Tag Archives: Scroggins

What I Don’t Know, Part 11: That’s a lot of stuff I don’t know!

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Ok, so this is really just a follow-up. Remember in the post on military records, I said that the information about Franklin Dimick being a Justice of the Peace led to some interesting information. Well, this is that story.

Sometimes I begin with this, sometimes I remember to do it later. But sometimes, I do a straight up Google search with the name I’m researching in quotes. Sanders Scroggins, Jeduthan Dimick and Franklin Dimick are such unique names I did just that. They didn’t turn up much except when I decided to look more into the fact that Franklin was a Justice of the Peace. A Google search for “franklin dimick” “justice of the peace” turned up a county history I hadn’t found before when searching for Hardin County histories.

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The first entry, “Memoirs of the lower Ohio valley: personal and genealogical…” leads to a Google Book. This is a full digitized version of that county history and gives biographical sketches for two of Franklin’s sons and discusses details about Franklin’s origins.

That was quite a long journey through records you can locate on the Internet (and I’m sure I missed many) in a short amount of time. One of my next steps is to begin writing up a biographical sketch of the research subjects. This is one of the quickest ways to highlight any holes in your research and where you might need to do more to strengthen your proof.

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I hope this series helped you learn more about distance research, what can be done online and in a short amount of time, and about Illinois research.

What I Don’t Know, Part 9: Other Online Sources Searched

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After all of the “main” record types I mentioned in previous posts, I also looked at my favorite newspaper websites such as GenealogyBank, Newspapers.com, and Chronicling America. I did not find anything relevant in the time I had allotted to work on this project.

Another favorite online database is FindAGrave.com. This is a collection of tombstone photographs and cemetery listings. I did find several relevant entries for Dimick and Scroggins family members:

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There are several entries, including Sarah Scroggin(s) and Franklin Dimick in “Dimick Cemetery.” However, there are no photographs for either of them. Further research indicates that there are no tombstones or they are quite weathered and that this is a cemetery on private property, at one time being owned by the Dimick family. It is located near the town of Rosiclare, Illinois.

So, EVERYTHING is NOT on the Internet. At some point we have to put on clothes other than jammies and slippers and go to some repositories to further our research. However, there are still things you can do from home before you step outside and blink at the sun, that will be covered in the next post.

What I Don’t Know, Part 8: Military Records

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It is always wise when working in the early to mid 1800s to check military records, either for War of 1812 or Civil War soldiers. There are growing collections coming online all the time for these 2 groups of soldiers’ records. The first place I look to determine if a person I’m researching was involved in the Civil War is the National Parks Service’s Soldiers and Sailors Database. This is an index to all who served in the Civil War on either side of the conflict. A quick search for Dimick and Scroggins provided the following 2 results:

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There was a soldier named Sanders Scroggins from Illinois.
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There was no soldier named Franklin Dimick (Sarah’s brother).

This told me that Sanders Scroggins enlisted during the Civil War. Sarah (his wife) had a brother named Franklin Dimick. No entry was found for him. Once I determined Sanders had enlisted, I began searching for more information about his service. One great online repository for military records is Fold3.com. There I found a copy of a Widow’s Pension from his widow (and third wife) Josephine Scroggins.

 

2014-03-31 09.59.49 pmFurther searching (at Internet Archive) revealed a copy of the Adjutant General’s report:

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It appears that Sanders only served for about a month from August to September 1864. The AG report also gives some description of what the company was doing during that time:

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Franklin Dimick was not to be left out, however. Searching at Fold3.com revealed that he performed an important role in his town:

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Franklin Dimick was a Justice of the Peace in Hardin County! (This information leads to an interesting find that I will share in a future post.)

 

What I Don’t Know, Part 7: Dimick’s Land in Hardin County

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Similar to what I demonstrated in the last post regarding the Scroggins family land, I did a similar search for the Dimick family in Hardin County. Jeduthan and his wife Mary purchased land from the Federal government and the transaction is recorded at the General Land Office website:

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Jeduthan’s land was purchased in 1834. He died in 1837. Mary’s land was purchased in 1838, a year after his death. If you examine where each parcel of land was located you might notice something interesting. The entries in this database tell you where the land was located with what looks like a secret code. Jeduthan’s land is described as: NE1/4 of the NW1/4 in Township 12 South, Range 8 East in Section 32. Mary’s land is described as: E1/2 of the SW1/4 in Township 29, Range 8 East in Section 29.

Every township is numbered in the same way, beginning from the upper right corner of the township, moving to the left (west), then down and across to the right (east) and so forth. Each township is 1 square mile and consists of 36 sections or 36 square miles. If you examine Jeduthan and Mary’s land purchases on a map, they line up more or less like this:

2014-03-31 06.20.12 pmOk, the above map is not to scale but I know that the land they purchased lined up and gave the family a large farm. How does their land location compare to the Scroggins family? Using the GLO site’s map feature and Photoshop, I layered the two maps to line them up:

2014-03-31 09.39.29 pmSanders Scroggins land is within the green square on the left of the screen and Jeduthan and Mary Dimick’s land is within the square on the right. The families lived fairly close to one another, possibly attended the same church, social gatherings, or perhaps did business in the town of Rosiclare or Elizabethtown.

Using land records puts the families in a time and place and in relation to each other. By doing this exercise, you can see how your ancestors may have interacted or maybe determine if you are even working with the correct ancestors. If they lived too far apart, it might be a case of mistaken identity. However with names like Sanders Scroggins and Jeduthan Dimick, I think I’ve got the right men.

In the next several posts I will follow these men in vital, military and other records that are available online.

What I Don’t Know, Part 6: Scroggins’ Land in Hardin County

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After reviewing the census and getting at least a beginning framework for the families I’m researching, I like to turn to land records and maps. This allows me to put the people in a physical location, and in relation to each other.

Illinois is a public land state meaning their lands were surveyed using the rectangular system. For my search I used two online databases to help locate the Scroggins and Dimick families:

These two databases seem to index the same information, however, you may find that one site is easier to use than the other. The GLO site has the advantage of having maps and original documents attached to the entries. Regardless of which site you use, always use the information to locate your research subjects on a map.

Beginning with the GLO records I found several Scroggins entries in Hardin County, Illinois.

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Sanders Scroggins bought land with two other men in 1851.
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Many men with the surname “Scroggins” obtained land from the federal government, including Chatten Scroggins in 1825.
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In 1855 Sanders Scroggins obtains more land.

The area in green is where Sanders Scroggins 1855 land is located. (This map can be obtained at the GLO database site.)

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The land is located northwest of Elizabethtown and Rosiclare.

I won’t bore you with all of the maps for all of the land transactions described above, but take a look for yourself if you wish. The GLO database is a rich treasure chest of information. You can find the original land patents and maps showing their locations.

The Illinois State Archives has an index of their Public Domain Land Sales. When searching for “Scroggins” I found the following entries:

2014-03-31 03.01.46 pmOften a capitalized “S” can look like a capitalized “L” so I am willing to bet that all of those “Landers” Scroggins are really Sanders’ land purchases. The Illinois Archive does not have digitized copies of the originals, instead you will get a transcription.

The next post will discuss the Dimick family’s entries and how the two families relate to each other on a map.

What I Don’t Know, Part 5: Census Records

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Once I have oriented myself with the geography of a new research area, I generally begin looking for my research subjects in the census. I will start with what I know. Usually it’s that they died in a location, so working back to the census year just before their death date, I will locate them and then work backward. This constructs the family group(s) giving a rough skeleton to their familial framework. Census records can contain many errors but I find they are a great tool to get started and create a sketch of the family structure, often for several generations.

In the case of Jeduthan Dimick, I knew from his biographical sketch in the compiled genealogy that he died in 1839 in Pope County, Illinois. Using census indexes at Ancestry.com I located Jeduthan and his household in the 1830 census in Hardin County, Illinois.

2014-03-30 10.43.06 pmAny census before 1850 consists of the name of the head of household and then hash marks for the rest of the family members broken down by age and sex. The household for Jeduthan consisted of:

Jeduthan Dimick household analysis:
Males under 19 = 3       (possibly Fayette, Mary? and Franklin)
Males 40-49 = 1             (Jeduthan)
Females under 19 = 1    (Sarah)
Females 40-49 = 1         (wife Mary)

This is probably Jeduthan, his wife, 3 sons and 1 daughter, but we can’t be sure with no names to identify them by. However, according to the compiled genealogy I started with, Jeduthan had 2 sons and 2 daughters. It is possible the census taker counted one of the girls (Mary) as a boy, it is impossible to know, but I am fairly certain this is the right family since no other “Jeduthan Dimicks” showed up in the searches.

Chatten Scroggins, Sanders’ father, also shows up in the 1830 census, in Gallatin County, Illinois. If you remember my earlier discussion on geography, Hardin County was formed from part of Gallatin County, so we are looking at a nearby location to the Dimick family.

2014-03-30 10.48.57 pmChatten’s household consisted of:

Chattan Scroggins household analysis:
Males under 19 = 5         (John, James Lewis, Sanders and two unknown boys)
Males 40-49 = 1               (Chatten)
Females under 19 = 3     (Mary and 2 unknown girls)
Females 40-49 = 1           (wife Elizabeth)

This family probably consisted of Chatten’s wife, 5 sons and 3 daughters. Again, the children don’t exactly line up with what is indicated by the compiled genealogies but no other “Chatten Scroggins” showed up in my searches.

I did a similar search for the 1840 census, but knowing that Jeduthan Dimick died in 1839, it was difficult to locate the rest of the family in 1840. Likely they lived with friends or relatives in 1840 while they were getting their living arrangements in order. Since the 1840 census lists only the head of household, it is difficult to know right now where they are in the census.

The Scroggins household is located in the Gallatin County census enumeration. Sanders has moved into his own household and is living next door to his father’s home. He has only one female of about his age living with him, likely his first wife, and no children are living with him.

This is just the first step with the census records. I conducted this research through the 1870 census for the purposes of the program I put together. I would normally follow as many family members as possible through the 1940 census. I also found the families in the Illinois State Censuses that were available. Going through the census records, I was able to put the family groups together in time, place and relationship. This beginning work then allowed me to move on to other records and resources.

What I Don’t Know, Part 3: Start with what you know

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From the compiled genealogies I mentioned in the previous post, I compiled the following data:

  • Jeduthan Dimick, 1787-1837 m. Mary Burgoyne
    daughter Sarah Dimick, 1819-1884, m. Sanders Scroggins (she was his second wife)
    Franklin Dimick, 1823-1885, m. Amanda Clancey
    2 other children: Fayette and Mary
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A graphic depiction of Jeduthan Dimick’s family
  • Chatten Scroggins, c. 1787 – bet. 1840&50, m. Elizabeth Ledbetter, 1790-aft. 1850
    Son Sanders Scroggins, 1816-1893, m. Sarah Dimick (his second wife)
    other children: James Lewis, Mary, John, Henry
A graphic depiction of the Scroggins family.
A graphic depiction of the Scroggins family

So, this was what I had to work with to begin my research. The next several posts will go into detail the geography of the area, record types searched, websites used and more.

 

What I Don’t Know, Part 2: Undocumented Family Histories

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I needed an Illinois family to research, quickly. I had less than a month to put together a program all about Illinois research. I knew VERY LITTLE about Illinois research. (I am still baffled that I pulled off the program.) Most of my research experience is in Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado, Missouri and New Hampshire, with a smattering of stops in other states. I pulled up my database and searched for any individuals who had “IL” or “Illinois” in any of their fields. I found four. 4! Yikes.

It turns out one of those four is a surname I’ve done quite a bit of research on: Dimick. However, this line of the Dimicks is a collateral line that I have spent no time researching until now. The only information I had was from an undocumented (no sources given) compiled genealogy from Dr. Alan Dimick. He has compiled an impressive amount of research on all of the known Dimicks in this country since the 1600s. However, there are very few sources (a few names of contributors now and then) so I can’t be sure how accurate it is. I actually find this situation to be a lot of fun. A compiled genealogy is full of clues and breadcrumbs to be followed. I personally love working with them.

A quick look at the entry for Jeduthan Dimick's family.
A quick look at the entry for Jeduthan Dimick’s family.

The entry in my database was for a daughter of Jeduthan Dimick, Sarah. Jeduthan is the cousin of my ancestor who moved to Ohio from New Hampshire. His daughter Sarah Dimick, according to this compiled genealogy, married a man named Sanders Scroggins. Sanders Scroggins. I’m sorry, but that name is so rare and odd that I had to take it on. There was also a compiled genealogy on the Scroggins family (the surname was more prevalent than I thought it would be) available online.

With these two compiled genealogies as a starting point, I was on my way. I spent the next couple of weeks learning as much as possible about the geographic area and the individuals as possible using the Internet. As any good researcher will do, I scoured the Internet from the comfort of my home office in my slippers, hot coffee in hand, and learned as much as possible before stepping foot outside and spending one dollar on gas or one minute driving to a repository.