AmericaGen Study Group
Chapter 20 Homework
Marceline Beem
Reference: Greenwood, Val D. “Government Land: Colonial and American.” In The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, 4th ed., 495-528. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 2017.
Early in my research days, I often overlooked land records, not understanding the value they provide in the research process. I suspect I am not alone in making that mistake. Now land records are one of my favorite record groups and are always included in my research plans.
According to his obituary, Moses Smith, my 5th-great-grandfather, was born in North Carolina about 1771. By 1806, he was living in the Pee Dee area of South Carolina, where he was ordained a deacon in the Methodist church. That's really all I know about his early years at this point. His Find-a-Grave memorial has his birth place as Rockingham County, the son of John Smith who died in Rockingham County in 1798. I am not sure what this information is based on. I haven't been able to make that connection in my own research.
In researching another ancestor, Richard Grantham of Bladen County, I discovered that a John Smith of Bladen County sold land to Richard in 1775. The land was located at a place called Turkey Island between Downing Creek and Tadpole. Moses married Richard's daughter, Hanna, so I immediately speculated that John Smith of Bladen County is related to Moses. What is that relationship, if any?
I haven't had a chance to research that question yet, but I want to start by studying other deeds for John Smith in Bladen County. Perhaps one of them will give an indication of when John moved to Bladen County and/or where he came from. Fortunately, these records are online, so I can do this part of the research from home. I'm sure there will be more than one John Smith in Bladen County in the 1770's, so I'll create a timeline to help sort out same-named individuals.
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| Deed from John Smith to Richard Grantham, 1775 |
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