Have you edited a family relationship on the FamilySearch Family Tree? If so, have you ever considered that the reason you provide for making the change is actually a mini proof argument?
As I worked through my fourth cousins on Relatives at RootsTech, I encountered several “relatives” who descended from Sarah Smith, but not from her husband James Crawford. Their line went back to Alexander McGowan and his wife, Mary Polly Crawford.
At first glance, it would be easy to assume that Mary Polly Crawford, wife of Alexander McGowan, was a daughter of Sarah Smith Crawford. However, my research on Sarah Smith Duggins Crawford suggested that this assumption was unlikely.
While I could simply disconnect Mary Polly Crawford from Sarah Smith on the FamilySearch tree, I wanted the explanation I provided to clearly justify the change. In other words, I wanted my reason statement to summarize the evidence behind the decision.
Reviewing my records for Sarah Smith Duggins Crawford and James Crawford, I drafted the following argument based on the sources currently available.
Evidence Regarding Sarah Smith and Mary Polly Crawford
Mary Polly Crawford McGowan’s profile indicates she was born in 1788, and her 1809 marriage supports a birth in the late 1780s.
On FamilySearch, Mary Polly Crawford (L71Z-QL9) is currently attached as a daughter of Sarah Smith (LH8Y-HB9). However, this particular Sarah Smith was married to Alexander Duggins in 1788. Any child born to her at that time would have been born with the Duggins surname, not Crawford. Known children of Sarah Smith and Alexander Duggins include Henry Duggins and William A. Duggins.
In 1799 in Garrard County, Kentucky, the widow Sarah Duggins married James Crawford. The Crawford family later migrated to Preble County, Ohio, where James and Salley lived for the remainder of their lives.
Records from Preble County identify members of this Crawford family:
- Polly Crawford married John Stoner in 1821 in Preble County, Ohio.
- In 1822, James and Salley Crawford sold land to William Duggins, confirming the continuing connection between the Duggins and Crawford families.
- James Crawford’s 1851 will names two granddaughters: Mary Ann Wikle (wife of Jacob Wikel) and Martha Jane Stoner.
Mary Ann Stoner later married Jonathan Sheffer in 1862.Autosomal DNA also supports the documented relationships:
- Descendants of Nelson Crawford (son of James and Salley Crawford) share DNA with descendants of Henry and William Duggins, supporting the Duggins–Crawford connection.
- Descendants of Nelson Crawford also share DNA with descendants of Mary Polly Crawford Stoner, further supporting her placement in the James and Salley Crawford family.
At present, no documentary or DNA evidence connects Sarah (Salley) Smith Duggins Crawford to Mary Polly Crawford McGowan, wife of Alexander McGowan.
Using AI to Refine the Argument
Wanting to improve my wording, I asked ChatGPT to help refine my explanation. I provided the following prompt:
The FamilySearch tree shows Sarah Smith (LH8Y-HB9) as the mother of Mary Polly Crawford (L71Z-QL9), wife of Alexander McGowan, and Mary Polly Crawford (MS7M-1GT), wife of John Stoner. I plan to disconnect Sarah Smith from Mary Polly Crawford McGowan on the FamilySearch tree. When I do that, I need to provide reasons why…
ChatGPT helped organize my notes into a clearer proof-style argument explaining why the relationship was unlikely.
However, ChatGPT also suggested that FamilySearch users are more likely to read a shorter explanation. The following two-sentence version fit perfectly in the “Reason This Information Is Correct” box.
Mary Polly Crawford McGowan (b. 1788) is currently attached as a daughter of Sarah (Salley) Smith. However, Sarah Smith married Alexander Duggins in 1788, so a child born at that time would have had the Duggins surname, not Crawford. Sarah later married James Crawford in 1799, and records and DNA evidence connect her to the Crawford family of Preble County, Ohio (including Polly Crawford Stoner), but no evidence connects her to Mary Polly Crawford McGowan. Therefore, this parent-child relationship appears unsupported and has been removed pending evidence.
Using this shortened version, I disconnected Mary Polly Crawford McGowan from Sarah Smith on the FamilySearch tree.
Hopefully, descendants of Alexander McGowan and Mary Polly Crawford will review the evidence and accept this change. If new records emerge that connect her to this family, the relationship can always be reconsidered.
In the meantime, this experience reminded me that even a short “reason statement” on FamilySearch can function as a concise genealogical proof argument.