Find-A-Grave Confusion

So Find-A-Grave sent me on a wild goose chase for a couple of months.

When I first started researching my Pitner/Carroll line, I found Sarah E. Pitner Carroll on findagrave.com listing her mother as Aseneth Williams Pitner and her father as James Pitner.  Great, that's my Sarah.

Except nothing else fit.  My Sarah didn't die in Georgia. She died here in Missouri.  And she remarried so her last name was McAllister. And on and on with the discrepancies.  I started to think maybe Find-A-Grave had made a mistake.  It seemed unlikely though because normally their information is pretty reliable.

Long story short, this was Sarah E. Wright who married a James M. Carroll.  Her parents were Spencer and Mary Wright.  I clicked on the Edit tab and suggested the correction. About two days later I got an email informing me that they accepted my correction.

The only problem is they still have her maiden name listed as Pitner.  But, hey, you can't have everything.

So here is the corrected Sarah E. Wright Carroll's Find-A-Grave

Here is my Sarah Ann Pitner Carroll McAllister's Find-A-Grave

Here is my Sarah's mother Asenath Williams Pitner's Find-A-Grave

And here is her father James Pitner's Find-A-Grave

Moral of the story... just because something is generally always right, doesn't mean it's always always right.

James M. Carroll

Made a serious break through over the weekend!

I knew that my 3x great-grandparents' names were Sarah Ann Pitner and James M. Carroll based on, well... long story, but I was about as certain as you can get in genealogy.  I had found marriage records, death certificates, census records, etc. proving it. And I found that Sarah had remarried in 1868 to William McAllister and moved to Greene County, Missouri with him and the 2 kids she had with James.  But I couldn't prove what happened to James.  Of course, death was more likely than divorce, but when? where? how?

I found out Sarah's dad, James Pitner, was in the Civil War.  So I was checking out his documents on Fold3 when I noticed this little gem...

Of course, I was excited but wanted to thoroughly check it out before jumping for joy.  I went to look through the rolls for Company D of the 52nd Georgia Infantry of the Confederate States of America, and... bam!  Found him!

There are several pages for him on Fold3.  And my main problem for finding information on him (and knowing it's him) is that there were a few different James M. Carroll's running around Georgia at that time.  I'll post the three pages from his file that clinched it that I found my 3x great-grandfather.

So now that I knew I had the right guy... what happened to him?

He died 6th of June 1862 in Big Creek Gap, Tennessee of fever.

Why was he in Big Creek Gap? 

Big Creek Gap is one of the few natural openings through the Cumberland Mountains in the region. During the Civil War, this corridor was much narrower and steeper, and even lightly loaded wagons found travel extremely hazardous. Cumberland Gap, one the main migration route from the eastern states to the west and a strategic gateway during the Civil War, is about thirty miles northeast of here. 

Early in the conflict, Confederate military engineers ringed Cumberland Gap with defensive works and considered the pass impregnable from the north and east. East Tennessee citizens who supported the Union alerted Federal commanders to the possibility of flanking the fortifications via Big Creep Gap. After a rigorous march, a detachment of Union soldiers, including a company of Campbell County men under Capt. Joseph A. Cooper, first penetrated the narrow passage here in March 1862 and routed the Confederate cavalry posted nearby. A more substantial offensive effort under U.S. Gen. George W. Morgan occurred in June, producing a bloodless Confederate withdrawal from Cumberland Gap. Subsequently, control of the Gap changed hands several times. 

Found @ Historic Markers across Tennessee

Minutes of Wilson Co. Court (1809-1819) RE: Wm & Eliz. Gates

WILSON COUNTY MINUTES OF COUNTY COURT VOL. 2 (or B)1809-1819 
What follows is a listing of plantiffs and defendants listed in Wilson County Court Minutes. 
Plantiffs Samuel W. Sherrell vs Defendants Hulda Sherrill & others 
SOME WILSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE CHANCERY COURT LOOSE RECORDS This is number FIVE of SEVEN files. 
5342 - 1865 Sept. 5 - Petition to sell land. William C. RICE of Wilson Co., TN against the unknown heirs at law of Elizabeth GATES, non resident of state. Orators father Benjamin RICE, died about 2 years ago, intestate in this county. He owned a small tract of 100a in Civil District 23 bound by Samuel SHERRELL, by the farm which Newton SHERRELL now lives, Lara HARALSON, on which dec'd. lived at time of his death. He left no widow surviving him and his only heirs at law your orator, his son, and two children whose names and ages are unknown to your orator, the children of a dau. of the intestate whose name is Elizabeth, but who married (blank) GATES several years ago and moved with him to MO and there died leaving two or more minor children. 
1865 Dec. 4 - Deposition of J.F. HOOKER says he heard Benj. RICE say that he had furnished Wm. GATES with a land warrant for 120a.... - Depositions of George SANDERS, V.C. HARALSON, and W.S. WOODRUM. 
1866 June 6 - Plat description of land ... near Gladesville upon the Sinking Prong of Pond Lick Creek, a branch of Stone's River.... Lara HARALSON'S line ... dower of Mrs. Agnes SHERRILL, dec'd. ... heirs of Asbel SHERRILL, dec'd. ... Houston THORNTON'S line ... 100a and 20 poles... G.B. MCPEAK and J.H. RICE, chain carriers. - Decree - Ben RICE died Sept. 1863.... 

Source

In case you didn't know, "intestate" means dying without a will.

What's very interesting about the statements William Rice made to the court is that he makes it seem like he doesn't know the names of his sister, Elizabeth's children and doesn't even know how many kids she had.  However, I have seen some letters between William Gates (Elizabeth's husband and the father of her children) and the Rices referencing the children.  I assume they are arguing over this very issue because in an 1860 letter, Gates tells Benjamin Rice that Elizabeth's children have "as much right to part as bill has to all" and he says that Elizabeth “has wated on you and her mother for weeks and months when bill would not so much as speak to his mother”.

My Gates Line

This is my proverbial Brick Wall.  This is as far back as I can go with my grandmother's father's family.  I can take pretty much all my other lines back to at least the Revolutionary War.  But the Gates line stops 5 generations back, and it frustrates me to no end.

*I put my direct ancestors in bold.  I listed the Gates family member first and then who they married (if known).  I have not used some names for privacy.

William (?) - m - Unknown 

|

Thomas - m - Amanda Sullivan

Lucinda

Catherine - m - William Rice

Polly Ann - m - Henry Wilson

William Filmore - m - (1) Elizabeth Rice (2) Christina Climer

|

(1) Lucinda Evaline - m - William Hendricks

Elizabeth Frances

Nancy Josephine - m - Lafayette Hurst

(2) William Thomas Filmore - m - Mary Louisa Justice

John Bell - m - Mary Alice McMillan

Christina Catherine - m - William Killingsworth

Paralee Constantine - m - John Samuel Killingsworth

James Grant - m - Alice Hurst

Elizabeth Frances II - m - John Samuel Killingsworth

Charles Horatio - Alta Lackey

|

Clara Belle - m - Hugo Williams

Clarence Emeral - m - (1) Grace Melton (2) Irene Woods

John William - m - Donnie Marie Hagerman

Alie May

Earl Harvey - m - (1) Lola Campbell (2) Agatha Prock

Eva Irene - m - James Vaughn

Harold

|

William Elvage - m - Eula Mae Underhill

Pauline Beatrice - m - Wallace Wise

Wilma Mourine - m - Ben Carroll

Ralph John - m - (1) Jessie Prine (2) Jean McAtt (3) Judith Wittmaier

Delores Louise - m - James Robinson

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My Aunt

My Mom

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Me

Timeline for Sarah Pitner-Carroll-McAllister

Ok, here's my first post about my Carroll side of the family.  This is a timeline I have created for my great-great-great grandmother, Sarah Ann Pitner Carroll McAllister.

Here's my line to her (without using my mom's or my full names for privacy):

Sarah Ann Pitner

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Damarcus Leora Carroll

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Earl Holbert Carroll

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Ben Piercy Carroll

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My Mom

|

Me

William Filmore Gates 2nd Marriage

This took awhile to find because of the mis-transcription of the names:

Name: Christiana A Werner [Christiana A Climer]  Marriage Date: 5 Aug 1858 Marriage Place: Johnson, Missouri, USA Registration Place: Johnson, Missouri, USA Spouse: William Gats

"Missouri Marriages, 1750-1920," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V28V-DJ4 : accessed 13 September 2015), William Gats and Christiana A. Wemer, 05 Aug 1858; citing Johnson,Missouri; FHL microfilm 959,990.

1830 Tennessee Census

Could this Wm Gates be the father? And could the Valentine Gates in Sumner County be one of the elder boys? Christina A. did say her husband was born and reared in Smith County. But if so and Wm. Gates is the 40-50 year old listed, he couldn't have emigrated to TN in 1755 as she said; he wasn't born until the 1780's.

*Found in Sistler's Index of Middle Tennessee

Smith County

William Gates 

Males
1 under 5 (born 1830-1825)
3 age 5-10 (born 1825-1820)
2 age 15-20 (born 1815-1810)
1 age 40-50 (born 1790-1780)

Females
4 under 5
1 age 5-10
1 age 30-40 (born 1800-1790)

I calculated the information in italics.

Sumner County 

Valentine Gates

Males
1 age 15-20 

Females
1 age 15-20

Find-A-Grave for Thomas & Amanda Gates

Thomas Gates

Birth: Feb. 22, 1821
Death: Apr. 3, 1850

Family links: 
Spouse:
Amanda Sullivan Gates (1825 - 1880)

Burial:
Spickard-Sullivan Cemetery 
Gladeville
Wilson County
Tennessee, USA

Link to his Find-A-Grave

Amanda Sullivan

Birth: Jan. 19, 1825
Death: Jul. 12, 1880

Family links: 
Parents:
Benjamin T. Sullivan (1800 - 1872)
Polly Ann Sullivan (1805 - 1878)

Spouse:
Thomas Gates (1821 - 1850)*

Siblings:
Amanda Sullivan Gates (1825 - 1880)
C. C. Sullivan (1826 - 1846)*
Elizabeth Frances Sullivan Rogers (1830 - 1850)*
Cinderella Josephine Sullivan Baird (1833 - 1889)*
Mary P. Sullivan (1834 - 1877)*
B. F. Sullivan (1837 - 1914)*
Martha J. Sullivan (1839 - 1884)*
Almeda West Sullivan (1843 - 1909)*

*Calculated relationship

Burial:
Spickard-Sullivan Cemetery 
Gladeville
Wilson County
Tennessee, USA

Catherine Gates-Rice Family Farm

MTSUnews.com


Middle Tennessee State University, Mufreesboro, Tenn.
New and Media Relations article
Monday, June 14, 2010
[509] Wilson County Farm Certified As Tennessee Century Farm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 14, 2010
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947

WILSON COUNTY FARM CERTIFIED AS TENNESSEE CENTURY FARM

State Program Will Honor Rice Farm’s Owners at Annual County Fair

(MURFREESBORO)—The Rice Farm in Wilson County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation, which is located on the MTSU campus.

Andrew Jackson was a land speculator and farmer, as well as a lawyer, in the early years of Tennessee’s statehood. It was from this future president that John Rice, who hailed from Caswell County, N.C., purchased 214 acres in 1800. The receipt, which has remained in the family along with the deed, notes that Rice paid the equivalent of $1 per acre for the property in a combination of French crowns and dollars.

On the farm, John and wife Mary and their seven children raised cattle, hogs, horses, sheep, hay and grain. During this time, about 14 families established the community of Gladeville near the Pond Lick Creek. The family cemetery was also established during this time, with the earliest grave dating 1811. It is thought to be one of the earliest cemeteries in Wilson County and has 150-200 graves, many of which are the graves of slaves, according to the family’s reports.

By 1821, the farm was owned by three sons of John and Mary. Benjamin married Elizabeth Climer; John married Nancy Ramsey; and Simeon remained a bachelor. Benjamin and Nancy were the parents of William C. and John and Nancy had three children.

William C. Rice acquired the property in 1864. He and wife Catherine Gates had been married since 1841, and with their seven children, they continued the family’s traditional crops and livestock and added a mill. The family has several documents from the period of the Civil War and Reconstruction, including a receipt for $16.50 for a “rifle and accoutrements” that was sold to Col. R. Bell of the Confederate Army. Another document shows that William signed an oath of allegiance to the Union in August 1863.

In 1909, 103 acres of the original farm went to Thomas J. Rice, son of William and Catherine. With his wife Nannie, a second cousin, and their three children, Annie, Minnie and Ezra, the family raised hay, corn, fruit, cattle and a large garden.

Ezra “Edd” Rice acquired 103 acres in 1940. Married to Carmen Murphy, they were the parents of Christine and Phillip. They continued to raise a garden, corn, hay and cattle. Wilson County, along with surrounding counties, was the site of military maneuvers during World War II and the Rice Farm saw its share of this training. The war was brought much closer to the Rice family when Philip, serving in the Air Force, died in the service of his country in 1942.

Christine Rice Robinson and husband Sam became the sixth owners in 1981. With their son, Phillip Darryl, they raised cattle, goats and pastureland. In 2005, Phillip Darryl Robinson acquired the farm that has been in his family for more than 200 years.

Today, he owns 70 acres of the original farm that John Rice bought from Andrew Jackson in 1800.

Darryl continues to raise hay and cattle as well as pasture and. He reports that when Highway 840 came through the farm, he donated the original log dwelling, built by John for Mary and their family, to Fiddler’s Grove at the Wilson County Fairgrounds.

“It is fitting that Darryl will represent his family—the Rices are a First Family of Tennessee—and the farm will be recognized at the annual Century Farms luncheon at the Wilson County Fair in August,” Hankins noted.

About the Century Farms Program
The Century Farm Program recognizes the contributions of Tennessee residents who have continuously owned, and kept in production, family land for at least 100 years. Since 1984, the CHP at MTSU has been a leader in the important work of documenting Tennessee’s agricultural heritage and history through the Tennessee Century Farm Program, and continues to administer this program.

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.

To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee.

“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”

For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.

Wilson Co TN Century Farms

Polly Gates Marriage

This shows Polly Ann Gates marrying Henry W. Wilson on 6 Jan 1852 in DeKalb Co, TN

(2nd entry of the right page)

I *think* this is William Filmore Gates' sister.

"Tennessee, State Marriage Index, 1780-2002," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VNHN-CQP : accessed 13 September 2015), Henry W Wilson and Pally Ann Gates, 06 Jan 1852; from "Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2008); citing p. 49, DeKalb, Tennessee, United States, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee.

Thomas Gates Marriage

Tennessee, State Marriages, 1780-2002

Name: Amanda M Sullivan
Spouse: Thomas Gates
Marriage Date: 12 Oct 1842
Marriage County: Wilson

"Tennessee, State Marriage Index, 1780-2002," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VN4K-5SP : accessed 13 September 2015), Thomas Gates and Amanda M Sullivan, 12 Oct 1842; from "Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2008); citing p. 106, Wilson, Tennessee, United States, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee.

1850 Wayne Co Illinois Census

1850 Census of Wayne County, IL shows an 18 year old Polly Gates living with J.P., Elizabeth, Sarah, Susanah, and Valentine Gates. This Polly is approximately the right age and born in Tennessee. It doesn't tell her relationship to the Head of the Household, but maybe, as the youngest, she was sent to live with relatives when whatever happened to the parents, happened.  Could this Valentine be the brother that Christina mentioned in her recollections?

William Filmore Gates 1st Marriage

Name: Elizabeth H Rice
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 02 Dec 1847
Event Place: Wilson, Tennessee, United States
Gender: Female
Spouse's Name: William Gates


"Tennessee, State Marriage Index, 1780-2002," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VNX7-WTS : accessed 13 September 2015), William Gates and Elizabeth H Rice, 02 Dec 1847; from "Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2008); citing p. , Wilson, Tennessee, United States, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee.

1820 Smith County TN Census
William Gates is listed 5th from the top:

3 males age 0-10
1 male age 26-45 (Born 1794-1775)
1 female age 0-10
1 female age 16-26 (Born 1804-1794)

Occupation is Agriculture

Christina Climer's Find-A-Grave

Birth: May 6, 1833
Tennessee, USA
Death: 1919
Roseburg
Douglas County
Oregon, USA

She was healthy at 85, but became another victim of the "Great Flu Epidemic". 

Family links: 
Spouse:
William F Gates (1825 - 1887)

Children:
Nancy Josephine Gates Hurst (1856 - 1900)*
William Thomas Filmore Gates (1859 - 1935)*
John Bell Gates (1860 - 1939)*
Christina Catherine Gates Killingsworth (1862 - 1898)*
Elizabeth Frances Gates Killingsworth (1870 - 1896)*

*Calculated relationship

Burial:
Kelley Cemetery 
Ash Grove
Greene County
Missouri, USA

Link to her Find-A-Grave

Find-A-Grave - William Fillmore Gates

Birth: 1825
Death: 1887

Family links: 
Spouse:
Christina Adaline Clymer Gates (1833 - 1919)*

Children:
Nancy Josephine Gates Hurst (1856 - 1900)*
William Thomas Filmore Gates (1859 - 1935)*
John Bell Gates (1860 - 1939)*
Christina Catherine Gates Killingsworth (1862 - 1898)*
Elizabeth Frances Gates Killingsworth (1870 - 1896)*

*Calculated relationship

Burial:
Kelley Cemetery 
Ash Grove
Greene County
Missouri, USA

Link to his Find-A-Grave

Christina Adaline Climer-Gates recollection

I have a typed page that was given to my grandmother by a descendant of Charles Horatio Gates (youngest son of Wm Filmore and Christina Gates). It was dictated to C.H. Gates on June 1st 1918 by Christina when she was 85 years old.

This is what it says exactly (misspelling, typos, incorrect info all intact):

William Gates was born and reared in North Carolina and emigrated to Tennessee in 1755. He had four sons; John, Valentine, Andrew and William; and four daughters: Lucenda, Betty, Polly and ?

He was a veteran of the Revolutionary War. His youngest son, William, was born and reared in Smith County, Tennessee and was a veteran of the Mexican and Civil Wars.

He married Christina Adaline Clymer from which marriage the following children were born: William, John, James and Charles, Kate, Connie and Fannie.

At the time this was dictated, the Great World War was raging and my mother, Mrs. C. A. Gates, has 12 grandsons overseas. Paul Killingsworth, Fannie's son, was killed in action on the Argone, October 1918.

There are many things about this dictation that I question:

1. I'm not sure about the date she says Wm emigrated to Tennessee. Most people emigrated after the Revolutionary War to Tennessee because they received land grants. But 1755 was before the war. Not impossible that he moved there before the war, but unlikely.

2. Also the way she says he was "born and reared...and emigrated" makes it seem like he was old enough to do it on his own (not with his parents). Assuming he was at least 10 years old to have been able to do that and his youngest son* was born in 1825, he would have been 80 when that son was born. Again not impossible, but unlikely. *She doesn't mention if William was the youngest child or just the youngest son.

3. It's interesting to me that she doesn't list Catherine as one of her husband's sisters. I have seen letters between her husband and family back in Tennessee referring to Catherine's husband, William (whom he called Bill) so she was surely aware of Catherine. Maybe at 85, it'd been so long since they talked that she forgot her name?

4. I also wonder if Charles (to whom the letter was being dictated) added the last sentence later.  Because it says at the top that Christina dictated it to him on 1st of June 1918, but that Paul Killingsworth was killed in October 1918.

Updated 15 Sep 2015 to add a scan of the page: