Saturday, October 13, 2012

Each Discovery Leads to More


Those who are hooked by genealogical research often compare it to detective work. I’ve actually stumbled across comments explaining that genealogy is like CSI, only “without the icky bodies.”

While I have yet to find the dead bodies—my current pursuit of ancestor Thomas Taliaferro Broyles has failed to yield any details on the location of his burial—I have been able to unearth further details on his family constellation, thanks in part to my Genealogy Angel’s discovery of the issue of Confederate Veteran containing his obituary.

Keep in mind that those names have been there for the taking in many online resources. I know that. Right now, I’m preferring to revel in the pursuit, finding the source documents and corollary details in a treasure hunt of my own making. While I have many distant cousins and other Broyles and Taliaferro aficionados who have generously posted their findings—some amateur, some expertly researched and duly documented (no doubt)—there just comes a time when I want to have the thrill of the chase, to do it myself.

Looking back to the article in the February 1923 issue of the Confederate Veteran which I posted yesterday, I want to extract as much data from the narrative as I can. I want to take this step by step. And yes, I know that while my overarching goal of completing the D.A.R. paperwork may not entail such excruciating detail, for a moment, humor me. I want to do some exploring. After all, I can’t sniff out a bunny trail without getting nosy. And you know how I love finding stories.

The opening paragraph of the Confederate Veteran article gives me plenty of ammo for my first volley of exploratory salvos:

            Dr. Thomas Taliaferro Broyles died at his home near Jonesboro, Tenn., on December 8, 1922. He was a son of Dr. O. R. Broyles, of Anderson, S. C, and a brother of A. T. and John P. Broyles and Mrs. W. D. Williams, of Greeneville, Tenn., and Mrs. M. C. VanWyck, of Anderson, S. C, whose husband was Dr. Samuel Maverick VanWyck, C. S. A.

The first step, for me, is to aggregate the records for Thomas’ father. Like Thomas himself, his father was a doctor. In customary southern fashion, the man’s name was given as initials, but I know that his name actually was Ozey Robert Broyles. As we discussed yesterday, Thomas’ mother—though not mentioned in this article—was Sarah Ann Taliaferro Broyles. We’ll trace her Taliaferro roots in future posts as we pursue the American Revolution patriot for D.A.R. purposes.

From this article, we can glean some names of Thomas’ siblings—though I assure you, there were several more than are listed. I presume these were recounted in this article for some significance to the core mission of the publication: veterans representing the Confederates in the War Between the States.

From what I can see so far, here is a deciphering of the alphabet soup of family names. “A. T.” refers to Augustus Taliaferro Broyles, in my records showing as the oldest of the Broyles siblings—though I have far to go before I can confirm that there were none older. “John P.” names Thomas’ younger brother John Pendleton Broyles. I am clueless—no, awaiting a fresh discovery!—as to the identity of “Mrs. W. D. Williams,” though the location of Greeneville, Tennessee, catches my eye as it is far afield of the elder Broyles’ home location in South Carolina. I offer the guess that “Mrs. M. C. Van Wyck” represents the former Margaret Cornelia Broyles—causing me to wonder if the Van Wyck household listed next door to the Broyles home in the 1850 census might be the immediate family of her deceased husband, Samuel Maverick Van Wyck.

Of course, this 1923 article also introduces questions. Mainly, I’m wondering what became of all the other Broyles siblings. Had they all passed away before this point? It looks like I have my work cut out for me, if I choose the path of this detour, for Thomas had many siblings. On the other hand, isn’t it the chase that puts the joy back in genealogy work? At least, for me it is. I thrive on discovering what happened to all the rest of the family. Apparently, there is a lot of thriving left for me if I choose the detective work of this path to pursue.


12 comments:

  1. "Maverick" - what a cool middle name! That the article omitted siblings not involved in the war is an interesting deduction. I'm sure I would have assumed they were dead or that omission signaled a family feud. I must keep this way of thinking in mind.

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    1. I loved finding that name, too, Wendy. I just love all these tidbits I stumble across in this research journey.

      It is helpful to try and envision the frame of reference of the publication or mention as it is being discovered. The ways of thinking in each of these time periods and among each community of people (including publications for specific organizations) is so different from our general-public way of thinking today. I have to constantly remind myself to get into the spirit of those times as I push back into these earlier eras in researching the family lines. Even the "southern" mindset is a foreign concept for me, a native New Yorker...

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  2. Usually if there are names of siblings left out, it is most likely because they are deceased.

    While it probably isn't going to be necessary to prove the lineage you have chosen for your DAR app. - part of the GPS is to conduct a reasonably exhaustive search. This means that tracking down all those siblings would be necessary to meet the GPS. So you go Girl and hop like a bunny down those trails!

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    1. Sheri, you are so encouraging, just like a true Genealogy Angel would be :)

      While I probably will never even think of attempting the genealogical educational levels you've completed in your professional training, I do have to admit that the process is tempting to me only because I want to know everything I can know about my family members--be they ever so distant!

      Maybe someday I can achieve a Genealogical Bunny Trail Award ;)

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  3. It takes a bit of time - but I find the bunny trail calls me too - and I put each newly discovered name (and maybe the hometown) into Google, quoting the name - and the town separately - and see what turns up... sometimes I have to replace the middle name with the initial - and then remove it altogether...

    Doing so for Angus T. brings up his headstone...

    http://www.greenpickup.us/genealogy/showmedia.php?mediaID=820

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    1. I ran across that website the other day while searching for my Thomas Taliaferro Broyles. Interesting site. Love that name...and the tag line!

      Now that you mention it here, I'll have to go back and take another look. There may be much more than just this entry on the site.

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  4. Thomas' headstone

    http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/11705515/person/-402810728/photo/d65f6ef7-0b87-4b26-8893-8297c12daf94?src=search

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    1. Actually, Iggy, this is what is making this search so difficult. There is another Thomas Broyles out there in Tennessee with similar--but not quite right--dates. I believe this headstone is for the other Thomas Broyles.

      Couple of items: the wife's name is not correct. My Thomas was married twice, but his first wife's name was Mary, and the second was Elizabeth (nicknamed Betty). And then, my Thomas' dates were 28 Oct 1842 - 8 Dec 1922.

      Of course, the Thomas in this headstone reference was probably a cousin. There were so many Broyles family members in the area. Something I'll be tempted to check out as I move backwards in time and get more information.

      In the meantime, I'll hang on to this link and photo, just in case! And thanks for finding it for me. :)

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  5. What an interesting discussion you started with your reflections in this post! Remembering to get "into the spirit of the times" is what makes for more challenge more fun, but is also the constant struggle, in one way. Loving your descriptions of your research that you are laying out.
    Nancy

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    1. Nancy, thank you for stopping by! Yes, this all entails more challenge as well as fun, but isn't it worth it?

      I admire what you've stated as your mission for your own blog, by the way. We seem to be on the same wavelength.

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  6. Have you explored the Deceased Physician File records at FamilySearch? I've found them quite helpful in learning more about my physician ancestors. Broyles records begin here:

    https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-31284-12797-84?cc=2061540&wc=MMYR-CHB:n1445857774

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    1. Thank you so much, Leah, for mentioning that, and including that specific link. I did find an entry for my Thomas. Of course, the shiny syndrome kicked in when I realized there were entries for other Broyles medical men, too. It's tempting to see if any of them were also related to this line :)

      Great resource. Thanks for sharing!

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