Getting From HERE to THERE In Quarantine Time

After seven weeks of self-imposed quarantine and state mandated "shelter-in-place" during the Spring of 2020, I had put a big dent in my pile of research documents that had needed to be filed. I was actually studying, documenting, labeling, and filing almost every other day. But then one day, I came across a land record that had been in my pile for almost three years. I was ready to do a "Genealogy Happy Dance" because that record sparked my curiosity, making me want to learn more about it, and, admittedly, letting me leave filing for a while without feeling any guilt.

The document was a land warrant conveying 236 acres in Green(e) County, Tennessee to Joseph Bogle, my husband's fourth GreatGrandfather. Were my husband still alive, I knew this would have been some research he would have wanted to help me explore. And explore I did.

"Ancestry.com. North Carolina and Tennessee, Early Land Records, 1753-1931"

Step 1: The first thing I needed to do was to transcribe that document written over 230 years ago. I had found the record in Ancestry's database of "North Carolina and Tennessee, Early Land Records, 1753-1931", but the transcription made the record so much easier to read. For convenience, I also photocopied my transcription onto the source citation I had downloaded with the record.

Step 2: Although I no longer lived in the area, I still had a real interest in learning more about where the land belonging to Joseph Bogle was actually located. I wanted to see if I could find the 236 acre plot on a topographic map of Greene County, Tennessee (today the name of the county is spelled with that final "e").

Google Maps made it quick to find Little Chucky Creek in Greene County, but locating Delaney Creek took some time. The USGS (United States Geological Survey) now had free map downloads available on their website using the the TNM download. It was relatively easy to follow the course of Little Chuckey Creek on the topographic map of Greene County. After a few minutes of sizing and resizing portions of the sectional maps for Greeneville and Mosheim (towns in Greene County), I found "Little Chuckey at the mouth of Delaney Creek" or Little Chucky Creek and Dulaney Branch as they are labeled on the current topographic map.

The red diamond indicates where Dulaney Branch runs into the Little Chucky Creek

Step 3: The warrant was for 236 acres, but knowing the hills, valleys, creeks, and rivers of this area, I had to wonder what that plat of land might look like. I knew there was platting software available to purchase, but I was hoping to find a free way to plat the land warrant. Online I found two great articles that explained just how to do that. Both articles are now printed and in my "Land Records" research folder.

Mark Hamilton's The Walden Effect blog had a post on "How to Map Property Boundaries From a Deed". (1) I especially appreciated the photos of his platting process. Hamilton also included a diagram of a surveyor's compass, an instrument that turned out to be much easier to use than the old school protractor I found in my desk. I followed his suggestion to photocopy the compass and was finally able to get my final plat line to join back to the starting point of my property drawing. Hurrah!

The second helpful article "Land Platting Made Easy" was written by Kimberly Powell.(2) It featured a step by step process for platting as well as helpful descriptions and examples. Basically I followed Powell's list of steps and referred to Hamilton's post for visuals.

Powell's article called for transcribing the deed or land warrant and creating a call list before ever attempting to plat the deed. Transcribing the land warrant I had found online made it much easier to read and to double check my directions. The call list is simply a list of the directions that were taken in the survey, things like:

• Beginning at Gamel's at a dogwood  (Starting point of the survey was apparently property belonging to a Mr. Gamel, at the corner where there was a dogwood tree)
• On a line South 47 East (From the dogwood tree, go on a course of SE 47 degrees)
• One hundred and ten poles to a hill to a poplar (Go on this SE course for 110 poles or 1815.0 feet as 1 pole equals 16.5 feet to the poplar tree on the hill)

Having the list also made it simple to check off each step as I had marked it on my graph paper which had been a free download from PrintFreeGraphPaper.com.

My transcription and Calls List for the land warrant.

After switching from the school protractor to the surveyor's compass, I finally came up with a plat that was a visual for the information presented in the land warrant.  

My plat drawing, made with the help of a paper surveyor's compass.

Step 4: The final step was to compare my drawing with the topographic map I had found. Would my drawing fit? Unfortunately I had not made my land plat on the same scale as the downloaded USGS map so I had to do so thinking here. Going back to the map segment I downloaded in Step 2, I noticed that it was shown with the scale of 2 cm equals 1000 feet. With that basic information I copied the photo of my plat drawing and resized it on a Word document until that long East to West line from a stake to the poplar was 5 1/2 cm / 2 1/8" to more accurately represent the 165 poles / 2722.5 ft indicated in the land warrant.

After cutting out the resized shape, I tried putting it onto the larger 2 cm = 1000 feet map, hoping to find a place where Joseph Bogel's property seemed to fit. No matter where I placed the plat shape, I wasn't able to find a spot near the juncture of Little Church Creek and Delaney Branch that had a hill where the shape indicated one should be. The exact location will need to be determined by someone who actually knows what s/he is doing.

Plat template and the map

Spending this time looking at the deed, drawing the boundary lines for the property, and trying to locate the area was a welcomed break from filing. I also leaned about some new resources that I expect to use in the future.

And, of course, I ended up with more questions. After all, Joseph Bogle was living about 50 miles away in Blount County at the time the land warrant was written, living there up to his death in 1790. Did Joseph Bogle ever set foot on this property? Was the land meant to be payment to him for his service in the Revolutionary War? Did he sell it? Did he not act on the land warrant such that it just went to someone else? More questions for another day. And perhaps I will find another treasure to examine when I return to filing.

.....................

(1) Hamilton, Mark, "How to map property boundaries from a deed". The Walden Effect. accessed 4 Apr 2020. http://www.waldeneffect.org/blog/How_to_map_property_boundaries_from_a_deed/.
(2) Powell, Kimberly. "Land Platting Made Easy." ThoughtCo, Feb. 11, 2020, thoughtco.com/land-platting-made-easy-1422116.

Getting This Party Started

This year is going to be a special one in my hometown of Johnson City, Tennessee. Our town, being 150 years old, will celebrate its sesquicentennial in 2019, and the party has begun.

So much to see, hear, and do at this party.

On Saturday, Jan. 5, several hundred citizens, along with local politicians, a beauty queen, and a member of Congress all gathered in downtown Johnson City to get our party started. The focus for this event was the display of items previously placed in a time capsule back in 1969. This capsule had been created during the celebration of Johnson City's centennial. Wanting to look at the capsule's contents was enough to get me out of the house to attend the event. I'm so glad I did.

Metal sign from the actual 1969 time capsule

A portion of the sign from the time capsule was on display. I learned that the capsule had been installed during the construction of the high school which my children later attended. The accompanying list of artifacts showed that items ran the gamut from serious to fun.

There was an impressive variety of items in the 1969 time capsule.

The line to gaze at the items from the capsule moved slowly, but no one seemed to mind as virtually everyone could find something interesting in the display. There were items pertaining to city government such as the former city flag, a 1969 city map, a copy of the 1969 city budget and a key to the city. Also on display were photos and information about the city's hospitals of the day, our public school system, the two local colleges, and the university.

Admittedly, the line slowed as we passed by the displays relating to everyday life, things like a 1969 Sears catalog, newspapers with historical headlines like "Men Walk on Moon", samples of products made in our town, and some popular children's toys. There was a fascinating scrapbook of local newspaper articles covering the variety of events celebrating the 1969 centennial, and there always seemed to be school age students leafing through its pages. I was excited to learn that the time capsule items will remain on display in the downtown area for some time so that others can continue to take a closer look at our city's more recent history.





Another part of the official program included the reading of a letter written by the 1969 mayor of the town to the 2019 Johnson City mayor. Our present mayor, a woman with a distinguished record of public service, didn't seem to mind reading the salutation, "Dear Sir" and graciously accepted the letter's warm wishes for success and prosperity for our city in the year 2019.

My favorite part was seeing the number of children and younger families at the party. They would browse the numerous displays of photos of churches, businesses, and schools from the town's 150 year history. And there would usually be an older person close by who was glad to answer any of their questions about the past. I was one of them as I answered a few questions relating to the picture of my church's building back in the early 1900s.

It was interesting to see photos of city churches throughout the years.

Another fun spot was a craft table, complete with small cardboard boxes, markers, and stickers, whatever a child might want to make and decorate his or her own time capsule box to take home, fill, and then open at some point in the future. Seeing the kids working on their boxes made me wish my grandchildren had been in town and could make a box for themselves.

Making your own time capsule was a great family project.

There was no Photo Booth at this party. Instead, people could record a message to the future to be included in the 2019 time capsule. It turned out to be another great family activity. No one seemed to mind the spectators who gathered to watch and to hear the various individuals and groups contribute a 30 second message, a few even adding a little song and dance to their message. Hopefully, 2069 technology will permit these messages to be played and enjoyed in the future.

Recording a greeting for the 2069 Bicentennial

And the party wasn't just things to look at. We had a sing-along to "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", a hit song from 1969. We celebrated as three generations of a family blow out the three giant candles on the birthday cake. And what's a party without cake! Everyone was invited to sample the delicious birthday cake, made by a local baker who just happens to be scheduled to be on a Food Network program in the coming months. It all made for a pretty good party.

I'm already looking forward to attending future sesquicentennial events. The more, the merrier.

Display from the George Carter Railroad Museum at East Tennessee State University

Some Genealogy Musings:

• The photo displays were well organized and labeled. The hard work of others provided lots of information in an interesting and accessible manner. In a similar vein, when we share old family photos, it might garner more interest from family members if we, too, include a little bit of the Who, What, When, and Where to accompany some of the pictures.

• It was great to see the time capsule activity available for children. We just might have some new historians on our hands at the bicentennial in 2069, ones whose interest started with a simple craft idea.

• Our public library had a display of some local history materials from the Tennessee Room, their genealogy collection area. There was also a member of the library staff present to talk with people about the library's genealogy resources as well as to provide information about our local genealogy society. This was a simple, effective marketing tool.

• Additional photos and resources were provided for viewing at the party by East Tennessee State University and by the Archives of Appalachia which is housed at the university. This was another example of increasing exposure within the community as to the variety of historical (and potentially genealogical) resources available at the local level. It also spoke loudly of the important of providing accessibility to such resources.

• The party was another reminder that we, too, are part of making history every day.

#JohnsonCity150 #citycelebrations #JCTNsesquicentennial

Those Places Thursday: Boones Creek, Tennessee

 Boones Creek Historical Trust.  Bountiful Boones Creek, c 2008.

Boones Creek can sometimes be hard to find on a Tennessee map.  The brief entry in Wikipedia primarily provides the GPS coordinates along with a few sentences about this area just north of Johnson City, Tennessee.  But it is an area steeped in history, as one might expect of a place named after Daniel Boone, the frontier explorer.

Recently I spied this book at our local library and ended up buying a copy.  The book, published by the Boones Creek Historical Trust, presents the histories of 45 houses and buildings in the area.  Some of the houses are still inhabited by relatives of the original owners, some by newcomers attracted to a picturesque old home, while others stand empty and show the effects of time.  I've lived in this area for over 30 years and have driven past many of the old homes pictured in this book.  The problem was I never knew the story behind some of these old relics. Thanks to Bountiful Boones Creek I know so much more about the history of this part of East Tennessee and some of its founding families, along with some new recipes to try.

The Bowers / Kirkpatrick House, p 14

Whenever I head over to the interstate I drive past this old, boarded up house.  I would frequently speculate about its history or wonder about those who had lived there.  Now I know that it is the Bowers/ Kirkpatrick House as well as something about its past on land which can be traced back to a Revolutionary War grant.

Each two-page spread in the book features one of 45 homes or buildings.  The spread includes a brief history of the building as well as information about previous, and in some cases, present owners.  Topping off the spread are a few recipes submitted by family members or those associated with the Boones Creek Historical Trust.

The Bowers / Kirkpatrick House, p 15

The book will be a focus of springtime drives in the area since the book also includes a map with the houses and buildings noted.  I'll also look at homes where friends have lived or buildings where I sometimes shop with a new eye, knowing more of the history of these places.

I appreciate the efforts of the Boones Creek Historical Trust of Gray, Tennessee in publishing this book.  What a great way for a local historical or genealogical society to share information about homes, families and the area.  After all, homes, like people, have their stories, stories that are celebrated so wonderfully in this book.

... and there was James Houston

Portrait of James Houston that hangs in the Blount County Courthouse
Presented by Mary Blount Chapter, DAR(1)

Although I have lived in Tennessee for a number of years, James Houston has turned out to be the person who has made the early history of Tennessee, especially that of East Tennessee, come alive for me.  Previously I had written about the various places James traveled as a Revolutionary War soldier.  As I looked at events over the next forty years of his life, he seemed to show up in some unexpected places as the western frontier was growing into the state of Tennessee.

Following the Battle of King's Mountain, James returned home to Washington County, Virginia.  True to form, he didn't stay there very long as he headed to Tennessee to begin a new chapter in his life.  Sometime after 1782 James and his family moved from southwest Virginia to Greene County, Tennessee with his name showing up on the 1783 Greene County Tax List.(2)  When the first court of pleas and quarter sessions met in April 1783, there was James Houston listed as one of the original six court magistrates.(3)

My eyes flew wide open when I came across a document signed in April 1785 by the Governor of the State of Franklin, John Sevier.  In it Sevier named Justices of the Peace for Greene County.(4)  Once again, there in the list of the new appointees was James Houston.

Justice of the Peace Appointments for
Greene County, State of Franklin, USA
signed by Gov. John Sevier 

For people with Tennessee roots, finding a document linking a relative with John Sevier is almost like finding a link to George Washington.  Sevier was, among other things, the first and only governor of the State of Franklin, a six-term Tennessee governor, and a congressman, all before his death in 1815.(5)  The number of things named for John Sevier in this part of the state - a county, a town, streets, schools, and even an old hotel - attest to the esteem with which John Sevier is held.  But I digress.

The next surprise came as I was looking through the Greene County, Tennessee, Minutes of the Court of Common Pleas, 1783-1795.  I saw James Houston listed for several years as an juror in the quarterly court held there four times each year.   According to the minutes, in Nov 1783 James was named as a Deputy Surveyor for the county, then among the entries for May 1785 was something new about James: "James Houston Esq is appointed Sheriff and enters into bond himself with Col. Geo Doherty and David Craig Esq in the sum of 5000 pounds for the faithful discharge of his duty in office." (6)  James served as the sheriff of Greene County until a new sheriff was named in Feb 1786.

James and his family next moved to Blount County, Tennessee sometime after the late 1780s.  Again, he proved to be involved in the growth of the area and its politics.  Goodspeed's History of Tennessee From the Earliest Times to the Present had a list of early Blount County officials.  Once again, there was James Houston, listed as Clerk of the County Court from 1796-1818.(7)

Life wasn't entirely peaceful in the Tennessee territory in the late 1780s.  James was still living in the frontier, and the area of his home became known as Houston Station, identifying it as a populated area.  Following the Indian War of 1788, James actually filed a claim with the territorial government to be repaid for "ammunition and supplies procured by him to protect Houston Station during Indian War of 1788 by order of Colonel Daniel Kennedy".(8)

By 1795 there was movement around the territory to petition the US Congress for statehood.  Pat Aldridge, in her book The Overmountain Men,  wrote of some of the early events moving toward statehood, telling how "members of the first election, held by counties, met in Knoxville on Jan 11, 1796.  The following elected members assembled in Knoxville, presented their credentials, and took their seats ... [from] Blount County:  David Craig, James Greenaway, Joseph Black, Samuel Glass, James Houston."(9)  The group spend  the next three weeks writing a Constitution for the new state.  Among this mixture of former Virginians, Carolinians, aristocrats, and frontiersmen, James Houston was considered to be a moderate.(10)  By 6 Feb 1796, the new constitution had been written and approved.  The fifth person signing the Tennessee Constitution of 1796 was familiar; there was James Houston's signature on the new constitution.

Tennessee Constitution of 1796 (11)

In 1806, the US Congress allowed Tennessee to charter a number of academies.  Porter Academy in Maryville was one of those chartered in Blount County.  The present day Porter Elementary School in Maryville has a history of Porter Academy on the school's website as well as the historical marker shown below.   A few weeks ago I spent time looking through the Blount County, Tennessee, Deed Book 1, 1795-1819, abstracted by Jane Kizer Thomas.  I must have found close to 20 entries for James Houston, many of which involved buying, selling, or receiving property for Porter Academy.  Each transaction included a list of trustees for Porter Academy, and there would be James Houston listed as a trustee of the school.

Porter Academy Historical Marker
Maryville, Tennessee

James Houston turned out to be one of those distant relatives who I've hate to let go.  To me, he had been like one of those late-night infomercials, claiming " ... but wait, there's more!"  And there has been.  In addition to serving our country through a number of military enlistments, in peace time James served as an early court magistrate and sheriff, was an early appointee in the short-lived State of Franklin, served as  Clerk of the Court in Blount County for many years, was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1796, signed the Tennessee Constitution of 1796, and was involved in the direction of education in Blount County.  Thanks for the history lesson, James.

(1)  James Houston, portrait. Blount County Courthouse, Maryville, Tennessee,  http://www.tndar.org/~maryblount/NewProvidence.html.

(2) C. Hammett, extractor, from "1783 Greene County, TN Tax List" by Mrs. Louise Wilson Reynolds, published April 1919, D.A.R. Magazine, reprinted in The Overmountain Men by Pat Alderman, Johnson City, TN :  Overmountain Press, 1970, pp. 239 and 242. All [bracketed] words are additions by C. Hammett; extraction accessed on http://www.tngenweb.org/revwar/counties/greene/1783.html.

(3) Ray, Worth S, Tennessee Cousins : a History of Tennessee People, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1950. 

(4) John Sevier, Justice of the Peace Commissions, 14 Apr 1785; Volunteer Voices, http://diglib.lib.utk.edu/cgi/b/bib/bib-idx?type=simple&c=vvs-bib&sid=76b0e70f011a1619a6fcfef24612c7fd&q1=john+sevier&rgn1=entire+record.

(5)  "John Sevier", The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, version 2.0, http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1190.

(6) Burgner, Goldene Fillers.  Greene County, Tennessee Minutes of the Court of Common Pleas, 1783-1795.  Ensley, SC : Southern Historical Press, 1982.

(7) The Goodspeed History of Tennessee from the Earliest Times to the Present, Nashville, TN:  Goodspeed, 1886-1887.

(8) "Tennessee Petition, 1822-1823", database, Tennessee State Library and Archives, http://www.tn.gov/tsla/history/misc/petition05.pdf.

(9) Alderman, Pat, The Overmountain Men, Johnson City, TN :  Overmountain Press, 1970.

(10) Barnhart, John D. "The Tennessee Constitution of 1796: a Product of the Old West"  Journal of Southern History, vol. 9, no. 4, Nov 1943, www.jstor.org.

(11) Tennessee Constitution, 1796, Tennesse Virtual Archive of the Tennessee State Library and Archives,  http://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/tfd/id/90.

Military Monday: James Houston's Travels in Revolutionary Times

Map of Military Travels of James Houston, 1776-1780

Every once in a while, I stumble upon someone who turns out to be one interesting individual.  That has been the case with researching James Houston, the brother of Margaret Peggy Houston, my husband's third Great Grand Aunt.  I have been trying to learn more about Margaret and her family, and I kept coming across information about brother James when I was really just seeking more about Margaret.  Now I'm glad he kept popping up.

The areas where James traveled are taken from the original Revolutionary War Pension Application filed by James Houston in 1832.(1)  In his application he described his travels as a soldier during those years; I saw the names of many familiar places.  If you look at the map, my hometown of Johnson City, TN, is about in its center.  It turns out that James and his travels took him all around the area where I live and have visited for many years.  

Veterans Day seems an appropriate time to look at James and his service with the colonial forces.  His pension application provides sufficient details for me to be able to make the map above as well as locate the photographs below.  All quotes below regarding a specific place or area are taken from his application using the transcription found on the Southern Campaign Revolutionary War Pension Statements & Rosters web site.

Point A  Spring, 1776, Augusta County, Virginia -- "He entered the service in the spring season ... in the year 1776 under Captain William Buchanan as a volunteer in a patrolling Company, -- [he] resided in the County of Augusta in the State of Virginia at the time he entered the service."

Point B  September, 1777, Washington County, Virginia -- "Declarant removed from Augusta County ... to Washington County in Western Virginia in the month of September 1777, and in the month of February 1778 again entered the Service in said County of Washington, Virginia ... in a volunteer Company commanded by Captain Aaron Lewis.

Point C  February, 1778, Long Island on the Holston River, Tennessee, present day Kingsport, TN -- "Said Company belonged to a Regiment of Infantry who embodied at Long Island on Holston River commanded by Colonel Evan Shelby.

South Long Island, Kingsport, TN
source:  www.discoverkingsport.com

Point D  1778, Holston River at its junction with the Tennessee, present day Knoxville, TN -- "From Long Island on Holston the Army proceeded in canoes down Holston River to its junction with the Tennessee ... "

Holston and French Broad Rivers join in Knoxville to form the Tennessee River
source: www.Riverlorian.com

Point E 1778, Mouth of Chickamauga Creek, present day Chattanooga, TN -- " ... then down the Tennessee River to the Mouth of Chickamauga Creek, where we proceeded to destroy the encampments and provisions of a part of the Cherokee Indians, called Chickamaugas, but had no encounter with the Indians."

Chickamauga Creek, Chattanooga, TN
photo source: www.tnhistoryforkids.org

Point F and Point G October, 1778 to January, 1779, Powell Valley [There is a present day Powell Valley, TN and a Powell Valley, KY.  The state line between Tennessee and Kentucky may not have been widely known at the time of James' application] -- "About the first day of October 1778 again entered the service as a volunteer in the Company commanded by Captain Nathaniel Williams being a Company of Guards to reconnoiter the frontiers, and marched to Powels [sic Powell's] Valley in Kentucky and continued in service on the frontiers of Kentucky protecting the interior from the incursions of the hostile Indians until the month of January 1779."

Point H  April 1779 to October 1779, head of the New River, VA -- "Entered the service in Washington County, Virginia as Ensign in the Volunteer Company commanded by Captain William Edmondson.  ... said company reconnoitered as a company of discovery and guards on the frontiers of Washington, Virginia and on the head of New River, for the purpose of suppressing the disaffected and Tories."

New River in southwest Virginia
photo source: www.dgif.virginia.gov

Point I  October, 1779 [sic, 1780] at Watauga River, Carter County, Tennessee, present day site of Sycamore Shoals State Park -- " ... said Company joined the Regiment of volunteers commanded by Colonel William Campbell at Watauga River in what is now Carter or Sullivan County in the State of Tennessee ... "

Overmountain Men reenactment at Sycamore Shoals State Park, Elizabethton, TN
photo source: http://tnstateparks.com

Point J  1780, Battle of King's Mountain, NC / SC -- " ... from thence the Army were marched under the command of Colonel Campbell into the State of South Carolina [for] the defeat of the British and Tories at King's Mountain. ... from King's Mountain said Regiment returned home to Washington County and were discharged."

Monument at Kings Mountain National Military Park
photo source: Wikimedia Commons

Houston's return to Washington County apparently ended his military service.  His later life saw him playing various roles in the history of the young state of Tennessee, and that is definitely the subject for another post. 

(1)  "U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900," database and images. www.ancestry.com; citing Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files (NARA microfilm publication M804, 2,670 rolls). Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. National Archives, Washington, D.C.