A possibly fictitious Abel Royce: What do I do next? [closed]

Question

I adopted an unsourced profile for Abel Royce (b. 1730, Connecticut Colony), son of Abel Royce, intending to find his documentation and write up some sort of biography for him.  

Now, I find that he's probably a fictitious person, the product of a GEDCOM dump in 2010, subsequently abandoned.

I believe I've found his "origins" on Ancestry.com (if you have a subscription), in a couple of references to the AGBI:  vol. 150, p. 299, referencing the genealogical column of the Boston Transcript, and vol. 149, p. 394, referencing Bates, ‘’Rolls of Connecticut Men in the French and Indian War, 1755-1762’’, vol. 1, p. 211 (note: the link is to the Archive.org copy).  I don't think either of these proves that Abel Royce, son of Abel Royce, b. 1730 in Connecticut Colony, ever existed (see my argument on the profile).

Should he be shown as Unsourced?  I don't think there are viable sources for his existence.  I've added suspected and counter-sources to the Research Note I wrote, together with my arguments, so I removed his Unsourced banner.

Second question: Does anyone have any documentation for the existence of this Abel Royce?  Alternatively, does anyone know of other sources (such as family genealogies, perhaps dependent on one of the sources I found) I need to take into account in my argument against his existence?

Third question: If the answer to the second question is negative, what do I do next?  I'd like to detach him from his parents (and siblings) and set it up so that he would be hard to reattach without setting off some sort of alarm.  That would, however, make him a completely isolated profile; is this a problem?

 

Comments

Susan, he's not technically unsourced. There are the sources you found and the ones I found.  Before you detach him you should find his father's will (and perhaps too his mother's?) and check the 2005 published genealogy.  I would also seek to locate-- if possible-- the original vital records.  Transcripts introduce errors.

In the meantime, mark his parents as uncertain. You could also add {{questionable}} to his profile   

One problem with an unconnected profile floating out there is that someone might come along and either reattach him or recreate him.

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Thank you, Jillaine.  I very much appreciate all your help with this.

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Susan, it's possible he was the soldier in the F&I war and died in it. That would explain the absence in his father's will.  Yeah, it could have been the father, although 57 seems old.  Then again, that service could have been a contributing cause to Sr's death.

Still curious about the 2005 genealogy. It's late enough to hope for decent sourcing... Hopefully...

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I agree that it's possible he was the "Abel Roce" of that 1757 militia company payroll.  Thus far, I can't locate a record of another Abel Royce/Roys in Hartford County of appropriate age for it to be, except, of course, for his 56- or 57-year-old father.  One thing I want to look for, if I can lay hands on a copy of that 2005 genealogy, is whether that author turned up another potential candidate in his researches.  The possibility, however, remains that "Roce" represented some other surname.

Answer 1

The profile of his father references a will.  Find it and see if it lists his children.

What do the Boston Transcript article say about him ?

Comments

The profiles also make reference to a 2005 published genealogy, The Royce Family of America.  

Print copies of this book are available at the following locations and at the LDS in Salt Lake City):  

Library of Congress  Washington, DC 20540 United States	Book	6 miles MAP IT	Library infoAsk a librarianAdd to favorites
2.	Connecticut Historical Society  Hartford, CT 06105 United States	Book	299 miles MAP IT	Library infoAdd to favorites
3.	New England Historic Genealogical Society  NEHGS Boston, MA 02116 United States

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Thank you, Jillaine.  I'm looking into gaining access to a copy of this book. I appreciate the references.

I can't seem to figure out how to reach an actual copy of the Boston Transcript article from the reference on Ancestry, but I'm working on it.

Edit: Found a copy of the Boston Transcript page on AmericanAncestors. It's just a partial list of children, with several (including Joanna) left out, but with Abel included.  I have struck out, completely, on the probate documents for Abel-the-father and will have to hope the genealogy provides a source reference I can track.

Thanks again.

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Update: Susan found the 1769 probate docs of Abel Sr. on Ancestry.com.   No mention of a son Abel but all other children listed. If Abel Jr. did exist, he was deceased by this time.

Answer 2

AGBI isn't the only source. Jacobus (a renowned genealogist) also includes  son Abel in his mult- volume Families of Ancient New Haven. Lists Abel before Joanna with the same birth date and cites Wallingford VR for both. He cites "WC2" (Wallingford church records vol 2?) for her baptism on 5 April; no baptism for Abel (which admittedly is odd).

Says Abel Jr married c 1758 ___________ . No source for the marriage. 

Keep in mind that Jacobus had access to the original vital and church records, not just the transcripts we tend to use now.

Source: 

New Haven, CT: Families of Ancient New Haven. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as New Haven genealogical magazine. vols. I-VIII. Compiled by Donald Lines Jacobus. 8 vols. Rome, New York: Clarence D. Smith, 1923-1932. Vol 7, p 1559 

https://www.americanancestors.org/DB98/i/7493/1559/235027490

Comments

Thanks, Jillaine.  The link, especially, is appreciated.