Image courtesy of Microsoft Office Images This past week was truly special since it involved connecting with another cousin. This cousin is linked to my Jones family line. As I started to go over records for this branch of the family again, I became increasingly impressed with their connection with helping those in their community. Several of my Jones ancestors went into the medical field. My great grandmother's sister, Lovie Jones Watson, became a nurse who worked and resided in Morehead City, NC.  On my post Wordless Wednesday: Dr. Oscar Dunn Jones , I featured a picture of my 1st cousin 3x removed.  Oscar Dunn Jones Sr. was a well respected dentist who resided in Baltimore Maryland.  His brother Caeser N. Jones was a dentist as well.  Proof of this I found on his World War II Draft Registration Card. Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.  Source Citation:

Portrait of Dr. Oscar Dunn Jones Sr. My 1st cousin 3x removed. His father, William Henry Jones, and my 2nd great father, Alexander Hamilton Jones, were brothers.

Image courtesy of Microsoft Office Images I wrote this yesterday shortly after I spoke with a newly found cousin. I thought I should post it just to remember the moments of our conversation. I am sure many of you can relate to the sentiment. Yes! I made contact with another cousin. Hooray! This cousin was searching out information on her grandfather and came across my blog by means of a simple Google search. One of the reasons that the word “Amazing” is in my blog title is for when situations like this happen. How is it possible that we should connect?  No word seems to fit better than “Amazing.”  She was so appreciative because she knew only so much. I was so appreciative because I knew only so much.  We shared. We laughed. Her thanking me for the information almost brought me to tears. This information is not mine. This message is not mine, but I will gladly be the messenger. These are just some ramblings I had rolling around in my mind. Details to come. 

My grandfather Harold O. Murrell in his National Guard uniform. Looking sharp! My grandpa is standing in the back row, the second from the left. I came across my paternal grandfather's New York National Guard Enlistment Card recently on Ancestry.com. I knew he had served in the National Guard from what my father had told me. About a year ago he shared these pictures with me of his dad in uniform. Two of these photos were featured on this blog before in the posts, My Grandpa, Harold Murrell--Part three  and  Wordless Wednesday: Pictures of My Grandpa --Harold Murrell . The first picture above I had forgotten I had. I thought it would be good to feature them here together.  (front) (back) Source Information: Ancestry.com. New York, U.S. National Guard Enlistment Cards, 1923-1947 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: New York State National Guard. National Guard Enlistment Cards, 1923–1940. New

Image courtesy of Microsoft Office Images Living a good life is about maintaining balance, right? Well I forgot to prepare myself this year for when the kids got out of school. The volume level in the house has gone up 10,000 percent it seems. No more quiet mornings to sip on coffee while doing house work and perhaps cranking out a new blog post. Nope. That's not happening.  I have to be fully awake when I get up so I can be ready to answer questions like "Why do caterpillars have so many legs? Or where do lemurs live?" No really, my son asks questions like this, right out the gate when he wakes up. Meanwhile, all I can think of  is "Must...Find...Coffee." Anyway, it's been five days as of today and I'm slowly adjusting. What does this mean? Well, I may be posting here less often than during the school year. I say it may change because I am not sure how things will work out yet. I enjoy writing about my dead people but this is the time to spend wit

Last day of kindergarten.  Great job ladybug !

Fred Douglas Jones August 13, 1882--February 17, 1915 Bayview Cemetery, Morehead City, NC 1st cousin 3x removed Image courtesy of Find A Grave Fred Douglas Jones was the son of William Henry Jones and Emma Shepard and the nephew of my 2nd great grandfather Alexander Hamilton Jones. According to the 1910 census his occupation was a house painter. Source Citation: Year: 1910; Census Place: Morehead, Carteret, North Carolina; Roll: T624_1095; Page: 21B; Enumeration District: 0002; FHL microfilm: 1375108. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Fred Jones died at the young age of 32.  His life appears to have been cut short by a medical condition.  Source Information:  Ancestry.com. North Carolina, Death Certificates, 1909-1975 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.Original data: North Carolina State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital

My dad with his dad. Mom with her dad. My dad with his grandkids. My dear sweet husband and our kids. Happy Father's Day!

These are a couple of my daughter's most recent creations. She absolutely loves coloring and drawing these days. I think these are pretty good for a five year old. To cut down on the clutter around the house I am trying to make a point of taking pictures of her creations and then only keeping some of the really special ones.  The second one she made for her father. It's the two of them outside on a pretty day.

Image courtesy of Microsoft Office Images I have genealogy ADD. It's just hard sticking to one family line. There's just too much to search, too much to find, and too many leads to follow. So where do I wind up? Probably not as far along into my research as I would be if I had a gameplan but you know. For now, this is the way I roll. :) So something made me want to take a look at my paternal grandma's family again. Specifically, I felt like doing a search on Ancestry.com for new information on my grandmother Ethel Smith Murrell and her sisters Edna Smith Dix and Bernice "Hilda" Dixon. It was just a complete whim. And guess what? I found something. Before I go into what I found, let me give you a refresher on this side of the family. My grandmother Ethel Smith Murrell was born in Wilmington, NC on January 6, 1911. According to her birth certificate, her father was listed as John Edward Smith, a carpenter, and mother, Ella Carr. I don't know a lot abou

My dad with his grandkids Summer 2012

My aunt Janice Murrell and granddaddy Harold Murrell  sitting on the front steps. Charlie (my grandpa's dog), me and grandpa. Oh my goodness. When I started to do this post today, I closed my eyes first and pictured being inside my paternal grandparent's house. I bet that someone of you out there do that. You close your eyes and you're just there.  I usually start with the back of the house, because it was the heart of the home. Whenever my parents, brother, and I would come by and visit we would usually enter by the backdoor through the kitchen. The kitchen had that brown wood paneling that was very popular in the seventies. You know...this stuff. Yeah, this stuff. Good ole 60's and 70's wood paneling. Their paneling was actually a little bit darker. You can see it in the picture below. They also had dark wood cabinetry which seemed to make the space even smaller but I didn't mind because this was grandma's zone.  She loved to cook an