Grant Genealogy
Volume 1, Issue 4
June, 2002
- Editor: Marty Grant, Kinston, NC,
USA
- E-Mail:
public@martygrant.com
- Website:
http://www.martygrant.com
Welcome to this issue of "Grant
Genealogy", a newsletter devoted to Grant Genealogy in North Carolina,
Tennessee and Virginia (and other states to a lesser extent).
Please visit my Grant web pages at:
http://www.martygrant.com/gen/grant.htm for documented web pages for
numerous Grant families in NC, TN and VA.
To change your subscription information
(change your e-mail address, or unsubscribe) refer to the instructions at
the bottom of this newsletter.
In this Issue:
Introduction
What I've been doing. Working hard on
my Grant book!
My Grant Book
William and Mary Grant and family of
Western North Carolina
Family
of the month:
James Grant (d 1805) and wife Ann
Diskin of Virginia and Caswell Co, NC
What's New on the Grant Web
pages?
New pages, and recently updated pages.
Expert Advice:
How to use Probate and Estate Records
Web Links
Introduction
I talked to one of my Great Aunts a few
weeks ago. I called her up to see how she was doing. While talking, she
asked me if my Grant book was ready yet. I sort of stammered "No, not
yet, but I'm working on it". Which was true, research-wise, but I wasn't
actually doing any type-setting work on the book any longer. I told her
I'd be glad to send her an unfinished draft copy of the book as soon as
I could get it together.
I looked at the last "version" of the
book I had worked on, and found that I had not done very much with it. I
had created one many years ago which I had quit working on. It was dated
1996, so that was the last time I had edited it. I had another one dated
2000, and it wasn't very far along either. For one reason or another I
had never gotten very far with the book, though I had plenty of data and
20 years worth of research to include.
Well, I decided to get busy, and I
quickly started a new book, using the same general format as my web
pages, and when I was "done", I had a document that was 1200 pages in
length! I printed it out, using both sides of the paper, and this took
me about 2 days to get it printed and collated. I didn't really
proof-read it or anything, but it was huge! I put it in a 5 inch 3-ring
binder and mailed it to my aunt. She was very pleased to get it and
thanked me very much and wanted to send me some money for it, but I
wouldn't let her. She had been one of my most supportive and helpful
relatives in my early Grant research, so I felt she should have it for
free, and before anyone else.
I concluded that a 1200 page book is
too big for publication, at least for me. I made some formatting changes
(fonts, margins, etc.) and reduced the book to about 900 pages. However,
it is far from finished, so it may grow some more before I'm done.
This is what I've been working on for
the last several weeks, and in that time I had totally neglected my web
pages, but now I'm attempting to work on both. See the section below for
more information on my Grant book.
I have also been abstracting Grant
entries from the 1870 census for North Carolina. I don't have the entire
state yet, but I should have it all before too long. I have put all of
the new entries on my web pages for public access.
My Grant Book
I mentioned my book above. Here are
some details. The book is devoted to my line of Grants, namely William
Grant and wife Mary, who came to the Rutherford County, North Carolina
area in the 1770-80 time-frame. The book contains documentation,
commentary, photos, maps, and more.
When completed, the book will contain
every known descendant of old William and Mary, down to the current
generation. As it stands, I have 4,763 names included, all of
whom are descendants of William and Mary, or married to descendants.
This number does not include everyone, but only those I know about.
There are numerous "lost" branches, where I've lost track of a family at
some remote point in the past. Each of these "lost" branches could
easily account for thousands more descendants.
The format of the book is typical,
though with my own style. I have a chapter devoted to the William and
Mary, and then a chapter for each of their known children with progeny.
Each chapter follows that line to the current generations, when known.
I'm only including documentation and commentary on the pre-1900 family
members (with some exceptions). After each section of commentary and
documentation is a Register Report showing all known descendants in a
standard format.
Related lines are included in their own
chapters. These will be of interest to some, but not all, depending on
which branch of the family you are from. Chapters are included for:
Bradley-Dalton-Morris, Mackey, Miller, Evans, Graham and Gilbert. These
of course reflect my direct lineage in the Grant family.
I also have an appendix with all the
Grant census entries in North Carolina 1790-1850. I may have to remove
this in the interest of reducing size.
The index is incomplete at the moment,
only reflecting those in the Register Reports, and not those in the
general text.
Anyway, I will not be printing anymore
draft copies of the book for some time, as that was too much of a job.
I'm not ready for publication yet, and don't really expect to be for at
least a year. I still have much to do. I can only imagine how much it
will cost to get a book this size printed professionally!
Family
of the month:
James Grant (d 1805) and wife Ann
Diskin of Virginia and Caswell Co, NC
This family is fairly well documented.
James Grant was born ca 1733 or earlier, presumably in King George Co,
VA. He is probably the same James Grant who is a son of William Grant
(died 1736) and Margaret Glendening. The evidence for his parentage is
compelling. William did have a son named "James" as named in the Will of
Ann Glendening (1733), Margaret's mother. Our James Grant of Caswell was
from King George County, as proven by his own Will dated 1801 where he
mentions land in King George County, Virginia.
James Grant's descendants relayed an
interesting family tradition, stating that his father came to Virginia
from Scotland having been banished for his support of Prince Edward
("Bonnie Prince Charlie") in the Battle of Culloden. I have no idea if
this is accurate, but there it is.
James Grant married Ann Diskin (maiden
name per tradition) in Virginia and remained there for some time,
finally moving to Caswell Co, NC area in the 1770's.
James and his wife both left Wills
naming heirs, so there family is fairly well known, though some
mysteries remain. James made his Will on 8 Dec 1801, and died before
April 1805, and Ann made her Will on 16 Aug 1807, and died before
September 1808. Some of their children wound up in Montgomery Co, TN, as
did several Grants from Halifax County, Virginia. This suggests a
familial relationship, as Halifax is very close to Caswell. James and
Ann's children, as proven by the Wills and other records:
- John Grant (d 1796 Caswell
Co, NC).
- James Grant (1755/65-1820/30
Rockingham Co, NC) and Elizabeth Powell. (She moved to Macon Co, NC in
the 1830's, as did my own Grants, who were not related to her).
- Reuben Grant (c1755-1809
Surry Co, NC). Revolutionary War Soldier. Married Temperance Freeman.
Widow and children moved to Eastern Tennessee.
- Cornelius "Neeley" Grant
(died 1798 Caswell). Married Lucy Perkins.
- Joshua Grant (1765/74-1845).
Married Ann McNeil, moved to Christian Co, KY (bordered Montgomery Co,
TN), and later to Lawrence Co, AR.
- Diskin Grant (1765/74-aft
1820). Married Susannah Robertson in Guilford Co, NC. Moved to
Spartanburg Dist, SC, then to Montgomery Co, TN.
- William Grant. No further
info.
- Elizabeth Grant married James
Fitzgerald. No further info.
- Mary Margaret Grant married
--- Lemon. No further info.
- Rachel Grant married John
Dennis. No further info.
As far as I know, very few members of
this family remained in North Carolina, though there are a few Grants in
Caswell County today, including my own parents who moved there in 1989.
I don't have a web page on my site for
this family yet. I had one years ago that I deleted due to lack of
documentation. I'll add it back someday (and add documentation to it)
when I have time. I do have a page for
James Grant (Jr) and Elizabeth Powell.
What's New on the Grant Web
pages?
During the month of May and June, I
have created only a few new pages for various Grants, and have updated
several others. I am about to begin work on the Northampton County,
North Carolina Grants, and that is a huge bunch! I still have Tennessee
and Virginia Grants in my sights, but it will be awhile yet before I
work on them. I have also added several new census abstracts for Grants
in North Carolina in 1870. I don't have the entire state yet, but I'm
getting closer.
9 Jun 2002 - Updated page for
William Grant (c1812 SC) and Anna M. --- of New Hanover Co, NC. *
Added 1870 and 1880 census data, and additional data on children, and
reformatted page with nicer font.
9 Jun 2002 - Updated page for
Edmund Hatch Grant (c1822) and Celia Elizabeth Richardson and Martha
Cornelia Wilson of Craven, Onslow and New Hanover Co, NC. * Added
1870 and 1880 census data, some additional children, and reformatted
page.
9 Jun 2002 - Updated page for
Christopher Dudley Grant (1820/25) and Martha Cornelia Wilson of
Craven, Onslow and New Hanover Co, NC. * Added 1870 and 1880 census
data, some additional children, and reformatted page.
8 Jun 2002 - Updated page for
Reuben Grant (1809) and Hester Jarrett and Sarah Ann Dawson of
Craven, Onslow and New Hanover Co, NC. * Added 1870 and 1880 census
data, some additional children, and reformatted page.
6 Jun 2002 - Updated page for
Richard Hatch Grant (1816) and Melvina Gause of Craven, Onslow and
New Hanover Co, NC. * Added 1870 and 1880 census data, some additional
children, and reformatted page.
2 Jun 2002 - Updated page for
James Grant (1755/65-1820/30) and Elizabeth Powell of Caswell,
Rockingham and Macon Co, NC. * Added more data for their children.
1 Jun 2002 - New page for
Michael Grant (c1800) and Sarah --- of Wayne, Greene and Lenoir Co,
NC.
6 May 2002 - Updated page for
John
Grant (c1756) and Margaret Sale of Wilkes and Iredell Co, NC. *
Overhauled page with nicer font, and added census records for John's
daughters.
6 May 2002 - Updated page for
Robert Grant (1787/90) and Jane Gibbs of Wilkes and Iredell Co, NC.
* Added 1850 census data for son William B. Grant (1817).
6 May 2002 - New page for
Dempsey Grant (c1806) and Nancy --- of Johnston Co, NC.
5 May 2002 - New page for
James Grant (c1810) and Matilda --- and Jane --- of Gates and
Hertford Co, NC.
4 May 2002 - New page for
James
Grant (c1791) and Elizabeth Whitaker of Halifax and Wake Co, NC.
2 May 2002 - New page for
Richard Grant (c1815) and --- and Ann Mariah --- of Greene Co, NC.
2 May 2002 - New page for
John
Jackson Grant (c1822) and Nancy --- of Greene Co, NC.
29 Apr 2002 - Updated page for
John Grant (c1785) and Harriett Allen of Chester Co, SC and
Cleveland Co, NC. * Overhauled page with nicer font, and added a little
bit of commentary.
29 Apr 2002 - Updated page for
Edmond H. Grant (c1822) and Celia Richardson and Martha Cornelia Wilson
of Craven and New Hanover Co, NC. * Overhauled page with nicer font, and
added 1860 census data for son Richard.
29 Apr 2002 - Update page for
Jane A. Grant (c1813) of Cumberland Co, NC. * Overhauled page with
nicer font, and added 1860 census data.
29 Apr 2002 - Updated page for
Robertson W. Grant and Sarah Turner of Surry Co, NC. * Overhauled
page with nicer font.
29 Apr 2002 - New page for
Hiram Grant (c1803) and Lany --- of Greene Co, NC.
Expert Advice:
How to use Probate and Estate Records
Reprinted with permission from Family Tree
Magazine Email Update, copyright 2002 F&W Publications Inc. To subscribe
to this free weekly e-mail newsletter, go to
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/newsletter.asp. For a free sample
copy of the print Family Tree Magazine, America's #1 family history
magazine, go to
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/subscribe_mag.html.
Q. What might I find in probate documents? What should I do first when
using these records?
A. Probate documents, also called probate dockets or packets or files,
contain many important papers. These papers might include guardianships
of minor children, estate inventories, wills, administrations,
affidavits, receipts, appointment of executors, lists of heirs, and any
number of other records considered by the governmental authorities to be
pertinent to the settlement of an estate. Every state or country may
have several or all of these records included in the probate record, and
some of them may be filed as completely separate documents. Do your
research before you head out to locate any type of record, and
understand what is and is not included within it.
It is imperative to know whether you are looking at the original papers
or a transcription of them. Whether you are using microfilm or paper
documents, look at the format of the papers. Are the records in book
form on consecutively numbered pages? If so they are not the originals.
Most microfilmed probate records were made from the copybooks, not the
original probate packets or dockets. A probate packet should be an
envelope or file with many pieces of paper that were created throughout
the probate process. These papers, but not necessarily all of them, were
copied into the books in a standard format, so remember that the books
are transcriptions of the original documents and subject to copying
errors. When you write to request copies of probate records, make sure
to specify that you want copies of the original papers and not the
copybooks. It is also important to specify that you want copies of both
the front and back of each paper included in the file.
--Excerpted from "The Genealogist's Question & Answer Book" by Marcia
Yannizze Melnyk, $18.99. Reprinted here with permission from the
publisher, Betterway Books. Available in bookstores or online at
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/store/display.asp?id=70528
Web Links
Marty and Karla Grant website:
http://www.martygrant.com
What's New at Marty and Karla Grant?:
http://www.martygrant.com/gen/whats-new.htm
Grant Genealogy - North Carolina, Tennessee and
Virginia:
http://www.martygrant.com/gen/grant.htm
What's New on the Grant pages?
http://www.martygrant.com/gen/grant/grant-new.htm
Grant Census Transcriptions 1790-1870:
http://www.martygrant.com/gen/grant/grant-census.htm
Grant Discussion Forum (North Carolina Grants
only):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GrantGenealogyNC/
Other Grant websites:
http://www.martygrant.com/gen/grant/grant-links.htm
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