- My great-great grandfather Henry Smith (born 1836, Tioga County, New York). I know his father's name was Obediah Smith and he was born in New York in 1805 and died in Indiana in 1886. He also had a wife named Sarah Moore who (I believe) was his second wife and not Henry's mother. Henry Smith was a civil war veteran and likely served out of Indiana. My research is stuck due to the common name (Obediah Smith) and knowing little of his likely first wife (Henry's oldest brother was Ezekial Wilson Smith, so perhaps her last name was Wilson, but without knowing where in New York Obediah was from, or if he was a Schmidt that became a Smith, it's led to no further information). Also, other than my mother's cousin's daughter, the Smith line has not been researched.
- My great-great grandmother Melissa E. Cox (born 1854, Iowa). Again the last name and the family movement cause the research problems. Melissa Cox's parents were William Cox (born 1822 in New York) and Angeline Bogart (1827-? in Colorado). The Cox family lived in New York, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas and finally Colorado (although I don't believe Melissa ever lived in Colorado). Bogart could be Vande Bogart (or some variant there) and I have no information on where in New York Melissa's parents were born. Angeline is clearly named in the census and Bogart is not that common of a name, but I've not located Angeline's birthplace. William Cox is far too-common a name to pinpoint to one particular individual in New York (the Cox family in America is mostly from the South, however).
Those two families have obvious reasons (common name, undisclosed location) which limit research. Both come from my mom's family which is not native New England (at least within the past 200 years - ironically both her parents have large parts of her family she can trace to New England roots despite the fact that her grandparents never set foot west of Missouri for the most part).
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the mysteries of my genealogy comes from my father's father's father side - the King family. The King family, by all means, should be one of the easiest to research - my grandfather King is still alive and has a very sharp memory - the family is the most local branch of my ancestry; two of my grandparents grew up in Kansas, one in Kentucky, while my grandfather has lived his whole life in Old Lyme, Connecticut, 25 miles away from where I live. Connecticut records are generally kept well (mostly through the Barbour records and census) and Connecticut is extensively researches in genealogy because of its colonial history. Also, my King family is married into the Lay family, which is an extensively researched line (John Lay 1607-1675 is my 9th great-grandfather). On the King line, my great-great-great grandfather Calvin King was married to Susan Dorr (1832-?) Most genealogy websites name for Rhode Island politician Thomas Dorr as her father - which is not true - he had no children and no connections to the state (it sounds like a tall tale). Susan Dorr's father is likely George Clark Dorr and mother Phebe Havens (Dorrs and Havens have lived in Old Lyme up to modern times - I know that Susan is related to George Clark Dorr but it's also possible he's her uncle, not father - I do know that this is the only Dorr family in the area, however, so they are related in some way). Calvin King's father Jonathan King was married to Mehitable "Hetty" M. Wheat. The Wheats lived in some part of East Lyme, perhaps not far from the part of Old Lyme where my family remains today. Samuel Wheat (1743-1823) is either Hetty's father or grandfather - again, the only Wheat family in Lyme/Old Lyme/East Lyme and he the only male of child-producing age on record.
Back to my great-great grandparents and Winfield Scott King (named after the military and political field Winfield Scott). His wife was Mary Ellen Coleman, another East Lyme/Lyme/Salem area family (another interesting tidbit, told to me by my grandfather was that Mary Ellen was Winfield's second wife - he married another Coleman daughter but she died.) For a long time, I did not know who her parents were. I was able to find out her parents were Ambrose Ebenezer Coleman and Maria Rogers. Maria Rogers comes from a long line of well-researched Rogers in South Eastern Connecticut (it turns out my wife's aunt's husband comes from this line as well). The Coleman family is fairly well researched as well - going back to Revolutionary War hero Ebenezer Coleman and his father, also Ebenezer. However, I've yet to link the earlier Colemans to Mary Ellen Coleman. Mary Ellen's father, Ambrose, was the son of Alfred Coleman. There is little record at all of Alfred Coleman other than he lived with Ambrose later in life which was discovered in a census. Alfred's wife was "Cavisa" according to the census. For over a year, this was as far as I got, until I found the pension records of the War of 1812. It turned out Alfred was a veteran and his wife was Louisa McCarter. From Alfred (1788-1857) I remain stuck on the link to the Coleman family of Ebenezer Coleman. However, I did discover recently that one of the first two settlers of the Chesterfield section of Montville/Salem was indeed Ebenezer Coleman ( History of Salem ). Ambrose was born in Chesterfield and Alfred likely lived there. Ebenezer Coleman Sr. (1680-1740) was the son of immigrant Deacon John Coleman (1635-1711) who settled in Hatfield, Massachusetts. Coleman family members still live in Hatfield today (the line is very well-researched online here for example).
To get more specific, Alfred was born in 1788, meaning his father was likely born between 1748 and 1768. Through ancestry.com, much of the Coleman lineage is available. Ebenezer Coleman (Sr.) had a brother, Nathaniel Coleman (1688-1755) who lived in Hatfield (his wife was Ruth Cornwall, a descendant of William Cornwall). Nathaniel's son Amos Coleman (1724-1755) was born in Hatfield but died in Middletown, Connecticut (not far from Chesterfield). Amos's son, also Amos Coleman (1755-?) and wife Mary (?) are the right age to be the parents of Alfred (Could this be Alfred's brother's grave? ) Amos Coleman (1755-?) also had a brother Nathaniel (1754-1837, named after his grandfather, listed above) but from the information I have seen, Nathaniel lived in Ohio or New Hampshire (Chesterfield, New Hampshire, could that be a mistake?) and his sons born around the time of Alfred were born in Massachusetts and were named John and Samuel. Back to Ebenezer Coleman Sr., his grandson Ebenezer (1731-1824) lived in Chesterfield. He three sons (another Ebenezer Coleman, 1791-1873) born around the time of Alfred but they all ended up living in Mount Vernon, Ohio. And so on (with the Niles->Niles->Samuel Coleman line from like above). I'm stuck with a common family name as a middle name and a last name from the area - but no link.
It's this sort of stuff that could frustrate me on my research, but I must keep in mind not many people have been able to trace back all their great-great-grandparents' parents!
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the mysteries of my genealogy comes from my father's father's father side - the King family. The King family, by all means, should be one of the easiest to research - my grandfather King is still alive and has a very sharp memory - the family is the most local branch of my ancestry; two of my grandparents grew up in Kansas, one in Kentucky, while my grandfather has lived his whole life in Old Lyme, Connecticut, 25 miles away from where I live. Connecticut records are generally kept well (mostly through the Barbour records and census) and Connecticut is extensively researches in genealogy because of its colonial history. Also, my King family is married into the Lay family, which is an extensively researched line (John Lay 1607-1675 is my 9th great-grandfather). On the King line, my great-great-great grandfather Calvin King was married to Susan Dorr (1832-?) Most genealogy websites name for Rhode Island politician Thomas Dorr as her father - which is not true - he had no children and no connections to the state (it sounds like a tall tale). Susan Dorr's father is likely George Clark Dorr and mother Phebe Havens (Dorrs and Havens have lived in Old Lyme up to modern times - I know that Susan is related to George Clark Dorr but it's also possible he's her uncle, not father - I do know that this is the only Dorr family in the area, however, so they are related in some way). Calvin King's father Jonathan King was married to Mehitable "Hetty" M. Wheat. The Wheats lived in some part of East Lyme, perhaps not far from the part of Old Lyme where my family remains today. Samuel Wheat (1743-1823) is either Hetty's father or grandfather - again, the only Wheat family in Lyme/Old Lyme/East Lyme and he the only male of child-producing age on record.
Back to my great-great grandparents and Winfield Scott King (named after the military and political field Winfield Scott). His wife was Mary Ellen Coleman, another East Lyme/Lyme/Salem area family (another interesting tidbit, told to me by my grandfather was that Mary Ellen was Winfield's second wife - he married another Coleman daughter but she died.) For a long time, I did not know who her parents were. I was able to find out her parents were Ambrose Ebenezer Coleman and Maria Rogers. Maria Rogers comes from a long line of well-researched Rogers in South Eastern Connecticut (it turns out my wife's aunt's husband comes from this line as well). The Coleman family is fairly well researched as well - going back to Revolutionary War hero Ebenezer Coleman and his father, also Ebenezer. However, I've yet to link the earlier Colemans to Mary Ellen Coleman. Mary Ellen's father, Ambrose, was the son of Alfred Coleman. There is little record at all of Alfred Coleman other than he lived with Ambrose later in life which was discovered in a census. Alfred's wife was "Cavisa" according to the census. For over a year, this was as far as I got, until I found the pension records of the War of 1812. It turned out Alfred was a veteran and his wife was Louisa McCarter. From Alfred (1788-1857) I remain stuck on the link to the Coleman family of Ebenezer Coleman. However, I did discover recently that one of the first two settlers of the Chesterfield section of Montville/Salem was indeed Ebenezer Coleman ( History of Salem ). Ambrose was born in Chesterfield and Alfred likely lived there. Ebenezer Coleman Sr. (1680-1740) was the son of immigrant Deacon John Coleman (1635-1711) who settled in Hatfield, Massachusetts. Coleman family members still live in Hatfield today (the line is very well-researched online here for example).
To get more specific, Alfred was born in 1788, meaning his father was likely born between 1748 and 1768. Through ancestry.com, much of the Coleman lineage is available. Ebenezer Coleman (Sr.) had a brother, Nathaniel Coleman (1688-1755) who lived in Hatfield (his wife was Ruth Cornwall, a descendant of William Cornwall). Nathaniel's son Amos Coleman (1724-1755) was born in Hatfield but died in Middletown, Connecticut (not far from Chesterfield). Amos's son, also Amos Coleman (1755-?) and wife Mary (?) are the right age to be the parents of Alfred (Could this be Alfred's brother's grave? ) Amos Coleman (1755-?) also had a brother Nathaniel (1754-1837, named after his grandfather, listed above) but from the information I have seen, Nathaniel lived in Ohio or New Hampshire (Chesterfield, New Hampshire, could that be a mistake?) and his sons born around the time of Alfred were born in Massachusetts and were named John and Samuel. Back to Ebenezer Coleman Sr., his grandson Ebenezer (1731-1824) lived in Chesterfield. He three sons (another Ebenezer Coleman, 1791-1873) born around the time of Alfred but they all ended up living in Mount Vernon, Ohio. And so on (with the Niles->Niles->Samuel Coleman line from like above). I'm stuck with a common family name as a middle name and a last name from the area - but no link.
It's this sort of stuff that could frustrate me on my research, but I must keep in mind not many people have been able to trace back all their great-great-grandparents' parents!
