Chapter Seven Homework

Chapter 7 GPS Element 5 The Written Conclusion

 Homework:   Molly McKinley

Thomas W. Jones, Mastering Genealogical Proof (Arlington, Virginia: National Genealogical Society, 2013). [Book available from the publisher at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/mastering_genealogical_proof , also available
in Kindle format through Amazon.com] Jones, Thomas W. (2013-12-04). Mastering Genealogical Proof (Kindle Locations 598-599). National Genealogical Society, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

The written conclusion can be three different forms: statement, summary or argument.  The difference is in the difficulty of the proving of a conclusion.  A statement is just that, stating a fact about an ancestor, with proof and no conflict.  The summary may have a few odds and ends off that really do not disprove your conclusion.  Lastly, there may have to be a long argument to show why we concluded an opinion where clear proof may not be available.

I am using the same family group from my family history to show all three of these types.

I.             Proof Statement:

               Clara Catherine Gaffney Hames was buried in the Belleview Cemetery, Belleview, Marion, Fl.[1]

 [2]

II.           Proof Summary:

               Clara Catherine Gaffney was the granddaughter of Michael Gaffney. 

·        Michael Gaffney and Mary Smith Gaffney had nine children.  They were named, Nancy Riley, Lucinda Riley, Melinda Riley, James Madison, Henry Green, Cornelius, Joseph Gustavius, William Godolphin and Thomas Westhaven Gaffney.[3]

·        Thomas Westhaven Gaffney married Missiniah Burns and they had 11 children. Their names were; Charles Hammond, Laura Ann, Florence Lenora, Mary Ellen, William Wallace,Robert Bruce, Helen Victoria, Elizabeth Margaret, Henrietta Jane,  Clarissa Clara Catherine, and Melinda Lucinda.[4]

·        In the 1880 US Census, South Carolina, Cherokee, Limestone, she is listed as an 11 year old child in the home of Thomas Westhaven and Misiniah Gaffney.[5]

III.          Proof argument

               How many children did Thomas Westhaven and Misiniah Burns Gaffney really have? My conclusion is they had 11 children.

·        In the newspaper obituary for Misiniah Burns Gaffney they state that she was from a family of 14 children and that she bore 14 children.[6]

·       

·        There are 11 known children all found in different sources.  Find-a-Grave lists the following: Charles Hammond, Laura Ann, Florence Lenora, Mary Ellen, William Wallace, Robert Bruce, Helen Victoria, Elizabeth Margaret, Henrietta Jame, Clarissa Catherine and Melinda Lucinda Gaffney.[7]

·        There are 11 children listed in the family genealogy book by Bobby Moss mentioned above (see footnote 3).

·        Lastly, the 1900 US Federal Census, South Carolina, Cherokee, Limestone, District 0007, shows she bore 11 children and 7 of them were still alive.[8]

·        This last one was the kicker for me.  There would be no reason to lie about how many children she bore.  She was 72 years old at the time and would certainly know how many children she had.  I had to conclude the newspaper article was erroneously reported and that she only had 11 children total.

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[1] Personal knowledge of the author, Molly McKinley, [Address for private use], personal experience of visiting the cemetery and photographing the gravestone.

[2] Hames, John T and Clara C. Gaffney tombstone, Belleview Cemetery, Belleview, (Marion County), Florida, photographed by the author in 2006.

[3] Bobby G. Moss, The Journal and Genealogy of Michael Gaffney From Ireland to the Backwoods of South Carolina, (Blacksburg, South Carolina: Scotia-Hibernia Press, 2004), 1-79.

[4] Ibid

[5] Year: 1880; Census Place: Limestone Springs, Spartanburg, South Carolina; Roll: 1240; Family History Film: 1255240; Page: 257D; Enumeration District: 144

[6]   Misiniah Burns Gaffney, obit, The Gaffney Ledger, May 22, 1908, http://newspapers.com, accessed June 20, 2015.

[7] Misiniah Burns Gaffney tombstone, Providence Baptist Church Cemetery, Gaffney, (Cherokee), South Carolina, http://findagrave.com, accessed June 25, 2015.

[8] Year: 1900; Census Place: Limestone, Cherokee, South Carolina; Roll: 1522; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 0007; FHL microfilm: 1241522