3/27/2004 10:04:55 AM
LC Control Number: 60009673
Type of Material: Book (Print, Microform, Electronic, etc.)
Brief Description: Larche, Mignon.
Pioneers on the Bullskin; the Stephenson story.
Eureka Springs, Ark., Times-Echo Pub. Co., 1960.
299 p. illus. 23 cm.
If so I am always dropping "Pioneers" & may be missing it.
Or, as there are bullskin creeks all over the east, this might be
the wrong book, but "Stephenson" in the subtitle is a pretty good hint.
3/27/2004 10:05:08 AM
I came across some interesting things in the past 2 days that I didn't mention yet or didn't understand completely when I was writing before (not to say I do now either).
1) Mentioned James Hammonds will. Long & complicated.
I found a deed entry for Polly Hammond from the same time
period yesterday, which says, "I Polly Hammond widow of James
Hammond decd ... not being satisfied with the provision made for me by
the will of my late husband..." and proceeds to have a proper dower
share marked out. So, a) perhaps there is a court order somewhere,
and b) what I said earlier about the land not passing into the hands
of the Fultons (her next husband) may not be true. There is a description
of the piece of land laid out for her, which includes a residence. I suppose
the other part went to the Hammond children (espec 2 sons) as per
the will.
2) One of the many Thomas Hammonds married a niece of George Washington,
one Mildred Washington. I found her will while looking for James Hammonds.
(See will book spreadsheet). I don't know which Thomas Hammond this
is ; surely not Thomas Rankin Hammond, wrong time, but probably
James Hammond's brother Thomas who appears on Judith Rankin's will &c?
Or not.
3) You will note there are 3 Helm entries in the Jefferson deed index.
The 1st, for Benjamin Helm, seems to be a mistake. I looked at that page
in the deed book & it's for Benjamin Hamilton & Lucinda. I flipped thru
the deed book & looked at its own index & couldn't find any Helm. This
happens; I probably mis-transcribed the index film & will recheck; or
else the indexer did the same. Or see next item for possibly related
puzzler.
4) The Thomas Helm entries. This is strange. This appears to be
2 deeds for the same piece of land. One of these is the same as
Irene turned up a few years back, I think. I don't remember there
being 2 deeds but perhaps I forgot. One of them Benjamin Helm signs,
and one he doesn't. See below.
The nice thing about these deeds is the confirm once and for all
that Benjamin, Thomas, & Elizabeth are the only children of Margaret
Rankin Helm (at least the only ones alive in 1810) and all the other
children of William Helm belong to the marriage with Aggie Pickett.
The deed flat out says these are the only heirs of Margaret.
4a) The two deeds are strange. There is no land description, metes &
bounds, just an indication of the neighbors, and then a reference to
land being set off for Margaret Rankin Helm as instructed by her father's
will. Perhaps we need to look closely at 1787-9 deeds & court cases
in Berkeley Co to see if a precise description exists?
4b) Why are there 2 deeds? The seem to be the same, except
the Thomas Helm & John Mott families have to re-deed & re-sign.
Why? We have never understood why the elder Thomas Helm and
his wife were on the deed. Did he hold a mortgage? I am missing
something here. (The elder Thomas Helm is another brother
of William, Jane, &c & the younger son of Thomas Helm & Margaret
Neill Helm of Frederick.) Benjamin & elder Thomas are not involved
in the 2nd deed & that doesn't seem to be a problem. Strange.
5) Names. I think the leasee of the Helm share was named Kellenberger
or something similar, not Hellenberger. And the purchaser of the land
is Ranson, not Ransone, Ransome, &c. Matthew Ranson has quite
a history in the county. I am still not sure whether it's Rankin or Rankins.
27 Mar 2004 0100
This web site supports a small group of researchers working on families in Berkeley and Jefferson counties, in late 18th and early 19th century Virginia. These counties are now in West Virginia. The Rankin and Beeler families settled in these areas, near or along the Bullskin, before Berkeley County separated from Frederick County (1771-2). Later (about 1780) Beeler and Rankin families intermarried with the Helm family of Frederick Co. We are exploring the relationships between these families and with other families and residents of the immediate area. Some other surnames that have business or family connections with the core families include (but not limited to):
Crane, Davis, Drew, Fulton, Hammond, Kellenberger, Ranson, Stephenson, Vestal
And some Helm – related (probably not connected to the area): Barnett, Mott, Oliver, Pickett
Currently we are trying to get a complete picture of Benjamin Rankin’s land, and how it was disposed of in the 2 generations that followed. We are attempting to prove or disprove a connection with the Beeler family through his wife, Judith (original surname unknown). More on this and other topics later.
As of today (3/27/2004 1:15:03 AM), I have posted some research logs and data abstracted from film of land and estate books for Berkeley & Jefferson Cos. This will be explained in more detail later.
I will post some contact info later when I have figured out how to do it safely.
For the time being,
http://genforum.genealogy.com/rankin/messages/1413.html
This posting will lead you to me, and has some additional background.