DNA and the Percentages

I've been looking at the database set up for the descendants of Benjamin Franklin. Of course they were able to construct a massive DNA project. Looking at this site has helped me understand what DNA can do for family historians. The chart (see above) with the predicted relationship percentages was especially helpful. Now I can see you can predict relationships 24 or more generations back, and also look at more recent generations. I did notice that mutations did not happen frequently.

It would be nice to have a known relative of James Forgey or Andrew Forgey tested. I have been trying again to find descendants. This is what I came up with.

James Forgey born 1766 Ireland had one son James R. Forgey

James R. Forgey  had two sons who left male children Gabriel and James R.

Gabriel Forgey's sons:

James N. Forgey

Gabriel Forgey he had two sons Versel Ray Forgey and Gabriel R. Forgey 

James N.  had two sons who lived in Bristol, Tennessee Charles and James Forgey. Charles died in the 1990s I don't know if he left any children.

James R. Forgey Sr.'s sons:

James R Forgey b. 1886 died 1931 Didn't leave any children? Could not find any listed on Census

Frank Harland Forgey b. 1894 d. 1968 Only had two daughters Marion and Catherine

David S. Forgey b. 1898 Was in WWII and stated at that time he had no children?

The Complexities of DNA

The envelope with the DNA Kit

After a great deal of reading about the different DNA tests available I came to the conclusion that the Y test would be the most useful. I ordered the Y 37 marker test. The autosomal test is too general to be useful at this point. I decided to test someone in the line of the Forgey family I have established a circumstantial case for. I am hoping someone in my line will be tested soon. If this person decides not to then I will have my uncle tested.
I am not sure exactly how many generations back I might be able to go with this test? It seems from what I read it establishes a family relationship 8 generations ago with a high degree of certainty.  Hopefully there won't be too many mutations in the markers tested. Over the generations mutations occur occasionally . I am hoping for at least a 35 out of 37 match between my family and John Forgey's descendants.
I am hoping two tests will breakdown my brickwall. I have been searching for other male descendants of Andrew Forgey and Margaret Reynolds in case I need more individuals for my DNA study. I found out there were few male descendants in their son James Forgey's line. He had only one son. Their son John Forgey had the largest number of male descendants. Most of his descendants still live around Chattanooga Tennessee. I don't know where the descendants of Andrew and Margaret's son Andrew settled? They lived in the Shelby County, Tennessee area in the late 1800's. I am not sure if there are any male descendants living now? They don't appear to be in that area now.
I should have no problem finding males in the Andrew Forgey and Anna Roller line to test. There are a number of male descendants in that line. A few years ago someone compiled a list of all know descendants in that line. It was 42 pages and listed a number of males. This list wasn't even complete.
I have been talking about a Forgey DNA study for years. Finally it seems like I am making progress in that direction. I have found two, Forgie and Forgy, results already posted on the internet to compare with as soon as I get the results. Hoping for a breakthrough soon!

Now for something a little different

I thank Liz Tapley the author of the blog My Tapley Tree... and it's Branches , and Randy Seaver Genea-Musings ,  for the chart idea. I made an ethnicity chart for myself. My ethnic breakdown is certainly more complicated than this. I probably have some Native American ancestry, and my Nicaraguan/Spanish line includes some German. My Austro-Hungarian line is likely also Jewish. Which brings me to a quandary should I take an autosomal DNA test, or have my uncle's Y DNA tested? When I started out with my DNA research in 1998 my primary question was whether the Kapple family was substantially Jewish as far as Ethnic origin. I was never really able to verify this using available records. It sounds like I might be able to get a percentage of Jewish ancestry with the autosomal test. On the other hand I have been doing lots of research on my Forgey line and would like to verify what I have found in records for the family. I mainly have a circumstantial case on this line. I would like to buy both tests but can't afford to now; it's either one of the other. Family Tree Finder is having a sale which only lasts until July 21st. So I will have to make a decision
quick.

Roller Church Records

I received a reply from the Reformation Lutheran Church in New Market, VA regarding their records for the Roller family. Unfortunately Anna Roller was not baptized there. The older children were. This is what they wrote:

I just got an email from our historian. Here is the news...we have what we think are complete records, but Anna's baptism is not recorded in any that we have. 

We've found Jacob and wife Eva Roller had three children baptized: Maria Magdalina, Johannes, and Eliner. Grandparents were Johannes and Catarina Roller. 

These entries are in Davidsburg Church Baptisms 1785-1845, New Market, VA . 
We also have Johannes Rolled, no date.

Our Historian found no cemetery records with those names and suggested you check Rader's church records at the Heritage Center, Dayton, VA. She thinks she saw Roller records there.


According to the snippet above Lewis Zirkle donated the land for Davidsburg Church now Reformation Lutheran church. The Rollers may not have lived in New Market, but had their children baptized there because of the family connection? 
I have priced around the cost of getting a copy of these records at several places. The library of Virginia has the manuscripts of these records. They want $25 for a copy.  I've decided to order a microfilm copy from the FHL and save $20. This is a description of the records: http://lva1.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/F/ITAU4IQ1GUUP4H2V5UGDP9LBCQVIEKT41XNLSD2UMJ3BKKCVJN-15204?func=full-set-set&set_number=005332&set_entry=000004&format=999 

Alex Forgey's Son?

1787 Tax List For Washington County VA

A piece of info which could be a major breakthrough regarding Alexander Forgey and his line surfaced this week.  A descendant of Alexander G. Forgey brought a 1787 Washington County Tax List to my attention. A very useful bit of info was provided on this list. A column was set up to record males between the ages of 16 and 21. They were not identified by name, only the number of those in that age range living in household were provided. One male in that age range lived in Alexander Forgey's household. We presume this is a son, but with no ID don't know for sure?  I have ordered an  FHL Microfilm with tax lists from 1782 to 1805. I hope that one of these lists contains the name of Andrew Forgey at some point (the film is on back order, so I may have to wait awhile to see it). 

The 1787 and 1797 Washington County, Virgina Tax Lists are free online. They are selling CDs with the intervening years for $20.00 apiece at this site. No Forgeys appear on the 1797. Alexander Forgey sold his 300 acre land grant in 1795. It appears that the family relocated elsewhere at that point in time. I am thinking they migrated to Knox County, TN, near family. 

It was thought by the author of the book A genealogical history of the Forgy, Forgey, and Forgie families in America, Lucille Wallace, that Jacob Forgey and Hugh Forgey, sons of Archibald, were Alexander's sons. Archibald's line does not use the name Alexander at all. Instead this family uses the same naming patterns as the Hawkins County, Tennessee Forgeys.

A genealogical history of the Forgy, Forgey, and Forgie families in America,  By Lucille Wallace.

Alex Forgey Washington County, VA

I am doing some research on the presumed brother of  Andrew Forgey b. 1732 i.e. Alexander Forgey. My goal is to find out whether Alexander G. and Andrew are his sons.  He and Andrew apparently migrated to Washington County, VA around the latter part of the 1770's. Washington County, VA research is challenging because of record losses. This snippet from The Annals of Southwest Virginia describes some of the missing records:

I've found very few documents mentioning Alexander Forgey. He married Agnes Meeks in Washington County, VA in 1786. I also found Alexander in the Washington County, VA will book. This entry is not related to a will, but is a bill of sale between himself and his father-in-law Samuel Meek. An image of this is posted above.I interpret the above document as meaning that Alexander Forgey's wife went back to her father? I found an Agnes Forgy marrying a James Rogers on 26 Apr 1789 in Washington County, VA. I don't know whether that is a reference to his daughter? (By the way Anne is a nickname for Agnes) I wondered whether Agnes may have divorced Alexander. This is unlikely because early divorces were legislative and none seem to have been awarded before 1803, and only about half a dozen were awarded for that County after 1803 up until divorce was outlawed in the mid nineteenth century. I checked the Legislative Petition Database  and did not find any references at all to Forgey/Forgy.

The land sale below seems to confirm that he didn't have a wife in 1795. All of the other sales on the page refer to husbands and wives.

Land records are some of the few surviving records for that county. A 1782 Commissioner's Certificate for Alexander refers to the same land as the 1785 Grant Document, and the land sale posted above. The land Grant was awarded to him by then Governor Patrick Henry.  It sounds like he was assigned the commissioner's certificate by someone else. These Certificates were awarded to those who settled the area before 1778.

These are some of my sources for Alexander Forgey.

More James Forgey 1802 bible analysis

The page with my likely ancestors entries is a puzzle. It does look like Andrew Forgey's birth info was added after his death info? So everything in that column was more than likely added after the death date of  3 Aug 1809. We can probably surmise this because someone accidentally wrote his death info on the birth side then crossed it out and recopied it in the correct column. 

How, when and by whom all of this was written is a mystery. Was Nancy and Sally's info added before Andrew's? Or were all three added the same day?  It is possible that Andrew's death was recorded around 1809. Margaret's death entry is phrased differently and the handwriting is different. The other death entries have the latin phrase anidomini  and "departed this life". The 1828 death entry is more straight forward and says died.  The 1833 entry for her grand daughter appears to have been added later. It would appear that the last two entries on the page were entered around their times of death. So the impression is that the entries on this page were made between 1809 or a few years before, for Nancy and Sally, and the last entry was recorded in 1833.

The 1833 entry marked the end of the page and the death entries were continued on another page. The second page of deaths appear to be recorded in chronological order as they happened. Entries were recorded in several hand writings, apparently by several people. The phrasings for death ranged from died, departed this life, and deceased.

Apparently someone wanted to clarify the jumbled and partially illegible info from the page with Andrew & Margaret and son James info and recorded this:

Could be the same person who recorded the previous entry? They seem to phrase the entries the same. Also they both misspelled February as Fabruary. 

More thoughts on the bible. It appears that the style of writing most often used in the bible is called copperplate mixed with round hand style.. It was very popular in the 18th century. I was also thinking that maybe a minister recorded the marriage entry for Margaret Forgey in the bible? I don't know whether this may have been customary?  

Also noted an entry for Margaret Forgey mother of James included the abbreviation for senior? Not often used for women.

There is a lot of handwriting to compare in this bible, and a lot to think about as far as word usage and phrasing. Maybe someone with more experience analyzing this sort of thing would be able to nail down the entry dates better.

Nan's Trip Docs/ 1) James Forgey Bible

Nan's trip to our ancestral area in East Tennessee and extensive research and copying has really assisted me in my documentation of our family history. I did not have any original copies of such sources as Andrew Forgey's Will or the much quoted Family Bible.

Above is the citation I created for the bible at Rootsmagic. I find their citation templates so helpful. Another template which I will being using for the bible citation has fields for provenance and analysis. 

I have been analyzing this bible as my time permits. The first thing I took note of is that the bible was published in 1802 in Philadelphia. According to the book Families of Hawkins County, Tennessee, 1786-1994 , the Forgeys brought a family bible with them from Ireland? They came from Ireland in 1760's. I suppose there could be another bible, but I think this is the one they were referring to. Likely no one checked the publication date. 

The purchase date was recorded as 1805 which is also well after their migration to America.

This person F seems different than all other entries?

 Now let's plunge into some handwriting analysis. I love handwriting analysis ( I remember many years ago, when I was a child I had my handwriting analysed by a computer at the local mall) . This kind of analysis can be tricky. Sometimes several people in the same family can have very similar handwriting. For instance my mother and her brother at one time had nearly identical handwriting. My Grandfather Forgey and his brother also had similar handwriting.  This probably has something to do with the style of writing being taught at their local school during that time period, and siblings observing one another.

This is James Forgey Sr.'s bible. He was born in Ireland in 1764. The earliest entry records the birth of Andrew Forgey  4 February 1732, the owner's father. 

 It looks like the birth records for James Forgey's children were added to the family record before  Nov 1810? I assume this because the baptismal info was added later under the original entires for two children. They were both baptized 17 Nov. 1810. All of the birth date entries appear to have been entered by the same person? The 1823 entry for Gabriel Rogers was added later, from the appearance of the writing.

At first glance all of the writing looks similar. On closer inspection there are differences. An example of this is found in the marriage records section. Entry one and two seem to have been written by two different people. The first entry was written by someone who didn't slant their writing as much, and wrote in a larger hand. These two entries are not phrased the same. The first of the two was for the marriage of the bible owner, James Forgey, recorded in bible well after the actual 1791 year of marriage. The second is for his daughter Margaret in 1812, which could have been recorded around the date of marriage? 

It's interesting that most of the entries on this page are in chronological order except the one at the bottom of the page for 1817 which should be above the previous entry for 1830.  Most of the entries were made at different times possibly by three different people? The third writing style is a less elaborate style. Below is a sample of the third writing style appearing on the same page.

It looks like the final entry is in 1853 for the death of the bible owner's son James R. Forgey. It looks like James P. but it is a little hard to read?

I don't know whether James Forgey actually wrote any of the above? I have three examples of what I believe to be his writing. He had a distinctive way of forming his r's and g's which gave the impression when grouped together of a large y? Other people misread that as a K. His y's in the two examples I have show a distinctive curl to the tail, which I don't see in the bible. His writing style somewhat matches one of the early writing styles in the bible, but is a little different. I suppose when you are writing in a public place you may write more hurriedly than at home? This may account for the differences? It is possible that he did write the early entries.

I believe this is and example of his James Forgey's writing?

The provenance of the bible seems to be as follows: it was purchased by James Forgey Sr. passed down to son James Forgey Jr., and then to his son Gabriel Rogers Forgey. then to Gabriel's daughter Evalena Forgey-Morrison then to her son Crockett Morrison.

In conclusion it appears that at least three people, possibly more, made entries in the bible. Some entries were made at an early date, others later. An analysis of writing styles at different periods of time would be helpful.  I think it also would be helpful to see the handwriting of all these owners in order to determine by who and when the entries were written.

Another writing example for James Forgey

Germans and Women

I've been doing a reanalysis of my family history data at Roots Magic and adding more detail to some vague sources. I have been focusing on my German lines. Much research has already been done on these lines. I am doing my best to verify what has been done. There really is a lot to look at and consider. Since much of this info is not sourced it's not alway easy to track down. Luckily many of the males left detailed wills. The family female lines are more difficult. Females seldom appear in early records which makes tracing their families difficult.

 A case in point Maria Eva born about 1713, maiden name believed to Bear? She married  Johannes Ludwick Zirkle. She and her husband lived in Telford, Pennsylvania before his death in 1746.  After his death she relocated to then Augusta County, Virginia with her children. I find her very interesting because she is one of the few female ancestors mentioned in early local records. 

I am trying to verify that Maria Eve's maiden name was Bear or Bare. Her name was recorded as Bear in a Zirkle Association newsletter published many years ago. No source for this info was provided. I've searched using google for any new info regarding this. Many people continue to use Bear as her maiden name, but no one has provided any sources. Doing some more research at the website for the Virginia State Library, the Memory Project, I found a grant conveyed to her in 1755 for 54 acres in Augusta County, VA. A John Bare was a neighbor. Eve Sircle also is mentioned in volume 3 of  The Chronicles of the Scotch Irish Settlement in Virginia by Lyman Chalkley. The references in  this book also regard land transactions, one of which I have a copy of (the one I found at the state library site). The other property reference refers to a patent for 130 acres which was transferred to her by John Bair in 1761. Her eldest son's name is said to be Michael Sircle.

Since Maria Eve did not migrate to Virginia with her husband, she must have traveled there with her family. Since she did live next to a John Bare, and had land conveyed to her by him, maybe he was indeed a relative? I have not been able to locate the deed for 130 acres yet, that may provide some additional info. Someone at ancestry.com gave her father's name as Jack Bear. They did not provide any source for this either? It would be nice to have a source for her maiden name. The record survival rate for this area is pretty good so there could be a solution eventually.

Inferential Genealogy Case Study 2

I just finished studying the second case for the Inferential Genealogy course. I found that I had to go through the whole thing twice before I understood. Since there were so few documents with Obediah's name I forgot what the goal was the first time around :(. I also misunderstood and thought the Partlows were descendants, which wasn't important anyway. The instructor came up with many more details than I recorded in my conclusion and assumptions.

I tend to get bogged down in details. It is difficult for me to pick out the most relevant details. I always have to go over documents numerous times before I  make sense of all the info. I do need practice in the process of document analysis, as I've gleaned for this case study.
This course has helped me recognize that I have not searched broadly enough. I should search the records of neighboring counties. Many of my family locations have suffered record losses, so searching nearby jurisdictions may be helpful. I generally have not researched records after my ancestors' deaths. Searching a generation after may be helpful too. I also have a feeling that I have not seen all of the court documents regarding my ancestors. Like he said the probate process, especially, generated a great deal of paperwork. Sometimes all of these papers were filed in several places including bound volumes, loose paperwork etc. I've found probate documents filed in deed books also. I don't live near my ancestral locations, so I can't visit courthouses easily. If I could visit I am sure I would find all of these various court records which can't be accessed any other way.
After studying this course it is clear that studying all documents regarding your ancestors, and their associates, is essential to solving difficult problems. Looking for every minute detail.

Fergus/ Forgey

While combing through everything related to Forgey at Footnote I came upon a Forgey family unknown to me. I've tried to place all of the Forgey and Forgy families in relation to their immigrant line. Could not place this family at all. I found a progenitor of this family listed in a revolutionary war pension file. A John Forgey was named as a magistrate in Elbert County Georgia. I found him also named in a probate document in Rutherford County, North Carolina. I discovered that this family normally spelled their name Fergus. I also found out the family initially settled in the same area of Pennsylvania as my family, Cumberland County and Chester County. I had noticed Fergus families in Ireland sometimes went by Forgey too. I didn't know that happened in this country. This supports the origin of the name as a variant spelling of the name Ferguson .

I'll have to make note of this family so they don't confuse me in the future. I thought the revolutionary war pension file for James Fergus was fascinating. He kept a journal during his service and presented it as evidence to qualify for his pension. I copied a snippet above regarding his opinion of hospitals at the time. I thought that part was especially fascinating.

Broad Search

We are studying Tom Jones's course on Inferential Genealogy at Second Life, which is available at https://www.familysearch.org/learn/researchcourses . I am presenting an example here of how a broad search helped me to solve a genealogy problem.
My focused goals were to find the parents of my ancestor Nancy Melvin and where in Maryland she was born. She married Elijah Hicks 28 Feb 1823 in Bracken County, KY. I checked online family trees, but could not find one listing her parents.
Step 1. Searched 1820 US Census Kentucky for possible fathers. I found only one possible father in Bracken County, KY. His name was John, and a female in her age range was listed in his household. I also searched Clermont County, Ohio where Nancy lived after her marriage. A William Melvin lived there in 1820, but didn't have daughters in her age range.
Step 2. I ordered a copy of the marriage record for Elijah Hicks and Nancy Melvin from the Bracken County genealogy Society. I received a copy of their marriage bond which John Melvin signed. At this point I felt like it was more likely than not that John Melvin was Nancy's father.

Signatures from 1823 Marriage Bond of Elijah Hicks and Nancy Melvin

Step 3. Searched 1850 Bracken County, KY Census. Found a John Melvin, but he said he was born in Pennsylvania same as his wife. I figured this might be wrong, and just an echoing of the birthplace for his wife.

John Melvin 1850 Census for Bracken County, KY with third wife

Step 4. According to all available census records Nancy was born in Maryland (all Melvins listed in Census records for Clermont County, OH and Bracken County, Ky stated they were born in Maryland). So I searched the 1810 Census for all of Maryland. I found 3 possible fathers in Maryland. One in Worcester, where many Melvin families lived. There was a John Melvin with a female in her age range in Worcester County. A William Melvin also lived in the area.
Step 5. Looked at online marriage records for Worcester, Maryland. Found a marriage for John Melvin and Mary Redden.. They married 24 Nov 1800. Nancy Melvin's eldest daughter was named Mary. A William Melvin married around the same time.
Step 6. I did a survey of all available records for Worcester, Maryland online. Nothing linking the Worcester County Maryland Melvins to Bracken County, KY.
Step 7. Went back to Bracken County 1850 Census looked for neighbors from Maryland. Found a Purnell Redden. Searched online family trees for him, where I found one giving his birth place as Worcester County, Maryland. His father Shadrack was said to be the brother of the Mary Redden, who married John Melvin. At this point felt like I was on to something :)!

Purnell Redden 1850 Census he appears on the page previous to John Melivn (his wife was a Norris and John Melvin's third wife was related to the Norris family)

Step 8. Went back to Worcester Records online and found Shadrack Redden listed in these records which confirmed he came from there. An online probate transcription did name a Shadrack and Mary Redden as brother and sister.
Step 9. Ordered all avaibable land and court microfilms for Bracken County, Ky from the LDS Family History Library. Was not able to make a definite connection between John Melvin and the Redden family.
Step 10.  Decided to research William Melvin of neighboring Clermont, Ohio. Nancy Melvin lived in Clermont after her marriage. She used many of the same names as the William Melvin family, such as Stephen, for her children. The name Stephen was also used by the Melvin family in Worcestor, Maryland. My research in Clermont Ohio records produced nothing either.
Step 11. I posted queries at Forums for Worcester, Bracken, and Clermont explaining how I was trying to link these families and what I had found.

My query paid off big time :)! Someone contacted me by email and told me that there was a biography published in an Indiana County history, which stated that William Melvin's daughter was born in Snow Hill, Maryland, which is the town in Worcester County where the Melvin Family I have been researching lived.

Centennial history of Grant County, Indiana, 1812 to 1912

 I did not have the name of this daughter because she left the Clermont area. I would never think to check a county history in Indiana :). So I now have a fairly good circumstanial case, and feel pretty confident Nancy Melvin was the daughter of John Melvin and Mary Redden of Snowhill, Worcester, Maryland. I am continuing to research this family for further confirmation.

Civil War/ Sorting out Forgeys

I've been using a 7 day free trial for Footnote to try to find some missing Forgeys. I've found some very useful and interesting info. I have tried to assemble complete family groups for the Forgey families who settled in Tennessee. I believe I have identified a grandson , John Forgey, of Andrew Forgey and Margaret Reynolds. I found a John Forgey and Polly listed in New Providence Church records. They disappear from Hawkins County, TN after the 1840 Census. They seemed to have had a large family is 1840. I found a John Forga and Mary Forga family in Marshall County, MS and their family seemed to match the Hawkins County family as far as number of males and females. This family bounced back and forth between Shelby County, TN and nearby Marshall County, MS. Using Footnote I found 3 sons of John and Mary Forgey who served during the Civil War. One son, J. W. Forgey, does not appear on the 1850 Census. I believe that he might be a son of their's anyway? John T. does appear so he is more than likely their son. W. H. also appears to have served; he does not appear with them on the 1850 Census either; but is also more than likely a son of John and Mary.The sons not appearing with John and Mary in 1850 were over twenty years old.

Hope to nail for certain whether this Shelby County, TN family was from Hawkins County, TN. If J. W. Forgey was John and Mary's son, then I may have identified 4 out of the 5 males listed in the 1840 Census?

J. T. Forgey was killed at the Civil War battle of Stone Creek, TN on 31 Dec 1862. The W.H. survived his service. No further info about J. W. during or after the war? Unfortunately no places of birth provided on their Civil War documents.

Made a surprise find in the Civil War records. My ancestor Andrew Forgey's nephew John Forgey, son of Archibald, served as a Farrier in the Civil War. He served in the 5th Tennessee Calvary Company D. Those who served in this Company were from the Clinch River area of TN and VA. They were called the Clinch Mountain Rangers. He died in February 1862. Apparently he was taken from Morristown, TN to his residence Scott County, VA where he died.. John's son Andrew was apparently held prisoner during the Civil War and released in 1865,

Forgey, Forgy, & Forgie etc.

I've been researching the name Forgey and all of it's variations at Genealogy Bank's newspaper collection, and at the Library of Congress's Chronicling America website. I wasn't able to find out exactly which time periods were included in the Genealogy Bank's local newspapers database? A general time period is given for an entire state but not for each local paper. I found a very interesting and helpful entry at the Chronicling America website. Sadly nothing new found at Genealogy Bank. I guess Ancestry.com abandoning it's effort to archive the world's newspapers. Newspapers are a great source I think that is a mistake.

I've also been looking at US Censuses for Virginia and Tennessee again. I have had a great success record when it comes to finding ancestors in the US Census. Finding collateral lines in the south is much more difficult. It could be due to the isolated locations of their homes, and the dislocation due to the Civil War. Also after the Civil War some Confederates may have been unwilling to provide their family info to the US government? 

Scott County, VA Forgeys

This is the Blackwater, VA area. The Rollers and Forgeys worked on an early road to Blackwater Salt Works.

Moving my research for my family history to Scott County, VA. Thought I lost my some of my court record copies. I've been looking for them for the past week, finally stumbled upon them today. So Friday the 13th is my lucky day :). 

Now that I've been able to review these pages again I've developed a new appreciation for them. I have been reading about the history of Scott County, VA, and the Blackwater Salt Works was mentioned. James Forgy is referred to in a court orders regarding the road to the Blackwater Salt Works. It seems that James Forgey Jacob Roller Jr. and Sr., were appointed as overseers of alterations to the Blackwater Road in the year 1826.

I also noticed that in the 1820's Archibald Forgy was living on the North Fork of the Clinch River just like his father-in-law Jacob Roller Sr.

A bounty was paid for killing predatory animals. The Scott County court record below lists Archibald Forgy as killing two wolves under six months old. It's an interesting glimpse into to life in early Scott County :).

My Inzenhof Line

St. Emmerich Ronok Hungary

Before 1999 I had never heard anyone in the family mention Inzenhof, the village of my paternal grandfather's family. My father's parents divorced in the 1940's. My grandmother and her children relocated from Chicago, Illinois to Southern California. My grandfather Rudolph Kapple remained in Illinois. My grandfather Rudolph died when I was very young, and never visited California so I never met him. I've always felt a sense of disappointment because I never met him.  I  felt a close connection to his line of the family. I was told that I looked like one of Rudolph's sisters. I was also told that my surname was likely Jewish and wanted to learn more about that. For many years I questioned my family about the Kapple family origins. No one knew very much at all. My grandmother looked into it at one point and came up with Gratz, Austria as their place of origin. I still wanted to learn more. I wondered what may have happened to relatives during WWII?

I was busy working when I was in my 20's and couldn't pursue genealogy. When I finally got access to the internet in 1999 I began pursuing my interest in the family history. At the local library I stumbled on a genealogy how to book called My Sixteen. The author of the book laid out instructions on tracing immigrant ancestors in a very simple and understandable way. After reading that book I successfully found my family in all the records suggested in the My Sixteen book. Combining all of that with internet research I found out the family was not from Gratz but instead from nearby Inzenhof, Austria. All available records indicate that the family had been Catholic for at least 200 years. I have found nothing to document that they were ever Jewish. 

The histories of Inzenhof and the province of Burgenland are really fascinating. The Burgenland area was very sparsely populated before the 18th century. It also suffered population losses due to war. During the 18th century efforts were made to bring in settlers to this area. It is not known for certain where all of these new settlers came from? Likely many came from the area  around of Gratz?

Until after WWI Burgenland was a German speaking area of Hungary.

Inzenhof WWII War Memorial.
Many of my family names are listed here.

The WWII era really fascinates me. Inzenhof was the location of a slave labor camp. This pdf article makes a brief mention of the camp in Inzenhof,  The Death Marches of Hungarian Jews Through Austria (the first article link on this page). Relations of my family did serve on the German side during WWII. I have not found any records indicating that any relatives were prisoners in the concentration camps.

The Burgenland Bunch published a wonderful diary on the internet regarding a visit of a Burgenland native, then American Citizen, who was visiting her mother and was trapped in the area and unable to return to the US because of the outbreak of the war. Links to the articles An unforgettable visit to the Burgenland Austria and part 2  An unforgettable visit to the Burgenland Austria

It's difficult to get stories about the Inzenhof area during WWII because many documents and newspapers from that era were destroyed. Efforts were made after WWII to hide evidence of crimes. Surviving residents of the area were never willing to share very much info about this time period. I have read stories about Nazis occasionally searching houses, and harassing some Burgenland families.  

The cold war also greatly affected life in Inzenhof. Inzenhof was on the Iron Curtain literally. St. Emmerich Church, the Inzenhof parish church, was located in no man's land during the cold war. The cemetery was located in a mine field. Occasionally someone fleeing communist Hungary would try to cross the minefield into Burgenland. Residents of the area would sometimes risk their lives to retrieve bodies from the minefields. 

Today Inzenhof is a nice middle class area of Austria.  Photos of Inzenhof  today give an impression of a sleepy, rural place. It's hard to envision the chaotic place this was in the past. Peace finally :)!

Inzenhof Austria

What I know, KNOW!

With graves located in Cow Pastures a search line like the one above would be helpful! But I need to locate the Andrew Forgey land before such a search can take place :D.

Here is what I have found in the records describing the land location:

"DEED BOOK 1, Page 133 Deed from NORTH CAROLINA to ANDREW FORGES, No. 78 For and in consideration of the sum of fifty shillings for every hundred acres paid into the Treasury by Andrew Forges, we have granted to him a tract of land containing four hundred acres, lying on Possum Creek in Stanley Valle, beginning on Hugh Crafford's corner in the north side of the valley. Given under my hand and seal this 23rd day of October 1782."

"I do give and bequeath to my son Andrew Forgey, Junior a part of the tract of land I now live on butted and bounded as followeth: Beginning on the main road opposite a cross fence about half way between where I now live and where my son Andrew lives, then along said fence and to continue the course thereof to the back line of said tract. Then with said line to a chestnut corner of said tract. Then along the line dividing my land from a tract whereon Benoni Coldwell now lives to the old road that is nearest to my son Andrew’s fence. Then with said road to the beginning, including the house and plantation whereon my son Andrew now lives."(From Hawkins County, Tennessee Wills)

"Whereas I had given to my son John Forgey another part of said tract and have made him a right to the same which he has since sold to my son James Forgey and has received payment, and I being anxious to secure the said part to James for the considerations above, I do therefore bequeath to James Forgey the said part which is bounded as followeth: Beginning on the road at the place where Andrew Forgey’s began, opposite the before mentioned cross fence, running the course of the same so as to make a straight line across the valley from one line of the grant to the other, and all the land contained in my grant between said line and the line of the tract whereon Benoni Coldwell now lives, and on the opposite side of the above mentioned road from where my son Andrew now lives, including the improvements made by John Forgey whereon Hugh Forgey now lives."(From Hawkins County, Tennessee Wills)

Made A Nice Find

It seems like lately all of my finds are coming from Google Books. I've spent many hours searching but still have not found everything. Plus new books continue to be added. Today I found my likely ancestor Hugh Forgey listed in Most distinguished characters on the American frontier ( By Madge Looney Crane and Phillip L. Crane). . Since I can only get a snippet view I don't have a date or know the exact nature of the document. It appears that Hugh witnessed this certificate assignment.  It looks like Hugh may have signed it? It looks like 17 something may be the date. I tried this with my search and was taken to the page, but still could not see the date. The number 18 used with the name Forgey didn't yield any results.

The Looneys lived in Stanley Valley, Hawkins County TN like the Forgeys. David Looney, who was transferring the assignment of the certicate, owned 600 acres of land in Stanley Vallley.

Reading more snippets from this book I learned about the Squabble State which extended from Virginia into Stanely Valley. Apparently this area was a disputed area. The settlers in the Squabble State sometimes refused to pay taxes. Documents from that era officially refer to the area as the Squabble State. This state line dispute was partially settled in 1802. 

Squabble State as outlined by the Henderson, Walker lines

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History- Pets

I had an assortment of pets growing up from livestock to domestic pets. One of my first pets was a rabbit. Not a very friendly rabbit. I also had many cats which tended to be rather aloof and not too cuddly. We also kept some birds which the cats often harassed. I did enjoy several litters of kittens which were born in our garage. I remember the mother cats tried to move their kittens into my closet :D. 

I remember I also had a tiny turtle named Timmy who would often escape his home. We would have to comb the house to find him.

We also had a rooster which would wake the neighbors up so we had to get rid of it. 

I became very attached to my apricot poodle named Romeo. I got him around the time of my Junior High School graduation. He was much more fun than the cats. He was a very lively companion, and like a little brother to me. He lived to be about 15 years old. It was a very sad day when he had to be put to sleep.

I don't have any pets now. Just no time to care for a pet now. 

More Fun with Maps

The findagrave website has so much great information besides cemetery listings. I found a picture of the marker above at that site. It put me on the right track as to where the Looneys lived. They were neighbors of my likely ancestors Andrew Forgey and Margaret Reynolds. I noticed a street called Looney's Gap road. I thought that Andrew's land may have been located around there. No, after using this sign to do more internet research I determined that the Looneys originally lived near the Forgeys on Possum Creek, but later relocated to the location where Looney's Gap Rd. is, which is on Big Creek. So Andrew did not live near that road.

When I looked at Andew Forgey's land grant again I noticed it specifically says he lived in North Stanley Valley.

I would like to do some research with Tract Books to pinpoint the location of the land.

I am very curious as to whether descendants of Andrew Forgey still own any of his 400 acre land grant?

Stanley Valley

I've been touring the area where my ancestors lived using google street view. They lived in Stanley Valley, Hawkins County, Tennessee and later migrated over the border into Scott County, Virginia.
Stanley Valley is a narrow valley so it should be fairly easy to pinpoint where the family lived.
The only coordinates I have are Possum Creek and according to a great-grandson of the family they lived 17 miles from Rogersville. Using these directions I believe I have been able to get pretty close to where they lived. It's been really wonderful to actually see the area :)! It's really moving seeing the area.

I have also been able to see the ancestral land in Scott County thanks to the directions of distant cousins. Its a very lush green area.
I've contacted a local expert in Hawkins County, TN hoping to get advise on how to pinpoint the exact location of the Forgey land.