Jan, Don't you just love it when the pieces start making sense? Congratulations, and good advice on sorting out the possibilities. Jeff Jan Patterson wrote: > Over the last couple of months the question of which Martha SCOTT was > the true d/o Jacob SCOTT and Delilah MOSS has been a real hot potato > subject. There have been two hard and fast camps. One saying that she > married Temple Calhoun SMITH and the other, with me as the ring leader, > has been equally as stubborn that she married Jonathan L. (probably > Lafayette) POYNER. > > Well, this last two weeks have brought PROOF of which camp was right. > Three things have came into my possession that prove, or at least should > prove without a shadow of a doubt who is right. I'll give them in > importance order. Starting with the least important. > > Alva James sent me a xerox of a photo of Jacob SCOTT. The minute I saw > it I recognized it as one I'd seen in my Grandmother POYNER'S house. > Without telling others in the family who it was I quizzed them if they > recognized the photo. All said it was familiar and thought it was at > Grandma Lena Poyner's they had seen it. But no one could positively say > that it was so. I've got one aunt left to show it to and if anyone had > it, it would be her. So this is a good sign, but merely circumstantial > evidence. After all my family wouldn't have a copy of a photo of him if > he wasn't related right? > > If any of you have a really good copy of the photo of Jacob SCOTT I > would love to have one, the one I have is pretty grainy from all the > generations of xeroxing. I'm asking just in case Aunty Faye doesn't have > an original. > > The second came when I dug up the pension record for John L. POYNER from > the Union Army. One of the witnesses to the fact that he had been of > good health when he went into the military and came out seriously > disabled was Jacob SCOTT of Umatilla Co., OR--Martha's father. In his > sworn affidavit he said that he had known John, who had also worked for > him for 8 months prior to his enlistment (the amount of time he and > Martha had been married btw), and that when he was discharged from the > military that John had came directly to his home. He also stated he had > seen John POYNER daily until 1866(when Jacob migrated to OR) and had > continued contact with him. One of the witnesses to Jacob SCOTT's > signature was John SCOTT, most likely Martha's brother. This was better > proof, why would Jacob SCOTT witness for someone like that if they were > not family? This is the better scenario. > > A side note here, Jacob SCOTT said in his affidavit that John L. POYNER > had never been married to anyone other than Martha SCOTT. Interesting > since all POYNER researchers know of a marriage between John POYNER and > Sally JARVIS, which we have all taken to be a first marriage for John, > who was 29 when he married Martha SCOTT. Did Jacob lie to protect > Martha's pension, or are there two separate John POYNERS? > > The third and best came today when I met my cousin and his daughter at > the genealogy library. They gave me two things. The first being an > official record on the marriage of Jacob SCOTT and Delilah MOSS. A tiny > scrap of paper, that is a copy of the official record. The third was > the absolute most important piece in all this puzzle. > > Kathy, the daughter, is younger than me and full of hope when it comes > to genealogy research. Years ago I had sent for Martha SCOTT's death > record from the state of AR and all I ever got back was my canceled > check. Not even a note saying they couldn't find the record. Kathy > decided to try it again. It was a $10 lottery ticket. > > In yesterday's mail Kathy received an official document from the state > of AR. File #1450, Death Certificate for Martha POYNER who was born > April 1, 1848 in IN and died of stomach trouble, flu and pneumonia on > Jan 12, 1929 in Jasper, Newton Co., AR. She was a white female, the > widow of John Poyner and the daughter of Jacob SCOTT and Delilah MOSS > both are listed as born in IN. The person giving the information was > her sil Roy WOODRUFF, h/o Martha POYNER WOODRUFF. > > So it's official the Martha SCOTT that married John POYNER is the d/o > Jacob and Delilah SCOTT. > > I know for all you SMITH researchers this is rough. I myself have chased > the wrong surname on one of my female ancestors before and it was very > frustrating when I found out the name I was chasing was a previously > married name not her maiden name. > > As to where you go from here to find the right parents for your Martha I > have a suggestion for you. In my searching to solve this mystery I read > a transcript of Martha SMITH's obit that said she was born in Tera > Haute, Vigo Co., IN. Her death record said she was the d/o of a John > SCOTT b. in PA. > > While researching our Martha and John I spent a lot of time looking at > the series of books by Gregory Boyd. "The Family Maps > of-----County,----State" (fill in the blanks). published by Arphax > Publishing Co. www.arphax.com ( A truly great series of books) After > working seriously on the Putnam County, IN book and finding our family > right and left I decided to check the Vigo County, IN book . > > In the index on page 103 (map group 7 I believe it was) it shows a > multipatent held by John BRITTON and John SCOTT. They held sections 10, > 12, 13, 14 of twnship 12 N range 8 W sections ne, nese, sese, ne 3 1/2 > ne, 3 1/2 sw and w 1/2sw. that were issued on March 20, 1837. There > were several SMITH families throughout Vigo Co. I believe this is > probably your ancestor. > > I recently found death certificates and wills in the land records of > another branch of my family. I recommend you start there. Also look at > the families surrounding John SCOTT and even look hard at John BRITTON, > you might get a clue to a family that her mother came from. > > An example of this is my John POYNER was the s/o of Benjamin POYNER. On > the Putnam County Land Patent Map I found Benjamin POYNER living next > door to Ransom MOSS and Lyman LOVE, who married Ransom and Delilah's > sister. Less than 10 miles away was Jacob SCOTT and Delilah MOSS SCOTT. > Several SCOTT's, WRIGHTS, and other family members surround Benjamin > POYNER as well. All family members to Martha SCOTT. So if you can > prove this John SCOTT is your John SCOTT then it's possible the inlaws > are nearby. > > On a different note I have seen some family trees on the net that say > that Temple Calhoun Smith's Martha was Martha MANSFIELD, not Martha > SCOTT at all. So you have your work cut out for you. > > I'm sorry I can't help you further in your search. I hope this little > bit helps. Jan who is celebrating the mystery is solved in OK > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > >

Thank you, Jan who is busily entering all the new info she just received in OK Jeff Scism wrote: > Jan, > > Don't you just love it when the pieces start making sense? > > Congratulations, and good advice on sorting out the possibilities.