If you are not familiar with the Genealogy Blog Party, be sure to stop over to host Elizabeth O'Neal's blog   Little Bytes of Life for more information.  August theme: Elizabeth O'Neal is hosting a Genealogy Blog Potluck Picnic!  All are invited to bring a dish, and by dish she means a favorite genealogy resource. One of my favorite things to do is to check the register of deeds for whatever county I am currently researching. Many have online portals where you can look up deeds and sometimes vital records of your ancestors. I have to give a special shout out of appreciation to two offices in particular both of which are located in North Carolina. The Sampson County Register Deeds and New Hanover County Register of Deeds online portals each provided with me with the means to make some amazing discoveries about my ancestors.  In my post  52 Ancestors 2015 Edition: #17 Gabriel Kerr --Putting Together The Pieces Of His Story , I was able to extend out a timelin

I am a bit behind posting pictures from this Summer. These are some pictures from a trip we took in late July to Connecticut and Rhode Island. We stayed at Foxwoods Casino by night and had fun in the sun at Misquamicut State Beach during the day. I can't believe Summer is almost over. I hope everyone out there has had time to make a few memories with their families.

The folks in the genealogy community are some of the kindest most curious people you'll ever meet. They are problem solvers. They think outside of the box and they like to share what they know. People who carry these traits want you to be able to find your people. They find joy in it.  I would like to thank two members of genealogy community who helped me recently. As a result, I think I found my 3rd great grandfather Cesar Jones listed in a probate record for a William Jones (born about 1764 -- died July 9, 1838) of Onslow County NC. This William Jones just so happened to be the father of Allen B Jones who I wrote about in my post,  Digging in The Dirt --Part Three: Did Allen B. Jones Own My 3rd Great Grandfather, Cesar Jones? My first thank you goes out to David French of the Family History Society of Eastern North Carolina . Part Three of this series I published on August 2nd and David read my post on August 4th. He sent me an email that night, mentioning he had just had

Can I tell you I was so relieved to learn that Elizabeth O'Neal of the blog Little Bytes of Life had extended the deadline on the July 2016 Genealogy Blog Pool Party! I thought I had missed out on all the fun. If you aren't familiar with the Genealogy Blog Pool  Party and this month's theme, please click here . This month's theme:  Do you have an ancestor who makes your research absolutely miserable? Ah yes, yes I do. His name is John Edward Smith or as I like to refer to him, Mr. Smith.  Mr Smith, why oh why did my paternal great grandfather have to be named of all things --John Smith? Really, I mean REALLY :( Yes. Really. (sigh) Oh well. What'cha going do? Here's how Mr. Smith is connected to me. What do I know of his life? Not much. According to the information that was listed on my grandmother Ethel Smith Murrell's birth certificate, his occupation was a carpenter and he was 35 years old when his daughter was born. My grandmother Ethel

Me and Mr. Allen B. Jones might have a thing going on. Well at least that's what I'm speculating here. Sorry it's been a while folks. I hated leaving off in the middle of a series but I was in need of a break. I'm feeling refreshed now so it's time to dive back into things.  If you missed the first two parts of this series here are the links:; Digging in the Dirt -- Part One: Names And A Place Digging In the Dirt -- Part Two: Who Was Jonathan Hawkins? For those of you who are new to my blog, here's a quick summary of my Jones family line. My Joneses were originally from Swansboro, Onslow County, NC and then later settled in Morehead City, NC sometime around the Civil War. My 3rd great grandparents Cesar Jones and Mary Hawkins Mitchel Jones and their children were slaves prior to the start of the war. Based on information found in their son Carolina Hawkins's Civil Pension file , it appears that Carolina was owned by someone with the surnam