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Friday, October 21, 2011

Why Search Into the past?

Why did I start my long investigation into my Butler family tree? It started with a simple question to my father.."What were Papa Butler's grandparents names?" My dad didn't know, and I thought to myself then "I want to find out". Trips to the Atlanta Archives started and many hours of looking at microfilm records. This was before the Internet and just finding a census record was time consuming. The records were hard to find and even harder to read. One good thing about that time was that original records were used to verify information. When you find "facts" on your family tree, make sure there is an original document to back it up. The oldest member of your family is the place to begin. Asking these older family members about your family tree can give you great information that can be lost after they are gone.


After finding everything you can from an older relative you may want to start with census records. The census records give evidence of where families lived and how they migrated. Look for different spellings of both first and last names. I found that census takers sometimes spelled phonetically, so spelling can vary greatly from one census to the next.
Just these two sources will give you a lot of insight into your famly and yourself. Get started and have fun along the way.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Time Change......

The memorial ceremony for Zachariah Butler and his son Patrick Butler is now scheduled for 11:00 am November 12, 2011.

Make plans to attend.

From Elberton GA - on the SE side of Elberton, Go SE on Hwy 72/17 : ......... Hwy 72 and Hwy 17 fork - take the right fork down Hwy 17 and go 7.0 miles from the fork. Just past a large Baptist Church on the left is Dr. George Ward Rd. There is also a CITGO gas station at the intersection. Go left ( East ) on George Ward Rd and drive 2.1 miles and make a left on Bakers Ferry Rd. Go about 200 yards and park.

Off to the West ( 150 yards ) is a large clump of trees in an open field. The Butler graves are in that group of trees.

GPS coordinates are N 34.02630 W 82.75385


Sunday, October 2, 2011

More Information On Zachariah Butler.....

On the Thomas Partridge Store records in Hanover Co Va in 1756 Christopher Butler is named as settling the account of son Zachariah, b.1736. Zachariah is well documented, but Christopher Butler had other children of all ages by these store accounts. While many records from Hanover are missing, Christopher is listed in deed records in 1734-35. While some have tried to say that this Christopher is a son of Joshua Butler and Grace Page the DNA of this group is no where close to the DNA of Zachariah's descendants.
Because of DNA matching we may suspect that James Butler, c1740 who married Winifred Brooks of Hanover and Mecklenburg, may be a brother of Zachariah. James went to Edgefield County SC before the Revolutionary War. The father of Christopher may have been James who immigrated from Ireland in 1703. James came over on the same ship with the same merchant as Edmund Butler in 1706. Edmund's family is well documented and the DNA of Christopher's descendants is a near match for Edmund's, suggesting they may have been brothers or cousins.
The mystery continues and gets better with time.....