How Did I Get Here? My Amazing Genealogy Journey

Week 11: Lucky Do you have an ancestor who was lucky at something? Lucky to be alive? Lucky at cards? Lucky in love? Maybe you have an ancestor with a name that reminds you of luck or fortune. There's always "luck of the Irish." Maybe you have a story of how luck played a role in finding an ancestor. Write about that this week. A few years back, I was lucky enough to stumble across a letter on Ancestry.com written by my 4th great grandfather Benjamin Ellison of Snow Hill, Greene County, NC. The letter I found in a collection called Washington D.C., Ex-Slave Pension Correspondence and Case Files, 1892-1922. Prior to the Civil War, Benjamin had been a slave and the letter I came across mentioned who is owner had been. Before I reshare the letter, here's how I am connected to Benjamin Ellison.  Source Information:  Ancestry.com. Washington D.C., Ex-Slave Pension Correspondence and Case Files, 1892-1922 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Ope...

If you are not familiar with the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Blog Prompt Series hosted by fellow blogger Amy Johnson Crow, please take a moment and check out the link here:   https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/ Week 9: Where There's a Will I've been asked if this theme means a will (as in the probate document) or will (as in being determined or strong minded). My answer is: Yes. :-) Use this prompt however you are inspired to. Maybe you've come across an interesting will. Explain it like you would to a non-genealogist. What story does it reveal? You could write about an ancestor who was determined to do something. (Or maybe you have an ancestor named Will!) I am taking a break from going through some of my father's things to share something from another branch of my family tree. Robert Ellison was my maternal 3rd great grand uncle. His sister, Caroline Ellison Bryant, was my 3rd great grandmother. For a clearer picture of how I am connected t...

Frank Linwood Bryant My maternal great grandfather Who was your daddy?!! That's what I find myself yelling at my great grandfather's picture sometimes. For this is the brick wall that seems to be most resistant in my family tree to coming down.  I know who his mother was and have been able to trace back to her parents. There's always that question though. Frank, who was your daddy?! Here's a little summary on Frank L. Bryant" He was born October 6, 1890 in Morehead City, NC to a Jonas Bryant . He was a lifelong resident of the city and from the records I've found appears to have been raised by his mother and grandmother, Caroline Ellison Bryant .  Frank married his childhood sweetheart, Ophelia Jones on November 4, 1911 and subsequently seven children were born from this union.  My great grandfather, Frank Bryant, worked for Charles Slover Wallace, a prominent Morehead City businessman and who also was at one point the mayor of the city...

Image courtesy of Find A Grave Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.  Original data: Find A Grave. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi. Memorial created by  Created by: Deborah Clark Record added: Jan 13, 2014  Find A Grave Memorial# 123367178 Stone reads as follows:   Suggs Mrs. Nell E. Apr. 1, 1907 Aug. 6, 1965 We Trust In God To Meet Again. (Her birth year was probably 1897 since she was listed on the 1900 Federal Census.  On the census her age was noted as 3 years old and her birth month was April just like it was listed on her headstone. Nellie Ellison Suggs was buried at Rest Haven Cemetery in Wilson County, NC) Don't you just love it when you haven't checked Find A Grave in a while and all of the sudden one of your ancestors pops up! That happened to me the other day. Nellie Ellison Su...

I am a bit late coming to the party but I've decided to join in the fun of the "52 Ancestors Weeks Challenge" created by Amy Johnson Crow, author of the blog No Story Too Small . The Challenge: Have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor. My Bryant family has been on my mind as of late since completing my recent post,  A Little Boy's Story . It felt right to begin with someone associated with this line. This ancestor of mine was born an Ellison but most definietly died a Bryant. I think of her as "the heart" of my Bryant family who lived in Morehead City. Carolyn Ellison Bryant was my 3rd great grandmother. This is what I know of her life thus far.  She was born in Beaufort County, North Carolina on August 4, 1844 to a Benjamin and Rosetta Ellison. From the research I've done, I've learned ...

Image courtesy of Familysearch.org: North Carolina, County Records, 1833-1970 Beaufort Wills, 1808-1968 Page 2880 Here's a refresher on who Irvin Ellison was. He was my 3rd great grand uncle and he lived in Washington, Beaufort County, NC. His sister Caroline Ellison Bryant was my maternal 3rd great grandmother. Before I get into Irvin's will, I wanted to give a shout out to Bernice Bennett's Blog Talk Radio show,  Research at the National Archives&Beyond. If you missed her show on April 4th,  Dower Slaves & Administrative Court Action -J Mark Lowe, CG , click on the link. Bernice Bennett's show runs every Thursday at 9pm and if you have the time and love genealogy, you should definitely tune in.  J Mark Lowe was the featured guest this week and he presented tons of great information. One of the things I took away from listening to the show was the importance of reviewing court minutes and county records.  This inspired me to go take a look again ...

Ada Ellison Bedford Wife of James E. Bedford March 6, 1895?--May 20, 1943 Gone, but not forgotten St Peter's Free Will Baptist Church Cemetery Snow Hill, Greene County, NC.  Image taken by Horace Wiggins courtesy of Find A Grave. Ada Ellison Bedford was my 1st cousin 4x removed Her father was Harvey Ellison and Irvin Ellison was her uncle.

Microsoft Office Downloaded Image If you missed any portion of this series, here are the links: Amanuensis Monday: Civil War Pension File of Irvin Ellison --Part one Civil War Pension File Of Irvin Ellison --Part two Amanuensis Monday: Civil War Pension File of Irvin Ellison --Part three Amanuensis Monday: Civil War Pension File of Irvin Ellison --Part four Civil War Pension File of Irvin Ellison --Part five Civil War Pension File of Irvin Ellison --Part six Not So Wordless Wednesday On Thursday: More From the Civil War Pension File of Irvin Ellison--Part seven When I first received my 3rd great grand uncle's file, I found that the paperwork was in a general reverse chronological order from the point he died, back to when the file was first created. The order in which things were in however, was not precise. I still haven't set things straight because I am enjoying a bit of the randomness of how I come across things.  When I was review...

Image courtesy of "papaija2008" / FreeDigitalPhotos.net If you missed the first three parts to this series, here are the links: Amanuensis Monday: Civil War Pension File of Irvin Ellison --Part one   Amanuensis Monday: Civil War Pension File of Irvin Ellison --Part two Amanuensis Monday: Civil War Pension File of Irvin Ellison --Part three Now you may ask, why did I include the picture I have featured above in this post. The reason is this. Try to imagine your ancestor poorly clothed and hungry, fighting in a war during conditions like this. Crazy, right?! I can't imagine how unrelentingly cold that must have felt. At the end of Part three, I transcribed a section of Irvin Ellison's pension file that described his disabilities that he sustained while he served. Specifically, it made mention of him having "at some time past suffered from severe cold" which resulted in him getting frostbite on his feet. Also, he had rheumatism. This ...

If you missed the first two parts to this series, here are the links: Amanuensis Monday: Civil War Pension File of Irvin Ellison --Part one  and  Civil War Pension File of Irvin Ellison --Part two .  Okay, I first have to address the elephant in the room. Yes, today is Tuesday. Yes, the header for this post says Amanuensis Monday. (Insert sound of crickets. Pause.) Okay, I do know what day it is so please there should be no cause for concern. I started this post with all the good intentions of finishing it on Monday night. Ha! My brain wasn't haven't it. Had to take a break. Besides, I needed to spend some quality time with the hubby before bed time. So yes we are having Amanuensis Monday on Tuesday today. I will try not to make a habit of this. :) Now, before diving back into transcribing my 3rd great grand uncle's Civil War Pension file, I thought I would finish up talking about the other witness who vouched for Irvin Ellison's identity. I believe that witness ...