Considering "Nancyman" County

 

Brick wall ancestors demand a relentless push to find additional records in the hope that perhaps finding just one more, we'll receive our answer. So it's been with searching for the roots of my second great-grandfather Alexander Boothe.

Late last week, I found a document which possibly confirmed Alexander's birth in Nansemond County, Virginia—well, almost. The document actually reported that Alexander Boothe was born in "Nancyman" County, Virginia, on February 14, 1816.

That document was my wakeup call to be creative and patient with handwritten records drawn up during oral interviews. In this case, the interview was with Alexander's second wife, Rachel Riley, in her 1906 plea to receive a pension as an indigent widow on account of her husband's service during the Civil War.

According to the government record of that interview, Alexander Booth served in Captain Hugh McClung's Tennessee Light Artillery company. (Apparently, not only Alexander served, but his son David may have, also.) His service, however, was cut short—"something over one year"—due to development of a disability, according to his wife Rachel's statement in the pension application.

From the time of his discharge, Alexander apparently remained home, and died in Johnson City, possibly going there for medical assistance, as that was not his place of residence. As to when he died, the pension application, although providing space to record that information, lacked any response marking in the date. That Alexander Boothe had died before Rachel's 1906 application is assumed—and at any rate, is more than certain by this date, though his humble grave marker simply indicated his name—"Alex Boothe"—and the initials C.S.A. to designated on which side he chose to serve.

Besides such missing answers in the pension application, there were other details which I hadn't before known about the Boothe family. From each little clue harvested from a newfound document, we take tiny steps forward toward discovering more about our brick wall ancestors. This application gives me a few more points we need to consider for this month's research goal.