James Lawrence Adams

Locating and confirming the parentage of James Lawrence Adams is important in linking my husband to the Revolutionary War Patriots Captain Andrew Beatty and General James Cox.

I presently believe that James Lawrence Adams was born 19 June 1872 in Des Moines, Iowa to James William Adams and Mary I. Cox. 

Information found in the Illinois Death and Stillbirth Index of 1916-1947 and James Lawrence Adams death certificate offer the best information to date. This sounds nice, but the death certificate informant was Mrs. J. L. Adams. Information she supplied may also be recorded in the death index. I must search for another source with a different informant.

Mrs. J. L. Adams (Charlotte Adams nee Ludiger) was not present at his birth and most likely learned about his birth date and parentage from James himself. I know for a fact that Mrs. J. L. Adams never met her in-laws. While this does not diminish the importance of her knowledge or information, I feel it necessary to gather more evidence to confirm her stories.

Official, governmental proof from the Great State of Iowa can provide the proof of birth date and more importantly his parentage. If James was born in 1872, I am out of luck. The Great State of Iowa began recording births in 1880.  My next avenue for information will be the Iowa Genealogy Society. Perhaps their library will hold other records there linking James to his parents.

I currently have the 1880 and 1990 U.S. Census and his death certificate as evidence of parentage. I was hoping for another piece of evidence. Patience . . .

It’s Revolutionary . . . I Hope

The search has begun for my husband’s Revolutionary War ancestors. When the research is complete, I expect four Patriots in my husband maternal line. The surnames that I will be searching for are Cox, Potts, Adams and Cundiff. Ancestry.com has given me the base from which I will start my research. Several S.A.R. and D.A.R. applications are available for viewing on Ancestry.com.

I must connect each generation to the previous one. I plan I gathering birth and death certificates for the most recent generations and then work my way back in time. My research strategy is to begin with what is known and work from there beginning with the Cox/Pott line.

I made a quick Descendant Chart and will work from it to build my case. I believe that William Potts and General James Cox are my husband’s the fourth and fifth great grandparents. Here is the chart.

I am off to the safety deposit box for a copy of my husband's birth certificate. Then I must call his mother and ask for her birth certificate. That is the easy part of the research! Wish me luck with the rest!

Linda

One Small Step

I have finally made my first small step in the search for evidence of my husband’s Revolutionary War roots. I believe that his maternal line descends from four Revolutionary War Patriots and my goal is to prove just that.

My search led me to California. Finding California death certificates and newspaper obituaries has stymied me for quite awhile. My motto, “Never say never,” finally paid off by finally cracking the California death record files. California lists death certificates on a database by name, date of death, age of death, county of death etc.

About two months ago after reviewing my choices, I took a “best guess” and ordered two non-certified death certificates. The death certificates just arrived and I discovered I did indeed choose the correct people. I know have my first evidence linking my mother-in-law to a Revolutionary War Patriot, Andrew Beatie (Beatty)!

This will be an interesting journey back in time to Virginia prior toward the Revolutionary War as Andrew Beatie was born in Virginia. Keep you posted!

Detour

Family research has ebbs and flows. I research a family line “to death” and extract as much information as possible and then my luck runs out. When reaching that point, I find it best to let the tree sit. Sometimes my trees sit for quite awhile. This is what happened with my Cox Family Tree.

Yesterday I received a message on ancestry inquiring about the Cox Family. I have just hit the Cox Family Jackpot!

After a brief telephone conversation, I have learned that I do indeed have a Revolutionary War connection in the Cox Family Tree. My caller is in possession of one the original Daughters of the American Revolution silver spoons. Seven hundred fifty seven spoons were given to the real daughters of the revolution.  She reports that the historic D.A.R. is in possession of only ten original spoons.

Now it is time for me to pick up my Cox Family research and gather evidence to prove the Revolutionary War connections in this family.