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...

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 40 (October 1-7) – October: What ancestor has a birthday or anniversary in October? Here are a few of my ancestors who had October birthdays. Maternal great grandfather -- Frank Linwood Bryant :  October 6, 1890 Maternal 2nd great grandfather -- Samuel Whitney :  October 1856 Maternal 2nd great grandmother -- Sarah Jane Harris Whitney : October 11, 1859 Maternal great grandmother  -- Carrie Ethel Whitney Harrison : October 11, 1897. My daughter and I have birthdays this week as well. Sending out Happy Birthday cheer to anyone else celebrating a birthday this month. 

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 ...

A few weeks back I did a series of posts on my maternal 2nd great grand uncle Thomas Harris of Larchmont, NY. If you missed that series, here are the links to those posts: Thomas Harris's Ambition Takes Him To Larchmont, NY --Part one Thomas Harris's Ambition Takes Him To Larchmont, NY --Part two More Details About Thomas Harris's Election Loss Not So Wordless Wednesday: Some Of The Things Thomas Harris Probably Saw When I left off with my 2nd great grand uncle, Thomas Harris of Larchmont, NY, the year was 1908. He had just finished holding a $10 a plate dinner at the Plymouth Inn in celebration of his 45th birthday. He was often described in newspapers as the "millionaire negro" of Larchmont. You can read an example of this here . Specifically, take a look at the last newspaper article featured in that post. Anyway, Thomas seemed to have done quite well for himself. He had been successful at running a livery business for quite a few years. In 1...

I have to send out big thanks to Lynne Crowley of the Larchmont Historical Society for finding these additional articles and sending them to me regarding my 2nd great grand uncle, Thomas Harris. These articles provide even further detail into what happened on the night Thomas lost the Republican nomination to become Receiver of Taxes in Larchmont, NY in 1903. New York Herald , Saturday, February 28, 1903 The Sun , Saturday, February 28, 1903 Thomas Harris was born in Wilmington, NC but later moved and established himself in Larchmont, NY. You can read more about him in these posts: Thomas Harris's Ambition Takes Him To Larchmont, NY --Part one Thomas Harris's Ambition Takes Him To Larchmont, NY --Part two 52 Ancestors: More Mentions Of Thomas Harris In Newspapers. Not So Wordless Wednesday: Some Of The Things Thomas Harris Probably Saw

These three postcard views show places where my 2nd great grand uncle, Thomas Harris, probably visited during his lifetime. I like collecting postcards. It's a chance for me to see things through the eyes of my ancestors. If you missed my prior posts regarding Thomas Harris who was born in Wilmington, NC but settled in Larchmont, NY, please take a look at these links: Thomas Harris's Ambition Takes Him To Larchmont, NY --Part one Thomas Harris's Ambition Takes Him To Larchmont, NY --Part two 52 Ancestors: More Mentions Of Thomas Harris In Newspapers. Good news. A fellow researcher sent me more newspaper articles on Thomas Harris. :)  I'll be sharing more about that tomorrow.  All I can say is that this ancestor of mine certainly did his part in making sure his name would be found! LOL.

I am so behind on this challenge, it's not even funny. I'm not giving up though. If you are not familiar with this project created by Amy Johnson Crow of the blog No Story Too Small, click here . My 2nd great grand uncle, Thomas Harris of Larchmont, NY couldn't seem to stay out of the papers. If you missed my other posts about him, here are the links:   Thomas Harris's Ambition Takes Him To Larchmont, NY --Part one Thomas Harris's Ambition Takes Him To Larchmont, NY --Part two After his attempt at becoming the Reciever of Taxes in Larchmont, he continued to run his successful livery business. Based on the following article, it appears to me he ran an honest operation.    The New York Times , July 20, 1905,  Page 1 I get the impression that Thomas's wealth was exaggerated a wee bit. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that for a while he was able to do quite well for himself and his family.  I just don't know think he was the "mil...