As part of Women’s History Month, Lisa Alzo has created 31 blogging prompts which you can find on her blog, The Accidental Genealogist. If you’re participating in the Fearless Females blogging challenge this month, let me know & I’ll hop over & read your posts! March 1st prompt: Do you have a favorite female ancestor? One you are drawn to or want to learn more about? Write down some key fact you have already learned or what you would like to learn and outline your goals and potential sources you plan to check. Sallie (~ age 58) is in the middle...
Sarah E. McCage (~1812-1860), who married William Kennedy Dickson (1811-probably 1860s), was born in Tennessee and lived in Perry County, Tennessee by 1840 (if not before). I’d seen her maiden name, McCage, on other researchers’ trees, but last year is the first time I found it on a document. One of her children, Jacob Tipton Dickson, had written his mother’s name as Sarah McCage on a Civil War Questionnaire in 1920. Jacob Tipton’s Civil War Questionnaire (Question #8 lists “Maiden name in full of your mother: Salley McCage.) She was the daughter of “dont know” and his wife “dont know.”...
William Kennedy Dickson (~1811-1860s), my 3rd great grandfather, signed a petition in 1845. At the time, he was living in Perry County, Tennessee. The petition? Some citizens of Perry County are asking that their county be divided. So, why do they want the county divided? Detail from map of the United States of America by H. S. Tanner, 1834 (found on various sites) Above is an 1834 map of Perry County, Tennessee. Running almost down the center is the Tennessee River. Perryville, the county seat, is on the west side of the river. That was the issue. The people on...
As you probably know, the War of 1812 Pension Files are free on Fold3 and they continue to add more names each month. I’m “patiently” waiting for the Ws for my direct ancestor, Thomas B. Whitwell. But, in the meantime, I was scrolling through the names in Tennessee where my grandmother’s maternal family lived. Under the letter D, I came across the fairly common surname, Dickson, which was my grandmother’s maiden name. As I clicked on each of these men, one name stood out to me: Joseph Dickson. I have four Joseph Dickson’s on my tree. Two were born after...
After writing about my Grandmother, Evelyn (Dickson) Kaechle, this past weekend, I decided to share some of her old family photos. The photos were probably all taken in Perry County, Tennessee where my grandmother grew up. This is a photo of Sallie (Dickson) Ward, my grandmother’s grandmother. My grandmother was raised by Sallie since her own mother, Nora (Ward) Dickson, died when she was only 8 months old. Sallie lived to be 99 years old and lived her entire life in Perry County, Tennessee. This photo was labeled “Sallie & Mary.” Sallie is Sallie (Dickson) Ward who is also pictured...
My grandmother, Evelyn (Dickson) Kaechle, was born 100 years ago today. Though she died in 2004 at the age of 88, I’m paying tribute to her by sharing part of her life’s story in words and photos. Evelyn was the fifth child born to James Bedford & Nora (Ward) Dickson. Both the Ward and Dickson families had lived in Perry County, Tennessee for generations. But, for some reason, Evelyn was born about 100 miles away in Newbern, Dyer County, Tennessee on October 10th, 1915. Sadly, when Evelyn was only 8 1/2 months old, her mother died. I remember Grandma telling...
Earlier this year, I wrote about my grandmother’s grandfather, Reuben H. Ward. According to my grandmother’s story, he was a Methodist circuit rider who had been murdered while going down the river. His body was then thrown overboard. I uncovered more details of the story through newspaper articles. Index from Ancestry’s Insolvent Estates, Perry County, Tennessee Ward, R. H., page 62; Notice there is one more Ward and 2 more Whitwells who are also likely my relatives. I haven’t looked at these yet. This week, while looking at Ancestry’s new “probate and wills” databases, I discovered more information about Reuben...
Over the past couple of days, I’ve spent some time looking for ancestors and other relatives on Ancestry’s new “Wills and Probate Records” series. I was having trouble finding any of my numerous Perry County, Tennessee relatives, so I decided to skip the index and look at the actual records. Here are the steps I used to get started: Went to Ancestry.com Clicked on “Search” then “Card Catalog” For Title, typed in “Probate” and the state’s name (in my case, “Tennessee”) Clicked on “Tennessee, Wills and Probate Records, 1779-2008” On the right hand side, chose the county (in my case,...
(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...
