Sharing stories about my journey to discover my family history through genealogy and historical research.
Welcome!
I started this blog because I was frustrated with having to “reinvent the wheel” —- mothers and fathers are attached to trees in ancestry.com with no sources. The familysearch.org One-World Tree is riddled with folks attaching whole generations of people with no sources. Even my family lines within Wiki-Tree are filled with errors and sources that say, “Personal knowledge of Joe-Shmoe”.
And most of the time, once I put in the work and pay for the records, the random mothers and fathers listed end up being correct. So, listen, I’m not pretending that I’m up-ending long-held beliefs about family lines or anything. However, I am providing direct evidence of family relationships or strong circumstantial cases along with DNA correlation to confirm family lines. And yeah, sometimes I break down a brick wall and discover a new grandfather or grandmother and those are fun too. And I provide the documentary evidence for all to read and review.
Please browse around a bit. My posts tend to be quite Florida- and Georgia-heavy because, well, all the branches of my family have been in Florida since the early 1900s and most of them came from Georgia before that. But there are a few things sprinkled in there from Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina as well.
If I run across a really fun resource, I like to share that here as well. My case studies are presented informally and every detail presented is sourced by documentary evidence that I provide directly to you, the reader.
Please follow along to read stories of discovery and heartbreak, to learn tips and tricks, organization and research strategies, and (if you are a cousin) to learn more about the details of our shared family lines.
Recent Posts
Join me in my adventure in family discovery!
Identifying Brothers for Harriet C. Howard
Discovery of a Wedding Trousseau
A few weeks ago, I told you about my adventures confirming that John Hays was both my 5th and 6th great-grandfather. One of the documents I uncovered during that process led me to a sweet discovery. As noted in the blog post referenced above, Elizabeth Jane Hays was the daughter of Gilbert “Bird” Hays.
When it Appears No Records Exist for an Ancestor, Research Possible Father Candidates Instead
One of my 3rd great-grandfathers on my maternal line was a man named Daniel Pate. He lived a relatively short life. According to his gravestone, his middle initial was “S” and he was born February 18, 1856, and he died March 8, 1904. He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Arcadia, Florida.
My Two-for-One Grandpa: A Tale of Pedigree Collapse
Years ago, I was communicating with someone that I had contacted through ancestry.com. She was helping a cousin of mine build out her family tree. She noted, “My family tree is more like a family bush.” I absolutely adored this statement and I have adopted it ever since then. I, too, have a family bush.
A 180-Year-Old Estate File Leads to Many Answers But Even More Research Questions
I knew that my 5th great grandfather, Jesse Davenport, showed up on the 1830 Montgomery, Alabama census as a white male between the ages of 20 – 29. He is listed with a white female under the age of 20 and a white male under the age of 5.