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Almost everybody who has spent any length of time doing genealogical research has at least one elusive branch of the family. Try as you might, you simply can't get beyond a certain point. For a few among us, that point may be only a generation or two in the past. For another few -- the more fortunate -- all of the the dead ends may be nine, ten or more generations back. Most of us find a road block or two in between those extremes.
This page is devoted to my genealogical road blocks. If you see somebody about whom you have information, please let me know at kseitz@earthlink.net.
I have been chasing my great-great grandparents, John and Hannah Elizabeth LANE, since I began my genealogical research in late 1985. I finally made (9 Oct 2004) a breakthrough on Hannah, but have many unanswered questions remaining on John.
Hannah E. Moffett married John A. Lane on 18 Dec. 1855 in Kent County, Md. It was John's second marriage. He had previously married Henrietta Miller on 15 July 1850 in Kent County. From the 1850 Kent County, Md., census and other sources, I now know Hannah is a daughter of Enoch A. Moffett and Martha A. Griffin and that the Moffett family of Kent County can be traced back to Scotland, arriving in Maryland in the 1600s.
In May 2010, I received pictures of Hannah's grave in Chesterville, Md., showing that she died 10 May 1866. John married for a third time, either before or after moving to Clinton County, Ill., in time for the 1870 census.
These findings are consistent with a note that came into my possession in mid 1998, although my interpretation of the name of the first wife in that note missed the mark. The note was apparently written by my mother based on information supplied by her mother. I do not know when it was written but it was probably in the 1940s or early 1950s. My mother died in 1959. Her mother died in 1945. What follows are the information in that note and my questions.
John LANE was born at sea between England and America (census information suggests about 1820). His father (name unknown) had died in England and his mother (name unknown) was on her way to her brother, who lived in Wilmington, Del. John's mother died when he was a baby and he and a sister (name unknown) grew up in Wilmington.
When a young man, John LANE moved to Maryland where he farmed and married first Etha MILLON (the note is hard to read at that point but if Henrietta was known as Etta, the last name could be a sloppy Miller). His second marriage was to my ancestor Hannah Elizabeth MOFFETT. According to my mother's note, their daughter and my great-grandmother, Martha Elizabeth or Mattie, had one step brother, one step sister, one half sister and one brother. I'm not sure what this means beyond John and Hannah having one daughter and one son. Presumably the half sister is John's child, but who is the mother, his first or third wife? How do the step brother and sister fit in? Are they children of Etta Miller by a first marriage or of John's third wife by a previous marriage?
In 1868, John LANE and his family moved to Illinois seeking cheaper and better land. They first settled in Fayette County where acquaintences from Maryland lived. After one year, they moved to Marion County, Ill. [this information does not quite fit what I have found, although John's daughter, Martha, did live in Marion County in 1880.]
While there is a lot of information available on the Moffetts, I remain without much information about John Lane. Does any of this information fit into your family tree? If so, please contact me at kseitz@earthlink.net
John McCULLOUGH's life is well documented after the mid 1830s. My problem is in getting back another generation. The best leads relate to his wife, Elizabeth M. BELL, whose ancestory has been discovered through some joint research by myself and some cousins. But first something about John.
