This amusing anecdote refers to my five-times great-grandmother, Elizabeth (Patton) Hemphill. It is part of a series of Biographical Sketches from Burke County, North Carolina that were written by by Col Thomas George Walton (1815-1905) and were first published in the old Morganton Herald in 1894.
“The HEMPHILLs of Silver Creek and Old Fort emigrated from the North . . . → : CONTINUE READING
I was recently in China for 10 days, visiting the main cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. What I found most interesting is how different the context of their beliefs and practices are to my own. Because I am a video biographer, some of the things that I noticed have cause me to look at my field and how much I take for granted about what I do in the context of our American culture.
One thing that I have been giving a lot of thought to is that in our American culture, it has become common f
This is a description of my family history related visit to Hawaii for the past two weeks. We arrived Honolulu in the early evening, bleary eyed and exhausted, so to me the Hawaii trip really started on Day Two. Our first night we checked into a hotel on Waikiki Beach, ate a bite for dinner, and I took a dip in the pool. Later, whilst walking along Waikiki Beach hubby took a dip in the ocean, too. We went to bed early. Little did I know that I would be so busy, I would only have time to swim two
I visited the Murray County Probate Court last week and came away with nine copies of marriage records. I went in with a pedigree chart highlighting direct ancestors who were married (or who I thought may have been married) in Murray County. I had marriage dates for many of them, so my goal was to get . . . → : CONTINUE READING
My grandmother almost carried the recipe for her famous cookies to her grave. She was a marvelous cook and had several recipes that were family favorites. She loved getting the praise and glory for producing these specialties for us and could never be coaxed to share the recipes.Finally, at some point in her 80s (she passed away in 1997 at the age of 93) she beautifully typed up the recipe and gave a copy to me and a copy to my sister. I’m not sure who else got copies.
This photo was taken at the
This week I’m looking for ancestors of Leaty (Lankford) West, whose gravestone I found several weeks ago. I have her parents as Wyatt Lankford and Morning Tabitha Bruer.
“Wiet” and Morning Lankford were enumerated on the 1880 Census in the Alaculsa District of Murray County, Georgia. I feel somewhat confident that these are Leaty’s parents, because they are . . . → : CONTINUE READING
"Washington came back from the presidency in 1797 and he was looking frankly for an easier way to make mone
With so much information available online, it’s easy to forget the wealth of publications that are only available in print or on microfilm and that can often be found at libraries.
I find it helpful to prepare before visiting a library, otherwise I become overwhelmed with all the choices when I get there. Most libraries today have . . . → : CONTINUE READING
Amos Johnson and his wife Betty are buried in Mount Pleasant Baptist Church Cemetery in Gilmer County, Georgia. They may be my 3x-great-grandparents, Amos and Elizabeth; however the dates don’t quite match up.
Census records (1850 and 1860) indicate that Amos Johnson was born about 1826, while the birthdate on this stone is 1817. The stone also records Amos’ death in . . . → : CONTINUE READING
November 9, 2009 marked my second visit to Necedah, Wisconsin in just two months. I
