FAMILY HISTORY SEARCH 2 YEARS LATER

Permelia Minnis Roberts, daughter of Edward "Ned" Minnis and Duphena Bass Minnis, wife of William Doral Roberts. She was born in 1861, in Oakland, Illinois.
Charles Edward Minnis, born in 1869, and is the son of Edward Minnis and Duphena Bass Minnis. He married Francis McPherson and Capitola Taylor.

+ This is a picture of Edward and Duphena Bass Minnis's daughters. L- Jerusha Minnis Bowen-wife of Thompson James Bown, Permilia Minnis Roberts-wife of William Doral Roberts, Fannie Tyler- wife of Milton Tyler, and Jenette Minnis Walden-wife of Simeon Walden.

This is a picture of William Doral Roberts, born in 1852, in Linton, Vigo, IN.

Wow, it's been two years since I've updated this blog. A lot has happened in my quest to search out my family history. Many of the questions I posed in the beginning have been answered. I now have over 4,000 people in my Ancestry.com family tree. Hmm.

Edward Minnis, my 3 greats grandpa whose story absolutely drove me crazy. I never found his father, but I think the mystery of his mother has been solved. It came from that 1860 census, the one that at first I couldn't find because he was not only listed as being white, but he also not listed in the home of his wife, Duphena "Emily" Bass and their children. Instead, I found him in the household of Melissa Olmstead and Lucy Dupee. Also listed, were Melissa's children by her husband, William, and Lucy (Minnis) Manuel. Lucy, I had earlier determined was the sister of Edward. She'd married George Manuel, but why wasn't she listed in her husband's home with her children?

That's where help came in. Two fantastic women helped me find the answer. It turns out that Melissa Olmstead, born in 1810 in Kentucky was the daughter of Lucy Dupee, born in 1790 and Edward Dupee, born 1787. Melissa and her mother were listed in Edward Dupee's will. I think the reason Edward and Lucy Minnis were in Lucy Dupee's household was because they were the grandchildren of, and named after, Lucy and Edward Dupee. And Melissa was their mother or aunt. I wish I had a time machine and could go back and ask, but I can't. But given that these families remained together in Brushy Creek from the 1840's to 1879 when the emmigrated to Kansas, I believe they were tied by blood.

Another dead end that chewed on me for a long time was that of Archable Roberts (father of William Doral Roberts). I traced his wife Evaline to her father Joseph Artis. His father, Archibald Artis, who fought in the civil war and all the way back to Hester Artis, born in 1687. Her mother was Katherine Anderson, born in 1670. Katherine Anderson and her children were freed by John Fulcher. Archable, born in 1814, was descended from the Roberts family but who his parent were was a mystery until this year. Again, I had the help of a distant cousin. She found his parents free papers. His father was Benjamin Roberts and Sally Archer Roberts. Benjamin's dad was Ishmael Roberts, born in 1750, and his grandmother was Margaret Roberts, born in 1725. Sally Archer was the daughter of Keziah Corbin and Thomas Archer.

Many thanks go to Paul Heinegg for his research on these Free African American Families in Colonial North Carolina and Virgina.

BURN OUT

After logging all the new information I had received on various sides of the family tree, I needed to take a break. I was totally burnt-out. Each time I contemplated sitting at the computer and entering more data, I swear, the thought of it filled me with nausea... or the reaction stemmed from the fact that I had contracted the stomach flu which has been going around. Either way no computer for me. So today, I finally logged on and weeded through the 256 messages in my email and have read some of the words of support from family members who appreciate that I'm working on our family history, and I feel rejuvenated.

But, still not ready to do data entry, yuck!. I had mentioned that my mother sent a huge packet of information on the family, well for some reason, I felt it necessary to scan all the pictures and log all the names. And after all that work, I'm still stuck! Same questions, very few answers on the puzzles of the past.

In the papers I received there were a couple of clues. There was a marriage certificate for one of the Dotson's that listed his mother's name as Elizabeth Buzzby. This is the "Blackfoot" grandmother, known only as Charlotte, who traveled by wagon train to Kansas. According to her son, my uncle she was unable to speak English. She was born in Louisiana and was found with her husband Jordan Dotson in Columbus, Lowndes, Mississippi in 1870. Prior to that there is no record that I have found. I learned from someone else researching the Dotson's that they were Creek, and that some were slave owners who after the war traveled with their slaves West. Some settled in Utah, and some stopped along the way. Jordan and Charlotte were listed as black on the 1970 census and were living in a predominantly African-American neighborhood during that time. So with the addition of her maiden name I began to search for Buzzby's or Busby's from Louisiana. So far, I'm still stuck.

Also listed in the papers was that Edward Minnis' wife's maiden name was Bass. I asked my mom and aunt where the maiden name came from but they could not remember. They had done their research ten or more years ago, and couldn't remember where they found the info. I decided to run the name Bass with Edward Minnis ancestries data base and found a marriage in Indiana for a Duphena E. Bass to an Edward Minnie (hopefully a typo).

This is the same town that the Roberts (who are related to William Roberts) moved to. I contacted the Vigo County Library and for a dollar they will send copies of all the marriage certificates that I found in Ancestry. So I'm getting that one as well as the marriage certificates for Archable Roberts and Eveline Artis. Hopefully, there will be some information listed on them that will help in the search. I found out from the librarian that Indiana did not keep birth or death certificates back in the 1840's. I also began searching in Indiana for an Emily Bass, and funny enough I found one. Even more interesting I was able to trace the family back the same way I did the Artis line using Mr. Heinegg's book. So now all I have to do is wait to see what the marriage certificate says to know whether I'm even on the right track. I could still be completely off base, and Elizabeth Ann Lee is Emily (doesn't it flow well).

I bought a book called "Southern Seed, Northern Soil" about the Roberts who came from North Carolina and settled in Indiana. It mentioned that they had to take their free-papers and provide them to the County Clerk when the left North Carolina and then when they settled in Indiana. I will see if I can track down Archable that way. I forgot to ask the librarian if they had those on record when I called her about the marriage certificate.

Roberts Family link to Archable Roberts

My mother sent a bunch of pictures and information that she and my Aunt Charlotte had located while doing their own research. I've been adding this information to the family tree on ancestry, as well. I've included some picture I had received.

The one below is of my great, great, grandmother William and Permelia Roberts' daughters Eva Roberts Tumbleson, her daughter Irene Tumbleson and Dollie Roberts Taylor.

This is the picture of Permelia (2nd woman) and her sisters. The second picture is of Permelia's children Ida, Norman, Carrie, and Jennie.

I also have started a second tree which details the Roberts family in Ancestry. Hopefully someone will see it and have additional information. I have sourced Paul Heinegg's "Free African American's in Colonial Virgina and North Carolina. I also had the Roberts Settlement family tree documents my mother had gotten from the Library of Congress. By putting the names in Ancestry, I have been able to narrow down Archable's family since he was living in Vigo, in 1850 with the Stewart family. Hezekiah Roberts was living there as well. It is slow going but making progress.