Miriam over at Ancestories had a post regarding posting about brick wall ancestors. That got me thinking, not about posting about my brick wall ancestors – which I should do. But about how some brick wall ancestors are stumpers for everyone who comes in contact with them. And about how every line has them in differing degrees. Which led me to thinking about the family lines I don’t actively research at present and why. And guess what – usually I’m not researching on a line because of a brick wall ancestor! But there are differing kinds of brick walls (flemish bond, dutch bond and so on.)
Some ancestors are there but they are speculative. Often this is the case when someone else has identified a potential ancestor, occasionally with a level of documentation that satisfies the original researcher but not me. In many cases this tentative ancestor will link me to a well documented lineage that goes back anywhere from 2 to 6 additional generations. Examples of this abound in early Maine. Sometimes the problematic ancestor doesn’t even have a tentative name. And sometimes they have a name and nothing else. So rather than do an exhaustive post on each one of the many, I thought I’d start out with a simple list of,
Ancestors who refuse to be documented
Thomas Adams, potential father of Anne Adams Gould, possibly Harpswell, York & other counties, Maine, died before 1800. – According to Charles N. Sinnett Thomas is a descendant of Phillip Adams of York, Maine, 1650 signer of the submission to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Sinnett says he married Sarah Tarr and lived in Harpswell, Maine. According to one descendant’s brag book bio – Thomas and possibly 1 or more of his sons were killed “by pirates” at Damariscotta. The brag book said this was near the Barbary Coast – the pirate connection I guess. But Damariscotta is in Maine not too far from Harpswell. No evidence for Thomas or for Sarah have I ever found. However, Anne Adams Gould named her first son Thomas Adams Gould. If I accept Thomas as an ancestor I then have a couple more very well documented generations in Maine. So who knows.
Joseph Gould, probable father of Moses Gould (and Jacob Gould) of Georgetown/Bath and Lisbon, Maine, born c. 1740’s deceased by 1800. There are far too many Joseph Goulds in Maine during this period (seriously, there should have been a law.) Depending on which site/book you believe the various Gould families of Maine are either completely unrelated or completely inter-related. I have found nothing that connects Moses to a specific Joseph except a possible will – one generation removed, several naming patterns and a poorly documented group of websites/book. Depending on which Joseph I accept as my ancestor I could have a fairly well documented English ancestry back to the 1400s. Would be nice.
James and Christian Savage, supposed progenitors of Isaac Savage of Georgetown, Woolwich and Hallowell/Augusta, Maine, born before 1700 in Northern Ireland and died c. 1745 Georgetown Maine. Isaac is one of the best documented early Maine ancestors I have. But his parents seem to have sprung out of the mind of someone(s) before the turn of the 20th century. I’ve found precious little documentation for the existence of either James or Christian (sometimes called Christine Hunter) Supposedly there are land records but I’ve found nothing in the early Maine records. They may the subject of a Boston warning out around 1720 but that is also nebulous. They are driving me crazy.
George Whitman – may have married Phoebe Holly (?) in Orange County, NY around 1750. He shows up on the 1790 census and is dead by the time his family settled in Greenbrier County, West Virginia in 1793.
Adam (and Alice his wife) Carson – Hallowell, Maine in the 1770s, father of Alice Carson Savage who married Joseph son of Isaac Savage – see above. Adam and Alice’s names come from the 1775 marriage record of their daughter and the record of their son William who married Hannah Savage sister of Joseph. There are a few references to Adam in the early records of Hallowell and that is it. A complete and total blank beyond that. (update – I am slowly making progress on this brick wall – I think I may have at least reduced it to a knee high barrier rather than a full wall.)
Joseph Rulon – possible father for Jane Rulon McLeland, although some folks say his name should be David. There is an inventory for his estate from the 1790s in Clark County, Kentucky. And that is it.
?? Overman – possibly father of Penina Jane Overman Swartz. A real mystery man. Possibly named Charles. May have died in Clark County, Indiana around 1820. Possibly has a brother Samuel. Maybe born in North Carolina.
???McLeland – A father for James McLeland – possibly named Robert, possibly married to a Miss Scott, said to have died when James was very, very young. And James may have a sister (actually I am now sure he has a sister named Mary who married a Richard Wharton – that is pretty well documented.) There is a bible record floating around that my kin want to claim for James’ parents. I’m not sure. And it wouldn’t actually get me very far. Not really even 1 well documented generation farther.