SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO HIRE AN EXPERT!

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        I have been doing genealogical research for almost 40 years.  Before the Internet, I mailed many letters requesting records with enclosed self-addressed stamped envelopes (and sometimes checks) to genealogical societies, churches, and county clerks.  I’ve been to Salt Lake City - the “Mecca” of genealogical research - and visited many county clerk’s and recorder of deeds offices as well as visited cemeteries.  I’ve attended family reunions and recorded hours of conversations with my parent’s siblings and cousins.  Nevertheless, after all the hours of research, I still have some “brick walls” that I can’t seem to break down.  For one of these, I decided it was time to hire a professional. 

         One brick wall is through my STOCKTON surname:  was Sarah Goodnight McGOWAN, my 3x great-grandmother and wife of Daniel Morgan STOCKTON, a Cherokee Indian? 

 


Photo identified as being of Sarah Goodnight McGOWAN STOCKTON

        Photos of her certainly lead to believe she was; I don’t really care either way, I’m not looking for any tribal enrollment I would just like proof, one way or the other, of this family tradition.  So, I bit the proverbial bullet and contacted TRACE, a research company that is associated with Ancestry.com.  Why go to a genealogical research company?  Because they can look at my research question, review all my family information, including family tree, birth, marriage and death records, land and deed records, census records, military records, etc., and select a professional genealogical researcher whose expertise fits my specific research needs.  In this case, I needed someone who knew where to find, and how to navigate, Native American records, as well as post-Revolutionary War records.  Most states or counties did not require birth and death records be kept until much later in American history, and frequently those records were destroyed as a result of fire, particularly southern states during the Civil War.  The time from when I paid with credit card until I received the final 37-page research report was almost one year.

         Sarah was born in 1793 in Virginia, her parents were unknown.  She married Daniel Morgan STOCKTON in 1815, in Wayne County, Kentucky.  They had nine children, three born in Kentucky, four born in Tennessee, and the last two born in Missouri.  I am descended from their seventh child, Andrew Jackson STOCKTON (1832-1902). 

         The infamous Trail of Tears took place between 1837 and 1838.  Southeastern Native Americans, including approximately 2300 Cherokee, were forced off of their ancestral lands and transported to Oklahoma.  They travelled by foot, riverboat and railroad, arriving in Oklahoma where reservations were set up for the various tribes.  Fortunately, Sarah was married before this so she was not subjected to the relocation. 

 

Cherokee Trail of Tears historic marker, Decatur, Alabama


         In the research report, the researcher outlined her Methodology of research.  There were other research recommendations, but these are the ones I will try to research further. 

1.  DNA tests through Ancestry.com

My DNA does not indicate a Native American match, but the DNA of some identified as my relatives through Ancestry do have Native American genetic evidence.  Thank you to all my relatives – my brother Dean, 1st cousins, 2nd cousins, and beyond – who have submitted DNA results through Ancestry.com!  Remember, we all have 32 3x-great-grandparents, so there is no way every descendant has DNA from every 3x-gr-grandparent!  Admittedly, some of the Native American DNA found in these relatives could have come from other than Sarah, but that in-depth DNA research would take a genetic-genealogical researcher to sort out – a research expense for perhaps another time. 

 2.  McGowans who might be Sarah’s parents

There is evidence that David McGOWAN and his wife Sarah “Sally” Thompson HATFIELD (go ahead and giggle; I did when I read that!) were the parents of Sarah Goodnight McGOWAN.  The researcher stated, “Using documentary and genetic evidence, each generation between the client and David and Sarah McGowan were analyzed and supported by at least one piece of evidence.”  

          I was pleasantly surprised by the statement, “The client purchased 15 hours of research, but 25-30 hours were completed at no additional cost to the client.”  Wow, my researcher certainly went above and beyond!!

         So, the “bad news” is that there was no conclusive evidence that Sarah Goodnight McGowan was in fact Cherokee Indian.  But, the “good news” is that neither is there conclusive evidence that she was not, especially since there are traces of Native American DNA in some of my relatives.  The other “good news” is that I now have the names of Sarah’s parents and siblings.

 CONCLUSION     

         Yes, it was expensive, but I could have spent that much money or more, searching myself without knowing about the resources the professional knows about, and could have found some of what she found or nothing, but I certainly would not have been aware of all the records she was aware of, and where they are located.  The time I saved was a factor in paying for a professional.   

 

 

NEXT:  THE OLD HOMESTEAD – PHOTOS OF FAMILY HOMES

 

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