Friday, September 28, 2007

Family Focus: Malinda Jane McRobie Kight

Malinda Jane McROBIE was born in 20 Apr 1829 in Maryland. Malinda was the daughter of John William and his second wife. It's thought that his second wife died in childbirth or shortly after Malinda was born. Malinda is the only child to live to a late age out of John's second wife's children. She died on 30 Apr 1896. She is buried with her husband in the Kight Cemetery on Maplewood Farm in New Creek, Mineral County, West Virginia.

Malinda lived in Allegany County, Maryland until 1850 and in Preston County, West Virginia, after 1870.

Here are the records I have for Malinda:
1850 Census
1870 Census
1880 Census
Death Register
Cemetery Transcription


Malinda married Henry Thomas KIGHT III in 1850. Henry was born on 12 Nov 1828 in Maryland. He died on 25 Aug 1910 in Mineral County, West Virginia. He was the son of Henry Thomas KIGHT II and Sarah SHARPLESS. He is buried with his wife in Kight Cemetery on Maplewood Farm in New Creek, Mineral County, West Virginia.

Henry lived in Allegany County, Maryland, until about 1866. He lived in Preston County, West Virginia, after about 1866. He worked as a farmer.

Here are the records for Henry:
Marriage Record from Ancestry.com
1870 Census
1880 Census
1910 Census
Cemetery Transcription

Malinda and Henry had the following children:
Percilla Ann KIGHT was born 29 Jun 1851 in Maryland.
Ezra KIGHT was born 6 Nov 1852 in Maryland.
Sara Frances KIGHT was born in 1854 in Maryland.
Mary Ellen KIGHT was born in 1855 in Maryland.
John Cain KIGHT was born in 1857 in Maryland.
William Sharpless KIGHT was born in 1859 in Maryland.
Benjamin C KIGHT was born in 1860 in Maryland.
Rebecca Jane KIGHT was born in 1863 in Maryland.
Lydia Margaret KIGHT was born in 1864 in Maryland.
Henry Johnson KIGHT was born in 2 Oct 1866 in Maryland.
Jacob Rotruck KIGHT was born in 12 Apr 1868 in Virginia.
Victoria Florence KIGHT was born in 29 Mar 1870 in Virginia.
Sylvia Leanna KIGHT was born in 4 Jul 1872 in Claysville, Mineral County, West Virginia.
Bailey Carlton KIGHT was born 11 Jul 1874 in Mineral County, West Virginia.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Family Focus: Andrew McRobie

So I've been doing so much research these past few weeks, I wasn't even sure how to go about presenting it. First things first, I've found an awesome site that provides vital records for most West Virginian counties. Through this, I've managed to find birth registers, marriage registers, and death certificates (all scanned originals). The site is: http://www.wvculture.org. It's been an amazing wealth of information.


So I've decided to slowly focus on one person and their family at a time. Starting with John William's line, this post will be about his oldest son Andrew.

Andrew's mother was John William's first wife. Her name is still unknown. He was born in 1816 in Maryland. She died sometime before 1823. It is unknown if she had other children after Andrew, although the 7 year gap makes it plausible.

Finding records for Andrew has proven to be a little difficult so some of these records are pure speculation.

1. There is an Andrew McRoby that appears on the 1840 Census. Since the names of members of households weren't listed in 1840, we can't be 100% positive, but I'm wagering an educated guess that this is John's Andrew and not Elisha's Andrew.
2. Andrew is counted twice on the 1860 census.
3. Andrew served in the 3rd West Virginia Cavalry in the Civil War.
4. I also found a record (noted in a previous post) for an Andrew McRoby buried in Arlington National Cemetery that served in the West Virginia Cavalry and died during the Civil War.

PLEASE NOTE: I have no confirmation that the Andrew buried in Arlington National Cemetery is the same as John's Andrew. In fact, it does contradict some previous research, but still I feel it shouldn't be ruled out. Andrew does not appear on any censuses after 1860 (including the Veteran's schedules). It is a plausible explanation, albeit, not a confirmed one.

Andrew had five children with an unknown wife:
Archibald (born in 1839)
Daniel (born in 1843)
Jane* (born in 1845)
Issac (born in 1847)
William (born in 1849)

*Jane is not found on any census records but is listed in Wilma Sander's McRobie Genealogy and "The Burbach-Poorbaugh-Purbaugh Family in America 1771-1974" as the daughter of Andrew. So far I have not seen a record, nor talked to anyone, that would contradict these sources.

If anyone would like specific sourcing information and/or would like to see any documents, I am glad to share whatever I have. Just shoot me and email. Also, I'd like to make clear that this research is in no way infallible. If anyone has information to contradict it, I'm open to all possibilities.

Happy hunting!