SNGF -- Do Some FamilySearch Full-Text Searching

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: 

It's Saturday Night again - 

Time for some more Genealogy Fun!!

Our mission from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings is to:

1)  FamilySearch Full-Text Search continues to add databases and searchable images to its collections.  This is a gold mine, especially of land, probate, and court records.

2)  Pick one or two of your ancestors and see what you can find on FamilySearch Full-Text Search about them.

Here's mine:
Funny, I had done a full-text search this morning looking for more items for my ancestor, N. H. O. Polly. I was hoping to find something in Arkansas. Their first child was born there, but I have no information on their whereabouts there in the 1840s.

I had to leave my search to attend the monthly meeting of the Sonoma County Genealogical Society in Santa Rosa, which is a 90-minute drive there, but I left the tabs open on what I had found. Here is a summary of a few of the items I found.

Collin County, Texas
I found a deed index page in Collin County for N.H.O. Polly buying land from T. J. Eddleman on 6 March 1862.[1] This is news to me that he lived, or at least owned land, in Collins County. 

In 1860, he was in Montague County, and in 1867, he was in Hunt County.

Dallas County, Texas
I found several documents naming N.H.O. Polly:

  • a document highlighting when he was a witness to a will for Geo. L. Lenard in 1854.[2]
  • a document naming him an administrator for the Estate of Thacker V. Griffin in 1854.[3]
  • An estate document naming him as a buyer of land from Wm B. Miller, with no date.[4]

Hunt County, Texas
I found several marriages he performed as an Elder of the Church of Christ, such as Rufus K Barker to Paulina J Orr, 9 July 1868.[5]

Tax record for the year 1864.[6] This places him in the county earlier than I had known.

Conclusion
Although, except for the deed record, these documents don’t advance his story, but they do place him in a certain place at a certain time. I will add these documents to his timeline.

However, I did not locate his wife, Lydda Polly, except in documents where he sold land and she was listed as L. M. Polly and in tax records after his death. I had already found those. I do not know her surname or when they were married.

[1] Collin Co, Texas, direct index to deeds E-F-G, p. 3, Eddleman to Polly, 1862, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKJ-4GD3 : viewed 19 July 2025); IGN 008152036, image 16 of 360.

[2] Mabel B. Clark, Genealogical Records Jane Douglas Chapter, D.A.R., Dallas, Texas, “Early Wills of Dallas County, 1840-1870, pp. 34-36, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89PC-Q3JJ : viewed 19 July 2025), IGN 007644654, images 39-41 of 108.

[3] Dallas Co, Texas, probate case packets, no. 218, estate of Thacker V. Griffin, filmed by Dallas Genealogical Society, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9QS-7D2D : viewed 19 July 2025), IGN 005781998, image 1514 of 2409.

[4] Dallas Co, Texas, probate, Petition Record 11, p. 319, estate of Anderson M. McCain, 1910, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9QS-B999-X : viewed 19 July 2025), IGN 005790956, image 347 of 486.

[5] Hunt Co, Texas, marriages, v. A, p. 298, Barker-Orr, 1868, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9PQ3-34G : viewed 19 July 2025), IGN 004820338, image 188 of 514.

[6] Texas Comptroller’s Office, tax rolls, Hunt Co, 1864, p. 21, N.H.O. Polly, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939J-4Y9G-TD : viewed 19 July 2025), IGN 004653086, image 488 of 1091.

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

Comments

  1. Janice M. SellersJuly 19, 2025 at 7:33 PM

    Ah, but you have added more people to his FAN Club: the person for whom he witnessed a will, and the person for whose estate he served as an administrator. Those might possibly lead you to helpful information. Admittedly, they simply might have been members of his church, but one can hope!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lisa S. GorrellJuly 20, 2025 at 6:47 AM

      I was thinking that since he was a pastor, that was why he was chosen to witness wills and act as administrator.

      Delete
  2. Linda StufflebeanJuly 20, 2025 at 6:10 AM

    At least you found a couple more details to add to his life story. Hunt County is right next door to Hopkins County, where my husband's grandmother's family was from.

    ReplyDelete

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