How Did I Get Here? My Amazing Genealogy Journey

Image courtesy of Google Maps. I learned today that I was just slightly off on my estimation of where Fort Anderson was located in New Bern, thanks to the a map I found on WikiMedia Commons.  In my post, Bristow Harris and The Barrington Estate , I used Google Maps to plot out points in Bridgeton, a town that's considered part of the New Bern metropolitan area. That map I created I am featuring here again and is shown above. The points noted on the map were areas mentioned in documents that described the location of the Barrington/Lincoln Estate, an area that my 3rd great grandfather had obtained a land lease for after the Civil War. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Fort Anderson Battlefield Map This is a map of the area involved in The Battle of Fort Anderson during the Civil War. The area noted with the red circle features the approximate location of the actual fort. Now, I don't know exactly when I might be able to make a trip to New Bern but ...

Cooper - n. - a person whose work is making or repairing barrels and casks. (Definition courtesy of Merriam-Webster Dictionary. ) Bristow Harris was my 3rd great grandfather on my maternal line. On my post, Amanuensis Monday: Brister/Bristow Harris Found In Freedmen's Bureau, Land and Property Records , I made a short list of questions regarding his motivation to lease a particular piece of land at the end of the Civil War. Here are the questions I came up with on from that post: 1) Why this piece of land?  2)What was Bristow's connection to it? Was there a connection to the man who originally owned it--Stephen Barrington? 3) Was his choice to lease this particular piece of land linked to his occupation as a cooper. 4)Could I pinpoint where the land he leased was located? My 3rd great grandfather had at least two families. One of these families resided in Wilmington, NC while the other (the one I am descended from) lived in New Bern. From the evidence I've f...

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...

This entry is tiny but it provides important information regarding the whereabouts of my 3rd great grandfather Bristow Harris in 1865. This is from the North Carolina Freedman's Bureau Assistant Commissioner Records 1862--1870 database on FamilySearch.org. This bit was found in a section of entries that were recorded between March 1865 and November 1868. Before I go any further, here's a summary of how Bristow/Brister Harris is connected to me.  You can also read about him in the following posts:   52 Ancestors: #22-- Bristow Harris Or Was It Bristoe, Brister or Bristol? Amanuensis Monday: Deposition Of Bristow Harris Found In A Southern Claims Commission Claim I have to take a moment and mention that if you have the time to spare, a great project that you can get involved with is indexing the Freedmen's Bureau Records at FamilySearch.org. Here's the link for more information: https://familysearch.org/ask/salesforce/viewA...

Cambridge High and Latin High School Yearbook Photo Cambridge, Massachusetts. Year:  1942. Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Dorothy Thelma Pierce  Amy Johnson Crow, the author of the blog No Story Too Small, is the host of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Blog Prompt series. If you are not familiar with the project please click on the following link:   Announcing 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2015 Edition. Week 35 (August 27 – September 2) – School Days: Many kids have returned to school by this time. What do you know about your ancestors’ school days? Do you have any yearbooks? Have you found him or her in a local school census? I decided to go along with this week's prompt because I love this yearbook picture I found of a cousin of mine and this seemed like the perfect time to share it. The picture is of my 2nd cousin 2x removed, Dorothy ...

Amy Johnson Crow, the author of the blog No Story Too Small, is the host of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Blog Prompt series. If you are not familiar with the project please click on the following link:    Announcing 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2015 Edition. I already wrote about Madeline's mother Lovie Ann Jones Watson here on this blog. Even though I don't know much about my 1st cousin 2x removed, I still it is important to honor her life and so I've chosen Madeline Teresa Harris as my ancestor #33. Our common ancestors are my 2nd great grandparents Alexander Hamilton Jones and Rosa Mitchell Jones. Madeline Teresa Harris was born June 23, 1905 in Morehead City, NC. Her parents, Lovie Jones and John M Harris, were married in 1902 but by 1910 were no longer together. Source Information Ancestry.com. North Carolina, Birth Indexes, 1800-2000 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Register of Deeds. North Carol...