A few years ago, a friend approached me to ask if I could help him with a book project he was working on with a colleague at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum, one of my family's favorite museums in D.C. I agreed and spent several weeks getting to know the Walters family of Indiana who … Continue reading Between Home and the Front
The old, worn, red-covered book for genealogy of the Carmichael Clan* records John Carmichael’s parents as Archibald Carmichael and Isabella Dunlap and that the family lived near Dungiven, County Londonderry, Ireland. However, the only source listed is a Carmichael family Bible and in our copies of the Bible nothing is mentioned of John’s parents. So … Continue reading Carmichaels of Dungiven
John Bones lost his wife, Maria, to tuberculosis. In a letter to his mother dated 4 June 1833, he writes, "I thought when in health that I appreciated her...but I now find that much as I love her I was never fully aware...of the treasure I possess in her, until the prospect of her removal, … Continue reading Something to Change My Plans
Letters were a lifeline for the Bones family and their associates to their families in Ireland in the 19th century. They communicated the latest family news, neighborhood changes, business dealings, and political perspectives. But their letters also had limits. Some letter writers were limited by a scarcity of paper or ink, keeping letter writers to … Continue reading A Thousand Letters
Three words: "Emmet's Speech framed." These three words didn't mean much to me as I read through the inventory of John Strong Adams' Charleston, South Carolina, house. I was more intrigued by some of the other pictures listed, portraits of Bonaparte and Mary, Queen of Scots, curious about their significance. But the significance of Emmet's … Continue reading Emmet’s Speech framed
This week, I made a quick trip to visit family in South Carolina. We had a few hours to go do something and I realized that we were just 45 minutes from the cemetery when James Holden is buried. My dad was a good sport and drove us out to Buffalo, Cherokee, South Carolina, while … Continue reading I Found Him!
I first met Mrs. McLeery in the diary of James Black, proprietor of the Randalstown cotton mills in County Antrim, Ireland, and a merchant of Charleston, South Carolina. Mr. Black was tangentially connected to my ancestors in Augusta, Georgia. The following entry from 31 August 1841 caught my attention because of Mrs. McCleery's nephew: Attended … Continue reading In Search of Mrs. McCleery
Heart Genealogy 