documenting my very southern genealogy from the plantation to the frontier
Earlier this year, while researching William Shaw, I discovered that Thomas Taylor was my 5th great grandfather. That whole line was kind of giving me a headache after having to lop off an entire line of the wrong Shaws, so I set it aside for a while. Recently I've been researching Thomas's family, and found … Continue reading Will of Thomas Taylor, 7 August 1815, Davidson County, Tennessee
William Jones was my 9th great-grandfather. His daughter, Jane (or Joane) Jones married Henry Liles, who is also named in these wills. They were Kinchen Liles' grandparents. William was illiterate, as evidenced by his signing with his initials. He dictated two wills, one in January of 1722, and another in May of that year. He … Continue reading The Two Wills of William Jones, 1722, Chowan County, North Carolina
Kinchen Liles was my 5th great-grandfather. He died in 1813 in Wake County, North Carolina. The paper trail on his probate shows one way in which enslaved people were used as an income stream for slaveholders. Kinchen was around 47 when he died, apparently unexpectedly, as he left no will. Kinchen left behind a wife, … Continue reading Kinchen Liles and a man named Joe
When it came to identifying the wife of John Glosson, I got lucky! A combination of land and probate records quickly fell into place. In 1828, my 4th great-grandparents, John Glosson "and Nancy his wife" of Chatham County, North Carolina, sold two tracts of land in neighboring Orange County to Elizabeth Brewer. Both deeds mention … Continue reading Nancy Cate Glosson’s Dowry
Anthony Collings was either my 7th or 8th great-grandfather, depending on whether William Collings was Lydia Colling's father or grandfather. But he was definitely my ancestor. Anthony Collings was born in 1678 in Antony Parish, Cornwall, England. Map showing Antony parish from UK Web Archive. Anthony emigrated to Westmoreland County, Virginia before 1706. By 1716, … Continue reading Anthony Collings, 1678-1754, Cornwall to Maryland
John Denison was my 9th great grandfather, the son of George Denison and "Lady" Ann Borodell, both English Puritans who arrived in Massachusetts during the Great Migration. (John's middle name is often listed as Borodell, but I have not seen a primary source for that.) George and Ann Denison and their children were among the … Continue reading Will of John Denison, 26 April 1698, Stonington, Connecticut
True story: I just don't find my colonial New England lines to be all that interesting. Most of them are well-documented already, and tracing those lines back becomes more an exercise in careful mouse-clicking than actual research. They were mostly somewhat boring respectable people with no scoundrels or scandals to research. And, since I don't … Continue reading Will of Elizabeth Deming Foote Welles, Wethersfield, Connecticut, 28 March 1678
While searching for John Johnston Senior's will in Davidson County probate records I ran across a slip of paper, filed out of order, from John Junior's probate. The file "shuck," or envelope, states that it was "not admitted as part of will." And it's pretty clear why. The document, dated several months after John's death … Continue reading John Johnston’s Counterfeit Will, 29 May 1857
John Johnston was my 5th great grandfather. I have only recently begun to research him as part of my pandemic project of breaking down brick walls. I know that he was born in Pennsylvania, and that his father was most likely also named John Johnston. This first John Johnston was in the Nashville area by … Continue reading Will of John Johnston, 23 April 1849, Davidson County, Tennessee
Joel Dickinson was another brother of my ancestor, David Dickinson and a son of Daniel Dickinson. Joel left a will dated December 19, 1792 in Wayne County, North Carolina, naming 15 enslaved people. To wife Mary: negro man Ben, negro women Esther and Sare (Sarey or Sarah) To son Isaac: three negroes, Banner, Lige and … Continue reading Slaves Held by Joel Dickinson, Wayne County, North Carolina
A Long Way to Tennessee 