Been a while since I've seen anything new mentioned on these lines so I thought I would try to get things stirred up again.

There's alot of misinformation about Capt. William Polk of Accomac Co., VA, (my 4th great grandfather) floating around in family trees on the various genealogy message boards. As usual with family histories, its pretty common to just copy what you hear from your family or what find on the internet or old published books and assume it is gospel. Been here and done that myself early on in my research.

With the invaluable advent of online databases, microfilms of original records and most importantly modern day DNA evidence, we no longer have to rely (even though many continue to do so)on heresay, family folklore or copying what we assume is our family tree from an old publication.

I bring this up because I'm too lazy to contact every person who has published the family tree of James Pollock of Hopewell Twp., Cumberland County, PA or his son Capt. William Polk of Accomac County, VA, so I'm hoping they might catch this message and respond to it here.

Just a few corrections I'd like to offer on the monumental amount of misinformation I've seen, specifically on my Capt. William Polk ancestor. I've seen at least 4 different dates and places of death for him all over the internet as well as in DAR records. I've not found an exact date or place of death for him but I do know that it was NOT Jan. 14, 1835 in Clinton County, OH. That date and place of death was for Capt. William Polk's SON, William Polk that married Hannah Hobson. His death date was noted in Hannah Hobson Polk's death notice published in a Clinton County, OH newspaper.

We also know that (Capt.) William Polk was residing in Guilford County, NC at least in February of 1811.

Guilford County Court Minutes for 21 Feb 1811:

"Ordered that Jonathan Parker Esquire Joseph Leonard James Dicks and William Polk to allot and lay of[f] one years provisions to the widdow of William Swim [Swaim] Deceased and report to next Court"

There were no other Polk's in the Guilford Co. area at that time except James Polk (son of Capt Wm Polk)and his children and he did not have a son named William Polk.

We also know that (Capt) William Polk is connected to the Swaim family through two connections, that being through his son James Polk's second wife, Massah Swaim (daughter of John and Elizabeth Vickery Swaim) and through his granddaughter, Nancy H. Polk (daughter of James Polk and 1st wife Elizabeth Hutchinson), who married Joshua Swaim. This seems like pretty strong evidence that the William Polk of the Guilford Co. Court Minutes was Capt William Polk.

Another strong clue to puts Capt Wm Polk in Guilford county is the deed to his son, James Polk's first land purchase in Guilford Co., North Carolina as noted:

1809, Sept. 17th-Grantee Book 12, page 34:

Nathan Armfield to James Polk 104 acres for $224.00,
'Beginning at a stake near a said grist turning thence South with William Dobson's line..' said William Dobson being the husband of Martha Polk, the sister of Capt William Polk.
I believe its highly likely that Capt William Polk was either living with or near his sister Martha Polk Dobson and or his son, James Polk, at the time of his death.

These pieces of evidence don't necessarily give us an exact date and place of death for Capt William Polk, but hopefully they will help zero in on the most likely place and timeframe and discount the notion that he ever lived or died in Ohio.

Becki (Polk) Pavlik
beckipavlik@hotmail.com