I had previously written to the History Center in the past, and they had been very accomodating in regards to providing documents relating to family history. In preparation for this trip, I had let them know ahead of time that I wanted to look at the following probate records:
*P 101 5 Davis, James Guardianship 1879
*P 102 2 Davis, James Insane 1880
*P 84 5 Davis, James Heirs 1880
*P 87 7 Davis, James Estate 1880
*P 90 4 Davis, James Estate 1880
*P 92 8 Davis, James Estate 1881
*P 93 4 Davis, James Estate 1879
*P 236 6 Gilliland, Robert Estate 1916
I was curious if the James Davis listed in these estate records would tie into my Davis family in Monroe County. Ida Davis' father was James Austin Davis (1850-1909) who was listed as being an inmate in the Owen County, Indiana asylumn in 1880. Since the Davis family was back and forth between Owen and Monroe Counties, I hoped that the estate records might somehow be related to his condition and guardianship. The Robert Gilliland estate I was interested in because Robert was the stepfather of Ida Davis.
When I arrived, the museum staff had the records pulled and they were ready for me to look at. Unfortunately, the James Davis in these estate records was not related to my Davis family at all. So that was a bust.
However, the Robert Gilliland estate record was an interesting find. He died with an estate worth less than $500 in 1916. Back in 1989, I had written to the Monroe County Clerk's office regarding whether or not they had a will on file for Robert. The response was that they did not. Had I been a little wiser in my genealogy research, I would have thought to check for a probate file - which I'm now glad that I have. Lesson is to always be thinking of additional sources of information and never giving up. I expect to do a future blog post on the estate of Robert Gilliland.
At the History Center, I was able to then begin searching for other family records that might be relevant to the family, and I was able to get copies made of several land records that I will explore in future posts.
One item of interest was a copy of the marriage license of my great-grandparents, Clemon Beals Lambertson and June Gilliland, which I didn't previously have a copy of.
There was also a photo album of related families where I located a photograph of Everett Gilliland, who would be June's half-brother.
After spending several hours at the museum making copies of land records for future examination, I decided to head over to Elletsville and visit the cemetery where June's mother, Ida, and her grandparents were buried. It had been probably twenty years since I had been over that way.
The Methodist Cemetery in Elletsville isn't hard to find, in a pretty nice area and was easy to walk around. I went around and took pictures of known ancestors and any one who had names that looked familiar for further research.
Above is the stone for Robert Gilliland and his second wife, Mary Ellen (Swafford) Gilliland. Mary was my 3rd-great grandmother. Her daughter, Ida Davis, is part of my biggest family mystery. Ida's death certificate indicates that she is also buried in this cemetery, likely near this marker, though there is no stone for her. The two infants stones in front of Robert & Mary's stone are for Robert & Mary's grandchildren : William Dorris Gilliland (1912-1914), son of William Everett & Maude (Arthur) Gilliland and William Harrell Gilliland (1928-1928), son of William Everett & Florence (Arthur) Gilliland.
Somewhere in this plot is where I believe that Ida is buried. Logically, since she was 26 at the time, and this is a family plot, she should be here. But why no stone? Likely due to cost. I have tried to obtain records of burials at the cemetery, but no such luck.
As I left, I couldn't help but wonder if my 3rd-great grandmother's spirit wasn't guiding me in some manner, since it turned out the date of my trip to visit her grave was on her birthday.
