Genealogy research isn't always easy. Most of the time it takes some creative thinking to find new way to get to the answer of the question being asked, especially as you get further back in time. Records can become thin or non-existent due to war or natural disaster. Sometimes you only have a name, sometimes … Continue reading Mystery Women
My maternal grandparents married each other twice. Rayford Haney Wilson, or Ray, was born to Lafayette Russell Wilson and Ida Lou Verna Wakefield on 15 October 1915 in Nauvoo, Walker County, Alabama. Ray was the fourth of six children and the second boy. Lafayette worked at different times as a reverend, farmer, teacher, and government … Continue reading Re-Union
The Battle of Alamance in the colony of North Carolina was unknown to me until my husband and I started sharing our family history with each other. One of his ancestors, Samuel Flake, fought in this pre-American Revolution battle for independence from corrupt government practices. As early as 1765, rural North Carolinian colonists united against … Continue reading The Battle of Alamance
Family legends go with family history like oreos go with milk. While often not provable, there can be nuggets of truth to many of our families' legends. James Bones was born about 1766 near Randalstown, County Antrim, Ireland, the first child of John and Elizabeth (Scott) Adams. James had four brothers and one sister. As … Continue reading A Rebel with a Cause(way)
Dear County Derry, Can a place hold memories? John Carmichael was my 4th great-grandfather. Do you remember him? He was born within your borders just outside the town of Dungiven on 11 June 1774. It's thought his parents were Archibald and Isabella (Dunlap) Carmichael (although I haven't found definitive proof of them). John and his … Continue reading Derry Diary
Family names as middle names has been a tradition in my family for at least three generations: both my parents have their mother's maiden names as middle names, my sister and I share middle names with our grandmothers, and my children's middle names reflect names from our family trees. While not unique to our family, … Continue reading The Name Game
I knew exactly where the headstone would be. We got out of our car at the gate, greeted by a blue Church of Ireland sign, and walked the gravel driveway to the churchyard. It seemed an unlikely place for a church, almost nothing around, except the modern house next to the road, perhaps belonging to … Continue reading With Feelings of Undiminished Regret
Heart Genealogy 