Saturday, November 26, 2011

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun

It's Saturday night, which means it's time for Randy Seaver's, Genea-Musings, Saturday Night Genealogy Fun.


I've not participated in Saturday Night Genealogy Fun in quite awhile.


Tonight's activity is as follows:


1)  Go to the Historical U.S. County Maps page on Randy Majors website (http://randymajors.com/p/maps.html ) .Read the whole page for tips on how to use the tool by entering a current geographical place in the United States and a year (from the drop down list) at the top of the page.

2)  Pick one place of interest and enter the name of the place (a current town/city or county) and choose a year from the dropdown list.  Use the Back < and Forward > arrow links to move forward or backward in time.

3)  Note the Historical jurisdiction for the place you selected for each year.  Write down the list from 1790 to 1900.

4)  Post the place you selected and the historical jurisdictions for that place in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this blog post, or in a Facebook Status or google Plus Stream post.



5) Think about  the jurisdictions that came up - have you looked in those jurisdictions for information about your ancestral families that were in that place?


I chose Williamston, NC. Williamston is located in present day Martin County, North Carolina. 






The jurisdictions it's been in over the years are as follows:


1790: Located in Martin County, NC (Martin county was formed in 1774 from Halifax and Tyrrell Counties.)
1800: Located in Martin County, NC (Martin County lost some area to Edgecombe County in in 1794.)
1810: Located in Martin County, NC (Martin County gained some area from Pitt County in 1805.)
1820: Located in Martin County, NC (Martin County gained some area from Beaufort County in 1816.)
1830: Located in Martin County, NC
1840: Located in Martin County, NC
1850: Located in Martin County, NC
1860: Located in Martin County, NC
1870: Located in Martin County, NC
1880: Located in Martin County, NC
1890: Located in Martin County, NC
1900: Located in Martin County, NC


As I continue to try to determine the last slave owner of my paternal ancestors, I may need to venture into Halifax and Tyrrell Counties, also, as well as Pitt and Beaufort.