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Unexpected

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        Something unexpected has happened to me since I first started family history research about 15 years ago. I started out as most people do, by gathering names and dates, and by building a tree of my ancestors’ vital records - birth, marriage, death, etc. That is fairly typical. Over the past few years those specifics have taken a back seat to wanting to know the places my ancestors lived and the history they lived through. Years ago would I ever have read a 300 page book about a particular battle in the Revolutionary War? Nope - no way. But now, I crave all the information I can find about that battle that my ancestors fought in.   My go-to book for pre-state of Tennessee history And even more than the history they lived through is the yearning to know the places where they traveled and lived. I never expected this. I find myself studying old maps and deeds, wanting to know where my people lived, reading old newspaper articles, and searching...
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A Brick Wall Revisited

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            One of the hard truths of family history research is eventually  every family line  ends in a brick wall, because at some point you run out of written records and sources. In most cases being able to  accurately  trace ancestors back 6 or 7 generations is generally considered a successful result, at least to me.         With that said, I am revisiting our John Hinch brick wall. Yes, I bet you didn’t know that he was a brick wall, or maybe even exactly who John Hinch was. Truth is, I haven’t really focused on him yet. So let me set the stage for a deeper dive into John Hinch and his ancestors over the next weeks, as I attempt to go back to the Revolutionary War period, and the mid 1700’s.           John Hinch headstone, Tollett Cemetery, Bledsoe County, TN     (transcription: John Hinch, was Bornd January 4, 1804. Dec July 25, 1862 Age 58 ys 7 mo...
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A Family Pattern

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         We definitely have some patterns going on in our family, some good and some bad. High cholesterol, back problems, male pattern baldness, musicianship, church going folk, and chicken legs (Bob and I know about this one) to name a few. But one pattern I picked up on while doing family history is we tend to be a family of clerks !! In todays world, we would probably call them bookkeepers, bankers, accountants, and the like. We are numbers people, and we like things to balance! I actually first noticed this pattern while researching my Irish ancestors who came to the US around 1850. And let me tell you, the pattern I saw was anything but subtle. It almost shouted at me from the census page. And once I noticed it, I couldn’t unsee it. This Reilly family easily led the way when it came to “clerking.”   The 1855 NY census in Brooklyn - yes, Reilly is spelled Riley - but it is them. My 3rd and 2nd G-grandfathers show their "clerk" profession. ...
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An Address With a Story

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          When I first read the theme for this week’s blog, I thought the address in question would need to be an historic old home, or one that was in our family history long ago. But the more I thought, the more I realized that any address would have a story, and it would not need to go back hundreds of years. So with this in mind, I am choosing to write about the home where I spent the majority of my childhood, 12 Cherry Lane Rd, Brookside, NJ, on the corner of Cherry Lane and Colonial Road.   1956 - foundation being constructed - photo has been colorized July 3, 1957 was the day our family moved into our new home on Cherry Lane. And yes, there were tall wild cherry trees along the the road and in our backyard too. The house was brand new. My dad, with the help of friends and construction crews, built this house from the ground up on a one-acre lot in an area that was just being developed in rural, northern New Jersey.   It was a beautiful wo...
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A Turning Point

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         It was cold. It was dark. It was raining. But all George was concentrating on was “keeping his powder dry.” It had been a long two week ride on horseback from Sycamore Shoals (near Elizabethton today) in the Watauga Settlement, where over 900 infantry road off across the Blue Ridge Mountains, headed south to do battle with the Loyalists.   During this rare, quiet moment, camped in Cowpens, South Carolina, George was reliving the two week journey that brought him to this point. It was then September 25, 1780 when he left, with three of his brothers and his father. Before leaving, all the men were blessed in prayer by Rev. Samuel Doak, with his parting phrase “Help us as good soldiers to wield the SWORD OF THE LORD AND GIDEON.” Depiction of the scene at Sycamore Shoals 9/25/1780 leaving for SC George was the youngest son, and had just only turned 18 when they left for battle. Weather in NC mountains in September can be unexpectedly brutal. T...
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