Tag Archives: Kentucky

Genealogy Progress Report: Cox Creek Research and Kentucky Records

11 Sunday Oct 2026

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DNA Updates

  • no DNA matches with a common ancestor this week.

Coxes of Cox Creek Footnotes

45. The Filson Club History Quarterly, III, p. 70. This document can be found on the Filson Club website. It is a transcription of Minute Book A for Jefferson County, Virginia. Isaac Cox was selected as a representative to the Virginia Assembly in April 1781.

46. Rogers Clark Ballard Thruston, typed notes on “Early Records of Louisville, Kentucky, 1781-1804,” p. 2, in the The Filson Club. (An extract from p. 9 of the original Record Book.) This may be unpublished information. If I make it to Louisville for a research trip, I’ll make a point to look for these notes. This reference is tied to the statement that Isaac Cox was named as a Louisville town trustee in 1783.

47. The Filson Club History Quarterly, VI, pp. 40-41. This document is also available on the Filson Club site. This is Minute Book 1 for Jefferson County, dated April 1784 to November 1785. Isaac Cox served as a Jefferson County Court Justice in April 1784. David Cox was appointed as a Justice of the Peace and Commission of Oyer and Terminer.

48. W. W. Hening, Virginia, Statutes at Large, 1619-1792, XI, p. 283. This collection is available on Hathitrust. This entry names the trustees of Transylvania Seminary of which Isaac Cox was included.

49. Minute Book of the Nelson County Court, A, p. 1. David and Isaac Cox were named justices of the newly formed Nelson County. This reference is available on FamilySearch.

50. Ibid, pp. 8, 9. This reference is for two separate entries. The first being a default judgment for Isaac Cox against Paul Froman. The second was the recording of Isaac’s livestock marking. Livestock were free range during this time and were marked/branded to label ownership.

51. Ibid, p. 10. Allowed rates for inns and taverns were established by the early court sessions. It wasn’t exactly a free market economy…everyone charged the same.

52. Hening, op cit, XII, p. 282. Available on Hathitrust. This law established the road commission in charge of building the road between the Great Kanawha Falls and Lexington. The Falls are located near present day Glen Ferris on the Kanawha River. The road may have been a precursor to US 60 and/or Interstate 64, although nothing to that effect has been documented. Isaac Cox was named a road commissioner for the project, however it is not clear what segment he was responsible for since Nelson County is west of Lexington and Fayette County.

Kentucky Counties, 1785-1786. Nelson County is #4, Fayette County is #2.

53. L. and R H Collins, History of Kentucky (Covington, 1882), I, p. 366. This volume is available on GoogleBooks. It lists those from Kentucky counties who served in the Virginia Legislature prior to Kentucky’s statehood. Isaac Cox is listed as representing in 1781. It is not clear where Ms. Adams obtained the information for the other years in her statement.

54. Calendar of Virginia State Papers, IV, p. 258. This document can be found on Hathitrust. It is an account of the court martial of Colonel McGary for the murder of Shawnee Chief Melanthy in 1786. David Cox participated in the court martial proceedings the following year.

55. The Filson Club History Quarterly, XIII, p. 12. Available on the Filson Club website, this article provides an early history of the Ballard Family in Jefferson County. It includes an account of the massacre of the family on March 31, 1888 by the Delaware Indians, presumably the same ones that had taken the life of Colonel Isaac Cox in the preceding days. The first-hand account was relayed by Bland W Ballard to Draper in 1844 and is quoted verbatim in this article. The Ballard family and the Cox family intermarried at the turn of the nineteenth century.

AI Tasks

None this week.

Error Resolution

Per Ancestry’s Tree CheckerThis WeekLast Week
Total Errors49975006
Potential Duplicates507511
No Documentation40724077
Other Errors418418
  • BH, the wife of a distant cousin, needs references. I was able to piece together information and find a reference.
  • MS, the husband of a distant cousin, needs references. Found a marriage announcement in the paper for him and his wife.
  • MC, a distant cousin, needs references. It was not clear that the relationships assigned for her supposed father was valid. The family unit was removed.

Goals and progress
Beginning of Week: 28,028 people
End of Week: 28,027 people
Change = -1 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky

Coxes of Cox Creek: Revolutionary War Footnotes and Findings

04 Sunday Oct 2026

Posted by in DNA Matches, Genealogy, Revolutionary War

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DNA Updates

  • BO, a distant cousin through Valentine Mattox. I haven’t done anything with this line yet, so I will tag and keep for later.

Coxes of Cox Creek Footnotes

40. Calendar of Virginia State Papers, II, p. 47. Found on Hathitrust, this letter from Colonel Jon Floyd dated April 16, 1781 to Thomas Jefferson, Governor of Virginia. Governor Jefferson requested a contingency of soldiers to fortify the Continental Line on behalf of the Commonwealth of Col. Floyd explained the treacherous conditions currently plaguing the inhabitants of Kentucky, making his request difficult to fulfill.

41. Ibid., II, p. 313. Also found on Hathitrust, this letter is from Lt Col. John Montgomery dated August 10 1781 to Governor Nelson of Virginia. This missive relayed the dire food situation at the Falls of the Ohio (Louisville). It also included a debriefing of a soldier who had been taken captive by the British and held at Detroit prior to his escape.

42. The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, XXXII, p. 169. Again, this reference can be found on JSTOR. The article relates the events of the burning of Kinchloe’s Station in 1782. The original article referenced in this piece was published in The Bardstown Saturday Gazette by Major Thomas Speed, published on Saturday May 26, 1855. It included details that were relayed by the men who lived through this event as young children. The story has been retold in numerous family histories written about the families impacted.

43. Copy of General Clark’s payroll for officers of the Jefferson County Militia in 1782, Photostat in the Filson Club. As cited, this document is not accessible on the internet. It likely could be obtained in George Rogers Clark and His Men Military Records, 1778-1784 which is available on FamilySearch. There are a number of mentions of Cox men in this book, including Abraham, David, Isaac, James, Thomas and John.

  • Abraham
    • from July 1778 to May 1779 under Captain John Williams during the captures of Cahokia, Kaskaskia, and Vincennes.
    • from May 1779 to May 1780 under Captain John Williams.
    • from May 1780 to November 1781 under Captain Richard Brashears and Colonel John Montgomery.
    • He deserted on August 20, 1780
  • Isaac
    • June 1 to 16, 1781, Colonel Cox’s regiment guarded Squire Boone’s settlement in Shelby County, protecting twenty families.
    • October 20 to November 24, 1782, Colonel Cox led a battalion With Captain Richard Chenoweth And Captain Charles Polk.
  • David
    • October 20 to November 23, 1782, served under Captain Charles Polk and Colonel Isaac Cox.
  • James
    • August 8 to December 14 1778 under Captain Joseph Bowman
    • December 1778 to May 1779 under Captain Abraham Kellar
    • May 1779 to November 1781 under Captain Abraham Kellar in capturing Fort Sackville.
    • October to November 1782 under Captain Gabriel Madison.
    • November 1782 under Captain Thomas Moore
  • Thomas
    • Deserted March 10 1780 under Captain Edward Worthington

44. Calendar of Virginia State Papers, II, p. 47. see item 40 above. The letter mentions that Isaac Cox was a commissioned officer at that time.

AI Tasks

None this week.

Error Resolution

Per Ancestry’s Tree CheckerThis WeekLast Week
Total Errors50065011
Potential Duplicates511513
No Documentation40774080
Other Errors418418
  • TK, a distant cousin needs resources. Not a fan of the Public Records Index, but I’ll use it if I have to. Fixed her sibling while I was at it too.
  • AE, the husband of a distant cousin needs resources. I was able to find a marriage and divorce record for the couple.
  • Sarah Pea, a distant cousin needs resources. This one I will need to revisit once I return home and can review the data in the Catt Book. I’m not 100% convinced the person Ancestry is leading me to is the correct Sarah Pea. Unfortunately FamilySearch is not much help either since Knox County records are blocked except at an Affiliate Library.

Goals and progress
Beginning of Week: 28,028 people
End of Week: 28,028 people
Change = +0 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky

Genealogy Progress Report: Coxes of Cox Creek and DNA Leads

27 Sunday Sep 2026

Posted by in DNA Matches, Genealogy, maps, Newspapers

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DNA Updates

  • LB, a distant cousin connected through John Coppock. Since I don’t have any of her line built out, I will tag her for another day.
  • NP, a distant cousin connected through potential ancestor Sarah Reed. I haven’t done any work on this line, so I’ll tag and leave for later.
  • AM, a distant cousin also connected through Sarah Reed. Again, I’ll have to defer until later.

Coxes of Cox Creek Footnotes

37. John H. Spencer, A History of Kentucky Baptists (1885), I, p. 22. This two volume set can be found on Internet Archive. This particular reference was only to quote a description of the settler’s clothing. The description was part of the early history of four churches in the area that formed an association in 1785. The minutes from the association indicate that the Baptist church established at Cox’s Creek started in April 1785 and there were 26 members. (p. 20).

38. Willard R. Jillson, ed. Filson’s Kentucke, The Filson Club Publications: No. 35 (1929), p. 32. This reference can be found on Hathitrust. It contains descriptions of the natural resources that were available to the early pioneers of the area, include sulfur and salt springs, limestone, and herds of buffalo.

39. The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, XXXII, p. 169. This article can be found on JSTOR. It is a reprint of an article from The Bardstown Saturday Gazette by Major Thomas Speed, published on Saturday May 26, 1855. Interwoven with Major Speed’s narrative are additional references to court depositions and land records that are relevant to inhabitants of the area. Unfortunately, the May 26th issue of the newspaper is not available on newspapers.com.

Hughes op cit, Plate No. 38, facing p. 182. This is a sketched map of the area near Cox’s Station showing how the various settlers were located for best protection.

AI Tasks

None this week.

Error Resolution

Per Ancestry’s Tree CheckerThis WeekLast Week
Total Errors50115013
Potential Duplicates513513
No Documentation40804079
Other Errors418421
  • The wife of Charles DeMoss, who is a potential 6th great-granduncle, did not have any references. I did not have a name for her, only a supposed date of marriage. The Demoss Family in America by Edith Caughron (1952) gave her a name. Without seeing the letter Mrs. Caughron mentions as her source, it is difficult to evaluate the validity of this information.
  • Edith H, a distant cousin is marked as a potential duplicate. This one is a bit unique. Edith’s middle name is Thomas. In the 1895 Kansas State Census, there is a Thomas listed who is about the same age as Edith, but Edith is not. This child is marked as a male. There is no other mention of a male child in this family by the name of Thomas. The 1900 Census also states that the mother of this family had birthed twelve children and nine were still living. Nine children were accounted for in 1895 and in 1900. I have to agree that Edith and Thomas are most likely the same person.
  • SS, a distant cousin has no source records attached. I was able to find a Kentucky birth record and a census record. I was also able to update her family members with the census data.

Goals and progress
Beginning of Week: 28,025 people
End of Week: 28,028 people
Change = +3 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky

Coxes of Cox Creek: DNA Status, Source Fixes, and Next Steps

20 Sunday Sep 2026

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DNA Updates

  • No DNA matches with common ancestors for the past two weeks.

Coxes of Cox Creek Footnotes

35. The Filson Club History Quarterly, XI, p. 129. – The Quarterly has been digitized and is available online at the Club’s website. It does include a pdf list of all articles published in each volume. This particular reference happens to be incorrect. The correct citation is The Filson Club History Quarterly, volume 2, p. 129. This article by John D Wickliffe of Bardstown is titled “Pioneer Stations in Nelson County”. The source of this article was a Colonel W D Huston (1818-1895), who supposedly was a descendant of the Polk family. The article mentions that Cox’s Station was the first station established in Nelson County in 1775 and the Polk Station was the second. There was a contingent of 17 people who made the first trip down the Ohio to establish a land holding.

James Hughes, A Report of the Causes determined by the late Supreme Court for the District of Kentucky and by the Court of Appeals (1803), Lexington, pp. 183-189. This reference can be found at Hathitrust. These pages are contained in the report associated with the appeal of Carter v Oldham (May 1800). This case was originally held in Chancery Court regarding a land dispute dating back to 1780. The report contains information from multiple depositions describing when Isaac Cox, Thomas Polke and others came to Nelson County and made improvements to the land. Thomas Polke’s deposition is on page 188. Several deposers mentioned that Isaac Cox and company were in Nelson County making land improvements in the spring of 1776.

36. Temple Bodley, History of Kentucky, “Fleming’s Journal” (1928), I, p. 322. This book can be found on Hathitrust. This citation refers to quoted passages from Colonel William Fleming’s Journal as he traveled across Kentucky. In January 1783, Col Fleming visited Cox’s Station and interacted with Col. Isaac Cox.

AI Tasks

None this week.

Error Resolution

Per Ancestry’s Tree CheckerThis Week2 Weeks Ago
Total Errors50135024
Potential Duplicates513511
No Documentation40794091
Other Errors421422
  • AS, a descendant of the Bunnell line, needs references. There is very little on this cousin except a mention in his father’s obituary for him and his two brothers.
  • RC, a DNA match from the Fielden line, needs references. Was able to update him and other family members with several doucments.
  • RH, husband of a distant cousin, needs records. As it turns out, the distant cousin was the stepdaughter of a distant cousin and should be deleted. I was able to update some facts for members of the family.
  • RM, a distant cousin, has a birth date after the attached mother died. After a little investigation, this cousin and her sister were attributed to the wrong wife of their father. It is unclear how exactly this error was made.
  • LB, a distant cousin, needs sources. I happened to go to high school with this cousin. Found several sources to shore up her record and found some interesting information on her siblings.
  • JG, a distant cousin who is a DNA match, needs sources. I found a marriage record for her and other records for some of her family members.

Goals and progress
Beginning of Week: 28,009 people
End of Week: 28,025 people
Change = +14 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky

Uncovering the Cox Family History

06 Sunday Sep 2026

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DNA Updates

  • KB, a potential 6th cousin through Joseph Coppock and Jane Wilson. He’s one of my Revolutionary War Patriots. I only have the one child attached for them. I’ll need time to research and prove the line to KB.
  • LA, a potential 5th or 6th cousin through Nicholaus Sievers and Gesina Brake. I have part of her line proven, but not much time this weekend to dive in and complete. The surnames are very familiar names I grew up with. I’ll need to tag for later.

Coxes of Cox Creek Footnotes

32. Calendar of Virginia State Papers, III, p. 633; IV, p. 8. I found both volumes on Hathitrust. In Volume III, Gabriel Cox and others, as military officers of Yohogania County, Virginia, fronted money for the War effort. When they asked for reimbursement in 1781, they were residing in the area that had been relinquished to Pennsylvania and apparently Pennsylvania was denying reimbursement because they acted on behalf of Virginia.

In Volume IV, there is reference to a judgement levied against Gabriel and the others for costs and damages associated with the war effort. The judgement was handed down in Washington County, PA.

33. Deposition of David Cox in Deposition Book, Nelson County, Kentucky, Courthouse, B, p. 677. There is a deposition book for Nelson County, Kentucky, but it does not have a page 677. The name David Cox does not populate when searched. It may be that book B has not been digitized.

34. Draper MSS., typed copy of 9ZZ96-102, in the Filson Club. I will add this to my list of Draper copies to request.

35. The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, XXI, p. 302; XXXII, p. 174. The Register can be found on JSTOR.

Volume XXI – Land certificate records issued for Nelson County, Kentucky for the following individuals: David Cox, Isaac Cox, Jacob Decker, James McDonald, and Benjamin Cox.

Volume XXXII – This article provides quotations from various entries in the Nelson County Deposition books, including the one cited in footnote 33 above. Unfortunately, it is not clear who the “he” David is referring to in his deposition. The relevance of the citation, however, is that David Cox was present at Cox’s Station in April 1780.

AI Tasks

None this week.

Error Resolution

Per Ancestry’s Tree CheckerThis WeekLast Week
Total Errors50245032
Potential Duplicates511515
No Documentation40914095
Other Errors422422
  • YD, a distant cousin who has a residency reference attached that is before her birth. She was born about 1939. When I added the 1940 census information, it also added a residency for 1935 which I should not have accepted. It has been removed.
  • SB, the father in law of a distant cousin. Since I am not keeping inlaws of distant family, I will be removing him and his wife.
  • William Polk, is identified as the grandfather of the wife of a distant cousin. He was married to Elizabeth Spratt. Since the Polks are a bloodline of mine and they intermarried with several other lines of mine over the years, I am going to keep him. After reviewing information in my Polk books, I believe William to be the son of William and Margaret Taylor Polk. Elizabeth Spratt’s sister Susan married William and Margaret’s son Thomas. It was rather common during the 1700s for siblings to marry siblings, especially in frontier areas found in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. In a biographical sketch for Headley Polk found in Polk Family and Kinsmen, William is attributed to the elder William and Margaret. Another family genealogy entitled The McLendons of Anson County makes mention of a William Polk who married Pricilla Roberts. This will all need to be sorted out at a later date. Also to be considered is the family genealogy entitled The Shelby Family by Gwen Platt.

Goals and progress
Beginning of Week: 28,004 people
End of Week: 28,009 people
Change = +5 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky

Roderick Family History: Exploring Kansas Research

28 Sunday Jun 2026

Posted by in Genealogy, DNA Matches

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DNA Updates

  • A DNA match on my mother’s side (Catt line) that I was able to add fairly easily. This branch is fairly easy to document at this time. She is a 3rd cousin 2x removed.
  • A second DNA match was revealed this week on my mom’s side. He descends from both the Catt line and Thompson line which explains why there are a few more centimorgans than normal for a 5th cousin. This one took a little effort since he is about the same age as my daughter and his tree isn’t very well built out. Most individuals are still living, but a great-grandfather on his mother’s side had an obituary available. It also helped that I went to school with his mother’s sister and I just happened to have purchased my high school’s alumni directory back in 2000. Quite the puzzle if you must know.

Rodericks in Kansas

One of my errors to fix this week was for Catera Roderick (see below). She could be found at age 4 months in the 1870 Census in the household of John Roderick in Kansas. John was born in 1790 so the idea that she was John’s daughter might seem far-fetched, although not an impossibility. John married a much younger woman, Almira Julian in 1865. A newspaper article about assistance for the poor briefly mentioned John, his wife, and four children.1 He died later that year.2

Hints for Almira or Catera do not readily populate. The Roderick Genealogy written by David Paul Roderick in 1999 listed an incorrect date of birth for Almira and made the assumption that Catera was John’s grandchild, not the daughter of Almira and John.

From the 1870 census, it would seem that Catera has a brother William who is two years her senior. The Roderick Genealogy mentions that William married a Viola Parrett. I was able to find their marriage record in Jefferson County, Kansas which would mean John’s family remained in the Valley Falls area until at least 1890. The 1880 Census for Almira, William or Catera is not populating in the hints so a manual search of the 1880 census is warranted.

A survey of the 1880 census for Deleware, Jefferson, Osawkie, Norton, and Rock Creek Townships in Jefferson County did not turn up any Rodericks. It’s possible that

  • Almira remarried between 1875 and 1880 and the children were enumerated under the new husband’s surname.
  • Almira died and the children were orphans.
  • The family relocated to another part of the county or another county for a period of time.
  • They were missed in the 1880 enumeration.

Continuing Research on Benjamin Cox descendants from Montgomery County, Ohio

I am continuing my research on William Taylor’s descendants. This week’s research starts with Emma Taylor. Emma died in 1910 before the census was taken and her family “disappeared” in Oklahoma. Emma’s headstone is in Afton, OK. Their son George was a military transport back from Europe in 1919. His father’s address was listed as Gore, OK. I’ll concentrate my search there to find Emma’s daughters.

  • Jesse Cox + Mary Waugh > John Cox + Mary Parks > Louisa Cox + David Taylor > William F Taylor + Mary Lucy Pearson
    • Taylor
    • Thomas
      • Kentucky: Estill
      • Oklahoma: Sequoyah, Wagoner
      • Arizona: Maricopa
      • California: Stanislaus
      • Texas: Wharton
    • Starkey
      • California: Stansilaus

Error Resolution

The last available update via Ancestry ProTools: I have 5023 errors in the tree–502 possible duplicates, 4066 with no documents, 455 other errors.

My Ancestry error resolutions this week included:

  • A stepson of a distant cousin is identified as a potential duplicate. This record falls under the criteria I have for pruning.
  • A mother in law of a distant cousin has no records. Another candidate for pruning.
  • a distant cousin who has two errors–no records and born more than 75 years after her father. Catera/Kittura/Katurah Roderick is listed in the 1870 Census with John P Roderick who was born ca 1790. John’s wife was of childbearing age so there is no reason why Catera could not be John’s daughter. Unfortunately, this type of error cannot be cleared or ignored.

Goals and progress…
Beginning of Week: 27,534 people
End of Week: 27,684 people
Change = +150 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky
  1. The Valley Falls New Era, February 13, 1875, page 2. ↩︎
  2. The Valley Falls New Era, August 7, 1875, page 3. ↩︎

Using GEDMiner for Genealogy Errors

21 Sunday Jun 2026

Posted by in CORRECTIONS, Genealogy, UPDATES

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Follow-up on Pierre Vachet marriage record

Indiana Deaths and Burials, 1750-1993, Parish Registers, J-Z, Film # 004013147, image 512, FamilySearch.

The St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church (Old Cathedral) register clearly lists two men with the name Pierre Vachet with the identities of their parents. The marriage to Felicite Lacoste is attached to that of the younger Pierre. Issue resolved. Also of note, is two Felicite Lacoste dit Languedoc born in the same year to different parents. The Old Cathedral records will be instrumental when it comes time to research my early Knox County ancestors on my mother’s side.

Indiana Deaths and Burials, 1750-1993, Parish Registers, J-Z, Film # 004013147, image 57, FamilySearch.

Continuing Research on Benjamin Cox descendants from Montgomery County, Ohio

I am continuing my research on William Taylor’s descendants. As I finish this week’s research, I finally wrap up Amanda’s children and can move on to another family next week. William and Mary’s son Owen died as a small child so I will continue with their daughter Millie Taylor.

  • Jesse Cox + Mary Waugh > John Cox + Mary Parks > Louisa Cox + David Taylor > William F Taylor + Mary Lucy Pearson
    • Taylor
    • Babb
      • Kentucky: Madison, Estill
    • Brunner
      • Ohio: Butler, Preble
    • Woosley
      • Kentucky: Estill, Clark
    • Madden
      • Kentucky: Madison

Error Resolution

A hot topic right now is the tool GEDMiner.com. I tried this out this week and it is massive and it is FREE. I dropped my GEDCOM file in and it quickly analyzed my 28,000 people. A rather lengthy but useful video presentation by GeneaVlogger giving an overview of how to use it can be found on YouTube: GEDMiner tutorial.

The last available update via Ancestry ProTools: I have 5047 errors in the tree–527 possible duplicates, 4069 with no documents, 451 other errors.

According to GEDMiner, I have 45 possible duplicates. That’s quite a difference from Ancestry’s count. Some of them were legitimate duplicates. A lot of them could be attributed to how I enter women when I don’t know their maiden names. Many of them are mothers-in-law of distant cousins. I have been making a point of pruning them from the tree. I’m going to focus on “duplicates” this week. Next week I’ll start on unlinked individuals. That list is a bit longer.

My Ancestry error resolutions this week included:

  • a husband of a distant cousin needing a source record. A marriage record was available to fill this void.
  • a 5th great grandfather needing a source record. Unfortunately, I will not be able to fulfill this request since German records are restricted in the Ancestry. I will add a German tag to his record for future reference.
  • a distant cousin needing a source record. Luckily she was born pre-1950 and I was able to add that as a reference.

Goals and progress…
Beginning of Week: 28,003 people
End of Week: 27,534 people
Change = -469 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky

Researching William Taylor’s Descendants

14 Sunday Jun 2026

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I was able to add a couple DNA matches to the tree this week. I already had a parent of the match in my tree and merely updated that generation and added the most current. One was for my McCullough line which I hope to start delving into late next year. The other was a cousin on my mother’s side of the family.

I am continuing my research on William Taylor’s descendants. His daughter Amanda had quite a few children so this could take some time to complete.

  • Jesse Cox + Mary Waugh > John Cox + Mary Parks > Louisa Cox + David Taylor > William F Taylor + Mary Lucy Pearson
    • Taylor
    • Babb
      • Kentucky: Estill, Madison
      • Ohio: Butler
    • Lee
      • Ohio: Butler
    • Kirby
      • Kentucky: Estill
    • Farthing
      • Kentucky: Estill, Clark
    • Benton
      • Kentucky: Estill
    • Richardson
      • Kentucky: Estill, Madison
    • Brunner
      • Ohio: Butler

Error resolution. The last available update: I have 5052 errors in the tree–527 possible duplicates, 4074 with no documents, 451 other errors.

  • .The wife of a distant cousin from the 19th century on my mother’s side needed a source. A marriage record was available. NOTE: I thought that would resolve the error. WRONG! It would seem that I now have a duplicate issue to work through. The distant cousin was Pierre Vachet. I have two men with that name in my tree. One is a nephew of the other. The hint in Ancestry was from an index and did not include information on the groom’s parents. A marriage index on FamilySearch does include the parents’ names. These records were compiled from records kept by St Francis Xavier Catholic Church. An image of the actual record may be available, however, I am not currently at an Affiliate Library. I’ll look for it when I am there next week. The correct Pierre Vachet is the nephew born in 1815. I can remove the duplicate record from the uncle.
  • A mother-in-law of a distant cousin needed a source. She will be pruned from the tree along with her husband.
  • The wife of a distant cousin from the 20th century needs a maiden name and a source. I found a source for her birth date which will have to do.

Goals and progress…
Beginning of Week: 27,919 people
End of Week: 28,003 people
Change = + 84 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky

Ancestry Research: Tracing Benjamin Cox’s Lineage

07 Sunday Jun 2026

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No significant or interesting DNA matches cropped up this week. I had a few which identified a common ancestor, but nothing that I am working on currently.

Before I get too far down the rabbit hole that is Benjamin Cox, I should define the question and the research approach that I am taking.

THE QUESTION:

Is Benjamin Cox (1746-1841), who was a Revolutionary War veteran residing in Montgomery County, Ohio at the time of his death, the son of Friend Cox and Nancy Schurck?

DOCUMENTED INFORMATION:

Friend Cox did have a son named Benjamin who was listed in his probate records along with three other sons–John, Joseph, and Jonathan. The probate records and associated land records did not provide any additional information identifying Benjamin such as where he was residing when the documents were drawn up.

I have a DNA match (CB) who is a documented descendant of Friend Cox through his son John.

Benjamin Cox from Montgomery County had a large family and a large number of descendants who potentially could share DNA with both myself and CB.

APPROACH:

Attempt to find a shared DNA match between myself and CB that can be documented to Benjamin Cox from Montgomery County. Build out the descendant tree of Benjamin, taking note of surnames and locations of those descendants. Because the common ancestor is beyond the limitations of Ancestry’s ThruLines, the search for common individuals in the shared matches must be performed manually. I am starting with the descendants of Benjamin’s son Jesse because there is a Kentucky death record that connects the two men as father and son and Jesse’s descendant pool is extensive.

LIMITATIONS:

Not everyone connects a tree to their DNA file. About half of our shared matches do not have associated trees.

I started William Taylor last week, but did not get too far. Next up is William Taylor.

  • Jesse Cox + Mary Waugh > John Cox + Mary Parks > Louisa Cox + David Taylor > William F Taylor + Mary Lucy Pearson
    • Taylor
    • Babb
      • Kentucky: Estill
      • Ohio: Butler
      • Illinois: DuPage

Error resolution. The last available update: I have 5040 errors in the tree–527 possible duplicates, 4062 with no documents, 451 other errors.

  • A 5th cousin with no records. Found a marriage record for him.
  • A husband of a distant cousin with no records. I don’t have a first name for him either. Found the missing information in the cousin’s obituary. I need to remember that children, especially daughters, listed in their mother’s obituary aren’t necessarily the children of the named husband.
  • A distant cousin without records. A marriage record was found and her husband’s first name was completed as well.

Goals and progress…
Beginning of Week: 27,866 people
End of Week: 27,919 people
Change = + 53 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky

Discovering Ancestors: Overcoming Genealogy Challenges

31 Sunday May 2026

Posted by in Genealogy, DNA Matches

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It was a busy week but I was able to get a little research done despite everything.

Most interesting was a DNA match. The match came up marked with a common ancestor, however, there was no tree attached. The surname was not what I would call common so I searched my tree for that and found a handful of distant cousins, complete with a previous DNA match who did have a tree linked to their account. After some trial and error, I was able to determine who the new match was and get him connected to the tree!

Continuing on with the descendants of Jesse Cox and Mary Wagle. I am picking up where I left off with descendants of Zachariah Cox and Nancy Wright. I am continuing on with Nettie Taylor and her husband John T. Wilson.

Thelma was a tiny bit difficult to start researching. Ancestry was not providing any hints to work off. She was mentioned in obituaries, but as Mrs. Husband’s Name, as was the norm during a good deal of the twentieth century. Since she was the second eldest, I had not eliminated very many of the names yet. Luckily she was named in her sister Leah’s obituary as Mrs. Thelma Montfort; she was either divorced or widowed at this point in time. Now I am able to circle back to her and fill in those blanks.

Finishing up Zachariah’s children, Mattie, the youngest, was a little difficult to complete. The Ancestry hints populated records for her sister Nettie. So frustrating. She was named in the obituaries for her siblings Alice (1947) and Nettie (1957). She was not listed in John’s obituary in 1959. That narrows the window down considerably. Voila! Mattie Taylor died in 1958.

I was not able to find a date of death for Zachariah, but maybe I can get a clue from his younger siblings. Next up is William Taylor.

  • Louisa Cox + David Taylor > Zachariah Taylor + Nancy Catherine Wright
    • Taylor
    • Wilson
      • Kentucky: Madison, Fayette
    • Montfort
      • Kentucky: Fayette, Jefferson
      • Louisiana: Caddo
    • Drake
      • Kentucky: Fayette
  • Louisa Cox + David Taylor > William F Taylor + Mary Lucy Pearson
    • Taylor
      • Kentucky: Estill, Madison
      • Oklahoma: Delaware

Error resolution. The last available update: I have 5041 errors in the tree–529 possible duplicates, 4061 with no documents, 451 other errors.

  • Up first is a distant cousin from 200+ years ago. Lots of records found for her and her family.
  • A distant cousin from my generation needs some records. A public record reference will have to do for now.
  • And another distant cousin needs a record. She was featured in a newspaper advertisement at age 5, giving me an approximate date of birth. Score!

Goals and progress…
Beginning of Week: 27,802 people
End of Week: 27,866 people
Change = + 64 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky