Dear Santa,

I have a short wish list for you. I don’t expect you to leave any documents under the tree or in my Christmas stocking, but I sure would love a crumb trail so I could find them myself. They’ve been real stumpers and I’ve looked hard!

Here are the elusive records I would LOVE to find:

1. Anders Molin – A death/burial record or probate file for him after 1785 in Sweden. The problem is the last place he lived – Marstrand – is hundreds of miles from where he was born, married and raised his family. It didn’t help that he and his wife, Sara Brita Krook, separated or divorced about the same time he moved. Sara’s probate said she was a widow when she died in 1810, but Sara didn’t always tell the truth so I’m not sure if Anders predeceased her or not.
2. Francis Sturgill – Francis has hundreds, if not thousands of descendants today. The Revolutionary War soldier had a number of children and one of his descendants, who has since died, published a book saying that Francis’s children were proven through various land deeds. Santa, I’ve looked and looked in North Carolina and Virginia and haven’t found even one. Please drop a few bread crumbs and point me in the right direction!
3. Phillip Crouse – Phillip was a Loyalist from Lincoln County,  North Carolina, but left no records there. He was born in Zeeland province in the Netherlands and reportedly immigrated to the colonies with his family when he was a young boy. He married in New Brunswick, Canada in 1785 to Sarah Burt, the daughter of a Connecticut Loyalist, Benjamin Burt. the 1790, 1800 and 1810 censuses include Peter Crouse and John Crouse in Lincoln County. Peter and John are said to be brothers of Phillip, but I’ve found few records for either of them. Peter died as a young married man about 1795. I’d love a few crumbs off in that direction, too, Santa.
4. James Astle Sr. – James and James Jr. are proven by DNA evidence to be closely related, although not necessarily father and son. They could be cousins or uncle and nephew. Both were Loyalists and James Astle Sr. married in 1770 in Schenectady, New York. James Jr. settled in New Carlisle, Quebec, Canada while James Sr. settled on the Miramichi River in Ludlow, New Brunswick. Since their name isn’t found anywhere in colonial records, they likely were both born in England, where the name is very common, particularly in the Derby area. I certainly could use a hint or two in identifying parents/siblings or other family members or even just the names of the villages from which they came.
5. Lastly, I really need help with Mary Jane Adams, born c1850 in Tennessee and who married Abraham Dulworth in 1883 in Clay County, Tennessee. She’s at home in 1870 with 7 other Adams relatives, all female except for a 14 year old boy. Jennie, head of the household, is too old at 70 to be her mother. However, there are two females, Frances, 45 and Elizabeth, 40, who are the right age to be her mother. None of the adult women have an occupation and no one seems to be married. I can’t find them in 1860 or 1850. Help, Santa! Where are they?

I’ve tried to keep my wish list short and sweet, Santa. Please, I’ve been so good – it wouldn’t be hard to leave those crumbs in nice, neat trails. I’d be forever grateful.

Sincerely,
Linda