William Fuller (1810?) is a complex research project. Progress can be made by focusing on specific research questions and following a systematic research methodology. I chose to focus on birth records, but any particular research objective can help make progress in the ultimate goal of learning more and identifying William’s parents.

Revisiting Augusta Root

In the first video about William Fuller (1810?), I had suggested the marriage to Augusta Root be set aside temporarily to focus on William’s birth records. The marriage between William Fuller (1810?) and Augusta Root most likely happened. But there are things to consider:

• Is the William Fuller who married Augusta Root the same William Fuller who married Susan Taylor Black?¹
• Is William Fuller, in the 1860 U.S. Census, the same William Fuller who married Augusta Root?²

The answer to both of those questions may be “Yes,” but evidence is needed to know for sure. The evidence could be directly stated or built off of circumstantial, indirect evidence. For example, can we place the William Fuller of the 1860 U.S. Census in the correct place and time to have been in association with the Root family? Perhaps.

The William Fuller (1810?) profile that exists in FamilySearch could be based on research that has been done in the past. Unfortunately, any source citations or reasoning were not originally included when the profile was created. FamilySearch has been encouraging users to add sources to profiles to help show correct connections, but there is a huge backlog of unsourced profiles.

The William Fuller (1810?) profile has 28 sources, but none of those sources explain the reasoning for the connection to Augusta Root other than the same name, and sort of same location (or at least New England proximity). This kind of explanation will require an advanced analysis of Augusta Root, the Root family, and William Fuller.

Building on the Research Plan

The first research objective for William Fuller (1810?) is to find documentary evidence for his birth date and place. This plan includes a long list of record collections for Massachusetts and New York. These record collections were found by using the FamilySearch Research Wiki to identify collections and pasted them into the Research Plan.

As the collections are searched, relevant results can be logged in a spreadsheet or table. Even if evidence for the date referenced in the Root family book can’t be found, parental candidates and alternate birth dates can be recorded for future research.

As each collection is searched, add the collection with a source citation to a research log. This will help the researcher keep track and know what has been searched so that collections are not repeatedly searched.

Progress

The previous entry on William Fuller (1810?) and this one spends a lot of time in evidence analysis. We have to ask two fundamental questions:

• How do we know?
• Does it make sense?

Does the evidence that exists help answer the questions of how we know and if it makes sense? This can guide us in identifying holes in the conclusions and connections that have been made in the past and identify the areas that need additional research and analysis. William Fuller’s birth and marriage to Augusta Root are two areas that need additional research.

One research methodology outlined by Diane Elder and Nicole Dyer in the book Research Like a Pro can help a researcher make progress in difficult research.³ These steps include evidence analysis, timelines, research objectives, and a research plan followed by a research log and written conclusions. The book provides additional details on each of those steps.

Timeline

A timeline can help build the evidence and find the areas that need additional research. A timeline can be built in a variety of ways. One possibility is to create a table. In the example below, I created a table with columns for a date, event (a new column not included in the video), location, and source citation. Each event mentioned in William Fuller’s profile should be included in the timeline, whether a source exists or not.

This timeline immediately brought out research opportunities, which will be discussed in the next blog entry.

Sources

1. James Pierce Root, Root Genealogical records, 1600-1870 : Comprising the general history of the Root and Roots families in America (R. C. Root: Anthony & Co., 1870), images 216-217; digital images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org : accessed 13 January 2024).  ↩︎
2. 1860 U.S. Census, New York County, New York, population schedule, Post Office New York City, p. 310 (penned), dwelling 1087, family 1455, Wm. Fuller household; digital image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 13 January 2025); citing NARA microfilm publication M653.  ↩︎
3.  I am an Amazon Associate. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. ↩︎