How Did I Get Here? My Amazing Genealogy Journey

My wish for everyone for the new year would be to spread love, peace and kindness to those around you. For me personally, I'm going to make it a point to get back to blogging more consistently. I'm looking forward to participating in The Book of Me, Written By You project hosted by Julie Goucher of the Angler's Rest blog as well 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge hosted by Amy Johnson Crow over at www.amyjohnsoncrow.com See you in the New Year :)

This post is part of the Genealogy Blog Party hosted by Elizabeth O'Neal of the My Ancestors Descendants Blog . If you aren't familiar with the Genealogy Blog Party, be sure to visit her blog so you can learn more about it.  This month Elizabeth O'Neal has two theme ideas for posting. The second is a Cookie Exchange where you can share your favorite holiday cookie recipes.I have to admit my family wasn't much into baking cookies during the holidays when I was kid. My family made pies. Perhaps, it's time to start a new tradition though. I am eager to see what recipes bloggers share as part of the blog party.  Theme idea number one is to share what I consider to be my best genealogy find of the year. I would have to say my best genealogy find of the year has been connecting with DNA cousins. DNA testing made it possible for me to confirm my Sampson County, NC roots through my great grandmother Ella Kerr Smith Dixon. You can learn more about my great grandmother ...

Wishing all my readers a beautiful holiday  filled with love, light, and happiness!

You have to love those light bulb moments that happen while your researching. You'll come across something that seems familiar. At first, you can't place where you've seen something before. Then...Bing! A bulb goes off in your head and you say to yourself, "I got it!" Well, that's what happened recently when I was reviewing through the deeds of some of my 3rd great grandfather's neighbors. I wrote about one of these neighbors in particular, Vine Allen Tolson, in a few different posts. Here are the links if you missed those posts: Mortimer Mitchell's Neighbor Vine Allen Tolson --Part One Mortimer Mitchell's Neighbor Vine Allen Tolson --Part Two  Mortimer Mitchell's Neighbor Vine Allen Tolson --Part Three  My 3rd great grandfather Mortimer Mitchell purchased land from the Vine Allen Tolson's half sister, Elizabeth Hardison Williams, in 1878. In that deed, a description of the land was provided. Deed information courtesy...

I know there's one. I just know it. Somewhere among my ancestors and stories there is a sword fighter. Well..one besides mother and myself. There's one who originated this call to arms. I have yet to find him or dare shall I say her? One day I would like to have a name, a story, or a hint of just who this person was. I don't know if I will ever be so lucky to learn their identity. That sword fighter passed down their gene to me and I have to thank them. Sword fighting is great way to stay in shape. Plus swords are cool! If you are new to my blog, you may not be aware that I fence. Summer of 2015, I returned to the sport after a 20 year hiatus. You can read about my fencing pastime in these posts: Something About Me Saturday: I Went To A Fencing Class This Week Yes, That's Me Fencing!  A Great Life Lesson October 21, 2017 was real good day for me in regards to fencing. I came in third place in Open Foil in a tournament at Binghamton University. Me and my 45...

Yup, this sassy lady turned 10. And yes, she dressed up as a Narwhal A very cool Narwhal. Happy Birthday, Ladybug!

Yup, that's me fencing foil this past Saturday at Binghamton University. This was my first competition since my knee surgery back in June. Good news...the knee is still attached. Even better news... I placed 5th out of 14 in mixed foil. For me at my age, that's not too shabby :) 

It's been a while...blah blah blah. Life has been busy, blah blah blah. Sorry I've been away blah blah blah. I'm a taxi mom blah blah blah. Okay good. So we've got that all out the way now so I can get down to what's on my mind. Last night, I had time to think. Who knew that would be a luxury item. Time to think. Well these days it is. So back to it. I had time to think and I had a potential Aha moment. Of course we'll have to see if this does eventually pan out but I am happy to say that there are still brain cells in my head that are functioning and that are excited to be doing just that. This is what I was thinking about.  Yes that darn nemesis of mine. Ella!!! (Said like Stella a la Streetcar Named Desire.) If you are new to my blog then I will mention that Ella Kerr Smith Dixon, my paternal great grandmother has a tendency to keep me up late at night. What if Ella's mom was a Henry and not a Murphy? Or what if she was both? Right n...

If you missed Part One, here's the link:   Last Trip of The Summer: Robert H Treman State Park --Part One 

These pictures are from almost two weeks ago. It's funny how fast a summer goes by. I just finished packing my kids back packs for tomorrow. First day of school is almost upon them. 7th grade for one and 5th for the other. No more little ones in this house. Well before school begins, here's a look back at a wonderful day in the sun.