My bad! I almost completely forgot about the Genealogy Blog Party going on over at Elizabeth O'Neal's blog Little Bytes of Life . Elizabeth put forth the theme of sharing the strangest thing you've come across while doing genealogy research. Well, this was mine. A cousin of mine was kind enough a few years back to share several pictures of folks from my Jones family line, including this one. This picture isn't in the best condition but you can still make out that it is a medical student performing an autopsy of some sort. It is a picture of my 1st cousin 3x removed William Thomas Jones.  He was born in 1886 in Morehead City, NC to William Henry Jones and Emma Shepard Jones. He was a promising young medical student in this photo. His life was tragically cut short by influenza in 1918.   Even though the subject matter is a bit strange, I am still glad that I have this picture. Pictures help to strengthen our connection to those who lived before us. 

So I finally, had a pinch of spare time to do something genealogy related today and I mean a pinch. That's okay. For the forseeable future that's what it's going to have be like here on my blog. My kids and I have activities that take us out of the house most evenings and free time literally has to get carved out from another activity's designated time. Right now I'm supposed to be doing housework. Oh well, vacuuming is going to have to wait. Back in January of this year, I shared an entry I found in the North Carolina, Freedmen's Bureau Assistant Commissioner Records, 1862-1870 record group on FamilySearch.org that mentioned my 3rd great grandfather Bristow/Brister Harris. You can read that post here . The entry I featured before gave a brief description of a lease agreement that my 3rd great grandfather made in 1865 to work the lands of a man named Stephen Barrington who supported the confederacy.  Stephen Barrington had abandoned his property once New Be

I am in tears. Not sad tears, happy tears. The universe sent me a golden nugget. One of those things that appears in the guise of being merely accidental. There are no accidents. I love everything about this piece that I caught while getting my son ready for school this morning.  Thank you, universe. I am listening.

Here's my favorite photo from yesterday at Skate Estate. You can just tell from her face how much fun she had. My lady bug had a blast hanging out with her friends and celebrating turning 9 years old.  Here's a little movie I put together using pictures from her party.

What can I tell you. I gave birth to a real character 9 years ago. Who is this crazy lady?! Oh now I recognize her. There's my big girl. And yes that's her dressed in a panda jumpsuit,  gold necklaces and shades. I can't wait to see what she wears next year :)

Now who the heck is Riley Merrick, you're probably asking. Well, Riley Merrick is someone who can be found on the same page of the 1880 Federal Census as my maternal 3rd great grandparents Thomas Whitney and Margaret Merritt Whitney. Riley and my ancestors resided in Swan Quarter, NC that year. When researching Hyde County records in the past I noticed that sometimes individuals with the surname of Merritt, sometimes were recorded as Merrick and vice versa.  I have always had a hunch that there was some sort of connection between my 3rd great grandmother Margaret and him but was unable to prove it. That is, until now. First, here's a visual of my connection to Margaret Merritt Whitney. Image courtesy of Ancestry.com . Source Citation:  Year: 1880; Census Place: Swan Quarter, Hyde, North Carolina; Roll: 968;  Family History Film: 1254968; Page: 534A; Enumeration District: 076; Image: 0297   1880 Federal Census showing the Margaret Merritt Whitney  noted