Family talk:William Edmiston and Margaret Montgomery (2)

Alternative Views [17 June 2009]

I've commented on this a couple of times this morning, each time looking a bit more deeply at the information. I've removed my earlier thoughts because I see that I didn't focus on the right things. What Jim's done is insert a "Genealogy Report" about the descendants of this couple. There's potentially valuable information here and its useful information to have have available. I don't think it belongs here, but would probably best serve our purposes as a "MySource" document. Another approach would be to make it into a "Notebook Page".

What I propose is that we convert this to a MySource document, and link that document to this page for reference purposes. There it can be used as a source of information to be added or substracted from the main page as the case arises. But such changes need to be based as much as possible on primary source materials. Simply citing a web site without pointing to the underlying primary/original source material (in BCG's sense of original), is not satisfactory. Everything needs to be backed up as far as possible. That's what makes Howards work valuable---he's pointing to orignal source material to make his points. That doesn't necessarily make him right, but it does make his analysis credible.

I'll wait a day or so to see what comments are made, and then convert the information added here to a MySource document if that's appropriate. Q 10:14, 23 February 2009 (EST)

Sounds like the answer to me...I do not mean to be a pain in the neck, but Information should be in the proper places for all this to work...if it be mine or someone else...a lot of my early work I did not always put sources, but after a while I begin to see with out them our work is worthless...This is a great site and unlike other sites I have work on it is set up so we can discuss these issues and come to a more actuate solution...--Dlbradley1 12:14, 23 February 2009 (EST)

I think that last sentence is the key. Working in a cooperative environment, the key to success is communication. And you are quite right--valid sources are the key to everything---and by valid sources I mean getting back to those key source documents, contemporary with the events being discussed. Howards stuff is good not because he's a good genealogist (he is)---but because he documents how he knows things---and documents them with primary sources. Q 12:47, 23 February 2009 (EST)

John and Isabella [16 March 2009]

I have a deed for a John Edmondson with a wife "Issabella" in Cecil Co.MD Does anyone know who this couple is? I didn't find a page for them when I searched WeRelate If nobody has it or someone wants it I can send it someone's way but at this point have no idea where to paste it.

You told me about the digital archives but I don't have any time right now to work with it and figure it out. This is a problem for me an WeRelate in general. I have too many irons in the fire and not enought time to figure out how a number of things are done. I know how to come here and park something but I don't know the finer details.

Anne--MizLiv 14:47, 16 March 2009 (EDT)

Hi MizLiv

Our information on the Edmiston's of Cecil County is quite sparse, and I don't believe anyone has focused on them. I've seen a few things in the way of original sources/land records, but the data capture for this area is not complete, and certainly not exhaustive. What we have is at Notebook:Edmondson Family of Cecil County Maryland. There's also a stub article that's been created (Edmondson Family of Cecil County Maryland), but its essentially empty, waiting until there's enough information collected to say something useful. I'd like to include the deed you describe in the digital archive and link to it at least from the Notebook. If you want to send me the text, I'll get it into the archive.

If you check the notebook for Edmondsons in Cecil County you find an extract of a land record for the early 1730's, involving a William and John Edmondson, "and others". Conceivably the John of the land record to which you point, is the same person. The William COULD be the father of the three Edmondson brothers who move on to Augusta County c. 1740. On the otherhand, this could also be the line of John "Irish Hammer" Edmondson, the Quaker---he's a bit further north in London Grove, but given the sparsensss of our information I don't think I'd rule his line out. I also wouldn't rule out the possibility that the Augusta County line descends from "Irish Hammer", Q 15:18, 16 March 2009 (EDT)

Family relationships

I believe that some of the information on this page is incorrect we need to discuss this page information for instants Dlbradley1 01:41, 20 February 2009 (EST)

I'm all for that. I do not normally focus much on the individual "family card". Most of my efforts focus on person cards---and the larger picture "families" where I'm looking at all of the information about a given group of people sharing a given surname in the area (e.g, Edmondson Family of Southwest Virginia.

To help get us all on the same page (that is, getting ME on the same page as you), I've drafted a diagram to help me understand the family relationships. This is a working diagram and I expect it to change, perhaps fundamentally, as time goes by. Currently it is quite incomplete, with many descendant lines left blank. Leaving that aside, how much of this do you collectively agree with (D1bradley, DeliJim, and MizLiv).

Q 13:21, 20 February 2009 (EST)

Robert Edmondson [21 February 2009]

"Robert EDMONDSON b1771VA, s/o Col William and Mary MONTGOMERY, Robt married Susan HANNAH and all their children were born Glade Springs, VA: William EDMONDSON b1795 m Sarah ASKINS kids Wm, Mary, James, Rufus,David;sons John and Harmon died young. David EDMONDSON b1797, m TN, moved to KY. Alexander EDMONDSON b 1799, m TN, moved to NC. John EDMONDSON b1801 m Vashti JOINS(see below). Mary(Polly)EDMONDSON. "

There has been a long dispute over the two Robert's as to which one was Robert s/o Col William and Margaret MONTGOMERY, I believe that the DAR and the Sons of the American Revolution settled this last year in the proof given by Prof Jones that Robert Edmiston/Edmonson Birth: 24 May 1771, Washington County, Va. Death: 28 Jan 1823, Washington County, Va. Buried Old Moore Cem. Married to Mary Glenn Birth: 7 Apr 1773 Death: 20 Apr 1859, Washington County, Va. Buried Old Moore Cem. and will no longer except the other Robert as the son of Col William Edmiston.....Dlbradley1 01:41, 20 February 2009 (EST)

also I feel it is better to keep the information on a person page or family page just about that person or that couple it get confusing when information on several generations are placed on a family pageDlbradley1 01:41, 20 February 2009 (EST)

Generally, the family page as defined here on WeRelate, is not a page I focus on. As I say, most of my work is focused onthe individuals, and on the broader "family pages in Place" used in the Southwest Virginia Project. Frequently, as I come to grips with a new line, I'll discuss several of the possibilities, which may mean several generations will be discussed. Ultimately, the goal is to develop the logic that leads to what ever conclusion is reached. I think its important to make that logic explicit, so that others can see how certain conclusions were reached. Q 13:51, 20 February 2009 (EST)

I want our information to be right and easy to read we have a great site and working together we can make this the top site on genealogy....--Dlbradley1 01:41, 20 February 2009 (EST)

Absolutely! Moreover, what I'm looking for, in addition to "right" and "Easy to Read" (or rather easy to understand), is to have the underlying evidence shown. Any conclusion relies on some original document (in the BCG sense of the word), and I want to show that connection between the underlying documentation and the conclusion. That's the goal at least. Q 13:51, 20 February 2009 (EST)

I'll be interested in learning more of Prof. Jones' conclusions. Is there something on the web that points specifically to his argument? And I certainly second the general sentiment of the last sentence. Q 13:43, 20 February 2009 (EST)

Note that in my diagram I have three Roberts.

Person:Robert Edmiston (2). The first, whose wife may or may not be "Jean" died in Rockbridge County and never set foot in SW VA. At least one of his sons, William, came to SW VA; William apparently had a son Robert as well.

I also show Robert son of John=Margaret Buchanan. At this stage I know nothing about him. Was he in southest Virginia? or is he a figment?

Then there's Robert, son of Col. Person:William Edmiston (5) (son of John and Margaret.

I would not be surprized to learn that there are Roberts in some of these other lines not shown here---eg, through some of the other sons of Col. William.

Which is the Robert that's the source of confusion? Q 13:43, 20 February 2009 (EST)

I agree fully with the Chart [21 February 2009]

The Robert in question is the son of Col. William. as I stated before the one listed as the son (Robert) on the left of the page is correct but in the information about Col William Edmiston list this:

Robert EDMONDSON b1771VA, s/o Col William and Mary MONTGOMERY, Robt married Susan HANNAH and all their children were born Glade Springs, VA:

Robert son of Col William Edmiston and Margaret Montgomery, was Captain Robert Edmiston married Mary Glenn they are buried in Washington County, Va. at Old Moore Cem. as far as I know he was only married once. I believe this was  proven and excepted by the D and S of AR last year 

also the information on this family page covers over 150 years of family information...it needs to only contain the history during the life and death of Col. William and Margaret Montgomery..the rest needs to be moved to the person and family pages of the ones they are about...it makes it a lot easier to follow and understand...that is what the individual pages are for. --Dlbradley1 07:43, 21 February 2009 (EST)

Good! That gives us a common starting point. My plan is to (eventually) upgrade this diagram to show other lines of descent. I won't likely take it much deeper than is shown here (because a. the diagrams get really messy if you try to put to much into them, and b. for me the information is only needed for these first few generations. Unless there's a need related to a specific problem that catches my eye, I'm not likely to personally carry the lines down beyond these first few generations ---but its good to have the lineages worked out and available. Tapping into your efforts, and those of Jim and Anne, is a good way to extend the reach of the project. Q 09:18, 21 February 2009 (EST)

Edmistons everywhere! [21 February 2009]

Thank you for asking me to tag along with the Edmistons! I don't have any of them in my own family tree but I research a Logan family that plants itself in Blount Co. TN. Prior to that they were in Abbeville District SC and before that Washington Co. VA. Everywhere they go they are lockstep with Edmiston families so I became interested in this allied family years ago and have collected bits and pieces accordingly. Then I saw that the family was supposed to come from Cecil Co. which is another place I do a lot of research so I started making notes from there as well. Then I found a whole lot of them in a part of Kentucky where I research and they were with many of the same clustering families I recognized from this other research so of course I began to collect them (I'm compulsive).

My problem is I only know enough to be dangerous. I can dig up abstracts I have made (or in some case I have scans of the documents)from all these places but I never feel confident in identifying a lot of them with real certainty. I am pretty tied up for the next month but when I get done with some obligations I have between now and then I would like to start locating these things and seeing if you can fit them in the right slots and give them a home.

Where should I put them? Is there a way to make a "holding page" so that if I have a deed I have abstracted for a William or a Robert etc. I can stick it there and you people with more knowledge could identify who it is?

Anne

Anne Livingston mizliv@yahoo.com & mizliv at WeRelate--MizLiv 22:54, 20 February 2009 (EST)

Hi Anne. The particular line of migration you point to is something I see a lot. Old Chester County to Borden's Grant, to the Carolinas, back to SW VA, then then to Tn (Blount being particularly common destination). It may be that these moves are simply common responses to a common problem, but it also seems that much of it is driven by group decisions by networked families. Its very hard to get to the bottom of what's going on because you have to look at more families than just "your own"... but that seems to be exactly what you're doing.

I've never met a genealogist yet that wasn't crazy about getting information about their ancestors---and we all have these bits and pieces that we know are important, but haven't a clue how they fit in. The idea is that working together we an pull some of those bits and pieces together in a way that we can all see what we have individually, and when we make a connection we can all build on that. The trick is finding a way to put these bits and pieces together so we can all look at them. Sort of like working a jigsaw puzzle---but one where we individually have only a few of the pieces on our table. "I'm looking for a straight edge piece with a paleblue background and a bit of leaf showing---hmmm, sort of like that piece lying over there on your table."

As to those bits and pieces that you have and would like to find a home for---there are several ways of doing that, I think. What I've been doing is finding documents (say a will) and inserting them into the digital library, then I place a link to those items on an article in WeRelate so I can get back to it when I need it. For example, I've put the will of William Edmiston who died c1788, on the Digital Library. Here's a link:

http://www.werelate.org/dlib/bitstream/790/2/Will%20of%20William%20Edmiston%2c%201788.html

I usually set these up in HTML formating, but you can save things in a variety of formats, including Word and PDF documents. (I use HTML because everyone has an HTML viewer, and not everyone has a Word viewer.) The Digital Library is still in Beta development (and will be for at least another year, but Dallan seems happy to have anyone use it who wishes too....I find it an invaluable tool for storing information such as this. There are still some problems in using it---in particular, once you've stored something there, you can't edit it. If you want to change something (say correct a typo) you have to ask Dallan to remove it and then resubmit. Inconvenient but not a real problem.

So what I would do in the case you describe is add the material to the Digital Library, then go to the appropriat article and insert a link to the item. If you go to person:William Edmiston (3) and look at the personal data section in the narrative, you'll see how I've made use of this within the article itself. (blue link labeled "will") Q 09:09, 21 February 2009 (EST)

Corrected Spelling [17 June 2009]

I corrected the spelling in Howard's answer according to the reply I received from Howard today..he had just miss type but sent me the correction...William (6) wife was Elezibeth Ann Boteler I have made correction were need be I think..--Dlbradley1 19:38, 17 June 2009 (EDT)