James Bones is a bit of a legend in our family history. There are several stories surrounding his participation in the 1798 Rebellion for a free and independent Ireland. One legend says that James, fleeing for his life, took a piece of the Giant's Causeway with him before he met a boat at nearby Dunluce … Continue reading Fort of the Fianna
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
Martha Ellen Settle, my 2nd great-grandmother, was born 7 October 1849 to Edward Horace Settle and Parthenia Thurmond in Edgefield, South Carolina. Her mother died when she was 7 years old and, by 1860, her father had left the state, leaving Martha and her three younger siblings with their maternal grandmother, Eleanor DeLaughter Thurmond. Martha … Continue reading Mistaken
On a recent trip to the National Archives, I was able to look at the widow and minors' pension applications filed by my 2nd great-grandmother, her siblings, and their mother. Augusta Roth Eigenmann was only two years old when her father, Johann Adam Roth, died. This left Augusta's mother, Eleanora Wissig Roth, a widow with … Continue reading Application Denied
I have a sister. My mom and dad each have two. Lots of my ancestors had sisters, lots of them were sisters. Two of my 4th great-grandmothers were sisters to each other and they had eight more sisters. As I thought about this theme, I thought about my relationship with my sister and how much … Continue reading Sisters, Sisters
