Family Stories

Those Lazy Hazy Days of Summer

15 July 2009 Family Stories

The topic for the 76th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is “How I Spent My Summer Vacation: Favorite Summer Memory from Your Youth.”  When I think of my favorite summer memories, I don’t think of the “big” events – vacations, trips, camp, etc.  It’s the soft, fuzzy memories that come to mind – the [...]

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Fighting for a New Nation

3 July 2009 Family Stories

As we prepare to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of our nation, I want to take a moment to recognize my ancestors who fought for (or supported the fight for) our freedom and independence.  I have seventeen ancestors and relatives who were involved in the American Revolution.  To see the complete list, click here.  [...]

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James A. McEntire Military Records

27 March 2009 Family Stories

As I reported here, I’ve recently found records related to James A. McEntire in two new Ancestry.com databases:  U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles and Confederate Pension Applications from Georgia.  Here is a summary of the information found in these two records. James was born in McDowell County, North Carolina.  He and his family [...]

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Captured by Indians

6 February 2009 Family Stories

In April 1791, Andrew Davidson traveled to Smithfield (Draper’s Meadows) on business, leaving his pregnant wife, Rebecca (Burke), their three small children (two girls and a boy) and two bound children, orphans, at home.  A few days after Mr. Davidson’s departure, Rebecca was gathering sugar water from sugar maple trees close to the house, when [...]

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William Brookshire’s Revolutionary War Service

31 January 2009 Family Stories

William Brookshire, my 5x great-grandfather, served several tours of duty in the American Revolution.  He was drafted for his first tour in Rowan County, North Carolina in August of 1775 or 1776.    Under the command of General Griffith Rutherford, his militia company marched upon the Cherokee Nation, but found that the Indians had fled.  General [...]

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Found! POW Documentation for Francis M. Kendrick

26 January 2009 Family Stories

Family legend says that my great-great-grandfather was held prisoner at Rock Island during the Civil War.  My dad has really wanted me to find documentation of this fact, so it has been on my “Most Wanted” list for some time.  Until this week, I had had no luck. I’ve been slowly assembling facts related to [...]

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Some of Burke County’s Old Sheriffs

20 December 2008 Bios & Timelines

This story includes excerpts referring to several of my relatives. It is part of a series of Biographical Sketches from Burke County, North Carolina that were written by by Col Thomas George Walton (1815-1905) and were first published in the old Morganton Herald in 1894. “PETER MULL [7x great-uncle] was elected Sheriff in 1790.” “THOMAS [...]

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Hemphills in 1808

14 December 2008 Bios & Timelines

Two hundred years ago, my Hemphill relatives were all in the Burke/Buncombe county area in North Carolina. Captain Thomas Hemphill (1746-1826), my 5x (twice) and 6x great-grandfather, lived in Burke County, North Carolina in 1810.  On April 4, 1808, he entered a grant for 300 acres lying on both sides of the French Broad river [...]

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Mrs. Hemphill’s Sheep

4 December 2008 Family Stories

This amusing anecdote refers to my five-times great-grandmother, Elizabeth (Patton) Hemphill.  It is part of a series of Biographical Sketches from Burke County, North Carolina that were written by by Col Thomas George Walton (1815-1905) and were first published in the old Morganton Herald in 1894. “The HEMPHILLs of Silver Creek and Old Fort emigrated from [...]

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Connections

23 November 2008 Family Stories

It fascinates me to find connections between different branches of my family tree, possibly because I’ve always known there was a connection between my parents (besides the obvious). Before you start thinking “cocktails in Appalachia,” I should explain that this is not a close connection.  My father’s (maternal) great-grandmother is my mother’s (paternal) first cousin [...]

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