Sunday, September 18, 2016

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.