52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

         Ancestral places are what shaped our ancestors, their lives, and the lives of their children. So is it possible to choose one that matters more than any of the other places? It isn’t possible for me. So instead, I am going to do a little play on words for this week’s post.   The place that matters most to me is the grey matter in my brain that holds the memories of all these places.           I remember Atlantic City, where my mom and grandparents lived. What grand times we had there, with days at the beach, supper at the Morton Hotel, walks on the boardwalk, buying salt water taffy (who's was the original?), Mr Peanut, the rolling chairs, sleeping in my grandmother’s room with the window open and smelling the breeze from the ocean. It was an amazing time. Of course this was before gambling was started, and most of the old hotels and buildings were torn down to make way for the casinos. Such a great loss.   ...

         When I first started my family history “hobby” about 15 years ago, I learned by just jumping in and researching, as did many of us. I remember the first time I ran across a name in my dad’s family line in an old MS-DOS printout that a relative had sent me so many years ago.   As I was flipping through these printouts of descendant and family group sheet reports (which I did not even understand at all), I got so very excited when I saw the name Andrew Jackson Hinch. Were we related to Andrew Jackson? Well, as it turned out, no. I think there was an in-law David Crockett Knox in there too. Stewart Hinch and Rebecca Sherrill, our dad's parents. Possibly wedding day December 1904 But I did learn that it was a “thing” (and maybe still is) to name a child after a well-known person, such as a famous president, founding father, or maybe an impactful preacher, with maybe the hope that they would encompass some of the traits of that person. Some of t...

Our own Decoration Day memories - May 25, 2026 Here are the beautiful memories that you shared with me to help celebrate Memorial / Decoration Day. I have added a couple of my own. I am sure you all have many memories of this day, both joyful and sad, and no matter which kind, keep remembering and share them with your family.  “I remember when my cousins and I went to Dollywood in Tennessee and we went on all the rides together.”   - Avery At Pigeon Forge, listening to Bob singin' and pickin' ! “I have fond memories of the Holland American cruise with Gigi, you and Dad, Jim, Alda, Andrea, Lisa, Bob, Donna, Graham and Chris.”   - Steph “One of my favorite memories is the whole family going on the cruise.”   -   Graham 1998 cruise    "Jim said he remembered the time that our dad balanced a bowl of tomato soup on his head!  And he did it, until he didn't !!  - He was always balancing and piling up random items on the dinner table." -  Jim...

         Hannah was still in shock, but her young children were crying, so she had no time to consider herself right now. As she tried to comfort them, she recalled the events from just a few hours earlier.   She had been inside the cabin with the younger children. It was noisy outside, but that was always the way it was at the saltworks. But suddenly the noise changed. The workmen were shouting. Something was wrong. She rushed outside the cabin to the area of the salt well where the men were gathered. She heard one of them yell:       “It's the Captain! He’s gone under! Get a rope!” But it was too late. Capt. John Hinch had gone into the water at the salt well to free up some timbers that had slipped and were blocking the intake of the wooden pumps. The workers were unable to rescue him in the heavy, dark, briny waters. John Hinch had drowned. He was only 41 years old, and he died without a will. That day, July 6, 1786 at Sa...

         Coming up next week is Memorial Day. But did you know that it was originally called Decoration Day, and it was started just after the end of the Civil War as a way to pay tribute and remember all those who died in that war, both Union and Confederate soldiers. And it provided a bit of healing to all. The end of May was chosen because many spring flowers were in bloom, and those blossoms were used to decorate the gravesites and cemeteries. After World War I, the name Memorial Day was slowly adopted to replace Decoration Day. Many areas of this country, particularly the southeastern states, carried on the tradition of Decoration Day, and it became a day to visit cemeteries, clean gravesites, and gather with family to share stories about those loved ones passed on. Those activities still occur on Memorial Day, but there is something special about Decoration Day. Now here comes the twist! Please read on!   I’m sure you are all slightly tired o...

          I never realized how attached you can feel to an ancestor who lived well over 170 years ago, one who you had never met. But when you devote months of research time trying to uncover information about a specific person, that is what happens. John Mervyn Reilly, my 2nd great grandparent is such a person for me.   This is a photo of Jane Reilly and her son William, taken around 1890. She was a sister of John Reilly, the only sibling we have a photo of. It was this family line that lead me to the DNA match that helped answer many questions. I only knew a few scant facts about him until recently. And the more I learned, the more questions surfaced, not necessarily about the details I uncovered,   but the “why” behind those facts. Family history enthusiasts deal with these unknowns every day. We consider different scenarios in our brains about our ancestors’ lives. Facts and records only get us so far. Many deeper questions probably will nev...