documenting my very southern genealogy from the plantation to the frontier
I recently visited my family in Nashville, which gave me an opportunity to visit the Tennessee State Archives. I wanted to see some some deeds which are not yet available online at Family Search. I was primarily looking for additional information about Thomas Butler (1792-1862), and his wife Lavinia (1796-1859) who are my 4th great-grandparents … Continue reading Lavinia Butler, who’s your daddy?
While cleaning up my tree on my maternal Kelly line, I managed to create a whole new pandemic project for myself. Le sigh. Yet another case of multiple guys with the same name I realized while tidying the family of my 3g grandfather, James Logan Shaw, that I had no actual proof that he was … Continue reading Lesson Learned: Finding the Correct William Shaw
Years ago, I had traced my maternal Dickerson lineage back to my 4th great-grandfather, a John Dickerson who lived in Benton and Carroll counties, Tennessee. I knew that he was from North Carolina, and I figured he was very likely the John "Dickinson" on the 1820 and 1830 censuses in Wayne County. The name, age, … Continue reading Another Brick Wall Down: John Dickerson, North Carolina to Tennessee
William Hamner, my 7th great-grandfather, lived in Albemarle County, Virginia for most, if not all, of his life. On the one hand, it's kind of fun to read a tax list and see Thomas Jefferson's name on it. Yes, that Thomas Jefferson. But on the other hand, perhaps because of this proximity to notable Americans, … Continue reading William Hamner of Albemarle County, Virginia: Fact and Fiction
One odd thing about my timeline for Miles Bembry has always been his appearance on the 1800 census in Bertie County as Miles "Benbory," the "owner" of 69 slaves. It is the only time that he appears in that county. It is also very strange that he goes from 1 slave in 1790, to 69 … Continue reading Things Keep Coming Back to Those McKenzies
Establishing my 3rd great-grandmothers parentage, while learning about eldercare arrangements in times past.
The family story was always that my great-grandparents, Carzy Clifford Cole and Ruth Esther Dickerson, both from Carroll County, Tennessee, were some how related. In fact, as the story goes, Carzy, one of the multitudinous Cole clan, told Ruth shortly after they started "walking out" he was so glad that he'd found someone in the … Continue reading The Right Butler!
Several years ago, I had researched the family of Ruth Ann Duncan, my great-great-great grandmother. I thought I had easily located her as a "Ruth M Duncan" in the household of a Jonathan Duncan in Henry County, Tennessee in 1850. This Jonathan Duncan was frankly a pain to research, since he wandered all over three states … Continue reading The Wrong Duncan!
Thomas Bembry's household shows three white females in 1820 and 1830, all of whom are gone by 1840. There are no obvious marriage records for any of them, and Thomas did not leave a will (of which I am aware) that would name them, so they have been a brick wall ever since I started … Continue reading Found! Martha Bembry Fleming
I've been deep into the weeds lately, organizing the first two generations of Bembrys. It's more or less like herding cats, particularly when it comes to Williams. I wrote previously about how I had mixed up Miles Bembry II and William Bembry I. To be fair, I wasn't the only one: their estate files were … Continue reading Four Williams and a Henry
A Long Way to Tennessee 