Finding John R: 3. Ask a Historian

Stella assembles our hard won John R facts and fires off an email note to the Allison Antrim Museum.  

Hello, 

My name is Stella Allison and I am in pursuit of more information about my great grandfather, John R. Allison b. 1844-45.  The stories which my sister and I heard about him from our dad take place in Wood County, Texas. And, in fact, we have documented him and his wife and children there from 1880 on. By his account he was born in PA. We have located a John R. Allison born 1844 and living with Sarah Allison born 1812. In the 1850 US census they are living in Greencastle, and in the 1870 are both still living in Greencastle in different households. It does not seem that Sarah Allison is John R.'s mother, so we imagine she may be his aunt and have some ideas about that. One likely idea is that he is the son of Hugh Allison b.1803 and Catherine Franciscus b. 1810, both born in PA. 

Bottom line is we are trying to confirm whether this is the right John Allison as well as who his parents were. Our primary research tool has been ancestry.com and various other resources. We are stuck at this point and would love to have your expert input.
gratefully,

 Stella Allison
Oakland, California

message dated 3/5/2013 1:45:35 P.M. Eastern Standard Time