but I didn't know at the time they were possibly my ancestors.

Now, is this true? Or were Joseph and Betsy (Townsend) Crawford Frances' parents? The only thing that is going to prove either one is more research.

And more coffee.