When They All Say it's So

 

What do you say when information on the brick wall ancestor you are researching shows up in several places—all without documentation? Those assertions may sound reasonable, even convincing, but without a paper trail to support such entries, in my mind they are still worth...nothing. Nothing better, that is, than a possible lead.

That's the situation I'm facing as I work on the second of my Twelve Most Wanted ancestors for this year. When I decided this was the month to work on my third great-grandmother Delaney Townsend, I already knew there were others out there who had posted details about her supposed parents. And yet, no will can I find for her supposed father, and any hope of finding Delaney named in his household for any census enumeration is nil, considering she was already married to Andrew Charles in Madison County, Florida, by 1841, long before each name in a household was entered in the census record.

I've certainly been putting the FamilySearch Labs' Full Text search capability through its paces in looking for possible records that might divulge a connection between Delaney and her father, whoever he was. And in genealogy's true spirit of collaboration, I've been party to a spirited conversation with fellow blogger Charles Purvis of Carolina Family Roots, who has sent me several links worth consideration. I now have a stack of reading to catch up on, as well as new avenues of inquiry to explore.

In the process, I've already unearthed one tiny confirmation which led me to more clues on Delaney, herself, as well as her husband, Andrew Charles, which I'll share soon. But it is clear that, to piece together Delaney's story, we'll need to take a detour away from the usual paper trail towards some less-traveled research terrain.

From the flurry of details Charlie sent my way yesterday, I can see a bit of light shining on a possible way forward, which is encouraging. Perhaps, at the end, I'll discover that when "they" all say the story is just so for the Townsend family, that's truly the way it was—or, perhaps, the trail will lead me to details about a real answer. One I can verify through documentation, not hearsay.