52 Ancestors,
in 52 Weeks
Week 14:
Brick Wall
Family Finds Charter Oak

Genealogy Brick Walls: 4th Great Grandparents

We all have a brick wall, that one ancestor who defies all research. In reality, most genealogy enthusiasts have multiple brick walls and all we can do is break them down one at a time. A few years ago I decided I would work at my brick walls by generation. I broke through the last of my 3rd great grandparent brick walls about a year ago, read about it here: Sarah Smith. Now I am working on 4th great grandparents. [1]

My Plan

In the hopes someone out there may some day search for one of my missing ancestors and find this post, I am going to list all my current 4th great grandparent brick walls. The information in the table below are possible vitals. These are the clues I am working from in hopes of putting a name to an ancestor. If you have any information regarding one of these families, please contact me and let’s compare notes.

4th Great Grandparent Brick Walls

Name Birth Yr/Loc Marriage Yr/Loc Death Yr/Loc Spouse Child
Unknown woman, LNP Walston ca. 1746 MD 1770 Somerset, MD Aft 1790 Somerset, MD Joseph Landon 1746- George Walston Landon 1790-1863
Unknown woman, LNP Angle ca. 1790 ca. 1810 Bourbon, KY Aft. 1810 Bracken, KY Robert Hill 1784-1833 Eve Hill 1810-1887
Mr. Russell, FNP William ca. 1790 PA? ca. 1809 Lancster, PA Aft 1819 Lancaster, PA Unknown woman William Russell 1809-1870
Unknown woman ca. 1790 PA? ca. 1809 Lancster, PA Aft 1809 Lancaster, PA Mr. FNU Russell William Russell 1809-1870
Unknown woman ca. 1775 PA? ca. 1797 Hamilton, OH Aft. 1805 Butler, OH Thomas Gillespie 1766-1810 Isabella Gillespie Warbinton 1797-1833
Mr. Koontz, FNP Henry ca. 1775 NC? ca. 1800 NC? Aft 1810 Rowan, NC? Unknown woman George Koontz 1806-1852
Unknown woman, FNP Mary ca. 1775 NC? ca. 1800 NC? Aft 1806 NC? Mr. FNU Koontz George Koontz 1806-1852
Mr. McBride, FNP David or John ca. 1775 PA? ca. 1800 PA Aft. 1803 PA/OH Unknown woman Elizabeth McBride 1803-1893
Unknown woman ca. 1775 PA? ca. 1800 PA Aft. 1803 PA/OH Mr. FNU McBride Elizabeth McBride 1803-1893
Mr. Gilbert, FNP George ca. 1775 PA? ca. 1800 PA Aft. 1812 PA/Stark, OH Unknown woman Samuel Gilbert 1812-1895
Unknown woman ca. 1775 PA? ca. 1800 PA Aft. 1812 PA Mr. FNU Gilbert Samuel Gilbert 1812-1895
Mr. Smith, FNP Samuel ca. 1790 PA? ca. 1815 PA.OH Aft. 1820 PA/Crawford, OH Unknown woman Sarah Smith 1820-1846
Unknown woman, FNP Sarah ca. 1790 PA? ca. 1815 PA/OH Aft. 1820 PA/Stark, OH Mr. FNU Smith Sarah Smith 1820-1846

Brick Wall Notes:

LNP – Last Name Possibly
FNP – First Name Possibly
FNU – First Name Unknown
Most of the table entries are informed speculation, other than the children’s names and the three named spouses.

SOURCES:

  1.  ‘Osborn‘ family tree, Ancestry.com; https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/13493206/family

1 Comment

  1. Brian H.

    I really enjoy working on my ‘brick walls’ and am going to ‘borrow’ the way that you have organised your information into a table. It is so satisfying when those walls come tumbling down.
    When I first started on the family history road I though that it would be my convict ancestors who would be my walls but in reality they are the most documented cohort of people in British/Australian history. The brick walls are in the second generation following the convict one – an attempt to hide the past?

    Reply

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