52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

         DNA connections are truly amazing. I started building my family tree the old fashioned way, as so many did, with paper and online records, plus with my family’s knowledge. Without a doubt, this is still the gold standard of family history research and will continue to be needed to verify and source these connections. But now, with DNA testing being done over such a wide population base, and the tools that have been created using DNA to make family connections, I find it enormously satisfying to see my paper-based research come to life! It is almost unbelievable that I can see the DNA connections from distant cousins to my 4th and 5th great grandparents.   Going back to the early and mid 1700’s, my mother’s side of the family had many ancestors that immigrated from Germany and western Europe, and settled in Philadelphia and Montgomery counties in eastern Pennsylvania. I knew many of their names from my family tree, but now the DNA connections...

          This is not a story that was handed down to me, but it is one of many I have found on my family history journey. This sad and gruesome tale occurred in 1863 in the sparsely settled rugged and beautiful areas of  Bledsoe County, Tennessee, where many generations of my dad’s ancestors lived. As stories go, some of the details vary, but the end result was that John Tollett Jr., a land owner and farmer,  and my 3rd great grandfather Francis (Franklin) Monday were murdered on the night of April 30, 1863, during the height of the Civil War. Here is what happened on that fateful night, according to the stories told and passed down. John Tollett Jr. was a wealthy man, and it was rumored that he kept a lot of money and/or gold in his home. A few days before he was killed two masked men came to his house, and demanded they give them his money or they would kill him. Tollett refused, and for some reason the men couldn’t find the gold, so they lef...

         Back in 2013 when I was really starting to delve into family history, I felt compelled to find photos of my ancestors. I asked my mom and both of my brothers if they had any photos of our grandparents and great-grands. I had some of our grandparents, but just a very few of one line of their parents. Well, turned out my brother Jim did have some. And the people were identified on the back of the photos! I was so excited. So between what our mom and my brother Jim had, I now had great photos of the four grandparents, plus all our great grandparents except for one.   George Akin Sherrill my great grandfather born 1835 Cumberland County, TN My dad's maternal grandfather   After seeing the photos, I now knew I had to find a way to share them with the rest of our family, kids, and grandkids so they could be not only be preserved, but could easily shared and passed down.   I could digitize them, put them on a flash drive, and share them t...