I have what should be a "brick wall" - George W(ashington) Thornburg b:1847-48

Question

I have what should be a simple "brick wall" - but cannot get past it.  My Ggrandfather is George W(ashington) Thornburg b:1847-48 in IN or IL.  First able to "prove" him as my grandfather in 1880 census. age 34 in Montague TX.  I am not sure how to verify him to previous potential census entries: I do have numerous matches on my brother's Ydna, FTDNA kit #521093.  I recently upgraded to a Y-111 in hopes of getting more information (but this has not been completed as yet), but am not sure how to go about matching the Ydna to "skip" this ggrandfather.  I am so new at this, I know the answer is in front of me - just don't know enough to "see" it.  Any suggestions or assistance will be greatly appreciated.

Comments

Is this him ?

 

George Thornburgh

 in the U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

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Name:	George Thornburgh
Birth Date:	25 Jan 1847
Birth Place:	Havana, Mason County, Illinois, United States of America
Death Date:	3 Mar 1923
Cemetery:	Mount Holly Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place:	Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States of America
Has Bio?:	Y
Father:	Eli Thornburgh
Spouse:	Margaret Carrie Thornburgh
Children:	Daisy Thornburgh  Lillie Thornburgh  Celestia Thornburgh  Georgie Edna Thornburgh
URL:	http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-...

Source Information

Ancestry.com. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

Original data: Find A Grave. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi.

 

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He moved around a lot.

 

George Thornburg

 in the 1900 United States Federal Census

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Name:	George Thornburg
Age:	52
Birth Date:	abt 1848
Birthplace:	Illinois
Home in 1900:	Township 16, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory
Sheet Number:	7B
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation:	128
Family Number:	128
Race:	White
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Spouse's Name:	Jennetta Thornburg
Occupation:	Farm
Months not employed:	0
Can Read:	Yes
Can Write:	Yes
Can Speak English:	Yes
Farm or House:	F
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members:	Name Age George Thornburg 52 Jennetta Thornburg 46 Andrew Thornburg 23 Isaac C Thornburg 11 Andra E Thornburg 9 Jessee Lee Thornburg 5 George N Thornburg 4

Source Citation

Year: 1900; Census Place: Township 16, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory; Roll: 1845; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 0039; FHL microfilm: 1241845

 

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George W Thornburg

 in the 1850 United States Federal Census

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Name:	George W Thornburg
Age:	2
Birth Year:	abt 1848
Birthplace:	Illinois
Home in 1850:	Van Buren, Fountain, Indiana, USA
Gender:	Male
Family Number:	1041
Household Members:	Name Age Evan Thornburg 22 Celian Thornburg 26 Margaret Thornburg 20 Elizabeth Thornburg 19 Sarah Thornburg 17 George W Thornburg 2 Malinda J Thornburg 0

Source Citation

Year: 1850; Census Place: Van Buren, Fountain, Indiana; Roll: M432_145; Page: 73B; Image: 512

 

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No info to confirm whether this is him or not.

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See my tree, Thornburg-467

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He didn't really move around a lot.  You're looking at several different George Thornburgs.  There were many with that name born in Indiana and Illinois between 1845 and 1855.  Our George was born approx 1847 ( my family records show Aug 1847, Clark County, Illinois); one or two records show him born in Indiana, but, his military records, etc. all show him born in Illinois.  He was in the Civil War, which moved him a bit; then, married Nettie in Illinois.  They lived in Texas for a brief period and then went to Pontotoc, Oklahoma where he stayed until after she had passed away.  He remarried at 63 yrs of age in Nov 1910, in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma.  After that, we can't find any record of him or his new wife.

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I will do more research on this record showing Eli Thornburg as the possible father.   I am beginning to believe that he was in fact born in Illinois and I know that he was married in 1870 in Illinois to Jennetta Waller.   She appears in the 1870 census, but I find no record of George W in the 1870 census.  I have heard that later in life, he married Ellen .Glessby?? in Oklahoma.  Afterward, he married a woman in Arkansas - one Nellie Martin I believe - so it may be that he was buried in Arkansas.

I appreciate the assistance each of you has provided.   I am still working with Ydna to attempt to find out which Thornburg brother I am descended from.

Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

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Her name was Nancy "Nannie" Martin.  No other info on her, probably a married name.  And, Martin is another of those really common names, hard to track.  Can't find a Nancy Thornburg anywhere...no death records in Arkansas for either of them, so far.

Ellen Glessby was a Mrs. on their marriage license, so, that was a married name.  No other info on her either.  This marriage only last 2.5 years.  Did she die or were they divorced?  Can't find any further records.

Answer 1

Is this his marriage record?   "Illinois Marriages, 1815-1935," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V2PH-14M : 29 December 2014), Geo W. Thornburg and Salivia Pitman Laughtin, 24 May 1899; citing Paris, Edgar, Illinois; FHL microfilm 1,301,882.

If so, then the parents from the 1850 census above are his parents. but, now, not sure if the father is Evan or Eli.   You can get a copy of the marriage record and see the detail.

Comments

No, it's not.  Following is his marriage record from familysearch.org.  My family also had bible records showing Nettie as his wife.  They were still together at the 1900 census.  She died in 1906; he is still in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma at the 1910 census, but, widowed.

url

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V2GG-383

Indexed Information

Name	George Thornsburg
Spouse's Name	Jenneatta Waller
Event Date	22 Sep 1870
Event Place	Douglas,Illinois

Citation

"Illinois Marriages, 1815-1935," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V2GG-383 : 29 December 2014), George Thornsburg and Jenneatta Waller, 22 Sep 1870; citing Douglas,Illinois; FHL microfilm 1,295,955.