My grandma loved the beach. She could spend hours looking for seashells. According to my aunt, grandma was really good at finding whole shells of all sizes. She kept some of these in glass containers around her house. I also remember a seashell wreath as well as prints of beach dunes and the battery in… Continue reading Seashells and Sunshine
I had been on the trail for several years, looking for the siblings of John Adams of Chequer Hall, County Antrim, Ireland. The only sibling I knew about was a brother named James, who received £50 in John's will. Family stories say that John and James were business partners. But without known parents and thin… Continue reading Finding Siblings
When Julia Anne DeVore King was 15 years old, she married her Aunt Ellen's widower, Dr. William Edward Prescott, who was 35 years older than her. Julia became stepmother to her three cousins, Julia Annie and Wallace Thomas, who were older than her, and Eustace, who was 6 years old at the time. Julia and… Continue reading The Second Wife
Growing up, we spent most of our Christmases with my paternal Grandma, usually at her house in Clemson, South Carolina, but occasionally she'd come to visit us. Christmas at Grandma's house included extended family, gifts in colorful paper under the tree, heirloom ornaments, stockings handmade by Grandma, and yummy food. So many images and sensations… Continue reading Cranberry Salad
Henry Townes Medlock grew up on a farm. He worked alongside his father and older brother on the family farm in Meriweather, Edgefield County, South Carolina. Records indicate that it was a modest farm with a few farm animals that produced butter and eggs and the family harvested corn, oats, wheat, cotton, and peas. As… Continue reading Dear Harvester
Maps are a big part of my genealogy research. It's a great way to orient yourself to a location and there are lots of different types of maps. There are maps just for census and property records. For example, for 19th century Irish ancestors, this Griffiths Valuation site allows you to fade out the historical… Continue reading Creating a Map
"Talk to Pat," my dad said. I had been looking at the family of my ancestors, Oswell and Anne Moore Eve, and found some conflicting information about Oswell's religion. A granddaughter of Oswell and Anne claimed that Oswell was a Quaker and this was published far and wide. My research of Quaker documents told a… Continue reading Distant Cousins
