family-relationships
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When guessing is all you have…
When Amalie was 7-years-old she was sent to a neighboring farm to work because her family was so poor. I found this little nugget of information tucked in my e-records for my Great-Grandmother (my father’s maternal grandmother) Thyra Amalie Martinsen JENSEN. It took me by surprise because it wasn’t tied to any supporting documentation. I…
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Mommy Dearest or Dearest Mom?
A story persists in the McDowell oral history about Lizzie Martin McDowell, my paternal great-grandmother. As the story goes, she was a wicked thing, mean and abusive to both her children and her husband John as well as being generally promiscuous, having an affinity for the local male population. [1] Poor Lizzie. Will no one…
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Those Nosy News Reporters
I love them! Nosy Reporters, that is. Were it not for a nosy news reporter, I would know far less about my maternal 3rd-Great-Grandmother than I do. Luckily for me, she knew Abraham Lincoln.
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Finally, a lead
It’s far from pay dirt… or gold… In fact, it’s more akin to uncorroborated testimony by a dodgy witness in a murder trial.
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The Disobedient Daughter
When Great-great-great-great-grandpa Thomas Chilcoat passed on, the will he left behind was relatively standard. First, pay all his expenses and his funeral. Second, provide for his wife. Then he starts divvying up his assets among his children: 2/5 to Robert, his eldest son [my 3rd great grandfather], 2/5 to Thomas, his youngest son, 1/5 to…
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Dynasty
Those of us of a certain age may recall the 1980s drama Dynasty. Apparently, it was so good as to warrant a reboot, so that our progeny won’t miss out on the fun. Well, those Carringtons (now or in the 80s) don’t have anything on the Pattersons.
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Double Cousins
Remember that old commercial for Certs? Two. Two. Two mints in one. (You youngsters can watch it here.) Well, that’s sort of what happened to Dutch (Harold Seba Taylor, Sr) when it came to cousins. It went something like this…