need help finding info on someone from the 1700s?

Question

her name is Vanna Cooke and her husband was Edmund John Lawrence. She lived in both Massachusetts and Connecticut at different times. And she lived 1757 to 1798. If you can find anything about her at all it would be a great help thank you.

Answer 1

Hey Clouds,

There are a number of entries in LDS Family Search site.

Edmund LAWRENCE (AFN: NRCV-WM) Pedigree
Sex: M Family
Event(s):
Birth: 14 Apr 1745
Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts
Parents:
Father: Thomas LAWRENCE (AFN: NRCV-T9) Family
Mother: Sarah HOUGHTON (AFN: NRCV-VG)

The word Pedigree may mean a graphic tree presentation of Edmund includes more than just his parents, or it could mean just his parents. So, I looked and this tree is quite well spelled out. It does not include Edmund's marriage(s). also, there are many entries for Edmund in Mass.

I did not find Vanna. Cooke, is a name that came over on the Mayflower, and is well documented in the Mayflower records. Francis Cooke is one of my Ancestors. Perhaps we are distant cousins.

The GENFORUM has 2 Forums, one is general, and the other is for Texas. Sometimes the state specific sites do show migrations of the families too. I searched for Vanna at both of these sites, and did not find any messages that include her. You should post your question there to see if someone may have information about Vanna.

Answer 2

My process, when I hit a "brick wall", is to step back and analyse the information I have, particularly asking about the source of the information I do have. With online research being so popular, we can sometimes fall into the trap of naming another researcher as our source... and never look for the ORIGINAL record that the info is based on. A reliable researcher is usually happy to share that, since they are interested in being certain of their facts.
Having said that, if you are certain that Vanna was his wife, you might need to do an in depth search of all Cooke records in that locality. The ideal is perhaps the will of Mr. Cooke (or even his wife) with some comment such as my daughter, Vanna, wife of Edmund Lawrence. Men inheirited on behalf of their wives, thus Edmund appearing as heir to a Cooke would be a red flag. Remember too, Mrs. Cooke could have been a widow who remarried, and her will under another name. How about adjoining counties?
Last, I love land records. People did not always leave wills. Land records are seldom online, unfortunately, because of sheer volume. IF Edmund was witness to a Cooke land transaction, it is a solid clue. Remember, the male Cooke might be a sibling, and it is possible he would show up in a file with his parents, even if Vanna has been missed.

Answer 3

If RustSKIPper's passage above is correct, your Vanna was married into a VERY prestigious family with ties to Oliver Cromwell and easily traced back to the 14th century. Here's a quick review of this line, which is very well documented (to say the least).

http://www.gwdow.net/pdffiles/henrylawi.pdf


More pertinent to the immediate question, though, is that there is a lack of any mention of Vanna in any of the primary resources we usually use in researching colonial America. It's curious that there's not even mention of their marriage in either Massachusetts or Connecticut databases. So my first question is how reliable is your source that says she was Edmund's wife?

Next I can give you some direction into privately held databases of impeccible repute that may be able to help you. The first is the Daughters of the American Revolution. If your Edmund or any of his sons fought in the Revolution, it's very possible that the DAR has information on them and can give you a wealth of information. They will do the lookup for you, usually within a couple of days, and email their findings to you.

Next is the New England Historical Genealogical Society. http://www.newenglandancestors.org/ .....Vanna is NOT a common name in the era and there aren't many hits on the name run without a surname. That makes me question again the veracity of her marriage to Edmund.

I can't even do a reverse in normal records and find a child with the last name Lawrence whose mother's first name is Vanna. So the obvious question is how certain are you of the name and the dates? Also, if you want to give us the dates you have on Edmund, maybe we can trace her through him.

Answer 4

You can type there names in the search bar.Like google or yahoo.

Answer 5

GOOD LUCK ON THAT