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Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Looking for Thankful Tefft – Part Two



I am presently working at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah and in my spare time from helping attendees at the Family History Expos’ Retreat, I am focusing on the ancestry of my Fourth-Great-Grandmother, Thankful Tefft Tanner, the wife of Joshua Tanner of Hopkinton, Washington, Rhode Island and Argyle, Washington, New York.

This series of blog posts is intended to show the methodology of searching for documentation for an ancestor. The above image is of the Hopkinton Town Record showing the dates of the birth of the children of Joshua and Thankful Tefft Tanner, including the birth of John Tanner, their illustrious son. Interestingly, this record has been sitting there since it was written back in the 1700s but never referenced by any of the many surname books on the family. The town clerks recorded the names and dates of birth of all of the children of Joshua and Thankful Tefft Tanner. This is an indication of the changes in the attitudes of the researchers towards family history or genealogical research.

At one time, it was acceptable if the researcher just said that he or she had “looked at the records” and recorded what they found. The problem was that subsequent family historians did not feel compelled to repeat the research, but accepted it on its face. One of the problems created was that as time passed, the copies of the original research became corrupted by errors. The original research may also have been faulty, but remained uncorrected. As copies were made of copies, more errors began to arise until we have today’s circumstances with dozens, perhaps hundreds of variations in the pedigrees and the facts concerning the family.

The current major emphasis on sources has started the process of correction and documentation but there are still a multitude of copies being made every day through the electronic online family trees.

Back to the research. With my ancestor, Thankful Tefft married to Joshua Tanner, there is a specific goal. She is a descendant of three of the Mayflower passengers who arrived in the New World in 1620 and settled in what became Plymouth, Massachusetts. Their lines for at least 5 generations down are exhaustively documented and any controversies or questions about birth, marriage and death extensively analyzed. The information about the families of each of the passengers has been published in different publications and is constantly discussed and updated.

I decided to start with Richard Warren, Francis Cooke and his son, John Cooke and correct the information I gathered some years ago with current information and then work down the Warren/Taber/Brownell/Tefft line to Thankful Tefft. In essence, go at the issue from both directions, examining the evidence and citing the sources. This would help document the next Tanner connection, establishing the parents of Joshua Tanner and also clarify some of the other ancestors in that time period. Bear in mind that this establishes, for me, twelve generations. With this line well established and documented, I can then work on the rest of the ancestral lines, using the documentation to establish further connections. None of the immigrants to America in any of my lines arrived any later than the mid-1800s. So there is little, if any real controversy about the first six generations of my ancestry.

Well, with that introduction, I am off for another day of helping researchers and filling the time with my own. 

7 comments:

  1. I am very interested in your research. I too am descended from Thankful Teft.
    My name is Scot Crismon and my father is William Crismon. Here is our line:

    William Crismon
    F: William Crismon
    F: Frank Crismon
    M: Mary Louise Tanner
    F: Sidney Tanner
    F: John Tanner
    M: Thankful Tefft
    F: William Tefft

    ReplyDelete
  2. Re: Joseph Tefft & Chloe Heath
    Posted by: Margaret Ernest Date: October 18, 2000 at 11:40:39
    In Reply to: Joseph Tefft & Chloe Heath by Donna Wilson of 278

    I assume you mean the Joseph & Chloe in this line (See 1.9 below):


    1 William TEFFT (1732 - 1822) & Mary KENYON (1733 - 1824)
    1.1a Pardon TEFFT* (1755 - 1808) & Amy GREEN (1756 - )
    1.1b Pardon TEFFT* (1755 - 1808) & Elizabeth ELDREDGE
    1.2 Thankful TEFFT (1757 - 1840) & Joshua TANNER (1757 - 1807)
    1.2.1 Polly (Mary) TANNER (1776 - 1856) & Thomas Potter BAKER
    1.2.2 John TANNER (1778 - )
    1.2.3 Thankful TANNER (1780 - 1859) & Alpheus BARBER
    1.2.4 Francis TANNER (1783 - 1831)
    1.2.5 Susannah TANNER (1784 - 1859)
    1.2.6 Betsey TANNER (1785 - 1869)
    1.2.7 Esther TANNER (1788 - )
    1.2.8 Pardon TANNER (1791 - 1881)
    1.2.9 Joshua TANNER (1795 - 1877) & Sarah [ ] TANNER (~1802 - 1869)
    1.2.10 William Tefft TANNER (1799 - 1879) & Lydia Diane FOSTER (1802 - 1883)
    1.3 David TEFFT (1760 - 1843) & Ruhama JAMES (1769 - 1854)
    1.3.1 Elizabeth TEFFT (1788 - 1866) & David WHIPPLE (1766 - 1834)
    1.4 William TEFFT (1763 - 1848) & Elizabeth JAMES (1767 - 1855)
    1.4.1 James TEFFT (1787 - 1863) & Patty HALL (1793 - 1825)
    1.4.2 Polly TEFFT (1793 - 1837) & William NORTON (1786 - 1861)
    1.4.3 Malinda TEFFT
    1.4.4 Almira TEFFT
    1.4.5 Sophia TEFFT ( - 1864) & Isaac Dunton CLARKE (1804 - 1888)
    1.4.6 Sarah TEFFT ( - 1881) & Consider WHITE ( - 1837)
    1.5 Mary TEFFT (1766 - <1769)
    1.6 John TEFFT (1767 - 1859) & Elizabeth HAMMOND
    1.7 Polly TEFFT (1769 - 1844) & Davis JAMES (1762 - 1812)
    1.7.1 William JAMES (1786 - 1865)
    1.7.2 Elizabeth JAMES (1788 - 1819)
    1.7.3 Deborah JAMES (1790 - 1845) & Ephraim PETTEYS (1787 - 1864)
    1.7.4 James JAMES (1793 - 1821)
    1.7.5 Davis JAMES (1796 - 1810)
    1.7.6 Joseph JAMES (1801 - 1852)
    1.7.7 Mary JAMES (1802 - 1873) & William MARSHALL (1797 - )
    1.8 James TEFFT (1776 - 1855) & Mary ROSS ( - 1867)
    1.8.1 Henry TEFFT (1804 - )
    1.8.2 George TEFFT (1806 - ) & Eliza A. [ ] TEFFT
    1.8.3 eliza TEFFT (1808 - 1816)
    1.8.4 pardon TEFFT (1810 - )
    1.9 Joseph TEFFT (1779 - 1870) & Chloe HEATH (1782 - 1867)
    1.9.1 Maria TEFFT (1803 - ) & Thomas HAGGERTY (1806 - 1874)
    1.9.2 Amanda TEFFT (1807 - 1883) & Orson SALISBURY ( - 1877)

    I have some other information, just do not have it all posted, as it is a collateral family to my Foster line.


    Followups:
    Re: Joseph Tefft & Chloe Heath Donna Wilson 10/18/00
    Re: Joseph Tefft & Chloe Heath Margaret Ernest 10/19/00

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comment. It would be interesting to see your sources.

      Delete
  3. Re: Joseph Tefft & Chloe Heath
    Posted by: Margaret Ernest Date: October 18, 2000 at 11:40:39
    In Reply to: Joseph Tefft & Chloe Heath by Donna Wilson of 278

    I assume you mean the Joseph & Chloe in this line (See 1.9 below):


    1 William TEFFT (1732 - 1822) & Mary KENYON (1733 - 1824)
    1.1a Pardon TEFFT* (1755 - 1808) & Amy GREEN (1756 - )
    1.1b Pardon TEFFT* (1755 - 1808) & Elizabeth ELDREDGE
    1.2 Thankful TEFFT (1757 - 1840) & Joshua TANNER (1757 - 1807)
    1.2.1 Polly (Mary) TANNER (1776 - 1856) & Thomas Potter BAKER
    1.2.2 John TANNER (1778 - )
    1.2.3 Thankful TANNER (1780 - 1859) & Alpheus BARBER
    1.2.4 Francis TANNER (1783 - 1831)
    1.2.5 Susannah TANNER (1784 - 1859)
    1.2.6 Betsey TANNER (1785 - 1869)
    1.2.7 Esther TANNER (1788 - )
    1.2.8 Pardon TANNER (1791 - 1881)
    1.2.9 Joshua TANNER (1795 - 1877) & Sarah [ ] TANNER (~1802 - 1869)
    1.2.10 William Tefft TANNER (1799 - 1879) & Lydia Diane FOSTER (1802 - 1883)
    1.3 David TEFFT (1760 - 1843) & Ruhama JAMES (1769 - 1854)
    1.3.1 Elizabeth TEFFT (1788 - 1866) & David WHIPPLE (1766 - 1834)
    1.4 William TEFFT (1763 - 1848) & Elizabeth JAMES (1767 - 1855)
    1.4.1 James TEFFT (1787 - 1863) & Patty HALL (1793 - 1825)
    1.4.2 Polly TEFFT (1793 - 1837) & William NORTON (1786 - 1861)
    1.4.3 Malinda TEFFT
    1.4.4 Almira TEFFT
    1.4.5 Sophia TEFFT ( - 1864) & Isaac Dunton CLARKE (1804 - 1888)
    1.4.6 Sarah TEFFT ( - 1881) & Consider WHITE ( - 1837)
    1.5 Mary TEFFT (1766 - <1769)
    1.6 John TEFFT (1767 - 1859) & Elizabeth HAMMOND
    1.7 Polly TEFFT (1769 - 1844) & Davis JAMES (1762 - 1812)
    1.7.1 William JAMES (1786 - 1865)
    1.7.2 Elizabeth JAMES (1788 - 1819)
    1.7.3 Deborah JAMES (1790 - 1845) & Ephraim PETTEYS (1787 - 1864)
    1.7.4 James JAMES (1793 - 1821)
    1.7.5 Davis JAMES (1796 - 1810)
    1.7.6 Joseph JAMES (1801 - 1852)
    1.7.7 Mary JAMES (1802 - 1873) & William MARSHALL (1797 - )
    1.8 James TEFFT (1776 - 1855) & Mary ROSS ( - 1867)
    1.8.1 Henry TEFFT (1804 - )
    1.8.2 George TEFFT (1806 - ) & Eliza A. [ ] TEFFT
    1.8.3 eliza TEFFT (1808 - 1816)
    1.8.4 pardon TEFFT (1810 - )
    1.9 Joseph TEFFT (1779 - 1870) & Chloe HEATH (1782 - 1867)
    1.9.1 Maria TEFFT (1803 - ) & Thomas HAGGERTY (1806 - 1874)
    1.9.2 Amanda TEFFT (1807 - 1883) & Orson SALISBURY ( - 1877)

    I have some other information, just do not have it all posted, as it is a collateral family to my Foster line.

    http://genforum.genealogy.com/tefft/messages/61.html
    Followups:
    Re: Joseph Tefft & Chloe Heath Donna Wilson 10/18/00
    Re: Joseph Tefft & Chloe Heath Margaret Ernest 10/19/00

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Again, it would be interesting to see your sources. Thanks again for your comment.

      Delete
  4. I am the amateur genealogist in my family, and have been researching several branches. Thankful Tefft is my 5th great-grandmother.

    Thankful Tefft > Thankful Tanner > Joshua Barber > Daniel Barber > Harry Clyde Barber > Marjorie Barber Fiedler > Judith Fiedler Snyder > Holly Snyder Shaw-Hollis (me)

    I live in Philly and just joined the Historical Society of PA to access their extensive library. My mom and I plan a trip to CT/RI this summer to do some more research, since other branches are also early settlers in New England (Lockwood and Barber are just a couple). I found your blog through google, and am learning more each day. My biggest pet peeve is that people on Ancestry just copy info from others family trees without even checking dates and sources. How does someone have a son when they've been dead for 3 years-or are 110 years old-or are 4 years old? You get the idea. -sigh-

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Welcome. We are still waiting for FamilySearch to fix the Family Tree so that this and other lines can be corrected. Hope things go well for you.

      Delete