Ideas for finding an elusive relative who doesn't show up on records
This post was transferred from the Georgia Research Group.
Yakkadoo ✭
I have a great great grandfather (L5VS-ZPB) whose parents have always been difficult to research and find information about. I know a bit about him but almost nothing about either of his parents. I know he was from Pike County, Georgia and that he lived there in the 1870 census with two people who I believe are brother and sister with the last name Oxford. There is also an older woman named Susannah that I believe is their mother. George is listed as a 17 year old student attending school. It doesn't say relationships on the census but I think they are his uncle, aunt, and grandmother. I cannot find him on the 1860 census when he would be about 7.
The only info I have to go on for his parents is stories that my mom and uncle have told me. I believe that his father may have been named George Washington Henderson and his mother Susannah Oxford. I know his FamilySearch listing has his parents as George E. Henderson and Susan (with no last name) and also lists him as having two brothers. I don't know about him having siblings or not but I did have my DNA tested earlier this year. And I was able to confirm through DNA that I am related to some people with the last name Oxford, as well as some descendants of Hendersons whom I believe are from George Washington's relatives further back.
The family story is that my g g grandfather's mother died young and that his father remarried a 2nd wife who was not much older than he was. They moved to just across state lines into Alabama but where exactly I am not sure. Apparently, George did not like having a stepmother who was not much older than him so he left home and walked back to Pike County where his Oxford relatives lived. Supposedly his father stayed in Alabama and had more children with his 2nd wife. What her name is or any of the children I don't know.
The only thing I have ever seen with his possible fathers name on it is a list of soldiers who served in the civil war from Pike County which lists a G. W. Henderson but has no other info. Other than that, I have not seen a single census or any other document that relates to him or a Susannah Oxford. I have done the typical searches on FamilySearch and Ancestry a few times and have also Googled for things but with no luck. I am wondering if anyone has some ideas that I may not have tried. I would also like to know how best to go about attaching parents for George Wesley to be able to connect further back in the tree on FamilySearch. I know that the people I believe to be his grandparents already exist in the tree.
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You may have done this already, but searching in context sometimes can help. In essence, this means searching for those around him who were part of his life at different times. You mentioned a possible uncle, aunt, grandmother, and a mother. Particularly back in those years, relatives often lived in close proximity to one another. Tracking those possible relatives might provide additional information on your 2GGrandfather. Also, verify those likely grandparents and if accurate, see if there is any additional information to flesh out their lives. Using catalog searches as well as research wiki to see what sources might be available for the various locations in which he/his family might have lived, can sometimes be helpful. Wills, probate records, land records, etc., can sometimes help tie a person to a place and a point in time. Although Ancestry acquired and reportedly is doing away with RootsWeb and its county websites, try usgenweb.org as well as facebook searches (if you use FB) to identify any county organizations in the areas of interest. Often those group members can help with local records lookup, or be aware of local sources. As for names, potential indexing errors, enumerator mistakes, etc., require a broad, very inclusive lens! Susan and Susannah certainly are plausible and might/might not be the same. George W and George E, not so much, unless there are errors someplace. Hence the need to verify and nail down what is in FS. Unfortunately, too often, people just copy stuff from other sites without verifying and mistakes are perpetuated. Try messaging those who have contributed or attached sources to his record, to see if they have any other information. If his parents are listed, why would you want to attach another set of parents? If you verify that they are not his parents, you can either replace them with the correct parents, or add him to the correct parents and remove him from the erroneous parents.
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Thank you for the suggestions. I have been on usgenweb.org a good number of times for Pike County and other counties where relatives lived. That site has been excellent for finding some info on there but nothing about my 3rd great grandfather Henderson or his wife. I did find a newspaper obituary on there for George Wesley but it only made mention of his surviving wife and children. I haven't been on RootsWeb much. I seemed to have trouble understanding and/or navigating that site. (I did just look though and the site has warnings that it will become a read only site sometime in early 2024.) I did find a thread years ago on Ancestry's message boards where someone was asking for George Wesley's parents saying that they had been told it was George Washington and Susannah Oxford Henderson. But there were no responses with info.
As for George Wesley's parents listed on FS, George E. Henderson only has five records attached that are all marriage records from Virginia where a George E. Henderson married a Susan Truslow. I don't know that name and will investigate her to see if anything turns up. The other Susan with no last name who is listed as George Wesley's mother just has two census records from Randolph County, Alabama. I haven't made any changes to that part of the FS tree because I wasn't sure what to do. My only connection to the Oxfords and the Hendersons further back is from a DNA test that proves I am related to them. I have no records to attach or point to. I have done a good bit of research on both sets of who I believe are his grandparents but have never turned up anything mentioning a George Washington or Susannah/Susan. I did see someone with Henderson in their name who has done changes to George E. that I thought about messaging. I will see what I can find out about the other wife listed with George E. Henderson and anything about how the people listed on FS as the parents came to be. Then I will decide what to do next.
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