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 . This week's prompt is - Movies What is your feel good movie? Can you remember the first time you went to the cinema? What did you see? Can you remember the price? Who did you go with? Recall those magical movie moments? What is your favorite movie or favorite genre? What is your feel good movie? My feel good movie would be Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory . Now the movie came out in 1971, the year before I was born so I never saw it in a theater. As a child, I enjoyed watching it when it was rerun on TV. For a while, I had actually forgotton about how much I really enjoyed it until two summers ago. That's when I purchased a copy of it to watch with my kids.  Seeing the joy on their faces as they enjoyed it for the first time was truly something spe...

It started in the Spring when I received a message on Facebook delivering these two wonderful faces to me. Annie and Effie Sampson   My 1st cousins 3x removed Thank you again Michael Grushinski for sharing this picture and your memories of Annie and Effie Sampson with me. I remember when we spoke on the phone the description you provided of what the Sampson homeplace looked like. I created a picture of it in my head. I wondered was the likeness I had imagined close to the real thing? What a joy it was to find out a couple of days ago that the answer was yes! It just so happens that John Green III a contributor to The Kellenberger Room blog wrote a post about Annie and Effie's father, Dave Sampson. In his piece he provided pictures, courtesy of the New Bern-Craven Public Library, of Dave and a beautiful view of the Sampson family home c. 1930.   Here's the picture of the homeplace. Sampson home, photo c.1930. After I saw this picture of the house, ...

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 - School Trips Did you go on any school trips? Where did you go? Memories and trinkets of those special days? I went on a number of school trips back in the day. When I attended St Pascal's Baylon school in St. Albans, NY, the annual trip to the Bronx Zoo was one of my favorites. Shucks anytime I got on a bus and I was out of the school building for a day, I was pretty darn happy. School trips usually meant me having one of my favorite lunches, peanut butter and jelly with a grape soda. The grape soda made it special. It was something my mom would only do for field trips. Anyway, the Bronx Zoo was a lot of fun. I remember one year they had a white tiger on exhibit which was a big deal. I think that was the year I had money to purchase something ...

I'm making some changes around my house to get more organized. I admit I have spent most of my life being a bit of a clutter bug but that's being phased out around here. I have to thank my best friend for providing me with the inspiration for this. Seeing the wonderful changes she's done in her home has definitely gotten me thinking that there is a better way to do things. The end result is that by setting up organizational systems in my house, I ultimately will have more time to do the things that I love. One of those things being genealogy of course :) So far I've cleared out and organized the fridge and the cupboard. I used to go food shopping and then quickly come home and throw things in the fridge any which way and as a result I would lose track of what was in there. Stuff got buried or pushed further in the back that should have been rotated up front for use before spoiling. No more! Like is with like. Things that are used frequently are up front on top shel...

On my post  Sentimental Sunday: I Have Now Lived Longer Than My Great Grandmother Carrie , I mentioned how incredibly strong my great grandmother Carrie must have been during the tragedy of the "Great Fire of New Bern." She had just given birth to her son George Augustus Harrison on November 28, 1922. The fire took place on December 2, 1922. My great grandparents, their 5 young children, Carrie's brother Samuel David, and her mother Sarah Harris Whitney lost their home. My great grandparents John and Carrie Harrison  owned 10 Brown's Alley (now known as 709 Hatties Lane.)  Arrow notes approximate location of the property. Images are from   The New Bern Sun Journal , December 5, 1922, Tue, Page 3

Image courtesy of Find A Grave Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.  Original data: Find A Grave. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi. Memorial created by  Created by: Deborah Clark Record added: Jan 13, 2014  Find A Grave Memorial# 123367178 Stone reads as follows:   Suggs Mrs. Nell E. Apr. 1, 1907 Aug. 6, 1965 We Trust In God To Meet Again. (Her birth year was probably 1897 since she was listed on the 1900 Federal Census.  On the census her age was noted as 3 years old and her birth month was April just like it was listed on her headstone. Nellie Ellison Suggs was buried at Rest Haven Cemetery in Wilson County, NC) Don't you just love it when you haven't checked Find A Grave in a while and all of the sudden one of your ancestors pops up! That happened to me the other day. Nellie Ellison Su...

Sentimental Sunday is a GeneaBloggers blogging prompt used by many geneabloggers to help them post content on their sites. All one has to do is simply create a post in which you discuss a sentimental story or memory about an ancestor or maybe even a family tradition that touches you. I am feeling a bit sentimental as of late because I've realized that I have now lived longer than my maternal great grandmother Carrie Whitney Harrison. I've written about her before on this blog. Here are links to those posts.  My Great Grandmother--Carrie E. Whitney Harrison 52 Ancestors: #14 -- Carrie Ethel Whitney Harrison --She Was So Tired. Sunday's Obituary: My Great Grandmother --Carrie Ethel Whitney Harrison I turned 42 last month. My great grandmother Carrie Harrison passed away at the young age of 41, just two months shy of her next birthday. It's hard for me to fathom that at 41 she was the mother of 13 children. 13 children! Gosh, the workload of taking care of ...

I have to send out big thanks to Lynne Crowley of the Larchmont Historical Society for finding these additional articles and sending them to me regarding my 2nd great grand uncle, Thomas Harris. These articles provide even further detail into what happened on the night Thomas lost the Republican nomination to become Receiver of Taxes in Larchmont, NY in 1903. New York Herald , Saturday, February 28, 1903 The Sun , Saturday, February 28, 1903 Thomas Harris was born in Wilmington, NC but later moved and established himself in Larchmont, NY. You can read more about him in these posts: Thomas Harris's Ambition Takes Him To Larchmont, NY --Part one Thomas Harris's Ambition Takes Him To Larchmont, NY --Part two 52 Ancestors: More Mentions Of Thomas Harris In Newspapers. Not So Wordless Wednesday: Some Of The Things Thomas Harris Probably Saw

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 - Your Home Town We all have one, perhaps it is where we were born, perhaps it where we lived for that special time in our lives, or perhaps it is where we now live. Wherever it is, why not tell us about it. Explain where it is, don't forget we are across the world! What is it that makes your "place" special? Do you feel a nice comfy emotional connection? That which is unfamiliar becomes familiar or was it always there to begin with? That's what came out when I started to write this post. It's the underlying theme probably of why I love my hometown.  I have chosen to write about the area I currently live in instead of one of my childhood homes. This is the place I call home and have felt the most at home at. I f...

These three postcard views show places where my 2nd great grand uncle, Thomas Harris, probably visited during his lifetime. I like collecting postcards. It's a chance for me to see things through the eyes of my ancestors. If you missed my prior posts regarding Thomas Harris who was born in Wilmington, NC but settled in Larchmont, NY, please take a look at these links: Thomas Harris's Ambition Takes Him To Larchmont, NY --Part one Thomas Harris's Ambition Takes Him To Larchmont, NY --Part two 52 Ancestors: More Mentions Of Thomas Harris In Newspapers. Good news. A fellow researcher sent me more newspaper articles on Thomas Harris. :)  I'll be sharing more about that tomorrow.  All I can say is that this ancestor of mine certainly did his part in making sure his name would be found! LOL.

Sending out my deepest gratitude to all who have served! Thank you!

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 - Inherited Items There is something very special about inheriting an item from a family member. It doesn't have to be the riches, in terms of monetary value, or in the finest condition. Sometimes, just knowing that an item has stood the test of time in whatever shape it is now, is enough. That link between the past, present and future as you in turn pass it along. This week share those thoughts, memories and pictures. Lets having a trip down memory lane as with the passing along of each item there is always memories attached. I've shared this post before on this blog but it seems appropriate for this blog prompt so I'm going to share it again. These Artifacts Are My Time Machines When my grandmother, Mary Horton, passed away...

Image courtesy of Google Maps 20 College St, Binghamton, NY 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 - Your First Home This can be either or a combination of any of the following Your parent's home - the first home you can probably remember A home away from home - perhaps collage Your first big purchase The first home with the love of your life and perhaps your descendants Perhaps talk of the excitement, stress and emotional attachments to locations Was your home in your family for lots of years, was it an old house or a new build? Can you visualise the rooms, or have photos? I've decided for this prompt to write about my first home that I lived in on my own. No roommates just me. The place was special to me because it was the first time I could take charge and make all ...