I had my DNA sample held by the Family Tree DNA testing service submitted for autosomal analysis, a.k.a. Family Finder, in early 2014. Since that time I’m up to nearly 1000 matches. I’ve contacted many of the closest matches, but nothing has ever panned out until recently.
The above screen capture shows my top three matches. The most recent match is a Rusk. Rusk? …yes, I recognize that name. My father’s cousin’s maiden name was Rusk, and this shows as a relatively close relationship. Most certainly there must be a traceable connection.
I vaguely remember an “Aunt Peggy”, as my father referred to her. She was a sister of my paternal grandfather George Kenneth Moore (1906-1954). In the late 1920’s she married Charles R Rusk (1904-1983) and together had four children: Charles J, Margaret, Betty Lou, and Donna Em.
I contacted Mr. Rusk and asked if he knew of Margaret “Peggy” Bell Moore. His initial response was that he wasn’t aware of any relationship.
Emma Charlotte Waespe and Frank Moore c. 1950
However after a supplying a bit more info and him conferring with a family member, it turns out that he’s a grandson of Aunt Peggy and a great-grandchild of Frank Moore (1881-1952) and Emma Charlotte Waespe (1886-1973). I too am a great-grandchild of this couple, therefore we are second cousins.
Previously, I had not had much confidence in autosomal testing as I feel things get pretty diluted and its not much good beyond finding fourth cousins at the most distant. I have primarily focused on Y-DNA testing.
I believe that I will submit a DNA sample to Ancestry.com for comparison in their database to throw the net a bit wider.
Background: For many years, my third
great grandmother, wife of my paternal third great
grandfather Samuel Moore, was only known to me as “Martha W”,
and that she was born about 1822 in Virginia. Her pedigree was
mystery to me. She, like many women we find in our research, seemed to
have come out of no where. Furthermore, she seemed to have
disappeared without a trace. A longstanding goal of mine has been to answer the
typcial question genealogists face when identifying a new ancestor:
“who were their parents?” We also want to learn about their
siblings, and hopefully identify and connect with some cousins
engaged in the same endevours. In the past couple of years, I
began a concerted effort to answer these questions. What follows
is the results of my research. Answering one question usually leads
to at least two more. I hope that this information will assist fellow
researchers and foster ideas about some of these lingering questions.
Martha W Braford was a native of Virginia and was born
about 1822.[1]1850 U.S. Census, Clinton County, Indiana, population schedule,
Washington Township, p. 336B (stamped), dwelling 89, family 89,
Samuel Moore household; digital images,
Ancestry.com (
http://www.ancestry.com :
accessed 23 August 2016); citing NARA microfilm
publication M432, roll 139.
[2]1860 U.S. Census, Mercer County, Illinois, population schedule,
Township 13 N 3 W [Ohio Grove], p. 66 (penned), dwelling 448,
family 448, Samuel Moore household; digital images,
Ancestry.com (
http://www.ancestry.com :
accessed 7 August 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication
M653, roll 211.
[3]1870 U.S. Census, Cass County, Missouri, population schedule,
Township 45 Range 32 [West Peculiar Township], p. 733A (stamped),
dwelling 72, family 72, Samuel Moor [Moore] household; digital images,
Ancestry.com (
http://www.ancestry.com :
accessed 28 August 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication
M593, roll 767.
On December 10, 1841, she and Samuel Moore, a native of Kentucky, were married in Clinton County, Indiana.[4]Indiana, “Marriages through 1850,” database,
Indiana State Library
(
http://www.statelib.lib.in.us/INMarriages1850 :
accessed 23 August 2016), Samuel Moore and Martha W Branford [Braford],
10 December 1840.
They started a family and in turn settled in Mercer County, Illinois and Cass County,
Missouri. As the family was preparing to migrate to Kansas, Martha died on
February 19, 1880 in Cass County, Missouri[5]”Nannie Painter to G.W. Logan,” 29 February 1880;
letter ; Logan Mss. (Papers of George Washington Logan, 1827-1893),
1814-1931; Lilly Library Manuscripts Collection; The Lilly Library,
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. News of her mother’s death,
migration to Kansas.
,
leaving Samuel a widower.[6]1880 U.S. Census, Cass County, Missouri, population schedule,
West Peculiar Township, Enumeration District (ED) 83, p. 96A
(stamped), dwelling 37, family 42, Samuel Moore; digital images,
Ancestry.com (
http://www.ancestry.com :
accessed 27 August 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 979.
[7]1880 U.S. Census, Anderson County, Kansas, population schedule, Ozark Township,
Enumeration District (ED) 17, p. 180D (stamped), dwelling 94, family 94,
William Moore household; digital images,
Ancestry.com (
http://www.ancestry.com :
accessed 28 August 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 372.
Nannie Painter letter to G.W. Logan – February 29, 1880
The above letter was written by Nancy Ellen “Nannie” (Moore) Painter, the only known
daughter of Samuel and Martha Moore. It is addressed to G. [George] W. Logan at
the Lincoln P.O. in Indiana. This post office was in Jackson Township, Cass County,
Indiana. Mr. Logan and family were nearby residents.[8]1880 U.S. Census, Cass County, Indiana, population schedule, Jackson Township,
Enumeration District (ED) 35, p. 451C (stamped), dwelling 147, family 148,
George W. Logan household; digital images,
Ancestry.com (
http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 29 August 2016); citing NARA microfilm
publication T9, roll 268.
Nannie’s salutation of “Dear Uncle & Aunt” informs them of her mother’s death. The marriage record for George W. Logan shows that his bride was Nancy L Braford;
they were married in 1848, also in Clinton County, Indiana. [9]Indiana State Library, “Genealogy Database: Marriages through 1850,”
database, Indiana State Library
(
http://www.statelib.lib.in.us/INMarriages1850 :
accessed 27 July 2016), George W Logan–Nancy L Braford, 1848.
Therefore it is concluded that Martha (Braford) Moore and Nancy (Braford) Logan were sisters.
Further evidence of this is from another letter in the Logan Mss. collection from
Martha W. Moore to Georg[e] W Logan and family.[10]”Martha W. Moore to George W. Logan and family,” 8 February 1859;
Letter ; Logan Mss. (Papers of George Washington Logan, 1827-1893),
1814-1931; Lilly Library Manuscripts Collection; The Lilly Library,
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. Personal correspondence that
establishes family relationships.
This letter was written in 1859 when the Samuel and Martha Moore family resided Mercer County, Illinois.[11]1860 U.S. Census, Mercer County, Illinois, population schedule,
Township 13 N 3 W, p. 66 (penned), dwelling 448, family 448, Samuel Moore household;
digital images, Ancestry.com (
http://www.ancestry.com :
accessed 7 August 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication M653,
roll 211.
In this case, the salutation is “dear mother and sister and brother”.
Marth W moore letter to georg w logan – February 8, 1859
The George W Logan family was enumerated in the 1860 Census in the same location as previously stated.[12]1860 U.S. Census, Cass County, Indiana, population schedule,
Jackson Township, p. 142 (penned), dwelling 1011, family 998,
George W Logan household; digital images, Ancestry.com
( http://www.ancestry.com :
accessed 31 July 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 247.
Included in the household is one Nancy Bradford, age 68, of Rockbridge Co., Va.
This person is obviously Martha and Nancy’s mother. She’s also a member of the
same household in 1870 (age 78).[13]1870 U.S. Census, Cass County, Indiana, population schedule,
Jackson Township, p. 148 & 149 (penned), dwelling 63,
family 63, G. W. Logan household; digital images,
Ancestry.com (
http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 September 2016);
citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 302.
Nancy Logan death certificate – 11 Aug 1908
Nancy L (Braford) Logan died in 1908. The death certificate provides several
pieces of vital information including her date of birth, place of birth
(Rockbridge County, Virginia) and parents’ names: James Brafford and Nancy Wilson. [14]Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011, p. 304, Nancy Logan,
11 August 1908; database with images, Ancestry.com
( http://ancestry.com :
accessed 27 July 2016); Indiana State Board of Health. Death Certificates, 1900–2011. Microfilm. Indiana Archives and Records
Administration, Indianapolis, Indiana.
This is supported by the information found in Helm’s biographical sketch of
G.W. Logan: Nancy Braford Logan’s parent are identified as “James and Nancy
(Wilson) Braford, both natives of Virginia.”[15]Thomas B Helm, editor, History of Cass County, Indiana: From the
Earliest Time to Present (Chicago: Brant & Fuller, 1886), pp. 808-809;
digital images, Internet Archive,
(
http://archive.org/details/historyofcasscou00helm :
accessed 30 July 2016; George W. Logan.
This branch of the Braford family appears to have arrived in central Indiana shortly after
the area was first settled in the late 1820’s. Queries of a couple of online databases
reveal more potential family members:
The following map[16]Gregory A. Boyd, Family Maps of Clinton County, Indiana, Deluxe Edition:
With Homesteads, Roads, Waterways, Towns, Cemeteries, Railroads, and More,
first edition (Norman, Oklahoma: Arphax Publishing, 2006), p. 110.
puts these records into perspective. Note that section 4 is in
present day Washington Township, bordered to the north by Madison Township, and
section 21 is in Perry Township.
familymapsofclintoncounty-p110 This record[17]”Indiana, Wills and Probate Records, 1798-1999,” database with images,
Ancestry.com
(
http://www.ancestry.com :
accessed 18 August 2016), Real Estate of James W. Brafford,
29 March 1860; citing Clinton County, Indiana, Probate
Complete Order Book B-2:576-581, Real Estate of James W. Brafford,
1860; Clerks Office, Frankfort.
from the Clinton County Probate Court ties many of these folks together. In March 1859, the administrator of the Estate of James W. Brafford,
Thomas M. Major, filed a petition (through his lawyer James N. Sims)
to sell real estate owned by the decendent to pay a debt owed to
Benjamin Hart. The real estate is described as:
"The East half of the South West quater of Section four in Township twenty one North of Range two West containing 80 acres more of less situated in the said County of Clinton".
This is the same property as in the first row in the table above. James W. Brafford’s heirs are listed as follows:
"... decedent died sole and intestate leaving surviving him the following named persons as heirs at law to-wit: William W. Brafford aged 45 9/12 years, Thomas L. Brafford aged 44 years, Ellenor L. Gillmore aged 41 years, Martha W Moore aged 37 years Nancy L Logan aged 32 years, Phoebe A. McBride aged 10 years, William W. Hart aged 25 years, John L Hart aged 23 years, Martha M Hart aged 20 years, Margaret Hart aged 18 years, Ann Eliza Hart aged 16 years, Elmira Hart aged 9 years Elvira Hart aged seven years and his mother Nancy Brafford aged 66 years, and no others within the knowledge ..."
Real Estate of James W. Brafford, deceased
This James W. Brafford [Braford] appears to be the son of James Braford
and Nancy Wilson. His heirs are his living siblings and the children of
his deceased silblings Mary A Braford (spouse: Benjamin Hart), and
Margaret W Braford (spouse: James McBride). Supporting this is the phrase
“died sole” which is interpreted to mean unmarried. Current Indiana law
states that an unmarried man with no children and surviving parent(s), that the
parent(s) are the heirs. In the mid-ninteenth century Indiana, this wasn’t the case: [18]Edwin A. Davis, ed., The Statutes of the State of Indiana, Containing the
Revised Statutes of 1852: With the Amendments Thereto, and the Subsequent
Legislation, with Notes and References to Judicial Decisions, Volume 1
(Indianapolis: Bingham & Co.; Merrill, Hubbard & Co., 1876), p. 409; digital images,
Google Books (
http://books.google.com/books?id=QOZJAQAAIAAJ :
accessed 5 November 2016); Law of Descent.
"If any intestate shall die without lawful issue, or their descendants alive, one-half of the estate shall go to the father and mother of such intestate, as joint tenants, or if either be dead, to the survivor; and the other half to the brothers and sisters and to the descendants of such as are dead, as tenants in common."
Therefore it is concluded that this James W. Brafford is one and the same
as the James Wallace Braford that purchased the aforementioned parcel of land. This record ties together the individuals identified in the searches above,
except for Esther Brawford and William Wilson. Along with data from other research, a
descendant report
for this family can be generated:
jamesbraford_nancywilson
This branch of the Braford family dispersed rather quickly versus establishing deep roots
in Clinton County. This map[19]Map of Boone and Clinton Counties Indiana:
From actual Surveys by A. Warner & J.S. Higgins
(Philadelphia: Cowles & Titus, 1865); digital image,
Library of Congress
(
https://www.loc.gov/item/2013593190/ : accessed 5 November 2016).
produced in 1865 for the county shows some Brafford names in these locales.
Map of Boone & Clinton Counties, Indiana – 1865
By 1878 there doesn’t appear to be any trace of them.[20]Combination Atlas Map of Clinton County, Indiana: Compiled,
Drawn and Published from Personal Examinations and Surveys
(1878; reprint, N.p.: Kingman Brothers, 1878), 70, Washington Township; digital images,
Historic Map Works LLC, Historic Map Works Residental
Genealogy (
http://www.historicmapworks.com : accessed 8 November 2016).
[21]Combination Atlas Map of Clinton County, Indiana: Compiled,
Drawn and Published from Personal Examinations and Surveys
(1878; reprint, N.p.: Kingman Brothers, 1878), 90, Perry Township; digital images,
Historic Map Works LLC, Historic Map Works Residental
Genealogy (
http://www.historicmapworks.com : accessed 8 November 2016).
Township Maps of Clinton County, Indiana – 1878
Pending Questions:
Where and when did James Braford [Sr.] die? …and where is he buried?
Two sources conflict on this. It appears that he did die in Virginia and
James Wallace Braford (presumably his eldest son) led the family to Indiana.[22] Joseph Claybaugh, History of Clinton County, Indiana: With Historical Sketches of
Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of many of the Old Families
(Indianapolis: A. W. Bowen & Company, 1913), p. 458-459; digital images,
Internet Archive,
(
http://archive.org/details/historyofclinton00clay :
accessed 23 July 2016; biographical sketch of William R. Gilmore.
[23]Walter Clayton, United States [(E-ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE),] to Daniel Moore,
e-mail with attachment, 27 May 2014, “James Braford family”;
privately held by Daniel Moore (mooredan@suncup.net), Tigard, Oregon, 2016;
citing Earl Nevette Chiles & Dorothy White Binns, Braford Book, 1968,
Book 2:104; Attached to the email is a PDF copy of page 104 of the
“Braford” book 2. This shows a family group sheet of Samuel and
Ann [?] Braford (1719-1789). Sources are not cited.
Are there any court records in Virginia concerning James Braford [Sr.]?
When was James Wallace Braford born? It appears that he died in
Clinton County about Feb 1859, can we get a more definite date?
He is most likely buried in the Providence Cemetery, but no source to
this effect has been found.
Is William Wilson, who purchased land adjancent (W½SE¼ of Sec. 4, Twp. 21-N, Rng. 2-W)
to James W. Brafford, related to this family?
On the same day that James Wallace Braford purchase land in Indiana, Thomas Lackey Braford
purchased 80 acres in the same section.
[24]Bureau of Land Management, “Land Patent Search,” database and images,
General Land Office Records
(
http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/ :
accessed 19 August 2016), Thomas Lackey Braford
(Clinton County, Indiana), patent no. 12997.
Thomas would have been no more than 17 years old. Could a young man of this age legally
purchase government land?
Land records show an “overlap” with Thomas Lackey Braford’s purchase and that of
James McBride. It appears that James McBride “won out”.
Is there any information contained in Joan Bohm’s “Marriage Consents” book for this family?
As usual, who were James Braford’s and Nancy Wilson’s ancestors and whence do they hail?
1850 U.S. Census, Clinton County, Indiana, population schedule,
Washington Township, p. 336B (stamped), dwelling 89, family 89,
Samuel Moore household; digital images,
Ancestry.com (
http://www.ancestry.com :
accessed 23 August 2016); citing NARA microfilm
publication M432, roll 139.
2.
1860 U.S. Census, Mercer County, Illinois, population schedule,
Township 13 N 3 W [Ohio Grove], p. 66 (penned), dwelling 448,
family 448, Samuel Moore household; digital images,
Ancestry.com (
http://www.ancestry.com :
accessed 7 August 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication
M653, roll 211.
3.
1870 U.S. Census, Cass County, Missouri, population schedule,
Township 45 Range 32 [West Peculiar Township], p. 733A (stamped),
dwelling 72, family 72, Samuel Moor [Moore] household; digital images,
Ancestry.com (
http://www.ancestry.com :
accessed 28 August 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication
M593, roll 767.
4.
Indiana, “Marriages through 1850,” database,
Indiana State Library
(
http://www.statelib.lib.in.us/INMarriages1850 :
accessed 23 August 2016), Samuel Moore and Martha W Branford [Braford],
10 December 1840.
5.
”Nannie Painter to G.W. Logan,” 29 February 1880;
letter ; Logan Mss. (Papers of George Washington Logan, 1827-1893),
1814-1931; Lilly Library Manuscripts Collection; The Lilly Library,
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. News of her mother’s death,
migration to Kansas.
6.
1880 U.S. Census, Cass County, Missouri, population schedule,
West Peculiar Township, Enumeration District (ED) 83, p. 96A
(stamped), dwelling 37, family 42, Samuel Moore; digital images,
Ancestry.com (
http://www.ancestry.com :
accessed 27 August 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 979.
7.
1880 U.S. Census, Anderson County, Kansas, population schedule, Ozark Township,
Enumeration District (ED) 17, p. 180D (stamped), dwelling 94, family 94,
William Moore household; digital images,
Ancestry.com (
http://www.ancestry.com :
accessed 28 August 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 372.
8.
1880 U.S. Census, Cass County, Indiana, population schedule, Jackson Township,
Enumeration District (ED) 35, p. 451C (stamped), dwelling 147, family 148,
George W. Logan household; digital images,
Ancestry.com (
http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 29 August 2016); citing NARA microfilm
publication T9, roll 268.
9.
Indiana State Library, “Genealogy Database: Marriages through 1850,”
database, Indiana State Library
(
http://www.statelib.lib.in.us/INMarriages1850 :
accessed 27 July 2016), George W Logan–Nancy L Braford, 1848.
10.
”Martha W. Moore to George W. Logan and family,” 8 February 1859;
Letter ; Logan Mss. (Papers of George Washington Logan, 1827-1893),
1814-1931; Lilly Library Manuscripts Collection; The Lilly Library,
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. Personal correspondence that
establishes family relationships.
11.
1860 U.S. Census, Mercer County, Illinois, population schedule,
Township 13 N 3 W, p. 66 (penned), dwelling 448, family 448, Samuel Moore household;
digital images, Ancestry.com (
http://www.ancestry.com :
accessed 7 August 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication M653,
roll 211.
12.
1860 U.S. Census, Cass County, Indiana, population schedule,
Jackson Township, p. 142 (penned), dwelling 1011, family 998,
George W Logan household; digital images, Ancestry.com
( http://www.ancestry.com :
accessed 31 July 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 247.
13.
1870 U.S. Census, Cass County, Indiana, population schedule,
Jackson Township, p. 148 & 149 (penned), dwelling 63,
family 63, G. W. Logan household; digital images,
Ancestry.com (
http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 September 2016);
citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 302.
14.
Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011, p. 304, Nancy Logan,
11 August 1908; database with images, Ancestry.com
( http://ancestry.com :
accessed 27 July 2016); Indiana State Board of Health. Death Certificates, 1900–2011. Microfilm. Indiana Archives and Records
Administration, Indianapolis, Indiana.
15.
Thomas B Helm, editor, History of Cass County, Indiana: From the
Earliest Time to Present (Chicago: Brant & Fuller, 1886), pp. 808-809;
digital images, Internet Archive,
(
http://archive.org/details/historyofcasscou00helm :
accessed 30 July 2016; George W. Logan.
16.
Gregory A. Boyd, Family Maps of Clinton County, Indiana, Deluxe Edition:
With Homesteads, Roads, Waterways, Towns, Cemeteries, Railroads, and More,
first edition (Norman, Oklahoma: Arphax Publishing, 2006), p. 110.
17.
”Indiana, Wills and Probate Records, 1798-1999,” database with images,
Ancestry.com
(
http://www.ancestry.com :
accessed 18 August 2016), Real Estate of James W. Brafford,
29 March 1860; citing Clinton County, Indiana, Probate
Complete Order Book B-2:576-581, Real Estate of James W. Brafford,
1860; Clerks Office, Frankfort.
18.
Edwin A. Davis, ed., The Statutes of the State of Indiana, Containing the
Revised Statutes of 1852: With the Amendments Thereto, and the Subsequent
Legislation, with Notes and References to Judicial Decisions, Volume 1
(Indianapolis: Bingham & Co.; Merrill, Hubbard & Co., 1876), p. 409; digital images,
Google Books (
http://books.google.com/books?id=QOZJAQAAIAAJ :
accessed 5 November 2016); Law of Descent.
19.
Map of Boone and Clinton Counties Indiana:
From actual Surveys by A. Warner & J.S. Higgins
(Philadelphia: Cowles & Titus, 1865); digital image,
Library of Congress
(
https://www.loc.gov/item/2013593190/ : accessed 5 November 2016).
20.
Combination Atlas Map of Clinton County, Indiana: Compiled,
Drawn and Published from Personal Examinations and Surveys
(1878; reprint, N.p.: Kingman Brothers, 1878), 70, Washington Township; digital images,
Historic Map Works LLC, Historic Map Works Residental
Genealogy (
http://www.historicmapworks.com : accessed 8 November 2016).
21.
Combination Atlas Map of Clinton County, Indiana: Compiled,
Drawn and Published from Personal Examinations and Surveys
(1878; reprint, N.p.: Kingman Brothers, 1878), 90, Perry Township; digital images,
Historic Map Works LLC, Historic Map Works Residental
Genealogy (
http://www.historicmapworks.com : accessed 8 November 2016).
22.
Joseph Claybaugh, History of Clinton County, Indiana: With Historical Sketches of
Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of many of the Old Families
(Indianapolis: A. W. Bowen & Company, 1913), p. 458-459; digital images,
Internet Archive,
(
http://archive.org/details/historyofclinton00clay :
accessed 23 July 2016; biographical sketch of William R. Gilmore.
23.
Walter Clayton, United States [(E-ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE),] to Daniel Moore,
e-mail with attachment, 27 May 2014, “James Braford family”;
privately held by Daniel Moore (mooredan@suncup.net), Tigard, Oregon, 2016;
citing Earl Nevette Chiles & Dorothy White Binns, Braford Book, 1968,
Book 2:104; Attached to the email is a PDF copy of page 104 of the
“Braford” book 2. This shows a family group sheet of Samuel and
Ann [?] Braford (1719-1789). Sources are not cited.
24.
Bureau of Land Management, “Land Patent Search,” database and images,
General Land Office Records
(
http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/ :
accessed 19 August 2016), Thomas Lackey Braford
(Clinton County, Indiana), patent no. 12997.
William Washington Moore c. 1905, Knoxville, Illinois
As a teenager in the 1970’s, I discovered a thin, dusty, black-bound volume on my father’s bookshelf entitled “Matthew Tomb and his Descendants.” Dad told me that “that’s our family tree and we’re in there somewhere.”
In that book I found out that my second paternal great-grandfather was named W. W. Moore and had wed Leora Bell Thom in 1877. Previously, I had never heard anything about either of them nor had any relative I asked could provide any more information — in most cases this was news to them as well.
Ever since then I have been intrigued, immensely curious, and stimulated by the puzzles presented to me with regards to my family’s history. Over the course of the next 35 years or so, I have enjoyed genealogical research as a part-time hobby and have learned A LOT. Now it’s about time that I begin documenting and sharing my findings. This blog will contain a variety of topics with regards to genealogical research, my pedigree and relations.
