The important distinctions
| Case | Evidence changed | Still unresolved |
|---|---|---|
| Perkins | Recorded parent chronology is incompatible; a parish transcript names John/Mary’s son Jesse. | Which identity, date or generation caused the parentage defect. |
| Smalley | State index and register range favor a 1747 administration over the calendar’s 1737. | Original Liber E:66 and the later ancestor’s identity. |
| Freeman | Original will explicitly names son Aaron. | Aaron’s mother, earlier Chowan parentage and the later migration bridge. |
| Grimes | Recorded mother/son dates conflict; later deed abstracts challenge the death date. | Original deeds, parentage and a matched Georgia identity. |
995 profiles are a starting point
This review follows Eric’s recorded ancestry across the working tree, including maternal branches; it is not limited to his paternal surname line. Traversal finds 995 distinct ancestor profile IDs, not 995 independently established historical people. Four ancestor profiles carry multiple parent families: Aaron Freeman, Jane Anne Howard, Aris Janse Vanderbilt and Elizabeth Hattie Owens. Apparent duplicates and conflicting assignments must be researched before merging or detaching anyone. The review screened the whole graph and investigated selected consequential cases; it was not a source-by-source audit of every ancestor.
Evidence: E161
Perkins: the chronology cannot work as recorded
John Burton Perkins, recorded born in 1730, is attached to Nicholas Perkins, recorded dead in 1712, and Sarah Childers, recorded dead in 1721. Those dates and that biological relationship cannot all be right. This identifies a real defect in the recorded combination, not which name, date or generation caused it. Fifteen upper profiles depend exclusively on this route. No replacement parents or Philemon alias have been accepted.
Evidence: E162
Perkins: stronger evidence below the gap
The published Douglas Register, page 272, records John Perkins and Mary Anthony’s son Jesse, born October 13, 1765 and baptized May 17, 1766. The printed page was visually checked; the parish manuscript remains unread. DAR’s John Perkins entry A088842 also supports the Louisa John/Mary Anthony research identity without supplying Nicholas as father. The register’s inferred-marriage table repeats children’s birth dates, so those dates must not become invented wedding dates. Neither item proves every generation to Eric. The next originals are Louisa Will Book 4, pages 97–99, and Deed Book L, pages 85 and 87.
Evidence: E163
Smalley: a likely printing error changes the challenge
A calendar of wills prints a July 1737 administration for Benjamin Smalley, apparently before his son Benjamin’s 1741 birth. The independent state index lists the same Liber E, page 66, and packet 1885–1890L with 1747 administration and sales and a 1748 inventory. The official holdings guide dates Books E–F to 1747–1758. Together these strongly favor a 1737-to-1747 printing error in the calendar. A published birth abstract explicitly names Benjamin and Mercy’s child Benjamin on October 26, 1741. Do not reject the father on the calendar date alone; the original probate act and the later identity of that child still need checking. No exact replacement death date is assigned.
Evidence: E164
Freeman: a father and son in an original will
Manuscript images of Bertie County John Freeman’s will, dated December 7, 1782, explicitly name son Aaron, who receives the home plantation, adjoining land and sawmill. The will also names wife Sarah, sons Solomon, Elisha, John and Moses, and daughter Elizabeth, wife of James Baker. It includes bequests involving enslaved people; that history belongs beside the land and mill. These are direct relationships within the document. The execution date is not a proved death or probate date.
Evidence: E165
Freeman: the earlier ancestry remains open
The will does not name the testator’s parents, say Sarah was Aaron’s mother or supply an Outlaw maiden name. The working tree has two apparent John aliases and conflicting mothers. A cited research tradition distinguishes the Bertie John from a same-name Chowan cousin, while other copied trees attach him as a son. The Hoyter identification is an inference, not an established parent link or proof of Native-American descent. The later Rowan/Buncombe Aaron still needs correlation with the named son. The next tests are the Chowan 1776/1777 will and 1762 Juniper Swamp deeds against the Bertie probate and land trail.
Evidence: E166
Grimes: an eight-year-old mother and a later deed trail
Lewis Grimes is recorded born in 1777 to Sarah Winders, recorded born in 1769. The eight-year gap is incompatible with the relationship as recorded, but arithmetic alone does not choose replacement dates or parents. Modern deed abstracts describe Sarah among Winders sisters conveying inherited land in 1808, with an examination in 1828. Another 1828 instrument reserves a lifetime interest for James and wife Sarah. If she is the same woman, these challenge her recorded 1804 death. The abstract does not explicitly call Lewis their son. Inspect Duplin Book 2, pages 59–61 and 80–84, and Book 3B, pages 256–258; the originals were not obtained. A newsletter’s 1759 alternative is a lead, not a correction.
Evidence: E167
A marker can be much younger than its date
A 2001 first-person Grimes cemetery account says four markers, including Lewis’s 1857 commemoration, were placed in 1999 and individual burials were uncertain. That makes the marker evidence of modern commemoration, not an independent nineteenth-century death or burial record. An inscription and a copied tree can repeat the same tradition rather than corroborate each other.
Evidence: E168
What changed, and what did not
The Freeman will’s named son Aaron and the Perkins parish-transcript event are stronger evidence. The Smalley contradiction now has a better-supported source explanation. Perkins parentage, Freeman’s earlier origins and mother assignments, and Grimes dates and identity remain unresolved. Henry Wood’s parents, the early Waguespack bridge and the two Benjamins remain their own open investigations. No GEDCOM or live-tree relationships were changed. Consequence counts measure dependency in the recorded graph; they are not counts of false ancestors and must not be added together.
Evidence: E169
Sources & further reading
- AR.TREERecorded ancestry · preserved working-tree graph
Inherited assembled tree; graph analysis
995 reachable ancestor IDs; 1,010 people; 607 families; four reachable profiles have multiple FAMC families
Retained family source - AR.PERKINS.DARDAR patriot John Perkins A088842
Institutional compiled genealogical entry
John circa 1730–before 9 December 1799, Louisa; Mary Anthony; Virginia Revolutionary Public Claims II p. 627
Open source - AR.PERKINS.DOUGLASDouglas Register · published parish transcript, page 272
Published register transcription, source image visually inspected
Scan n74 contains printed pp. 272–275; p. 272 John/Mary Anthony/Jesse and Jo./Sarah Sned/Suckie; manuscript pp. 74, 122, 125. Scan n34 contains pp. 112–115; inferred-marriage table p. 115
Open source - AR.PERKINS.NICHOLASHall-derived transcription of Nicholas Perkins's 1711 will
Modern derivative transcription with original locators
Henrico records 1710–1714 pp. 185–186; will 13 June 1711, presented 2 February 1712
Open source - AR.PERKINS.LOUISAMichael Perkins derivative profile with Louisa will/deed locators
Derivative quotations and retrieval targets only
Will Book 4 pp. 97–99; Deed Book L p. 85, 30 October 1807; p. 87, 8 February 1808
Open source - AR.SMALLEY.CALENDARSmalley probate · Calendar of New Jersey Wills, page 437
Published probate abstract visually inspected
28 July 1737, Benjamin Smalley; widow Mercy; John King; Liber E p. 66
Open source - AR.SMALLEY.INDEXSmalley probate · state will index, page 897
Archival probate index, image visually inspected
PDF 74/93, printed p. 897: Smaley, Benjamin, 1885–1890 L; Book E p. 66; intestacy 1747; inventory 1748; bill of sales 1747
Open source - AR.SMALLEY.GUIDENew Jersey Archives SSTSE033ra collection guide
Official holdings metadata visually inspected
PDF 2/3; East Jersey Books E–F, 1747–1758, reel 522737; C–D, 1734–1746
Open source - AR.SMALLEY.BIRTHSBenjamin and Mercy’s children · published Piscataway birth abstract
Published town-record transcript visually inspected
Benjamin/Mercy: Experience, 6 January 1734/35; John, 8 April 1737; Benjamin, 26 October 1741
Open source - AR.FREEMAN.WILL1782Bertie John Freeman will manuscript images in existing Geni media capture
Original probate-register images individually inspected, embedded in derivative capture
Seven-page PDF; manuscript images PDF 4–5; will 7 December 1782; provider images 004753827_00049 / _00050; volume D–E, 1784–1805
Retained family source - AR.FREEMAN.TRADITIONMosher-based Freeman family research distinguishing Chowan/Bertie cousins
Derivative scholarly-book-based family account
John of Chowan and Tabitha; John of Bertie described as cousin; Chowan 1776/1777 will and 1762 deed targets
Open source - AR.FREEMAN.HOYTERNative Heritage Project, Chowan Indians, Hoyter identification discussion
Research interpretation, not original kinship evidence
Tabitha/Hoyter identification discussed as possible without proof; deed associations
Open source - AR.GRIMES.DEEDSHugh and Betty Grimes, Duplin deed abstracts
Modern deed abstracts; originals not inspected
5 March 1808 deed, Book 2 pp. 59–61; February 1828 examinations/registration; 19 December 1828 gift to son Isaac, Book 3B pp. 256–258; Book 2 pp. 80–84 follow-up
Open source - AR.GRIMES.CEMETERYGrimes markers · 2001 account of placement in 1999
First-person modern cemetery narrative
1998 visit / 1999 four markers; Lewis 1857 and other commemorations; uncertain individual burials
Open source - AR.GRIMES.NEWSLETTERGrimes family · December 2002 local-history compilation
Local genealogical compilation
Sarah Winders 1759; marriage 19 February 1777; Lewis biography
Open source
