Suggestions for 2 brick walls?

Question

Hey-

Like most amateur genealogists I can can trace some branches of the family almost back to the Ark (complete with a copy of their boarding pass) with no problem while one within the past century can drive me nuts. I have two brick walls with my great-great-grandparents and would love suggestions.

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Andrew Mason Caton- I know that he was born 12 Feb 1815 in York District, S.C.. In a book of dates in his own handwriting he lists his own d.o.b. and that "Mary Polly Boggs Caton died 4 April 1815", but he doesn't say who she is. He never mentions his father or any siblings; I've assumed that M.P.B.C. was his mother but do not know this.

I know that Andrew died in 1908 (I have his obit), was survived by all 14 of his children, and have tons of info on him from 1840 onward, but I can't find his parents. The census lists other Catons & Boggs in York District, SC, around the time of his birth, but of course these are the 1810/1820 censuses so no wives and children are named.

Answer 1

I shudder when anyone mentions SC research... you already know that they did not require marriages or births until so late, compared to other states.

The obvious gold mine would be a will of Mr Boggs, complete with the comment "my daughter Polly, wife of John Caton".  But, you know that you MIGHT find that nugget indexes, but the MEAT of the document, will not necessarily be online.  And the suggestion of what you have is that (if she was the mom), she died shortly after Andrew's birth. Meaning, her father may have survived her. Then you pray that Mr Boggs left goodies to his grandchildren.

The other gold is often land, land, land. You already know Boggs are in the neighborhood. Adjoining the Catons? witnesses on deeds? Traveled together after the Rev. from Virginia? Have you found the Boggs family guru, who might know who Mary belongs to?

I'll try to run this later on today.  Neglected housework is screaming for attention.

I'd love to see a copy of that boarding pass. *grin*

Answer 2

Rootsweb(free site)has a message board  for Bogg.  If you put a message on it , it will also be on the Ancestry.Com message board and the Roosweb mailing list.  You might need a sign on.  

http://www.heraldry.ws/info/article10.ht...

Looks like they have a very active message board for Caton.  

http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.cato...

They have location message board also.  You can go under U.S., then South Carolina and then a county.  

Of course, their ancestors might have been in North Carolina or Virginia previously.  There seems to have been a migratory pattern in a lot of my family lines from Virginia to North Carolina to South Carolina, to Georgia, to Alabams and then to Texas.  New lands opened up and people moved on.  Often times they stayed at an in between place for a several years before moving to the next destination.

Answer 3

If the lady you think is Andrews mum was his mum and not a sister/twin then it is possible she died of complications following childbirth and there maybe a record in the local paper.

There maybe entries in parish records or details on the marriage certificates of other family members.

Good luck.

These may help

http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/index.asp

http://www.findagrave.com/