The Value of Probate Records

For today’s post, I’d like to focus on the value of probate records. The word “probate” refers to the process of distributing a person’s property after they die. Usually people associate this with wills, which certainly can be part of the process but aren’t always. When dealing with Probate, there are a couple of terms that are important to know:

• Testate: When someone dies and leaves a will. In the will, the testator (person who died) appoints an executor/executrix(female), who is in charge of making sure the will is carried out. These probate records usually include the will (or a copy of it), inventories of the testator’s possessions, and records of the distributions of those possessions, whether it be to the heirs or property sales to others. 
• Intestate: When someone dies and DOES NOT leave a will. Because there is no will, someone needs to be appointed an administrator/administratrix, who functions the same as an executor. These records will usually contain letters of administration (choosing an administrator), inventories, sale records, and records of what was given to the heirs. Because there wasn’t a will left to choose the heirs of the estate, these heirs are called heirs at law, which means that they were chosen as those legally entitled to inherit. They are usually children, spouses, or close family.

Probate records are wonderful because they often state relationships of parents and children, which doesn’t happen very often otherwise. They also provide a lot of information about the living circumstances of a person, which aids in us better understanding their living situation. Probate records are especially helpful in southern genealogy largely because of two reasons: 1) the lack of vital records makes it harder to prove relationships, and 2) property was so important to them (see land records post), so it was important that it was passed down correctly. Both of these reasons contribute to why some probate records are very detailed and extremely helpful.

Below is a PowerPoint that I have created to illustrate how helpful these records can be. I was able to piece together a lot of information about Rebecca Kennerly (Thomas’s daughter) just from probate records I found in Barnwell County, South Carolina.

Southern Probate from Amy Carpenter

~AC

Southern Military Records

Today, I just wanted to do a quick post to cover a couple basics of Southern United States military records. Now, when the subject of southern military records is raised, I am almost positive that the first thing that pops into your head is the Civil War and the Confederacy, am I right? This is certainly true for most, because in our minds the definition of “the South” is interconnected with the Confederacy, which makes sense because in essence, the Confederacy fought to preserve southern culture. It’s important to remember though, that not every southerner fought for the C.S.A., or was even in favor of secession. In fact, every southern state except for South Carolina raised at least one battalion of men to fight for the Union, even South Carolina had men run off to fight in Union regiments from other states.¹

Now, whatever side an ancestor fought for, when it comes time for locating southern military records, there are a few places I go first:

1. “U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865” database on Ancestry.com. This is a good database to start with when you know a soldier’s name and need more information on the Regiment. Once you find your soldier, there is often a link to the “U.S., American Civil War Regiments, 1861-1866” database which can give some pretty detailed information about the different units.
2. The National Park Service Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database. This database is fairly comprehensive, and includes sections on soldiers, sailors, regiments, battles, and more. This is a great place to find out information about an individual soldier’s regiment and battle history as well.
3. Once I’ve found out which branch of service and unit my ancestor fought with, I then head to Fold.com and browse the Civil War Records. I don’t know what it is about the search engine on Fold3, but I’ve had a lot more success browsing and narrowing down the categories than just searching for an ancestor’s name.

By following the steps listed above I was able to find the Confederate Service Record for my ancestor, John C. Kennerly, who fought with the 2nd Louisiana Infantry. I was surprised to see that it was 49 pages long; not very many soldiers have that many records available online. This record details his years in the Civil War- illness and hospitalization in Williamsburg, various promotions, all the way through being wounded at Gettysburg, and then going AWOL (absent without leave) the next year.²

John C. Kennerly Service Record
Highlighted text: "Wounded at Gettysburg Penn. & absent with leave"

Military records unfortunately don’t have a lot of genealogical information in them, but they can be helpful for finding pension records, which often do have more genealogical information. However, since my ancestor went AWOL I knew there wasn’t a chance that there’d be a pension for him. I did learn though that he fought in and was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg, and this fact served as a great reminder to me. It reminded me that although researching dates and finding sources is important, it is arguably more important to learn about our ancestors lives, their sacrifices, and their examples to us.

~AC

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1 Richard Nelson Current, Lincoln's Loyalists: Union Soldiers from the Confederacy (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1992), pg. 5, accessed October 21, 2016, books.google.com.^↩
2 Confederate States of America, "Civil War Service Records," digital image, Fold3 (www.fold3.com : accessed 26 March 2016), John C Kennerly Co. E 2nd Louisiana Infantry.^↩

Vital and Marriage Records!

As so accurately described by LegacyTree, southern research is often challenging because of a lack of direct evidence to relationships, meaning that there aren’t a lot of things that explicitly state who was whose parent or child. Unfortunately, this quite frequently includes vital records. Vital records (birth, marriage and death records) are extremely important to any research, but birth and death records are sadly rare in the southern United States. Since people often lived far away from a courthouse or a church, and they were poor, keeping records of events wasn’t a very high priority.¹ 

Marriage records, on the other hand, are rather easy to find, and were very high priority. Because land and property was such an important part of southern culture, it was essential that marriage records were kept. That way, a couple could prove later on in life that their children were legitimate, and that they could inherit the family land.

Below are the marriage records that I found for the Kennerly family while doing my research. As you can see, they don’t give very much information. Thomas and Rebecca’s marriage just gives their names and the date. Samuel and Eleanor’s is on a pre-printed form, but unfortunately records just their names and the date. Samuel and Elizabeth’s marriage record is unique- there are witness names given (always check for witnesses, they are often relatives), and it’s got a bit more detail, but what really makes this one special is that the man performing the marriage describes how he went to “the residence of Wm Hetherwick” marry them. Likely, this is the name of Elizabeth’s father, and I’m grateful they were married at her home since I wouldn’t have gotten that information otherwise!

Thomas Kennerly and Rebecca Whetstone marriage, 29 December 1799, St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, Orangeburg, South Carolina²

Samuel Kennerly and Eleanor C. Jackson Marriage, 21 December 1837, Wilkinson County, Mississippi³

John C. Kennerly and Elizabeth A. Hetherwick marriage, 3 March 1864, Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana⁴

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1 Virginia - Legacy Tree Genealogists Editor & Researcher. "Genealogy Research in the Southern United States | Legacy Tree." Legacy Tree. October 22, 2014. Accessed October 14, 2016. https://www.legacytree.com/blog/genealogy-research-southern-united-states.
^↩
2 St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church (Orangeburg County, South Carolina), Church records, 1799-1897, Marriages (by Rev. J. P. Franklin), 1801 Dec 29, Thomas Kennerly and Rebecca Whetstone; FHL microfilm 22745, Item 1.
^↩
3 “Wilkinson County Mississippi Marriages 1804-1952,” White Marriages vol. F-G 1834-1844, FHL #877600; pg. 201, Samuel Kennerly and Eleanor C. Jackson, 21 December 1837. ^↩
4 Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, Marriages, v. B3-C, 1856-1874: pg. 207, John Conrad Kennerly and Elizabeth Ann Heatherwick; FHL microfilm 864306. ^↩

Using Southern Land Records

In doing research on the Kennerly family in the South, I learned more than ever just how crucial land records can be. In the south, owning land meant just about everything, and people went to great lengths to make sure their land was legally theirs. Because of this, land records are abundant and usually very accurate for the South, even in burned counties.

That being said, the South is also a poor region, and not everyone owned land. But, the Kennerly family was well off (luckily for them) and consequently left behind a lot of deeds to land that they bought and sold (luckily for me!). And in a time where recording births and deaths was not common (marriages were a bit different, more on that next week), these land records played a major role in proving family relationships. Not all deeds record a lot of information about a landowner’s family, but I hope you can see from the following examples that land records can be a genealogical goldmine, and are well worth your time! 

1. In doing this research, I was having a hard time conclusively proving that Thomas was Samuel’s father, and that Samuel in turn was John Conrad’s father. But, in researching the land records for South Carolina and Louisiana, I found deeds that read essentially as wills- Thomas and Samuel listing their children(!!) and dictating how they wanted their property to be divided up. I was so excited to find these deeds that I shed a couple tears of joy in the Family History Library, much to my husband’s confusion. I never expected to find a full family list like these in the land records, but I’m so glad I did!

   

   Samuel Kennerly, deed to his children, 4 September 1868¹

   

   Thomas Kennerly, deed to his children and their spouses, 29 May 1843²

2. This next record was a huge help as well. I suspected that Samuel had moved from South Carolina to Mississippi, but had no definite proof. I didn’t even think to look for Samuel in the South Carolina land records after I suspected he had left, but luckily an index search for his dad brought my attention to this gem of a record. Because of this find, I knew Samuel had moved to Mississippi, and I even knew to which county.³
   

   

   Samuel Kennerly, land sale from Wilkinson, Mississippi, 20 November 1846

3. Land plats- surveys of land recorded and kept at the county- can be very handy as well, especially since so many people buy land next to their family. Here, John C. Kennerly (who I think is Thomas’s brother, and our John Conrad’s uncle) bought land and had it recorded in the plat books. His neighbors are: Thomas Kennerly, Nathan Walker, Samuel Holman and John Hartzog. Thomas Kennerly was the direct descendant of a Holman, had a daughter who married a John Nathan Walker, and another who married John Hartzog.⁴
   

   

   John C. Kennerly, land plat, 23 September 1823

4. This one is less about family relationships and more just an interesting tidbit about Thomas that I loved finding. In this deed, Thomas Kennerly and a group of 4 other men became trustees over the 3 acres of land “on which Mount Bethel Church is now erected.” From this record, I learned that Thomas was quite likely a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and a very religious man.⁵
   

   

   Thomas Kennerly, trustee to Mount Bethel Church, 28 December 1818

   ~AC

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1 Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, Conveyance records, 1810-1888; index, 1765-1971, FHL #875557-876604, Conveyance records 1865-1868, pg. 567-569, item no. 8192, 4 September 1868; Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT.^↩
2 Barnwell District, South Carolina, “Deeds, 1789-1851; index to deeds, 1779-1884,”FHL #23293 vol. AA, p. 266-268, Thomas Kennerly and children, 29 May 1843; Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.^↩
3 Barnwell District, South Carolina, “Deeds, 1789-1851; index to deeds, 1779-1884,” FHL # 23293 vol. BB, p. 522-523, Samuel Kennerly, 20 November 1846; Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.^↩
4 Barnwell District, South Carolina, Plat books, 1784-1868; index, 1785-1949, FHL #192343, vol. 3 p. 193, John C. Kennerly, 27 September 1823; Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.^↩
5 Barnwell District, South Carolina, “Deeds, 1789-1851; index to deeds, 1779-1884,” FHL #23287, vol. N, p. 67, Thomas Kennerly, 28 December 1818; Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.^↩