Finding Elizabeth's Birthplace: Did I Succeed?

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On January 11th, I started the Research Like a Pro 14-Day Mini Challenge to work through the RLP process on a small research project. To catch up, read: Following Along the Research Like a Pro Mini-Challenge and Making Progress in the RLP Mini-Challenge. 

Did I meet my goal? Read on about the final steps in the challenge.

January 25 - Source Citations

Another day devoted to source citations, and I've finished up the remaining ones needed for Elizabeth's timeline. Creating the citations helped me to find a few more affidavit birth records for her children when originally I thought there were only database index entries for them.

Here's one more citation I created, for one of these affidavits:

Erath County, Texas, Affidavit Birth Record, Vol. 8, March-April 1942, p. 262, Walter Franklin Stephen, (8 September 1884); digital Image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9VH-PXQP : accessed 25 January, 2023); citing County Courthouse, Stephenville.  

Tomorrow's task: Research!

January 26 - Research Log

Today it's time to research! I'm diving into my prioritized research plan. I'm also logging my research in my Airtable base, including writing citations for the sources I'm checking.

 

My hunch to check the Fayette Co., Georgia tax digests was a good one, as I found Elizabeth's father Caswell Kite in tax lists beginning in 1849 and ending in 1851. I checked through 1859 just to be sure. Here's the last time Caswell appears in the Fayette tax lists:¹

 

 

On the recommendation of a recent webinar I watched, I abstracted all Fayette Co. taxpayers with the Kite surname in the years I expected Caswell Kite to be there. I found the family of Caswell's wife Harriet Kite (they were cousins!) as well. Many of them also disappear from the Fayette tax lists; by 1856, only one man, Major "Kight," is still paying taxes in Fayette's 13th district.

 

Recall the hypothesis is that Elizabeth was born in Butler Co., Alabama. Her father's absence in the Fayette tax lists from 1852 onward at least establishes that he was no longer in Fayette, Georgia. Does it prove where Elizabeth was born? Not yet, but it is one piece in the puzzle. 

 

Now to look for the Kite family in Butler, Alabama...

 

January 27 - Research Log

Today is research day 2, and I'm back at following my research plan. I moved from the tax records to Butler, Alabama land records, since Caswell Kite, Elizabeth's father, stopped paying taxes after 1851 in Fayette, Georgia, prior to her birth. Fortunately, the records are all digitized on FamilySearch. I followed the same procedure as I did with tax records, and looked at all the deeds for the surname Kite. It's pretty clear that several Kite families moved together to Alabama, as they were the same men who paid taxes in Fayette. I've also confirmed two entries where "Caswell Kite and his wife Harriet Kite" are noted; recall that Harriet Kite is Elizabeth's mother. Score!

But this record really got my attention, stating: "...made this 15th 1856 day of December eighteen hundred and fifty-six...and Caswell Kite of Randolph and the same state..." (meaning Randolph County, Alabama). The next deed where Caswell is mentioned is in 1860, where he is named as "of the County of Butler and State of Alabama."²

 

 

So, if Elizabeth was born in the mid-1850s, and Caswell left Georgia no later than 1852 and was in Randolph County in 1856, before eventually arriving in Butler by 1860 (census and deed), then it's likely Elizabeth was born in Randolph County. Who knew?

 

It's always possible that a research plan can change mid-project, depending on what you find. I might just need to look at Randolph County now to see if I can determine when exactly Caswell Kite arrived there. 

 

Onward... 

January 28 - Report Writing - Outline

Today's task is to begin the report writing process. For me, this step is really enjoyable. I love to write, and to be able to explain what I've discovered and how is really gratifying. I also know that I can share my report online or with other researchers. I often put my reports on an ancestor's profile page on my Ancestry tree, or in the Memories section of their FamilySearch Family Tree profile. That way, others can benefit from my research.

 

In today's challenge instructions, it's suggested to "...make an outline of what you learned following your research plan and doing the research. Use your research log to guide you and put what you learned in a logical order. There are many ways to organize your findings - by record type, chronological order, or in order of how you found them." How best can I communicate what I have found?

Since my goal is to discover the birthplace of Elizabeth Kite, supposedly born about 1854-55, determining where her family was and when is important. So listing my findings chronologically to establish a timeline will work well. The RLP Report Template pulls all the steps together in one place as a reminder of what to write about. 

Can't wait to get started.

 

January 29 - Report Writing 

Must admit, I spent a good deal of time writing the report yesterday, and left some of the citations and clean up for today. Having done this challenge a few times before, I knew what to expect.

I feel really good about my conclusion. And yes, given the evidence I uncovered, I believe I have found Elizabeth Kite's birthplace: Randolph County, Alabama, where her father had several land patents. This location was also mentioned in deeds for land he sold or purchased, where he was referred to as "...of Randolph County." I decided to correlate the evidence in a timeline, presented as a table. Elizabeth's birth was noted in the midst of several land transactions in Randolph County, so she was almost certainly born there.  

HistoryGeo mapping of various Kite land patents overlaid onto a current-day map of Randolph and Cleburne Counties. In Caswell Kite's day, all this area was located in Randolph Co.³

During the challenge, I learned a great deal more about the Kite family than is included in my report, including errors in online trees, two Kite men combined as one, probate proceedings for Elizabeth's grandfather, and more.

If you haven't used a research methodology in the past, I hope seeing how the RLP process works encourages you to take the leap. You can buy the Research Like a Pro book or borrow it from your local library. Authors Nicole Dyer and Diana Elder also host a weekly podcast, offering case studies using the methods, in-depth info on record sets and how to use them, using DNA in your research, etc. They also host study groups in the RLP method as well as Research Like a Pro with DNA. Check out all their offereings at Family Locket. 

I hope you've enjoyed following my progress in the RLP Challenge. If you'd like to read my full report, click here.

Until next time...

 

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A Researcher's Aside

Coincidentally, during the challenge, I watched a terrific webinar called "Finding Identity Through Tax Lists" by Gail Jackson Miller, recorded for the Texas State Genealogical Society's annual conference. Ms. Jackson Miller suggested the great methodology to abstract every individual taxpayer of the same surname the first time you look at tax records. This ultimately saves time in the long run, and reveals patterns and clues to the movements of individuals and families. I used this method for both tax records and land records for this project and it was immensely helpful. Without it, I don't think I would have made as much progress. Our ancestors did not live in a vacuum. They often moved in groups, and that movement is reflected in the records of their times. Consider this process the next time you are seeking an ancestor in these record sets.

 
NOTES

¹ Court of Ordinary, Fayette County, Georgia, Tax Digest, no page, 9th District, #124, Caswell Kite, 1849 taxes; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37K-L98R-S?cc=4130006&cat=192902 : accessed 26 January 2023); FHL film 008582944, image 32; citing Fayette County Courthouse, Fayetteville.
² Butler County, Alabama Deed Book F, p. 400, Thomas and Sarah Minard to Caswell Kite "of the county of Randolph and same state," 15 December 1856, recorded 9 August 1859; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKN-YQTR-N : accessed 29 January 2023); citing Butler County Courthouse, Greenville.
³ HistoryGeo land map image for Caswell Kite land patents, 1851 & 1854, Randolph/Cleburne Counties, Alabama, created by L. Douglas, Librarian, Special Collections, Denton Public Library, 28 January 2023