Tag Archives: Licking County

An Overlooked Couple: John Starkey and Mary Monroe (52 Ancestors #47 & 48)

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(Bending my own “rules” here regarding the 52 Ancestors challenge. I’m purposefully combining John Starkey and Mary Monroe since we are oh-so-close to the end and I’m running out of days to catch up!)

As I was preparing this post on my 3rd-great-grandparents John Starkey and Mary Monroe, I realized that I have pretty much overlooked them in my research. (Yes, I’m hanging my head in shame.) Part of it is because I found them in my early days of tracing my family tree. It seems like we don’t revisit those early discoveries often enough. I think that another part is that I allowed myself to ignore them because of their connection with Licking County, Ohio. Licking County can be tough to research in, due to a major courthouse fire in 1875.

That having been said, I’m fortunate with John and Mary, as their marriage record survived that fire.

FamilySearch.org, Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1997, John Starkey and Polly Monroe marriage, Licking County marriage vol. 1, p. 258.

FamilySearch.org, Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1997, John Starkey and Polly Monroe marriage, Licking County marriage vol. 1, p. 258.

Did you catch the part in the lower left-hand corner? “Father present.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t give his name. For that matter, it doesn’t specify whose father. Was it John’s or Mary’s? Both of them would have been of legal age in 1827, so why was it noted that the father was present? Who is John W. Patterson? Is he a minister or a justice of the peace? If he’s a minister, what church is he with — and do they have records?

John and Mary lived in Thorn Township, Perry County, Ohio in 1830,1)John Starkey household, 1830 U.S. census, Thorn Township, Perry County, Ohio, page 418. just a couple of households away from John’s mother Elizabeth. I need to take a closer look at Thorn Township and the surrounding area. Who are the Monroes? Can I connect them with Mary?

Mary is last enumerated in the 1860 census.2)John Starkey household, 1860 U.S. census, Thorn Township, Perry County, Ohio, p. 123, nos. 899/872. By 1870, John was married to Martha Harris Orr (who, coincidentally, is my 3rd-great-grandmother on another line).

Looks like I have a good puzzle to work on in the new year.

References   [ + ]

1. ↑ John Starkey household, 1830 U.S. census, Thorn Township, Perry County, Ohio, page 418.
2. ↑ John Starkey household, 1860 U.S. census, Thorn Township, Perry County, Ohio, p. 123, nos. 899/872.

Charity Courson: Phantom Ancestor (52 Ancestors #46)

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SmokeCharity Courson feels like a phantom. This woman who is supposedly my 4th-great-grandmother is everywhere and nowhere all at once. Countless trees (both online and offline) list her as the wife of James Orr and the mother of William Orr. Some trees even list her as the daughter of Benjamin Courson. Most give a specific year of death: 1829, 1830, 1832; take your pick.

The problem is that not a single one of these trees that I’ve seen have a source beyond “GEDCOM file,” that is, if they have any sources at all.

Now, I’m not a source snob. I will consider the information in online trees. There’s too much valuable information to just ignore them out of hand. But no sources anywhere?! This really isn’t giving me a lot to go on.

It doesn’t help that Licking County, Ohio (where she probably lived) had a major courthouse fire in 1875. There are sources that I can — and should — examine. I just haven’t had a chance. Ancestors like Susan Tucker Kelley seem to take my time.

You’ve heard of “brick wall” problems. I think I’d feel better having her as a brick wall. That would be more substantial than being a phantom.

William Orr: Proof of Murphy’s Law (52 Ancestors #35)

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I’ve written before about Murphy’s Law in genealogy: your ancestor will die in an area one year before they started keeping death records. If Murphy’s Law had a poster child, it would be my third-great-grandfather William Orr.

Several sources list him as dying in Licking County, Ohio in 1850. I have a letter from a woman I corresponded with in my earliest days of research which claims this date. Several online family trees list 1850, as does his memorial on Find A Grave. The problem is that I’ve yet to find a source for the date.

But wait, if he died in 1850, he should be on the mortality schedule, right?

He appears in the 1850 census in Bowling Green Township with his wife, Martha, and their five children. He was a farmer with $1200 in real property. Being alive in the census kinda prevents you from also being in the same mortality schedule. (I’m sure it’s happened, but not with this guy.)

In 1860, Martha is head of the household in Bowling Green Township, with four of the five children. She is without any real property and only $50 in personal property.

So if William died between 1850 and 1860, just look for probate. Well…. there’s the matter of the 1875 fire at the Licking County courthouse. We’re not talking about some little spark. No, this was a fire that destroyed a lot of the court records. (The Licking County commissioners have put together a list of the court records that survived. It’s a short list for pre-1875 materials.)

But wait, what about that Find a Grave record? Could we just look at his tombstone or request a photo of it? Not so fast. William is supposedly buried in Courson Cemetery. According to Robert Sizelove, who has been working on documenting Licking County cemeteries, Courson Cemetery “was one of the more difficult to locate.” Few stones still exist. Of course, William’s is not among them.

So, let’s recap:

  • William supposedly died in 1850, but lived too long to be listed in the mortality schedule.
  • A major fire took out probate records for the time we think he died.
  • The cemetery where he is reportedly buried has only a few remaining tombstones and his isn’t there.

But there are still some possibilities for getting a better idea of when William died:

  • Land and tax records. Most of those survived the 1875 fire. Tax records could be especially useful, as we might be able to find when the land goes from being taxed on William to being taxed on his heirs.
  • Voter lists. When does William stop voting?

William Orr. Considering the timing with how he fits in with the existing records, I’m surprised his last name isn’t Murphy.

facepalm

This is pretty much how I feel when researching William Orr.
Photo by Alex Proimos. Used under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC 2.0. No changes were made to this file.