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
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!
My 4th great-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth (Eve) Carmichael, kept a diary from 1837 to 1850 that was passed down and is now kept at the library at University of North Carolina. As a teenager, on one of our semiannual drives from Washington, DC to Clemson, South Carolina, to visit my grandmother, we stopped at UNC so … Continue reading Peculiar Gratitude
Recently my husband, for his genealogy research, was studying up on the different names that the countries of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland have used as they have united and divorced over the centuries. For me, a chart is helpful in understanding and remembering the timeline of these changes. This one from a Wikipedia user … Continue reading Timing is Everything
On a wooded section of road, an iron gate stands at the entrance of a driveway that climbs to the right, up a small hill. Peeking out behind trees and bushes stands Chequer Hall, a house built during the Plantation of Ulster during the 17th century and the home of my 7th great-grandfather, John Adams, … Continue reading Chequer Hall
My husband and I took a trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland last year. We enjoyed lots of beautiful scenes of rolling green hills dotted with sheep, weather changing hourly, and dramatic coastal views. In between all these delights, we made our way though out-of-the-way villages and towns and to cemeteries and houses that are … Continue reading Walking in Randalstown
Heart Genealogy 