Using Date Calculator in Genealogy Software

Thanks to Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings for last Saturday’s night fun (April 25, 2009) on using the Date calculator in genealogy software. When I need to determine a birth year or some other genealogical calculation, I always create a formula in the Microsoft Excel software. Occasionally, I use a pocket calculator or the computer calculator located in the Accessories section in Windows. I did not know that genealogy software had a date calculator until last Saturday night.

Family Tree Maker Date Calculator
I use Family Tree Maker 2009 and I accessed the Date calculator by clicking on the Tools menu and the Date Calculator option.

Date Calculation Project
Since last Saturday night, I have been using the Date Calculator feature of my genealogy software to calculate various types of dates. Today, I pulled out data from the Greensville County, VA Free Negro Register, 1803-1832. I was focusing on the Ferguson family because Sandy Ferguson and his wife Susan are believed have deed land in the 1870s for the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. I do not think that I am directly kin to the Fergusons, but several members of this family have married into my Robinson and Greenway family in the Skippers area of Greensville County, VA.

Henry and Allen Ferguson
In the register, the mother of Henry and Allen Ferguson is named as “Betty.” I had calculated their estimated birth years a long time ago and determined that they were born some time between 1797 and 1798.

The Two Bettys
Two Bettys were listed in the Free Negro Register and I had not calculated their estimated birth year because I wasn’t sure which Betty was the mother of Henry and Allen. Instead of using Microsoft Excel or a calculator, I used the Family Tree Maker Date Calculator.

Below, are the results along with the Free Negro Registration description on each Betty where I typed in the year they registered and age given on registration. The calculated birth year is in grey.

Betty #1
Betty, a free woman emancipated (as above*), about 47-years of age, 5' 4" high (in shoes), and has no material marks or scars on her head, face or hands perceivable. Registered August 23, 1814, Entry #44

*Note "by the last will and testament of Nathaniel Mabry, deceased, of record in my office" Indicated in Entry #43, the one above Betty's entry.

Betty #2
Betty, emancipated by Doct. Jessee A. Bonner, of a dark complexion, aged about 60-years, 5' 3-1/2 high (in shoes), a small scar or lump on her right arm, her fore teeth out, by occupation a Spinner. Registered December 29, 1820, Entry #81


Conclusion
Based on these estimated birth years, there is only a seven year difference between the two Bettys. Therefore, one could not possibly be the mother of the other one.

However, searching other documents and generating additional date calculations have provided an answer to this mother mystery.

Stay tuned tomorrow…

Cousin Rosella

I visited the cemetery of Antioch Baptist Church (Skippers area of Greensville County, VA) during a visit to the church this past Sunday. I took losts of photos. Here is the tombstone of a cousin who was a granddaughter of my great-great grandparents Joshua and Ersie Jane Providence Robinson.

Cousin Rosella provided me with valuable information about our Robinson and Greenaway family history. I met her during one of my visits to Antioch Baptist Church and we talked on the phone on several occasions. She was a daughter of Lucretia Robinson Hill (1881-1915), who was a daughter of Joshua and Ersie Robinson, and is also buried in this cemetery.

Church Homecomings

Next weekend, I plan to attend a church homecoming at Antioch Baptist Church in Skippers, VA which is located in the county of Greensville. This will not be my first time attending this church because I have attended other homecomings as well as family funerals. Antioch is the church once attended by my paternal grandmother Hattie Moore Pair (1902-1956) and her maternal ancestors the Robinsons of Skippers, VA. Several living family members are still members of this church and I look forwarding to seeing them as well as meeting new family members.

Success in Attending Church Reunions
I have had much genealogical success with attending church reunions because it has enabled me to connect with living descendants of my ancestors as well as others who knew them.

Visiting Family Cemetery
Besides meeting family, I hope to also have time to visit the Robinson Family Cemetery which is adjacent to the church where several of my family members are buried including my paternal grandparents Matthew and Hattie Moore Pair and Robert and Mary Eliza Robinson Moore, who were the parents of my paternal grandmother.

Finding DNA Candidates
I also hope to find DNA candidates to test the 1) maternal and paternal ancestry of my great-great grandfather Joshua Robinson (abt. 1846-1935); and 2) maternal ancestry of Lucretia Providence Cook Greenway (abt. 1855-?)., who is believed to be a sister of my great-great grandmother, Ersie Jane Providence Robinson (abt. 1850-aft. 1900). Grandma Ersie’s maternal DNA has been tested twice; the results match the U6a1 Haplogroup, which is European.

DNA results from Grandpa Joshua’s maternal ancestry will provide more information into the heritage of his mother Maria Morgan Greenaway (abt. 1809-aft. 1900) and her mother, Lizzey Morgan, who was a slave freed in the will of Dr. James Greenway of Dinwiddie County, VA around 1795. As a result of her mother’s freedom by Dr. Greenway, Maria was born free in Virginia. At the time of Grandma Maria’s birth, if a mother was free, her children were born free. The status of the father did not matter according to this law.

Grandpa Joshua’s 1935 death certificate gives the name of his father as Moses Robinson. This is all I know about Grandpa Moses; therefore DNA results may give some clue as to his ethnicity. On several documents, Grandpa Joshua was listed as a “Mulatto.” Some of his grandchildren remember that he was very “light skinned’ in complexion. Therefore, it is possible that he had a European paternal ancestry.

If Grandma Ersie Jane Providence Robinson and Lucretia Providence Cook Greenway were sisters as was told to me by a granddaughter of Grandma Ersie, then the maternal DNA results should match. No written documentation has been found to indicate that these two women were sisters. They did, however, have the same maiden name, but Grandma Ersie’s marriage license does not name her parents. Lucretia’s marriage license names her parents as John and Eliza Providence.

Sacred Sunday

Antioch Baptist Church

Antioch Baptist Church located in the Skippers area of Greensville County, VA is the church where my paternal grandmother Hattie Moore Pair (1902-1956) and her siblings grew up. This was the church were their mother and grandparents attended: Mary Eliza Robinson Moore (1880-1920) and her parents Joshua Robinson (1846-1935) and Ersie Jane Providence Moore (1850-after 1905.)

According to the church history of Antioch Baptist Church, the church began in a Bush Arbor near the Saw Pond on the land owned by Sandy Ferguson, and his wife, Susan, around 1870. It is believed that some type of frame structure was built on the site, but it was destroyed by fire. There was a lot on intermarrying between the Ferguson, Greenaway, and Robinson families. Both Sandy Ferguson and my great-great grandfather Joshua Robinson were descendants of free blacks in Greensville County: Sandy Ferguson was the son of Henry Ferguson who was the son of Betty Ferguson. My ancestor Joshua Robinson was the son of Maria Morgan Greenaway (1809-after 1900,) a free woman of color.

By 1896, Antioch Baptist had expanded the church property with the acquisition of one acre of land purchased from Mr. Lewis H. Foster, a large landowner. A deed for the land was drawn up on January 13, 1896 by the following trustees: John J. Smith, Jesse Avent, Thomas Wright, William Edward Watson, and William Wright. The deed was recorded on March 6, 1899.

Today, there are descendants of Joshua and Ersie Jane Robinson who are members of Antioch Baptist Church.