Deed - Isaac Z and Amanda Shelton to Samuel Stewart, 26 February 1895

I Z Shelton + wife
      to deed
Samuel Stewart

For and in Consideration of five hundred and
fifty Dollars to me in hand paid. I have this day bargained
and sold and do hereby transfer and Convey unto Samuel Stewart
a Certain tract or parcel of land lying and being in the 1^st Civil District
of White County Tennessee, and described as follows to-wit:
Beginning on a Hickory near the S.W. Corner of a tract of land
deeded by Richard Mauldin and his wife Ann Mauldin
to Rachel Sims, running thence East on a line of the same 3 3/4
Poles to a Rock Corner of a tract of land conveyed by Richard
Mauldin and wife to Taylor Clark (Col)[,] thence N. 10° E. 10 3/4
Poles to a Rock a Corner of same[,] thence N. 28° E with a line of
the Lowery land 23 3/4 poles to his part oaks corner of the same[,]
Thence N 60 1/2 poles to a Rock said Sheltons S.E. Corner of tract conveyed
to him by J C Vandiver[,] thence west 14 Poles to a Rock[,] thence Southwest-
hardly 45 poles to a Rock[,] thence west 34 poles to a rock in the line of
a tract Sold by A. H. P Sims to J C Vandiver[,] thence S 2 1/2o
East with said line 45 poles to the Beginning[.] Also one
other tract described as follows[:] Beginning on a Rock in the
old Lowery line of said Sheltons S.E. Corner of a tract of land
Conveyed to him by J.C. Vandiver, running thence N 12 3/4 poles
to a Rock[,] thence west 13 1/2 poles to a Rock[,] thence Southwestwardly 12 3/4 poles
to a Rock[,] thence East 14 1/2 poles to the Beginning[.] [T]o have and to hold
the said tracts or parcels of land to the said Samuel Stewart and his
hers and assigns forever[.] [A]nd I do Covenant with the said
Samuel Stewart that I am lawfully seized and possessed of said
land and have a good right to Convey the same and the same is
unencumbered and I bind myself my heirs and represent-
atives to forever warrant and defend the title of said land[,] Except
about 3/4 of an acre in the S.W Corner of the above first
tract which was, heretofore was conveyed by deed to George Robinson
(Col) by said I. Z. Shelton[,] his heirs and assigns forever against
the lawful Claims of all persons whomsoever. In testimony
whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature this 26th day
of Feb 1895[.]
            I Z A Shelton {signature}
            Amanda Shelton {mark}

White County, Tennessee, Register of Deeds Volume 39:  137, I Z Shelton to Samuel Stewart, 26 February 1895: FHL 507916.

Transcribed: 19 November 2016 by Phillip Ciske

Deed - Isaac Z and Amanda Shelton to George and Florence Robinson, 22 December 1894

I Z Shelton
      To Deed
For and in consideration of fifteen
dollars to us in hand paid, the receipt of which is here
acknowledged we have this day bargained and sold
and by these presents do transfer and Convey unto
George Robinson and his wife Florence and their
heirs; a Certain tract or parcel of land, lying and
being in White County, and state of Tennessee in
District no “1”, and bounded and described as
as follows: Beginning on a Rock in George Rob-
insons South boundary line, running thence West
10 1/2 Poles to a Rock; Thence North 9 1/2 Poles to a Rock,
Thence East 12 1/4 Poles to a Rock; Thence South 10 1/2 Poles
to the Beginning, Containing about one acre
more or less[.] To have and to hold said tract or
parcel of land to the said George and Florence Rob-
inson and their heirs forever: We Covenant with the
said George and Florence Robinson that we are lawfully
seized and possessed of Said land, and have a good
right to Convey the same, and that the same is
unencumbered; We further Covenant and bind our
selves our heirs and representatives to forever warr-
ant and defend the title to said land to the said
George and Florence Robinson and heir against the
lawful claims of all persons whomsoever[.]
            Given under our hands
and seals this 22nd day of December 1894[.]
attest,                                    I Z Shelton          {seal}
    W G Sims                         Amanda Shelton  {seal}

White County, Tennessee, Register of Deeds Volume 35:  256, I Z Shelton to George Robinson, et al, 22 December 1894: FHL 507916.

Transcribed: 19 November 2016 by Phillip Ciske

Tracing Jennie O Shelton

One of the definitions of the verb form of trace is "to discover by going backward over the evidence step by step," a meaning which fits genealogy very well. A second, similar definition, "to follow the footprints, track, or trail of," also well describes our research.

Jennie O Shelton is one of my current research "subjects," one who is undoubtedly a good example of the trials of tracking a female ancestor through time. She appears with varying names off and on in the records I've found.

From what I currently know, Jennie was born around 1883, likely in Tennessee, the daughter of Isaac Z and Amanda (Pruitt) Shelton. I have only the 1900 through 1930 US censuses to provide evidence for her birth date. Ages and dates provided on the census are always suspect, in my mind, and require other documents to back them up.

Jennie was married to J. T. Shortridge on 31 March 1909 in White County, Tennessee. However, she appears in her father's household, also in White County, in the 1910 census. The census enumerator recorded her as Jennie Shortridge. What happened to her husband? So far, I have found no trace of him other than the marriage bond, license, and return.

Jennie appears again in the marriage records for White County, Tennessee, in 1916 when she married P. Wash Presley on 30 July 1916. On the marriage record, she is named Jennie Shortridge. It appears that this marriage may not have lasted very long, as Jennie filed for divorce on 3 August 1917 in the White County Chancery court. The case papers, however, include a note that the case was closed as the parties reconciled. The note is regretfully undated.

Jennie next appears with her father's household in the 1920 census, now living in Atlanta, Georgia. Once again the question is what happened to her husband, Wash?

Isaac died in 1929, but Jennie remained living with her mother, Amanda, in Atlanta in the 1930 census. She appears one more time, in 1932, in the Atlanta city directory, listed as Jennie Presley.

To discover more of Jennie's story, I am going to need to search sideways. Instead of focusing just on Jennie and the Sheltons, I need to look at the Shortridge and Presley names, attempting to identify J. T. and Wash in the available records. I also need to expand the types of documents I'm looking at, searching resources such as court minutes and newspapers.

I think I also need to take one or more trips to Tennessee to do onsite research. I have the vacation time, I just need to plan to use it.


photo credit: Julien.Belli Melchsee-Frutt, Switzerland, 2017 via photopin (license)

Guidelines to Transcribing

I am in the middle of transcribing papers related to a court case involving one of my ancestors. Below is a set of guidelines I'm working to internalize as I work. Many of them revolve around maintaining the context and appearance of the original document.

---

Guidelines

1. Copy what you see exactly as it appears. Do not edit the text. If a comment is needed, place them in square brackets.
2. Use square brackets to show alterations or edits to the text.
3. Retain the original punctuation and capitalization.
4. Retain the original line breaks.
5. Always include a full source citation on each page of the transcription.
6. Take a break, especially when puzzling over a particularly strange or illegible portion of the text.

Resources

• Transcribing Historic Documents (FamilySearch) 
• Skillbuilding: Transcribing Source Materials (BCG) 

Cziskes in Harrison Township

One item on my ever-growing to do list is to research the land records of Calumet County in Wisconsin for deeds related to the Ciskes (also written Cziske). The Plat Book of Manitowoc and Calumet Counties, Wisconsin, published in 1893, shows two Cziskes on pages 60 and 61.

Cziskes, Plat of Harrison Townships 19-20 North, Ranges 18-19 East, p. 60-61.

 Who are J. Cziske and Jos Cziske?

Jos is a common abbreviation for Joseph. I know of at least three Joseph Cziskes who were living in Harrison township in Calumet County during this period. The first is Joseph Cziske, born around 1839 in Prussia. One of his sons is also named Joseph Cziske, born around 1870. Both are enumerated in Harrison in the United States federal censuses and Wisconsin censuses from 1870 through 1910. The third possibility is Joseph Cziske, born about 1875. He was the son of Franz Cziske and Justina Malest, who immigrated to Wisconsin from Prussia in 1866, settling in Harrison township.

J. Cziske may be one of the Josephs or it may refer to John Ciske, who was born in Harrison in 1871, but who moved to Menasha in Winnebago County around 1890.

Like most genealogy questions, this requires more research.

Book Review: How the States Got Their Shapes

How the States Got Their Shapes. Mark Stein (New York: Smithsonian Books, 2008), 331 pages.

Location is one of the cornerstones of genealogy. Knowing where your ancestors were at a given time helps in finding documents and record repositories.

I came across How the States Got Their Shapes while browsing the shelves at the local library. A mixture of geography and history, Stein examines how the boundaries of each of the U.S. states changed over time to their current form. Maps accompanying the text to illustrate the boundary changes on a state-by-state basis.

After reading the account for each state, I came to a greater appreciation for the many factors involved in setting state boundaries, as well as understand the reasons for border shapes. Even the regular rectangle borders of Colorado and Wyoming have a story behind them.

Stein's writing is very approachable and often humorous. The book includes a select bibliography of source material, most of which are authored works from the twentieth century. The narrative text does point to more source-based material which would be very interesting to research. If only I had the time.

Deed - Thomas J Vandever and Lucy Vandever to Isaac Z Shelton, 12 April 1892

For and in consideration of twelve dollars 

paid to me in hand, and his this promiss

ory note being of date with this Conveyance 

this first note for the sum of $38⁰⁰ and due the 24^th day of 

December 1892, the second for the sum of $50⁰⁰ due Dec

24^th 1893 both of said notes bearing interest from date and a 

lien actioned on the land for the payment of the same

I T J Vandever and wife Lucy Vandever have this day 

bargained and sold, and do herby transfer and Convey to I 

Z Shelton the following described tract of land. Lying in White 

County Tennessee about 2 1/2 miles south of Sparta, and bounded 

as follows to-wit: Beginning on a Hickory near the south west 

Corner of a tract of land deed by Richard Mauldin and his 

white Sam Maulden to Rachel Sims. Running thence E. 

on a line of the same 35 1/4 poles to a Rock Corner of a tract 

of land Conveyed by Richard Mauldin and wife to Taylor 

Clark (Col) thence N 10^o E. 10 3/4 poles to a Rock a Corner of the 

same thence N 28^o E with a line of the Lawery lands 23 3/4 poles 

to two post oaks Corner of same thence N 60 1/2 poles to a Rock 

Sheltons S. E. Corner of tract conveyed to him by H Vandever 

thence west 14 poles to a Rock thence South westwordly 45 poles 

to a Rock thence West 34 poles to a Rock in the line of a 

tract sold by a H P Sims to J. C Vandever, thence south 

2 1/2^o East with said line 45 poles to the Beginning

To the said I Z Shelton his heirs and assigns to have and 

to hold forever And we the said T J Vandever and wife 

Lucy Vandever do covenant with the said I Z Shelton 

that we are lawfully siezed and possessed said land, and 

have a good right to Convey the same, and we do bind 

ourselves and heirs and representatives to warrant and 

defend the title to all of said land except one acre in the 

South west Corner of said tract Claimed by David Bryoles

(leal) which a hereby convey and quit claim to the said 

I Z Shelton his heirs and assigns forever against the

lawful claims of all persons whomsoever And I the 

said T J Vandever in making this Conveyance reserve

Enough of the posts[?] on the out side fence on the tract 

hereby conveyed to build 79 poles of fence 10 posts[?] high 

between me and the said Shelton in Testimony whereof

we have hereunto affixed our signature, this April 

12, 1892

T J Vandever

Lucy Vandever

Personally appeared before me J D Goff Clerk of  

the County Court of said County the above named T J 

Vandever and Lucy Vandever the bargainers with 

whom I am personally acquainted and who acknowledged 

that they executed the within instrument for the pur-

oses herein contained and Lucy Vandever wife 

of T J Vandever having personally appeared before 

me privately and apart from her said Husband 

the said Lucy Vandever acknowledged the execution of 

the said deed to have been done by her freely voluntarily 

and understandingly without Compulsion or Constraint 

from her said Husband and for the purposes therein 

expressed

Witness J D Goff Clerk of Said Court at Office, this 

25^th day of July 1892

J D Goff Clerk

Filed and noted in Reception Book No 2 & page 128 on the 

2^nd day of December 1893 at 11 o clock A.m.

H L Fraser Register

White County, Tennessee, Register of Deeds Volume 33: 490-492, T J Vandever and wife to I Z Shelton, 12 April 1892: FHL 507915.

Transcribed: 19 November 2016 by Phillip Ciske