How Did I Get Here? My Amazing Genealogy Journey

Let me start this post by saying that it just took me twenty minutes to figure out how to download a picture on my Nook and then upload it up onto this blog post. LOL! Don't tell me I can't do something now. Well anyway. While I have been on vacation, I have had some time to think about my DNA results more and to look over some more articles and information regarding DNA testing. I think I have a better handle on what my results mean. Here's a recap on what my results were: 70% West African 11% Finnish-Volga-Ural 10% British Isles 7% Scandinavian 2% Uncertain. Now before taking the test I thought for sure the majority of my genetic ancestry would be West African and the remainder probably from the British Isles, and perhaps a smidgen of Portuguese if in fact the oral history passed down on my mother's side of the family was correct. My mother's ancestors from what I researched were predominately owned by people of Irish descent. My paternal grandfather was fro...

Love this boy so much! A beautiful start to our vacation on Cape Cod.

Microsoft Office Downloaded Image So there's a lot going on over here today. First of all, kids are home with me now since school is out for the summer. That nice bit of quiet time I had in the mornings to write is on hiatus until then, so I have to squeeze blogging in around breaking up squabbles over who had what toy first. Housework is calling, but I told him to call back later. Oh yeah there is that little thing called packing to go away on vacation that I kind of put off to the last minute again. Sigh. Anyway, I wanted to take a moment and thank Bernice Bennett for having me on as a guest for her show Research at the National Archives & Beyond.   The title of the show was "Sharing Your Genealogy Research Through Blogging!" and I have included the link here for anyone who missed it.  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bernicebennett/2012/06/22/learn-about-the-why-and-high-of-blogging It was a great show. For anyone who has been on the fence regarding whether ...

Isn't it always the case in genealogy that once something is revealed there's more questions that need to be answered. Well without further ado, here's a screen shot of my AncestryDNA results. Screenshot of my DNA results page on Ancestry.com Hmmm. Now the 70% West African matches up perfectly with the result from my first admixture test through AfricanAncestry. If you missed the results from that test from earlier in the year, here's the link to that post  My DNA Admixture Results Are In!   In my head I already had it figured that most of my European ancestry if not all was going to be from England and Ireland. My paternal grandfather was from Barbados so I thought immediately, west African and English. My mother's people I thought had possible Irish ancestry due to the white families that they were associated with during slavery. My DNA from the British Isles came out to be 10%. Okay, I thought that would be higher...moving on. According to the oral...

Microsoft Office Downloaded Image The results are in! I have to say I was surprised at how quickly they came back. I received an email notification on May 21, 2012 that the company had received my DNA sample and on June 13, 2012, I had my results. So I have had a couple of days to ponder over things. Were there any surprises? Hmmm. Let's just say yes. To be continued..........

The night of my daughter's graduation from Preschool. Thank you dear honey for being my partner in this journey!

Mary Horton, my grandmother and her sister, Eloise Grigsby.

Ethel Murrell (paternal grandmother), Mary Horton (maternal grandmother), Janice Murrell  (my father's sister) in the foreground, and two other family friends on the back right. This was some sort of family gathering that from appearances looks like it took place at my maternal grandmother's house in her basement. I don't know what the occasion was. The thing that stood out for me here was that my Aunt Janice is holding a cigarette. I never knew she ever smoked. I don't recall her smoking when I was a child, so perhaps it was a short-lived habit. I like her smile in this picture.

If you missed my post from yesterday, you may want to check it out first before reading this one. Here's the link  Amanuensis Monday: More From Samuel Whitney's Estate Record So we have just discovered that Samuel Whitney, my probable 4th great grandfather, had an illegitimate daughter named Mary Smith that he recognized as his heir. When I saw her name was Mary Smith, I said to myself, "Mary Smith.  Why did her name have to be  Mary Smith?" I said it and felt it in the same way that Harrison Ford describes how he doesn't like snakes in the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark." I have nothing against Mary personally. Shucks I don't really know her. It's just that Mary Smith has to be one of the most common names of all time! LOL. Oh well. Something happened yesterday though that makes me think that Mary herself may have given me a little nudge to figure things out.  While I was writing, I had a few different tabs open on the computer so I coul...

Microsoft Office Downloaded Image Okay folks, this estate record for the man I suspect is my 4th great grandfather has been driving me crazy. I have been staring at it and staring at it and have had a difficult time making out a good portion of it. Just look at it. LOL!  Somehow on Sunday, my eyes were able to start to see the words  a little bit clearer and so I started transcribing. This is from page 31 of the file. Image courtesy of Familysearch.org "North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1968" index and images" Samuel Whitney Estate Record State of North Carolina Court of Pleas for Craven County (word?) March 1848 (the worshipped?) the justices of the Court of New Bern & Quarter (Opinions?) for the County of Craven. The Petition of Calvin B. Dibble (Admin?) of Sam Whitney respectfully observath on to your worships that Sam Whitney (a free man of colour) late of said County died intestate on the (space)  day of (space)  1847 and that the pe...

My grandmother Ethel Murrell and my brother. Grandma and me.

Image courtesy of Find A Grave.  Picture taken by Mojo Warren Rosa Lee Hester August 5, 1898--January 14, 1967 "Gone But Not Forgotten" Bayview Cemetery in  Morehead City, NC. My 1st cousin 3x removed. Her parents were Mott Hester and Sidney Bryant Hester. Sidney's sister Jonas Bryant was my 2nd great grandmother. All of them resided in Morehead City, NC. Her parent's grave is just to the right of hers. Picture I took on my January visit to Morehead City.

When my grandmother, Mary Horton, passed away my mother  asked me, "What would you like from her house?" I told her, "The Hands." I am sure that some of you out there who read my blog probably can relate to this. I have items around my house that I have inherited from family members who have passed away. They are my little time machines. When I look at them, in my mind I can travel back to a specific place. I can see the layout of a room come back as clear as day. These hands were always part of my childhood memories of visits to my maternal grandmother's house. They sat on the ledge of the upright piano that stood in her living room. They were placed toward the right side of the ledge and just to the right of that was the thermostat dial on the wall. This is my  reference point for rebuilding in my head the rest of the room. Suddenly, it is all there. There's the sound of the parkway outside (My grandmother's house was on a service road.) H...