documenting my very southern genealogy from the plantation to the frontier
(Note: this post has been updated from a previous version) Joseph Townsend was my 6th great-grandfather. He was born in Virginia, and is likely the Joseph Townsend found on the 1810 census in Frederick County, Virginia. By 1814, he had moved to Overton County, Tennessee where he was granted 55 acres on the Roaring River. … Continue reading Will of Joseph Townsend, Carroll County, Tennessee, 25 August 1843
My Cole line produced a lot of descendants, but not a whole lot of records. They were not especially well-off, and so land and property transactions were few and far between. They weren't equipped to leave behind their own records either: at least four generations of Coles up to my second great-grandfather signed their names … Continue reading Will of John Cole, Wake County, North Carolina, 3 August 1803
The Butlers of Carroll County, Tennessee were a long-lived and exceptionally prolific clan. They were also fond of repeating names, making sorting Butlers almost as difficult as sorting Dickens. "My" Thomas Butler lived near at least three other Thomas Butlers, two in Carroll County and one more for good measure in neighboring Madison County. There … Continue reading Thomas Butler, 1792-1866
George Griggs was my 10th great-grandfather, and takes the line "back to the boat." He was from the village of Lavendon, in Buckinghamshire, England. George, his wife Alice Siptharpe (or Sipthorpe) and their children emigrated to the American colonies as part of the Great Migration of Puritans that took place from 1630-1635. They traveled with … Continue reading Will of George Griggs, Boston, Massachusetts, 4 May 1655
Robert Latimer was my 8th great-grandfather on my one and only New England line. His detailed will and later estate inventory reveals a prosperous man, with numerous tracts of land, herds of livestock, and luxury items such as featherbeds "check'd coverlids" and 24 books. The tracts of land mentioned are easily identified as being on … Continue reading Will of Robert Latimer, New London, Connecticut, 12 August 1727
Yesterday, during coverage of Joe Biden's presidential win, I heard his full name for the first time. "Joseph Robinette Biden Jr." And I thought, I'm sure I've heard that middle name (which is his mother's maiden name) before. I checked my database, and indeed, my 5th great-grandmother was Rachel Robinette Beasley, daughter of a John … Continue reading Cousin Joe
John Burney was the father of this John Burney and my 6th great-grandfather. I have been researching him for the last week—going down a Scots-Irish rabbit hole!—and I have more information to write about, but I first wanted to make his will available as a separate post. Note the mention of "my Negroe man Jeffrey." … Continue reading Will of John Burney, Guilford County, North Carolina, 22 August 1794
William Latimer was a prosperous Middle Tennessee farmer, and my 4th great-grandfather. His wife, Catherine, had been one my brick walls, until, as part of my Pandemic Project of identifying female ancestors, I came around to examining the Latimer line again. So many Ancestry tree hints identify people without providing any evidence to support the … Continue reading Will of John Burney, Robertson County, Tennessee, 6 January 1819
A couple of weeks ago I started on another pandemic-inspired genealogy project. While it didn't lead to a fully conclusive result, I did learn some interesting things along the way. I have always wondered whether the black Bembrys who come out of eastern North Carolina are connected to "my" Bembrys. As Bembry is such a … Continue reading Looking into North Carolina Bembrys
It took a pandemic lockdown, but I finally tackled my dad's Smith line a couple of weeks ago. I had traced it back his second great-grandfather a few years ago, but stopped there when confronted by an entire county full of Smiths—who all share about five given names! I knew that George Washington Smith, my … Continue reading Finally Sorting Out Smiths
A Long Way to Tennessee 