Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: My Best Genealogy Research Find in May 2016

This week's topic for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun is our best research find in May 2016. Without a doubt, mine has to be the information discovered in the Draper Manuscript Collection about my ancestors, Henry Jolly and Vachel Dickerson. Henry Jolly was a veteran of the Revolutionary War and applied for a pension in 1818 when he was living in Washington County, Ohio.¹ Vachel Dickerson married Henry's daughter, Sidney (Siddy) Jolly.²

Back in January, I learned that Lyman Draper had interviewed both of these men, but I was unable to get to the University of Central Florida, which has the collection on microfilm, until May. The collection is huge, so the first thing I did was locate the library's copy of Josephine Harper's guide, discovering that these two men and their families were directly interviewed or mentioned by others in nine different series of the collection. I had limited time, so I hastily scanned the relevant pages and walked away with over 200 images. Not all of the images pertain directly to Henry Jolly or Vachel Dickerson, but all are relevant to events that affected them or other family members.

I am still transcribing these documents, but the best part was an interview with Vachel Dickerson talking about his family, including his in-laws. In one note, Lyman Draper even identifies the names and birthdates provided in Henry Jolly's handwriting!³ The notes have confirmed the following:

• Henry Jolly's parents: Peter & Martha Jolly
• Henry's birthplace: Chester County, Pennsylvania
• Henry's wife: Rachel Greist⁴
• Rachel's parents: John & Elizabeth Greist⁵
• Rachel's brother: John Greist
• The existence of three other Greist siblings, even though their first names are not provided
• Confirmed family legend that Rachel was scalped as a child, and suffered from the wound the rest of her life
• Vachel's parents: Thomas & Margaret (Davis) Dickerson⁶
• Vachel's birthplace: Fayette County, Pennsylvania
• Vachel's siblings: Fredrick, Joseph, Isabella, Rebecca, Ellender, Elizabeth, Thomas and Sarah

Yes, some of these names were readily available from published genealogies and online trees, but none of the ones I examined had sources listed. The Draper Manuscripts allowed me to go back one generation on not one, but THREE direct lines, with evidence provided by the research subjects themselves!


References

1. "Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 27 May 2016), entry for Henry Jolly, Pennsylvania line; citing National Archives microfilm publication Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files. M804, roll 1435.

2. William H. Jennings Esq., "Marriage Record, Washington County, Ohio, July 9, 1789 - April 25, 1822," The Old Northwest Genealogical Quarterly 4 (July 1901); digital images, MyHeritage (http://www.myheritage.com : accessed 6 Mar 2016).

3. "The Henry Jolly Family," Series 9S, Draper's Notes, vol. 1, pp. 79-80; Draper Manuscripts, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison.

4. Series 2E, Samuel Brady and Lewis Wentzel Papers, Draper Manuscripts. Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison.

5.  "The Greist Family," Series 9S, Draper's Notes, vol. 1, pp. 85-86; Draper Manuscripts, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison.

6. "The Henry Jolly Family," Series 9S, 1:79-80; Draper Manuscripts.