Cousins and More

At least one genealogical dream has come true for me.  Hopefully, it won’t be the last one and will open the door for many more. Daily, I discover new cousins who descend from my 3^rd great grandparents, John Balus West and Mary Ann “Polly” Swanson.
Recently, I discovered a new cousin, Beatrice, who descends from the same great grandparents.  And even, more… this new 4^th cousin is a 4^th cousin with my 4^th cousin, Joanne, who also descends from the same West grandparents.  For the three of us John Balus West and Mary Ann “Polly” Swanson were our 3^rd great grandparents.

Since I like things organized, I created a chart to illustrate my relationships with cousins. I have included one of these charts below to illustrate the connection among the three of us.  Joanne and Beatrice gave me permission to use their names.  Thanks, Joanne and Beatrice.

Relationship	Lineage of Charlotte Ruth West	Lineage of Linda Joanne Johnson	Lineage of Beatrice Wellborn
MRCAs	John Balus West/Mary Ann “Polly” Swanson	John Balus West/Mary Ann “Polly” Swanson	John Balus West/Mary Ann “Polly” Swanson
Siblings	Alexander Balus West/Nancy Land	Franklin W. West/Cynthia Adeline Holder	Margaret “Peggy” West/Wilson Hendrix
1st cousins	Thomas Harvey West/America Ann McNeil	Thomas Clingman West/Bethanie Triplett	Mary Jane Hendrix/George Washington Wellborn
2nd cousins	William Charles West, Sr./Ada Beatrice McQueen	Dicia Albertha “Bertha” West/George Hayes Walker	Benjamin Wellborn/Artie Wagner
3rd cousins	William Charles West, Jr./Ruth Stella Hughes	Winnie Hazel Walker/Arvil Robert Johnson	George Hayes Wellborn/Mary Wellborn
4th cousins	Charlotte Ruth West	Linda Joanne Johnson	Beatrice Wellborn

Most Recent Common Ancestors: John Balus West and Mary Ann “Polly” Swanson

A few days ago, I met on-line another cousin, Patsy, who descends from those same great grandparents. However, these common grandparents are not in the same generation for Patsy as for the other three of us. They were Patsy’s 2^nd great grandparents but our 3^rd great grandparents.  Patsy is actually a 3^rd cousin to the parents of Joanne, Beatrice, and me.  Therefore, Joanne, Beatrice, and I are “removed” from her.  In our situation, we are 3^rd cousins 1 removed (3^rd cousins 1R) from her. “Cousinships” certainly become complicated!

One never knows where he will find ancestors and cousins.  Several years ago, Joanne and I met through Ancestry.com.  Beatrice and I met a few days ago on the Wilkes County Genealogy Facebook site. Patsy and I, also, met on the Wilkes site.  Joanne became a follower of this blog about the time that I started writing it.  Beatrice has been a reader for quite a while, also.  Perhaps, many more of my anonymous readers may be West cousins!

Furthermore, I have connected with cousins through Family Tree DNA’s Family Finder.  Even though I haven’t found any DNA matches with the West surname, I have found DNA matches with the collateral families of Barlow, Carlton, Ferguson, Isbell, Land, McNeil, and Triplett.

While I take this opportunity to acknowledge these newly-discovered West cousins, I haven’t forgotten those of you from across the county—from North Carolina and Tennessee to the west coast.  All of you have been incredibly helpful as I have sought information about our common ancestors and the places they lived and as I continue to seek answers to the unknowns of our past.   One reason that I have this blog is to share information with you about our common heritage.  Many thanks to Beatrice, Brandon, Brent, Butch, Carol, Debbie, Fred, Jackie, Jeanette, Joanne, Nanette, Nick, Patsy, and my sister, Sandy, for sharing your information with me about our West families.  Many thanks to my other cousins who have shared information about our collateral lineages as well. I appreciate all of you.

More about a Spinster: A Spinner of Cloth or an Unmarried Woman?

Thanks to one of my readers who inquired about the term spinster.  Anonymous asked, “Could a widow woman from the 1800 be described in a legal document as a spinster?  She would be unmarried at the time so is it possible that the clerk could label her as such?”  The question was posted on my September 30, 2011, post, “A Spinster—Not What You Think!”  The question motivated me to do more research on the term, spinster, as it was found in early documents.

In my post on September 30, I related how astounded I was when I found that my 2^nd great grandmother, Nancy Land, who was married and whose husband was still living in 1860, was listed in the 1860 census as being a spinster.  The genealogy librarian at the State Library of North Carolina in Raleigh told me that ladies who spun cloth were often recorded as spinster in the census data.  She did not address its double usage—for occupation and for marital status.

Therefore, in this post, I am sharing some of the information that I have learned on the subject from my Internet research.

Public records, dating from 1800 to 1804 in the New Bern-Craven County Public Library provide examples of the term, spinster, when it is used as an occupation.[i]  I am listing a few examples below to show how various occupations, including that of spinster, were recorded.

10 Mar 1800—Samuel Willis, a free Negro aged 19 years, son of Dorcas Moore, bound to Francis Lowthrop, Esq., as a mariner.

8 September 1800—David Moore, a free Negro boy aged 11 years, bound to Ebenezer Slade as a cooper.

9 September 1800—Sally Pittman, daughter of Jourdan Pittman who is deserted by her father, bound to Nathan Tisdale as a spinster.

10 December 1800—William Jones, orphan aged 16 years next March, bound to Elijah Clark, of New Bern, as a chair maker and wheelwright.

14 December 1801—Nancy Carter, a free person of color aged 8 years, bound to Benjamin Mitchell as a spinster.

According to the 1856 edition of Bouvier’s Law Dictionary,[ii]  in wills and other legal documents, the term, widow, is used to identify a woman whose husband is dead and who has never remarried.  The term, spinster, is given to a woman who was never married.

The Oxford Dictionaries[iii]  traced the origin of the word, spinster, from the late Middle English period in history and determined that the term is taken from the verb, spin + ster, meaning one who spins.  This term was attached to the names of women to denote that their occupation was spinning.  Albeit, this occupation may not have been for remuneration but was work they performed for the family in the home.

Deborah J. Mustard,[iv]  in her on-line publication, provided an excellent explanation of how the word, spinster, likely evolved to describe “the old maid” in the family.  Mustard explained that “the word spinster came into common use during the early 19^th century when the thankless task of spinning cloth had been pushed off to unmarried women as a way to earn their keep in the home.”  Over time, when the masculine form, spinner, began to be used for women as well as for men, the problem was solved to some degree.  However, Mustard indicated that because so many women were engaged in spinning during the 17^th and 18^th centuries, many of these spinners are probably not accurately identified by researchers today because they assume that those ladies identified as spinsters were the older, unmarried women, a common assumption of contemporary society.

According to Jacob Field and Amy Erickson,[v]  the enumerator in the first national census in England in 1801 distinguished occupations for different family members in 96 households.  In this census the term, spinster, was used both as an occupation and a marital designation.  The use of the word for occupation and for marital status was employed for approximately 300 years.  As field and Erickson stated, “Only where the enumerator identifies married women as spinsters is it possible to be certain that he was using the word in its occupational sense.”

From what I have been able to determine, no specific solution to the ambiguity exists.  Therefore, if a woman is identified as a spinster, the researcher will need to dig deeper to find out if she were married and assume that, if she were married, she was a spinner of cloth.  On the other hand, if she were not married, the researcher will assume that she was a spinster as we commonly use the word in today’s society.  However, one must, also, keep in mind that the lady may have been both, an unmarried woman and a spinner of cloth!

I wish I could provide a more definitive answer to my anonymous reader’s query.

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[i] New Bern-Craven County Public Library, Records from 1800 to 1804. (http://newbern.cpclib.org/research/apprentice/apprent1800.htm)

[ii]Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press, 2012 (http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/spinster)

[iii] Bouvier’s Law Dictionary, 1856 Edition, (http://www.constitution.org/bouv/bouvierw.txt)

[iv]Mustard, Deborah J. “Spinster: An Evolving Stereotype Revealed through Film,” Journal of Media Psychology, on-line publication, January 20, 2000. (www.calstatela.edu/faculty/sfischo/spinster.html)

[v] Field, Jacob and Amy Erickson, “Prospects and Preliminary Work on Female Occupational Structure in England from 1500 to the National Census,” (http://www.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/occupations/abstracts/paper18.pdf)

A Spinster – Not What You Think!

Exactly, who is a spinster?  I thought I knew but found out today that I really didn’t know the full meaning.  I thought that the term was used in earlier days, perhaps, in those of our grandparents’ time, to label an unmarried lady who was usually a little older in age, one who was past what one would assume was “the marrying age.” 

In my previous blog I mentioned that Nancy Land, the wife of Alexander Balus West, was listed erroneously as a spinster in the 1860 census.  I knew that Nancy was married and had one son; therefore, she just couldn’t be labeled a spinster.

Recently, I have been in contact with a genealogy librarian at the Library of North Carolina in Raleigh.  I enlisted her assistance to help me locate the grave of Alexander Balus West who was killed in action in the Civil War at Winchester, Virginia.  During the course of our e-mail conversations, she learned that I had thought the 1860 census was inaccurate in labeling Nancy as a spinster.  Today, this gracious and most helpful librarian clarified the meaning of the term, spinster.  According to the librarian, “The word, spinster, has a dual meaning.  In the most common usage in the 1900s, it’s to describe an older childless (and often unmarried) woman, but in the 1800s, ‘spinster’ was often used as an occupation for a woman who spins cloth such as wool or cotton.” 

As I read her definition, a bright light came on in my head!  I immediately thought of the coverlet that Nancy Land had made.  According to my 1^st cousin 1X removed, CALT, who has the coverlet, Nancy Land had grown the flax, had spun the thread from the flax, and had woven the cloth into the coverlet.  Therefore, not only was Nancy listed accurately in the 1860 census as the spouse of Alexander Balus West, but she was also listed accurately as having the “occupation” of a “spinster”– one who spins cloth.  She evidently wanted to be known for her skill as a spinner and weaver in addition to being a wife and mother.  Even in the 1860s, wasn’t she a liberated woman!

In 2009 CALT placed Nancy Land’s coverlet in the Banner Elk Heritage Days’ quilt display of local Banner Elk quilts at the Banner House Museum in Banner Elk, North Carolina, during the Banner Elk Heritage Days.  I have quoted below the description, which was most likely written by CALT, of the coverlet as the description was printed in a guide for visitors.

This woven coverlet is over 100 years old and was made by Nancy Land West

who grew the flax, spun the thread, and wove it into this coverlet when she

lived in Wilkes County on a farm in the Stony Fork area.  Nancy, who married

Alexander Balus West in 1851, became a widow in 1864 and moved to Banner

Elk by wagon with her only son, Thomas Harvey West.  She died the following

year and is buried in the Banner Elk Cemetery in the West-Lowe plot.[i]

Nancy Land West's Coverlet

 What a privilege it was for me to see, touch, and photograph this coverlet while it was on display!

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[i] Exhibit of Local Antique Quilts, Banner House Museum, Banner Elk, North Carolina,  September 2009

Revisions, Additions, Etc., to My Posts

I am constantly discovering new information that I would like to add to previous posts or changes or corrections that I need to make in them.  Therefore, in order to keep you, my readers/followers, up-to-date and informed of these changes, I will post a note such as this to let you know of any changes I have made in previous posts.

This week I added another “Alexander” to the lists of those charted in my August 16, 2011, post, “Using Naming Patterns as a Discovery Tool.”

Also, with the upgrades being made to blogger.com, the comment box was temporarily omitted.  I noticed today that the box has been reinstated.  Please use it to add your comments concerning my posts.  If you would rather not “go public” with your comments, please e-mail them to me.  Most of you who are following this blog have my personal e-mail address.  I look forward to hearing from you. 

Puzzlin' Cuzins

Consanguinity!  What’s that?  Consanguinity refers to the state of all of us who are descended from a common ancestor and are, thusly, related by blood.

Who Are Those Lineal Cousins?

Lineal family members and in this case, cousins, include those who are in a direct, straight-line of descent.

1^st cousins have at least one of the same grandparents.  They are children of one’s aunts and uncles.

2^nd cousins share at least one of the same great grandparents.

3^rd cousins share at least one of the same great, great grandparents.

4^th cousins share at least one of the same great, great, great grandparents.

5^th etc.

Who Are Those Collateral Cousins?

Collateral family members include brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, first cousins, second cousins, etc.  They also include those cousins who are labeled as “removed.”

Who are Those Removed Cousins?

The term “removed” indicates that the two cousins are from different generations.  Once removed indicates a difference of one generation. Twice removed indicates a difference of two generations, etc.

The child of a first cousin is one’s first cousin 1X removed or once removed because that child is one generation away from being a first cousin.  The grandchild of one’s first cousin is one’s first cousin 2X removed or twice removed because he is two generations away from being one’s first cousin.

Many confuse these labels.  A first cousin 1X removed or once removed is not the same relationship as a second cousin.

In other words, full cousins descend from a common ancestor and are of the same generation. Those cousins that are removed descend from a common ancestor but are not of the same generation or, in more common terms, are not on the same level of descent.

Half Cousins – Some individuals consider some “cousins” to be “half-cousins.”  Apparently, there is some disagreement among those who specialize in such genealogical terminology. Those who are proponents of the concept describe this “half-cousin” relationship as being when two individuals descend from a common ancestor but from a different spouse of that ancestor.

Dear followers, have I just confused you even more?  Various charts and tables are available on-line to help you easily sort out these consanguineous puzzlin’ cuzins.

Using Naming Patterns as a Discovery Tool

Before my blogging experience, my writing was relegated to professional materials for my students and colleagues.  With this blogging endeavor, I am enjoying a different type of writing which is much less formal and more conversational, and I am developing a greater understanding of what a writer experiences as he attempts to put his thoughts into words.  Likewise, I am discovering that a writer must follow those compulsions that urge him to write; he must have a compelling topic (at least, one that is compelling to him) before he can sit down at the computer and write.  Furthermore, putting the words into a narrative helps one sort things out. 

Therefore, before I continue with the West Patriarchs, I would, again, like to digress to discuss some information that has been “nagging” me to share:  the repeated use of names in one’s descendants.  Particularly, I am interested in discovering the West sons that were given the name Alexander, a name which does not frequently appear in the Western North Carolina culture but is frequently found among those who settled in the Eastern shore area of Accomack, Virginia. I’m confident that the frequency with which these names are found in the Virginia Colony is the reason that so many of today’s beginning genealogists connect my West family with those Virginia settlers.

Many of our ancestors prior to the latter half of the 20^th century utilized various traditions in the naming of their children.  For example, in an American naming pattern, which is often called the “Old Jones” naming pattern, the first son was named after the father’s father and the first daughter after the father’s mother; the second son was named after the mother’s father and the second daughter after the father’s mother; the third son was named after the father and the third daughter after the mother; the fourth son was named after the father’s oldest brother and the fourth daughter after the mother’s oldest sister;  and the fifth son was named after the father’s second oldest brother or the mother’s oldest brother and the fifth daughter after the mother’s second oldest sister or the father’s oldest sister.  Of course, many variations did occur.  Surprisingly, an oddity in one pattern:  the second wife’s oldest daughter in the marriage was often named after the husband’s first wife using the deceased wife’s full name.  Likewise, if one parent died and the other remarried, the first child born into that union was often named after the deceased spouse.  Furthermore, if one child died, a subsequent child was often named after the deceased sibling. [i]

In Colonial days, according to the law, the oldest son inherited his father’s entire estate.  Therefore, he was given his father’s name to avoid any confusion if the father died intestate.  Later a father might give all of his children the same middle name so that each child could inherit a portion of his estate.[ii]   In my research, I have certainly been perplexed by the multitude of males in a family with the same name.   So now, we know the reason why!

In addition to these patterns, other cultures such as the Native American, African American, Hawaiian, Mexican/Hispanic, and Puritan among many others have their own naming traditions.[iii]

Now let’s specifically address the name Alexander as it occurred in the lineage of Alexander West I.  Of course, this list is a “work-in-progress” as I continue to discover more descendants with that name in my research.  The following table includes all of the Alexanders that I have found this far, along with some basic information which will help to identify them.

Birth Year	Name	Dates	Parents	Spouse
1720	Alexander West I	bet 1720-1730- aft 1790	Unknown	unknown
1751	Alexander West II	1751-1834	Alexander West I/unknown spouse	Hannah Langley
1776	Alexander West *	1776-1860	Solomon West, Sr./Isabella Boyd	unknown
1783	Alexander West III	1783-1864	Alexander West II/Hannah Langley	Patience Allen
1828	Alexander Balus West	1828-1864	John Balus West/Mary Ann “Polly” Swanson	Nancy Land
1867	Alexander “Alic” Lee Barnett	abt 1867-1951	William Hamilton Barnett/Mary Ann West***	unknown
1884	A.Judson West**	1884-1884	Thomas Harvey West/America Ann McNeil	none
1892	Alexander T. West	1892-1917	William Thomas West, Jr./Rachel Eller	unknown
1894	Ira Alexander West	1894-1954	James Harvey West/Mary M. Joplin	Fannie Ann Kilby
1899	Willard A. West**	1899-bef 1903	Thomas Harvey West/America Ann McNeil	none

Published 8-16-11; additions: 9-6-11

*According to DNA testing, the Alexander West, son of Solomon West, Sr./Isabella Boyd, was apparently not part of this lineage.  However, I have included him because, for some reason, my intuition tells me that a connection exists.  Otherwise, why would the son of Solomon and Isabella West have been named “Alexander” with no other Alexanders in the family.  Before the DNA results, I was erroneously confident that Solomon West and Alexander West I were brothers.  Hence, the necessity of having a strong “paper trail” is most evident.  If you missed the blog about the DNA testing, please refer to “The DNA” posted on July 11, 2011.

**No documentation has provided the name for the initial “A” in the names of these two children of Thomas Harvey West and America Ann McNeil.  Again, my intuition indicates that the “A” could have been for “Alexander.”  According to naming traditions, a deceased child’s name was frequently given to a sibling born later. By using the name, Alexander, the name would have been perpetuated had one of them lived.

***Mary Ann West Barnett (1837-1917) was the daughter of John Balus West/Mary Ann “Polly” Swanson.

In an analysis of these names in the table, conclusions may be made relative to the ancestors for whom they were mostly likely named.

·         Alexander West II (1751-1834) was a first son in his family who was named for his father, Alexander West I.

·         Alexander West (1776-1860) was a second son in his family and was possibly named for his father’s brother, if, indeed, this connection exists with my West lineage.

·         Alexander West III (1783-1864) was a first son in his family who was named for his father, Alexander West II, and his grandfather, Alexander West I.

·         Alexander Balus West (1828-1864) was a second son in his family who was named for his father, John Balus West, his grandfather, John West, and his great grandfather, Alexander West I.

·         Alexander “Alic” Lee Barnett (abt 1867-1951) was a first son in his family who was named for his maternal uncle, Alexander Balus West, who was killed in 1864 in the Civil War three years prior to his birth, and for his maternal 2^nd great grandfather, Alexander West I.

·         A. Judson West was a first son in his family whose first name may have been Alexander.  If so, he was named for his grandfather, Alexander Balus West, and his 3^rd great grandfather, Alexander West I.

·         Alexander T. West (1892-1917) was a first son in his family who was named for his 3^rd great grandfather Alexander West I.

·         Willard A. West (1899-bef 1903) was a fifth son in his family whose middle name may have been Alexander.  If so, he was named for his deceased brother, A. Judson West, his grandfather, Alexander Balus West, and his 3^rd great grandfather, Alexander West I.

Another puzzling question in the naming of these West sons is, “Where did the name, John, originate in the schema?”   My suspicion is that a “John” existed in Alexander West I’s family as a father, grandfather, or brother.  In fact, in the documentation of property in the 1750’s in Surry and Wilkes Counties, a John West, Sr. and a John West, Jr. were noted in connection to Alexander West I.  But, again, no documentation has been found to prove any relationships.

Again, I have been puzzled by the name, Balus, which is spelled in various ways (Balius, Baylus, Baylis, Bayliss, etc.).  I use the spelling, Balus, which is found in the most recent property records of those belonging to Alexander Balus West.  John Balus West could not read or write and only made his “X” on legal documents.  Evidently, those who wrote his name on these documents used various forms of spelling, and he, not being able to read or write, was unable to make a correction in the spelling of his name.  I have searched records looking for a relative who may have been named Balus but have found none.  I did find a very plausible explanation in a posting on Ancestry.com by the daughter of Irene Hendrix Basey, who is the 2^nd great granddaughter of John Balus West/Mary Ann “Polly” Swanson.  In Irene’s documents, she indicated that in South Carolina, where John Balus West was born, many people named their sons in honor of a prominent South Carolinian, John Baylis Earl.[iv]  Of course, the name, John, came from John Balus’ father, John West, and probably with some deference, also, to John Baylis Earl.  I’m sure that just seemed to be a good fit!

As one looks at these analyses, he will recognize that many assumptions and deductions are made relying on the evidence at hand.  Hopefully, with time and more research, these assumptions and deductions may be proved or disproved with documentation.

[i] http://www.byub.org/ancestors/records/vital/extra5.html;   http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~genepool/naming.htm;

http://wiki.name.com/en/Naming Traditions In The_United_States;

[ii] http://wiki.name.com/en/Naming Traditions  In The United_States

[iii] http://wiki.name.com/en/Naming_Traditions_In_The_United_States

[iv]http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/20904524/person/1110849032/media/1?pgnum=1&pg=0&pgpl=pid%7cpgNum

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