We blogged last about a family rumor; our surname should be McMurry. Several Musgrove kin, including my father, have been yDNA tested. We were hoping to connect our family to the Musgrove line in Baker County, Georgia, through James Walter Musgrove.
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| Coat of Arms |
Two of the four yDNA test results are in, and for David Musgrove's family, it's conclusive. We are not related through a male ancestor to the other Musgrove testers.
Who was James Walter Musgrove?
- John 'David' Musgrove was born in 1847
- Charles H Musgrove born 1849
- James Walter Musgrove, Jr., born in 1852
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| Gravemarker - Mt Plesant Cemetery Ware County, Georgia |
What evidence of James Walter Musgrove Sr do we have?
We have no primary source records of James Walter Musgrove Sr. After his death, his family first appears n the 1860 federal census in Clinch County, Georgia. His mother was living in common law with John F Collins.
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| 1860 United States Federal Census Clinch County, Georgia, Southern District page 65 |
For evidence of him from secondary sources, we turn to his sons. What evidence of him is in their birth, marriage, death or burial records?
The records for David Musgrove
- No birth, marriage or death records
- Only burial record is a simple grave marker
- Some land records
The records for Charles Musgrove
With Charles Musgrove we have some records.
- No birth or marriage records
- Two death records; a death certificate* and an obituary. Neither name his father.
- A biography (image) from 'Pioneers of Wiregrass' series; Vol. XII pages 350-51.
The records for James Walter Musgrove, Jr.
With James Walter Jr. we hit the jackpot; a modern death certificate naming his parents. We were in for surprise. Rather than listing James Walter as father, his parents were William and Lizzie Musgrove. Notice the information given on Charles Musgrove's death certificate compared with his headstone, obituary and biography?
Our next post will be on the DNA evidence for James Walter Musgrove's line.
*Thanks to our relative and fellow family researcher, Jackie Dial Foster, for the death certificate.
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ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I've ever heard about James Walter Musgrove. He is not listed in R G's book American Family.
ReplyDeleteMy father was Walter James Musgrove, born 1919 in Pike County Ark. He's on p. 551/2 of RG's book. There is no "source" for his name in our family so maybe there was a distant connection...
On page 725 of RG's book you will find the family of James Walter Musgrove, under Families not Connected to Cuthbert. That is my line.
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