Mind Maps- My New Research Log

Recently I worked on several projects where I used mind maps to help determine relationships and possible further research. I soon realized that while I was mapping I was recreating my research log in a way that made it easy for me to see what I was thinking while going through the research process. The program used is XMind which can be obtained here. There are both free and pro versions but the free version meets my needs.

The benefits of Mind Maps

• Links to relevant websites can be added
• Images can be inserted
• Can connect searches to see what is or isn't working
• Can add notes if needed
• Add a task priority
• Can also put a task process where you can track the progress of an entry
• For instance, if you order a record you can update the task process in terms of ordered, received, transcribed, sourced, etc.

I use these in my research log for locating the parents of Alice Hiles.

Mind Map for Alice Hiles, 13 October 2016, made by Rachel Evans

Using Mind Maps to Help Prove Kate

As previously posted I had hit a wall in regards to my research into the parents of Catherine Maria Randell. You can read more about her here and about her children here. This is my latest post about the goldmines that are probate files and how I used mind maps to help in determining family relationships.

In trying to prove Kate's parents it soon became apparent that researching the family of John and Eliza was going to be necessary. The mind map below does not include all documents obtained but does give enough to show the family connections.

The first mention of any relationship between Kate and her siblings was the probate file of Morris Randell. His will only indicates a widow, Fannie, and an adopted daughter, Lillian Meineke but the probate file lists much more. Without directly stating that they were siblings the probate includes interested parties to his estate including the children of Jonathan and Catherine. The connection has to occur through Catherine for several reasons:

• The parties mentioned do not include the three children that Jonathan Randell had with his first wife, Jane Ellen Van Wickle. The fact that only the children of Catherine were mentioned in the will shows that the relationship must have came from Catherine.
• Jonathan did have a brother named Morris but he is proven to have married first Hannah Eliza Van Wickel and second Sophia Way. Morris died 28 February 1897 and had a probate filed shortly after which mentioned his widow and all children.

Part of Morris Randell's estate included an inheritance he had yet to receive from Lydia Randell. Lydia Randell was the wife of James Randell, son of John Randell and Eliza Child(s). In the will she says that Morris is her brother-in-law. She also leaves a portion of her estate to Benjamin Blackledge along with his two children, Harry Blackledge and Adelle Bennett. No relationship is stated but Benjamin Blackledge was the widower of Amelia Childs Randell, daughter of John and Eliza. Harry and Adelle, Amelia's children, were also listed in Morris Randell's estate as his neice and nephew.

Lydia's husband, James Randell, also left a will in Rockland County, N.Y. but did not give anything to nieces or nephews. Most of his estate went to Lydia with one very important bequest. He made his brother, Lewis, and two sisters, Susan and Anne, tenants in common of property that he obtained from John Randell and Eliza, his wife, situate in Harrington, Bergen County, New Jersey. This was the residence of John and Eliza and their family by the 1860 census and beyond. 

The table below helps show the relationships in the probates.

People mentioned in Probate files

Name of Testator	Name of Heir	Relationship to Testator (if stated)	Parents of Heir (from research)
James Randell	Lewis Randell	Brother	John Randell/Eliza Child(s)
James Randell	Susan E Randell	Sister	John Randell/Eliza Child(s)
James Randell	Anna Randell	Sister	John Randell/Eliza Child(s)
James Randell	Lydia W. Randell	Wife	N/A
Lydia Randell	Benjamin Blackledge		N/A
Lydia Randell	Harry R. Blackledge		Benjamin Blackledge/Amelia Randell
Lydia Randell	Adelle Bennett		Benjamin Blackledge/Amelia Randell
Lydia Randell	Morris Randell	Brother-in-Law	John Randell/Eliza Child(s)
Morris Randell	Sarah Randell	Niece	Jonathan Randell/Catherine Randell
Morris Randell	John S. Randell	Nephew	Jonathan Randell/Catherine Randell
Morris Randell	Charles M. Randell	Nephew	Jonathan Randell/Catherine Randell
Morris Randell	Francis M. Randell	Nephew	Jonathan Randell/Catherine Randell
Morris Randell	James W. Randell	Nephew	Jonathan Randell/Catherine Randell
Morris Randell	Edmund L. Randell	Nephew	Jonathan Randell/Catherine Randell
Morris Randell	Minnie Syme	Niece	Jonathan Randell/Catherine Randell
Morris Randell	Walter W. Randell	Nephew	Jonathan Randell/Catherine Randell
Morris Randell	Frederick L. Randell	Nephew	Jonathan Randell/Catherine Randell
Morris Randell	Harry R. Blackledge	Nephew	Benjamin Blackledge/Amelia Randell
Morris Randell	Adelle (or Adele) Bennett	Niece	Benjamin Blackledge/Amelia Randell

A search of Harlem church records is currently being conducted. Due to the fact that John and Eliza were residing in the area during the time they were having children and the mention in the 1860 census where children older and younger were born there it is probable that is where Catherine was born. However, no baptisms of their children were discovered in the Dutch Reformed Church records which was the preferred religion within the Randell family. Since Eliza was born in England locating an Anglican church may be necessary.

While there is no birth, marriage or death directly saying that Catherine Maria Randell was the daughter of John and Eliza (Childs) Randell there is a lot of indirect evidence to prove the link. The fact that there are probate documents with familial relationships between people of this family and Catherine's, the vital records available to connect some but not all of the family, and a Catherine of the right age living in the household in 1850 all help in her placement within this family.

Probate Gold- The Children and some Grandchildren of Jonathan Randell and his Two Wives

My last post about the Bennem family was a good example of why we should look beyond just wills for our direct ancestors. My next two will be about why we should look beyond our direct line for those siblings in the wills and probate records.

Edmund L. (possibly LeRoy) Randel was one of the youngest children born to Jonathan Randel (1818-1888) and his second wife Catherine Maria Randell (1832-1883). He married Lena Vogel but died without issue in 1928. His probate was filed 10 December 1928 with his heirs being his wife, siblings and his deceased sibling’s children. So how much can be found in a probate file?  Edmund’s was over 100 pages long. Included in the paperwork were names, relationships, and addresses of all people with a claim to his estate. 

One page of the file is a gold mine to any genealogist and helps bring light to some of the 13 children and some of the grandchildren of Jonathan Randell. There is also a two page list with more detailed information about each person but does not give who is the child of which sibling.

Heirs of Edmund L. Randel- Probate of Edmund L. Randel, Number 1187, 1928, Mixed Proceedings, Case #1171-1193, 1928, Ancestry.com New York, Wills and Probate Records, 1659-1999 [Database on-line], Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original Data: New York County, District and Probate Courts.

The information from the probate is as follows:

Children of Jonathan Randell and Jane Ellen Van Wickle (1820-1851)

o   Mary Haight, half-sister, who died 8 July 1917. Children:

-  Charles Haight, half-nephew

-  Laurie Haight, half-niece

-  Nellie Haight, half niece

- Julia Haight, half niece

o   Jonathan Randel, half- brother, who died 23 August 1908. Children:

-  Jonathan Randel, half-nephew

-  Josie von der Hayden, half-niece

o   Cornelia Reycraft, half-sister, who died 29 July 1918. Children:

-  Mae Beulah R. Gray, half-niece

-  Nellie Reycraft, half- niece

o   Sarah Valentine, half-sister, who died 1 May 1927. Children:

-  Sarah Bergen, half-niece

-  Cornelia Salg, half-niece

-          Children of Jonathan Randell and Catharine Maria Randell

o   Frank (Francis Morris) Randel, brother

o   James Randel, brother

o   Frederic Randel, brother

o   Walter W. Randel, brother

o   John Randel, brother, who died 20 February 1919. Children:

-  John Randel, nephew

-  Ethel M. Van Velson, niece

-  Mary Supple, niece

-  Nellie Hanft, niece

-  Sue R. Fridge, niece

-  Katherine R. Weight, niece

-  Emory Randel, nephew

-  Le Roy Randel, nephew

-  Edna Randel, niece

-  Bessie Dorn, niece. My great-grandmother

o   Minnie Syme, sister, who died 1 July 1907. Children:

-  Edmund E. Syme, nephew

-  Viola Thurston, niece

-  Flora Clarke, niece

All four children of Randell and Van Wickle are mentioned. For the children between Randel and Randell all but a son, Charles Mortimer Randell, is listed. All I know about Charles is that he married Emma Weed in 1890 but have nothing beyond that. He may have died without issue prior to Edmund’s death.

As you can see the amount of information from the probate was well worth the time to locate it even though Edmund is not my direct line.