How Did I Get Here? My Amazing Genealogy Journey

I am participating in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge put forth by Amy Johnson Crow of the blog  No Story Too Small . If you aren't familiar with the challenge be sure to check out her blog. When I think of my 2nd great grandmother Rosa Mitchell Jones, the Nike slogan, "Just do it," comes to mind.  I believe she was someone who if she put her mind towards doing something, she did it. I think that early on Rosa had big dreams. I think she wanted something different from what her parents had. She wanted to be out of the woods and near the ocean. Her ambitious spirit was longing to see more sky. I think she may have also had an eye for nice things. She would need to go where there was opportunity.  As soon as she knew of the place, I bet she had eyes on Morehead City. That would be the place where she would create her new life. Rosa Mitchell was born sometime around 1860 or 1861 to a Mortimer Mitchell and Annie Taylor of Riverdale, North Carolina. R...

Rosa Mitchell Jones My 2nd great grandmother 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/ Rosa Mitchell Jones was my maternal 2nd great grandmother and she was definitely  someone I would describe as a "strong woman." Why? Well, here's why. 1) She was born into slavery around 1861 in Beaufort, NC. Survivors of slavery were made of stronger stuff. 2) She left her childhood home of Riverdale, NC and settled in the seaside town of Morehead City, NC with her husband Alexander Hamilton Jones. To leave behind all you know and hold dear takes incredible strength 3) She survived the loss of her only son Cesar M. Jones and raised 3 daughters. Those daughters were all college educated. Two became teachers, while the other became a nurse. 4) After her husband died, she continued to co...

Rosa Mitchell Jones My 2nd great grandmother Sometimes I feel like a bit of a fraud when it comes to this whole genealogy thing. The reason is that I have been blessed to have access to so much information on-line. My ancestors managed to reside in places where good records were kept and those records have made their way into cyberspace. I shake my head and say to myself, "Why should I be so lucky?" Then I say, it has to be for a reason. These folks want their voices to be heard.  So with that being said, here's another thing I came across recently, the will of Rosa Mitchell Jones.  I wrote about my 2nd great grandmother on other posts. In case you missed those, here are the links. So our people owned land... The audacity to own land. , Fearless Females --Six Word Memoir Tribute Image courtesy of FamilySearch.org :  North Carolina, Probate Records, 1735-1970  Carteret Wills, 1925-1948, Vol. G  Image 124 North Carolina, Carteret County, ...

Image courtesy of Pixomar / FreeDigitalPhotos.net For details about The Book Of Me, Written By You project created by Julie Goucher, of the Anglers Rest blog, please refer to this link:  http://www.anglers-rest.net/book-of-me-written-by-you.html This week’s prompt is – Special People and is a follow on from last week. If you had to hold a dinner party and could invite a maximum of 12 special people who would you invite?             You CAN include family in this time. Perhaps they are ancestors you have never met or people that you know/knew What meals would you serve and why. Perhaps include the recipe or a photo if you decided to actually cook the items! Okay, so now that I can invite family to this dinner party, it is on! Let's start with Bryant family line. I would invite my maternal grandmother's brothers since I never knew them. I grew up with my grandmother's sisters and saw them often as a child. I loved watching the in...

I am participating in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge put forth by Amy Johnson Crow of the blog  No Story Too Small .  If you aren't familiar with the challenge be sure to check out her blog. This week's post is regarding my maternal 2nd great grandfather, Alexander Hamilton Jones. He was one of the 6 children of  Cesar Jones  and  Mary H Mitchel Jones . Born in Swansboro, Onslow County, NC on or about March 5, 1852, he moved with the other members of the Jones family to Morehead City, NC by 1880. Although, I haven't been able to locate the family group on the 1870 Federal Census, I suspect that the Jones clan was living in or around the Riverdale, North Carolina area during this time.  This suspicion is based on the fact that he went on to marry my 2nd great grandmother Rosa Mitchell of that town on June 4, 1880.  "North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/...

So here's a recap of where we are. Rosa M Jones and Alexander H Jones  were the parents of the following children. Lovie Ann Jones Watson (Jan. 14, 1883--Jun. 2, 1948) Cesar M. Jones (Dec. 6, 1885--Jun. 3, 1898) Mary E Jones Wooten (Jan 1888--date of death unknown at this time.) Ophelia T Jones Bryant ( Nov. 20, 1894--Feb. 20, 1939)---My great grandmother. Here's a definition of the word audacity courtesy of Wikipedia-Dictionary.com: audacity:  1. The willingness to take bold risks: "her audacity came in handy during our most recent emergency". 2. Rude or disrespectful behavior; impudence: "she had the audacity to pick up the receiver and ask me to hang up". The first thing that I thought about when I found out that my great-great grandmother Rosa Jones owned land back in 1907 was, "Where did she get the audacity to do that?" Not just one property, but several. Where did this idea..concept, mindset...whatever you want to call it co...

After I celebrated finding out Frank Bryant Jr.'s middle name was Mitchell on my post  Amanuensis Monday: The Will of Rosa Mitchell Jones , I reviewed what other information was on the will. a)Frank Mitchell Bryant received his grandmother's house and land that the home resided on.   1400 Fisher St, Morehead City, NC Frank Sr. and Ophelia Bryant's home. Lot where 1404 Fisher St once stood. Part of 1400 Fisher St can be seen on the right. The house that once stood here was very similar in design to 1400 Fisher St       My 2nd great grandmother, Rosa Jones, lived at 1404 Fisher St in Morehead City, NC, next door to her daughter Ophelia Bryant.  Frank Jr. was the oldest of Ophelia's seven children, so perhaps it makes sense that he inherited his grandmother's home. According to my mother, Frank always lived with his grandmother and referred to her as "mother." Upon learning this, I questioned why?  Then I thought about the circumstanc...

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 38 (September 17-23) – Favorite Place: What has been your favorite place to research? Which ancestor came from there? Riverdale, NC has turned out to be my favorite ancestral place to research, thus far. The town is located approximately 9 miles southeast of New Bern. Image courtesy of Google Maps It's a small rural community. It always has been. I would have never known about it if I hadn't begun researching my great grandmother Ophelia Jones Bryant of Morehead City. Ophelia's mother Rosa Mitchell Jones came from this small town and so that's how my journey to learn more about Riverdale began. I believe my 2nd great grandmother Rosa wanted a life that was different from the one her parents had. ...

Rosa Mitchell Jones, lived at 1404 Fisher St and her daughter, Ophelia,  lived at 1400 with her family. Rosa's husband Alexander Hamilton Jones was born in Onslow County and moved to Carteret County sometime after the Civil War with his family. He was the son of a Cesar and Mary Jones as evidenced by the 1880 census. Alexander and Rosa married sometime around 1880, unfortunately at this time I haven't come across a marriage record so this is based on the census info again. Here's the family info: Alexander Hamilton Jones (Mar 5, 1852--May 22, 1915) and Rosa Mitchell Jones (July 17, 1860--Oct 3, 1931) They had 3 daughters who survived to adulthood. Lovie, Mary, and Ophelia---my great grandmother. On this journey and through the kindness of a genealogist who was vacationing in Morehead City, this past Winter, I found out they also had a son. Cesar M Jones (Dec 6 1885--June 3, 1898) I love finding discoveries but when you find evidence of a child that didn...

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. Lovie Ann Jones Watson was my maternal great grand aunt.  She was born in Morehead City, NC with her birth date being most likely January 14, 1883. Based on the records I've found thus far, she appears to have been the eldest child of my great grandparents Alexander Hamilton Jones and Rosa Mitchell Jones.   Here's Lovie listed with her family in the 1900 Federal Census. Source Information Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Source Citation Year: 1900;  Census Place: Morehead, Carteret, North Carolina; Roll: 1186; Page: 14A;  Enumeration District: 0022; FHL microfilm: 1241186 Lovie's two y...

I am taking a break from my Whitney family line today. I believe I had mentioned somewhere in my earlier posts about  Rosa M. Jones, my second great grandmother, being of some portion Native American. Her maiden name was Mitchell and I have come across some circumstantial evidence that gives me the impression that the family was of Tuscaroran descent. On a site called "The Coastal Carolina Indian Center", I found a section which shows a listing of surnames that have been associated sometimes with certain Indian tribes. Mitchel(l) (Tuscarora) This surname shows up on Indian Woods deeds as Tuscarora.      . See Bertie Deed Book M file      . See also 1766 Tuscarora Land Leases Now the site does warn people," Please keep in mind that just because someone is of a particular surname that has at some point been associated with a particular tribe DOES NOT NECESSARILY mean that the person was of that tribe.  It is necessary to establis...