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Proving the Dorman who is not By JUDY FOWLER KILGORE That title sort of gets you, doesn’t it? (Has Judy lost her mind?) No, I haven’t lost my mind, but having caught myself in this situation several times I thought it might be worth discussing, especially for new folks who are still struggling to “prove” their ancestors, “prove” their facts, and “prove” they are right. Oh, boy. That last one is particularly sweet, isn’t it? “Proving,” of course, means finding concrete, documented evidence that leaves no room for doubt, whether it concerns your ancestor’s existence, his being in a certain place at a certain time, or his descendancy from a certain person. Sometimes, this is a very difficult task, especially when you are faced with a lack of records. Yeah ... those darned old courthouse fires. They can almost be your undoing if you are a very meticulous researcher. But wait! There may be another way! If you can’t prove what is, then maybe you can get to your answer by proving what is not. (Huh?) Stay with me, now. I know that doesn’t make much sense, but read on. I can only show you with a personal example, so bear with me. I also haven’t completed my research on this project, so you’ll have to wait for a later column to see how it turns out. Here’s my story ... The absolute dead end to my Dorman line stops abruptly with an Allen Dorman, father of my (proved) Wiley Dorman, who was born in 1799. Wiley married first Martha Newberry somewhere in the “Coastal area of South Carolina” in 1817. They had four children: Green Washington, James Monroe, Sarah Ann and Susan. I have successfully tracked all four of these children as they migrated to Louisiana and Arkansas, and have histories written in the 1800s and census records which back up my research. I know for certain only of two of Wiley’s siblings: Ephraim and Mary Elizabeth. Other researchers list other siblings as Sarah Ann, Rudolph Henry, Permelia and William. I have no proof of these other siblings but I don’t want to throw them out completely as they may prove to be valuable clues. Wiley’s brother, Ephraim, married Martha Newberry’s sister, Winnie Newberry, and his sister, Mary Elizabeth, married Jeff Atkins. I have found Mary Elizabeth and Jeff in Alabama censuses but I have yet to pin Ephraim down. Jeff and Mary Elizabeth moved to Chambers County, Ala. sometime in the 1830s. Wiley’s wife, Martha Newberry Dorman, died about 1831 and, left with four little ones, he remarried Elmina Jones, the only child of Henry Jones and Nancy Elizabeth Fincher. The Finchers and the Joneses moved to Troup County, Ga., and that’s where Wiley and Elmina were married in 1835. Shortly after their marriage, Wiley, Elmina, and his four children joined his sister, Mary Elizabeth, and her husband, Jeff Atkins, in Chambers County. There are some very amusing (and some a little scary) family tales of their trip from Troup to Chambers. Papers left by my Dorman family in Chambers County, Ala. state that Wiley’s father was named Allen. Very convenient of them to do that for me since Wiley’s son, also named Allen, happens to be my great-great-grandfather. At least I know who he was named after. The problem is, there are two early Allen Dormans, and either is the right age to be my Wiley’s father. One is an Allen Dorman born about 1769, found in the 1800s in Sumter County, Ga. and the other is an Allen Dorman born about 1758, found in Twiggs County, Ga. in 1830. Either could have had a son born in 1799. Oh dear me. Wouldn’t you know it? Just my luck. However, the Allen Dorman I am leaning toward is the one in Twiggs. An obituary for this Allen Dorman in The Macon Messenger, dated 17 Sept. 1831, says Allen was a native of North Carolina and died in the 73rd year of his life (giving him a birth year of about 1758). The obituary also requests Alabama papers to copy. That is exactly where at least two of his children were about that time. Okay, simple matter of looking up wills, estate and land records in Twiggs County, and seeing if the name “Wiley” turns up, right? Easier said than done. That is exactly what my game plan was until I flipped to the Twiggs County GenWeb site on the Internet (to do my pre-research before hitting the microfilm records at the Georgia Archives), and, much to my dismay, I found that another one of those blasted courthouse fires had foiled my plan. All early records had been destroyed. So, I searched the Net for Allen Dorman and found the family tree of the other one — the one in Sumter county — with no child named Wiley. This Allen Dorman had died about 1845. Could it possibly be that I was on the right track? I won’t know until I search the Sumter County records to see if those children are correct or if there is any proof of them in the form of a will or estate settlement. In other words, I hope to prove this Allen is not the father of my Wiley. Are you getting the drift now? Proving what is not may be just as good as proving what is. I will let you know how it turns out. Have you found an alternate way to solve a family puzzle? Then, tell me about it. Send it to The Citizen, Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; e-mail jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com. Until next week, happy hunting! (Judy regrets that time does not permit her to do personal research for others.)
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