Exploratory Data Analysis : Daniel King (1820-1876)

Daniel King (1820-1876) was my maternal 3rd-great grandfather.  What follows is an exploratory analysis of the biographical data I have discovered about him.


1. Vital Records

     Daniel was born September 3, 1820¹.  The place of his birth has been given as either Tennessee², Ohio³, or Indiana⁴.  These inconsistencies in his place of birth are due to the fact this family moved around quite a bit, and will be addressed in a later post.

     1.1. Birth Certificate

          The State of Indiana did not require birth certificates at this time.

          1.1.1. Birth Notice in Newspaper

                If Daniel's birth was mentioned in a local newspaper, it has been lost to time.

          1.1.2. Bible Record

               I am not aware of any surviving Bible record of the King family that would record the birth of Daniel.  Will continue to reach out to extended family in hopes that one could be located.

          1.1.3. Baptismal Record

               I am not aware of any baptismal record for Daniel.  The King family were affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal faith.

          1.1.4. Adoption Record

               There is no indication that Daniel was adopted.

     1.2. Marriage License

          Daniel married Elizabeth Shaw on December 5, 1847 in Madison County, Indiana.  I do not have a source for this fact in my database.  The courthouse in Madison County, Indiana suffered a fire in 1880 and earlier marriage records were lost.

          1.2.1 Marriage Notice in Newspaper

               Will need to search contemporary newspaper accounts to see if mention was made of Daniel's nuptials.

          1.2.2. Anniversary Notice

               Daniel and Elizabeth's 25th wedding anniversary would have been December 5, 1872.  Will need to check contemporary newspaper accounts to see if any mention was made of an anniversary celebration.

          1.2.3. Divorce Decree

               There is no indication that Daniel and Elizabeth were ever divorced.

     1.3. Death Certificate

          Daniel died February 24, 1876 in Frankton, Madison County, Indiana¹, according to my database.  The State of Indiana did not require death certificates at this time.  

          1.3.1. Obituary in Newspaper

               Will need to seek out contemporary newspaper accounts to see if mention was made of Daniel's death.  Will add this to my "to-do" list for my next research trip.

          1.3.2. Funeral Home Records

               Will need to search the local historical society to see if they have records of funeral homes that might shed some light on Daniel's funeral.  Will add this to my list of "to-do" items for my next research trip.

          1.3.3. Tombstone Photograph

               Daniel's tombstone in the Howard Cemetery in Madison County, Indiana⁵ has been photographed.  A link to his memorial at FindAGrave is located here.

2. Census Records

     2.1. Federal Census Records

          2.1.1. 1870 Federal Census

               Daniel was enumerated as the head of household in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana³, as Daniel King, age 50, Farmer, born in Ohio.  He was a U.S. citizen.  The value of his real estate was $14,500 and his personal estate was $ 6,031.

          2.1.2. 1860 Federal Census

               Daniel was enumerated as the head of household in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana⁴, as Daniel King, age 39, Farmer, born in Indiana.  The value of his real estate was $ 4,000 and his personal estate was $ 1,375.

          2.1.3. 1850 Federal Census

               Daniel was enumerated as the head of household in Jackson Township, Madison County, Indiana², as Daniel King, age 29, farmer, born in Tennessee.  The value of his real estate was $ 400.

     2.2. State Census Records

          The State of Indiana conducted census in 1853, 1857, 1871, 1877, 1883, 1889, 1901, 1913, 1919 and 1931.  These, however, were merely for the purposes of legislative apportionment.

     2.3. Agricultural Census Records

          I have not yet investigated these types of census records to see what light they might shed on the King family.

3. Military Records

     3.1. Draft Registration

          I have not yet located any draft registration nor military service for Daniel.

     3.2. Pension Records

          Not applicable.

     3.3. Service Records

          Not applicable.

4. Land Records

     4.1. Deed Records

          Deed records need to be thoroughly searched in Madison County, Indiana to see what records might mention Daniel.  Will add this to my list of "to-do" items for my next research trip.

     4.2. Plat map / county map

          Plat maps of Madison County, Indiana will need to be searched to see what information can be gleaned that might be relevant to my search.

5. Supplemental Records

     Supplemental records available for research on Daniel include city/county directories, court records and will and probate records.  Will add these to my list of "to-do" items for my next research trip.

Sources :

1. Sandra Freeman, "John William Wright - Ellen King family group sheet," compiled [n.d.] (Alexandria, Indiana).  Notes say information from Zelma Cooper and Gloria LeMaster
2. Daniel King household, 1850 U.S. census, population schedule, Jackson Township, Madison County, Indiana, dwelling 274, family 274; National Archives micropublication M432, roll 158, page 97.
3. Daniel King household, 1870 U.S. census, Madison County, Indiana, population schedule, Monroe Township, page 35, dwelling 255, family 249, National Archives micropublication M593, roll 336.
4. Daniel King household, 1860 U.S. census, Madison County, Indiana, population schedule, Monroe Township page 145, dwelling 1025, family 1023, National Archives micropublication M653, roll 277.
5. FindAGrave, Inc., FindAGrave (www.findagrave.com : accessed 20 March 2016), Daniel King tombstone.

This post was developed as part of the series relating to Building My 2011 Research Template, an attempt to systematically document and source the details of my ancestors' lives. Comments regarding this template and the conclusions drawn in this article are welcomed.

Impatience with AncestryDNA

Perhaps I was a little too impatient with AncestryDNA, but after I received my results, I noticed that the search feature was not working on the search by surnames.  Received the following response from Ancestry :

Hello Travis,

Thank you for contacting Ancestry in regard to your AncestryDNA test results using surnames and locations.

 Please allow up to two weeks for surname searches and hints to be displayed properly for a DNA test after the results are completed. It had only been 6 days that the test was completed and posted to the account. It can take up to two weeks because the AncestryDNA test and the tree need to be compared to our very large database which takes sometime to complete.

Good to know that it was just me being impatient and not something broken over there.  I guess I was too eager to search my matches by surname.

Henry & Simeathy Pierce lot, Maplewood Cemetery, Anderson, Indiana

Maplewood Cemetery Records, Anderson, Madison County, Indiana

This is a copy of the cemetery records at the office of Maplewood Cemetery in Anderson, Madison County, Indiana for Henry & Simeathy (Smelser) Pierce.  The cemetery is split into two sections, and the section the Pierces are buried in is considered West Maplewood.

According to the cemetery office, many of the records were destroyed in a fire.  Isn't that always the case with my Madison County relatives?  But at least in this case we have this log.

The owner of this lot # 437 is S. Pearce (note the spelling).  In the list of the persons buried in this plot are the following :

Henry Pierce - no other identifying information.  This is Henry E. Pierce (1833-1901), the son of Francis S. & Rebecca (Page) Pierce.

Simeathy Pierce - this is Henry's wife, Simeathy (Smelsor) Pierce.

Frank Pierce - this is Henry & Simeathy's son, Franklin T. Pierce (1861-1919)

Eva Pierce - this is Henry & Simeathy's daughter

These records back up what the monuments display at the cemetery.