My “new” approach to an “old” idea…
I think every genealogist wants a map to simply gather his thoughts… to see the neighbors… to ground the person being studied. I am a “mapper”… it’s what I do, and I’m pretty damn good at it if I may be so bold. My maps of Isle of Wight and Surry County are open to any criticism… unfortunately I am a small fish in a large pond and my obscure little blog does not attract any “serious” historians to comment.
My methodology is simple: take actual historic deeds from the Library of Virginia and plot the damn things. Like a jigsaw puzzle, either they fit or they do not.
But back to the point of this post…
Once a researcher can establish “with a fair amount of certitude” where his subject was (on a map) then he can build a case that simply will not show up merely by studying the normal avenues. I offer this post as an example:
https://andersonnc.wordpress.com/2013/05/18/john-rogers-will-1686-of-a-sorts/
Bear in mind that “No will exists for the man that I discuss…but it is obvious from the facts of the map!”
Nansemond County, VA is a severely burned county… the records are gone due to nefarious deeds of the Civil War. What I propose is simply that the trail is not lost. The maps that I construct re-create WHAT WAS but is now lost… it’s that simple. You cannot see it without the map. The records are real… the picture is lost.
I hope that in the future my meager attempts will prompt a more concerted effort to improve my methods… a grant to a college, whatever… a group effort is needed. Why? because all roads lead to Virginia in the history of the South.
Andersons of Colonial N. Carolina 
I hope that you will be able to work with Lynn Rose of Nansemond and Tom Finderson of Isle of Wight. Great historians! I forget your first name.
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Linda Rosen
November 11, 2014 at 11:37 pm
Hi Linda… my name is Marc Anderson
What I would prefer is simply some critical evaluation… if these maps can be shown to be “mostly” accurate then they can be used as say, a secondary source. In my own research I have opened some avenues that I had no idea existed. Perhaps the best example is my notes on John Browne the Indian Trader. Fascinating stuff…. and fun too.
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anderson1951
November 12, 2014 at 4:55 am
Marc,
I have followed for a number of years and have been amiss at not saying Thank you very much,
I really am happy to see any tidbit of a map that shows the area where I am researching. I used them a
lot when I was actively researching. I do not do much now, but enjoy every posting you put on this site.
“They are always just where they were” was one of my tongue slips way back into the early 1990’s.
It got a good laugh from some cousins, but it became a by-line when some one solved a mystery using
maps.
Cary Anderson
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Cary Anderosn
January 14, 2017 at 4:37 pm
Hi Doc (smiling)
At some point I will have to try to “chase down a headright”. So far I have not found anything to help with my ANDERSON search of Isle of Wight. The George Anderson of 1695-1710 has proven to be fruitless so far. But lurking in the shadows was a mystery “Francis Anderson” … twice a headright of Barcroft and Thomas Harris. No other mention anywhere that I can find. My lingering hunch is that Francis “may” have been a female and “perhaps” the mother of George. It “perhaps” was an illegitimate birth? Still hunting and frustrated…
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anderson1951
January 15, 2017 at 9:54 am