First Friday Folder: Amos Richardson & Elizabeth Hicks

I selected this folder for review this month, again, in preparation for my trip to Missouri in June, although I am becoming apprehensive that life will get in the way and keep me at home.  Amos and Elizabeth are the parents of John Richardson of last month's post. 

The Couple
Amos Greene Richardson was probably born about 1792 in Virginia or a part of Virginia about to become Kentucky.  His ancestry is one of my biggest problems in my Hegwer line.  Elizabeth Hicks was probably born about 1796 in Kentucky.  Her ancestry is also unproven. 

They married 4 October 1810 in Estill County, Kentucky.  Amos died in 1853 in Morgan County, Missouri.  Elizabeth was still alive for the 1870 US census of Haugh Creek, Morgan, Missouri.  They had at least 10 children, three or four of whom were born after the family moved to Missouri.  Their lives in Missouri are fairly well documented.

Yes, there are numerous online pedigrees attributing ancestors to both of them, but I have seen no verifiable sources or logical proof statements, nor have Cousin Donald or I yet found solid evidence or drawn a conclusion we feel good about. 

The Folder
This folder is 7/8 of an inch thick, mostly because it includes all my leads and possibilities to consider for their ancestry.  It was fairly well organized; I've been working on it off and on the last year.  I think that for review this week, I'll look at all the problems and questions I have, and perhaps pick a few to work on before the trip to Missouri. 

Problems / Questions
If Benjamin Richardson and Ellen Holt are the parents of this Amos, why are none of his children or grandchildren named "Benjamin" or "Ellen?"  It is very tempting to adopt this couple as Amos' parents, especially since their own ancestries are well-documented and it means an immediate jump back for lots of generations ....  But, at least for me, there are too many problems and not enough alternative proof/logic yet.

Is the Sara/Sallie Richardson who marries Bemjamin Franklin McFarland a provable daughter of  Amos and Elizabeth? 

I don't have sources indicated for the births of Amos & Elizabeth's children.  I know I have at least census indications for most of them. 

Breaking News: Cousin Donald has just proven the husband of Amos & Elizabeth's youngest daughter, Amanda.  I have to get that info into my database and see where else it leads us.  I think that deserves its own blog entry!

Have I tried to locate or pinpoint my Amos in the 1800-1810 censuses?  I think I have him in 1820-30.  Does it all line up reasonably with known children?

I have a 'research log' from 2006/7 with 34 items on it for further research.  I need to go over that list and incorporate still-resolved issues into this list.

I have to go back and revisit the fine Morgan County Genealogy website.  I've learned a lot since I was last there, and they've probably added new info, too!

I need to work on the HIX/HICKS of Morgan County, Missouri.  Perhaps there is a link there to Kentucky that will help with finding Amos & Elizabeth's ancestors.

There are Estill County, Kentucky, land records that I have not seen and need to comb.  The big problem there is that with all the changes in boundaries, I'll really be looking at at least Bourbon, Fayette, Clark, Madison, Clay, Montgomery, Lincoln, Floyd, Knox, AND Estill counties in Kentucky.  And, then there's the issue of Kentucky County, Virginia, before Kentucky statehood.  In my dreams, a Kentucky expert comes to my aide....

I must write-up / blog the whole rationale proving that this is NOT the Amos Richardson who marries Nancy San(d)ford.  The county history mugbook is wrong and so there!

I need to do the GoogleEarth thing as I did for John on all of my Amos' land!

Donald has reviewed all the Kentucky tax lists and sent me his findings.  I need to buckle down and try to make sense of it.  There's just so many Richardsons in the area and they all have the same few forenames....@#$%#!

I need to reread all the probate info on Amos & Elizabeth and the first couple to die of their children. 

DNA
This may be the biggest to-do of them all!  We've got the 67-marker Y-DNA of this line and I must sit down and make a huge spreadsheet with it and that of the Richardson group at FamilyTreeDNA, etc.  I'm afraid that all the possible candidates for the father of this Amos are closely related themselves.  I think we're also going to need to find mtDNA candidates for Elizabeth's line, and possibly the Hix line and see if we can rule anyone out that way.  That's all I need: another field to study.  So much to do, so little time .... 

Conclusions
Obviously, there's a lot I should do before doing anything really new with this couple.   I'll start in this order: Morgan County genweb site, the Amanda news, census and other records for kids' birthplaces, the Sanford issue, the land records, and the DNA.

This is a complex problem.  I have to face the "facts" (or the lack thereof!) and look at more of the collateral kin and neighbors and use cluster methodology, ala Chapter 4 of Marsha Hoffman Rising's The FamilyTree Problem Solver.  Many of the surnames in Kentucky and Missouri are the same and there are many similar surnames among the children's spouses.

June is going to be here before I know it!  Hmm...do I blog or work on research?  I need a resolution to focus, focus, focus...