52 Ancestors,
in 52 Weeks
Week 1:
Foundations
Family Finds Charter Oak

Genealogy Foundations

I made no significant progress breaking down my genealogy brick walls during 2021. [1] So, the foundations of my research for 2022 will focus on furthering my research of my 4th great-grandparents who are currently brick walls. I have thirteen of 64 of my 4th great grandparents who I cannot name with certainty. I do have strong clues for several, and I will prioritize my efforts with those.

2022 Research Plans

These are all 4th great-grandparents:

  • Document that William Russell, ca. 1775, of Strasburg, Lancaster Co., PA is the father of Wm Russell 1809-1872. Church baptism records or a will may be most likely sources. [2]
  • Further my research of Powell Hill (my 3rd-great granduncle) to determine if any of his vital records will reveal the name of his mother. Military pension records may be best source. [3]
  • Research the surname Robeson in Hamilton, Warren and Butler County, OH looking for a female born about 1775. Also, search for death records of females in these counties for 1805-1810. [4]
These are many of the surnames in my family tree
  • Further research of Michael Koontz, 1777-1834, and his wife Mary Hage, of Davidson County, NC. Search for evidence they had a son named George ca. 1805. Understand how DNA matches may help confirm my connection. [5, 6]
  • Research surname McBride in Washington County, PA ca. 1820. Look for a family with a daughter born ca. 1803 named Mary Elizabeth. Church records may be the best source. [7]
  • Further my research of surname Gilbert in Northumberland, PA on the Susquehanna River, in the vicinity of Catawissa, ca. 1800-1835. I am in contact with Immel descendants and their family history may be key to finding my Gilberts. [8, 9]
  • Further my research of surname Smith in Richland County, OH, ca.1840. Both an Abner and John Smith had females of my Sarah’s age in their households in 1840 census, and their properties are close to Samuel Gilbert’s in Crawford Co. [10]

The plans above cover eight of my missing thirteen 4th great-grandparents. Making new discoveries about who they were will be satisfying, but if I could find definitive sources to identify them would be fantastic! Stay tuned, I will be posting about my progress.

4th Great Grandparent Brick Walls

Name Birth Yr/Loc Marriage Yr/Loc Death Yr/Loc Spouse Child
Mrs. Landon,
LNP Walston
ca. 1746 MD 1770 Somerset, MD Aft 1790 Somerset, MD Joseph Landon 1746-? George Walston Landon 1790-1863
Mrs. Hill, LNP Angle ca. 1790 ca. 1805 Bourbon, KY Aft. 1810 Bracken, KY Robert Hill 1784-1833 Eve Hill 1810-1887
Powell Hill 1807-?
William Russell ca. 1790 PA? ca. 1809 Lancaster, PA Aft 1832 Lancaster, PA Mrs. FNU Russell William Russell 1809-1870
Mrs. Russell ca. 1790 PA? ca. 1809 Lancaster, PA Aft 1830 Lancaster, PA William Russell William Russell 1809-1870
Mrs. Gillespie,
LNP Robeson
ca. 1775 PA? ca. 1797 Hamilton, OH Aft. 1805 Butler, OH Thomas Gillespie 1766-1810 Isabella Gillespie Warbinton 1797-1833
Mr. Koontz,
FNP Michael
ca. 1777 NC ca. 1800 NC ca. 1834 Davidson Co, NC Mrs. FNU Koontz George Koontz 1806-1852
Mrs. Koontz,
FNP Mary LNP Hage
ca. 1785 NC? ca. 1800 NC ca. 1823 NC Mr. FNU Koontz George Koontz 1806-1852
Mr. McBride,
FNP David or John
ca. 1775 PA? ca. 1800 Washington Co.PA Aft. 1803 PA/OH Mrs. FNU McBride Elizabeth McBride 1803-1893
Mrs. McBride,
FNP Mary or Elizabeth
ca. 1775 PA? ca. 1800 Washington Co. PA Aft. 1803 PA/OH Mr. FNU McBride Elizabeth McBride 1803-1893
Mr. Gilbert,
FNP David or George
ca. 1775 PA? ca. 1800 PA Aft. 1812 Northumberland Co. PA Mrs. FNU Gilbert Samuel Gilbert 1812-1895
David Gilbert ca. 1805
Mrs. FNU Gilbert ca. 1775 PA? ca. 1800 PA Aft. 1812 Northumberland Co.PA Mr. FNU Gilbert Samuel Gilbert 1812-1895
Mr. Smith,
FNP Abner or John
ca. 1790 PA? ca. 1815 PA/OH Aft. 1840 Crawford or Richland Cos., OH Mrs. FNU Smith Sarah Smith 1820-1846
Mrs. Smith,
FNP Sarah
ca. 1790 PA? ca. 1815 PA/OH Aft. 1820 Crawford or Richland Cos., OH Mr. FNU Smith Sarah Smith 1820-1846

Brick Wall Notes:

LNP – Last Name Possibly
FNP – First Name Possibly
FNU – First Name Unknown
Prob – Probable, some vital point to this as correct.

Conclusion

This will be not only the foundations of my research this year, but also for my blog. I intend to use the weekly prompts for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge as inspiration for these research goals Anyone reading this who can supply assist with any of these surnames, please contact me. I hope I can return the favor some day.

SOURCES:

  1. Blog post, Family Finds: Brick Wall; https://barblafara.com/genealogy-brick-walls/
  2. Profile of William Russell, ‘Osborn‘ tree, Ancestry.com; https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/13493206/person/27581740986/facts
  3. Profile of Powell Hill, ‘Osborn‘ tree, Ancestry.com; https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/13493206/person/27571819024/facts
  4. Profile of Mrs. Gillespie, ‘Osborn‘ tree, Ancestry.com; https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/13493206/person/5085061848/facts
  5. Profile of NOT Proven Michael Koontz, ‘Osborn‘ tree, Ancestry.com; https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/13493206/person/27581745864/facts
  6. Profile of NOT Proven Mary Hage, ‘Osborn‘ tree, Ancestry.com; https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/13493206/person/27581745901/facts
  7. Profile of Unknown McBride, ‘Osborn‘ tree, Ancestry.com; https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/13493206/person/27581748924/facts
  8. Profile of Unknown Gilbert, ‘Osborn‘ tree, Ancestry.com; https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/13493206/person/26046078420/facts
  9. Profile of Christian Immel, ‘Osborn‘ tree, Ancestry.com; https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/13493206/person/26045316684/facts
  10. Profile of Sarah Smith, ‘Osborn‘ tree, Ancestry.com; https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/13493206/person/26119687041/facts

1 Comment

  1. Anne Young

    Good luck with your researches.

    Reply

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