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I received an email from Ancestry today with “Possible record matches” in the subject line. Those of you who use Ancestry know that they give you hints, with little green leaves indicating some sort of match in their records, whether it be in another tree, a historical record, etc. This email contained three such hints. Sometimes . . . → : CONTINUE…

Monteville Roberts owned and operated, with the help of family, the combined business establishment of a mill for grinding corn into meal and wheat into flour, a blacksmith shop, and general repair shop, all of which were vitally essential to the people. The combined enterprise, in Hamilton County, Tennessee, provided a flourishing business a home . . . → :…

A story for the Fourth of July!

Fifteen or twenty years ago, when my daughter was in elementary school, we visited Philadelphia Pennsylvania. We toured the city, saw the Liberty Bell and Ben Franklin’s house, and ate some cheese steak sandwiches. Of course we didn’t miss Independence Hall, either. The tour was guided, and when we came to the room where the Continental Congress…

I visited New Prospect Church Cemetery on Saturday. I knew that some Tuckers were buried there, because I had found headstone photos on Find-a-Grave for Churchwell Branch Tucker and his wife Rosamond. I also had found a listing last week for E. M. Ellis on the Murray County Cemeteries website; the dates were very close to . . . → : CONTINUE…

David S. Butler was my great-great-grandfather. I know that he was in Murray County, Georgia in the 1900s. Working backward, he died in 1938, and I have census records for 1930, (research gap: I don’t have 1920), 1910, and 1900. Each census gives Georgia as his place of birth. I have nearby Adairsville as his birthplace, . . . → : CONTINUE…

Two hundred years ago my Ellis relatives were in Jackson County, Georgia, South Carolina, and possibly North Carolina.

Walter Ellis (5x great-grandfather) is my oldest Ellis relative who was alive in 1808. He and his wife, Mary (Parker) probably were in Jackson County, Georgia. In 1805, he appeared on the Jackson County land lottery list and in 1817, . . . → :…

Pine Grove Cemetery, Winnacunnet Road, Hampton, New Hampshire.

William Lane, junior. and his wife Sarah…

"Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery." - Jane Austen

A heavy fog infiltrated my creative mindset ten days ago. I became discouraged and frustrated. But I was not alone, others felt it too. On Saturday, I followed a hash tag (#writers) on Twitter and found a steady stream of negativity:

• 20 warning signs your content…

As I was driving past Mount Sumach Cemetery this weekend, I happened to notice a headstone with my last name. I almost didn’t stop, because I could tell from the road that it was a relatively modern stone. However, it was Saturday afternoon and I had time, so I turned around. The stone in question turned . . . → : CONTINUE…

I’ve been toying with the idea of a Footnote subscription for some time and have even taken advantage of their seven-day free trial a few times. I finally decided to go for it. The item I found this morning makes it all worthwhile.

I’ve been researching my ancestor, Walter Ellis, Revolutionary War Veteran, in preparation for a . . . → :…