When I looked at Lucinda Leonard’s profile on FamilySearch and profiles on Ancestry trees, it was easy to assume the data was correct. When researchers evaluate online family trees, such as those at FamilySearch, WikiTree, Ancestry, or MyHeritage, it’s easy to assume the data is valid. That data may very well be correct, but documentation is needed to know with certainty.
According to FamilySearch, Lucinda Leonard was born about 1830 in Alabama to Levi Allen Leonard and Mary Ann Horne. Lucinda married James Rhone on 11 May 1848 in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. They had three children together. Lucinda later married William Calloway Essary on 21 September 1867 in Perry County, Alabama. Lucinda and William had two children together. This life summary needs closer examination.
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Assumptions about Lucinda Leonard
It is difficult to know if the data we are seeing is accurate or not. This is why it is necessary to look at the primary sources, if they exist. FamilySearch is known for having an unreliable tree because many profiles lack source citations. That situation has been improving because FamilySearch has encouraged attaching record hints and explaining conclusions. However, many profiles still lack sources, making it easy to take information at face value.
Evidence Analysis is one of the key steps in research. I like to evaluate what is already known about a person before doing new research. This can help the researcher save time and also provide an opportunity to identify missing information before writing a research objective. One thing to remember is that a person does not exist in isolation. But how much information needs to be reviewed before moving forward? It would be easy to get trapped in analysis paralysis over a particular data point of an individual or their extended relationships.
In my review of Lucinda Leonard, I made the easy mistake of taking data at face value. Her profile stated her death was in 1910, and I did not look further. As a result, I looked for records about Lucinda and William’s relationship that might never have existed. Lucinda’s assumed death date of 1910 overlapped with William’s remarriage in 1899. I then asked whether the couple had divorced or separated. Typically, a remarriage occurred after a spouse died, but divorce is another possibility.
In reality, research has to start somewhere. Researchers, despite their best intentions, will make assumptions. Thoroughly exhaustive research requires revisiting and double-checking all known facts to hopefully catch mistakes and correct them. Thankfully, I chose to review Lucinda Leonard’s profile, which caused me to see my mistake.
Further evaluation identified another assumption about Lucinda Leonard. Lucinda was connected to her parents, Levi Allen Leonard and Mary Ann Horne. However, a review of records for Lucinda and her father, Levi, places some doubt, or at least questions, the connection. In other words, there were no source records that showed Lucinda Leonard was the daughter of Levi Allen Leonard. At this point, the connection is an assumption and needs further documentation. It could very well be correct, but we can’t say it is without documentation.
What do the records say?
There are only a few records that really provide information about Lucinda Leonard’s life before her marriage to William Calloway Essary in 1867. There is a marriage record for Lucinda and James Rhone on 11 May 1848 in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.1 Lucinda and James are together with their three children in the 1860 U.S. Census.2 Lucinda appeared to be a widow in 1866, as she was listed on the 1866 Alabama State Census.3
The next record is the marriage record between Lucinda and William Calloway Essary in 1867. The remaining records attached to Lucinda are death certificates for her children. The death certificates provide evidence of the parent-child link between Lucinda and her biological children. However, the death certificate information depends on the informant, so the suggested parent-child links need correlation with other documentation. Fortunately, census records provide additional documentation.
As mentioned previously, none of these records provides evidence for Lucinda’s death, nor her parentage. Since Lucinda was 20 years older than William Calloway Essary, it would make sense if Lucinda had died. Lucinda would have been 50 years old in 1880, 60 years old in 1890, and almost 70 years old in 1899. In an era recovering from the deprivations of war and, most likely, some degree of poverty, she may not have lived until 1910.
While it is still an assumption to state Lucinda probably died, the assumption at least considers additional factors. Her age, economic status, life experiences, and William’s remarriage suggest the likelihood of her death being between 1880 and 1899. This date range should not be added to her profile, but it could be added as a comment for consideration.
Looking for records
With the possibility of Lucinda’s death, rather than divorce, it became necessary to at least look for a death record for Lucinda Leonard. Alabama did not officially begin recording deaths until 1908, with general compliance by 1925. While some localities began recording deaths in 1881, there is a very high probability that there is no official death certificate. This means we also need to look for a headstone or obituary.
Unfortunately, a search of Alabama death records did not return any results for a death record for Lucinda. Find-A-Grave also did not have a headstone for a Lucinda Essary in Hale County, Alabama. I did not expand my search to looking for an obituary or family bible, though those collections could be searched at a later date.
I reviewed the records attached to Lucinda’s hypothetical parents, but there were no records that could confirm that relationship. The connection to her parents will have to be confirmed using indirect evidence, most likely focusing on her hypothetical siblings. That kind of research is a project for another day.
In the meantime, the best improvement for Lucinda’s FamilySearch profile is to remove the death date. It is better to leave it blank than add or leave a date that has no basis.
Sources
- “Alabama Marriages, 1816-1957,” entry for James Rhone – Lucindia Leonard, 811 May 1848, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama; index, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 30 January 2026). ↩︎
- 1860 U.S. Census, Perry County, Alabama, population schedule, Jerrico Beat, Morgan Spring Township, p. 47 (penned), dwelling 308, family 308, Jas Roane household; digital image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 30 January 2026); citing NARA microfilm publication M653. ↩︎
- 1866 Alabama State Census, Perry County, Alabama, population schedule, page 94 (penned), Township 21 Range 7 E., Mrs. L. Rhone household; digital image, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 30 January 2026); citing Department of Archives and History, Montgomery. ↩︎
