Author: Scott Williams
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Launching “An Odd Book”: The Remarkable Story of O. O. McIntyre
I haven’t blogged much as usual this year because nearly all my spare time has gone into finishing up my biography of Oscar Odd McIntyre (1884-1938), a small-town newspaperman who became one of the most widely read and highly paid writers of his generation. “An Odd Book: How the First Modern Pop Culture Reporter Conquered…
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More About Rev. George Williams of Madison and Haywood Counties
I received an email from my cousin Betsy, who had received an email from Deb Kueter, a genealogy researcher studying her Montgomery family line. Deb had located more records in FamilySearch.com concerning the daughter of my ancestor, the Rev. George Williams (c. 1797-1852). Mariah Williams Montgomery (unknown-before 1848) married Hugh A. Montgomery (1810-1868) on Dec.…
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A Search for Old West Tennessee Film Footage Reveals a Story of Racism, Injustice and Tragedy
A few weeks ago, I discovered the Brownsville, Tennessee, train depot had been used as a filming location for the movie “The Liberation of L.B. Jones.” Of course, I wanted to watch the film and see whether any other familiar West Tennessee locations appeared. I had never heard of the movie, the novel on which…
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Knights of the Forked Deer
I recently visited Appomattox Court House National Historical Park in Virginia, where, on April 9, 1865, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885). Fresh in my mind during the visit was an old article that Judge Roland Reid of Brownsville, Tennessee, had…
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The Brownsville Train Depot: Gone, but not Forgotten
A photograph of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad depot in Brownsville, Tennessee, posted by David Duke in the Facebook group “You Grew Up in Brownsville, Tennessee, If …” generated dozens of comments of memories of the old station and piqued my curiosity about this piece of Haywood County history. Photo credit: David Duke The comments…
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Mary Aurelia Blaydes Castellaw
Photo: Mary Aurelia Blaydes Castellaw with some of her grandchildren, photo credit: Lynn Graves / Lynn Graves, one of my many Castellaw cousins, recently found the photo above among his mother’s belongings. Lynn and I both descend from my third great-grandparents, Thomas Jefferson “T. J.” Castellaw (1808-1878) and Mary Elizabeth Cole Castellaw (1809-1875). The older…
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The Real Edward Brantly and a Man Named Peter
I recently wrote about the DNA results that proved the Brantley branches of my family tree began in America with Edward Brantly, an English immigrant who arrived in Virginia in 1638 as an indentured servant. According to many online family trees, he was born around 1615, came from London and worked seven years for the…
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Brantley DNA Results
And the father is… ‘Thanks to my cousin Betsy and her genealogical detective work, we recently participated in a DNA project that provided strong evidence connecting our branch of the Brantley family to the paternal line associated with Edward Brantly (about 1615-1688), who was living in colonial Virginia by 1638. It appears Edward Brantley is…
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Turkey hunters rediscover long-forgotten Bradford family cemetery
Photo: Descendants of Hiram Bradford. Back row, from left: Charles Wesley Anderson Jr.; his sister, Marion Bradford Anderson Glass, wife of T. Hugh Glass; their mother, Iowa “Ivy” Scott Bradford Anderson, wife of Charles Wesley Anderson Sr.; and possibly Laura and Alsey. Middle row: Ann Bradford Glass Gaffron, wife of Winston B. Gaffron Sr., and…
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1865: A Year in the Life of the South
I have long been fascinated by the years immediately following the Civil War and how they affected the lives of my West Tennessee ancestors. In just a few days, April 9, 2015 will mark 150 years since Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant…
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Virginia Lovelace’s Photo Album Tour
I’ve always felt compelled to use whatever recording device I had at hand to capture first-person stories about the past. Many years ago, Michelle and I were spending the night with my maternal grandparents, Guy Lovelace and Virginia Brantley Lovelace — we called them “Papaw and Granmama” — when I got the idea to record…
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Will and Eva Overton Williams of Haywood County, Tennessee
Photo: Eva and Will Williams / I never knew my paternal great-grandfather, William Lafayette “Will” Williams (1888-1962), because he died the year before I was born. Although I had seen several photos of him, one of my first cousins, Donna Williams Taylor, recently posted several more photos on Facebook. The photographs belonged to one of…
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The Brantley Family: Preachers, Planters and Pioneers of the South
Photo: My second great-grandparents Henry Preston and Mary Etta Cobb Brantley with their children. In the back row, from left, are Clara and Gladys. Standing between them is my great-grandfather, William “Willie” Brantley. Mary is seated in Mary Etta’s lap, and Guy is seated in Preston’s lap. Photo credit: Elsie Watkins Haynes / I was…
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John A. Hash and Bible Pathway Ministries
Photo: Far right, Iva Griffith McElroy (1900-1973) and son Dr. John A. Hash (1921-2012) / A few days ago, I wrote about the paternal family of my wife, Michelle. The brother of her paternal grandmother, Rose Lethie Hash Williams (1923-1989), was John A. Hash. Hash was a minister who established a Bible-study ministry, Bible Pathway…
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The Life of Iva Griffith McElroy
I usually blog about the adventures I encounter while researching my own genealogy, but for a long time, I have wanted to explore the ancestry of my wife. My entire family migrated west and stopped in Tennesee. Hers kept going. A few years ago, Michelle’s father, Dave, gave her a box that included items that…
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Bernie W. Cobb’s History of Zion Baptist Church and Other Research
When ancestry research has me tied in knots, I often return to a few documents that include some of the basics for my Haywood County ancestry. Three of those are Bernie W. Bobb’s “History of Zion Baptist Church,” “Tribute to the Veterans of Zion Baptist Church” and “The History of Holly Grove Baptist Church.” I…
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Author Ridley Wills and a Haywood County Hoax
Photo: Enhanced Ridley Wills 1923 Vanderbilt University senior photo / While researching my ancestors, I am often more curious about what their lives were actually like than I am about names and dates. I want to know what was happening around them, what they worried about, where they gathered and how the wider world affected…
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From Brownsville to Timbuktu: The Remarkable Life of Richard Halliburton
My new biography of Richard Hallibuton is now out. Back in 2012, I shared a blog post here about Richard Halliburton who was born in Brownsville, Tennessee. An editor from The History Press liked the post and asked me if I had ever considered writing a book about Halliburton. Until that moment, I had not.…
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More Haywood County Photos
When I was back home in Tennessee for the Lovelace family reunion, Fay Booth McAbee brought along a couple of photos to see if anyone could identify the people pictured. We figured out a few at the reunion, but for the rest, I turned to Facebook. Several of my Facebook friends and real-world cousins either…
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New Pastor at Historic Stanton Baptist Church
Pastor Bob Williams in front of the First Baptist Church of Stanton, Tennessee / My dad has a new position as pastor of the historic Stanton Baptist Church in Stanton, Tennessee, a small town in Haywood County. I really appreciate old churches, so I was eager to check it out. A few weeks ago, when…
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Anderson Grammar School in Brownsville, Tenn.
I was recently back in Tennessee for a week and got to spend some time looking through the archives in the Reese J. Moses-Scallions Genealogy Room at Elma Ross Public Library in Brownsville. I am usually in a hurry when I am there, so it was fun to have a few hours to check things…
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The Haywood County History Museum
Lynn Shaw at the Haywood County History Museum, Brownsville, Tennessee / I was recently working on a research project and needed a little Haywood County, Tennessee, history lesson, so Sonia Outlaw-Clark helped arrange an afternoon at the Haywood County History Museum with county historian Lynn Shaw. Sonia runs the must-see West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center…
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Celebrating the Fourth of July & Our Family Connection to “The Star-Spangled Banner”
My niece and her fiance were visiting for the week, so we decided to celebrate Independence Day with a family road trip to find the grave of Dr. William Beanes (1749-1828). Beanes is not a direct ancestor, but he is connected to our family through the Marbury line. He also played a fascinating role in…
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The Bridge Company, CSA
I saw a plaque on the wall during my visit to the Haywood County History Museum, and it made me want to dive in and see if there was more about The Bridge Company. C.S.A. to discover. There is little research on the company as it was an independent group of older, established Haywood County…
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Westward from Bertie to Haywood
Photo: A section of “Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way” by Emanuel Leutze / As I continue to research my family tree, one question keept coming up: Why did so many of my Bertie County, North Carolina, ancestors load their wagons in the early 1830s and head west to Haywood County, Tennessee? The…
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A Crowded House in Memphis
Color enhanced Fowler/Hilburn family, original photo credit: William L. Fowler Jr. The only thing that could almost top my friend- and family-filled Tennessee Christmas this year was returning home to discover one of my relatives had sent a photo of an ancestor I had not yet seen. It also led to the Memphis household of…
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A Closer Look at the Charles H. Organ Docking Near Memphis
River packet Chas. H. Organ landing at Mound City, Arkansas, near Memphis, between 1900 and 1915. Detroit Publishing Co. photograph collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Download a high resolution copy Download a high-resolution version I was recently exploring the Library of Congress’ Detroit Publishing Company Collection and came across a great photo…
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Tacky Party
These incredibly strange photos were taken at the house of my paternal grandparents, Bo Williams (1910-2008) and Elizabeth Castellaw Williams (1915-1998). They are unusual for several reasons. This was called a “Tacky Party” and was a fad popular in the late 1950s. The woman in the middle with the flower is my grandmother, Elizabeth Williams,…
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The Visiting Card Craze
Young man in a Carte de Vista photograph taken by William Bell of Jedburgh, Scotland / Some might think selfies, photos people take of themselves and share online, were one of the first ways people used photography for self-branding. But I think photography had been used for that purpose much earlier. I recently purchased a…
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Capt. F. J. Wood: Old Confederate Soldier
Photo: Capt. Francis John Wood obituary in the April 20, 1909, Nashville Banner / In a blog post a few weeks ago, I mentioned Capt. Francis John Wood (1839-1909), the grandson of my fourth-great-grandfather, Frances M. Wood (1777-1843), who would be my first cousin four times removed. Oddly enough, he showed up for me again…
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Unfortunate Stranger Meets a Horrible Death on Christmas Day
Photo: Rendering of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad’s Gautier, Mississippi train station / When I was in the Genealogy Room at the Elma Ross Library recently, I ran across an old newspaper clipping that captured my attention, so I saved it for a rainy Saturday in Washington, D.C. That day finally came. First the article,…
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My great-aunt Jo Williams, Walter Mondale, James K. Polk and Dancyville, Tennessee
Photo: My father and me in the Genealogy Room at the Brownsville library / The last time I was in Haywood County, Tennessee, my father and I stopped by the Genealogy Room at the Elma Ross Public Library. I was glad he was with me because he noticed something I likely would have missed. My…
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The Last Will & Testament of Francis M. Wood
The Old Plantation is an American folk art watercolor probably painted in the late 18th century on a South Carolina plantation. The painting is currently held by the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum in Williamsburg. / My most recent post included an exploration of Francis M. Wood’s bible. In this post, we’ll take a…
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A Little History of Crockett County, Tenn. from Frances Wood’s Bible
I recently shared the Fowler family photos I received from Jennie West, a mutual descendant of my third-great-grandfather, Lewis Fowler (1848-1938). With this post, I get to share photos of a Bible that belonged to my fourth great-grandfather, Francis M. Wood (1777-1843). The photos were sent to me by another of his descendants, Otis Lundy.…
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Letter from Lewis Fowler
I recently shared several great photos I received from Jenny West. Also included with the photos was an old letter that Lewis M. Fowler (1848-1938), my second great-grandfather, wrote to his son, Oliver Wilson Fowler (1875-1951), on Christmas Eve 1920. I thought the letter was interesting enough to deserve its own blog entry. Photos are…
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Fowler Photos
Photo: Fowler siblings, back row from left, Daisy Fowler Lovelace (1893-1976), Mollie F. Fowler (1876-1931) and Ruby Fowler Lovelace (1887-1952), front row: Oliver Wilson Fowler (1875-1951). Photo credit: Jenny West / One of my favorite parts of genealogy research is the process of gathering, identifying and archiving family photos of my ancestors. I am fortunate…
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Billy King and the Forrest Cemetery
Billy King, Photo credit: Cypress Magazine / While I was back in Tennessee recently, my father, youngest daughter and I stopped by the Forrest Cemetery for the first time. In researching the Forrest family, I had seen numerous references to this cemetery and was looking forward to seeing it in person. Author and historian Billy…
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Finding the Jacocks Cemetery in Haywood County, Tenn.
Since I transcribed and uploaded this letter and this letter from John Hill Jacocks (1831-1902), which I found on my 50th Birthday Genealogy Road Trip, I’ve been looking for the Haywood County, Tennessee, cemetery where he was buried. It was supposed to be on Brantley Road, but I couldn’t find it. Thanks to my cousin…
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Billy Tripp’s Mindfield
My blog posts are usually about genealogy but during last weekend’s trip to Haywood County, I had a few extra minutes to grab some photos of a very unusual folk art display right in the middle of Brownsville, Tenn. My wife is into outsider art so she would do a better job of explaining it…
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The Will of Samuel Forrest
Thank goodness for wills. Ancestry.com says its U.S. wills and probate collection includes more than 170 million documents from all 50 states, spanning 1668 to 2005. While researching the Forrest, Yelverton and Sherrod families, the will of Samuel Forrest proved very helpful at confirming some of my direct ancestors, while also providing a snapshot of…
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Forrest, Yelverton and Sherrod Connection
For a while now, I’ve been trying to sort out the tangle of the ancestry of my third great-grandmother, Ann “Annie” W. Sherrod Yelverton (1834-1880). She was the mother of my second great-grandmother Nancy Jane Yelverton Lovelace (1861-1936), who was the mother of my great-grandfather James Luther Lovelace (1885-1968), who was the father of my…
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Penelope Johnston Dawson’s letters from Eden House
During last month’s research trip to North Carolina, I hoped a search through letters written by Penelope Johnston Dawson (c. 1740-1797) of Eden House would result in proof of a connection between her and my fifth great-grandmother, Margaret Dawson Castellaw (c. 1755-after 1813). I have seen claims that John Castellaw (c. 1723-1813), my 5th great-grandfather…
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Letter from John Hill Jacocks of Haywood County to Jonathan Joseph Jacocks of Bertie County
Photo: Possibly John Hill Jacocks and Emily Naker Nicholls A letter I found in the Jonathan Jacocks Papers in the Southern Historical Collection at Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is especially meaningful considering so many of my ancestors migrated from Bertie to Haywood County. Of course, many of those…
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Trouble comes not single-handed
This is the first post using content from my recent genealogy road trip to Chapel Hill, N.C., It features one of the many letters I found in the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This letter was in the “Jonathan Jacocks Papers, 1732-1908” collection. The collection includes letters to…
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Salmon Creek and Eden House: Seedbed of the Colony
As I recently blogged, my family and I went a genealogy road trip in celebration of my 50th birthday. One of the stops with the historic marker close to Eden House. Erected in June 2001, the large marker replaced four older markers, all of which were scrapped when construction commenced on the new US 17…
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50th Birthday Genealogy Road Trip
My 50th birthday last week was a great excuse to visit a few places I’ve read about for years but had never seen in person. I gathered content I’ll be posting on my blog for months, but for now I wanted to share a quick overview and some photos. Wilson Library at the University of…
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Eden House
Photo: Eden House historical marker located along the Westshore Chowan River, 1952. Charles Brantley ‘Aycock’ Brown (1904-1984), State Archives of North Carolina Source / As the North Carolina Department of Transportation began preparing for work on the U.S. 17 bridge over the Chowan River in the late 1990s, the department knew it was working near…
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Know Your County: James Castallaw
Photo: Hoggard’s Mill was located in an area established in 1736 by James Castellaw. The site was the first Bertie County seat (circa 1722 to 1769) and is known as the “Lost Town of Cashy.” The first courthouse, public warehouses, jail and other various commercial buildings were also located there, making it a historically significant…
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Who was Margaret Dawson Castellaw?
Photo: Edward Moseley 1733 Map of North Carolina featuring Bertie Precinct, including notation of “J. Castellaw” on the Cashie River. This was a notation to James Castellaw. Historically, “I” and “J” were treated as the exact same letter. The letter “J” originated as a decorative flourish for the letter “I.” Source / I began this…
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The Bibles of Leonard D. Cobb and Will Williams
Old family Bibles that include genealogy information feel a little like time machines to me. They give me a written connection to ancestors I never knew but still somehow feel close to. A September blog entry included pages from an Outlaw family Bible. Since then, I have received photos from a couple of other family…