I truly enjoy learning. I'm pretty sure every one of my high school academic teachers growing up would probably argue against that. It's true though, I loved it then and I love it now. There was this invention back then that was distracting and didn't allow me to get to my full potential. Boys. eh-yep. I apologize to every teacher for those 4 years. While in a regional facebook group for Alabama, a nice lady was looking for some insight about her relatives. I've asked Ms. Angela Raines if I could use her example on my blog. She has graciously given permission, so I wanted to make sure I gave her credit for her family name. If you find yourself related to those mentioned below - feel free to send me a message and I'll get you in contact with her. Angela posted an Image of the clip from a marriage license for Riley Alford and Fannie Conductor. While her question was not what I'm posting about, I found much more interesting thoughts behind the research that followed that I wanted to shed some light and advice about. The indexer who transcribed this document suggested that this was the name. Here is a clip from Ancestry.com showing how it is indexed. In the below close up - you can see this clearly is written as "Conductor" - this is what we perceive as Conductor at any rate. I have a hard time arguing against the letters as written in any other form. How about you? Here is a close up just in case you want to see it a little clearer. What a strange name. I've not seen that used before. It's not something I would expect as a name after all these years and it instantly struck me as odd. For me - I have to investigate further because I just don't believe it. I began looking at other documents to help. Yes, I kinda wanted to answer her question, but I can't really do that without knowing all the facts now can I? So who is Fannie? I then came across an 1880 Census for Fannie. The Index on Ancestry - shows how their names are listed. Again, we have been told before we even see the document what the name is. We then view the document and it does appear that the name is written that way. So we do not question it too much right? Here is a close up of the names on the actual image just as before. Yes, sure looks like the indexer has it correct. Doesn't it? But is it really their names? Fannie is Winnie's daughter. She is old enough to have already been married once. Should we consider that her name is by marriage? Or, Could Winnie have remarried and took on a new name? What do we do to find out how to find Winnie and Fannie before this 1880 census? Let's consider another theory. What if this isn't their name? What if the enumerator of the 1880 census and the county clerk for marriages has it wrong? I then noticed two Social Security Application Index suggestions on the right hand column of those two Ancestry indexes. This column is meant to be suggestions and not necessarily the documents that pertain to your person. Much of the time, these suggestions are based on what other people may have already added to their tree, or a percentage of accuracy in the search. Either way, it doesn't hurt to look at these suggestions while keeping an open mind that they may or may not be pertaining to the person you are looking at. The first Soc. Sec. App is for a son Milton: That information is not really helpful and honestly sends us out of it with even more questions than we had before. Where did Waters come from? hmm. But then I opened the second Soc. Sec. App for her other son Rich: Rich says his mother's maiden name is Poindexter. AHhhh yes... Well now that is a name I can relate to. But that doesn't mean it's true, does it? No, certainly not. Brainstorming this - I need to think about putting this in the right time and place for this ancestor. 1870-1880 in South Alabama. We all know the south has a heavy accent. Regionally, it can be a thicker accent in some areas than another. We also need to remember that this is only a short time after emancipation and the close of the civil war. One of our thoughts definitely has to be on a regional accent as a possibility. Let's take a closer look at the 1880 census again. At the top of the page is the Enumerator's name. This is the person who was listening to whomever gave the information. Could they have had a translation issue? Were they hearing the same accent as the person speaking? Are they possibly native to the area and accurately heard the sounds of others who had the same tone and speech patterns? Nothing special stands out about the name John Campbell - however, I know the surname Campbell from other research is quite often either Scottish or Irish in lineage. In order to see if I'm correct about that, I need to locate the enumerator in the census as well. This time, I got lucky and John Campbell enumerated his own family as the very first of his section. Here is a look at his entry: It's true. While he was born in S. Carolina - both his parents are Irish. He would also have an Irish accent having lived in the household of his native born parents. Today, we often will lose an accent because we have a large pool of people who influence our speech patterns. But in those days, accents hung on a much longer time, sometimes never leaving a family. Could John Campbell have heard an accent from a southern, possibly previously enslaved black female incorrectly? Yes! It's quite possible. So say to yourself in your best Scarlett O'Hara accent: "Poindexter". Remember influx, tone, accentuation, regional influences, nationality and language barriers as well.
Could it possibly be misconstrued as Judexter, Indexter, Conductor, Coindexter? Perhaps experiment with an African accent. We don't know where Winnie was born or where her parents were because those fields were left blank on the 1880 census. It's also possible I'm on the wrong trail. So keep that in mind too. Now, think of yourself as an Irish immigrant. Listen to those accents and hear them coming into your mind with a slight Irish translation of what was said. Now we have a larger issue. Do we know that this is what happened? No. Certainly not. The only real way we would know that is to ask in person the people who were there at the exact time and place. We can't do that. What we've done is used some common reasoning, a large amount of assuming and quite a bit of corroborating of documents to come to a conclusion that might possibly make sense as to why their names are listed that way. Going further back in time (and also forward) to find all related documents is a way to confirm or deny that this theory we've created that the name is actually POINDEXTER is true or false is the only way to know for sure that the information and facts we've gathered is accurate to as far as the evidence can be using the best available documents at our disposal. When you are out there researching we need to remember that placing our modern view points on this history will do little good. We have to think about being in that time and place. We almost have to place ourselves in a virtual situation that mimics what would have happened. As researchers, our sense of imagination needs to be on point. Who knew that our creativity as a child would benefit us so much in our love for family history research. Think outside that box. Expand your views. Enjoy your Adventures in Genealogy!
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AuthorMichele is an obsessed mother of 4 residing in North Alabama. Hobbies include long walks in the woods, on the beach and in strange cemeteries and libraries. Genealogy friends need only apply. Categories
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