Archive for category Family Stories

Surname Saturday: Murder, Mayhem, and Bigamy

Butler, my paternal grandmother’s line, presents research challenges, but when you find the people, they’re interesting!

James Benjamin BUTLER (1880 – 1944) is my paternal grandmother’s father.  He was tall, with blue eyes and sandy hair.  Like most people in the rural south, James was a farmer.  He later becameRead the rest

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Nancy Emeline Brookshire

Nancy Emeline Brookshire (don’t you love that name?) was my great-great-great-grandmother.  She was the daughter of James Brookshire and Elizabeth Tilley and was born on May 13, 1833 in North Carolina.  She died on March 1, 1916 in Ellijay, Gilmer County, Georgia and was buried in Tickanetley Cemetery.

Nancy lived… Read the rest

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A Farmer’s Wife

On Monday, I wrote about Anna (Carnes) Forrester.  Today’s spotlight is on her daughter, Mary Lourania (Forrester) Ward, my great-great-grandmother.  This is the woman that my grandmother refers to as Grandma Ward.

Mary was born on July 7, 1864,… Read the rest

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A Favorite Female Ancestor

In honor of women’s history month, I’ll be writing a number of posts honoring the female half of my family tree.  Today’s post is part of the Fearless Females blogging prompt series created by Lisa Alzo, The Accidental Genealogist.

Do you have a favorite

Read the rest

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Twice Told Tuesday: Burgin Homestead Burns at Old Fort

Building Erected More than 150 Years Ago Destroyed By Fire Last Sunday Afternoon

One of the historic homes of McDowell County passed Sunday when the Burgin home on Catawba river was destroyed by fire at 1:30 p. m.

This old homestead, which was situated a mile east of Old Fort,… Read the rest

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Twice Told Tuesday: Mrs. Hemphill dies Wednesday at Cherokee Acres

Mrs. Alice Roberts Hemphill, 88, a lifelong resident of Murray County, died Wednesday morning in the Cherokee Acres Restorium, Calhoun, Ga.

Survivors include three daughters, Mrs. Blanche Stanford of Rome, Mrs. Edna Pendley of… Read the rest

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Surname Saturday: Hemphill, part 1

Hemphill is the most common surname in my genealogy database for good reason.  I descend from Hemphills on both sides of my family and through multiple lines with all lines leading to the same common ancestor.  Today, I’m going to work my way backward through Hemphill ancestors (using Ahnentafel numbers)… Read the rest

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Orphans and Orphans: A Sad Bit of History

COG-85The topic for 85th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is Orphans and Orphans; we’re invited tell the story of traditional orphans – children who lost their parents, or “reverse orphans” – those who left no descendents of their own to tell… Read the rest

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Surname Saturday: Kendrick

Kendrick is my own surname.  It’s a challenging line to research, as I have found little documentation prior to the mid-1800’s.  I have yet to discover an immigrant ancestor in this line, but expect to find him coming from Great Britain.

Francis Taylor KENDRICK (1876 – 1966) was my paternal… Read the rest

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Twice Told Tuesday: Social News

Those enjoying an Easter egg hunt given by the Misses Hemphill’s Sunday afternoon were, Messrs. Mack and Ben Leonard, Grady and Earl Roberts, Charles and Dee Adams, Charlie and Earl Wilbanks, Wallace Thompson, Fred Dunn, Mort Peeples, Alex Baggett, Drew Duncan, Frank Leonard, Misses Lula and Onnie McClure, of Ramhurst,… Read the rest

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