If you have spent any time browsing the FamilySearch Family Tree, you will quickly run into person profiles that have no sources. This is especially true for the profiles of people born before 1800. The further back in time, the more likely this will happen. Can these profiles and tree connections be trusted? How and why did these profiles and tree connections come about?
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FamilySearch
The FamilySearch Family Tree is a collaborative, wiki-style tree. This means the tree is a shared tree and anyone can add or make changes to almost any person on the tree. There are advantages and disadvantages to this system, but by working together contributors can hopefully save time by working together. In an ideal world, it works well, but anyone that has used FamilySearch soon encounters where it does not.
Profiles with no sources came about on FamilySearch for a few different reasons. FamilySearch has existed in one form or another for a long time. The initial version of FamilySearch was based on user submitted genealogies and pedigree charts which were, for the most part, minimally sourced. Since that time additional profiles have been added, some without sources. Those profiles may be legitimate and based on previous research, others are copies from other trees floating around the Internet.
No Sources for James Langford
James Langford was born about 1775 in South Carolina. He died 8 Oct 1841 in Leesville, Lexington, South Carolina. When I first started working on my Langford Descendancy Research project, James had no sources on FamilySearch. His profile included his wife and children, also with almost no sources. Was this connection between William B. Langford and his father James correct?
These profiles with no sources need to be viewed with a bit of caution. It is possible they are correct but it is also possible they are wrong. FamilySearch has a reputation, especially for individuals born before 1800 to be simply wrong, and therefore not trustworthy. Incorrect connections and mis-attributed parentage is common. Untangling that kind of mess is difficult.
In order to feel confident that James Langford was the father of William B. Langford, a source was needed to provide the connecting link. It took a bit of looking, but I eventually found a will and probate for James Langford in which his son William B. Langford, who lived in Lauderdale County, Alabama, is named. This eventually led to finding some early U.S. Censuses for James Langford. His wife and children are still mostly unsourced.
The FamilySearch Research Wiki article on Lexington County, South Carolina includes a section on published genealogies. There is a book on the Langfords, only available in print at the FamilySearch Library. I suspect James Langford and his family were copied from this book and put on FamilySearch. Hopefully this book provides some documentation on this family.
Nancy Langford
James Langford’s children on FamilySearch are:
- William B. Langford
- Susannah Langford
- Asa Langford
- Nancy Langford
- James Ray Langford
- Joab Langford
- Martha Langford
- Elizabeth Langford
- John James Langford
I have completed looking for the descendants of William and Susannah. Asa is named for James’ brother Asa Langford. There are no sources for James’ son Asa and sorting that out proved to be challenging. The next child to begin searching out descendants is Nancy Langford.
Nancy Langford also does not have any sources. According to FamilySearch she was born October 1805 in South Carolina and “died” in 1900. Her husband is Tyre Snelgrove. Tyre Snelgrove also does not have any sources. This is the second Langford that marries a Snelgrove, which suggests the Langford and Snelgrove families were close. Tyre is a little unusual for a name, which should help with searching records.
With a simple general search of records on Ancestry, Tyre was found in an 1830 and 1840 U.S. Census record. A bit of analysis is needed to understand what the census records are saying. Nancy Langford fits the age range of the woman in the household for the 1840 U.S. Census, but not the 1830. The 1830 and 1840 U.S. Censuses suggests Tyre likely owned property because he has enslaved people in his household.
Clearly more research is needed to learn more about Tyre and Nancy. By researching Tyre, we can hopefully learn more about Nancy. Lexington, South Carolina experienced some record loss, especially with wills, probates, and land records. It may be a challenge to add additional sources. At least, some of the Langford and Snelgrove family are now beginning to have sources.
