Anne Faulkner, blog author from the website Ancestor Archaeology, has shared this blog as part of our ongoing “How I Solved It Series”.

This blog explains how Anne revisited the profile of the man believed to be the father of Ann Merriman Busby. After reviewing Fold3.com and going through newly digitized records, she confirmed Ann’s father AND who his parents were.

UPDATE: This was originally posted Thursday, February 26, 2015. Anna Merriman Busby: Who’s Your Daddy? (52 Ancestors #8)

Good news!! I found her daddy! And I can answer a few more questions!

It began with a comment, left on the original post. I had not looked at this family in quite some time and got to thinking – maybe it was time to re-look. It’s always a good idea to re-look, especially when something is a bit of a brick wall, you just never know what might turn up.

I decided to reexamine Micajah Merriman, the man most attributed to being Anna’s father. In the past the scant information just did not line up. I noticed a War of 1812 Pension Application Files Index on Ancestry that I had not seen before. Light Bulb Moment! I knew that Fold3 had Pension Applications, and more importantly Widow’s Applications digitized.  Something that wasn’t available in 2015 when I first wrote the post. Two seconds later I had that bit of historical magnificence pulled up on my computer in the Cave. All 45 glorious page of it! If you subscribe to Fold3 (and you should!) take a gander at it for yourself here.

What I learned, Anna was born July 22nd 1807 to Micajah Merriman and Sophia Snyder. She was their first born child. Micajah and Sophia were married May 22nd 1806 in Maryland. The family removed to Ohio in the winter of 1815. Anna would have been 7 years old, so she came as a child.

I learned that Micajah’s father was Nicholas who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and his mother was Deborah.

And I found his signature!

The old Family Tree just sprouted a new shoot!

Always an exciting moment when a hunch gets substantiated!

If you have a story idea or a blog that you’d like to share as part of this series, please let us know about it in the comments.

Anne Faulkner
Anne writes about her family history journey from a personal perspective, with humor and truth, in order to help other family historians find answers or support through her stories. She does this because she believes family history is important, knowing where you came from is both humbling and powerful." Want to start your own adventure? Curious about your family history? Anne can help! Tracing your family origins can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. She is available for hire or consultation, contact her via email to discuss your needs. Visit Anne's Website