I am researching my ancestry, mostly on ancestry.com, and have hit a dead end. Anybody have any ideas?

Question

I am researching the Worley family from Georgia. My great great grandfather Samuel Marvin Worley, born around 1863, was Newlan worley's son. Newlan 's father was said to be raised by Indians, and when he grew up, he married a Indian. Therefore, Samuel would be 1/2 Native american Indian. I can't find info on Newlan, and I can't find his parents names. I also don't know what tribe they were from. I am also at a dead end, with Samuels 1st wife Nannie Elizabeth Phillips, born 1876.

Does anybody have any idea's where to go from here?

I found a second cousin on ancestry.com, and she had lots of info that she got from family records. Also we have been to the morman church, and plan on going again!

Answer 1

This was on www.familysearch.org
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SAMUEL WORLEY Pedigree
Male Family


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Event(s):
Birth:
Christening:
Death:
Burial:


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Marriages:
Spouse: NANNIE PHILLIPS Family
Marriage: 29 AUG 1894 , Whitfield, Georgia


Also found another Nannie listed in their Social Security Death Index (at least I think it's a different one):

NANNIE PHILLIPS
b. 27 Feb. 1876
d. 15 May 1969--Bogard, Missouri
SSN: 499-54-7812
There was also a listing for a NANNIE E PHILLIPS, b.about 1875 in Alabama; father was THORNTON PHILLIPS.
As for Newlan--go to www.cyndislist.com and check out her Native American pages. If he was raised by Indians, he very well could be listed on the DAWES ROLLS, a listing taken of all the Indians forcibly moved from the east to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears. The listing was done between 1893 and 1907.

To add to Seraph1818's answer, the Freedmen listed on the Dawes Rolls were slaves, at one time, owned by the Indians.

Answer 2

I know that you haven't found out which tribe, yet, but have you tried the Dawes Rolls? "Index to the Final Rolls of Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory (Dawes)"

These are lists of people accepted between 1898 and 1914 by the Dawes Commission as members of these five Indian tribes: Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole. (see more details includng suggests on what to do when you do not know the person's tribe by going to: http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/tutorial/dawes/index.html )

I know nothing of researching Native American materials, but just played around a bit and found a Jesse A. WORLEY listed under "Choctaws by Marriage ". Go to: http://tinyurl.com/2fhhro and click on #116 . Also, try # 236 "Chickasaw Freedman" as there are about 15 WORLEYs listed there...Rufus, Eastman, Anna, Abb, Wilson, James, John, Albert, Emma, Rosa, Hugh, Becky, and Sydney. (The Freedman may be African Americans that joined the tribe, but I am not certain of this.)

I searched throughout and I believe those are the only WORLEYS on this database. They may not be yours or the correct tribe, but it does show that there were people w/ that surname that were listed on official rolls.



Good luck.

Answer 3

You can't rely solely on websites. Also, you have to be very careful about taking as fact information you see in family trees on any website. Most is not documented. Frequently you will see the same information on the same person many times without documentation. All too often it is because people are copying and many times they are copying errors.

You need to get as much information from your family as possible, particularly your senior members. Tape them if they will let you. They might be a little confused on some things but things they might tell which might not seem to be very important will frequently turn out to be very important.

Call your nearest Latter Day Saints (Mormon) Church and find out if they have a Family History Center and if so they hours they are open for the general public. They have records on people all over the world, not just Mormons. Their temple in Salt Lake City has the world's largest genealogical collection. Their Family History Center can order microfilm for you to view.

Your public library might also have a good genealogy section. You need to check it out.

While at the Family History Center, you will have a great opportunity to talk with people who can give you some good ideas.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

Two quick and simple suggestions that you can use right now, at home. Go to www.familysearch.org. Then open the Library tab, then the Familiy History Library Catalogue tab, then search by "Surname", (Samuel Worley) or the "Keyword search", (Worley +Georgia). This will provide you with a list of Family History books to review for revelancy to your problem. 2nd. Go to Rootsweb.com (unlike Ancestry.com it is a free site) and do a search on Samuel Morley then refine the search (at the bottom of the page listing the first results) with his date of birth and (- or - 10 years) and his wife's first name. And then as a staff member of a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint Family History Center I invite you to go to one of our centers near for additional help. Its free and everyone is welcome.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting. P.S. I know you will eventually find him.

Answer 5

My main suggestion, keep posing on their (and other site's) message boards. Sometimes it takes a while for the right person or the info to turn up, but it's likely that eventually another clue will. And sometimes it just takes that one little clue to get you off looking in the right place for more.

Have you looked at the census stuff much? Some libraries tap into Heritage Quest Online and let you use it for free. (I'm actually able to use it from home with my library card info.) It has lots of census info that can proved a little bit of a paper trail.

Answer 6

Hi Have you tried rootsweb? they have a lot of Native american information that might help. Also in your search engine at the top of your computer screen when you open Windows exployer type in Native American I do believe that they have a web site that can give you contact information for each of the Native tribes. P Carson

Answer 7

Okay, I know that this isn't really going to help, but it's the Latter Day Saints. Is that really too hard to understand?
Anywho, I'd stink with the Family History Center at whatever church building you went to. There's information there about most families in the area, and not all about LDS. Anywho, hope you work out your problem.
~Tap Happy

Answer 8

Ive been here ok . Lets see , Try checking in Court rooms,librarys,Collages have a welth in there on Micoro-film,Papers,History books ,Other books on ancestry may help . Other places to look town offices (Birth-Death-Divorce-Adoptions,Etc) Pasters/clergy man. Cemeteries.You might try going thru your Gr,Gr.Gr mothers name as well . Lots of times indians were not allowed to use their names in usa, Tanguay book might help too

Answer 9

Keep posting questions on message boards. I've gotten responses years later and made a few interesting connections.

Answer 10

if you have time, go to georgia, near where your ancestors came from to see their records. or if you dont have time to go, look online at USGenWeb. they have volunteers locally that will look for your ancestors for free. all you have to do is pay any expenses they might have gone to. i know there are volunteers in North Carolina, they probably do it in Georgia too. Good Luck!