Thursday, April 16, 2009
April Meeting
Our April meeting will be held on Saturday, April 25, 2009 at 2 PM in the Society Library. The program will be The History of Biltmore Village by Bill Alexander. Bill is a native of Asheville and has worked at Biltmore Estate since 1978 in varying positions including: Horticulturist, Greenhouse and Gardens Supervisor, Landscape Manager, Landscape Curator, and now as Landscape and Forest Historian. For more details visit http://www.obcgs.com/billalex.htm
Monday, March 2, 2009
Estate records may reveal previously unknown family members
Dee Gibson-Roles
Special to the Citizen-Times
Estate and probate records are some of the most valuable documents to a genealogist. These records often contain information that can be found nowhere else.
If a person died intestate (without leaving a will) and had property (real or personal), an administrator was appointed by the court to handle the affairs of settling the estate. And even if a will was left, there is usually a record of settlement that lists the distribution of the assets to the heirs after all debts were settled. Sometimes the widow would act as the administrator, but more often it was a close relative or friend. Sometimes the deceased would name someone in his will to act as the administrator or executor.
When the decedent died intestate, the wife was entitled to one third of the estate. In addition she could petition the court for one year's support while the estate was settled. This document is often found as a request from the widow, which the court approved and then appointed several “good men with no interest in the estate” to “lay off a year's support” for the widow. These men would then report back to the court with their findings, a copy of which is usually in the estate record.
The support usually included items such as so many pounds of bacon, so many bushels of corn, etc. If the amount needed for the year's support was not available, the difference could be made up in cash.
In addition, the widow might petition the court for her “dowry” (her third of the estate). Novices are often confused when they find a court record with the widow as the plaintiff and the other heirs, usually her own children, as the defendants. Usually there was no animosity between them; this was simply the required procedure for obtaining her third.
The important genealogical information in this document is the list of defendants, as all the heirs would be named.
When a person left a will, he could choose to leave out any heirs he wished to or often would state that his estate was to be divided equally among his heirs or children, without naming them individually — leading to frustration on the part of future family researchers! But in an estate record, every heir must be located and accounted for, even those who had “gone west.” We often find heirs who were far away giving power of attorney to a local person to act on their behalf.
This is what makes estate records such treasures for genealogists. In the absence of a family Bible, this may be the only place that all children — and often grandchildren — are listed.
We well remember one of the first estate records we examined, discovering two daughters not previously known about, as they were married with their own young families by the 1850 Census, the first census in which the whole household was listed by name.
We will continue our discussion of estate/probate records in the next article, on April 6, including how to locate them and some amusing things found in them.
Additional Facts
About this column
Through this monthly column, Old Buncombe County Geneological Society volunteers address particular family histories as well as geneological research in general. To submit questions about your family or others, please specify that it is for the Family History column and send to the society via snail mail to P.O. Box 2122, Asheville, NC 28802-2122 or e-mail to obcgs@bellsouth.net. For more information, call 253-1894.
Special to the Citizen-Times
Estate and probate records are some of the most valuable documents to a genealogist. These records often contain information that can be found nowhere else.
If a person died intestate (without leaving a will) and had property (real or personal), an administrator was appointed by the court to handle the affairs of settling the estate. And even if a will was left, there is usually a record of settlement that lists the distribution of the assets to the heirs after all debts were settled. Sometimes the widow would act as the administrator, but more often it was a close relative or friend. Sometimes the deceased would name someone in his will to act as the administrator or executor.
When the decedent died intestate, the wife was entitled to one third of the estate. In addition she could petition the court for one year's support while the estate was settled. This document is often found as a request from the widow, which the court approved and then appointed several “good men with no interest in the estate” to “lay off a year's support” for the widow. These men would then report back to the court with their findings, a copy of which is usually in the estate record.
The support usually included items such as so many pounds of bacon, so many bushels of corn, etc. If the amount needed for the year's support was not available, the difference could be made up in cash.
In addition, the widow might petition the court for her “dowry” (her third of the estate). Novices are often confused when they find a court record with the widow as the plaintiff and the other heirs, usually her own children, as the defendants. Usually there was no animosity between them; this was simply the required procedure for obtaining her third.
The important genealogical information in this document is the list of defendants, as all the heirs would be named.
When a person left a will, he could choose to leave out any heirs he wished to or often would state that his estate was to be divided equally among his heirs or children, without naming them individually — leading to frustration on the part of future family researchers! But in an estate record, every heir must be located and accounted for, even those who had “gone west.” We often find heirs who were far away giving power of attorney to a local person to act on their behalf.
This is what makes estate records such treasures for genealogists. In the absence of a family Bible, this may be the only place that all children — and often grandchildren — are listed.
We well remember one of the first estate records we examined, discovering two daughters not previously known about, as they were married with their own young families by the 1850 Census, the first census in which the whole household was listed by name.
We will continue our discussion of estate/probate records in the next article, on April 6, including how to locate them and some amusing things found in them.
Additional Facts
About this column
Through this monthly column, Old Buncombe County Geneological Society volunteers address particular family histories as well as geneological research in general. To submit questions about your family or others, please specify that it is for the Family History column and send to the society via snail mail to P.O. Box 2122, Asheville, NC 28802-2122 or e-mail to obcgs@bellsouth.net. For more information, call 253-1894.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Family Tree Maker Books are Back!
For those of you who upgraded to the Family Tree Maker 2008/2009 you know that one of the criticisms of the program was that it did not have the book making capability that FTM 16 did. The update released earlier this month brought that functionality back. If you have previously purchased FTM 2008 or FTM 2009 this is a free upgrade. Just go into the help menu and download it online.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
February General Meeting
Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society will meet on Saturday, February 21, 2008 at 2 PM in the Old Buncombe County History and Family Research Center at 128 Bingham Road, Suite 700 in Asheville (in the old Square D plant and across from the Buncombe County School Board.) In celebration of Black History Month, the speaker will be Oralene Simmons of Asheville. She grew up in Mars Hill and stayed during the school months with her grandmother in Asheville so she could attend the Hill Street School and Stephens- Lee High School, graduating in 1961. She joined the Asheville Youth Council for Racial Equality and participated in demonstrations and sit-ins at counters. Ms. Simmons was the first African American to be admitted to Mars Hill College in 1961. (Her great grandfather, Joe Anderson, a slave, was seized by contractors as collateral for a debt on the Mars Hill College school building and jailed until the debt was paid.) She worked in the Randolph School with the PTA and was president of the Montford Community Club. As Cultural Arts Supervisor with the Asheville Parks and Recreation Department for more than 25 years, she supervised the YMI Cultural Center and was appointed its Executive Director after her retirement from the Parks and Recreation Dept. In addition, she founded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration committee in Asheville and has served as the chairwoman of the Martin Luther King Association of North Carolina.
The public is invited and encouraged to attend. For further information or directions to the OBCGS History and Family Research library, call 828-253-1894 or e-mail obcgs@bellsouth.net or visit the society’s website at www.obcgs.com for directions and a map.
The public is invited and encouraged to attend. For further information or directions to the OBCGS History and Family Research library, call 828-253-1894 or e-mail obcgs@bellsouth.net or visit the society’s website at www.obcgs.com for directions and a map.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Researching black families' history presents challenges
Dee Gibson-Roles
Special to the Citizen-Times
February is Black History Month, and in keeping with this theme, we will discuss some records available for African-American family history research for those with slave ancestry. We will concentrate on records available for our area. Researching black genealogy prior to 1870 can be very difficult because of the lack of records available. The difficulties are not, however, insurmountable.
By law in North Carolina, slaves were not permitted to marry but often lived together as man and wife. In 1866 an act was passed ordering former slaves to record such marriages with the county. These became known as “cohabitation records.”
These records exist for approximately 52 N.C. counties, and most are housed in the N.C. State Archives in Raleigh. The records for Buncombe County were discovered a few years ago listed in the back of a road record book in the state archives. They were then transcribed into a booklet, which is available for research (or purchase) at the Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society. A very good reference is “Comprehensive Index: Somebody Knows My Name: Marriages of Freed People in N.C. County by County,” by Barnetta White McGhee (Iberian Publishing Co., 1995).
Wills, estate and probate records and deeds are excellent sources for African-American research. As slaves were considered property, they were often bequeathed in wills or listed in the assets and distribution of estate records. Here they were often named and sex and age given. Since they were “real property,” many sales or purchases of slaves can be found in county deed records.
An excellent Web site for research is Heritage Quest, available at the public library and accessible at home to holders of a valid library card. (Check with your local library for details.) Using the advanced search option for the census, one can enter just the race, census year and state. The result will be a list of all counties containing records with the information specified, and within each county the head of household meeting the specified parameters will be listed. For example, Buncombe County lists 642 black heads of household in the 1870 census.
Another valuable resource on Heritage Quest is the Freedman's Bank Records. This bank was established in 1865 to help newly freed blacks and was in existence until 1874. The records include the name of the applicant and the age; where born; where brought up; residence; complexion; names of father, mother, sisters, brothers and children (and sometimes uncles and aunts); occupation and by whom employed.
There were a number of free black citizens in the South prior to emancipation. They may have been born free or may have been manumitted. Manumission is the voluntary freeing of slaves while emancipation is the forced freeing of slaves.
In keeping with Black History Month, Oralene Simmons will speak at the monthly meeting at the OBCGS library at 2 p.m. Feb. 21. The public is invited. Simmons' great grandfather, a slave who was once owned by a trustee of Mars Hill College, was used as collateral against a debt owed by the college. In 1961, Oralene became the first African-American to be admitted to Mars Hill. She initiated the Martin Luther King birthday breakfast celebrations while working with Asheville Parks and Recreation. She is a former leader of the YMI and member of the N.C. Resource Commission. For more information or directions call 253-1894 or visit http://www.obcgs.com/.
Additional Facts
About this column
Through this monthly column, Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society volunteers will address readers about particular families or about research in general. Please submit your questions and specify that it is for the Family History column. Contact the Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society via the U.S. mail at P.O. Box 2122, Asheville, NC 28802-2122 or call 253-1894 or e-mail obcgs@bellsouth.net.
Special to the Citizen-Times
February is Black History Month, and in keeping with this theme, we will discuss some records available for African-American family history research for those with slave ancestry. We will concentrate on records available for our area. Researching black genealogy prior to 1870 can be very difficult because of the lack of records available. The difficulties are not, however, insurmountable.
By law in North Carolina, slaves were not permitted to marry but often lived together as man and wife. In 1866 an act was passed ordering former slaves to record such marriages with the county. These became known as “cohabitation records.”
These records exist for approximately 52 N.C. counties, and most are housed in the N.C. State Archives in Raleigh. The records for Buncombe County were discovered a few years ago listed in the back of a road record book in the state archives. They were then transcribed into a booklet, which is available for research (or purchase) at the Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society. A very good reference is “Comprehensive Index: Somebody Knows My Name: Marriages of Freed People in N.C. County by County,” by Barnetta White McGhee (Iberian Publishing Co., 1995).
Wills, estate and probate records and deeds are excellent sources for African-American research. As slaves were considered property, they were often bequeathed in wills or listed in the assets and distribution of estate records. Here they were often named and sex and age given. Since they were “real property,” many sales or purchases of slaves can be found in county deed records.
An excellent Web site for research is Heritage Quest, available at the public library and accessible at home to holders of a valid library card. (Check with your local library for details.) Using the advanced search option for the census, one can enter just the race, census year and state. The result will be a list of all counties containing records with the information specified, and within each county the head of household meeting the specified parameters will be listed. For example, Buncombe County lists 642 black heads of household in the 1870 census.
Another valuable resource on Heritage Quest is the Freedman's Bank Records. This bank was established in 1865 to help newly freed blacks and was in existence until 1874. The records include the name of the applicant and the age; where born; where brought up; residence; complexion; names of father, mother, sisters, brothers and children (and sometimes uncles and aunts); occupation and by whom employed.
There were a number of free black citizens in the South prior to emancipation. They may have been born free or may have been manumitted. Manumission is the voluntary freeing of slaves while emancipation is the forced freeing of slaves.
In keeping with Black History Month, Oralene Simmons will speak at the monthly meeting at the OBCGS library at 2 p.m. Feb. 21. The public is invited. Simmons' great grandfather, a slave who was once owned by a trustee of Mars Hill College, was used as collateral against a debt owed by the college. In 1961, Oralene became the first African-American to be admitted to Mars Hill. She initiated the Martin Luther King birthday breakfast celebrations while working with Asheville Parks and Recreation. She is a former leader of the YMI and member of the N.C. Resource Commission. For more information or directions call 253-1894 or visit http://www.obcgs.com/.
Additional Facts
About this column
Through this monthly column, Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society volunteers will address readers about particular families or about research in general. Please submit your questions and specify that it is for the Family History column. Contact the Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society via the U.S. mail at P.O. Box 2122, Asheville, NC 28802-2122 or call 253-1894 or e-mail obcgs@bellsouth.net.
Monday, January 5, 2009
January Planning Session
Our Annual Planning Session is scheduled for January 24th at 1:00pm at the society. This is an opportunity to review our accomplishments for last year and identify what we would like to accomplish this year.
Bring your ideas!
Bring your ideas!
New Blog
Welcome to the Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society's new blog page!
The purpose of this blog is to facilitate communication to the membership and provide timely updates on meetings, happenings, new publications, project updates and other information of general interest.
To post information here, contact a board member.
The purpose of this blog is to facilitate communication to the membership and provide timely updates on meetings, happenings, new publications, project updates and other information of general interest.
To post information here, contact a board member.
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