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Archiver > Scotch-Irish > 2005-12 > 1134087720
From: "Virginia Beck" <>
Subject: Re: [Sc-Ir] Re: Land ownership; indentured servant; ports of emigration; Early Scotch-Irish arrivals
Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2005 16:22:00 -0800
References: <200512081405.AA313852080@mail.fea.net>
I second this one, even when you are searching for later records. I was
positive my maternal grandfather (German immigrant to Wisconsin, 1854), an
itinerant saw-sharpener for lumber mills, had never left ANY record of his
presence anywhere. He didn't attend any church, hold a regular job, or earn
enough money to buy any property. His job required him to travel from mill
to mill, and he certainly didn't get any paid vacations, so he was rarely at
home for any length of time. He was away when the one census where he was
mentioned was taken, and the inaccurate information given came from his
oldest daughter. Ever hopeful, however, I entered his name in a Wisconsin
land record site, and lo & behold, he had filed homestead papers on 200
acres! I guess that was a hopeful moment for him, but he evidently failed
to follow up. To be fair, he may have had good intentions, but the lumber
industry began to falter in Wisconsin, so he moved to Washington State soon
after the filing.
I never met the old codger, who deserted his wife & nine girls soon after he
moved the family to Washington, and left Grandma Hester to raise them on her
own, far from family & friends . . . In the hands of a skilled writer, her
story would make a good novel!
Virginia
>That's because for someone doing genealogy what is important to recognise
> >is the criticality of land records in colonial America. 90% of your
> ancestors will appear in SOME land record. Very possibly
> NOT the one you need them in -- if your experience is anywhere
> similar to mine <grin>.
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