The following article describes my research methods for my first book. The article appeared in "Heart of Texas Records," Vol. XLVII, No. 3, Fall 2004, the quarterly publication of Central Texas Genealogical Society, Inc., pages 91-92.
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Several people have asked how I found information on the Gholson family going back hundreds of years, so I would like to share my method with others who would like to research their ancestors. Warning! Be prepared for a few skeletons to jump out of the closet!
A computer with an internet connection is a definite asset, although it is possible to obtain much of the same information by writing letters. It just takes longer and is more difficult to refine your search.
Fortunately, Gholson is an uncommon family name and I had a book, Gholson and Allied Families, to use as a starting point for dates and places of births, deaths, marriages, and some military information. The Gholson House by Binnie Hoffman gave me leads to B. F. Gholson's stories of the early Texas Rangers. One of my cousins trusted me with her precious family albums, and another cousin shared an autobiography containing information about the period surrounding the Civil War and cattle drives that I did not find anywhere else.
It did not take long for me to become overwhelmed with information. To organize it, I made a spreadsheet showing dates chronologically in the first column, starting with the oldest. The second column contained historical events, especially those occurring near the family's residence at that time (for instance, the Revolutionary War was taking place when they lived in Virginia). Next, there is a column for each generation. The spreadsheet tells me at a glance what historical events were taking place on any significant family history date and the number of years of overlap between generations.
The next step was to search the internet and libraries for information. I used the internet for leads but verified the information elsewhere or did not use it, as there is much misinformation online. A notable exception is the U. S. Geological Survey website's "Feature Search," with the ability to map locations, even historic places that no longer exist. I ordered many topographic maps to plot routes and locations. The Texas State Archives website is also outstanding.
I spent many hours in public libraries, especially those with a good genealogy collection. If I found myself in another city with some time on my hands, I headed for the library. I first searched the catalog for names and keywords based upon the information I already had. It always amazed me to find Gholson information in every library I visited, even Toronto, Canada. As I became more familiar with my subjects, I browsed through the shelves for books covering topics that appeared to be helpful, such as deed records of early Virginia, or muster rolls of the Kentucky militia, using the spreadsheet to check dates. Each time I found a reference to the Gholson name in a book, I photocopied the appropriate pages, including the title page and copyright information for the book.
In searching for the first Gholson immigrants from England to Virginia, I began checking the early ships' records for variations on the Gholson name. In the early records, names were often spelled very creatively, since many people could not read nor write even their own names, and it was the job of the person who recorded the name to attempt to spell it phonetically.
In the course of my research, I made several interesting discoveries, such as 1728 Virginia land grants from King George II, a reference to land leased from George Washington, and a connection to Patrick Henry. In doing the research, the history of our nation became very real to me when I realized the close connection between my great-grandfathers in Virginia and our Founding Fathers. I checked land records, court records, military records, criminal records, and anything else that seemed to have possibilities. Since there were at times several Gholsons with the same name, such as Anthony or William, I was careful to match dates and places with individuals.
I spent several days in Texas county courthouses and hired a genealogist to research other counties. I visited Texas forts and other historical sites to take photographs and ordered some photos from other sources, such as the Library of Congress, Library of Virginia, and Texas State Archives.
In the process of gathering information, I built my own library of reference sources, including The New Handbook of Texas, Dr. Malcolm D. McLean's Papers Concerning Robertson's Colony of Texas, and many other books. Many members of genealogical societies, historical commissions, and governmental agencies responded to my requests for information and photographs.
So now you know how I gathered information about the Gholson family line from Benjamin Franklin Gholson back to early Virginia and England. As I collected information, I typed it into my computer and printed it, filing the pages in a binder. Then I began to make a timeline and organize the material by date, entering it into the spreadsheet.
Finally, the chapters began to emerge and the book began to take shape. Now that I had an idea of who, where, and when, I became curious about what life was like for the various family members. I began to search for material to describe the times, and blended it with the family history information. By the time the first draft was finished, I was much more familiar with the lives and times of my ancestors and had a good refresher course in American and Texas history. I hope you have found something here that will help you to recreate the story of your family. You can see my book at http://www.gholsonroad.com.
Donna Gholson Cook, Author of
Gholson Road: Revolutionaries and Texas Rangers and
Associate Member of Western Writers of America
Copyright 2017, 2021, Donna Gholson Cook. All rights reserved.