Sometimes the answer to a question comes by researching people connected to the main research objective or person. John Frederick Corley is the brother of Mary Catherine Corley and he provided the indirect evidence needed to connect Mary Catherine to their parents. In the previous blog article for Mary Catherine Corley, it was impossible to find direct evidence for a child-parent link. However, expanding research beyond the original research goal brought about the answer.

John Frederick Corley was born on 3 October 1875 in South Carolina to Martin Harrison Corley and Nancy Rebecca Harman. He married Sarah Elizabeth Giles on 24 December 1896 in Colquitt County, Georgia. They had two daughters, Rosa and Ila Frances. Sarah Elizabeth died in 1924. John Frederick married for a second time to Mary Etta Lightfoot. He died on 29 April 1943 in Autreyville, Colquitt, Georgia.

John Frederick Corley’s Vital Info

FamilySearch and Ancestry rely on information entered in the vital info boxes to generate record hints. That vital information is used to match up with the indexed data of records. While neither company reveals exactly how the search or hinting algorithms work, there is a certain logic there the average user can identify. If the vital information is inaccurate or wrong, hints are not generated. or the hints are irrelevant or low quality.

John Frederick Corley’s death date had a year of 1942 and there were no record hints. However, in a review of the attached sources, the death year should have been 1943. Editing the death year to 1943 brought up John’s death certificate as a record hint. This is because the death year matched the indexed year from the death certificate.¹ FamilySearch and Ancestry do employ a certain fuzziness in matching profiles and records, but correct data assists the algorithm to perform better.

A death certificate contains information provided by family members, friends, or medical providers. This means the information may or may not be accurate. John Frederick Corley’s death certificate does not provide evidence for his mother because that space says “D.K.” or don’t know. It does provide evidence for his father Martin H. Corley and his daughter Rosa. His birth year is reported as 1865, which was likely reported incorrectly by his daughter, who was the informant. His birth year was 1875, as supported by his World War I draft card.²

Siblings Provide Indirect Evidence

John Frederick Corley’s wife Sarah Elizabeth Giles is the sibling of James Warren Giles. Mary Catherine Corley was married to James Warren Giles. The Giles siblings provide the connecting link between John Frederick and Mary Catherine. If John Frederick is the son of Martin Harrison Corley and Nancy Rebecca Harman and John Frederick and Mary Catherine are siblings, then Mary Catherine is also a daughter of the same parents.

While this is still indirect evidence for Mary Catherine’s connection to her parents, it adds to the overall indirect evidence supporting the connection. Her birth year and place and last name suggest she is a match for Callie Corley in the 1880 U.S. Census.³ It would still be good to find direct evidence, but this may have to do for now.

While there were no earth-shattering discoveries for John Frederick Corley, it was still important to review his FamilySearch profile. Cleaning up the data and attaching additional sources helped to provide evidence for his death. It also helped provide indirect evidence for his sister Mary Catherine Corley.

Sources

1. “Georgia Deaths, 1928-1943,” entry for John F. Corley, no. 9665, 29 April 1943, Autreyville, Colquitt, Georgia; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 27 August 2024). ↩︎
2. “United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918”; digital images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 27 August 2024), Colquitt County, Georgia, Moultrie, Draft Board, entry for John Frederick Corley; citing NARA microfilm publication World War 1 Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, M1509. ↩︎
3. 1880 U.S. Census, Edgefield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Huiet Township, enumeration district (ED) 54, sheet 216 (stamped), p. 43 (penned), dwelling 401, family 401, Martin Corley household; digital image, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 18 August 2024); citing NARA microfilm publication T9.  ↩︎