I have a genealogy presentation about discovering records to
document farming ancestors. In that presentation I discuss Amos Gorrell, my
husband’s great-grandfather, as he had a farm in Cooper County, Missouri, and
kept a journal about his farming activities.
It is really cool to find a map that shows your ancestor.
Amos’ land, though not very large, can be seen The Illustrated Atlas Map of
Cooper County, Missouri, published in 1877.[1]
Deed records gave me the land description, so I knew I would find his land in
section 2 of Township 48 in Range 19 west.[2]
His journal mentioned he worked often clearing the land of trees for Daniel Clark, and there on the map we can see that Amos’ land adjoined Clark’s and we can see where the trees were located, too. These illustrated maps are very helpful in see a bit of the landscape.
Another map that is helpful is a soil map. The Historical
Soil Survey Maps located at alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/soilsurvey, cover
all of the states in the U.S. The soil map for where Amos lived shows the two types
of soil on his property: Clarksville stoney loam and Clarksville silt loam.
Because his land was located right on the Blackwater River, he likely had
pretty good soil.
I know what he planted from what he told the census taker in
1870 for the agriculture schedule. On his property he raised Indian corn, Irish
potatoes and his cows produced 50 pounds of butter.[3]
Maps are a great source to learn more about the land our
ancestors owned or farmed and can add visual context to the stories we tell.
#52Ancestors-Week 6: Maps
This is my fifth year working on this year-long prompt,
hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/)
at Generations Cafe. I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or
at My Trails
into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors
in new and exciting ways.
Copyright © 2022 by Lisa S. Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern
Family, All rights reserved.
[1] The
Illustrated Atlas Map of Cooper County, Missouri, (St. Louis: St. Louis
Atlas Publishing Co, 1877), p. 46, digital image, Historic Map Works (http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/482349/Township+48+N+Range+19+W/Cooper+County+1877/Missouri/).
[2] Cooper
County, Missouri, Deeds, v. U2, p. 540, Charles Hall to Amos Gorrell, 1879.
[3] 1870
U.S. Ag census, Cooper Co, Missouri, digital image, Missouri State Archives,
https://www.sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/Archives/Census/Ag_1870/Ag_1870_Cooper.pdf, La
Mine, p. 1, no. 2, Amos Gorrell.
Never saw such a soil map. Very cool to imagine what Amos had to work with in his farming!
ReplyDeleteI like the soil map. Very cool to see the type of soil he had.
ReplyDelete