Court Cases

For one who's frequently confused about the legal system, the course "History and the Law" has been a challenge. I am trying to learn all that I can for my next midterm & processing documents that I have already seen.

John Buck signed an indenture with his (uncle?) Moses Donaldson. Tonight, I found the meaning in Bouvier's Legal Dictionary (1856):

INDENTURE, conveyancing. An instrument of writing containing a conveyance or contract between two or more persons, usually indented or cut unevenly, or in and out, on the top or, side.
2. Formerly it was common to make two instruments exactly alike, and it was then usual to write both on the same parchment, with some words or letters written between them, through which the parchment was cut, either in a straight or indented line, in such a manner as to leave one-half of the word on one part, and half on the other. The instrument usually commences with these words, "This indenture," which were not formerly sufficient, unless the parchment or paper was actually indented to make an indenture 5 Co. 20; but now, if the form of indenting the parchment be wanting, it may be supplied by being done in court, this being mere form. Besides, it would be exceedingly difficult with even the most perfect instruments, to out parchment or paper without indenting it. Vide Bac. Ab. Leases, &c. E 2; Com. Dig. Fait, C, and note d; Litt. sec. 370; Co. Litt. 143 b, 229 a; Cruise, Dig t. 32, c. 1, s. 24; 2 Bl. Com. 294; 1 Sess. Cas. 222.

I haven't checked to see if there was really an indenture on the land records.

Timelines Help Sort Things Out

I wish I had time to learn & to research as much as I desire. I have learned so much in the past few years about more thorough research & about finding the rest of the story.

I am about halfway through with History 317: Americans and the Law. I bounce back & forth between being annoyed that so much material is about legal stuff and being perplexed by the legal complexities of the research. Over the past week I have transcribed a lot of court and land documents for the Buck family in Pickaway County, Ohio. I was very confused until I started writing events down in a timeline. [Note: I don't like to line item every detail in RootsMagic because I don't like the cluttered family group sheet at the end.] The time line helped make a little sense of John Buck's tumultuous young adult life.

• In 1811 John Buck agreed to be an apprentice to John Gill to learn how to be a house carpenter. Within six months, he broke his contract & went off to parts unknown. (War of 1812) He was ordered to pay John Gill $     .
• John Buck served in the War of 1812. He was present at the surrender of General Hull at Detroit in August 1812 & was out until at least 25 Oct 1812.
• John Buck was "firmly bound to Moses Donaldson" for $260 & certain other "estate administrators" in March 1813. He promised to pay it back by 1st July 1814 or to give up his share of the land in Walnut Township. The indenture was filed 5 July 1814, hinting that perhaps John Buck did not pay the money back on time.
• John Buck served with Captain McElwain's company from 28 April 1813 to 16 July 1813.
• In February 1814 the court case continued about the covenant breaking with John Gill.
• From 16 Feb 1814 to 16 June 1814, John Buck served with Captain Luther Shepherd's company. [I do not know if he loved the cause that the US was fighting for or if he was just trying to avoid all of his legal troubles.]
• On 4 Sep 1815, William Williamson, John Hedges/Hodges, and Moses Donaldson were held & firmly bound for $300. William Williamson was appointed the guardian of Jane Buck (age10) and Polly Buck (age 8). [Perhaps Anne Buck Sr died, leaving the girls in need of a guardian.]
• In early 1815, John Buck again served in the military.
• In July 1817 John Buck did "unlawfully make an assault [on] Rebecca Birchum then and there unlawfully shake beat wound and [?] hit to the great damage of her." 
• In September 1817 a jury heard charges in the assault and battery charge. If I understand the documents correctly, John was in jail until at least February 1819.
• In 1817 Joseph Buck Jr and Anne his wife made an indenture with Moses Donaldson for $100. The land was originally purchased in 1805 by Joseph Buck Sr and Anne his wife. (Maybe I should call them Anne Buck Jr and Anne Buck Sr.) Anne Jr had to agree to the indenture.
• What on earth is an indenture?!
• On 9 Aug 1819 John Buck and Barbary his wife and Elizabeth Buck made an indenture with Moses Donaldson for $200. The deed noted that Joseph Buck was the father and father-in-law of the said parties. Was Elizabeth Buck Joseph's daughter or daughter-in-law? Would inheritance laws have passed portions of property to the wife or just to the direct descendant?
• On 12 June 1820 Joseph Buck (Jr) made an indenture with Moses Donaldson for $150.
• On 16 May 1826 Mary Buck signed an indenture with Rosannah Donaldson for $122.50. 
• On 7 May 1836 Marian Donaldson and John Hughes were bound to Zachariah Pritchett for $700. Marian was a minor & sold her 1/6th undivided part of the land. She was one of the heirs of M.A. Donaldson.
• On 20 Dec 1839 Mary Ann Donaldson made a contract with Zachariah Prichet for $339.33.

I still have a lot more questions than answers, but sifting through court, land, and military records have painted a picture of John Buck.

And for a bonus here are a few links to family history sites:

Family Search Labs - changes that may be coming to FamilySearch - https://labs.familysearch.org/

ThinkGenealogy research process map - http://www.thinkgenealogy.com/map/ - includes a link to a slideshow with lots of examples.

FamilySearch - lots of videos and mini-lessons about where to go from here including basic search strategies - https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/United_States_Basic_Search_Strategies - I know a lot of this stuff but when I get bogged down in the middle of a project (NOW!!) it helps to build a road map.

Inferential Genealogy

As I continue working and learning about family history, I keep feeling like I know less and less. I learn a little more and realize what I lack frequently. I want to keep learning, but I would like to do it more efficiently.

I recently watched a video that opened my eyes to the power of streaming video & *free* online learning. The course description says,

This class explains how family historians can accurately deduce ancestors’ identities and many aspects of their lives by digging below “surface information” in genealogical records and combining information from several sources. Useful in many situations, inferential methodology is especially helpful where records do not state relationships.

Here's the link to the lecture: https://familysearch.org/learningcenter/lesson/inferential-genealogy/251

The episode took quite a while to watch, but I learned so much!

1. Start with a focused research goal.
• My current research objective: Locate the parents and siblings of John Buck who married Barbara Buck in Franklin County, Ohio in 1813.
2. Search broadly - You don't want to miss any important information. Look at every possible record & take each person from birth to death.
• Location: Don't look at just one county or location. Expand the search to surrounding areas. John Buck lived in Pickaway County, Ohio at the time of his death, but Pickaway County was created from Franklin County (and others) in 1810.
• Time: Expand to one generation before and after the ancestor. It takes a lot of research to establish one relationship. Moses Donaldson married Rosy Buck, Franklin County, 17 Oct 1805. Is Rosy Joseph's sister? Land records for John Buck and his siblings involve Moses Donaldson from 1814-1820, which include statements about John's father Joseph Buck as well as administrators in the probate case. It is not a proven relationship, but it definitely seems more likely given the time, place, and continuing relationship.
• Associates: Often the key info is in a record listing someone else. Ancestor could be mentioned in friends' or neighbors' records. Extend beyond the person & surname of interest - any of their records could include information. Also, collect information on every person with the surname in the localities. Only later will the relationships become clear & you will save time by not having to go re-examine the records. 
• PROBATE & LAND RECORDS are crucial to establishing relationships. Every piece of land needs to be followed all the way through. Every probate document and court document needs to be seen. Remember too that children were often omitted from a will. Early vital records and census records did not report relationships. But several land documents that I have for John Buck include the phrase "my father, Joseph Buck" and "my wife, Barbary Buck". I am still waiting for probate records from Franklin County at the Ohio State Genealogical Society for Joseph Buck's probate to learn more.
3. Understand the records. What is the jurisdiction (city, county, state) and the time period that your ancestor lived in? Which records are available? What can you find in each record? One of the most insightful comments I heard on a recent video had to do with the person having to be "of age" so being able to calculate when they turned 21 by when they showed up in legal documents. 

• Joseph Buck bought Congress Lands at public auction in 1805. Searching the Pickaway County land records showed a completed purchase in 1815 (ten years later). The official records are likely at the National Archives in Chicago with Chillicothe Land Office Records or at the FHL in Salt Lake City in a book someone wrote about these records.

1. Correlate evidence - Make a timeline to help put events into perspective. 
• Also, compare & contrast the information that is presented in each record. Is one record more reliable than the other? A death certificate is a primary source for the death date and place and burial information. However, the information may not be as reliable for the person's birth place or parents names. 
• John Buck's son, Henry Buck, was a veteran of the Mexican War and the Civil War. He was discharged because he became partially blind & deaf. One record from the National Soldier's Home said that he was a widow. Henry Buck was married to Lavinia Philips in 1846, but she is never in the census records. Perhaps she died before 1850 or left while Henry was away at the Mexican War. His obituary states that he was single or never married. The marriage record and his report to the National Soldier's Home are more reliable than an article written by a newspaper reporter at the end of his life.
2. Write down the results you have gained/discovered. Some of this is knowledge that no other living person knows. We have an obligation to share our logic and conclusions with others in writing.