How Are We Related? Part one

Genealogy is about tracing the line of decent and relationships within a family. Part of my excitement about family tree is discovering family members. I now know about previously unknown relatives.   I call all my new relations “cuz” because I have not figured out our real connections.  We all know the basic relationships of mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle and grandparents. It often becomes confusing when trying to explain a familial relationship beyond the basics. It is even more confusing when there is a blended or step family involved.  I have decided to tackle and decipher the family relationships in my family tree. I would like to mention the familial designations and terms maybe different in other cultures and countries. 

THE BASIC (five generations)

Every child has parents; mother and father

A child may have siblings; sisters and/or brothers which are other children of the same mother and father.

A child has four grandparents; the parents of the mother and the parents of the father

A child has eight great grandparents; parents of the mother’s grandparents and parents of the father’s grand parents

A child has 16 great-great parents; the  8 parents of the mother’s great grand parents and the 8 parents of the father's great grand parents.    

Aunts and Uncles 

A child may have many aunts and uncles or none if both their parents were the only child of their grandparents.

A child may have aunts and/or uncles which are the siblings of the mother and/or father or their spouses.

A great aunt is the sister of your grandfather or grandmother.

A great uncle is the brother of your grandfather or grandmother

A great-great aunt is the sister of your great-great grandfather or great-great grandmother

A great-great uncle is the brother of your great-great grandfather or great-great grandmother

COUSINS

A first cousin is a child of and aunt or uncle. First cousins have the same grandparents

Second cousin share the same  great grandparents.  A second cousin is the grandchild of  your great aunt or great uncle  

Third cousins share the same great-great grandparents (aka second great grandparent)

Fourth cousins share the same great-great grandparents (aka third great grandparents)

The In-laws

In-laws are relatives by marriage.  Usually the term is used for parents, sister and brother of your spouse. The terms aunt in-law, uncle in-law or cousin in-law is generally not used.  I however used the term cousin in-law. It would probably be proper to say my cousin's wife or husband.

More information to come

-----The Tree Gardener

Willis Brumfield and Neathie Gatlin Brumfield Part 2

Willis Brumfield the father of Eddie Brumfield Sr. was a farmer. Willis, Neathie and their children Ethel, Bessie, Bertha, Agusta,  Eddie, Wilous, Milton, Thad, Herman and the twins Essie and Gussie lived in Pike County, Mississippi.  I have found the family enumerated in the 1910, 1920, 1930 and 1940 census.  Willis also was listed along with his father Tom Brumfield on the 1881 taxes for Pike County which I have not listed.  

Willis Brumfield, Niece, Bertha, Ethel, Bessie, Gussie and Essie are enumerated Year: 1910; Census Place: Beat 2, Pike, Mississippi; Roll: T624_756; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 0098; FHL microfilm: 1374769

It is on the 1920 census the Eddie Brumfield Sr. appears as a 3 year old with his family. 

Willis, Neathie, Ethel, Bertha, Essie, Wilous, Milton and Eddie Brumfield Year: 1920; Census Place: Tylertown, Walthall, Mississippi; Roll: T625_896; Page: 5B; Enumeration District:117; Image: 388

Willis , Netha, Eddie J., Thad, Leiler McEwen and Leo Brumfield Year: 1940; Census Place: Pike, Mississippi; Roll: T627_2058; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 57-1

----The Tree Gardener

Willis Brumfield and Neathie Gatlin Brumfield Part 1

Willis Brumfield and Neathie Gatlin Brumfield

Eddie Brumfield Sr. is one of the children of Willis Brumfield and Neathie Gatlin Brumfield.   

Willis Brumfield and Neathie Gatlin Brumfield
date unknown

Willis Brumfield was born September 15, 1883(1880) and died September 1, 1948 at the age of 64. His recorded date of birth has some discrepancies. On his World War I registration form his date of birth was September 15, 1880. The Social Security application and claims Index 1936-2007 I obtained from Ancestry.com states his date of birth was September 15, 1883 and his parents were Tom Brumfield and Rosa Coward.  In previous blogs on the Social Security System, I have mentioned that there are often errors in information. To order a photocopy of the original Social Security application is $27.00. I do not have an actual copy of the Social Security application but I have a copy of the World War I application. 

Willis Brumfield World War I registration . Notice wife Neacie (Neathie) is listed as nearest relative 

Neathie Gatlin was born September 23, 1882 and died September 26, 1954 at the age of 72. This information was obtained at the first Jack and Alice Gatlin reunion in 1988.  I was unable to locate a birth certificate for Neathia or order a death certificate. I was however able to find Neathie in the Pike County, Mississippi school census for 1890 and 1896.

1890 Pike County  school census  Netha (Neathia) Gatlin 9 is listed with her father Jack Gatlin and siblings Harriett 14, Edmon 13, Emmit 12 and Loumenda 5

 

 1896 Pike County school record Netha (Neathia) Gatlin 15 is listed with her father Jack Gatlin and siblings Edmon 18, Emmit 16 and Loumenda 11, Rosa

From the school records, Jack Gatlin was father for Neathie. I have also been unable to find a marriage certificate for Willis Brumfield and Neathie Gatlin Brumfield but from the World War I registration they were married prior to September 12, 1917.  

--- The Tree Gardener

Irvin Brumfield Identified

 I have been trying to identify the Brumfield children of Liddie Brumfield (Caston) and Louis Brumfield.  One of Liddie’s children  was Tom Brumfield. In my genealogy research, I have found several men with the name of Irvin Brumfield who lived in Pike County, Mississippi. I have been trying to ascertain if Irvin Brumfield born August, 1846 is a child of Liddie .

I have established that Irvin Brumfield definitely knew Liddie Brumfield's second husband Calvin Caston. Calvin Caston was a sworn witness on Irvin Brumfield’s homestead application. Tom Brumfield was a sworn witness on Calvin Caston’s homestead application.  The children of Tom and Irvin Brumfield and Calvin Caston are listed on the 1885 Pike County, School record.  Irvin’s children’s names were Martha Ann, Irvin Jr., William, Sherman, Louis, George, Isom, Mamie, Daisy and Mattie.

It was exciting for me to meet Eddie Brumfield Sr.  His grandfather was Tom Brumfield son of Liddie and Louis Brumfield. Irvin Brumfield Sr. died in 1900 before Eddie Sr. was born. Eddie Brumfield Sr.  however knew the some of the children of Irvin Brumfield Sr. They were  Irvin Jr., Isom, Sherman, Louis, Mamie and Mattie who were his father’s Willis age and his cousins.  I believe Tom Brumfield and Irvin Brumfield were brothers.

         

Irvin Brumfield Sr. would be Eddie Brumfield Sr. grand-uncle .

----The Tree Gardener

Eddie Brumfield Sr. Family Tree

Family Tree

Eddie Brumfield Sr. born in  Pike County, Mississipp in 1917 is a child of Willis Brumfield  and Neathia Gatlin Brumfield.   

Eddie's siblings:

Ethel Brumfield  26 Apr 1904 to Mar., 1985

Bertha Brumfield 10 Dec 1905 to Mar., 1974

Bessie Brumfield 1909 to unknown

Essie Brumfield 1910 to 06 Jun 1971

Agusta Brumfield 1910 to 1910

Wilcous Brumfield 17 Apr 1912 to 22 Oct 1994

Herman Brumfield 1921 to1936

Thad Brumfield Sr. 08 Sep 1923 to 17 Oct 2006

Milton Brumfield 1915 to 1928

Eddie Brumfield Sr. family roots were in Pike County, Mississippi for three generations. Jeramiah Conerly parents are not listed.  Jeramiah "Jerry" Conerly parents were William "Will" and Harriett Conerly 68 and 60 years old respectively listed in the Pike County Federal 1870 census both born in North Carolina.

1870 Pike County, Mississippi Federal census William and Harriett Conerly listed lines 21 and 22 Jeramiah and family also listed 1870; Census Place: Township 2 Range 10, Pike, Mississippi; Roll: M593_745; Page: 153A; Image:366049; Family History Library Film: 552244

William "Will" Conerly 70 years old widower is also listed in in the Pike County Federal 1880 census. Harriett apparently died between 1870 and 1880.  Will and his mother place of birth are listed  as North Carolina and his father Africa.  His date of birth has a discrepancy being 1810 or 1802.   Jeramiah Conerly and his family are also enumerated on the same page. 

Will Conerly and Jerry Conerly enumerated "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4G1-JTG : 11 August 2016), Will Conerly, Beat 1, Pike, Mississippi, United States; citing enumeration district ED 37, sheet 348A, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 0662; FHL microfilm 1,254,662.

One couple of Eddie Brumfield Sr. great-grandparents have been identified.

----- The Tree Gardener

Eddie Brumfield Sr.

Blest Be the Ties that Bind

I met Roger Dale Wilson via an internet message board who first told me about a connection between the Brumfield and Caston families. He told me about an upcoming family reunion.   I was able to attend the Caston-Brumfield family reunion in Atlanta, Georgia in 2010.  Prior to the reunion, I had interviewed very few family members and had researched my family history 3 generations earlier. I previously met very few family members even one generation older. Brumfield is a common surname in the southern part of Mississippi and northern Louisiana. I was not sure that Roger’s Brumfield family and my family were the same.   

I made the trip to Atlanta with slender threads of information about my family.  A great deal of genealogy research consists of recording a name with a beginning of birth and an end of death. The middle is the details of the life. In genealogy research, there are two tasks that a beginner is always instructed to perform.  The first is to record your own life’s story and the second is to interview your oldest known living relative.  It was at the family reunion, I had an opportunity to meet one of my oldest relatives. 

   
The first gathering of the reunion was in a hotel ballroom. There were people seated at multiple tables labeled with the first names of Caston and Brumfield family members.  At the reunion, I first met Eddie Brumfield Sr., the nonagenarian grand patriarch of the Brumfield family, who was seated in a chair near a wall in the hotel ballroom.    In the informal setting, family members paid their respects and chatted with him.    

Quick-witted, he willingly told stories about the family’s past. He recalled the names of family members Irvin, Sherman, Louis, Isom, Mattie, Mamie all his cousins who were counterparts in age with his father Willis Brumfield.   He knew the story about the injury and tragic death of cousin Lattimore Brumfield daughter of Sherman Brumfield.  This story was recited many times to me as a child. It was from his recollection of the death of Lattimore, I knew we were related. I had found my cousin and family.        

Eddie Brumfield Sr. in 2010

Blest be the ties that binds

Our Hearts in Christian Love; 

The fellowship of kindred minds

Is like to Above 

The Story of Latimore Brumfield

Nonexistent Information in Genealogy ----- Missing Children Part 4

The Silver Sparrow

The book Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones is a fictional story about a man who has two families--- a bigamist. It takes place in Atlanta, Georgia during the 1980’s.  Both families live in the same town but only one family is aware that the other family exists.  One of the man’s family remains in the shadows and not recognized by the community. Tayari Jones uses the metaphor of the Silver Sparrow to describe the child of the hidden family.  

Married men who have more than one family or more than one set of children is not unusual.  The treatment of the unmarried mother and her child is dependent upon their position in society and the time period. Sometimes the parentage of a child is considered a family secret and rarely discussed. There are situations in which the mother and father married after the birth of the child. 

 In the case of adoptions, the process  may have  been informal, legal, black-market or involve one related parent. The child may have been reared by foster parents. The discovery of information is even more complicated if the adoption occurred generations ago.   The institution of slavery in the United States in which families were sold and separated is also another element that makes it difficult or impossible to identify parents.

 Nowadays, children are born daily with unmarried parents. According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2014, the number of live births to unmarried women in the United States was 1,604,870.   With hospital records, school records, birth certificates, Social Security numbers, census, baptismal records and DNA analysis there are more tools available to determine parentage and ancestors. There is usually a limited paper trail of documents to verify information.  Relatives who are are knowledgeable about a child's birth maybe uncooperative about giving information. Finding the missing father or the parents of a child or orphan can still be difficult and possibly never identified. 

"I don't why I'm here Lord, I just know I'm here "

---- The Tree Gardener

Nonexistent Information in Genealogy ----- Nicknames

Nicknames, Moniker, Name Variations

The search for individuals is first based on identifying the person’s name.  Some people are known by a substitute name, moniker or a nickname.  I have found that some of the people I have tried to locate were known by their nickname and not their given name. I was only able to find some people because family members gave me their nicknames.  Some families have people with the same given name for multiple generations. I have found at least 4 people in extended family named Tom Brumfield. I think that other names have evolved to distinguish people in a family with the same name.

Common name variations of have helped find ancestors.

Examples of variations: Elizabeth (primary name) Liz, Liza, Lizabeth, Lizzie, Libby, Lisa, Beth, Bess, Betsy, Betty. Sometimes it is necessary to look at all name variations to find an individual.

Nicknames often are not related to the given name. One of the children of Irvin Brumfield, Louis Brumfield was known as “Doc”. The entire family is listed in blog post Ervine, Irvine, Irving, Irvin Part 1 on 11/15/2012.

I was told that he was given that name because he acted as the local veterinarian. He is listed with wife Elizabeth as “Dock” not Louis in the Pike County, Mississippi Federal 1930 census. Last family listed.    

Year: 1930; Census Place: Beat 1, Pike, Mississippi; Roll: 1162; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 0001; Image: 627.0; FHL microfilm: 2340897


I would not have been able to find Louis if I did not know he was known as "Doc" Brumfield. His brother William Brumfield and his family are listed above on this census image which helped with identification.                                                                        
  Nicknames are nonexistent information in general genealogy research.  It is important to always talk to family members.                                                                                        
   ------- The Tree Gardener                                                                                                                       

  
    
                        

Nonexistent Information in Genealogy ---- Missing Children Part 3

Mississippi Black Codes

One of the benefits that I have enjoyed in genealogy research is learning about the history of the United States. I have focused recently on identifying ancestors post-Civil War known as the Reconstruction period. I have concentrated on this time period because I am still trying to find information to break down the brick wall of 1870.  I have tried to find the whereabouts of entire families.  The culture and laws during that time affected how and where they lived.  While trying to locate missing children, I found out about The Apprentice Law which was part of the Mississippi Black Codes. 

The 13^th amendment to the U. S. Constitution passed congress January 1, 1865 and ratified December 31, 1865 eliminated slavery.  Mississippi however was not readmitted to the union until February 23, 1870.  The Mississippi Apprentice law passed in November 22, 1865 was a law passed under the umbrella of the Black Codes. The Black codes were a series of restrictive laws applied to freedmen, free Negroes and mulattoes to restrict migration and insure a free or cheap labor force.  Black codes were not exclusive to Mississippi but present in other southern states.

The Mississippi Apprentice law allowed any sheriff, justice of the peace, or civil officer authorization to identify children under the age of 18 who were orphans or parents who could not properly take care of the children. These children could be apprenticed to white masters and mistresses for labor until the age of 18 for girls and 21 for boys. If the age of the child could not be determined the judge would assign an age. There were no requirements that the child receive a wage but the master or mistress paid a fee to the county in which they resided. Under this law children could be separated from the their family or extended family.

I have searched for records for children retained under the Apprentice law and have been unsuccessful. I however, have not performed an exhaustive search. Possibly these records are in Freedmen's Bureau records, a  private collections or under another legal heading.  I think  however, little effort was made to record or maintain any records. Although these children may not be associated with the family trees in my research, I will not give up my search. If anyone has information, please share.

I would recommend as a must read book Slavery by Another Name by Douglas A. Blackmon which describes using Black codes which forced freedmen into involuntary servitude.

Further description of the Apprentice law can be found in this link

http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/2282#Frohnen_1515_693

---- The Tree Gardener

Nonexistent Information in Genealogy ---- Missing Children Part 2

Information errors

Most genealogist realize that there are inaccuracies in the United States census records. Identifying the number of children a woman may have had is no exception.

Louisa (Louiser) Brumfield is enumerated with her husband Irvin Brumfield and their children in the Federal census for Pike County, Mississippi in 1900. Louisa is identified as having 9 children and 9 living children. The reality is Louisa Brumfield had 10 children and all 10 were living at the same time. The household listed below Irvin and Louisa's entry Richmond and Martha Primm are enumerated. Martha was a child of Irvin and Louisa Brumfield.

Irvin & Louiser Brumfield  and  Richmond  & Martha Primm Year: 1900; Census Place: Beat 1, Pike, Mississippi; Roll: 825; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0105; FHL microfilm: 1240825

Another source of information is necessary to

 determine all the children.  It is difficult to find other sources.  

Nonexistent Information in Genealogy ---- Missing Children

Missing Children

When I first became interested in genealogy, I asked my older family members about our heritage. Members of my maternal family line provided a good source of information. My father raised as an only child with no living siblings was dead for years prior to my interest in genealogy. My paternal ancestry source consisted of meager reminiscences of my mother and my adolescent memory.  I soon realized that only 2 generations earlier consisted of nuclear families which had many children.  I wanted to go back and beyond slavery. I wanted to know if I had native  American and European ancestry which is a prevalent perception in my family.

    

In my early attempts at genealogy research, one of the first documents I looked at was the publicly available United States federal census records.  At that time, only the 1920 census was the most recent census available.  My first goal was to identify individual families’ parents and children. I have tried to research not only my direct lineage but associated family members. I reviewed the census from the known to the unknown or reverse chronological order.  The federal 1870 and earlier census records did not identify family relationships.  The grouping of individuals however suggested probable familiar relationships.  It was in the 1880 federal census, that the head of the family was identified and relationships to the head were enumerated. The head of the household was in most cases identified as a man.

   After multiple times, I recently reviewed the federal census for clues.  I found an attempt to identify the maternal lineage.   The 1890, 1900 and 1910 federal census had 2 questions that were specific to women 1) Mother of how many children? 2) Number of these children living?  I think these are fascinating questions that lead to a genealogy conundrum. The names of the children could be listed in the present enumerated family. A different number of children could be listed with the mother of the family.  

The possible answers could be:

•  A mother may have given birth to a child who was not identified with the present family in the census
• A mother may have had a stillborn (census taker did not include stillborns) or a newborn who died before 1880 
• A mother may have had a child after 1880 and died before 1900
• An adult child not previously enumerated with the mother in 1900
• The mother may have died before 1880 and a living child may therefore was not associated with a mother
• The head of household surname may be different from the mother’s surname and child’s surname
• A child could have been born after 1900 and died before 1910 
• A child associated with a mother and father may became  an orphan 
• A child may have a guardian or adopted 

I am now looking for the all children and determining if this information can ever be found.

------The Tree Gardener

Nonexistent Information in Genealogy ----- Social Security System Part 3

What's My Number?

When the Social Security Act of 1935 was signed into law, the social security number was developed.   The social security number was designed as a unique nine digit identifier which is assigned to an individual after completion of an application. It is presently used to track Social Security benefits, authentication and identification purposes.  Once an individual dies the number is not recycled. But are these statements  true?

In March 2015, the Office of the Inspector General* for the Social Security Administration* identified 6.5 million social security number holders age 112 or older who did not have death information on the Numident (acronym for "Numerical Identification System). There are approximately 35 people worldwide who are known to be 112 years old. In the report, a man fraudulently opened two banks accounts using social security numbers of individuals born in 1886 and 1893 who did not appear on the Death Master File.

ID Analytics is a company which develops consumer software solutions for authentication and identification purposes and a subsidiary of LifeLock.*  Lifelock is an identity theft protection company.  ID Analytics has discovered that:

1.  More than 100,000 people have 5 or more social security numbers
2.    15% of social security numbers are associate with two or more people 
3.  More than 140,000 social security numbers are associated with 5 or more people
4.  More than 27,000 social security are associated with 10 or more people
5.  6.1% of Americans have 2 social security numbers associated with their name 

I have been researching my maternal family tree on Ancestry.com  in the U.S. Social Security Application Claims Index 1936-2007.  I found  three results for an ancestor Chalmers Bearden.  His name is listed three times differently.

                                       

 Many of the errors are thought to be secondary to duplication errors and fraud.  In genealogy research, the social security number may not be a definitive source of information. 

* I am not an employee or representative of these organizations
 ----- The Tree Gardener