Some Girten Questions
My study of the Girten clan has raised almost as many questions about the family history as have been answered. Some of the most interesting questions (to me) are listed below. Any thoughts, comments, or information you have about these questions would be greatfully accepted. Thanks.
Jeff Nelson
Paducah, Kentucky
Send e-mail to: jeff@chevytrucks.org
- The Origin of the James Girten Clan
- The James Girten clan first appears in the 1820 Union Co., Kentucky census. At that time James and his wife were both over 45. With them were 7 adult males, 1 adult female, and 4 younger females. One of the currently unanswered questions is where did they come from? Were they of English, Irish, German, French, or some other national origin? Were they part of the Catholic migration from Maryland to Kentucky that occurred in the late 1700s to early 1800s? Were they descendants of Hessian soldiers from Pennsylvania?
- The Deaths of Charles and Mary and Family
- Charles Girten (s/o James), his wife, Mary [Bright] Girten, and three of their youngest children, George Edward, Elisha Durbin, and Martha Ellen, all died between July 3 and July 8, 1855. What was the cause of these deaths? In the 1800s this many deaths in a single family would often be due to house fires or disease, so which was it? One clue is that there were extensive Yellow Fever epidemics in the United States in 1855. Another possibilty is cholera.
- James "Lini"?
- In one source, "Death Records of Sacred Heart Parish, St. Vincent, KY 1819-1974", recorded in 1974, (see Death Records) the word "Lini" appeared next to the name of James Girten. Correspondence with other researchers led me to believe that Lini was a nickname for Leonard. However, in another source, "Catholic Cemeteries in Several Counties of Kentucky", recorded in 1935, (see Catholic Cemeteries) the word "Senr." was appended to James' name. I assume this would be an abbreviation for "Senior". Finally, in Peyton Heady's book, "Union County, Kentucky Genealogy, Volume III, Cemetery and Death Records", published in 1987, the word "servant" is included within parentheses next to James's name. I suspect that Heady saw the same four letter word that the other two researchers did and he interpreted it as "Serv", an abbreviation for servant. Recently (June 2004), I spent some time in the Union County courthouse in Morganfield, KY. In looking at several very early deeds (1820s - 1830s), I saw that James' name was recorded as "James Girten, Senr." I believe that this strongly suggests that the cemetery record also listed him as "Senr" and not Lini or Serv as other researchers interpreted the record.