Welcome. You’ve made it to my blog.
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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].
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Lost History: The 1890 Census Records
I am still new to genealogy research and kept noticing a hole in the census records for my Haywood County ancestors in 1890. After a little digging, I learned why. Most of the 1890 federal census population schedules were damaged in a fire at the Commerce Department Building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 10, 1921.…
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The Seeds of my Fascination with Genealogy
I recently found more really old family photos, thanks to my 12-year-old self and my grandmother, Elizabeth Castellaw Williams (1915-1998). I got my first taste of genealogy from “Granny,” as we called her, one summer when I was about 12. I was spending a week with my grandparents near the Holly Grove community in Haywood…
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Hugh Jackman, Andrew Lytle and Me in the Bahamas
Last week, my wife and I were at the water park at Atlantis Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas, with Hugh Jackman. OK, we were not exactly “with” Hugh Jackman. We were at the same place at the same time. But as you can see from the photo, I have proof that we stood close enough…
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Castellaw Cemetery in Johnson’s Grove
I recently wrote a blog post about my third-great-grandfather, Charles Randall Johnson (1802-1864). During the recent Christmas, my dad and I set out for the Johnson Grove area of Crockett County, near Alamo, Tennessee, to find the graves of Charles and his wife, Margaret Louisa “Louisa” Wood Johnson (1808-1862). A cemetery transcription for Castellaw Cemetery…
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Herbie Town
Yesterday, my Dad and I headed to Crockett County near Alamo, Tennessee, to look for the graves of some of our Johnson ancestors. We found what we were looking for, and I’ll share more about that another day. But our genealogy road trip also gave us an opportunity to stop by a place called Herbie…
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Lena Booth Marbury’s Friends List
Photo: Mable Marbury Jackson, Sarah Evalena “Lena” Booth Marbury and Allie Marbury Brantley / I have been researching the Booth family and preparing to upload what I have learned to my site. Christmas at my mother’s house gave me a good excuse to look for an interesting “Booth” document I thought I remembered among the…
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An Ancestry Clue Hidden in a Congressional Record
I was searching for the parents of my third great-grandfather, Charles Randall Johnson (1802-1864). I still have not found them. But genealogy has a way of rewarding one search with an entirely different discovery. In the “United States Statutes at Large,” I found an 1882 act authorizing a $250 payment to David Whittaker (1827-1889), administrator…
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Maggie Williams Sullivan
Photo: Recreation of photo of Maggie and Ellis Sullivan A few days ago, I wrote about Ancestry.com making a new batch of death certifcates available. One of them revealed more about my second-great grandfather being buiried in a field that was once called the Williams Family Cemetery. The other person I wrote was likely buried…
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Williams Family Cemetery Found
Photo: Milton Booth near what is left of the Williams Family Cemetery Since I first began researching my ancestry, I have tried to find the graves of my second great-grandparents, George D. Williams (1846-1919) and Martha Jane Watridge Williams (1852-1888). For years, family stories pointed me toward one place. Now, thanks to a Haywood County…
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Home Sweet Home
Photo: Dred and Ellen Yelverton and their home in Wayne County, NC I am finally taking a break from researching my Yelverton line. That took longer than expected because the Yelvertons turned out to be such an interesting family that I kept getting sidetracked. One of the things I enjoyed most was learning about the…
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