Full-Text Search Reveals More About Robert Lancaster in Shelby County, Kentucky

I am working on a project to learn more about the neighborhood where Robert Lancaster lived in Shelby County, Kentucky.[1]  On 5 December 1821, he purchased 231 plus acres of land from Thomas Hanna and his wife, Mary. This land was located on the waters of Floyd’s Fork and Luteses Run, being a branch of the Bullskin Creek.[2]  The land description named other neighbors:
  • Joseph Williams’s land was on one stretch of the property and he had purchased the land also from Hanna.
  • Samuel Ellis was a neighbor
  • Charles Ellis was a neighbor
  • A Neal was a neighbor (first name not listed)
The land platted out looks like this.


This plat doesn’t help me locate it on a map. There are too many straight corners but the names of the neighbors will be helpful. I plan to use the full-text search at FamilySearch Labs to locate any deed that names Robert Lancaster as a neighbor. I will also look for the deeds of the neighbors listed in his deed. I have the program DeedMapper that allows me to place multiple properties on the same page and work at putting them into a puzzle that I can hopefully place on a map. 

I have also looked for a topo map of the area names these waterways. I can find Bullskin Creek and Lutz Run on this 1932 map.[3]  This is in the upper west corner of Shelby County, north of Shelbyville. On the map is another landmark, Dover Church. I found a record naming Robert Lancaster as one of the trustees of the church.[4]  So his land was likely nearby.


Full-text search allows me to filter for only records from Shelby County. I have found deeds where he is named as a neighbor, estate sales where he has purchased items, order books where he is named on road maintenance teams, and tax lists. So far, this is from searching for “Robert Lancaster.” I have other variations to search next, such as "Robt Lancaster" or "R. Lancaster."

We have had two sessions so far in our 10-week course. The first week covered searching for deeds both forward and backward in time. This may help us place the property on a map. In the second week, we were introduced to GIS resources. Many counties have current maps of properties online that while working forward, may help place the property on a map. 

As I learn more about Robert Lancaster, I’ll update this saga of the research. Note, Robert Lancaster was Mam-ma's 3x-great-grandfather and my 5x-great-grandfather.

--------------------
 1. I’m taking the SLIG (Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy) course “Reconstructing Ancestral Neighborhoods & Networks” coordinated by Kimberly Powell and Jerry Smith. 
 2. Shelby Co, Kentucky, deed, v. S, pp 315-16, Thomas Hanna to Robert Lancaster, 1821, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4L-Y3J9-V); IGN 007900563, image 428 of 526.
 3. Kentucky-Indiana La Grange Quadrangle, 1932 Edition, surveyed in 1910, 1926, & 1928, U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior.
 4. Shelby Co, Kentucky, deed, v. F2, p. 229-30, George Hamblen to Robert Lancaster, etal, 1817, recorded 1839, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSK4-DV2Z); IGN 008141846, image 784 of 787. 

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Lisa S. Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family, All rights reserved.

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