I've completed my initial work on the grandchildren of Massia Byfield. My primary task was to check that all the grandchildren were listed correctly and their children were all listed. There will be a lot of work to fill in the family stories, but I have to get the framework completed first. This would be a good time for you descendants of Massia Byfield to contact me with family stories and photographs!
I'll be starting to work on the grandchildren of Stella Harriet Byfield next. All you McGaughey cousins might want to take a look at the book as it now stands. I know there were some McGaughey children that stayed in Indiana when the rest of the family moved to Minnesota. I would love to know more about them.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Massia Byfield Line Working Copy
I'm working on the Massia Byfield branch of the tree right now and have uploaded a draft version of just this branch. It's still a couple of hundred pages. It's available to view or to download as a PDF file here.
In addition I uploaded a copy of this to bookpatch. I did this so I could get a paper copy to make notes in as I work may way through the families. If anyone wants one of these, they are about 200 pages and spiral bound. Bookpatch charges about $20 to print and ship if you pick the slowest shipping speed. Here's the link:
As always, comments are encouraged!
As always, comments are encouraged!
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Looking for Byfield Genealogies
There are a few Byfield genealogies that I have found in various lists but have never had a chance to look at myself. I am pretty sure the authors are no longer living but I would love to talk to their families about making copies of their work more widely available to researchers. If I could get copies I would be happy to make them available as electronic documents (PDF files) and/or as reprints of the original work.
If anyone can help me with copies of these I would be very grateful. I would be glad to cover expenses for copying, scanning, and such. Send me a note!
The first book is called "Byfields" and was compiled by Hallie Opal Newberry Townley in 1989. I know that the Llano County Library in Texas has a copy and that the Jennings County Library in Indiana has one. Also there is supposed to be a copy at the Idaho State Historical Society.
Immogene Wilson put together several volumes of Byfield information. The only place I see these volumes listed is at the Llano County Library in Texas.
Immogene Wilson also collaborated with Marineal Yarborough Nickolaus and Judy Wilson Miller on a 30 page work called "The Byfield ancestral tree, bough and branches" that I only find listed at the Idaho State Historical Society Archives.
I'm sure there must be other copies of these works but they aren't listed in the places I've looked.
If you know where to find copies of these works or can help me to get hold of them, please send me a note. My e-mail is byfieldbook@gmail.com or you can use the links on the right side of the page to send me a message.
If anyone can help me with copies of these I would be very grateful. I would be glad to cover expenses for copying, scanning, and such. Send me a note!
The first book is called "Byfields" and was compiled by Hallie Opal Newberry Townley in 1989. I know that the Llano County Library in Texas has a copy and that the Jennings County Library in Indiana has one. Also there is supposed to be a copy at the Idaho State Historical Society.
Immogene Wilson put together several volumes of Byfield information. The only place I see these volumes listed is at the Llano County Library in Texas.
Immogene Wilson also collaborated with Marineal Yarborough Nickolaus and Judy Wilson Miller on a 30 page work called "The Byfield ancestral tree, bough and branches" that I only find listed at the Idaho State Historical Society Archives.
I'm sure there must be other copies of these works but they aren't listed in the places I've looked.
If you know where to find copies of these works or can help me to get hold of them, please send me a note. My e-mail is byfieldbook@gmail.com or you can use the links on the right side of the page to send me a message.
Correcting Corbin Byfield
I've been updating Corbin Byfield in my records. I previously had him listed as Cornelius Corbin Byfield. This is an example of how easy it is to pick up a wrong fact and just keep running with it.
Corbin was born 10 June 1832, the son of Horatio Byfield and Jennet Griffith. His name comes from his paternal grandmother, Patience Corbin.
He is found in the 1850 census listed as Cornelius. This was the first record I found for him so I made the assumption that Cornelius was his correct name and Corbin was either a middle name or nickname that he used as an adult. Now I've seen the entries in Horatio's family bible (thanks Lynne) and I know that Corbin is correct and Cornelius is not.
In the 1870 census, Corbin is living with his brother, Horatio (Jr.), his sister Margaretta (widow of Green Malcolm) and her son Horatio Malcolm. Also with this group is Levi Cornell. Levi was an adopted son of Corbin's sister Emily Byfield and her husband William Conway.
Corbin was a bachelor his whole life as was his brother, Horatio. Corbin stayed in Indiana while his brother, Horatio and his sister, Margaretta, and her son ended up in a mining town in Colorado. His father's family bible gives Corbin's death date as 30 July 1893 but other documents give the date about a year later on 25 July 1894.
Corbin was born 10 June 1832, the son of Horatio Byfield and Jennet Griffith. His name comes from his paternal grandmother, Patience Corbin.
He is found in the 1850 census listed as Cornelius. This was the first record I found for him so I made the assumption that Cornelius was his correct name and Corbin was either a middle name or nickname that he used as an adult. Now I've seen the entries in Horatio's family bible (thanks Lynne) and I know that Corbin is correct and Cornelius is not.
In the 1870 census, Corbin is living with his brother, Horatio (Jr.), his sister Margaretta (widow of Green Malcolm) and her son Horatio Malcolm. Also with this group is Levi Cornell. Levi was an adopted son of Corbin's sister Emily Byfield and her husband William Conway.
Corbin was a bachelor his whole life as was his brother, Horatio. Corbin stayed in Indiana while his brother, Horatio and his sister, Margaretta, and her son ended up in a mining town in Colorado. His father's family bible gives Corbin's death date as 30 July 1893 but other documents give the date about a year later on 25 July 1894.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
The Byfield Cemetery in Indiana
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| Byfield Cemetery 1988 Indiana Department of Natural Resources |
The cemetery is located near Big Creek, north of the town of Lancaster, west of highway 7 in Jennings county. If the fields are not too high the one remaining marker can probably be seen from the road.
It appears that this little family cemetery was established by Jesse Spann, a revolutionary war veteran, who purchased land around Big Creek from the government around 1816. He later sold that land to Horatio Byfield. The earliest burial recorded in the cemetery is for Jesse Spann's daughter, Elizabeth in 1825. The first Byfield buried in the cemetery is Horatio's son Alford Byfield in 1846.
The WPA recorded 15 stones in the cemetery in the 1930s. The state of Indiana did a historical survey in 1988 and found that a previous land owner had bull-dozed all but one large stone. I've heard that in 2012 the stone was still standing. It's sad that this is all that is left.
Friday, September 5, 2014
My Complete Ancestor Tree for Abraham Byfield
Here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByJh1OTqQtMVb2MwMFRxaFdJeUU/edit?usp=sharing
is a link to my full descendant tree for Abraham Byfield. This document is about 65 pages and includes six generations of Byfields. The document is a "PDF" file so anyone should be able to view it either online or by downloading it to your computer.
Clearly, there are still a lot of Byfields that are not listed. If you can help fill in some missing information please send me a note. I feel that I've found most of the people that are easy to trace. Now I need some help from the family!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByJh1OTqQtMVb2MwMFRxaFdJeUU/edit?usp=sharing
is a link to my full descendant tree for Abraham Byfield. This document is about 65 pages and includes six generations of Byfields. The document is a "PDF" file so anyone should be able to view it either online or by downloading it to your computer.
Clearly, there are still a lot of Byfields that are not listed. If you can help fill in some missing information please send me a note. I feel that I've found most of the people that are easy to trace. Now I need some help from the family!
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Back on Task
Well, I've been off on other projects for a while and now it's time to get back to work on the Byfield family. I've got a lot of editorial changes to make to the book and then I will start filling in the remaining branches of the tree. If you've looked at the book and have information to add, please send me a note! I'm also very interested in getting permission to use photos of the various individuals or families.
I've corresponded with a few relatives that have given me great information. I'm hoping to start some new conversations in the next few weeks. I would love to be able to add family stories to flesh out the descriptions.
I've corresponded with a few relatives that have given me great information. I'm hoping to start some new conversations in the next few weeks. I would love to be able to add family stories to flesh out the descriptions.
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