How Did I Get Here? My Amazing Genealogy Journey

Caroline Ellison Bryant (August 4, 1844--August 1, 1920) My 3rd Great Grandmother Bayview Cemetery, Morehead City, NC I love the inscription, "Mother We Honor Thy Memory" *This post was originally published here on this blog on February 21, 2012.

If you missed my last post, you may want to read that one first before preceding further. Here's the link: My MtDNA Results Are Back! Just so you know, I want to say that I am extremely happy now to have an identification that ties me directly to Africa. Never in my wildest dreams during my childhood would I have thought I would have the opportunity to find out how and where specifically to what people I am connected to back in Africa. With that said, my identity regarding my West African roots is L3e3b. So now what? Don't get me wrong, I am definitely appreciative of my results.  Every DNA test helps to tell a piece of my story. Right now, my impatient side is looking for the DNA Cliffs Notes that will allow me to cut to the chase and find out who my people are! This when I smack my impatient side and say...okay slow down. You are so much closer it is ridiculous! Do you know why I say that? The reason is just simply look at the changes that have occurred in my lifetime i...

I was very excited to see in my email inbox the other morning, the results to my MtDNA Full Sequence test from FamilytreeDNA. For those of you who are unfamiliar with DNA testing, the MtDNA Full Sequence test will provide you with genetic information about your earliest maternal ancestor. Normally I would probably try to turn this into a cliffhanger event but then I thought...Naahh! Not this time. I got to change things up every so often. :) So without further ado, here are my results: Here's what Wikipedia says about the L3 Haplogroup:  It is most common in East Africa, in contrast to others parts of Africa where the haplogroups L1 and L2 represent two thirds of mtDNAs.[8] L3 is sub-divided into several clades, two of which spawned the macro-haplogroups M and N from which the vast majority of non-Africans are descended. One of these lineages, defined by loss of the DdeI site at np 10394, represents only a few percent of the African mtDNAs but appears to be the ...

Harkless Wooten  My 1st cousin 2x removed. (January 5, 1915--September 9, 1979) Obituary from the Carteret County News Times  Sept 13, 1979 The funeral for Morehead City caterer, Harkless Wooten, 64, is planned for Saturday at 1 p.m.in the St. Egbert's Catholic Church, Morehead City. Monsignor Louis Morton, pastor, will officiate. Burial will be conducted in Bayview Cemetery with Elk rites. A rosary will be conducted Friday at 8 p.m. in Barrow's Funeral  Home, Morehead City, with Monsignor Morton officiating. Mr Wooten died Sunday in Providence Hospital, Washington, D.C. He was a master chef at the Dunes Club, the Coral Bay Club, the John Yancey Restarurant all on Bogue Banks, and the Atlantic Hotel, which once stood in Morehead City. Mr Wooten owned Wooten's Fine Foods, a catering service, and operated out of the Edgewater Motel and the Edgewater Hotel, which he owned and operated, in Morehead City. He earned three degrees in the culinary arts...

Microsoft Office Downloaded Image So folks,  I have had a beautiful birthday today. I had lunch with my best friend at a restaurant called Burger Mondays in my hometown. Oh my goodness...Happy Birthday to me! This joint has the tastiest burger with homemade fries. Oh I am having heart palpitations right now reminiscing about it. Whoo! Okay...composure please return. Alright I am okay now. We laughed and laughed and it was really a beautiful moment because I looked at her and looked at myself and knew how far we had come. I have known her for over 20 years. We met in college in our freshman year and that was it. We speak the same language. No big party today. That's okay, I am certainly not into all that and besides, there are really more important things. For example, my children's Open House at their school was tonight. I am already well acquainted with my daughter's teacher because she had my son in her class two years ago. My concern was with meeting my son...

One of my favorite pictures of my son. I think he was almost 3 years old when this picture was taken.

Clifford McGhee Wooten and Harkless A. Wooten Greenwood Cemetery, Morehead City, NC Image courtesy of Find A Grave Harkless Wooten was my 1st cousin 2x removed. He was the son of Mary E. Jones Price. For more on Mary E. Jones Price, click on this link:  Not So Wordless Wednesday: What I Know About My Great Grand Aunt --Mary E. Price

Okay, so I finally put my pennies together and purchased the mtFullSequence test from FamilytreeDNA last month. Time to find out about my earliest roots. I can't wait to get my results. Let's see when they say the test will come back.  UGGGHHH! November 7th!!! Okay I must have patience. (*sigh*) 

Mary E. Jones Price My great grand aunt I have to start this post off by thanking another cousin of mine who had a copy of this image and shared it with me earlier in the week. Prior to this, I had never seen an image of my great grandmother's sister. Seeing it has brought me an amazing amount of joy. I just love seeing the similarities in facial features. Here's a picture of my great grandmother: Ophelia Jones Bryant And now a picture of their mother: Rosa M. Jones According to the 1900 Census, Mary Jones was born in January 1888. She resided with her two sisters and parents in Morehead Township. Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: Morehead, Carteret, North Carolina; Roll: 1186; Page: 14A; Enumeration District: 22; FHL microfilm: 1241186.Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. She was still living at home in 1910. Source Citatio...

Where my ancestors are buried at Riverdale Community Cemetery. Riverdale, NC I keep going back to it. Over the last couple of days, I have found myself reviewing a survey of the individuals buried at Mt Olive Methodist Cemetery or as it is referred to now as Riverdale Community Cemetery. This isn't the first time I've reviewed these pages but I just get a feeling right now there is something I am supposed to figure out. Perhaps someone's story is about to be revealed. Anyway, I decided that it would probably be a good idea to share this information because it is an older rural cemetery. There are many unmarked and/or sunken graves there. Due to the elements and time, more markers will be lost. So before their names are forgotten, here is the survey information.  This information was compiled by The Eastern North Carolina Genealogical Society and is from a book called "Craven County, North Carolina Cemeteries Vol. 2" (Please note, the handwritten notatio...

"Okay, You caught me" "Want some?" The Cheerios Thief will be five this month. Guess what she had for breakfast this morning? :)

William Bryant's WW I Draft Registration Card Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. William Bryant's was my 1st cousin 3x removed. Specifically he was the son of Rose Bryant, my 2nd great grandmother's sister. Rose Bryant I have found on only one census record and that is for the year 1880. I believe she may have passed away sometime before 1900 because I have only found her name listed only on one other document and that was on her son's death certificate.  Here's the 1900 census for Morehead City featuring the Bryant household: Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. The household consisted of Caroline, Jonas (referred to as Jane here),John, William and Frank. Jonas and John were Caroline's children, Frank was Jonas's son which leaves William but again ...