John Wiseheart: Which John Are You? (52 Ancestors #40)

Posted on by under 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, Family History, Genealogy, Razor Family, Research Process, Wiseheart Family

I’ve been trying to source the Wiseheart line on the pedigree chart that my grandma gave me.  It’s been very difficult.  I can get it back to my third great grandfather, but proving his connection to the man that I believe is his father is, so far, impossible.  The pedigree chart says that my fourth great grandfather is John Wiseheart (1775-1837), who was married to Catharine Razor (1787-1850).  John was born in Pennsylvania.1

Here’s where my biggest problem comes in.  There were two John Wisehearts (or Wisehart) born in Pennsylvania in 1775, at least.  But of the the two I’ve come across, is he John, son of John, son of John, or John, son of Hans Nicholas, son of Henrich?  The only thing I’ve been able to find for John Wiseheart and Catherine Razor is a marriage record, which does not give his father’s name.

The only thing I have been able to find about John is that he married Catharine Razor in Jefferson County, Kentucky on October 9, 1798.1,2,3  According to the transcription on Ancestry.com, Catharine was born in 1787, which would have made her eleven years old.1  Now, this isn’t totally unheard of, but it seems highly unlikely to me, as the print index done by The Filson Historical Society does not list consent given.  That would have been a requirement for an eleven-year-old.  Having read some old handwriting myself, I think it’s far more likely that a 6 looked like an 8 or a 1 looked like a 7, or some combination thereof.  John Razor was the bondsman.3  Perhaps trying to find John Razor and Catharine Razor on a record together will yield some information.

In the end, all I really know about John Wiseheart is that his wedding anniversary is in two days.

Sources

  1. Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.  Source number: 4178.015; Source type: Family group sheet, FGSE, listed as parents; Number of Pages: 1.
  2. Dodd, Jordan. Kentucky Marriages, 1802-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1997.
  3. Dawson, Nelson L., ed. Jefferson County, Virginia-Kentucky, Early Marriages, Book I, 1781-July, 1826. Owensboro, KY: Cook-McDowell Publications, 1980. Print. p. 32.

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