Week 8 #52Ancestors

 Week 8  The theme for Week 8 is "I Can Identify." Genealogy research is about identifying the correct people to attach to our family trees. Who have you worked hard to identify? Another way to interpret the theme would be to highlight someone like my grandfather, who could spot (and correctly identify all kinds of mushrooms. (My sisters and I never got the knack of doing that!) 

“I Can Identify” Gussie Smith’s father by using multiple pieces of evidence that do not pass standards of proof documents. Gussie Smith was born 6 Nov 1860 according to her death certificate. The witness on the death certificate was her son-in-law and on the certificate he lists John Smith as her father and unknown for mother. Oh boy, what a challenge this will be! After much frustration, as I was looking through my grandmothers belongings that had been passed down to me, I find a document. This is the original discharge papers from the civil war for a James T Colley. The paper was still in an envelope with the words “This is to Sertify that James T Coley was a soldier in the Confederate Army of Virginier – Pitt Smith” Here is a not quite as common Smith name and obviously this Colley must have been family in order for my grandmother to have this documentation. There were also a few other Colley items, including stock certificates and receipts. So now I could look for a Pitt Smith or James Colley that would be kin to John Smith. Alas Pitt had a brother named John Smith and a sister Mary Smith who married James Colley. Through this connection I have been able to identify the Smith family that we descend from.