One of the great moments on this season of Who Do You Think You Are was in the Martin Sheen episode. Martin Sheen found information that one of his great grandfathers tried to put one of his great grandmothers in jail. In a twist of irony, the two sides of the family came together in marriage several generations later.
Today I found out that I might have my own “Martin Sheen” moment. It is not as dramatic but still exciting for me.
I have documented my mother’s paternal line (Lawbaugh) from Kansas back to Illinois then to Tuscarawas County, Ohio. The family moved to Ohio in the early 1820’s and stayed there until 1853 when my line moved to Illinois. The Lawbaugh’s lived in the Bucks and Sugarcreek areas of the county.
Today I received an email from a volunteer angel who did a look up for me in Tuscarawas County. He confirmed that on my mother’s maternal line (Flock) Mathias Flock married Margaret Fankboner in Tuscarawas County in 1835. The 1840 Federal Census places the family in Oxford, Tuscarawas, Ohio.
The Lawbaugh family lived approximately 20-25 miles away from the Flock family in the same county. Although I know this was a far distance for travel in the early 1800’s, I have to wonder if there was ever a chance that these two families ever met?! Did they know each other or of each other?
It would be wild if they knew each other because 4 generations later my grandmother would marry my grandfather in Kansas.
I need to do more research about the area and what records are available. I also need to add this county to my “visit places my ancestors lived” genealogy goal for sure!
