How Did I Get Here? My Amazing Genealogy Journey

I so love the hair!

So thankful for my heritage. So mixed and so rich. My maternal grandmother's line heralds from Morehead City, NC. Some of my Jones and Bryant ancestors were involved with Menhaden fishing or working in the fish factories to make a days wage. Thank goodness for the age of Youtube, where you can capture a feeling or sense of your ancestors as quick as couple of typed in key phrases. I have included a link to the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center Web Page where they have featured "Raising The Story of Menhaden Fishing." The site provides great information regarding how important this industry once was to Carteret County, NC. http://coresound.com/on-site-programs/raising-the-story-of-menhaden-fishing/

Microsoft Office Downloaded Image Okay, I did something that made me feel just a little dated recently. Now I know I'm not old but I am really starting to see how quickly the years start to slip on by. Well, the other day I decided to talk to my son about how sometimes your best wins in life don't always result in a first place finish. He is approaching his seventh birthday and he is starting to take an interest in sports so I thought I should talk to him about the importance of putting forth your best effort. When I was in college I fenced on an amateur basis in a club at Binghamton University. I absolutely loved it. Let me tell you, if you want a sport that will get you in shape ultra fast while learning how to strategically beat your opponent, there's no better sport than it. Now I would like to stress I was an amateur, but I did rack up a few medals and trophies in my day. Anyway, my son was curious to see the trophies the other night so I took them out and ...

My Grandmother Ethel Murrell Just love her smile! My Grandpa Harold Murrell I have so many fond memories of going to my grandparents house for Thanksgiving. Best meals of my life. My grandmother could cook! I couldn't help but think of her as I was home today, attempting to make rolls for tomorrow's dinner. I know mine don't quite stack up to hers but I love making them because I feel like she's right there in the kitchen with me. I miss them dearly.

Okay, I am back on the topic of my Whitney family line. Just a refresher to where we are at in case I have any new folks following. Samuel Whitney --speculating was my 4th great grandfather resided in New Bern Thomas Whitney--3rd great grandfather resided in Lake Comfort, Hyde, NC. Samuel Whitney--2nd great grandfather resided in Lake Comfort and then later New Bern, NC. Carrie Whitney Harrison--great grandmother lived in New Bern . Lemuel Richard Harrison--grandfather in his youth lived in New Bern, NC later settled in Queens, NY. My Mother Me Okay, so back to the Whitneys, specifically Thomas and his extended family when they resided in Hyde County, NC. It seems I have narrowed down where they lived as somewhere on the land between Juniper Bay and the village of Lake Comfort. Image Courtesy of Google Maps. Reviewing tax lists can be very helpful when researching your ancestors. Well when I was going through the Hyde County, NC tax lists on the Hyde County Gen W...

Me, My Brother David, Cousins Audrey and Nicole Pictures are little time machines. I was looking through some of my family photos today and this one jumped out at me. It's a perfect little snapshot of the holidays at the house I grew up in Cambria Heights, Queens.

Okay, I have to thank my fellow genealogy friend and colleague, Yvette Porter Moore, with inspiring me to dig deeper into my Tuscaroran Roots. By the way, she has an excellent blog called Digging Roots: My Family History, here's the link to it.   http://sugarhillharlemny.blogspot.com/#axzz1e6sZ0S8z  If you haven't checked it out yet, you should. You're missing out. My last post called "Things That Make You Go Hmmm....My Native American Roots And Discoveries" discussed some of the things I found out while researching my 2nd great grandmother Rosa Mitchell Jones. Here's the link to that post if you missed it.  http://howdidigetheremygenealogyjourney.blogspot.com/2011/11/things-that-make-you-go-hmmmmmy-native.html Well, anyway Yvette had commented that I should get in contact with the Coastal Carolina Indian Center for tips on how to further my research on this line. It's funny when you are on this journey of discovering your ancestors, I have found at leas...

I am taking a break from my Whitney family line today. I believe I had mentioned somewhere in my earlier posts about  Rosa M. Jones, my second great grandmother, being of some portion Native American. Her maiden name was Mitchell and I have come across some circumstantial evidence that gives me the impression that the family was of Tuscaroran descent. On a site called "The Coastal Carolina Indian Center", I found a section which shows a listing of surnames that have been associated sometimes with certain Indian tribes. Mitchel(l) (Tuscarora) This surname shows up on Indian Woods deeds as Tuscarora.      . See Bertie Deed Book M file      . See also 1766 Tuscarora Land Leases Now the site does warn people," Please keep in mind that just because someone is of a particular surname that has at some point been associated with a particular tribe DOES NOT NECESSARILY mean that the person was of that tribe.  It is necessary to establis...

Nathan Whitney January 1, 1845--May 10, 1912 New Bern National Cemetery New Bern, NC. Image Courtesy of Find A Grave. Nathan Whitney I believe was my 3rd Great Grandfather Thomas Whitney's nephew.  He served with Company B of the 37th Regiment of the United States Colored Troops. 

Okay folks my brain is still in Hyde County, NC and I can't get it out.  I have 3 books on order from Amazon. I am Googling everything Hyde County....You name it, it is Hyde County up in here. Did I mention that I'm into Hyde County? LOL Well anyway I decided to venture over to the Hyde County GenWeb Page, part of the U. S. and N. C. GenWeb Project and this time instead of glancing over things as I had done in the past, I really dived in.  I have to pause and explain something. I am really starting to see how there is a correlation between the thought processes involved with studying and learning a new language and how those processes are so similar to how you learn and study family history. With a language, you start with the basics. You learn simple nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Then you build up your vocabulary from there. You learn the nuances of the language and keep learning until you literally start thinking in the other language.  The ...

Part of fleshing out our ancestors begins with understanding the places they lived and the air they breathed. I woke up today wanting to go sight-seeing in Hyde County and decided to see what links I could find on YouTube. This first one is of the Lake Mattemuskeet. It is from a show called NC Weekend from UNC-TV I guess I now know how Swan Quarter, Hyde County got it's name . Then I wanted to hear the sound of their voices and see a bit more of the landscape. That's when I took a look at this video. It is a clip from the documentary film called "Hyde Talk" by Benjamin Torbert from the North Carolina Language and Life Project. Lastly, I found someone who had uploaded a family history film to Youtube. When I saw it for the first time I realized I had come across some of these same images when I was researching the family of Dr. M. M. Murray. My ancestor Augustus Whitney worked for Dr. M. M. Murray before the Civil War. The film was uploaded...