How Did I Get Here? My Amazing Genealogy Journey

Clifford McGhee Wooten December 20, 1918--January 28, 2008 Clifford McGhee Wooten was the wife of my 1st cousin 2x removed, Harkless Wooten. She was known as "Mama Cliff." My mother told me she was quite a sweet lady. Here's her obituary which was featured in the New Bern Sun Journal on February  2, 2008. Here's the link to two posts I did last year featuring her husband, Harkless Wooten.  http://howdidigetheremygenealogyjourney.blogspot.com/2011/06/so-who-was-sylvia-bryant-harkless.html http://howdidigetheremygenealogyjourney.blogspot.com/2011/06/talented-tuesday-harkless-wooten.html

I have to say that tonight I am very thankful for the North Carolina Marriage records that are now available on-line on FamilySearch.org. I have been having a blast looking at either the register or an actual images of  marriage records or licenses of some of my ancestors tonight. I even found a mistake on my family tree where I had someone listed as a child of a 2nd great grand uncle and in fact they were siblings. Pretty cool!  My 2nd great grand uncle Alfred F. Mitchell applied for the marriage certificate for Margaret "Maggie" Mitchell, his sister, and her second husband William Thompson. Previously, I was under the belief that Margaret was Alfred's daughter but this document helped to clear up the mistake I had on my tree. Also, by finding this information, I realized that Margaret in fact wasn't buried in Bertie County but rather she was laid to rest in the same cemetery that many in her family were buried at in Riverdale, Craven, NC. She's at rest in the ...

Okay. She did it again. Ugghh! My paternal great grandmother is driving me crazy. If you aren't familiar with the story behind my great grandmother, here's one of my previous posts. The Mystery Surrounding My Great Grandmother Ella Anyway, I was hoping that with the release of the 1940 Census I would be able to crack some part of the mystery surrounding my great grandmother Ella. On the 1930 Census, she was listed as Ella Dixon residing with her 3 daughters and a possible cousin. I began with locating the enumeration district for the last address that I believe she resided at. The one lucky break I have had surrounding my great grandmother has been that my grandmother Ethel's certified copy of her birth certificate was still in the envelope it was mailed in back in 1939. It was sent to a 239 West 113th St and so that was the address I was hoping I would find Ella still living in 1940. I believe I have found her, but here is where it gets entertaining. 1940 Census ...

Like so many of you out there in the blogosphere, I have been pouring over the 1940 census records searching for my ancestors. Luckily I have been able to find many of my kin who lived in Morehead City and New Bern. I had a bit of an unexpected reaction when I located the households of my maternal great grand parents in the census records. You see, both of my great grandmothers on this side of the family died in 1939. This would be the first census where they would not be listed in their households. I knew this before looking at the records so I should have not been surprised not seeing their names listed. Bryant Household 1930 Census All the Bryant siblings are under one roof with their parents. Grandma Rosa Jones living next door. Bryant Household 1940 Census My great grandfather Frank Bryant is clearly listed as being a widower The thing that struck me when I saw this is that the family has dispersed. My 2nd great grandmother Rosa Jones passed away in 1931. It...

My maternal grandmother Mary Bryant Harrison (at this time she was married to her first husband--my grandfather) and her baby girl (my mother.) I love how my grandmother is looking adoringly at her daughter. Precious!

So I had every intention of writing this post yesterday, but you know how it is when you first get back from vacation. The day simply wasn't long enough yesterday for me to get everything that I wanted to get done done, so here is Amanuensis Monday on Tuesday. To my delight when we returned home from vacation I found a couple of letters in my mailbox from the North Carolina State Archives. Woohoo! I love getting genealogy stuff in the mail. Anyway, I recently had sent in a request for a copies of the marriage certificate for my 2nd great grandparents, Thomas Duke Harrison and Mary J. Williams and some other marriage records for other ancestors. Here is the marriage certificate for T. D. Harrison and Mary J. Williams. Page 1 No. 97      Marriage License To any Ordained Minister of any Religious Denomination, or to any Justice of the Peace, for New Hanover County: Mr. T. D. Harrison having applied to me for a license for the marriage of Mr. T. D. H...

Well, it is late and I am weary, but I felt the need to write a quick post before going to bed. The family and I just returned from Pass-A-Grille, Florida. It was absolutely beautiful there. Great weather and great people we met everyday that we were there. Feeling blessed that my husband and I were able to have the opportunity to go with our young children to such a beautiful place. I have to say going on vacation, definitely recharged my engines. I feel ready to write and ready to share new things that have come to light on my genealogy journey. So give me a good night's rest and a chance to get my kids off to school in the morning and maybe a grocery shop in too and then I will be ready to share some new info with everyone out there in the blogosphere. Here are a few pictures from our recent vacation. Yes, those are my feet, doing what they do best...relaxing. My sweet dear hubby. Me searching for the best pose and lighting possible.  My daughter and son...

I am going to be away from my blog for a few days to spend some time with my family in sunny Tampa. I am so enjoying the sunshine already. Hope everyone has a Happy Easter!

My Dad's sister, Janice, and my Dad. Picture is taken in front of their apartment building in the Bronx. They lived at 970 Tinton Ave.

This is one of those lucky gems that a fellow researcher brought to my attention almost a year ago. Anyway for those who may read this and may not be aware of what the Southern Claims Commission was, here is some background information provided by Wikipedia: The Southern Claims Commission was an organization of the executive branch of the United States government from 1871--1873 under President Ulysses S. Grant. It's purpose was to allow Union sympathizers who had lived in Southern states during the American Civil War 1861--1865, to apply for reimbursement for property losses due to U.S. Army confiscations during the war. My 3rd great grandfather Bristow Harris provided a deposition on the behalf of a William Merrick for whom he had worked for during the period prior to and during the Civil War. William Merrick was in the business of making tar, turpentine, and cutting lumber.  On September 30, 1872, William Merrick filed a claim to be reimbursed for property taken from him by ...