How Did I Get Here? My Amazing Genealogy Journey

If you are not familiar with this wonderful project that was created by Julie Goucher of the Angler's Rest blog, please refer to this link: http://www.anglers-rest.net/book-of-me-written-by-you.html . We all have them. Family that are like friends Family that are like acquaintances Friends that are like family Friends that are new, but seem old ones! Family members that are like strangers Emotional links to generations past? Does it matter how we feel about the friends and family we have? Is it a case of when the times comes family comes first? Define good friends How do you distinguish friends - real virtual  colleagues long term friends does it not matter Does it matter how we feel about the friends and family we have? I can only speak for myself. Other folks may feel the same or it may be different for them. I hold my family in my heart. Family when I was a child was a connected group linked by blood and proximity. I was lucky. I was able to see and g...

If you are not familiar with this wonderful project that was created by Julie Goucher of the Angler's Rest blog, please refer to this link: http://www.anglers-rest.net/book-of-me-written-by-you.html This week's prompt is - How do you measure success? Can success be measured? Medals or Trophies Money or reward Status Personal Knowledge Achievements How others view you? I think success can be measured but I think each person measures success differently. My concern in this life is how I define success.  If I set forth goals and am able to achieve them while maintaining my integrity, I consider that a success. Status is directly linked to the ego. I am now much less concerned with things that are considered status symbols. I am more concerned with how something makes me feel nowadays versus how something looks.  Well, that's not entirely true. I do like nice clothes but the reasons are not because how I think others will perceive me but rather how it...

If you are not familiar with this wonderful project that was created by Julie Goucher of the Angler's Rest blog, please refer to this link: http://www.anglers-rest.net/book-of-me-written-by-you.html This week's prompt is - Family Traits Do you exhibit any family traits? Do you even recognize them or simply accept them as face value? Do traits exist or are they simply a coincidence? The Bryant Siblings From left to right:  Rosa Bryant Sanders, Ray Bryant, Loris Bryant Gwyn Helton, Linwood Bryant, Mary Bryant Harrison Horton, Frank Bryant and Eloise Bryant Grigsby. I think I exhibit a few family traits. My Bryant family line is known for their no holds bar sense of humor. I think I carry a bit of that. Bryants don't mess around when it comes with discipline either. My grandmother's generation were not "time out" people. If you did wrong be prepared to face the wrath.  I think mine is toned down a bit and I do use time outs but my kids know fo...

My mom's awesome! Well she's awesome for so many reasons, one of which is that she has documented the life and times of our family very well with pictures. Back on November 7, 2014, I wrote a post called,  The Book Of Me: Prompt 51 --Your First Home   in which I described the first apartment I had rented all by myself. Well, guess what? Yesterday, while visiting mom I happened to be poking around a couple of old photo albums and I found pictures of that apartment. Seeing them really took me back to another time and place. A time of when I was young and the world was full of possibilities. It's just a couple of pictures but to me it means much more. Thank you Mom for taking these :) Picture of the living room at my apartment at 20 College St. Binghamton. I lived there from August 1996--July of 1997. It's a bit blurry but here's the kitchen. Another view from the living room.

If you are not familiar with this wonderful project that was created by Julie Goucher of the Angler's Rest blog, please refer to this link: http://www.anglers-rest.net/book-of-me-written-by-you.html This week's prompt is - Task Reflections Write a list of each task you undertake for any given day.  Include the fine details of the tasks taking milk out of the fridge to add to a drink - what was the milk in? a jug, quart container? Compare those tasks to an ancestor - someone born in the late 19th Century or early 20th Century and preferably someone that you knew or remember.  Record and discuss the differences What of those discoveries has impacted on you? I am going to compare my mother's list of  daytime "To Dos" to mine. I'll be looking at daybreak through dinnertime.  Once I'm done writing for this prompt, I am going to share this information with my kids. I can't wait to see their reaction to some of these things. Mom (timeframe la...

To all my readers, have a safe and beautiful holiday  with your loved ones!

It's that time of year again for Blog Caroling. What a wonderful tradition created by  Footnote Maven.   If you are not aware of her tradition please feel free and click on the link to her blog to learn all about it. I've chosen Silent Night this year sung here by Nat King Cole. It's a classic.  So sit back and curl up by the fire and listen.  Feel free to join in if you wish. Happy Caroling!  Silent Night lyrics written by Joseph Mohr music composed by Franz Xaver Gruber Silent night, holy night All is calm, all is bright Round yon Virgin Mother and Child Holy Infant so tender and mild Sleep in heavenly peace Sleep in heavenly peace Silent night, holy night Son of God, love's pure light Radiant beams from Thy holy face With the dawn of redeeming grace Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth 

My heart is with loved ones who will be celebrating the life of my uncle Napoleon Sanders of Morehead City, NC today. Merry Christmas in heaven Uncle Nat. I know you are celebrating being reunited with your dear Rosa in heaven. Love you and miss you both.

If you can at some point during this crazy busy holiday season, just take a moment and enjoy something whimsical. When things get entirely too serious, if you just look at something silly and laugh for a minute it will take the stress level down just a bit. I have to thank my best friend for reminding me of this. She has some really cute decorations this year around her house that I can't help but smile when I look at them. That's when I said to myself, "You know what, I could use a bit of that here at my home." So I went out and found myself a bit of whimsy and you know, it helps. :)

A few weeks back I did a series of posts on my maternal 2nd great grand uncle Thomas Harris of Larchmont, NY. If you missed that series, here are the links to those posts: Thomas Harris's Ambition Takes Him To Larchmont, NY --Part one Thomas Harris's Ambition Takes Him To Larchmont, NY --Part two More Details About Thomas Harris's Election Loss Not So Wordless Wednesday: Some Of The Things Thomas Harris Probably Saw When I left off with my 2nd great grand uncle, Thomas Harris of Larchmont, NY, the year was 1908. He had just finished holding a $10 a plate dinner at the Plymouth Inn in celebration of his 45th birthday. He was often described in newspapers as the "millionaire negro" of Larchmont. You can read an example of this here . Specifically, take a look at the last newspaper article featured in that post. Anyway, Thomas seemed to have done quite well for himself. He had been successful at running a livery business for quite a few years. In 1...

If you are not familiar with this wonderful project that was created by Julie Goucher of the Angler's Rest blog, please refer to this link: http://www.anglers-rest.net/book-of-me-written-by-you.html . This week's prompt is - What do you See? Having seen the image what is the thing you thought? Write that down. Does what you have written have any resemblance to how you view life?  Half full or half empty Describe how you feel after you have reflected. Does that differ from your immediate thoughts? That glass is for sure half full! I have always answered as such when asked this question. I guess you could say I am an optimist. I think of myself as an optimist with a realist tip. I look to the positive but let's just say I know when to call a game. Having seen the image, the first thing that came to my mind was how incredibly fortunate my family and I are. We have each other. What a gift it is to have a family. There's not a day that goes by when one or both ...

If you are not familiar with this wonderful project that was created by Julie Goucher of the Angler's Rest blog, please refer to this link:  http://www.anglers-rest.net/book-of-me-written-by-you.html This week's prompt is - Life Chapters Is your life divided into chapters? How has that happened? Has it naturally evolved? Can you easily reflect where one chapter ends and another begins? Are there any surprises? Are those Chapters determined by people and / or places / or significant events? I would say that I could divide my life in four chapters. They've evolved naturally enough to coincide with geographic moves or phases of personal growth.  Chapter one :  This would cover when I was born to the point my family moved to Long Island just before my tenth birthday. That time period in my life I had the most contact with my extended family. My grandparents were alive and well and my aunts and uncles lived within driving distance of my family's house in Cambri...

Happy Birthday to the loveliest lady I know! I appreciate you and your wisdom so much. Loved spending time with you today. © 2014, copyright Andrea Kelleher. All rights reserved.

My daughter --Probably 2010 Me  --November 2014 © 2014, copyright Andrea Kelleher. All rights reserved.

If you are not familiar with this wonderful project that was created by Julie Goucher of the Angler's Rest blog, please refer to this link:  http://www.anglers-rest.net/book-of-me-written-by-you.html This week's prompt is - Clubs and Societies Do you belong to any? Do you have to belong to any? Are there any you belonged to and now don't? What made you join them (and perhaps leave)? What were they about? Do you have membership details of organisations that family members belonged to? What does it mean to belong to group / society / organisation? Well this post is going to be brief. (Smile) When I attended college, I was a member of Binghamton University's Fencing Club. That was a little more than 20 years ago. Since that time I haven't really been a member of any clubs or societies. Well, wait that's not right. I do have a membership to the Carteret County Historical Society. Actually, I was late sending in my membership dues for this year so this...

Me and my son January 25, 2005 The moment I began to realize how much  my parents  truly loved me. © 2014, copyright Andrea Kelleher. All rights reserved.

Frank Linwood Bryant My maternal great grandfather Who was your daddy?!! That's what I find myself yelling at my great grandfather's picture sometimes. For this is the brick wall that seems to be most resistant in my family tree to coming down.  I know who his mother was and have been able to trace back to her parents. There's always that question though. Frank, who was your daddy?! Here's a little summary on Frank L. Bryant" He was born October 6, 1890 in Morehead City, NC to a Jonas Bryant . He was a lifelong resident of the city and from the records I've found appears to have been raised by his mother and grandmother, Caroline Ellison Bryant .  Frank married his childhood sweetheart, Ophelia Jones on November 4, 1911 and subsequently seven children were born from this union.  My great grandfather, Frank Bryant, worked for Charles Slover Wallace, a prominent Morehead City businessman and who also was at one point the mayor of the city...