52 Ancestors In 52 Weeks 2019 Edition --Week 1 Prompt: First

52 Ancestors In 52 Weeks 2019 Edition --Week 1 Prompt:  First --How Did I Get Here?  My Amazing Genealogy Journey

Okay, this year I'm going to do my darnedest to keep up with this challenge. First, if you are new to the 52 Ancestors In 52 Weeks Challenge, be sure to check out Amy Johnson Crow's website for more information. Here's the link:  https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

Week 1: First
Who was the first ancestor you found who you didn't personally know? Who was the first ancestor to arrive in the country? Who was the first child in one of your ancestral families? First to go to college? First husband out of a string of many?

Topics are vague for 52 Ancestors Challenge to allow for creativity and individual interpretation. I decided to write about the first ancestor that popped up in my mind for 2019. He's my maternal 3rd great grandfather Mortimer Mitchell. 

If you've been a reader of my blog, then you have probably read some of the posts that I've written about him. If you are new here then you can get acquainted with him by reading these:


52 Ancestors: #10 --Mortimer Mitchell --In Search Of Opportunity And Security 

Mappy Monday: Now I Know Where To Go!


My 3rd great grandfather Mortimer Mitchell lived in an area just about 9 miles south of New Bern, NC called Riverdale. Another first I can attribute to Mortimer was that he was the first in the Mitchell family line to own property. Before the Civil War, members of Mortimer Mitchell's family were slaves. The last time I wrote about Mortimer, I had just discovered that he had leased a portion of land from the abandoned plantation of Col Peter G Evans. The land lease was created in 1864 and provided evidence that my ancestor had been working the area four years prior to the contract's start.
You can read more about that here.

In regards to my research, I left off with trying to figure out who was Mortimer's owner. That's where I'm going to pick up with things this year. Was there any documentation out there that would show a record of him being hired out. With a little luck and good research, perhaps I'll be able to figure this out. 


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