My genealogical drought ended a few days ago and I couldn’t be happier. Having run out of places to search online for documents that might shed light on the elusive parents of John Boren, I decided to turn my attention to another branch – one that I’ve been dreading to touch. Alexander Sims, my 4th great grandfather, was, according to most family trees posted on Ancestry.com, the son of Thomas and Mary (Nalle) Sims. But, for whatever reason, his “father” left him out of his will which identified many, many children by their first names. Did he misbehave? Also, his “mother” Mary would have been in her 50s when he was born. (Not impossible, but not probable in the 1780s.) This same Alexander supposedly married Elizabeth (aka Isabel) Jordan, who, in the 1850 census, was both miraculously alive and dead on the official enumeration date of 1 June 1850. Moreover, Elizabeth/Isabel somehow died in Claiborne County, TN while still living as Isabel many, many miles away in the Weakley County, TN household of Alexander Sims.
Are you beginning to understand why I’ve avoided this branch for so long? There are too many things that don’t make sense. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!
So I pruned my Sims family tree removing Thomas and Mary and all records pertaining to Alexander’s supposed marriage to Elizabeth Jordan. It was time to start from scratch. (As a side note, there IS some relationship to Thomas and Mary as there are too many Sims DNA matches who descend from this couple for us not to be related!)
In 1820, Alexander Sims was living due east of Weakley County, TN in Montgomery County, TN. That’s were I decided to start my genealogical “dig”. The first clue that I was on the right track came almost immediately. In an estate inventory court record, I found three Sims men owing money to the deceased – Alexander Sims, Newton Sims and, most importantly, BARNET Sims. Uncovering hidden relationships often starts with name recognition. In this case, I immediately recognized the name. My 4th great grandfather and Alexander’s son was named William BARNET Sims. KAPOWIE!
“Barnet” was a family name! Not long after, I found the “smoking gun” we genealogists only dream of – an 1822 deed between the heirs of John Sims and someone whose name is irrelevant (no offense meant). Listed among those names were Alexander, Newton, and my beloved Barnet along with siblings Payton, Moseby, John, Jeffrey, Betsy, Patsey, Sally and Judith. I dug a bit deeper and found a bigger, smokier gun. In 1806, these same heirs of John Sims, along with two new siblings Benjamin and Bunton (?) bought the land they sold in 1822 for the use of their unnamed MOTHER.
Pure genealogical gold. Father, mother and siblings. Merry Christmas to me.
Welcome, John Sims, father of many and my 5th great grandfather, to my family tree.
Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relationship: 5th great grandfather
Common ancestors: John Sims’ parents are a mystery I cannot wait to solve.