This year, I am participating in Amy Johnson Crow’s 2025 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, weekly prompts to tell your ancestors’ stories.
She recently released the prompt for January 22-28: The theme for Week 4 is “Overlooked.” It’s close to impossible to research everyone equally. Who is someone in your family tree who you haven’t researched very much? You could also consider those ancestors for whom it feels like you are the only person in the world searching for them.
The person in my family tree I have often overlooked was my 3rd-great grandmother, Rachel Harris. I never intended to overlook her purposely, but she was one of those super difficult female ancestors on whom there was very little information.
Little did I know that I would eventually find the breakthrough of the brick wall I was looking for by going back through research on her family line.
I knew Rachel was born in Pitt County, North Carolina; however, I could not *officially* confirm her identity as Rachel (Harris) Harris. (You read that correctly; her maiden and married last names were both Harris). While browsing deeds in Pitt County of other Harris family members, I stumbled upon a power of attorney document and the gem that linked Rachel Harris to her husband, Joseph Harris, and her father, Major Harris.1
When I found this document, I literally cried because this was the family linkage I had been looking for but never thought I would ever be able to locate, primarily because the records originated from the early 1800s. I wasn’t even sure they still existed.
I ran through my research, and the people, time, and location all checked out. Rachel and Joseph had 3 children in Meriwether County, Georgia, between 1836 and 1840, per the 1850 census.2
Rachel was born in Pitt County, North Carolina, and eventually moved to Georgia after she and her husband Joseph married. Her father, Major Harris Jr., stayed in Pitt County, North Carolina.
I still have much to research on this line, but this discovery is a HUGE step in the right direction.
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Footnotes
Pitt County, North Carolina, Deed Book, 1833-1837, Power of Attorney, Book GG-II, page 64, entry for Rachel Harris to Her Husband Joseph Harris Power of Attorney, 1 May 1838.- 1850 U.S. census, Muscogee County, Georgia, population schedule, District 8, page 411b, dwelling 24, family 24, entry for Joseph Harris household; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 Jan 2025), image 4 of 30.
Hooray for your find! It’s so wonderful when a link to generations can be found.