Re: Establishing a SC-OLD Ninety-Six List I, too, would like to express my disappointment to Rootsweb for not allowing a SC-Old 96th List to be established, and would like to give what I feel are reasonable reasons for having this. When the upper part of South Carolina was opened up for settlement after the Revolutionary War and the Cherokee Indians ceded (or forced to move out) by our government, many settlers from VA, NC, etc., acquired State land grants to settle in the newly opened up old Ninety-Six District. It was not until later that this District divided into counties or subdivided into Districts, such as Pendleton District. Many of us are descended from these early settlers and have a great deal of problem finding records to prove our lineage. Records were recorded in many places, some of the recording sites dissolved such as Pendleton District, and only through much research does one know where to look for these records. I understand that some of the records are recorded in North Carolina counties as the line between NC and SC was definitive at that time. Only through many seminars from experienced genealogists or perhaps through accidental finding such records and sharing this knowledge allows many of us who are stuck to continue our research. I am completely stuck on one of my lines, for 15 years in fact. As many of us who research in SC know, it is one of the most difficult states to find records that many states take for granted. There are no marriage license records, death records, nor birth records. You must look in Court records, try to find old newspaper articles that may mention a death, marriage or birth. The exchange of information between List members is essential to help each other. Everyone does not have access to go to Seminars and hear knowledgeable professional genealogist speak and give suggestions where to look for these records. I want to give two suggestions to these List Members that I never knew before: 1. According to Brent Holcombe, renowned genealogist for SC and NC, when looking for records disposition of land when someone dies, if the estate is less than $1,000.00, look in the Probate Records and they reflect how this land was disposed. If the estate was more than $1,000.00, look in the Minutes of Common Pleas and it would name the individual who owns the land and to whom it was disposed. Both of these are the best place to find information to prove lineage. Many people did not have nor leave a Will. 2. In lieu of a Will, the estate would have to settled Intestate. In my great grandfather's case (he died in the Civil War) and he had not prepared a Will, therefore, the small estate had to be settled Intestate after his death. It was from the Court records, such as the information of letters, correspondence, etc., between the family and the Court which offered me proof of the marriage of my grandmother. In one of the letters, it stated that she intermarried with William Robertson. That line was physical proof of her marriage to my grandfather. It also gave me the name of my great grandmother, Rebecca Jane, which the census only reflected R.J. There is one fly in this ointment, as the old saying goes, it is at different time periods you must know where these Court Records were kept. At one time there was a Court House for the Pendleton District for a period of time, some of the SC counties were part of what became some of the NC counties later when the line between the two states was determined. All the counties in the Old Ninety-Six District have different places their records were kept. We can all help each other and present our questions and another person may know the answer. I realize that everyone looks at a questionable problem from their own viewpoint. From my viewpoint, having an Old Ninety-Six Line would be a tremendous help for me. Now, from the viewpoint of Rootsweb, which I understand is now combined with Ancestry.Com (I may be mistaken about this, but I thought I read it someplace), this should be a wonderful, worthwhile things for you because your bottom line purpose is to acquire good, accurate genealogical information that can basically be added to the already existing genealogy that is for sale on Ancestry.Com. It would be a profitable venture for Rootsweb. Just wanted to add my thoughts on this subject. Betty Rich

Bravo, Betty! Well said! -----Original Message----- From: BLRIC@aol.com [mailto:BLRIC@aol.com] Sent: Friday, October 18, 2002 2:30 PM To: SCUNION-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [SCUNION] Establishing a SC-OLD96 list. Re: Establishing a SC-OLD Ninety-Six List I, too, would like to express my disappointment to Rootsweb for not allowing a SC-Old 96th List to be established, and would like to give what I feel are reasonable reasons for having this. When the upper part of South Carolina was opened up for settlement after the Revolutionary War and the Cherokee Indians ceded (or forced to move out) by our government, many settlers from VA, NC, etc., acquired State land grants to settle in the newly opened up old Ninety-Six District. It was not until later that this District divided into counties or subdivided into Districts, such as Pendleton District. Many of us are descended from these early settlers and have a great deal of problem finding records to prove our lineage. Records were recorded in many places, some of the recording sites dissolved such as Pendleton District, and only through much research does one know where to look for these records. I understand that some of the records are recorded in North Carolina counties as the line between NC and SC was definitive at that time. Only through many seminars from experienced genealogists or perhaps through accidental finding such records and sharing this knowledge allows many of us who are stuck to continue our research. I am completely stuck on one of my lines, for 15 years in fact. As many of us who research in SC know, it is one of the most difficult states to find records that many states take for granted. There are no marriage license records, death records, nor birth records. You must look in Court records, try to find old newspaper articles that may mention a death, marriage or birth. The exchange of information between List members is essential to help each other. Everyone does not have access to go to Seminars and hear knowledgeable professional genealogist speak and give suggestions where to look for these records. I want to give two suggestions to these List Members that I never knew before: 1. According to Brent Holcombe, renowned genealogist for SC and NC, when looking for records disposition of land when someone dies, if the estate is less than $1,000.00, look in the Probate Records and they reflect how this land was disposed. If the estate was more than $1,000.00, look in the Minutes of Common Pleas and it would name the individual who owns the land and to whom it was disposed. Both of these are the best place to find information to prove lineage. Many people did not have nor leave a Will. 2. In lieu of a Will, the estate would have to settled Intestate. In my great grandfather's case (he died in the Civil War) and he had not prepared a Will, therefore, the small estate had to be settled Intestate after his death. It was from the Court records, such as the information of letters, correspondence, etc., between the family and the Court which offered me proof of the marriage of my grandmother. In one of the letters, it stated that she intermarried with William Robertson. That line was physical proof of her marriage to my grandfather. It also gave me the name of my great grandmother, Rebecca Jane, which the census only reflected R.J. There is one fly in this ointment, as the old saying goes, it is at different time periods you must know where these Court Records were kept. At one time there was a Court House for the Pendleton District for a period of time, some of the SC counties were part of what became some of the NC counties later when the line between the two states was determined. All the counties in the Old Ninety-Six District have different places their records were kept. We can all help each other and present our questions and another person may know the answer. I realize that everyone looks at a questionable problem from their own viewpoint. From my viewpoint, having an Old Ninety-Six Line would be a tremendous help for me. Now, from the viewpoint of Rootsweb, which I understand is now combined with Ancestry.Com (I may be mistaken about this, but I thought I read it someplace), this should be a wonderful, worthwhile things for you because your bottom line purpose is to acquire good, accurate genealogical information that can basically be added to the already existing genealogy that is for sale on Ancestry.Com. It would be a profitable venture for Rootsweb. Just wanted to add my thoughts on this subject. Betty Rich ==== SCUNION Mailing List ==== To reach the list administrator: mailto:mfournier@atlantic.net ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237

Betty; Your post is one of the best I have seen on any list for all the years I have been on these list. It is one of the most informative discussions on this subject I have read in my 45+ years of researching the SMITH family of Union Co. SC. Thank you very much for posting it here. Robert Fleet Smith III Victoria, TX BLRIC@aol.com wrote: > Re: Establishing a SC-OLD Ninety-Six List > > I, too, would like to express my disappointment to Rootsweb for not allowing > a SC-Old 96th List to be established, and would like to give what I feel are > reasonable reasons for having this. > > When the upper part of South Carolina was opened up for settlement after the > Revolutionary War and the Cherokee Indians ceded (or forced to move out) by > our government, many settlers from VA, NC, etc., acquired State land grants > to settle in the newly opened up old Ninety-Six District. It was not until > later that this District divided into counties or subdivided into Districts, > such as Pendleton District. Many of us are descended from these early > settlers and have a great deal of problem finding records to prove our > lineage. Records were recorded in many places, some of the recording sites > dissolved such as Pendleton District, and only through much research does one > know where to look for these records. I understand that some of the records > are recorded in North Carolina counties as the line between NC and SC was > definitive at that time. Only through many seminars from experienced > genealogists or perhaps through accidental finding such records and sharing > this knowledge allows many of us who are stuck to continue our research. I > am completely stuck on one of my lines, for 15 years in fact. > > As many of us who research in SC know, it is one of the most difficult states > to find records that many states take for granted. There are no marriage > license records, death records, nor birth records. You must look in Court > records, try to find old newspaper articles that may mention a death, > marriage or birth. The exchange of information between List members is > essential to help each other. Everyone does not have access to go to > Seminars and hear knowledgeable professional genealogist speak and give > suggestions where to look for these records. I want to give two suggestions > to these List Members that I never knew before: > > 1. According to Brent Holcombe, renowned genealogist for SC and NC, when > looking for records disposition of land when someone dies, if the estate is > less than $1,000.00, look in the Probate Records and they reflect how this > land was disposed. If the estate was more than $1,000.00, look in the > Minutes of Common Pleas and it would name the individual who owns the land > and to whom it was disposed. Both of these are the best place to find > information to prove lineage. Many people did not have nor leave a Will. > > 2. In lieu of a Will, the estate would have to settled Intestate. In my > great grandfather's case (he died in the Civil War) and he had not prepared a > Will, therefore, the small estate had to be settled Intestate after his > death. It was from the Court records, such as the information of letters, > correspondence, etc., between the family and the Court which offered me > proof of the marriage of my grandmother. In one of the letters, it stated > that she intermarried with William Robertson. That line was physical proof > of her marriage to my grandfather. It also gave me the name of my great > grandmother, Rebecca Jane, which the census only reflected R.J. > > There is one fly in this ointment, as the old saying goes, it is at different > time periods you must know where these Court Records were kept. At one time > there was a Court House for the Pendleton District for a period of time, some > of the SC counties were part of what became some of the NC counties later > when the line between the two states was determined. All the counties in the > Old Ninety-Six District have different places their records were kept. We > can all help each other and present our questions and another person may know > the answer. > > I realize that everyone looks at a questionable problem from their own > viewpoint. From my viewpoint, having an Old Ninety-Six Line would be a > tremendous help for me. > > Now, from the viewpoint of Rootsweb, which I understand is now combined with > Ancestry.Com (I may be mistaken about this, but I thought I read it > someplace), this should be a wonderful, worthwhile things for you because > your bottom line purpose is to acquire good, accurate genealogical > information that can basically be added to the already existing genealogy > that is for sale on Ancestry.Com. It would be a profitable venture for > Rootsweb. > > Just wanted to add my thoughts on this subject. > > Betty Rich > > ==== SCUNION Mailing List ==== > To reach the list administrator: > mailto:mfournier@atlantic.net > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237