Good Bye to a Good Book

"Book on Monitor" by Anna Call
OpenClipArt.org

Today was a sad day, time to "return" my digital download of The John Pickens Family.  Over the past two weeks, I have browsed its pages daily, taken lots of notes, and learned so much about my husband's family.  As I mentioned previously, this book is a notch above many family histories I have looked at.  Now, I have a dilemma.  Do I want to spend the money to purchase my own copy, perhaps ask for a copy as a gift from my husband, or just move on?  Decisions, decisions.  Meanwhile, I'll continue to be thankful that the digital download was available.

What Are the Odds?

Two Red Dice by Stephen Silver
OpenClipArt.org

Husband and wife have several children, wife dies leaving husband with young children to raise, husband marries sister of first wife and starts a second family.  It is a familiar story found in many family histories.  Except for this time.

Francis Henderson and Jean/Jane Pickens, the 3rd Great Grandparents of my husband, had been married about 13 years when Jane died in 1817.  Her death left Francis as the sole parent of four young children, William age 6, Letitia age 4, Nancy Jane age 2, and John Pickens 11 days old. 

I kept looking for a second marriage for Francis, wondering how he could have farmed his extensive property while rearing the four children.  I thought I found the answer when I came across the marriage of Eleanor Pickens, Jane’s sister, to Francis J. Henderson on 11 March 1823 in Blount County, Tennessee. (1)  This date was just six days before the death of Francis Henderson on 17 March 1823. (2)  This truly seemed like a family touched by misfortune.

Looking further, it turns out the Eleanor Pickens married a second Francis J. Henderson of Blount County, Tennessee, not her deceased sister’s widower.  Eleanor and her Francis had their own family of seven children and eventually moved to Bradley County, Tennessee.  Both Eleanor Pickens Henderson and Francis J. Henderson are buried in Bradley County, Tennessee. (3)  Her sister Jane Pickens Henderson and her Francis Henderson are buried in Blount County, Tennessee. (4)

Apparently Jane’s Francis never remarried and raised the four children himself, although Anderson mentions that Jane’s sister Mary Pickens Minnis also helped raise young John Pickens Henderson.  Following the death of Francis Henderson in 1823, Jane’s brother Samuel Pickens, was named as the legal guardian of the youngest child, John Pickens Henderson. (5)

Now I want to know more about Eleanor’s Francis – who were his parents, were they related to Jane’s Francis.  Nellie Pickens Anderson mentioned that relatives referred to Jane’s Francis as “Frank”, apparently to prevent confusion with Eleanor’s Francis. (6)  After all, the odds of sisters marrying men with the same name, be it Frank or Francis, living in the same county have to rather slim.

(1)   "Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002",  database, p. 82, entry for Francis J Henderson, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 Jul 2013); citing Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002. Nashville, TN, USA: Tennessee State Library and Archives. Microfilm.

(2)   Nellie Pickens Anderson, Elizabeth Cowan Snead Shue, and Lloyd C. Shue. The John Pickens Family, combined edition, including a reprint of the 1951 edition by Nellie Pickens Anderson plus a new supplement and index of the combined editions.  Baltimore, MD : Gateway Press, 1981, p. 100.

(3)   Find a Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 15 Sep 2013), memorial page for Francis Johnston Henderson (1800-1845), Find a Grave memorial no.39703015, citing Fort Hill  Cemetery, Cleveland, Bradley County, Tennessee.

(4)   Find a Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 23 Jul 2013), memorial page for Francis "Frank" Henderson (1776-1823), Find a Grave memorial no.5753603, citing Big Spring Cemetery, Friendship, Blount County, Tennessee.

(5)   Anderson, John Pickens Family, p. 113, 205.

(6)   Anderson, John Pickens Family, p. 100.

Researching the Pickens Family

Now that I have the digital download of The John Pickens Family,  I have had time to skim through the entire book and look at the information it contains.  The book represents years of research by a number of people and is a good example of how to compile an interesting, readable, and usable family history book.  The work is definitely a notch above a number of others I have seem.  Below are some of the reasons I was delighted to be able to read this book.

The book was first published in 1951 using information compiled by Nellie Pickens Anderson.  Later in 1981 Elizabeth Cowan Snead Shue and Lloyd C. Shue added supplemental information, an index, and family tree charts in the combined (1951 and 1981) edition.  Both Cowan and Shue / Shue repeatedly credit the other family members and researchers who had contributed information to the book.  The book comes across as a collaborative effort.

Throughout Anderson’s book, she provided the sources of her facts, census records, land records, church records, with details so specific that I could go to the Blount County Tennessee Courthouse or the Tennessee State Archives in Nashville and request the exact record she referenced.  In addition, she also provides information on the provenance of important family items, such as the Pickens family bible and the metal buttons probably remaining from the broadcloth coat John Pickens wore in the Revolutionary War.  Interesting stuff to know.

Early in the original edition, Anderson listed the lineage key she used throughout the book.   Once she finished providing basic information about the meaning of the name and migrations of the family to America, she started using her key as she wrote about members of the John Pickens family.  Her key made it easy to skim through to locate information on specific generations.  Most family history books are written using this key, but her listing was appreciated.

          A B C D           children of John and Letitia Hannah Pickens

          I II III IV V          grand children “

          a b c d e          great grandchildren “

          1 2 3 4 5          great great grandchildren “

          (a) (b) (c)         great great great grandchildren “

          (1) (2) (3)         great great great great grandchildren “

          i ii iii iv v            great great great great great grandchildren ”

          a- b- c- b-         great great great great great great grandchildren “

Anderson’s style was to begin each biographical section in the following manner "C John Pickens, 3^rd child of John & Letitia, b Dec 25, 1788, VA ?; 43 at time of father’s will, buried at Eusebia.”(1)  Then the ensuing paragraphs provided additional information along with sources about that individual.  In a family where the same names kept appearing in different generations, her method made it clear which individual was being discussed.

The library media specialist in me really appreciated the index added in 1981 by Shue / Shue.  With several other family and local history books, I've found myself writing a personal index to a book, just to make my use of it easier.

The 1981 supplement in the combined edition contained both corrections to the original edition and new information about contemporary family members.  I remembered receiving a questionnaire in the late 1970s asking for information about our family to include in the supplement.  I had forgotten about that until I saw my sisters-in-law and I listed as contributors to the 1981 supplement!  This collaborative method is one more thing I appreciated about this family history book.  After all, our family history does not belong to just one of us, it needs to be shared, revised, even extended as associated individuals learn and contribute new information.

Thanks to Nellie, Elizabeth, Lloyd and the countless others through the years for all you have added to the knowledge about my husband’s 4th Great Grandfather.

(1) Anderson, Nellie Pickens, Elizabeth Cowan Snead Shue, and Lloyd C. Shue, The John Pickens Family, combined edition. Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press, 1981, p. 53.  Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts, accessed 7 Sep 2013 through OpenLibrary.org.

Tuesday's Tips - You Can Never Have Too Many ..

"Timeless Books", photo by Lin Kristensen
Wikimedia Commons

Frequently in researching your family history, you just need that specific resource.  Maybe it was mentioned in an article you read or by another researcher, or perhaps you want something beyond the normal online access to census, Social Security, and similar records.   Sometimes, you just need that certain book.

Through the years, while researching my husband’s family, I came across several mentions to a book about The John Pickens Family.  A cousin has a copy of this book and has given us copies of a number of pages pertaining to my husband’s close relatives.  I had also used copies of the book at several Georgia libraries when I was there doing research.  

Last week I really wanted to refer to the book, but I knew it would be a while before I saw our cousin or visited those Georgia libraries.  I went online to see if I could find a copy of this specific book.  Google books listed The John Pickens Family as only available for purchase, referring me to a link to purchase it, $$$.  I also tried eBay and found two copies available, one for $75, the other for $85, a bit more that I wanted to pay.  Copies were listed through WorldCat at a number of libraries, but none were close enough to just drop by one morning  My new favorite book source, HathiTrust, did not have the book among its holdings, so I ended up googling the title and found it listed as being available through Archive.org.  Finally.

Through Archive.org, I had the choice of reading it online or borrowing a digital copy.  I decided to try borrowing the book.  From Archive.org I was directed to Open Library  where I set up a free borrower’s account.   Through this account I was able to borrow a digital copy of The John Pickens Family as a download through Adobe Digital Editions.  The copy I borrowed is actually from the Boston Public Library, interesting to me since the Pickens family primarily has Tennessee and Georgia roots.  There the book now is, loaded on my laptop, where I can read it, add a bookmark when I stop, and type copious notes which I will later print out and file in my Pickens Family File folder.  The notes are necessary since you cannot print the pages of material downloaded through Adobe Digital Editions, although you can do a screen clip and print that.  Because there can be only one borrower of the title at a time, once I finish in the next few days, I will “return” the digital copy through OpenLibrary so it will be available for someone else to use.  The whole process worked the same as downloading an ebook to my tablet through my local public library.

After all, you can never have too many possibilities for locating a specific resource.  Digital borrowing was easy and a method I’m sure to try again for genealogy purposes, not just for reading new popular fiction.