When my Great Aunt Beulah first introduced me to genealogy twenty years ago, I was an eager student. While researching our Randolph family, I quickly discovered a tree which took our family back several generations. I excitedly showed her my work…and she explained that was NOT the right way to do genealogy. She taught me I couldn’t just accept unsourced information from other people’s trees. Instead, I needed to rely on actual documents. Lee County, Virginia, “Virginia, Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1983,” “Will Book, Vol. 3, 1800-1832,” will of Willoughby Randolph, signed 16 February 1822, unpaged, cover; database, image 73, Ancestry.com...
After many hours of preparation, I gave my first genealogy presentation on Friday! It was to my (wonderful) local genealogy group. We are usually in a bigger room and can hold more attendees, but we were in the computer lab since early voting was taking place. It was a GREAT first experience! The presentation, titled “Tracing German Families Using Online Records,” highlighted my search for my Peters family which I shared “live” on my blog. Besides this case study, I often shared tips for researching German families in Germany.
This post is based on Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge. This week’s theme is: VALENTINE. On Valentine’s Day 1896, Louisa (Heuszel) Werther gave birth to her 11th child, a son. She and her husband, Emil Werther, named their son Walter Valentine Werther. [Emil’s sister, Guntherine (Werther) Peters, was my great, great grandmother.] Here are three images from his life: Signature from WWII draft card at Ancestry.com. The “i” in Valentine appears to be dotted with a heart! Photo labeled “Children of Frederick August Emil and Louise Matilda (Heuszel) Werther, Date Unknown” from files of Beulah (Peters)...
This post is based on Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge. This week’s theme is: FAVORITE NAME. Jesse Lank Griffin (1834-1903) and Sarah Holmes (1834-1928) had at least eight children. Most of them had “normal” names: William, Richard, John, Martha, Nancy, Sally, Stephen. But, they also had one daughter with a fairly unusual name: Tennessee, whose nickname was Tennie. Find a Grave, memorial 27031200, digital image of Tennie L wife of Dot Bratton gravestone (Marshall Cemetery, Marshall, Searcy County, Arkansas), photo posted 14 May 2010 by Kim REA Mays. Tennessee was born on 20 July 1869 in...
This post is based on Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge. This week’s them is: CENSUS. UPDATE 30 Dec 2023: I am no longer sure this is my Sally Eastwood. More work needs to be done! I recently located my 3rd great grandmother and two of her children—including my 2nd great grandmother—on the 1851 England census. The document is difficult to read as it is faded and stained. It is also difficult to read because of the word written on the line with her: pauper. 1851 census of England, Lancashire, Ashton under Lyne, Leesfield parish, p. 31...
Are you a genealogy blogger? If not, have considered blogging? I have found blogging to be a wonderful tool which helps me to dig deeper and to share my genealogy research. image from www.famicity.com, “Another Bog About Genealogy Bloggers” post Recently, Erin Harris with Famicity interviewed me about my genealogy blog. Some of the questions she asked: Why did you become a genealogist? When and why did you start your blog? Where do you get inspiration for your blog posts? What do you find easy/difficult about blogging? What impact does social media have on your blog? What have you learned...
This post is based on Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.” This week’s theme is: INVITE TO DINNER. My great, great grandmother, Sallie (Dickson) Ward, was born 27 November 1860 in Perry County, Tennessee, with the Civil War just months from starting. She lived until 21 August 1960, about 3 months short of her 100th birthday. Over almost 100 years, she saw and experienced an incredible amount of change, both in the world and in her family. Sisters Mary (Dickson) Dickson Sutton, Julia (Dickson) Dickson, and Sallie (Dickson) Ward in Perry County, Tennessee. Photo was hanging on Perry...
This post is based on Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge. This week’s theme is: LONGEVITY. Leona (Coppenbarger) Hutchins, who I knew as “Aunt Onie,” was my great grandmother’s baby sister. Born in Sumner County, Kansas in 1889, she died just across the county border in Cowley County, Kansas. She was 104 years old. Family photo shows “Onie” as a baby sitting on her mother’s lap. Her big sister/my great grandmother, Myrtle Mae, is the girl standing – second from the left – with short hair and large collar. In 1905, at the age of 16, Onie...
Last week I found a record for an individual who might be my ancestor. The baptism took place at St. Mary’s in Oldham, Lancashire, England in 1784. While the other baptisms on the page list the name of the father and his wife, this record reads as follows: BB Sarah Daughter of Ann Bredbury of Lees Widow by John Beswick of Lees Singleman Parish Registers for St. Mary’s Church (Oldham, Lancashire), Baptisms 1766-1792, ordered by date of baptism, Sarah Bredbury or Beswick baptism, 2 May 1784; online image, “Parish Registers for St. Mary’s Church (Oldham, Lancashire), 1558-1968,” (www.familysearch.com : viewed...
This post is based on Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge. This week’s theme is: FAVORITE PHOTO. My grandmother, Evelyn, the youngest of five children, was born 10 October 1915. Sadly, when she was only 8 1/2 months old, her mother died. Although Evelyn’s father raised the four eldest children, Evelyn was raised by her maternal grandmother, Sallie (Dickson) Ward. Evelyn grew up near family, including her father and siblings, in Perry County, Tennessee. Photo likely taken in Perry Co., Tenn. in ~1918 – Elsie Ward (~15), Sallie (Dickson) Ward (~58), Evelyn Dickson (~2), and Ethel (Ward)...
