How broadly do you research? Do you stick strictly to your known family lines—or do you take notes on everyone with the same surname in a particular place?
Over the years, I’ve definitely leaned toward the second approach. If a record mentions a surname I’m researching in a specific location, I save it. That habit has left me with a collection of notes about people I can’t yet connect—but every now and then, one of those records deserves a closer look.
Today’s Friday Find comes from my Crawford Kentucky folder. It’s a brief but meaningful 1816 court entry from Garrard County—a guardianship record for Polly Crawford.
Transcription
Polly Crawford infant orphan of John Crawford
came into court and made choice of James H.
Moore as her guardian. Whereupon he
executed bond in the penalty of 1000.00
together with D. Mon Boyer and Thomas
Kennedy his security conditioned by the
law directs.
Oct Court 1816
Even though this is a short record, it provides several important clues:
- Polly Crawford was the daughter of John Crawford
- She was a minor (under age 21) in October 1816
- She appeared in Garrard County Court to choose her own guardian
- She selected James H. Moore as guardian
- A $1,000 bond was posted, with D. Mon Boyer and Thomas Kennedy as securities
That last detail is particularly interesting. Bondsmen were often relatives, neighbors, or close associates—so these names may be part of Polly’s extended network.
At this point, however, Polly remains a mystery to me. I don’t yet know which Crawford family she belongs to, nor do I know anything about her father John beyond the fact that he died before October 1816.
The only familiar name in the record is Thomas Kennedy, who I recognize as a significant landowner in southeastern Garrard County. That connection may—or may not—prove useful.
Thanks to FamilySearch’s full-text search, this record is now easily accessible online:
Citation:
“Garrard, Kentucky, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PK-C3ZL-1?view=explore : accessed 5 April 2026), image 92 of 637; Image Group Number 007646900.
This is one of those records that sits in my files waiting for context. Perhaps Polly belongs to a Crawford line I haven’t yet connected—or perhaps she represents an entirely different family.
So I’ll put this one out to the genealogy community: Does anyone recognize Polly Crawford or her father John Crawford in Garrard County, Kentucky, around 1816?
Sometimes, sharing the mystery is the first step toward solving it.