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2008, May 16 - Proof Argument: William Greathouse In Twain

In the early years of Greathouse family research, when records found in Northampton County, PA revealed that a William Greathouse was a resident of Upper Saucon Township between 1773 and 1791, based upon finding his name in tax lists, land records and militia records and his associations with David and Thomas Owen, along with his marriage to Mary Owen, it appeared reasonable to conclude that William Greathouse of Upper Saucon Township was named in all the records found in the county.

However, in 2008, when the militia records naming a William Greathouse in Northampton County, PA were resurveyed, it was observed that:

If those militia records represented two men by the name of William Greathouse who resided in their respective townships of Upper Saucon and Plainfield, then a more thorough search for records representing both men named William Greathouse in their respective townships, along with a resurvey of the timelines for both men, could reveal additional records and conflicts which may be beneficial in answering those questions.

On 16 May 2008, a proof argument was prepared to answer those questions, in which all available Greathouse records were compiled and presented in a table format, such that events occurring at the same time for the two men named William Greathouse, residing in the respective townships of Upper Saucon and Plainfield were easily identified. Several additional records were revealed which suggested that there was a problem with the conclusion that one William Greathouse was responsible for creating all records found in Upper Saucon and Plainfield.

At this point, it became obvious that a more thorough search for Greathouse records in Northampton County, PA was needed. So in 2009, Dick Musselman of Nazareth, PA, a local family history researcher who specializes in Northampton County, PA research, was consulted and hired to perform an exhaustive search for additional Greathouse records in the county. The additional Greathouse records he found included two oaths of allegiance sworn by two men named William Greathouse, in their respective townships of Upper Saucon and Plainfield, along with additional tax lists which supported the conclusion proven by the two oaths of allegiance.

While the original proof argument created in 2008, included Greathouse records from the counties where the two men named William Greathouse had migrated to between 1785 and 1792, tracking the migration of both men named William Greathouse once they left Northampton County, PA is not necessary to resolve this problem within Northampton County, PA. Therefore, the original proof argument has been revised to reflect it's new focus on Greathouse records which have been found in Northampton County, PA.

Evidence presented for the case:

Sources:

Greathouse Point > Greathouse Archives > USA > PA > Northampton County. 2008, May 16 – Proof: William Greathouse In Twain: The Conflicting Timelines of William Greathouse of Northampton County, Pennsylvania.