Price Genealogy Researchers Blog

Richard I really appreciated the oral report you gave us on your research on the Engeman/Gaertner lines and I felt good about continuing research with your German researcher. Today I have spent several hours carefully going over the work you did and I am even more impressed. I think you have done a wonderful job. I’ll be meeting with my brother and cousin the 1st of June and will give a report and also inform them that I have asked you to continue with your German Researcher…The attractive covers add to the work. You probably use a standard cover but this one was black, with a gold tree and roots on the cover, and the title Our Family History. Again I would like to complement you on your work. It’s the most thorough that we have had done since I’ve been involved with our lines and I’m so glad we got in touch with you and I’m also glad of our association at BYU.

During the Civil War, 25 Nov 1862, Lawson Franklin Earles was born to Caroline Earles in White County, Tennessee with father unknown.
The first colorful part of Lawson’s life is recorded in the court records of White County, Tennessee. In the 1876 October term, when Lawson is just about fourteen years old, he is accused of the malicious stabbing of John Whitenburg.
In October 1876 the Grand Jurors for the State of Tennessee “on their oath present that Lawson Earles on the 1st day of October 1876 in the county and state aforesaid did unlawfully and feloniously commit an assault and battery upon John Whittenburg with a certain large knife in his right hand, then and there held in and upon the body of the said John Whittenburg unlawfully maliciously and feloniously stab, cut, and wound the said John Whittenburg against the statute in such cawse made and provided and against the peace and dignity of the State.” (John Whittenburg did not die)
A year and a half later Tuesday 29 January 1878 the “defendant says he is not guilty and for trial puts himself upon the county and the attorney General doth the like.” So, a jury is called of “good and lawful men.”
A day later on Wednesday 30 January 1878 the jury “not having agreed upon a verdict they were respited until tomorrow morning and placed in the charge of their officer.”
Thursday 31 January 1878 the jury, “upon their oath do say they find Defendant guilty of assault and battery and assess the fine at fifty dollars and recommend him to the mercy of the court.”
Friday 1 February 1878 “the court being of opinion that the facts in the case do not merit the fine of fifty dollars as found by the jury remits all of said fine except five dollars”……….HOWEVER … “the Defendant is insolvent. It is therefore considered by the Court the costs accrued in this cause on the part of the State be allowed and paid out of the Treasury of the State of Tennessee”
IN OTHER WORDS….. young Lawson is accused of malicious stabbing, claims he is not guilty, found guilty by a jury and fined $50.00. The motion is overturned and Lawson is only charged $5.00 by the court. Then he is found to be insolvent so the fine is paid out of the Treasury of the State of Tennessee.

Check back later for part 2 of the Law Some of the time Earles

Contention and disputes are not pleasant ordeals, but in genealogical research, we often hope our ancestors had some kind of legal disagreement which would have put them in the records.  Teresa Barker discovered a jewel in the Lincoln County, Kentucky court records.  A lawsuit was found in 1807 between Marquis Followell and Marquis Helm.  Marquis Followell was trying to get possession of land he lived on that he believed belonged to his deceased father, John Followell.  (Jewel #1 –  the name of the father of Marquis Followell).  Part of the story stated John Followell left the county to raise corn and while he was gone Marquis Helm took care of Followell’s wife because she was his sister. (Jewel #2 –  the maiden name of John Followell’s wife and that she is the sister of Marquis Helm).  In the body of the complaint, Marquis Helm was accused of keeping all the land since John Followell died in July of 1783. (Jewel #3 a death date for John Followell).   Another lawsuit between Marquis and Abram Followell, heirs of John Followell, against Marquis Helm in 1810-1811 mentions a deceased mother and also John, Marquis, Abraham and William Followell. 

Always check the court records where an ancestor lived because there may be a valuable jewel hidden among the dark disputes. 

William Houghton, born 1727, was a schoolmaster of Prescot, Lancashire County, England who left a will in 1811 with property listed including offices, shop and school. His ancestry was not known prior to the find of another will dated 1734. This new will, dated 1734, was for William Houghton, shoemaker of Prescot. It stated that his property had been acquired from the “freeschool of Prescott” and consisted of buildings to which William had made alterations so that he could rent them out to tenants. This property was given to his grandson, William Houghton, of Prescot, watchtoolmaker. According to the Prescot church registers, there was only one William Houghton who was a watchtoolmaker living in Prescot at the time this 1734 will was made. The watchtoolmaker’s inherited property likely automatically descended to his heir since a probate record for the watchtoolmaker had not been found. The property named in William Houghton, the shoemaker’s will, is very similar to the property listed in William Houghton, the schoolmaster’s will, therefore the conclusion reached was that the correct father of William, the schoolmaster was William the watchtoolmaker of Prescot and the great grandfather for William, the schoolmaster, was William Houghton, the shoemaker, of Prescot. Thus, because of the careful comparison of two wills, this line was extended three generations.
Apryl Cox was responsible for this research

SUCCESS!  That is what we hope for when searching for our ancestors.  There is almost nothing more thrilling than finding an elusive or previously unfound ancestor.  Just yesterday, as I was researching some descendants of an ancestor, I came across a family in which the father had disappeared and the children were living with his brother.  The mother was unknown and the family could not be found in a previous or subsequent census.  The million dollar question was ”WHO was the mother?”  Marriage, death and any other pertinent records were searched in pursuit of this Mom.  Finally, I threw the names of the children out on google in hopes something might appear….. and, lo and behold, something appeared!  An entire biography of the son of the disappearing father was on line and, yes, it named his mother, indicating she died shortly after the last child was born.   

This is just a short introduction to many success stories which will follow in our blog.  They are not only fun to read, but sometimes help give ideas for future research.