How Did I Get Here? My Amazing Genealogy Journey

Frank L. Bryant My great grandfather I have to say since my post on Monday, I have been looking at my great grandfather Frank Bryant with different eyes. If you missed that one here's the link.  Military Monday: Frank Bryant's World War I Draft Registration Card Provided An Interesting Find! With the newly found information that Frank Bryant was working as a butler in 1916 for a wealthy Morehead City business man named Charles Slover Wallace, questions began buzzing around in my head. How long had he been working for him? Did other family members possibly work for C. S. Wallace? Perhaps Jonas Bryant, Frank's mother had the same employer? I decided to go back and review the 1900 and 1910 censuses for clues. 1900 Census The household is headed up by Caroline Bryant, Frank's grandmother, followed by Caroline's two children Jonas (listed here as Jane) and John. The last two individuals are Frank's cousin William who was raised by Jonas and then las...

These pictures were all taken in the backyard of my paternal grandparents in Hollis, NY. Oh I remember Easter hats well! Me and Mom My brother David, my Mom and I Ahh my grandfather's old Nova. I have lots of good memories riding around with my grandpa in that car.  He used to pick me up after school when I attended St. Pascal's Catholic Elementary.

My great grandfather, Frank L. Bryant October 6, 1890--December 20, 1953 My great grandfather's father has remained one of those great mysteries as I have been researching my family tree. No one in the family knows who he was and I have yet to dig up anything conclusive. There was a record that I had been meaning to get a copy of for the longest time and finally last month I did. It was Frank Bryant's World War I Draft Registration Card. Unfortunately, there's an error on the Ancestry.com website for this database for Carteret County cards where it links to Lenoir County cards so I wasn't able to view the original. I knew it would be a long shot, but I thought maybe there would be a reference to Frank's father on this card.  I emailed the National Archives at Atlanta and within a day a nice lady emailed me back and wrote that they were able to locate the card and that it would be a $5 charge. I quickly called in a credit card payment over the phone to the...

If you missed parts one and two, here are the links  My Harris Family Line --Part one  and  My Harris Family Line --Part two . So I was able to locate one of Bristow Harris's children that were listed on the Freedman's Bank Record for him. Lucinda Harris we saw on my last post tragically died from complications that evolved from a Cesarean section operation. Her residence listed on the death record was Cambridge, Massachussetts. So what happened to the rest of Bristow's children? After some more digging I found Hester A. Harris Pierce's Death Certificate. Guess where she was residing at the time of her death? Hmmm Cambridge, Massachussetts! Hester A. Harris Pierce Death Certificate found on FamilySearch.org Another beautiful thing was found on this document. The name of her mother and Bristow Harris's first wife. She was referred to as Rosa on the Freedman's Bank Record. Shown here we see it is Rose Anderson and that she was born in Wilmington, NC...

My grandmother, Ethel Murrell, and I in her kitchen. If that kitchen could talk, it would be talking about homemade this and homemade that. So many beautiful memories I have up in there, watching her make one incredible gastronomical feat after another. Fresh rolls, lemon chicken, homemade cornbread stuffing, collard greens, lemon pound cake, oooh I could go on and on and on. Above her food, I miss her kindness of spirit. She loved her kids and her grandchildren with everything that she was. I think this picture is from about 1987 or 1988.

If you missed Part one here's the link  My Harris Family Line --Part one . So the Freedmen's Bank record for Bristow Harris, left me a lot to chew on.  I wanted to be sure that this record I was reviewing was for my Bristow Harris. I went back to the search I did on FamilySearch.org with the criteria being Bristow Harris and New Bern, NC. The next thing I looked at when I pulled the information from this search was another census record for 1880. This one was for a Bristin Harris who resided in the 5th ward of Wilmington, NC. This Bristin or shall I say Bristow is approximately 50 years old.  Look at the names of children listed with him, Lucinda, Bristin, Billy (William), and Tom (Thomas). Those are the names listed on the Freedman's Bank entry. I think to myself these are connected. 1880 census for Bristin Harris listed in the 5th ward of Wilmington, NC So back I go to FamilySearch.org and I look at another record that I pulled up when I did this search. ...

I have to admit I jump around a bit regarding what part of the family I feel like discussing. Well, the whim today has taken me to my Harris family line. The Harrises are part of my maternal line. I think I will start with my 2nd great grandmother, Sarah Jane Harris Whitney. Here's how you get to Sarah from me. Me--My mother--Lemuel Richard Harrison--Carrie E. Whitney Harrison--Sarah J. Harris Whitney Sarah Jane Harris was born sometime around 1860 in Jones County, NC. Her death certificate shows her birth date as being October 11, 1866, however this conflicts with information provided on censuses and her marriage record. She died Sept 12, 1937 in New Bern, NC at the family home located at 10 Brown's Alley. Sarah's husband, Samuel Whitney, passed away in 1916, so you find their daughter Mrs.Carrie Harrison as the informant on the certificate.  Sarah J Harris Whitney's death certificate Marriage record for Samuel Whitney and Sarah Harris Image courtesy of ...