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.





Groom | Bride | County | Date |
---|---|---|---|
Benjamin Hart | Mary A. Brafford | Clinton | 17 Dec 1832 |
Wesley Franklin | Esther Brawford | Clinton | 4 May 1833 |
Eli Gilmore | Eleanor L Brafford | Clinton | 11 Jun 1835 |
William Brafford | Phebe Boots | Montgomery | 3 Jan 1839 |
Samuel Moore | Martha W Branford | Clinton | 10 Dec 1840 |
James McBride | Margaret W Braford | Clinton | 3 Oct 1844 |
George W Logan | Nancy L Braford | Clinton | 2 Nov 1848 |
Thomas L Brawford | Christian or Christina Jackson | Clinton | 11 Jan 1849 |
Name | Date | County | Twp – Rng | Sec. | Aliquots | Img. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Braford, James Wallace | 3 Feb 1831 | Clinton, Indiana | 021N – 002W | 4 | E½SW¼ |
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Braford, Thomas Lackey | 3 Feb 1831 | Clinton, Indiana | 021N – 002W | 4 | W½NW¼ |
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Braford, William | 10 Nov 1840 | Clinton, Indiana | 021N – 002W | 21 | NE¼NE¼ |
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Wilson, William | 3 Mar 1831 | Clinton, Indiana | 021N – 002W | 4 | W½SE¼ |
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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 ..."



"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.



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?
Tigard, Oregon
Leave a comment on James Braford and Nancy Wilson
References
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. | |
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. |
Dear Mr. Moore,
On checking your bibliography, I did not see Clementine Brown Railey’s “History of the House of Ochiltree”. She covers early Rockbridge Co., VA families very thoroughly. Most of the surnames you mention and many of the surnames in the Clinton Co., IN records are to be found in her book. You can download it at Archive.net.
My connection to your group is through William Miller and Henry Miller, who patented land in Township 21N – Range 2w and Township 22N – Range 2w in 1831. They came from Rockbridge Co., VA with a group of neighbors and extended family members.
Dan. You and I communicated briefly 5 years ago about the Braford family in VA. I am convinced James W Braford was the son of James Braford (1784-abt1831) and James was the son of Samuel Braford Jr (b.1740-1758 – ?) & Martha Wallace and grandson of Samuel Braford & Ann (Spotswood?).
I donated a copy of the “Braford Books” to the Library of Virginia and they are accessible there. The formal names are:
Earl Nevette Chiles, Braford Book One (1968)
Dorothy White Binns, Braford Book Two (1968)
The books unfortunately Sourced mostly via Bibliographies, not Footnotes. That leaves much to be desired. Most of Earl Chiles book was developed by “a whole army of Professional Genealogists running all over Virginia for several years”. All I can say is I have been using and researching in other references the books for 15 years and have not found a single substantial error.