documenting my very southern genealogy from the plantation to the frontier
My 4th great grandfather, William "Honest Billy" Shaw, by his own account, grew up in Wythe County in southwest Virginia, "on the waters of the New River." Virginia origins I am virtually certain that William's father was another William Shaw who is found in local records from that time. By digging into that William Shaw's … Continue reading William Shaw from Virginia to Tennessee
In my first post profiling William Shaw, I annotated his testimony from his Revolutionary pension application. Now I'll move on to the second part of his application, which contains testimonials from witnesses as to his character and the veracity of his claims to service. William's friend Robert Weakley offered the first of several testimonials. On … Continue reading “Honest Billy” Shaw
I've recently rolled back around to researching my 4th great-grandfather, William Shaw. He applied for a Revolutionary War pension in 1832. and testified in court to the details of his service. Transcribing his testimony has revealed a wealth of information! In this first of two posts, I will focus primarily on his military career. After … Continue reading Unpacking William Shaw’s Military Service
If you have been following this blog, you know that it is VERY unusual for me to be able to trace a line "back to the boat." Most of my ancestors' origins are hidden in the mists of the early 18th or even 17th centuries. I can tell from surnames and DNA that my people … Continue reading They Just Showed Up
After wrapping up my investigation into James Kelly's father, Edward Kelly, I decided to move on to his presumed father-in-law, Boston Martin. Is Boston my 4th or 5th great-grandfather? A few years ago, I investigated James' wife, Matilda Martin, and concluded that Boston Martin was most likely her father. However, there have always been some … Continue reading Looking into Boston Martin
Edward Kelly (abt 1780-aft 1840) is almost certainly my 4th great-grandfather. I say "almost" because, while I have no document stating that he is my 3rd great grandfather, James Kelly's father, there is quite a lot of circumstantial evidence to that effect. And sometimes, in genealogy, that is as far as you can get! The … Continue reading A Profile of Edward Kelly
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
My 3rd great grandfather, James J Williams (1835-aft 1880), had a very common name. So common that there were at least two other "James J Williams" and even more "James Williams" in the same area of Georgia! For that reason, I was never entirely sure about his parentage, though I did have a feeling about … Continue reading James J Williams, who’s your daddy?
I ran some Goodman names through Family Search's full text search and was able to answer one or two important questions! But at the same time, another discovery cast more doubt on what was already a shaky branch on the tree. I knew for sure that my 3g grandfather was Timothy Goodman (1825-1906). My 2g … Continue reading Sorting Out Goodmans
In a break from doomscrolling lately, I've been picking ancestors at random and searching for them on Family Search's new full text search feature just to see what pops up. Most (nearly all) of my ancestors were subsistence farmers who didn't leave much of an impression on the historical record even with a "deep search." … Continue reading The Trials of Daniel T Sumner
A Long Way to Tennessee 