We now know DNA studies match kin who lived in Northern England who went by the name Chomley, Cholmley, or Chamley. Our kin might have lived in Ireland or Scotland before England but no DNA matches in those areas yet. Whatever the cultural or historical issues of the day, our ancestors definitely wanted to leave the British Isles and go to America.
Given a timeline of records PERHAPS our ancestors left because of cultural events leading up to the Battle of Culloden. The first verified record is in Bertie County is 1744, then 1757 on a tax list. First of the DNA 1st cousins or brothers was Isaac Chamblee, Hertford Co NC on a tax list in 1779, obviously of legal age. The oral history that 6 came from Ireland or Scotland (or England) would then fit the years surrounding the Battle of Culloden. One can wonder.
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Scottish Immigration to America increased as Scots gained access to America as Indentured Servants Scottish Immigration to America in the 1700's was undertaken by angry Scots following defeat at the hands of the English at the 1746 Battle of Culloden... In 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie, the the Stuart heir, attempted to claim the British throne but was defeated in 1746 at the Battle of Culloden. The defeat at the Battle of Culloden prompted large scale emigration from Scotland to America and the history of Scottish Immigration to America began in earnest, although Scots had first emigrated during the Colonial era of American history. More on this at Scottish Immigration to America.
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Boat and immigration lists and other early American records including indentured servants have not yielded results. We have have done a surname survey of these immigration records, but there is no pattern or conclusion. We looked at the Chambliss, Chumbly, etc. lines for a few years but after DNA studies we now rule that out. No paper trail from Chambless/Chambliss/Cumbly substantiates anything in our ancestry anyway.
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Where did we first find them on record in America? Bertie County, North Carolina--which was later split into Hertford County in December 1759. We think some of the early records ended up in Hertford County, which unfortunately suffered two fires and most early holdings were lost.
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What is more important is where our ancestors migrated in America. Our ancestors needed and desired many acres of land to support their families. As land was advertised or given as military warrants, our ancestors began to migrate.
We now know DNA studies match kin who lived in Northern England who went by the name Chomley, Cholmley, or Chamley. Our kin might have lived in Ireland or Scotland before England but no DNA matches in those areas yet. Whatever the cultural or historical issues of the day, our ancestors definitely wanted to leave the British Isles and go to America.
Given a timeline of records PERHAPS our ancestors left because of cultural events leading up to the Battle of Culloden. The first verified record is in Bertie County is 1744, then 1757 on a tax list. First of the DNA 1st cousins or brothers was Isaac Chamblee, Hertford Co NC on a tax list in 1779, obviously of legal age. The oral history that 6 came from Ireland or Scotland (or England) would then fit the years surrounding the Battle of Culloden. One can wonder.
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Scottish Immigration to America increased as Scots gained access to America as Indentured Servants Scottish Immigration to America in the 1700's was undertaken by angry Scots following defeat at the hands of the English at the 1746 Battle of Culloden... In 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie, the the Stuart heir, attempted to claim the British throne but was defeated in 1746 at the Battle of Culloden. The defeat at the Battle of Culloden prompted large scale emigration from Scotland to America and the history of Scottish Immigration to America began in earnest, although Scots had first emigrated during the Colonial era of American history. More on this at Scottish Immigration to America.
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Boat and immigration lists and other early American records including indentured servants have not yielded results. We have have done a surname survey of these immigration records, but there is no pattern or conclusion. We looked at the Chambliss, Chumbly, etc. lines for a few years but after DNA studies we now rule that out. No paper trail from Chambless/Chambliss/Cumbly substantiates anything in our ancestry anyway.
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Where did we first find them on record in America? Bertie County, North Carolina--which was later split into Hertford County in December 1759. We think some of the early records ended up in Hertford County, which unfortunately suffered two fires and most early holdings were lost.
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What is more important is where our ancestors migrated in America. Our ancestors needed and desired many acres of land to support their families. As land was advertised or given as military warrants, our ancestors began to migrate.
GENEALOGICAL PROOF STANDARD
Genealogical Proof Standard (from Board for Certification of Genealogists)
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Conduct a reasonably exhaustive search for all pertinent information.
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Include complete and accurate citation of sources for each item of information used.
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Analyze and correlate collected information for quality.
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Resolve conflicting evidence.
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Write a soundly reasoned, coherent conclusion.
Benefits of the Genealogical Proof Standard
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Helps you determine what you know
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Helps you decide what you need to learn
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Helps you explain your work to others
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Gives you confidence regarding the direction to take
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Provides an approach for solving difficult research problems using indirect evidence
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Helps you feel safe and secure about your conclusion
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Great resource: Rookie Mistakes in Genealogy
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EASY, NO QUICK ANSWERS, SO GO ONE STEP AT A TIME
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REMEMBER: You will get it right if you go backwards in time beginning with yourself collecting certificates and documentation. Do NOT skip generations as you go backwards in time unless you are an expert.
William Hiram Chamblee married another Chamblee, Cherry Lane Frances Chamblee daughter of Rayford Chamblee and Mary Ray of Wake Co NC. Photo owned by: Cherrye Lane Davis
MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME IN THE ERA YOU SEARCH
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THINK like the time period you are living in. In 1870 the Civil War was raging, maybe that's why the husband is not in the house in the census enumeration. LEARN HOW AND WHY people migrated. They did it in groups. Single women did not go off alone in 1860.
How did people in the country bury people back in the day? Usually on their property within walking distance from the house. Perhaps they did not use granite or marble stones which might not be available or expensive then, but they did use a pile of rocks or wooden cross/sign which over time deteriorated. If you know this, when you see a contemporary stone on their grave this tells you what about the dates? Suspect until proven.
Read historical background, use historical newspapers and read them. You'll get a sense of things.
ALLOW YOUR ANCESTORS TO TELL THEIR STORY
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Example: 1840 census for Benjamin Chamblee, Anderson Co, SC at Ancestry.com:
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EXAMPLE: Initial abstractor listed the name as Benj Chambler, but the name on the actual census is "Chamblee, Benj"--go check.
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Someone decided to "interpret" the record as a "variation of the name" category as LEWIS BENJAMIN CHAMBLEE. They added "Lewis." We all know that "Benjamin W. Chamlee," surname as it was listed in will of Robert Chamblee, Wake County NC. This well-meaning but ill-advised person on Ancestry.com attached "Lewis" to the name because.....why......?
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Robert Chamblee, his father, told you the name of his son in his will.
Start with what you know. If you know the spouse, then the census will be easier. Pick up vital records, marriage, death, birth, etc; then go diving for probate and land deeds, land grants,etc., eventually searched for more obscure records. Because of this process you would never have randomly listed Lewis Benjamin Chamblee on your family tree.
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Eliza Chamblee (Rasco), daughter of Robert Isham Chamblee and Louvisa Callahan was born Dec 14, 1876 in Blount Co, AL. She died 28 Jan 1951.
Her husband Arthur Godfrey Rasco was born May 10,1876 and died Jan. 10,1958. Owner: Rosalee Schmidt
THERE IS METHODOLOGY IN NAMING PATTERNS MORE YESTERDAY THAN TODAY
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LEARN naming patterns of the Chamblee and Chamlees et. al, they used the same names over and over in all families/spellings; this will help you learn about the spouses family and know if the name came from the spouse's line. Many websites talk about naming patterns.
Elizabeth Jane Gary 1843-1918 married Benjamin Warren McCown, son of John McCown and Mary Francis Chamblee. Mary Francis daughter of Benjamin W. Chamblee. Photo owner: Nancy E. Lasley
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?
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If your ancestors came over in the colonial era, you probably don't have to learn about naturalization records just yet. Where are the records located around your life? The same for your ancestor. Don't get too bogged down, but DO learn the basics.
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The process begins with you and your living relatives.
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1. First, do a home survey of information asking all your relatives what they have, what they know, what they have collected. Record the interview. Copy everything. As you gain experience and look back, you will have WISHED you had done this before your ancestor died.
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2. Begin with yourself going backwards in time ONE generation at a time collecting data, i.e., certificates such as birth, marriage, death, etc.
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3. Learn what treasures are in each census year, then do a census enumeration study which is ALL the years your ancestor lived in a census working out their approximate births by the census info.
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4. Add all this to a timeline in chronological order in your genealogy software beginning with oldest information. Now you can begin to understand your ancestor a little better.
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5. Don't forget some very important records, tax and land. You might have to purchase some land transcription books in the county of your ancestor.
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6. Look for other records not indexed. Do you know there are thousands of unindexed records at FamilySearch? Their volunteers have not gotten to them yet but you can access them. They are easy to search even without an alpha index.
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7. Learn how to read probate and estate files. What does EACH document mean? People listed in documents are VERY important to the family. Notate everything, including who purchased at the estate sale, who the guardians of the children were, who had debts against the probate, etc. Add it to your ancestor's timeline again.
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8. A trick to help you: Always copy the link (the URL) under the record you add to your timeline, makes locating and referring to that record again so much easier.
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9. Now that you have tried to pull all digitized records on the internet, go to a courthouse or archives, libraries and other record repositories and pull more. You will be amazed!
Robert Purnell Floyd, M.D. homeplace, Franklin Co, NC, marr Eugenia Louisa Chamblee, dau Lt. John S. Chamblee and Frances A Baker.
Owner: Gene Floyd
ARE ANCESTRY'S SUGGESTED RECORDS LEADING YOU IN THE WRONG DIRECTION?
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From RootsTech:
Ancestry has a room full of computer servers that are designated as “hint servers.” These machines constantly look through what you’ve put in your family tree and compare it with what Ancestry has on their records. As the hint servers begin matching the information you’ve entered with the records they have, they send notifications letting you know about other similarities within the system, and you will receive a leaf hint. As you work with those leaf hints, you have the option to ignore them or save them, keeping in mind the Genealogical Proof Standard. More from RootsTech
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They assume you know the Genealogical Proof Standard, OR, the Genealogical Proof Standard for African-American Genealogy
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Ancestry will never say caveat emptor about their suggested records list; but clearly, this is where so many go down the wrong road and have thousands of family trees with wrong connections.
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You need to know:
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1. Even though you do not see your ancestor in the "Suggested Records" (right-hand side at Ancestry) does not mean your ancestor is not in the records. Au contraire! If Ancestry lists the 1900, 1920, 1930 census enumerations of your ancestor, for example, but not the 1910, then go directly to the 1910 census and look for them. Perhaps the abstractor's they hired misread the name, etc.
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2. The suggested record often is someone by a similar name or even the same name, but careful, they may not be the same person! Watch the math , geographic area, family members, etc., but more importantly, if you have added records in a timeline and have studied all the records immediately preceding the date of the suggested record, you can know if this is your family or not given you will know the names, the ages, where they were born, their trail, etc.
The Chamblee database shows 154 people named John Chamblee in all states. It's easy to accidentally pick "a" John Chamblee/Chamlee from the suggested records at Ancestry and have the wrong ancestor.
Indiscriminately believing the suggested record hints without having done methodical research leads to errors.
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3. The speaker at RootsTeach says, “Suggested Records are generated by you. As you attach things to trees, we’re saying, well, these other three records got attached to that same person. Maybe you want to go look at them.”
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Maybe you DON'T want to look at "them." Family trees and books, etc., are only as good as the fundamental knowledge and genealogy of the person submitting them. Why align yourself with a Chamblee/Chamlee family tree when the father and the son are born without ten years of each other?
As a culture, we want to have that tree--NOW! We want to know our lineage--NOW! This is the impatient time of genealogy. Even reading this website page is tedious to some, they don't want to know the underlying process, they want someone to give them everything NOW.
REAL research means time, money, travel, reading, knowing how to operate a film reader, subscribing to periodicals, buying books, being educated about old handwriting, going to conferences and seminars, etc. Sit down with a very experienced and knowledgeable research, in 15 minutes they can illuminate you.
4. Ever seen a family tree and the source is another family tree at Ancestry and other places? You then go to THAT family tree and they have copied another family tree. These trees are repeated information without analyzing or comprehending it.
Ellison Durham Chamblee, 1853-1927 and wife Malinda Minnie Ola Stafford.
His ancestry extremely difficult to trace and interpolate. His parents was John Wesley Chamblee and Angeline Horton (wife per land records), and John Wesley's father was William Chamblee/Winnifred Warren. William's father was the first Robert Chamblee in Wake Co, NC.
Malinda Minne Ola Stafford married (2) Simon Boliver Strickland 1855-1939.
Ellison Durham Chamblee was found in Orange Co NC records before 1870 and thereafter in Montgomery Co MS.
Winona Times (Mont Co MS), 12 Aug 1927, Fri
On Saturday morning at 2 o'clock Mr. E.L. [sic] Chambly passed away at the home of his daughter Mrs R H O'Neal. He had been ill for several years from heart trouble, but had not been confined to his bed. Funeral services and interment took place at Mars Hill on Sunday morning at 10 o'clock conduced by Rev A. W. Bailey. Mr. Chambley was placed by the side of his wife who preceded him eight years ago. For a number of years he had been a member of the Advent church. He is survived by eight children, Mrs. Savage
Mrs. S.O. Neal, Mrs. E. W. Frazier, Mrs. R.H. O'Neal, Mr. W. D. Chambly
Mrs. J. W. Chambly. He also left a great number o grandchildren. Those from out of town who attended the funeral were Mr and Mrs Hilbert Savage, Corinth, MS, Mr and Mrs J. T. Clark of Buntyn, TN, Mrs. W. R. Baker of Memphis (Courtney), Mr. W. D. Chambly of Whaley, Mr and Mrs F. B. Maxwell, Tupelo, MX, Mr and Mrs. Elbert Jarratt, Memphis TN, Mrs. E. E. Harris, Memphis, TN.
(Photo owned by Dana Carpenter)
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GUIDELINES FOR SHARING WITH OTHERS: In good manners your ancestor may be revealed
Facts about our ancestors are not copyrighted, but any genealogical narrative of the research process is. Thus, you could cross a line when copying someone's research and stamping your name on their research for your own site or book is wrong. This has been done many times in Chamblee-Chamlee Land and another source of errors because the person copying did not understand the genealogy basics of the family.
Give credit where credit is do and do not plagiarize.
Gaining a relationship with a long-time hard-working genealogist or group and obtaining trust has some etiquette behind it. It's pretty simple, but you must know it.
In the 1950's through 1980's if you wrote a letter without a self-addressed stamped envelope included and wanted family information, you probably would not get an answer. This was basic stuff taught in genealogy classes until the internet. It was standard to ask questions in that letter but also standard to reveal your genealogy and to include copies of sources where you found information, even include documents. It was quid pro quo.
Helping someone with their lineage is rewarding. If the conversation and sharing goes both ways, it's even more rewarding. You have to be careful approaching people. Be willing to share your ancestral photos, research, documents, too. If you are only on the "give me" side of things then you will receive a short answer in that email.
No one is going to give you EVERYTHING they have so don't ask. You must get in the trenches, do your own bit and over time and with trust, genealogy kismet will happen.
SOUND GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH
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Do this and you will not only break walls but know what is true and what is not.
The ease of the internet brings family researchers who want it simple and easy. They consider everything on that tree or website they found as accurate.
Be a truth seeker, be curious, have wonder, like a mystery and have empathy for your ancestors--be determined to find out the facts. The Chamblee, Chamlee, Shamley, Shamblee, Chambley tree you uploaded from a gedcom online or randomly copied is wrong--guaranteed. When you know better, you do better.
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DON'T LIMIT YOUR SEARCH TO INDEXED ONLINE RECORDS
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You think Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, Fold3, Chronicling America, paid newspaper sites and the National Archives, etc, are the only places to look for information, i.e. records?
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How about your state archives website and digitized records? County courthouses? There is so much more out there...
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Know this:
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1. Searching family tree sites is a sad place for truth. Use these places as possibilities but reprove what you see no matter the source.
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2. Searching UNindexed records in online record repositories is very fruitful.
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3. Traveling to county courthouses, state archives and other record repositories reaps rewards. Fun stuff.
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@ FamilySearch: DON'T MESS UP THE CHAMBLEE, CHAMLEE, SHAMLEY, SHAMBLEY, CHAMBLE, SHAMBLEE TREE, PLEASE [capital letters intended]
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If you are using the group family tree (everyone works on same tree) at FamilySearch, caution:
--DO NOT CHANGE Chamblee/Chamlee family trees UNLESS YOU ARE 100% SURE WITH VALID RECORD DOCUMENTATION AND SOURCES
--Do not consider a gedcom or someone else's family tree random website as valid "documentation" to change a tree.
--Do your own chronological study of this family and notice math, geographic places and facts compared to records.
--Do READ the sources and notes at the bottom of the page of your ancestor before you begin jumping to conclusions. Many times sources and explanations are posted, but people don't read them but without consideration add a random person not related.
Please know that we do NOT know the parents of Robert, Jacob, John , Isaac, George Chamblee. Elizabeth Annie Pugh who married William F. Chamlee is NOT the wife of Jacob Chamlee b. 1752 who left a bible record.
When you merge and delete people, it can take as long as four hours to figure out what happened and undue the complicated mess. Sit on your hands until you know what you are doing.
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IMAGE OF ROBERT CHAMBLEE (CHAMLEY) FAMILY @ FAMILYSEARCH
IMAGE OF JACOB CHAMLEE FAMILY @ FAMILYSEARCH
IMAGE OF JACOB CHAMLEE FAMILY @ FAMILYSEARCH
IMAGE OF ISAAC CHAMBLEE FAMILY @ FAMILYSEARCH
