How Did I Get Here? My Amazing Genealogy Journey

Amy Johnson Crow, the author of the blog No Story Too Small, is the host of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Blog Prompt series. If you are not familiar with the project please click on the following link:   Announcing 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2015 Edition. Week 17 (April 23-29) – Prosper. Which ancestor has a rags-to-riches story? Which ancestor prospered despite the odds? Still working on my Sampson County, NC kin here. Gabriel Kerr's story I've begun to uncover. It's not the perfect rags to riches story but Gabe definitely came a long way in his lifetime. Gabriel Kerr was my 2nd great grandfather Henry Kerr's brother and another child of Jacob and Clara Kerr , my 3rd great grandparents. Based on his age shown on the 1870 Federal Census, he was born around 1847 in Franklin township, Sampson County. Back in 1870, Franklin was part of New Hanover County, NC. Source Citation  Year: 1870; Census Place: Franklin, New Hanover, North Carolina; Roll: ...

I took this picture at a friend's birthday party.  Can you spot the superhero?

Amy Johnson Crow, the author of the blog No Story Too Small, is the host of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Blog Prompt series. If you are not familiar with the project please click on the following link:   Announcing 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2015 Edition. Week 16 (April 16-22) – Live Long. Time to feature a long-lived ancestor. Any centenarians in the family? Okay, I've fallen a little behind on my 52 Ancestors posts so this one is going to be a quick one so I can move on the to the next prompt. At a glance, I haven't come across any centenarians in the family tree yet but there are some who lived on into there 90's.  I've chosen my maternal 2nd great grandmother's sister, Sidney Bryant Hester, to highlight in this post. Sidney Bryant Hester was born according to her death certificate on December 12, 1877 in North Carolina.  Source Information  Ancestry.com. North Carolina, Death Certificates, 1909-1975 [database on-line].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancest...

Okay, well he's not exactly back from the dead. He's still dead. He just died later than I initially thought. I had an "oops my bad moment" and now I would like to set the record straight. I am still digging into my Kerr family line from Sampson County, NC. I am telling you this branch of the family tree is turning out to be quite interesting. One thing I have learned from all of this is that when you can't find your ancestor in the census or city directories, don't forget to check land records. This can be especially helpful for finding people born between 1880 and 1900. (Darn that 1890 census fire! Argghhh!) Murchison Kerr was my great grand uncle. He was born most likely some time in January 1880 to my 2nd great grandparents, Henry  and Tina Murphy Kerr   and was a brother to my great grandmother Ella Kerr Smith Dixon , all of whom I have written about before on this blog.  Now up until the other day the only record I was able to find on Murchis...

Amy Johnson Crow, the author of the blog No Story Too Small, is the host of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Blog Prompt series. If you are not familiar with the project please click on the following link:   Announcing 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2015 Edition. Week 15 (April 9-16) – How Do You Spell That? What ancestor do you imagine was frequently asked that? Which ancestor did you have a hard time finding because of an unusual name? Lately, I've been absolutely obsessed with researching my Kerr ancestors of Sampson County, NC. I didn't want to change direction in my research so luckily, I was able to come across an ancestor from this line that was suitable for this week's theme. Caledonia Kerr Barnhill was my paternal 2nd great grand aunt. She was born around 1858 in Franklin Township, Sampson County, NC. Her parents were Jacob Kerr and Clara Kerr , my 3rd great grandparents. I am a descendant of her brother Henry Kerr  who was my 2nd great grandfather.  ...

Here's some pictures from our family outing to Arnold Park in Vestal, NY this past Sunday. We finally have started to have some weather that resembles Spring in my area. Here's hoping it lasts. Time to go home.

I had to share this "I'm a dummy moment" with you. If you have been following my blog as of late, you know I have been working on my Kerr line from Sampson County, NC. I have been doing all sorts of reading on Sampson County history, reviewing land maps, and figuring out how all these Kerrs from Franklin Township in Sampson County were connected. I kept going back to the Sampson County Register of Deeds Online portal and staring at the index page I pulled up for surname Kerr and knew that there was something I wasn't seeing. I know my Kerr ancestors must have been shouting at me as I stared at the computer screen. They were probably saying, "It's right there...just click that dang button already." I just wasn't seeing it, that is until the other night.  Let me explain. First, if you happen to have any ancestors of your own who came from Sampson County, NC you should take yourself over to the following link:   Sampson County Register Of Deeds Re...