Some of you may remember that I spoke last summer to the CFAA in DC. Among
other things, we spent time at the DAR library, which was an immensely
rewarding experience. I saw, for the first time, an original copy of the
notorious Hamil book. But, as I noted in my email to the list, "I was
discouraged to find sitting next to it a 2008 manuscript by a Tim Cooley,
which drew on Hamil's work. I didn't look closely at it, but it looked to
be concerned mostly with Tink's descendants." Its presence gave me the
idea of writing a manuscript myself for submission. I had hoped to finish
it in a year but school seriously got in the way. However, I finally have
a good start on it.
The working title is "Setting the Record Straight: A Truer Accounting of
the Cooleys of Stokes County, North Carolina." A chapter will refute
Hamil, and the balance of the book will present the new evidence--genetic,
etc.--that we've uncovered during the last several years. Sections will be
devoted to each son--at least as we presently understand them to be--and a
section to his daughters. Just for the fun of it--or the scandal of it--I
may devote a section to the various Cooley-related murders. Following the
work will be a listing of his descendants to four generations--about the
only part that I have developed any further.
There are a couple of reasons for the four-generation limitation. An
attempt to complete the task to the current generation is impossible. (A
genealogy, after all, is never complete.) Indeed, trying to make a lineage
complete to four generations is in itself a formidable challenge. But more
importantly, most of the latter generations can be found, in one form or
another, on the Internet--and very little of it, if any, is in dispute.
It's the earlier generations with which we've had to struggle to untangle.
And, finally, as I mentioned in an email just a couple of weeks ago, I'm
happy to argue with the "Dutchist" Cooley crowd (which, of course, is not
an organized entity but consists entirely of individuals who have merely
copied that lineage without an understanding of genealogical methods.)
Trying to get this right has given me an enormously satisfying, if
sometimes contentious, challenge, and has constituted a important
centerpiece to my life over the last few years.
I've corresponded with some of you, personally and on the list, about some
of those four generations. In many cases, I've dropped the ball. I'll pick
it up again in the coming weeks. In the meantime, if anyone finds
something on the following page that needs more work to four generation,
please let me know. (Remember that in many cases there are notes that can
be accessed by clicking on a person.)
http://ancestraldata.com/ahnentafel/256/lineages/johncooley-desc.html
Here's my first posting about this:
http://ancestraldata.com/listarchive/johncooleylist/current/0935.html
And note that the next CFAA meeting will be held in Salt Lake City next
summer. Non-members can also attend--and membership itself can be had for
as little as $10 a year!
http://www.cooleyfamilyassociation.com/
-Michael
Received on Thu Nov 07 2013 - 15:36:16 MST