Two… or only one?
So The Legal Genealogist is in Frankfort, Kentucky, today for the 41st annual seminar of the Kentucky Genealogical Society.
We’re going to have a lot of fun talking about basic court record, federal court records, copyright and even how to find — and when to tell — the rest of the story.
But that’s not all I want to do in Kentucky.
I also want to find clues, if clues can be found, to one of the family’s most perplexing mysteries.
The question of George.
Now you’ve heard me complain about George before.
George Washington Cottrell is my second great grandfather. He married my second great grandmother Martha Louisa Baker in Parker County, Texas, in December 1853.1 Or maybe it was in Johnson County, Texas, in December of 1854.2 No matter that it was recorded in Johnson County in January of 1855.3
George is the one who first appears in the Texas records in an 1842 marriage in Colorado County,4 followed soon thereafter by — sigh — his indictment. For bigamy and adultery.5
He skated on that charge, and on others, and ended up next door in newly-created Wharton County where, in 1847, he got himself in even deeper hot water: he was accused of murder.6
He was indicted,7 but took off — and was never tried for the crime. The charge was ultimately dismissed in 1857.8
So… where did he come from?
Now George himself said he was from Kentucky. Born in fact on 5 March 1821 “3 miles from Lexington in Madison County, KY.”9 Except that Madison County isn’t — and never was — that close to Lexington. And except that — sigh — there isn’t even a hint of a Cottrell family in the rich, deep and well-preserved records of Madison County.
But there was a George in Shelby County, Kentucky. A George who — from the records — appears to have squandered his inheritance in the 1830s and hightailed it out of Kentucky before 1840.
That Shelby County George showed up sporadically on the Shelby County tax rolls10 until his daddy died and then he popped right on there with all of his daddy’s acreage in his name.11 At least until his siblings forced the partition of the land in 1840.12
Now it sure seems to me that the behavior of the Shelby County George is an awful lot like the behavior of the early Texas George. And the Shelby County George disappears only a short time before the Texas George shows up.
But are we dealing with one man here… or two? One George who lived in both places… or two Georges who just happen to both be scoundrels?
Gotta love these family mysteries…
And oh… by the way … if you’re a male descendant of the Shelby County Cottrells, let’s talk. I have a DNA test with your name on it just waiting…
SOURCES
- Survivor’s Claim, 23 March 1887, pension application no. 7890 (Rejected), for service of George W. Cotrell of Texas; Mexican War Pension Files; Records of the Bureau of Pensions and its Predecessors 1805-1935; Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives, Washington, D.C. ↩
- Ibid., Survivor’s Brief, 17 February 1890. ↩
- See Weldon Hudson, Marriage Records of Johnson County, Tx. (Cleburne : Johnson Co. Historical Soc., 2002). Also, Marion Day Mullins and Norma Rutledge Grammer, “Marriage records, Johnson County, Texas, 1854-1880,” manuscript; FHL microfilm 227498 Item 5. And see “Johnson County Marriage Records, First Book,” Footprints vol. 11, no. 4 (November 1968) 125-128. ↩
- Colorado County, Texas, Marriage Book B: 38, Cotrell-Gilbert; County Clerk, Columbus. ↩
- Colorado County, Texas, Criminal Court Minutes Book A&B, p. 217, Republic of Texas v. G.W. Cottrell, Criminal Cause File No. 251 (1843); District Court, Columbus. ↩
- See From Texas, New York Daily Tribune, 22 Dec 1847, p. 1, col. 4; digital images, “Old New York State Historical Newspaper Pages,” Old Fulton Post Cards (http://www.fultonhistory.com : accessed 8 Jun 2012). ↩
- See Wharton County, Texas, District Court Minute Book A: 9 (13 October 1848); County Clerk, Wharton. ↩
- Wharton County District Court Minute Book B: 7, 28 October 1857. ↩
- Survivor’s Brief, 17 February 1890, pension application no. 7890 (Rejected). ↩
- See e.g. Shelby County, Kentucky, Tax Roll, 1828, p. 17, entry for Geo Cotrell; County Clerk’s Office, Shelbyville; Kentucky Department of Library and Archives (KDLA) microfilm, Frankfort. ↩
- Ibid., Tax Roll 1830, p. 22, entry for George Cottrell. ↩
- Shelby County, Ky., Deed Book G2: 152, deed of partition; County Clerk’s Office, Shelbyville; KDLA microfilm. ↩
You will tell us if it was one George or two, right? I love these kind of genealogical mysteries, especially when they belong to someone else’s family!
If I ever find the proof, I will sure write about it!
I just visited Frankfort, Ky last week but had to go back home to NC before your lecture. I am originally from Warren Co., B.G., KY. If you happen to know much about the Welborn/Newman families in Muhlenberg Co., Ky, please let me know. It seems that the only way I can prove parentage of one of my ancestors, Malinda “Lenny” Caroline Welborn/Newman b. 1801 to James & Elizabeth Dudley Welborn (her parents) is by a lawsuit filed against both her parents’ estates filed in 1843 which lists all their heirs. None of their daughters are in their wills. Any tips or ideas where else to look, please let me know. The lawsuit disappeared from the Muhlenberg Co.,KY courthouse years ago after being seen by a prof. genealogist years before. I have her notarized transcript listing the children including Lenny but not sure DAR will accept the transcript. The KY Archives does not have it either. Any other ideas for me to look? Thank you.
If it isn’t in the courthouse, I’d certainly check the state archives and even the local genealogical society and library. But I’d also double and triple check if it’s really not there in the courthouse.
In our family line the favorite black sheep from the 1850s was Harley Barfield – forger, bigamist, and courthouse arsonist. His records are not in the courthouse because the family stole and destroyed most of them over a century ago to cover up the scandal. He probably died in 1860s Texas.
Just a thought — could there have been two localities in Kentucky at the time named Lexington? According to the GNIS, there was a locality named Lexington Park in what is now Jessamine County. http://geonames.usgs.gov/apex/f?p=136:3:1101813505444::NO:3:P3_FID,P3_TITLE:2558022,Lexington%20Park%20(historical) According to the Newberry Library’s historical county boundaries site, Jessamine has bordered Madison County since Jessamine was created in 1799. I did not look into the distance between Lexington Park and the Madison County boundary, but Jessamine County records might be worth taking a look at if you have not done so already.
No Cottrells anywhere in that area, Chad, but a good thought nonetheless. The Cottrells (all possible spellings considered) who were in Kentucky records at that time were the Shelby County crew (which is where I really think George belongs) the Knox and Nicholas County families, and I think I’ve pretty well figured he doesn’t belong in either of those.
It is so helpful to build a formal timeline of events by year for each person and one for events which could belong to either of the people. In this case, one for George of Kentucky, one for George of Texas, and one for uncertain Georges who might be one of the two.
Gee, whiz!! I’d have never thought of that myself! (Seriously, Doug, come on now… you might give me a little bit of credit for the amount of work I’ve put into researching George over the years. Does the phrase “teaching your grandmother to suck eggs” ring a bell at all? 🙂 )
That is a gentle reminder to your readers to use timelines. I know you already do such things.
With as many gentle reminders as you have these days, you need to launch a blog of your own!! 🙂
My apologies. I won’t post any more of them.
Feel free to post as you wish, Doug — but seriously — you have a lot to say and the blogging community can always use more folks who like to write!
Hi Judy- I descend from the Thomas Cottrill (1750-1836) who resided for some 30+ years in Nicholas County, Kentucky. According to his Rev. War pension application, my Thomas Cottrill was born 16 July 1750 in Shenandoah County, VA and died 27 March in Brown County, Ohio. He was married in the Redstone Settlement 14 May 1775 to a Nancy Gaunce. They moved from Washington County, PA to Nicholas County, Kentucky around 1790 and lived there some 30 years before moving to Brown County, Ohio where he died and was buried on his farm. Do you happen to know if any of his descendants are part of the FTYDNA project? I have not been able to connect his parents. Any direction would be appreciated!
I don’t believe we have any documented descendants of Thomas of Nicholas County in the surname project.