Randy Seaver posted his weekly Saturday Night Genealogy Challenge and I’m a few days late, but decided to give it a try! His challenge? Do some random genealogy research and basically report what you started with and what you learned. I like how Diane at Michigan Family Trails changed it up a bit and went with the first person in her tree and limited it to one hour. So, I’ve decided to go that route. My person? Her name is Agnes and she married Cline Quigley. What I know? She was born in about 1820 in Pennsylvania and had 3 (known)...
(Thanks to Amy Johnson Crow at “No Story Too Small” for creating “52 Ancestors” where we can share our ancestors stories, one week at a time.) Thomas B Whitwell, my 5th great grandfather, wasn’t even a year old when he was legally declared an orphan. I say “legally” because we are uncertain as to whether his mother was still living or not. But, the law stated that he was an orphan if his father died. So, Thomas and his older brother, Robert, were orphans. What happened to orphans in the 1770’s in Virginia? They’d be legally “bound out” to a...
My grandmother told the story of her grandfather, Reuben H Ward, a Methodist minister who was murdered. She said he was on the Tennessee River going to preach and someone murdered him and then threw his body overboard. Several years ago, I came across a newspaper article that another researcher had found about this tragic event. It not only affirmed my grandmother’s story, but it also added some crucial information: Reuben’s body was found weeks later many miles down river a man named Charlie Ledbetter was charged with his murder the “evidence was not sufficient to convict” Ledbetter Tonight, I...
An 1890 newspaper article was strangely titled “Potato Day Report” and then listed the schools in the small town along with their totals: Ward One: $3.74 in cash & $10.56 in vegetables. Ward Two: four dozen eggs, fourteen chickens, eight cans fruit, one pound butter, three packages soda, four boxes crackers, three sacks corn meal, three sacks flour, thirteen cabbages, eight squashes, six pumpkins, two and one-half bushel sweet potatoes, seven bushels Irish potatoes, two and one-half bushels apples, one bushel turnips, two and one-half bushels beets, two and one-half bushels onions, three and two-thirds bushels corn… And then… “one pair of...
Randy’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge was posted last night at Genea-Musings. This week’s challenge was to find out how many direct ancestors you’ve found. Here are the rules: Determine how complete your genealogy research is. For background, read Crista Cowan’s post Family History All Done? What’s Your Number? and Kris Stewart’s What Is Your Genealogy “Score?” For comparison purposes, keep the list to 10 or 11 generations with you as the first person. Create a table similar to Crista’s second table, and fill it in however you can (you could create an Ahnentafel (Ancestor Name) list and count the...
This week I stumbled upon the Extreme Genes podcasts. It’s a radio show that’s heard on stations across the country. But, I’ve NEVER heard of it. And, it’s terrific! Each episode runs 52 minutes and starts with some interesting news items. Then Fisher, the host, does a couple of interviews with experts in the field of genealogy. I’ve listened to four episodes which each have two longer interviews. These are 3 of my favorite stories so far: “Registering Immigrants at Castle Garden in 1866” (image from Wikipedia) Episode #43: Pat Mulso’s family had passed down a heart-breaking story. In 1860,...
This week, I listened to an Extreme Genes podcast with an interview of Judy Russell, “The Legal Genealogist.” She made the point that family stories are usually lost within three generations. Let’s not lose our stories! I am starting a weekly theme called “Our Stories.” These are the stories of not only ourselves, but also our more recent family. If they are still living, you can ask! If not, maybe you can remember! The first week’s question is this: Where’d You Get Your Name? Do you know how you were named? Who named you? Also, did you have any nicknames...
I’m excited to be participating in this year’s “52 Ancestor Challenge” from “No Story Too Small.” Our ancestors are more than names, dates, & places. They lived and breathed; married and had children; celebrated births and grieved deaths. For the most part, our ancestors suffered more loss than we do. Wives often died in childbirth. Children often died while still children. Life was harsher. I’ve had very few deaths which were close to me. I lost my best childhood friend when I was 17, but I hadn’t seen her in years. I lost my grandmother about 10 years ago, but...
I was on the road last night, so am doing Randy’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun this morning. This week’s challenge is to share your best find of 2014 and a research challenge of 2015. I already did a “top 10 finds of 2014” post, but this time I will share the one that wasn’t so much a story as a breaking of a brick wall. Here are the guidelines: 1) What was your best research achievement in 2014? Tell us – show us a document, or tell us a story, or display a photograph. Brag a bit! You’ve earned it!...
In my research, I’ve found three situations when a surname is used as a middle name. 1. HONORING A FAMOUS PERSON (usually political) Examples from my tree: George Washington Young, Thomas Jefferson Decker, Ulysess Grant Burton & James Madison Randolph 2. HONORING SURNAMES OF THE PAST Examples from my tree: My father’s middle name is his great, great grandmother’s last name. My brother was given the same middle name. My sister-in-law gave her son our beloved grandparent’s last name (though in this instance it’s his first, not middle, name) 3. HONORING THE MOTHER OR A GRANDPARENT Examples of mothers’ surnames...
