Welcome. You’ve made it to my blog.
…
Here you’ll find my musings on things I enjoy including history and genealogy. Some of these posts are fresh. Others have been dusted off, sharpened up, fact checked, copy edited and given a second life. Of course, if you have more information about any of those mentioned in these posts, or especially photos, email me at [email protected].
…
-
George Williams of Bertie County and the Battle of Stono Ferry
Photo: A British map of Stono Ferry referencing the 1779 battle. Source: South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust / As I blogged a few days ago, I have been trying to learn more about a George Williams who served in the North Carolina militia during the American Revolution. If further research prooves the connection, he would…
-
Following my Williams Line Back to Bertie County, North Carolina
Photo of four generations: From left: Will, Scott, Bo and Bob Williams For years, I have been able to trace many of my ancestral lines back 10 or more generations. But my Williams line, the one that gave me my last name, has stopped at my fourth great-grandfather, George S. “Brother George” Williams (1797–1852). George…
-
Maggie Williams Sullivan: A Haywood County Tragedy
Maggie Williams Sullivan (1881-1921) was my first cousin, three times removed. Her father, Edward Williams (1853-1893), and my second great-grandfather, George D. Williams (1846-1919), were brothers. Her story shines a light on just how powerless many women were against abuse in the era in which she lived. I knew a little about her tragic life…
-
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…
-
Sister C. A. Williams Is Gone
Photo: D. G. Beers Co. of Philadelphia 1877 map of Haywood County, Tennessee showing the location of Catherine A. Williams homeSource / “Sister C. A. Williams is Gone.” That was the first sentence of my third great-grandmother’s obituary, written by John Charles Warren Cobb (1830-1914) and W.T. Morris (1842-1924) as it appeared in the Zion…
-
George Williams Brick Wall
Holly Grove Baptist Church, pictured around 1913 is located in Bertie County about seven miles south of Powellsville on the east side of US Highway 13. It was organized in 1804 as Outlaw’s Chapel and was named for Ralph Outlaw. During the early 1820s the name was changed to Holly Grove. / While I have…
-
Lots of Love, Cordilia
Photo: Dorothy Cordelia Brantley Jacocks (1919-present) / A few days ago, I posted a blog about the Haywood High School class of 1939 that included a photo of my great uncle J.T. Jacocks. He married my grandmother’s sister, Cordelia Brantley. I have a copy of a letter written by Aunt Cordelia to my grandmother the…
-
Haywood High School 1939
This great photo of the Haywood County High School Class of 1939 was posted on the Haywood County Genealogy Facebook page managed by volunteers from the Genealogy Room at the Elma Ross Library in Brownsville, Tenn. Vicky Morrow Hutchings wrote she found it in a corn crib at her father-in-law’s house. I am very grateful she shared…
-
Red Wallet Photo Gallery
During the holidays, I was looking through boxes of old photos at my parents’ house when I came across an old red wallet crammed full of small Polaroids taken from the mid- to late 1960s. They feature me, the little boy in the photos, and my family as we lived and played more than 50…
-
Finding Castellaws and Cobbs at the National Archives
Since moving to Washington, D.C., a research trip to the National Archives has been near the top of my list. A recent Saturday morning with nothing planned gave me the chance to check it out. I had time that day for only a few quick searches in the Civil War database, but in a matter…
My latest Instagram Posts
