"Open" State Vital Records: The Bad and the Ugly

One of Several Posts about Open Government Laws and Genealogy

Previously, we spotlighted several states that are particularly "genealogy-friendly" concerning access to state vital records. Now we wade into the swamp of vital records-access horribles.

At the edge of the swamp are states that have unreasonably long (100 years or more for birth records; more than fifty years for death records; or any period for ordinary marriages and divorces) confidentiality periods. These states include:

• Alabama: 125 years for birth records!

• Alaska: 100 years for birth records; fifty years for marriage records

• Arkansas: 100 years for birth records

• Delaware: 100 years for birth records

• Hawaii: 75 years for death and marriage records

• Idaho: 100 years for birth records; 50 years for marriage and divorce records

• Iowa: 75 years for death, marriage and divorce records; even then, records are simply open for inspection and copying; no copies issued by the state except to persons of a certain relationship.

• Louisiana: 100 years for birth records

• Michigan: 100 years for birth records (on the other hand, anyone can have access to Michigan death records).

• New Jersey: 50 years for marriage records

• New Mexico: 100 years for birth records, but not prior to individual's death (but see below).
  

• New York: 50 years for marriage records AND both husband and wife are known to be deceased.

• Oregon: 100 years for birth records

• Rhode Island: 100 years for birth records

• Wyoming: 50 years for marriages and divorces

Vital Records Access Hell

• Georgia: Birth certificates appear to be available only to (1) the person whose record of birth is registered; (2) either parent, guardian, or temporary guardian of the person whose record of birth or death is registered; (3) the living legal spouse or next of kin or the legal representative of the person whose record of birth or death is registered; (4) a court of competent jurisdiction upon its order or subpoena; or (5) any governmental agency, state or federal, provided that such certificate shall be needed for official purposes. This is my reading of Georgia Code section 31-10-26(a) & (e). The law appears to prohibit the issuance of informational or uncertified copies of birth certificates and even abstracts or indices of birth records. If I'm reading this incorrectly, will some Georgia genealogist or lawyer please set me straight.

• Indiana: Birth and death records are closed to the public and may be disclosed only (1) to an applicant having a direct interest in the matter recorded; (2) when the information is necessary for the determination of personal or property rights or for compliance with state or federal law; or (3) in any extraordinary case that the state registrar determines is a direct tangible and legitimate public interest. That's my interpretation of Indiana Code section 16-37-1-10. If I'm reading this incorrectly, will some Indiana genealogist or lawyer please set me straight.
  

• Kansas: One of the worst! "Currently, the Office of Vital Statistics does allow requests for genealogical research. Pre-1940 records may be requested by an individual related as at least a cousin. Post 1940 records must be requested by an immediate family member." Kansas Department of Health and Environment vital statistics website (viewed 3/27/2008)
  

• Mississippi: "Vital Records are not considered public access documents. Certified copies of records in the custody of the Department of Health may be obtained by persons having a legitimate and tangible interest in such records." Mississippi State Department of Health Vital Records Rules and Regulations (viewed 3/27/2008). The statute says:
• Records in the possession of the Mississippi Department of Health, bureau of vital statistics, which would be of no legitimate and tangible interest to a person making a request for access to such records, shall be exempt from the provisions of the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983; provided, however, nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any person with a legitimate and tangible interest in such records from having access thereto. Miss.Code 1972, 41-57-2 (1983).
  

• New Mexico: "New Mexico Vital Records are restricted access records and are only issued to immediate family members or individuals who demonstrate tangible legal interest," so says the New Mexico Department of Health's website. But, that seems to contradict the statute, which says that records may be disclosed 100 years after birth (but not before person's death) and 50 years after death. See N.M.Stat. 24-14-27. So the Land of Enchantment makes the hell list not only for being unreasonable, but for confusing people as well.

• Pennsylvania: Vital records are not open to the public. Eligible requestors are (1) person named on a birth record; (2) legal representative of decedent's estate; (3) immediate family members; (4) extended family members who indicate a direct relationship to the decedent. Pennsylvania Department of Health vital records website (viewed 3/27/2008).
  

• South Carolina: Entitled recipients: (1) the person named on a birth certificate (if eighteen (18) years of age); (2) the parent(s) named on the birth certificate; or the guardian, or a legal representative of one of these persons. On the other hand, any applicant may be provided a statement that a death occurred, including the date and county of death. South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control vital records website (viewed 3/27/2008).

There are several states (some listed here, some not) that say that records are open to persons with "a direct and tangible interest," or a "legitimate interest," or words to that effect. Without some mitigating factors, this should be enough to consign a state to Vital Records Access Hell. These phrases frequently have no definition, leaving a requestor to the whims of a vital records clerk. It certainly seems to me that genealogical research is a "legitimate," "direct," or "tangible" interest!

Special Place in Hell for Online Records Sites

This series has not been focused on online records. A state can earn kudos without having online acess to its records. But if a jurisdiction is going to have on-line access, it should be convenient and affordable. Alas, such is not the case with the Caddo Parish (La.) Clerk of Court's office, so they are awarded this year's SPIHFORS. The Caddo clerk's online marriage records search function frequently doesn't work properly. And then there's the matter of fees for the other databases: a $100 "setup" fee and $30.00 a month to view images! Outrageous! Just about fifty miles west of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish, in Gregg County, Texas (much smaller in population than Caddo Parish), the County Clerk provides free online access to some of the same types of documents for which Caddo wants exorbitant fees.

Rise Above the Noise and Confusion . . .The Civil War Starts in the Heartland

Our Story So Far: In 1820, the United States Congress decided to link what had been several separate measures to admit Missouri (a slave state) and Maine (a free state) to the Union and to prohibit slavery in the territories north and west of Missouri. This legislative package was known as the Missouri Compromise. The idea was to maintain a balance between the slave states and the free states while stopping any further spread of slavery in the country. However, in 1854, Congress enacted the Kansas-Nebraska Act, organizing Kansas Territory and Nebraska Territory. The legislation effectively overturned the Missouri Compromise by providing that the issue of slavery in the territories would be decided by the people of those places. The result in Kansas was voter fraud and violence. Unintentionally, the Congress had lit the fuse to the Civil War. The following description of the not-so-slow burn comes from the July 1856 report of a select committee appointed by the U.S. House of Representatives to investigate "the troubles" in Kansas:

In October, A. D. 1854, Gov. A. I. Reeder, and the other officers appointed by the President, arrived in the Territory. Settlers from all parts of the country were moving in in great numbers, making their claims and building their cabins. About the same time, and before any election was or could be held in the Territory, a secret political society was formed in the State of Missouri. It was known by different names, such as " Social Band," " Friends' Society," " Blue Lodge," " The Sons of the South." Its members were bound together by secret oaths, and they had pass-words, signs, and grips, by which they were known to each other; penalties were imposed for violating the rules and secrets of the order; written minutes were kept of the proceedings of the lodges; and the different lodges were connected together by an effective organization. It embraced great numbers of the citizens of Missouri, and was extended into other slave States and into the Territory. Its avowed purpose was not only to extend slavery into Kansas, but also into other territories of the United States, and to form a union of all the friends of that institution. Its plan of operating was to organize and send men to vote at trite elections in the Territory, to collect money to pay their expenses, and, if necessary, to protect them in voting. It also proposed to induce pro-slavery men to emigrate into the Territory, to aid and sustain them while there, and to elect none to office but those friendly to their views. This dangerous society was controlled by men who avowed their purpose to extend slavery into the Territory at all hazards, and was altogether the most effective instrument in organizing the subsequent armed invasions and forays. In its lodges in Missouri the affairs of Kansas were discussed. The force necessary to control the election was divided into bands and leaders selected; means were collected, and signs and badges were agreed upon. While the great body of the actual settlers of the Territory were relying upon the rights secured to them by the organic law, and had formed no organization or combination whatever, even of a party character, this conspiracy against their rights was gathering strength in a neighboring State, and would have been sufficient at their first election to have overpowered them, even if they had been united to a man.

Your committee had great difficulty in eliciting the proof of the details in regard to this secret society. One witness, a member of the legislative council, refused to answer questions in reference to it. Another declined to answer fully, because to do so would result to his injury. Others could or would only answer as to the general purposes of the society; but sufficient is disclosed in the testimony to show the influence it had in controlling the elections in the Territory.

The first election was for a delegate to Congress. It was appointed for the 29th of November, 1854. The governor divided the Territory into seventeen election districts, appointed judges, and prescribed proper rules for the election. In the first, third, eighth, ninth, tenth, twelfth, thirteenth, and seventeenth districts, there appears to have been but little if any fraudulent voting.

The election in the 2d district was held at the village of Douglas, near fifty miles from the Missouri line. On the day before the election large companies of men came into the district in wagons and on horseback, and declared that they were from the State of Missouri, and were going to Douglas to vote. On the morning of the election ,hey gathered around the house where the election was to be held. Two of the judges appointed by the governor did not appear, and other judges were selected by the crowd; all then voted. In order to make a pretense of right to vote, some persons of the company kept a pretended register of squatter claims, on which any one could enter his name, and then assert he had a claim in the Territory. A citizen of the district, who was himself a candidate for delegate to Congress, was told by one of the strangers that he would be abused, and probably killed, if he challenged a vote. He was seized by the collar, called a damned abolitionist, and was compelled to seek protection in the room with the judges. About the time the polls were closed these strangers mounted their horses and got into their wagons and cried out, "All aboard for Westport and Kansas City." A number were recognized as residents of Missouri, and among them was Samuel H. Woodson, a leading lawyer of Independence. Of those whose names are on the poll-books, 35 were resident settlers and 226 were nonresidents.

The election in the fourth district was held at Dr. Chapman's, over forty miles from the Missouri State line. It was a thinly settled region, containing but forty-seven voters in February, 1855, when the census was taken. On the day before the election, from one hundred to one hundred and fifty citizens of Cass and Jackson counties, Missouri, came into this district, declaring their purpose to vote, and that they were bound to make Kansas a slave State, if they did it at the point of the sword. Persons of the party on the way drove each a stake in the ground, and called it a claim; and in one case several names were put on one stake. The party of strangers camped all night near where the election was to be held, and in the morning were at the election polls and voted. One of their party got drunk, and to get rid of Dr. Chapman, a judge of the election, they sent for him to come and see a sick man, and, in his absence, filled his place with another judge, who was not sworn. They did not deny or conceal that they were residents of Missouri, and many of them were recognized as such by others. They declared that they were bound to make Kansas a slave State. They insisted upon their right to vote in the Territory if they were in it one hour. After the election they again returned to their homes in Missouri, camping over night on the way. We find upon the poll-books 161 names; of these not over 30 resided in the Territory, and 131 were non-residents.

But few settlers attended the election in the fifth district, the district being large and the settlements scattered. Eighty-two votes were cast; of these between 20 and 30 were settlers, and the residue were citizens of Missouri. They passed into the Territory by way of the Santa Fe road, and by the residence of Dr. Westfall, who then lived on the western line of Missouri. Some little excitement arose at the polls as to the legality of their voting,; but they did vote for Gen. Whitfield, and said they intended to make Kansas a slave State, and that they had claims in the Territory. Judge Teagle, judge of the court in Jackson county, Missouri, was present, but did not vote. He said he did not intend voting, but came to see that others voted. After the election, the Missourians returned the way they came.

The election in the sixth district was held at Fort Scott, in the southeast part of the Territory, and near the Missouri line. A party of about one hundred men from Cass county, and the counties in Missouri south of it, went into the Territory, traveling about 45 miles, most of them with their wagons and tents, and camping out. They appeared at the place of election. Some attempts were made to swear them, but two of the judges were prevailed upon not to do so, and none were sworn, and as many as chose voted. There were but few resident voters at the polls. The settlement was sparse; about 25 actual settlers voted out of 105 votes cast, leaving 80 illegal votes. After the voting was over, the Missourians went to their wagons and commenced leaving for home.

We'll have more on "Bleeding Kansas" in the future.

Once Again, "There Are No Easy Cases in Genealogy"

A key objective of the trip to Missouri had been to further identify Sarah Gilbert Johnson, the presumed wife of my great-great-grandfather Ezekiel Johnson. Unfortunately, I made no progress at all on this issue and it continues to frustrate me. I would have to say that this is my leading research objective right now.

So I had begun to write a post called "A Research Trip Failure," this afternoon when, as these things will, something unforeseen occurred. To understand where I am now (since this afternoon) on Sarah Gilbert Johnson, we have retrace my steps on this relative's history.

Perhaps 45 years ago, my mother told me that her grandmother's mother was an Indian. My mother did not know her great-grandmother's name or anything else about her. I didn't really think any more about the matter for the next four decades. About four years ago, my mother's sister, my Aunt Delorise Gines, published a family history calendar which identified our Indian forebear as "Sarah Gibson." At that point, I took up my current interest in genealogy.

I searched for sometime for "Sarah Gibson" without success. Then one day, I came across the Clay County (Mo.) marriage records for 1867. There, "Ezekil" Johnson and Sarah Gilbert were listed as being married on September 5, 1867. I then focused on the surname Gilbert. I could not find a Sarah Gilbert who really matched the person I believed I was looking for. I came across Ezekiel Johnson's death certificate and it listed Sarah Gilbert as his predeceased spouse. Gradually, over the years, I learned the names of some of Zeke and Sarah's children. I acquired some of their death certificates which also listed Sarah Gilbert as their mother. I became comfortable with the surname "Gilbert."

Nonetheless, I still could not find any individual information on Sarah Gilbert. I found a family in Clay County that conceivably could be her siblings, but the probative evidence was thin. Then, most recently, I found a family in Kansas that, again, conceivably, could be her parents. There are some reasonable theories and assumptions that support this idea, but again, the probative evidence is skimpy.

So my idea was that being on the ground in Missouri might be useful to this pursuit. For a number of reasons, it did not prove useful. Morosely, I began to write the story of my failure. Then I thought, let's take one last shot at this. I began to go through the Missouri Death Certificate Index to examine every person who could be Sarah Gilbert Johnson and every person who could be one of her children.

I came across a death certificate for one Robert Franklin Johnson who died in Kansas City in May, 1955. This man had been born in 1893. I almost skipped over him because I had already (I thought) positively identified a Robert Johnson, born 1876, as the son of Zeke and Sarah. What brought me up short was the address on the death certificate: 2444 Chestnut Avenue. At various times, my grandmother, my great-aunts, my mother and some of her siblings all had lived in that block of Chestnut Avenue. I knew 2444 as the house of my great-aunt Rosie [Rosetta Bell Long,1898-1994].

Looking closer at the death certificate, I noted that Rose Long was listed as the informant. Aunt Rosie would surely know the right information. The father's name was given as "Ezekell" Johnson and the mother's name was given as . . . Sarah Agnes Lewis!

I immediately called Aunt Dee. She said she recalled that "Uncle Rob" had lived in Aunt Rosie's house for awhile and had died there--about a week after her father had died. But she had never heard the name "Lewis" in our family tree.

With this strange turn of events, I went to work looking for plausible Lewises in the census records. And there, things got weirder! In the 1860 census for Wyandotte County, Kansas (the present-day Kansas City, Kansas), there is a 35 year-old Jane Lewis living with 22 year old Eliza Grezinger and 2 year old Sarah Lewis. Both Jane and Eliza are said to have been born in Ohio; Sarah is a native of Kansas. Then the shocker: both Eliza and Sarah are listed as Indians!

I can't find this people anywhere else so far. We know that this Sarah is too young to be the wife of Zeke Johnson.

So am I onto something new or on another wild goose chase?

There are no easy cases . . . .

We're in Kansas City!

We made the trip from St Louis to Kansas City in record time this afternoon with the GeneaBlogie staff photographer (aka Photo Grrl) at the wheel of a 2007 Pontiac Firebird Grand Am. Photo Grrl went to college in Leavenworth, Kansas, several decades ago and is well-familiar with all the speed enforcement agencies between KC and St Louis. On this trip, she showed she still has the right stuff as she evaded every trap the local yokels, county mounties, and state smokies could devise.

Though tired out by the hypersonic journey, we had dinner with Aunt Delorise Gines and made plans for research adventures in northwest Missouri. We'll be heading out to several cemeteries, to the Clay County Archives, the KCMO and KCKS public libraries, and one or two other places. We'll be scanning Aunt Dee's extensive collection of photographs and funeral programs. On Saturday, we'll have a mini-family reunion of sorts.

GeneaBlogie's Mid-Summer Project!

Over the last four or five weeks, I've teased a bit about some great project that's on its way. Well, the teasing is over and our great project has begun! Here it is: we are headed to Missouri on a major research trip . . . but the deal is we are going via Amtrak and for the first time ever there will be live genea-blogging from on board several Amtrak trains! By the time many of you read this (probably Monday a.m.), we expect to be settling in on Amtrak's Coast Starlight enroute from San Jose, California, to Los Angeles. We will overnight in L.A., then on Tuesday evening board Amtrak's Southwest Chief headed from Los Angeles for Kansas City. We'll arrive in Kansas City on Thursday morning. After brief lay-over, we head for St Louis on Amtrak's Anne Rutledge. We'll spend several days in eastern Missouri and southern Illinois, with planned excursions to Ste Genevieve, Missouri, and Prairie du Rocher, Illinois, among other places.

We'll head back to Kansas City to research in Clay County, Platte County, and Jackson County in Missouri, and Wyandotte County and Johnson County in Kansas. Then it's back home the way we came.

We'll be uploading photos (and may be video) all along the way.

As I said, we'll be posting from aboard the train!

I hope you'll join us!

You Say Regetha, I Say Rozetta

Over the last few days, I've been examining the family of my great-grandfather James William Long (1866-1945). When I first described his parents and siblings from the 1870 census of Shawnee, Kansas, I identified his then-two year old sister as "Regetha." I was reading the names from an image provided by a certain large Utah-based company. I then accessed the image from another company that provides service to one of my local libraries, but that I can reach from home. Again, I read "Regetha."

I went back to You-Know-Who dot com and tried to find a record searching for "Regetha." Nothing turned up.

I've lately spent some time transcribing for FamilySearch Indexing and this has honed my skills at reading census enumerators' handwriting. So I enlarged the image and studied it carefully. Aha! It actually says "Rozetta." And this makes sense because James William Long named one of his daughters "Rosetta."

How does Biggest Company dot com index this name? Eventually, I found that they have it as "Rosetha." The Johnson County GenWeb Project transcribed it as "Rogetha."

Now here's a little test of your handwriting decoding skills. If you have online access to the 1870 census for Johnson County, Kansas, go there by searching on James Long. Then look at his father, Richard Long. How old was Richard Long in 1870?

There are several ways to improve your handwriting reading skills, but one that I recommend is FamilySearch Indexing, because you'll be contributing at the same time.

Evidence, Hypotheses, Analyses

This week we resolved the question of whether I'd been researching "wrong Longs" as the parents of my great-grandfather, James William Long. I said that in an upcoming post we'd show how we did that.

Out here in the hinterlands, the NGS NewsMagazine arrived a couple of days ago. As usual, it's got a number of excellent articles. One that I found particularly interesting is What is the standard of proof in genealogy? by Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG, CGL. Dr. Jones goes through a case study showing how the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) applies.

Our problem is not much different from the case presented by Dr. Jones. His study is to find the parents of on Jonathan Tucker. We apply the GPS to the question of whether I've been researching the "right" Long family as the parents and siblings of James William Long.

We know that James William Long was married to Mary Elizabeth Liza Jane Johnson. We know that because (1) we have living witnesses who affirm the truthfulness of that and (2) we have a copy of their marriage certificate.

The first test of the GPS is Was the underlying research reasonably exhaustive? To establish the family of origin of James William Long we have:

1. Living witnesses who attest to the fact of his marriage and the names of his children (this will become important later).
2. His marriage license.
3. His death certificate.
4. The 1870 Federal census of Kansas City, Missouri
5. The 1870 Federal census of Shawnee, Johnson County, Kansas
   
6. The 1900 Federal census of Kansas City, Missouri
7. The 1910 Federal census of Kansas City, Missouri
8. Census records, marriage licences, and death certificates of his children
9. The death certificate of his wife.

[See citations below]

We haven't found any other records or papers that pertain to James William Long in public records or in family records. Is this a reasonably exhaustive search?

Clear and accurate source citations

We take care to cite the sources carefully and accurately so that others can assess the research and evidence supporting the conclusions. Other researchers should be able to replicate the work.

The other three steps are:

Analysis and correlation of evidence
Resolution of Conflicts
A Clear conclusion

In this case, the question is who are the parents and siblings of James William Long. We know that he lived in Kansas City, Missouri. Therefore, we start our research there. We find the following:

• The oral histories of the living witnesses do not yield the names of the subject's parents or siblings, except that one states that his mother's name may have been "Paulina, or something like that."
  

• The 1870 census of Kansas City, Missouri, shows a James Long, age 7, living with adults James, age 39, and Nancy, 35. There are other children in the household as follows: Charlie, 14; Fred, 9, Hannah, 5; Rebecca, 3. The 1870 census did not show relationships, so it cannot conclusively be said from those census records alone that any adult living with any child is in a parent-child relationship. Likewise, any children living together may or may not be siblings.

• A marriage license in the files of the county clerk of Jackson County, Missouri, shows that James W. Long and Mary E. Johnson were married on May 30, 1888. The application states that James was 22 years old and that Mary was 17. Her father gave his consent.

• The 1900 census of Kansas City, Missouri, shows James Long and Mary E. Long residing with six children. James's birthdate is given as October 1866; Mary's as August 1870.

• The 1910 census of Kansas City, Missouri, shows James W. Long and Mary Long residing with nine children. James is indicated to be 42 years old; Mary is said to be 39 years old.

• All of the census entries, except the 1870 Kansas City census, indicate that James was born in Missouri and that his father was born in Kentucky, his mother in Virginia. The 1870 Kansas City census shows that James was born in Missouri, as was his mother, but that his father was born in Mississippi.

• A death certificate on file with the State of Missouri Archives shows that James William Long was born on October 15, 1866 in Shawnee, Johnson County, Kansas, and died on September 23, 1945, in the State Mental Hospital at Fulton, Callaway County, Missouri.

• The informant on the death certificate is Christina Neal, known to the living witnesses as one of his daughters. The censuses show Christina as one of his daughters. A marriage license on file with the county clerk of Jackson County, Missouri, shows that Christina Long married Earl Neal on December 31, 1916.

• The death certificate states James' father's name as Richard and his mother's name as "unknown."

• The 1870 census of Shawnee, Johnson County, Kansas, shows a Richard Long residing with "Palinay" Long, and children Joseph, age 16, John, age 7, James, age 4, Rozetta, age 2, and Eliza Jane, age 4 months. However, it shows James having been born in Missouri. It shows his father born in Kentucky and his mother in Virgina. His father's age is given as 37; his mother's age as 30.

• Records in the Missouri State Archives show that a Paulina Long died in 1888 at age 48 in Kansas City, Missouri.

• Records in the Missouri State Archives show that an Eliza Jane Long died in 1885 at age 15.
  

Analysis and Correlation of Evidence

The death certificate of James William Long correlates with the 1870 Shawnee, Kansas, census in terms of his age and also correlates in terms of his birthdate with the 1900 Kansas City, Missouri, census. The Kansas City censuses are consistent with the Shawnee census with respect to the birth places of James and his parents.

The death certificate is not consistent with the census records with respect to his place of birth.
Information about his birth place on the census records was given by his parents and himself; on the death certificate, this information was given by his daughter who was in less of a position to know.

The death certificate is consistent with the Shawnee census record concerning his father's name.

With respect to his mother's name, it would appear that the Shawnee census record may contain a misspelling of "Paulina." If so, that would be consistent with the oral history. The census record is consistent with the death record of Paulina Long.


Stated Conclusion

The parents of James William Long were Richard and Paulina Long, who resided for some period of time in Shawnee, Kansas.

Citations

2. James Long & Mary E. Johnson, Marriage License, County Clerk, Jackson County, Missouri, License No. 1888K0000315.

3. James W. Long, Death Certificate, Missouri Secretary of State, State Archives,
Callaway County, State File no. 33339.

4. James Long household, 1870 United States Federal Census, Kansas City Ward 2, Jackson County, Missouri; National Archives microfilm M593 roll 782; Page 572.

5. Richard Long household, 1870 United States Federal Census, Shawnee Twp., Johnson County, Kansas, National Archives microfilm M593, roll 435, page 646.

6. James Long household, 1900 United States Federal Census, Kansas City Ward 5, Jackson County, Missouri, National Archives microfilm T623, roll 861; page 12B.

7. James Long household, 1910 United States Federal Census, Kansas City Ward 3, Jackson County, Missouri, National Archives microfilm T624, roll 785; Page: 7B.

9. Mary E. Long, Death Certificate, Missouri Secretary of State, State Archives,
Jackson County, State File no. 5725.

The Right Longs

A few days ago, I wondered if I'd been pursuing the wrong set of parents and siblings for my great-grandfather, James William Long. The catalyst for this musing was information on my great-grandfather's death certificate which I had just received. Now I have concluded that I was following the "wrong Longs." In a upcoming post, I describe how I reached that conclusion using the Genealogical Standard of Proof. Now I introduce the "right Longs," as they appeared in the 1870 census of Shawnee, Johnson County, Kansas:

LONG, RICHARD.................37........M........B.........Farmer.............Kentucky

LONG, PALINAY..................30.........F.........B.................................Virginia

LONG, JOSEPH.....................16.........M........B..........Farmer..........Missouri

LONG, JOHN...........................7.........M.........B.........Farmer...........Missouri

LONG, JAMES.......................4...........M.........B.................................Missouri

LONG, ROZETTA................2.............F..........B.................................Missouri

LONG, ELIZA J...............4/12...........F...........B.................................Kansas


This census entry raises several interesting issues, not the least of which is the description of seven year-old John as a farmer!

First, notice that all of the children, except young Eliza, were born in Missouri. [CAVEAT: The 1870 census did not show relationships. Thus, not every group of children living with adults constitutes a parents-children family unit. It is, however, an odds-on likelihood, and can be corroborated by other evidence such as other census records that do show relationships, probate records, family bibles, letters, etc. In this case, the 1870 census is the only record where this "family" is found altogether. For reasons explained in an upcoming post, I have made the assumption that this is a family unit]. This suggests that the family moved to Kansas sometime after Rozetta was born in 1868. [In a previous post, I identified her as "Regetha." In an upcoming post, I explain the discrepancy].

Second, there is a nine year "gap" between the birth of Joseph and the birth of John. This is unusual because nineteenth century families typically had children more frequently than that. The "gap" could be explained several ways. The family could have had more children in the "gap," but these children did not survive. Or Joseph could be the son of Richard from a prior relationship and not the son of Pauline. Notice that Pauline is seven years younger than Richard and would have been 14 year old when Joseph was born. Or indeed it could be the other way around--that Joseph is Pauline's son from an earlier relatioshp. Another explanation is that Jospeh is not the son of either Richard or Pauline, but some otehr relation living with them. And finally, iy's just possible that Richard and Pauline stiopped having chiledren for nine years.

The most interesting issue is just why this family was in Kansas in the first place. They didn't (apparently) come there during the Civil War or to escape slavery. They came after the war and after Emancipation. And James went back to Missouri.

Now it must be said that Shawnee, Kansas, is just across the river from Kansas City, Missouri. And the Rev. James William Long was the pastor of the Sunnyside Baptist Church, of which it was claimed the pulpit was in Missouri and the congregation was in Kansas. Today, some of his descendants live near State Line Road. So may be it is that they were never very much in Kansas!

Here's what else we know about the "right" Longs:

Missouri State Archives
Pre-1910 Death Records



Long, Pauline 14 Mar 1886

Long, John 19 Feb 1886

Long, Eliza Jane 26 Aug 1885

The Wrong Longs?

The discovery of my great-grandfather's death certificate has raised a number of issues, the first of which is that I may have been researching the wrong family as my great-grandfather's parents and siblings. How could that happen? Easy. Just watch this. My great-grandfather's name was James William Long. I assumed for my initial research purposes that he was born in Kansas City, Missouri. I assumed that because credible witnesses told me that he had lived in KCMO "all of his life." My grandmother, his daughter Annie Florida Corrine Long, was born in Kansas City and left there only twice (to come visit her daughter, my mother). This assumption was furthered by the enumeration of James Long in the 1900 census, which gives his birthplace as "Missouri." [How do I know that this is the right James Long? Well, his wife is stated to be "Mary E." and I can verify from other primary sources--like the marriage license itself--that James W. Long and Mary E. Johnson of approximately the same ages were married in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1888. The children listed are also verifiable from other sources]. My James Long doesn't seem to be on the 1880 census. But, ah, here on the 1870 census for Kansas City, is a James Long of the right age, 4 years old. He lives with his parents, James and Nancy. Now that mother's name doesn't seem to fit some other research, but, oh well, first names and middle names are frequently interchanged in census records. His siblings are Charlie, Fred, Hannah, and Rebecca. My Aunt Delorise (my mother's younger sister) had told me that she didn't know her grandfather's father's name. She had heard him referred to as "Old Man." She thought his mother's name was "Pauline," or something like that. She wasn't sure. And she wasn't sure of his siblings' names. So the James Long on the 1870 census--the only one who matches what I'm looking for in KCMO--must be the one I'm looking for. Right? Well, James William Long's death certificate says he was born in Shawnee, Kansas. The informant is his daughter, Christina Long Neal, a generation older than Delorise. So let's look at the 1870 census for Shawnee, Kansas. And there is a James Long of the right age, 4 years old. His parents apparently are Richard and Palinay (Pauline?) Long. His apparent siblings are Joseph, John, Regetha, and Eliza. But wait a sec, this says he was born in Missouri! So which Long family should I be researching? As I once said here, paraphrasing my former neurologist, "There are no easy cases in genealogy."

Missouri Just Keeps On Rollin' Along

The Missouri Death Certificate Project, that is! With no fanfare, Missouri has now posted images for the years 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, and 1949. That leaves 1933-1944 without images. Congratulations to the Missouri State Archives, the Friends of the State Archives, and all the volunteers who are working on the project!

UPDATE (5/14/07, 10:04 PM PDT): Wow! That was my reaction as I perused the newly added years in this database. I'd been searching for several years for the death certificate of my great-grandfather, James William Long, and now I've found it! And there were some surprises there. First, he died not in Kansas City as I had always believed, but in the State Hospital at Fulton, Missouri, on September 23, 1945. Second, the death certificate says he was born in Shawnee, Kansas, another surprise! The informant was his daughter, Christina Neal. A death certificate is only as good as the informant's knowledge, but Aunt Tina was pretty meticulous about facts like this. I'm still analyzing this information. I'm grateful to the State of Missouri for its help to family historians.

Preparing for A Research Trip

I've mentioned that the Summer 2007 Research Trip might be to Northwest Missouri. At the moment, the matter of such a trip is on hold for a variety of reasons; however, I thought it would be a useful exercise. My maternal Gines ancestors moved to Kansas City from Shreveport about a hundred years ago. Some might be found in Kansas. So here's what I would do.

1. Review and organize notes relevant to Northwest Missouri families (Gines, Long, Johnson, Gilbert).

2. Set research goals and priorities (e.g., find parents of Sarah Gilbert Johnson)

3. Use FHL Catalog as a guide to potential resources.

4. Identify, contact local genealogical, historical societies; document repositories, records offices.

I do this to make sure they know I coming as well. And I also use it as any opportunity to confirm hours, policies, extent of holdings.

Clay County Archives and Historical Library
Tel.: 816-781-3611
210 E Franklin, Liberty, MO 64068
Mailing Address
P. O. Box 99, Liberty, MO 64069
General Information: info@claycountyarchives.org

Platte County Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc.,
P. O. Box 103, Platte City, MO 64079-0103

Museum Address: Ben Ferrel Platte County Museum, 220 Ferrel Street, Platte City, MO 64079
Tel.: 816-431-5121
rootswebcom/~mopchgs

Jackson County (Mo.) Historical Society
129 W Lexington Ave, Mezzanine
Independence, MO 64050
(816) 461-1897, Ext. 305

Jackson County Courthouse
415 E. 12th Street, 2nd floor
Kansas City, Missouri 64106
(816) 881-3242
(816) 881-3234 fax

Independence Office
200 S. Main
Independence, Missouri 64050
(816) 881-1626
(816) 881-4473 fax

Platte County Clerk's Office
415 Third St., Suite 30
Platte City, MO 64079
Phone: (816) 858-2232

Kansas City Public Library
14 West 10th Street
Kansas City, MO 64105

Mid-Continent Public Library
Genealogy and Local History
317 W. 24 Highway
Independence, MO 64050-2747
Phone 816-252-7228
Mon - Thur 9-9, Fri 9-6, Sat 9-5


Kansas City, Kansas Public Library,
625 Minnesota Ave.,
Kansas City, KS 66101.

Kansas State Historical Society
6425 SW 6th Ave
Topeka, KS 66615
(785) 272-8681


Unified Government Clerk
701 N 7th St, Suite 323
Kansas City, KS 6610
913-573-5260

5. Determine locations of potential resources. Match resources to locations.

6. Contact repositories, libraries, etc to confirm addresses, resources, hours, and policies.

7. Contact cousins and let them know travel plans

8. Check to see if there are any Random Acts.


Other than making the travel arrangements, what else should I be doing?

Kansas: Rise Above the Noise and Confusion . . .

Back in cyber-Kansas today, I run into a couple of intriguing issues. To understand them, we need to go back a little bit. Harriet Mitchell Sometime ago, we were looking for the parents of Ezekiel Johnson. And we found a death certificate which listed his parents as Dan Carpenter and Harriet Mitchell. We subsequently discovered that Dan Carpenter was a prominent businessman and civic leader in northwest Missouri. He was married to Martha Pauline Gash. His biographers state unanimously that Dan Carpenter and Martha Gash had no children. Harriet Mitchell, we surmised by strong circumstantial evidence, was a slave born in Mason County, Kentucky. Our strong circumstantial evidence also points to Harriet Mitchell having been owned by Nathaniel Emmons Johnson, a native of Mason County, Kentucky, who migrated to Clay County, Missouri. We know that Clay County was a center of pro-slavery sentiment in Missouri, and that a number of slaves escaped from Clay County to neighboring Wyandotte County, Kansas, by crossing the Missouri River. Wyandotte County was a battleground county in the struggle for the heart and soul of Kansas in the 1850's, and the Civil War. The towns of Wyandotte, Delaware City,and Kansas City were key areas in Wyandotte County. These are now all part of the Kansas City-Wyandotte County Unified Government. Well, in 1895, Harriet Mitchell turns up in Delaware City, Wyandotte County, according to the Kansas State Census. This Harriet Mitchell is 71 years old, the age that Ezekiel Johnson's mother would be. In her household are Mary Long, 38; Thomas Long, 40; Henry Long, 5; Fredrick Long, 7; Lottie Long, 12; Birtie Long, 10; and Blanche Long, 2. Then, in the 1900 federal census, Harriet Mitchell, now 75, is in the same place with Lottie Long, 16; Bertha Long, 15; Alfred Long, 12; Henry Long, 10; Ora Long, 7; and Janet Long, 4. What's interesting is that these children are described as her grandchildren. What makes this interesting is that we know Harriet Mitchell's granddaughter [daughter of Ezekiel Johnson] Mary Elizabeth Johnson, married James William Long. But we've never seen these children before and we can't seem to connect them to the Long family to which we are related. In 1910 we find 85 year old Harriet Mitchell in Kansas City, Kansas, described as "grandmother" to Ora Long, Henry Long, and Mary Strother, who is married to John Strother. Harriet Mitchell's birthplace is given as Kentucky on all of the census records. So we may have opened a very interesting box of mysteries or it may be nothing relevant. Clearly, it means more work ahead!

Abelard Guthrie

Abelard Guthrie was a Kansas "Free-stater" and key founder of the historic town of Quindaro. He was the first Congressional Delegate from Nebraska Territory after passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854. The following is a biographical and genealogical sketch of Guthrie from The Provisional Government of Nebraska Territory and The Journals of William Walker, First Provisional Governor of Nebraska Territory (Nebraska State Historical Society; William Elsey Connelly, ed., 1899), available on Google Books [last visited April 7, 2007].

One fact not mentioned in the sketch is that by the time he married Quindaro Nancy Brown, Guthrie was a rich man, owning more than 1500 acres in Ohio.

Abelard Guthrie was born five miles north of Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio, March 9, 1814. He was of Scotch-Irish extraction, and was possessed of all the persistency and tenacity of purpose of that hardy people. His parents were born in Pennsylvania, and were among the early emigrants to Ohio. They were closely related to the progenitors of the present Todd (or Tod) family of Ohio and Kentucky.

The following genealogical information concerning Mr. Guthrie's family was kindly furnished me by my friend, J. V. Andrews, Esq., the wealthy banker, of Kansas City, Kansas. It is taken principally from "Pennsylvania Genealogies,"chiefly of the "Scotch-Irish, and German," by William Henry Egle, M. D., M. A.; Harrisburg, Pa., 1896.

John Andrews came from Londonderry, North Ireland, to Pennsylvania, in 1737. He located on the Manada, Hanover Township, Lancaster County. His name appears on the first Assessment, for the "East End of Hanover." He married Miss Jane Strain of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Among his children were Hugh, Robert, John, and James. John was a physician; he had charge of the Philadelphia Hospital; died unmarried.

Captain Hugh Andrews was born August 31, 1764. He married Ann Speer, who was born October 2, 1764, and died June 25, 1797. Their children were four in number -- 1. Isabella; 2. James; 3. John; 4. Margaret.

Captain Hugh Andrews was married a second time, to Miss Elizabeth Ainsworth, who was born August 31, 1780. They were married September 10, 1799, and moved to Dayton, Ohio, where be bought property. He bought, also, two thousand acres of land on Mad River, five miles north of Dayton. He improved this tract of land and built a house on it in which he lived, and where he died May 17, 1811.

Elizabeth Ainsworth was the daughter of John Ainsworth, and the granddaughter of Samuel Ainsworth - all born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The children of Hugh and Elizabeth (Ainsworth) Andrews were: 1. Nancy Speer, who married David Shaw; 2. Samuel Ainsworth, who married Miss Margaret Ramsey; 3. James, who married Mary Cornelia Van Cleve; 4. Eliza, who married Alexander Stephens; 5. Hugh, who married Phoebe Cook.

James Andrews and Mary Cornelia (Van Cleve) Andrews had eleven children, six of whom grew to manhood and womanhood, among whom were John Van Cleve Andrews of Kansas City, Kansas, the banker above mentioned, and who married Miss Mary E. Hill of Lincoln, Nebraska. He lived ten years in Pueblo, Colorado; four years in Topeka, Kansas; then moved to Kansas City, Kansas.

Mrs. Elizabeth (Ainsworth) Andrews married James Guthrie, April 22, 1813.

James Guthrie was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, August 19, 1784. His ancestors were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians who came early to Pennsylvania from the North of Ireland. He came to Ohio in 1809, and engaged in teaching school in and about Dayton. He was an energetic man of somewhat eccentric character, but held in high esteem for his industry, public spirit, and genuine worth. His wife Elizabeth (Ainsworth) died September 1, 1850. He was married a second time; this second marriage caused him and his children much trouble. He died August 3, 1860. He and his first wife are buried in Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio, with other kindred.

The children of James Guthrie and his wife Elizabeth (Ainsworth) were: 1. Abelard, born March 9, 1814; 2. Eloisa, born June 19, 1817; married Jacob Light; 3. Margaret, born May 19, 1819; married Isaac Strohm.

Abelard Guthrie was married early in the year 1844, in what is now Kansas City, Kansas, to Miss Quindaro Nancy Brown, a Wyandot-Shawnee girl, of the Big Turtle Clan of the Wyandot Tribe and the Turtle Clan of the Shawnee Tribe. Miss Brown was born in Canada West, and was the daughter of Adam Brown, who was the son of Chief Adam Brown, who bought Governor Walker's father from the Delawares. Miss Brown's mother was a Shawnee. Mrs. Guthrie was, at the time of her marriage, said to be the most beautiful girl in the Wyandot Nation. She was tall and of faultless form. Intellectually she was a superior woman. She was a faithful wife, a devoted, Christian mother. She died at her home on Russell's Creek in the Cherokee Country, Indian Territory, April 13, 1886, and is buried in the cemetery at Chetopa, Kansas.

Four of the children of Abelard Guthrie and his wife Quindaro Nancy (Brown) lived to maturity, two sons and two daughters: 1. James; married Grace ----- ; they have four children: 1. Lucy; 2. Percy; 3. Hugh; 4. Ray; Lucy is Matron of the Government School at Wyandotte, Indian Territory.
2. Abalura; married Charles Graves; died, leaving one son, Clarence Graves.
3. Norsona; married Edward S. Lane, brother of Hon. V. J. Lane, the veteran editor of the Herald, of Kansas City, Kansas. They have two sons; 1. Marsh; 2. Vernon.
4. Jacob; married Dora -----; they have two children 1. Wade Abelard; 2. Robert.

When Abelard Guthrie married Miss Brown he was adopted into the Bear Clan of the Wyandots, and given the name Tah-keh'-yoh-shrah'-tseh, which means the twin brain, or the man with two brains. The name was given to denote his recognized ability. He was supposed, by the Indian system of name-giving in this particular instance, to possess, after his adoption, the brain of the white man and the brain of the Bear (i. e., the Indian).

He died suddenly in Washington City, of heart failure, January 13, 1873. He was there at the time urging upon Congress the justice of some long neglected claims of the Wyandots and himself, and the Shawnee claim of his wife and family.

Abelard Guthrie was not a large man. In his Journal, February 28,1862, he gives his height as five feet, nine and three-fourths inches, and his weight as one hundred and fifty-seven pounds. His eyes were blue, his complexion fair, his hair auburn. His features of face were rugged and strong; mouth large, mobile, firm. Until the very last years of his life he wore his hair like the Indians formerly wore theirs - long, and falling over his shoulders. He was a man of strong religious nature and convictions. All through his Journals be speaks of his faith and his trust in God. He even writes some of his prayers. Had it not been for his strong belief in the justice of the overruling providence of God, he says often in his Journals, he could not have survived many of his trials and troubles.

Quindaro, Kansas

A few days ago we reviewed our Fifth Grade history about the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and its de facto repeal with the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854. These two pieces of legislation effectively turned Kansas into the first battlefield of the Civil War long before the secession of the Southern states. People on both sides of the slavery question poured into Kansas to influence elections in that state.

To say that feelings ran high understates the matter. In Clay County, Missouri, just across the river from Kansas, pro-slavery gangs launched raids into Kansas to terrorize and intimidate the "free-staters." Organizations such as the "Platte County Self-Defense Association" were formed in Missouri as newspapers in Jackson, Platte, Clay, counties editorialized that Missouri should "do its duty" to prevent another free state entering the Union. One source says that a "tidal wave of political hysteria swept over western Missouri." In a notorious incident at Parksville, Missouri, G.S. Park and W.J. Patterson, editors of the abolitionist journal the Luminary, were threatened with drowning and their press destroyed. "And if they go to Kansas to reside," said one agitator, "we pledge our honor as men to follow and hang them whenever we can take them.

The frenzy in Missouri was matched in Kansas. Abolitionists arrived in large numbers from Northern and Northeastern states. Violence broke out between the two groups.

Meanwhile, slaves sought to escape to Kansas. However, this was not necessarily a good idea. The newly established towns of Atchison, Leavenworth, and Delaware City were virtually closed to free-stater and abolitionist. As a result, the free-staters sought to establish a safe haven on the Missouri River below Kansas City. The haven became the town of Quindaro.

Much of the land in the area was owned by Abelard Guthrie from Ohio. He was married to a Wyandot Indian named Quindaro, who used her influence with the tribe to acquire even more land. Guthrie named the town for his wife [who was also known as Nancy]. The town was located directly across the river from Parksville, Missouri.

Quindaro [the town] grew rapidly through 1857 and had promise of becoming the largest town in Kansas. It was an abolitionist stronghold and a stop on the Underground Railroad. This letter describes some of the abolitionist activity.

Kansas City and Leavenworth grew very rapidly and soon eclipsed Quindaro as major cities in Kansas. By the 1870's, most people had moved away from Quindaro. The town had a brief resurgence when Freedmen's University (later called Western University) was found there. But eventually, Kansas City (Kansas) overtook Quindaro.

Today, Quindaro is a section of Kansas City, Kansas, hard by the Missouri River. A statue of John Brown stands at North 27th and Sewell streets.

Quindaro's importance as the first free port and Underground Railroad stop in Kansas cannot be underestimated.

Genealogical Research Note: When looking for black individuals in Western Missouri in the late 1800s, don't forget Quindaro, Kansas! (Regrettably, Ancestry.com has it transcribed as "Quindave" in some places).

Kansas--Who Knew?!

Kansas is thought of as that big flat place of sunflowers between Colorado and Missouri--a long, boring drive on I-70 from Denver to Kansas City, Missouri. And of course, the location of Dodge City, a lawless Western town tamed by fictional Marshal Matt Dillion on radio and television's Gunsmoke.

Most folks know or surmise that Kansas is the geographic center of the United States (or at least of the lower 48 states). Who knew how central Kansas was not only geographically but historically to the social development of the United States? Well, just about anyone who recalls the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 from their school days. (Have you seen Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?). That's not meant to insult anybody--in the last few days as I've researched in Kansas sources, I've been reminded of the importance of Kansas and learned a number of new things myself.

The American social history of Kansas began with the Missouri Compromise of 1820. This was a deal struck between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces in the Congress that banned slavery in the former Louisiana Territory except in the proposed state of Missouri and admitted Maine as a free state. The result was that slavery was banned in the area that became the Territory of Kansas adjacent to Missouri. But then, in 1854, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act that for practical purposes invalidated the Missouri Compromise legislation. The Kansas-Nebraska Act organized the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new lands for settlement. However, the law allowed the new settlers to decide for themselves the issue of slavery.

The Kansas Territory extended from the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains (including Denver). Upon the enactment of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, hundreds, if not thousands, of pro-slavery Missourians flooded across the river into Kansas. At the same time, abolitionists organized companies of anti-slavery emigrants from Northern states to travel to Kansas. The ultimate result, political discord, election fraud, and outright violence, presaged the Civil War.

Slaves ran away from Missouri to Kansas; free blacks were kidnapped from Kansas and taken into bondage in Missouri. As the "Free-Staters" struggled with "Border Ruffians," the territory became known as "Bleeding Kansas." Such historical figures as Henry Ward Beecher and John Brown rose to national attention in Kansas. The violence actually spread from Kansas to Washington, DC. On the floor of the Senate in 1856, Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts delivered an angry speech called "The Crime Against Kansas" in which he verbally attacked southern senators, including Sen. Andrew Brooks of South Carolina, calling them "hirelings picked from the drunken spew and vomit of an uneasy civilization." He accused them of "cavorting with the harlot, Slavery." In retaliation, Sen. Brooks' nephew, Rep. Preston Brooks, went to the Senate and beat Sumner unconscious with a cane. Sumner was unable to return to the Senate for more than three years.

Ironically, the outbreak of the Civil War eased the tensions in Kansas and it became a free state in January 1861.

One more significant battle was fought in Kansas a century after the Kansas-Nebraska Act. On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court unanimously decided the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the most important case for people of my generation. Fifty years later, on May 17, 2004, I was privileged to stand with the President of the United States, the Governor of Kansas, and members of the Brown family, at Monroe Elementary School in Topeka, to commemorate this event.

There's an old saying in political science that "where you stand depends on where you sit." When you find where your Kansas ancestors were sitting in the 1850's, you may have some clue as to where they stood on the issues central to the history of that state and America itself.

Kansas is rich in historical and genealogical resources. Check these out:

• Kansas Historical Society
• Kansas State Library
• Midwest Historical and Genealogical Society Library
• The Kansas Collection at the Kansas City Kansas Public Library
• Kansas Pioneer Project
  
Important Databases at Ancestry.com:
• Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1915
• Kansas Settlers 1854-1879
• Kansas Voter Registration 1854-1856
  

Sarah Gilbert Johnson: A Trip to Kansas, A Step Forward

One of the most elusive of all my ancestors is Sarah Gilbert Johnson. Here's what I know about her: according to the marriage records of Clay County, Missouri, she married Ezekiel Johnson in September 1867. She appears only in the 1880 census of Jackson County [Kansas City], Missouri. There her age is given as 31 years old. Her birthplace is said to be Missouri. It appears that her father's birthplace originally was written down as "U.S." and then stricken through and corrected to read "Mo." Her mother's birthplace is listed as "U.S."

The 1920 census of Jackson County describes Zeke Johnson as widowed, so Sarah apparently died before 1920. I can't find a death certificate for her in the excellent Missouri State Archives.

For awhile, I knew so little about her that I believed her surname was "Gibson." I asked Aunt Delorise about her and she said, "I don't know . . . that's back when someone was an Indian." The story has circulated for decades in the family that Sarah Gilbert was an Indian. That's never been substantiated in any way.

In trying to find Sarah Gilbert Johnson, I've concentrated on Clay County, Missouri. There are several reasons for this. First, that's where she was married. Second, her husband Ezekiel Johnson lived for awhile.

Clay County was a complex place to reside in the mid-1800's. It was known as "Little Dixie" because a lot of Southerners lived there with slaves. Many of these people came from Kentucky, which may explain why the county was named for Kentucky Congressman Henry Clay. There seems to have been a virtual "sister county" relationship between Clay County, Missouri, and Mason County, Kentucky. Just to the southwest of Clay County, across the Missouri River, is Wyandotte County, Kansas (which under a unified government, is now also Kansas City, Kansas.)

Kansas was not a slave territory--indeed, Kansas was a hotbed of abolitionist activity. Slaves were known to escape Missouri by simply wading a cross the Missouri river. So perhaps it would make sense to look for Sarah Gilbert's original family in Kansas.

First, however, a couple of preliminary matters: I think for the purpose of this research, we should assume that Sarah Gilbert was not an Indian. And I think before we cross the river, we should check the slave schedules for Missouri.

The 1850 slave schedule show just one Gilbert in northwest Missouri. That's Abel Gilbert of Weston, Platte County, Missouri. Platte County is adjacent to Clay County on the north and also is just across the Missouri from Kansas. Abel Gilbert has one slave, an 18 year old female. We note this fact; we also casually note that Abel is from Kentucky's wife's name is Hannah. We now move on to Kansas.

On the 1880 census in Wyandotte County, we find William Gilbert, age 52; his wife, Hannah, age 55; and their daughter, Magdalen, age 10. William and Hannah are from Kentucky.

On the 1900 census in Wyandotte County, Hannah Gilbert is the head of a household; William seems to have passed away during the intervening two decades. Hannah is described as widowed at age 67; she is said to be fro Missouri. She lives with a daughter, Mary Perkins, who is 49 years old, and two boarders, Charles Frye and Rada Frye, whose father is said to be from Kentucky.

The 1895 Kansas state census shows Kentucky-born Hannah Gilbert, 65 years old. The 1905 Kansas state census enumerated Hannah Gilbert, 73, from Kentucky, with Mary Perkins, 48.

The other Kansas state censuses tell an interesting tale:

1865
Peace Gilbert 38 M M Labor Ky
Hannah " 38 F B Domest. Ky
Mary F. " 14 F B Mo
Lourella " 13 F B "
Anna " 2 F B "


1875

Wm Gilbert 60 M B Labor Ky Mo (where from to Kansas
Hannah J do 60 F " do
WH do 28 M " Laborer do
Mary Perkins 21 F " servant do
MA Gilbert 7 " " Kansas
Maggie do 3 " ' do
Mimi Read 94 " " Kentucky Kentucky


I'm inclined to believe that Hannah Gilbert was born around 1832 0r 1833. In any event, she would have been old enough to have been Sarah Gilbert's mother. I think we have a good working hypothesis that this may be Sarah Gilbert's original family. The rest of the hypothesis is that the family came to Missouri with slaveowners from Kentucky and at some point, made their way to Kansas from northwest Missouri.

But where is Sarah Gilbert herself? Well, by the time of the 1870 federal census, she was married to Ezekiel Johnson. By the time of the 1865 Kansas state census, she may have been living with the Johnson family in Missouri.

In any event, this is a step forward; now let's work with the hypothesis and see where we get.

UPDATE (4/1/07, 6:35 am PDT): I've just examined the 1870 census and found the family discussed above listed as "Gelbert." The family is enumerated as follows:

Isaac Gelbert, 53, Laborer, Kentucky
Hannah J., 58, Keeping house, Kentucky
Mary Perkins, 20, Cook, Kentucky
Luella Gelbert, 19, Servant, Missouri
Elbella, 5, Kansas
Minta Ann, 1, Kansas

The family in 1870 is found in Quindaro, Kansas. According to historian and law professor Harriet C. Frazier, Quindaro was "a haven for runaway slaves from places such as Platte County, Missouri." Runaway and Freed Missouri Slaves and Those Who Helped Them, 1783-1865 (McFarland & C0., 2004), p. 147. Professor Frazier also notes that Quindaro, once a town of 5,000 persons, hosted a stop on the Underground Railroad. Runaway and Freed Missouri Slaves, at 176. Today, Quindaro has been overtaken by the city of Kansas City, Kansas. In her book, Professor Frazier includes a photograph of a statue of John Brown at 27th and Sewell streets in the section of Kansas City, Kansas, that once was Quindaro.