In this article we will look at the sanctity of the printed word and reinforced the idea that printed genealogical information can in fact be misrepresented, manufactured and presented as factual.
I have been doing genealogical research for many years. We all make mistakes and I am positive there are mistakes in my database and in words that I have written; but, I can assure you they were not deliberate.
First, to all the new “budding” genealogists and family historians I would offer this advice: Do not believe anything you read on-line until you confirm that it true and you have an Original Source Document in hand verifying/confirming the information you found on-line.
Case in point is this Sons of American Revolution (SAR) Membership form approved and verified by genealogy experts at SAR headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky.
A partial view of the Approved SAR application is shown to make a point and information has been excluded to protect the identity of the applicant.
The basis of this SAR application is that:
Sarah Bush Boatwright, b. 12 August 1856, Augusta, Georgia, died 19 October 1917 in Miami, Florida is the Daughter of George Boatwright and Mary Bush and that George is the Son of Lewis Boatwright an Margaret Elizabeth Davis. Margaret Elizabeth Davis is the daughter of Thomas Davis and Nancy Rivers and Nancy Rivers is the daughter of Frederick Rivers.
Lewis Boatwright and his wife Elizabeth Davis, Thomas Davis and Frederick Rivers are my ancestors. I have spent many hours researching these individuals.
So let evaluate this application and discuss some irregularities in the application.
We will start at the top.
Assertion: Sarah Bush Boatwright, b. 12 August 1856, Augusta, Georgia, died 19 October 1917 in Miami, Florida is the Daughter of George Boatwright and Mary Bush and that George is the Son of Lewis Boatwright an Margaret Elizabeth Davis.
Response. I don’t know who Sarah Bush Boatwright is but I have found no evidence that George R. Boatwright, Son of Lewis Boatwright had a daughter named Sarah Bush and he certainty DID NOT marry Mary Bush.
Assertion: Sarah Ann BUSH, b. 12 August 1856, Augusta, Georgia, died 19 October 1917 in Miami, Florida is the Daughter of George Boatwright and Mary Bush.
Response: This portion of this application may be correct; but, this George Boatwright IS NOT the son of Lewis Boatwright that married Margaret Elizabeth Davis.
Assertion: George Boatwright, b. 1823, d. 1864 married Mary Bush in 1849. She was born 1826 and died in 1876. George is the Son of Lewis Boatwright an Margaret Elizabeth Davis.
Reponse: Lewis Boatwright and his wife Elizabeth Davis oldest son was George R. Boatwright. George was married to Lauretta Hurst and she died young on 8 August 1863. George R. Boatwright never left Chesterfield and can be found in census and land records from his birth to his death on 9 April 1894. He did have a daughter named Sarah; but, her name was Sarah Catherine Boatwright and she married William J. Freeman abt 1891. There was no wife or child named MARY in George’s family.
Assertion: George Boatwright, b. 1823, d. 1864 married Mary Bush in 1849
George R. Boatwright, son of Lewis Boatwright was b. 19 Jan 1819 and died 8 Apr 1894. (Does not match above assertion). George Boatwright in the SAR App was b. in 1823 and died in 1864.
George R. Boatwright b. 1819 married Lauretta Hurst about 1852. (The Census shows wife Lauretta not wife Mary).
1860 CENSUS: Chesterfield County, South Carolina; Roll: M653_1217; Image 294; Family History Library Film: 805217; Page 145, Line 13, Dwelling 725, Family 725; G. R. Boatwright, age 38; his wife Lauretta Boatwright, age 27; Elizabeth Boatwright, age 7; Harriett Boatwright, age 6; Loretta Boatwright, age 3 and Lewis Boatwright, age 4/12.
George/George R. is enumerated in 1850-1880 Census for Chesterfield County with no indication he ever left the state.[1] [2] [3] [4]
The George Boatwright on the SAR application married in 1849 and was 4 years younger than George R. Boatwright, son of Lewis. George R. Boatwright was single and living with his parents who both were still living in 1850.[5]
1850 CENSUS: Chesterfield, Chesterfield County, South Carolina; Roll M432_851 ; Image: 359, Film #0444814, Page 177B, Line 31, Dwelling 1214, Family 1214; Lewis BOATWRIGHT, age 52, Farmer born in SC; Elizabeth BOATWRIGHT, age 50, born in SC; George BOATWRIGHT, age 27, born in SC; Samuel BOATWRIGHT, age 19, born in SC; Meary BOATWRIGHT, age 15, born in SC; Sarah BOATWRIGHT, age 13, born in SC; Calvin BOATWRIGHT, age 10, born in SC; Lucinda BOATWRIGHT, age 07, born in SC.
George R. Boatwright was born on 19 Jan 1819 and died on 9 Apr 1894 at the age of 75 in Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina.
George R. Boatwright and Lauretta Hurst were married about 1852 in Chesterfield County, South Carolina.
Lauretta Hurst, daughter of Isaac Hurst and Henrietta Rivers, was born in 1831.[6] [7] [8] She died on 8 Aug 1863 at the age of 32 in Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina.
The Will of George R. Boatwright names daughters Elizabeth McBride, Lauretta Boatwright, Sarah C. Boatwright, grandson Irvin Brock and son Drury L. Boatwright.[9]
This is the key document in exposing the falsehood of the above application.
George and Lauretta had 6 children of which one son died young. When he wrote his WILL his wife Lauretta and daughter, Harriette "Hennie" Boatwright Brock had passed away. Harriette left one surviving son - Irvin Samuel Brock. George names all his surviving children and this grandson in his WILL.
George R. Boatwright and Lauretta Hurst had the following children:
i. Elizabeth R. Boatwright, born 1853 married Andrew J. McBride; died 30 Jul 1916, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina.
ii. Hariett "Hennie" Boatwright, born 8 May 1854, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina married Ervin Samuel Brock Sr., abt 1879; died bef 1894, Chesterfield County, South Carolina.
iii. Lewis Boatwright was born on 8 May 1854; died on 3 Jun 1857 at the age of 3 in Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina.
iv. Laura R. Boatwright, born 4 May 1857, Chesterfield County, South Carolina; married Isaac Jacob Davis, 26 Dec 1894; died 8 Aug 1940, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina.
v. Drury Lewis Boatwright, born 1 Apr 1860, Chesterfield County, South Carolina; married Julia Ella Teal, abt 1878; died 9 Feb 1939, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina.
vi. Sarah Catherine Boatwright, born 10 Aug 1862, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina; married William J. Freeman, abt 1891; died 26 Oct 1947, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina.
Sarah Bush Boatwright lineage as shown in this SAR application and many more along with numerous approved DAR application is bogus. There is no connection to Lewis Boatwright, Margaret Elizabeth Davis, Thomas Davis, Nancy Rivers and Frederick Rivers.
All admissions to the SAR and DAR through these men are manufactured and are not verifiable using the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS). Individuals who are member of the SAR/DAR though this lineage should be made to re-verify their membership with proven genealogies.
[1] 1850 U S Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Population Schedule, Chesterfield, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Page 177B, Line 31, Dwelling 1214, Family 1214, Household of Lewis BOATWRIGHT.
[2] 1860 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Population Schedule, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Page 145, Line 13, Dwelling 725, Family 725, Household of G. R. Boatwright.
[3] 1870 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Population Schedule, Court House, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Page 292A, Line 38, Dwelling #97, Family 97, Household of G. R. Boatwright.
[4] 1880 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Population Schedule, Court House, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, ED 005, Page 327C; Line 16, Dwelling 294, Family 294, Household of Geo. BOATWRIGHT.
[5] 1850 U S Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Population Schedule, Chesterfield, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Page 177B, Line 31, Dwelling 1214, Family 1214, Household of Lewis BOATWRIGHT.
[6] 1850 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Chesterfield, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Page 174A, Line 20, Dwelling #1162, Family 1162, Household of Isaac HURST; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 29 August 2011); citing National Archives Microfilm M432 Roll 851.
[7] 1860 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Page 137A, Line 35, Dwelling #613, Family 613, Household of Isaac HURST; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 29 August 2011); citing National Archives Microfilm M653_1217.
[8] 1860 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Population Schedule, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Page 145, Line 13, Dwelling 725, Family 725, Household of G. R. Boatwright.
[9] Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Probate Files & Loose papers, George R. BOATWRIGHT; digital images, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org: viewed 18 February 2013); Folder #781, Images 742-760.
Excellent work, as always. I've examined several DAR applications for (Petty)Pool individuals of interest to me, hoping for hints about some of my mysteries, but I found that in earlier times the DAR mostly took the applicant's word for it, and catalogued none of whatever supporting data was presented. They are now re-examining many of these old submissions with respect to modern standards- or so they told me- and perhpaps the SAR organization is doing the same?
ReplyDeleteOlder printed books on families are sources of similar perpetuated errors. In 1930 a book was published on my family, which made the erroneous assumption that one individual was the immigrant, and therefore assigned all other persons so named as his children, an error that crops up to this day in other books and numerous websites, including Ancestry.com. I'm still trying to sort out the real relationships from primary sources.
Jim,
ReplyDeleteSadly, once it's in print; it's like a wildfire. The propagation is unstoppable.
Whats hard to believe is the number of individuals that will refuse to accept the truth and cling to the old misinformation.
Charlie