documenting my very southern genealogy from the plantation to the frontier
Learning that Miles did not, in fact, sprout up all by himself under a North Carolina cabbage leaf, but had a relative of likely the same generation gave me a new perspective on the problem of his mysterious origins. I have a new working theory. In fact, a theory may be all that I ever … Continue reading A New Working Theory for Miles Bembry’s Origins
Recently, Family Search threw me a curveball. While doing my periodic search for any new references to Miles Bembry, an entirely new early Bembry popped up! Henry Bembry appears twice in estate records for a Whitmell Wilkins in Bertie county, NC. In 1828 he is mentioned as a debtor, owing the deceased $5.00. And in … Continue reading Wait, what? Who is this Henry Bembry?
Turning to my 4th great-grandfather, James Simpson (abt 1794-1850), I wasn't expecting to find anything especially interesting. I thought this would be yet another profile of a hardscrabble southern farmer. But then this popped up: From Houston County, Georgia court records at Family Search. It appearing to the court that Doctor Thomas W. Bale did … Continue reading James Simpson’s Surprising Life and Strange Death
I recently starting playing around with Family Search's experimental full-text search. It's pretty amazing and incredibly useful. Especially for an unusual surname, such as Bembry. Of course, many of the hits that come up are documents that I have already seen via old-fashioned scrolling through deed indexes and so on. But even in that case, … Continue reading Fun with Family Search Labs
I think I have exhausted available resources on my favorite brickwall ancestor for the moment. I also find it's a good idea to step back once in a while, work on something else, and see what comes up in the meantime. However, I've discovered a few more details over the last few weeks that I … Continue reading Bits and Pieces on Miles Bembry
In researching my brickwall ancestor and 5th great-grandfather, Miles Bembry (1766-1838), I have been researching his FAN (Friend Associate Neighbor) club in depth for some time. However, recently, I consulted with a professional genealogist, and this caused me to realize that I needed to be more systematic in my research and develop more visual aids … Continue reading Miles Bembry as Plantation Overseer
A couple of days ago, I heard about a website called Archive Grid on a podcast. As usual when I find a new archive, I ran a quick search for "Bembry," because I can be pretty sure whatever comes up will relate to my family in some way. To my surprise, a letter from personal … Continue reading Maybe He Just Needed Killin’
For the last few weeks, I have been working on Miles Bembry's FAN club in an attempt to finally topple that Bembry brickwall. I've gathered a ton of information! But I am starting to confuse myself by now, and so I think I need to take a step back to properly organize and summarize it … Continue reading Nansemond Connections
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
I haven't posted much recently due to having gone down the DNA rabbit hole! The "higher math" of DNA comparison and triangulation still eludes me. Maybe that will be a good project for retirement. But, I am pretty good at conventional research, and am able to use DNA cousins to either support or disprove my … Continue reading DNA Discoveries
A Long Way to Tennessee 