Mysteries-Can You Solve Them? – Digging Up Your Family

Cemetery Repair!

A few weeks ago I was in the City Cemetery here in McDonough, Georgia looking for the headstone of Cornelia Tomlinson, as requested by a descendant. I walked all over the section and eventually found her.

This absolutely, positively breaks my heart.

At first I was just angry at the city for allowing this to happen.

Second, I called around until I had a meeting with the mayor.

Then I had a meeting with the city administrator.

Now I have the go-ahead to start repairing the old section of the city cemetery, and will be researching and contacting as many descendants of the folk interred there as I can.

And that last part is kind of important. Apparently, a few years ago they were going to work on repairing the headstones. Some guy rode up and started yelling at them to get off his property. In the city cemetery. For someone that was buried. He didn’t want the stone fixed (it’s really mind-blowing, right?).

I will not only be charting the cemetery and doing repairs (with the help of a few people, and possibly some of the kids who like to destroy cemeteries –basically giving them a reason to stop and regret), but I will also be making headstones for two unknown people:

…as well as offer headstones for the people buried in the paupers section.

For more information on the two unidentified people, I found THIS LINK.

I will soon provide a donation link on Digging Up Your Family, as well as at The Georgia Anna Project, if anyone is interested in donating towards supplies needed for the memorial stones.

This doesn’t mean I will no longer be researching my family! It’s in my blood!

Andrew Cathey

Click picture to enlarge

In my search for Riley Leonard Cathey, son of William Glenn Cathey and Margaret Elizabeth Summers, I often come across the WWI Draft Registration for Andrew Cathey. This morning I was once again reminded that I have never found information on this particular Andrew Cathey.

I have no clue from which Cathey family he descends. According to his draft registration he was born in Gibson County, Tennessee on August 22, 1889. At the time of his registration he was living in Trenton, Gibson County, Tennessee.

The reasons this records pops up during my searches for Riley are because of the date of birth (Riley was also born in 1889), and because of the location (Riley was living in Gibson County in 1910, the last known location before he disappears).

Homes Found!

This was originally posted over at The Georgia Anna Project

The past two weeks have been pretty exciting, because I was able to send two photographs home to their families! The two photographs were originally posted nearly three years ago on my personal genealogy blog Digging Up Your Family.

The first photo found its way home thanks to Facebook. Vicky had decided to do a spur of the moment Google search for her husband’s great-aunt, and that led her straight to me.

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Anna Eliza Topping was born on January 16, 1874 in Jackson, Pike County, Ohio to parents John Rufus Topping (1844-1914) and Emily M Hamm (1854-1907). She married Arthur Harrison Hosley on April 20, 1891 in Gallia County, Ohio. Together they had ten children. Anna Eliza Topping died on November 30, 1957 in Bowling Green, Wood County, Ohio, and she is buried in the Willow Cemetery, Oregon, Lucas County, Ohio.

I am so pleased that Vicky decided to search “one more time” (we all know how that goes, right?). After mailing off the photograph of of Anna Eliza Topping, I started thinking about Cleo Mericle Leatherman. Back in 2011, I had written (on Digging Up Your Family):

I actually had a few of people respond with information about the first one, Cleo Leatherman, and they appear to be related to her, however they don’t seem to want the photo, nor do they seem interested in seeing the other two photos.

Since then I have contacted a few other people, but never received a response. I had figured I would end up keeping the photograph of Cleo, framing her and adding her to my family portraits. I didn’t want to her to not be wanted. However, last week I did a quick search and found Cleo’s descendants!

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(This contains corrections from the original post)

Cleo Fayette Mericle was born on September 22, 1887 in Paulding County, Ohio to parents Isaiah Mericle (1858-1929) and Mary C Gusler (1860-1949). She married Franklin Hiram “Frank” Leatherman (1887-1955) on June 21, 1908 in Van Wert County, Ohio. Together they had three children. Cleo Fayette Mericle died on September 12, 1969 in Sylvania, Lucas County, Ohio, and she is buried in the Fort Meigs Cemetery, Perrysburg, Wood County, Ohio.

My search for Cleo’s descendants led me to her son’s obituary. With Facebook, I hunted down, first, one of his daughters. Since Facebook sends all messages from unknown people to the “Other” folder (remember to check that folder, readers! You never know who might be trying to contact you!), I searched for a phone number. When I was unable to find her phone number, I conducted a search on another daughter and sent her a message (again, to the “Other” folder). Then I looked up her phone number, took a deep breath, and made a cold call. Carol was pleased to receive the photograph and immediately helped me figure out some information I had wrong (such as death dates for both Cleo and Frank, as well as Frank’s name). Carol also told me that her grandmother Cleo “made the best chicken and noodles EVER!”

I still have one photograph of the three that needs to find its way home.

I had written in 2011:

The last photo is another that the handwriting is kind of hard to read, but I believe it says Augusta and Mary Roake. Though I was unable to find a Mary Roake, I was able to find an Augusta Roake. A marriage record for a Ruth Edna Beale lists Augusta Roake and James M Beale as parents. If this is the correct Augusta Roake then she was born about 1870. She had at least three children with James M Beale: Marion A (or Marian or Marion), Ruth Edna and Coleridge L. I wish I could find Mary.

The photo was addressed to Mrs. JF Leatherman in Fort Jennings, Putnam County, Ohio. I believe this may have been Catherine “Kate” Huston (1870-1912) who was married to Joseph Frank Leatherman (1865-?)

Are Augusta and Mary in your family?

What’s Going On

In the past month or so I have had a lot going on, and I hope that it will start to calm down after the holidays. I took 2 months off from school because a) I needed a short break, and b) so I would have time for research. And research I have been doing, though I have been jumping back and forth between trees. Anyway, what I have been up to:

1) I had a mishap a couple of months ago with photographs to post at The Georgia Anna Project. My son got his hands on some photographs and mixed them up. So I will need to go back through and separate them all out (currently some of the Pennsylvania photos are mixed in with the Vermont photos, but luckily I remember which group most go in). Last month I did post new photographs that I purchased from a little shop down the road here and at least one of them is from Brooklyn, New York. The name of that gentleman is Edward Shields. Go check it out!

2. I got started on a new genealogy blog, Beyond the Indian Rolls, dedicated specifically to American Indian heritage and genealogy. This is a special project that came up due to my Granddaddy’s friend William Hendrix Yernipcut. I have started researching his family and I have to say it is really interesting! The information takes a while to compile, but I am really excited about it.

3. When I get frustrated with my own family tree I find that it is nice to have a different family to work on. SO, I currently have several trees I started for a few friends. Some of the surnames include:

– Gorman, Carroll, Morton, Flynn

– Kelly (includes adoption)

– Moreno, Martinez, Escalante

– Rucker, Harris, Windom, Walden, Stonestreet, Head, Cole

– Strange, Henderson, Orr, Bailey

– Nichols, Powell, Salmon, Rickman, Armes, Sullivant

4. In addition, I am still working on my tree and still trying to solve some mysteries:

– The exact date of death for John Spencer DeMumbrie. If you remember, I decided that he died sometime between May 1, 1875 and September 4, 1876 (that post is here). I am still looking to narrow it down!

– Who did Peter McQueen kill? I had found a newspaper article that listed the murdered man’s last name (that post here) and I set out to figure out who it could possibly be. Here, you can see an example of my in depth, extremely technical research:

I had come to the conclusion that it must have been John Flowers, b. abt 1814. Unfortunately, though, it isn’t. I was able to get in touch with one of his descendants and she confirmed that he didn’t die until 1869, four years after Peter killed the man. So who was it? Both her and I have gone through the Flowers families in the area (Choctaw County, Mississippi) and every single male can be accounted for, either through death in other years or appearing on the 1870 census. Sigh.

– Where is the death certificate for Eppie Nettie Willhite Craft? I know from her daughter Cofie’s letters that she was born in August of 1860 and died on January 29, 1938. I am unsure where she died, though I am VERY confident it was in the state of Tennessee. Great-aunt Kat remembers that after Eppie’s husband John died (December 3, 1936) Eppie came to live with them for just a little bit. She doesn’t remember how long, but if we are to believe Henry Corbit Craft on the 1940 census record then it means they were in Houston County, Tennessee at the time. Kat doesn’t remember where Eppie went when she left their home, though I imagine she would have moved in with one of her children (possibly Cofie?). Eppie is buried at Double Springs Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Gibson County, Tennessee (again, I know this because of the letters Cofie wrote), the same cemetery that John C Craft, Henry Corbit Craft, Katie Clady Cathey, Louise Craft, Jesse Porter Craft, Wretha Jane Harris, Maggie Nell Craft, and Woodrow Wilson Phillips are buried.

– And speaking of Craft, I have been working on a few Craft cousins’ trees. Well, I can’t be certain that they are blood Craft cousins, but I can always keep my fingers crossed! I got some interesting information for Frederick Owen Craft that makes all of the previous research done on him (concerning his parents) suspect. I need to figure out where the current information about his parents came from, though, before I can determine which path to take during research.

If anyone has any information about any of this, let me know! I would love to hear what you have!

Freeland, McQueen, and Perry

I have spent so much time attempting to find where Elizabeth Freeland (McQueen, Perry) lived in 1870 that I nearly gave up. I had been searching for her under the name Elizabeth Perry, and I had been searching for her husband as Claiborne/Claiborn/Clayborn/Clayburn Perry. I just kept coming up empty-handed. I assumed that after the Civil War they both must have died prior to the 1870 census. Well, I was wrong. They didn’t both die. I will do a short (haha, yeah right) recap here of previous records and posts as a reminder/new information for old and new readers alike. I won’t go into way too much info, especially since I have written extensively on Elizabeth’s first marriage (which you can find under the Freeland and McQueen family tabs in the left hand column). So, just to sum it all up and bring it all back around to today’s information:

Elizabeth Freeland was born about 1804, location still unknown but narrowed down. In 1820 she married Peter McQueen in Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. By 1827 the family had moved to Lauderdale County, Mississippi. Peter had sold off all of their belongings, then took two slaves and skipped town. In 1837 he shows back, kidnaps the two oldest daughters and disappears again. Elizabeth was granted a divorce in 1839 in Lauderdale County, Mississippi. In 1840 she married Claiborne Perry (from here on out in this post he will be referred to as CP since I have no idea how his name is actually spelled) in Lauderdale County. By early 1846 Elizabeth and CP moved to Crittenden County, Arkansas.

Elizabeth’s children with Peter McQueen:

Louisa and Melissa McQueen were the two daughters that were kidnapped. Louisa lived until 1903, however Melissa died in 1851 in Marshall County, Mississippi.

Caroline McQueen married Edmund Richards in 1846 in Crittenden County, Arkansas and she died sometime between 1856 and 1860, though I am not certain if she died in Arkansas or Texas.

Elizabeth’s children with CP:

CP, Jr joined the Confederate Army in September 1861 and died in a Fredericksburg, Virginia hospital in February 1862.

Nathaniel Perry joined the Union Army with his father in November 1863 and died in the hospital at De Vall’s Bluff, Arkansas in January 1865.

Ok, this is where it gets a little hairy. There is about to be some interesting information that I can’t quite wrap my mind around.

In 1850 the Perry family was living in Jasper, Crittenden County, Arkansas. The family members listed are:

Charles Perry, age 36 years, born in Arkansas (this is CP)

Elizabeth Perry, age 37 years, born in Alabama (this age is off by about 10 years)

Claiborne Perry, age 8 years, born in Alabama

Nathaniel Perry, age 5 years, born in Arkansas

Mary McQueen (1), age 37 years, born in Louisiana, also the only one listed as over the age of 20 who cannot read or write (remember this name and age; age may be off, also, as will be explained later)

In 1850 daughter Caroline and her family were living in Tyrongee, Crittenden County, Arkansas. The family members are listed as:

Edward Richards, age 25 years, born in Arkansas (this is Edmund)

Catharina Richards, age 22 years, born in Mississippi (this is Caroline)

George Richards, age 3 years, born in Mississippi (his obit says he was born in Crittenden County, Arkansas, though)

Lucy Richards, age 2 years, born in Arkansas

Mary Edwards (4), age 14 years, born in Tennessee (remember this name)

Mary McQueen (2), age 18 years, born in Mississippi (remember this name)

In 1860 the Perry family was living in Union, Hot Spring County, Arkansas. The family members are listed:

Claghurn Perry, age 46 years, born in Alabama (this is CP)

Elisabeth Perry, age 56 years, born in Louisiana

Sarah McQueen (3), age 25 years, born in Alabama (who is this? she is listed in the order to assume she is Elizabeth’s daughter)

Claborn Perry, age 18 years, born in Mississippi

Nathan Perry, age 13 years, born in Arkansas

So, we are back to the mystery people:

1. Mary McQueen, born about 1813 (or 1823, as will be explained later) in Louisiana

2. Mary McQueen, born about 1832-34 in Mississippi

3. Sarah McQueen, born about 1835 in Alabama

4. Mary Edwards, born about 1836 in Tennessee

Let’s break it down where these people went (I promise, there is a reason for this concerning the Perry death).

1. As of right now, Mary McQueen (1813/23) does not exist outside of the 1850 census.

2. Mary McQueen, aged 23 years (1833-1834), married 1) John Lewis, aged 44 years, on January 5, 1857 in Crittenden County, Arkansas. They had at least two children: John Lewis (abt 1857) and Alice Lewis (1870); Mary McQueen (Lewis), aged 36 years (1832-1834), married 2) Galutice (or Galucia) Spencer Chapin, aged 54 years, on September 7, 1870 in Hot Spring County, Arkansas. As of now I am unable to locate any further whereabouts after the 1870 census. See #3 for possible relationship to Elizabeth.

3. I cannot even guess what may have happened to Sarah (1835). I am making a total guess that she is a child of Elizabeth, and if so then she had to be either a) Peter’s child IF he returned prior to the kidnapping (which goes against the divorce papers), OR b) Elizabeth has a “thing” going on with another man. Then there is c) she is not a child of Elizabeth, in which case: who is she and why is she listed in the order as a child?

4. Lastly, Mary Edwards (1836). She, too, is difficult. She has a pretty common name. I don’t know how she is related to the family, if at all.

note (mainly to myself): Mary could also be Polly, Marie, Molly, etc. Sarah could also be Sallie, Sarie, etc.

Ok, so back to the death. While searching on FamilySearch for Elizabeth and CP I came across an interesting marriage record. It is terribly transcribed and I really want to see the original because I know it is for whom I am searching, I’m just not sure of the spouse’s actual name.

Clabourn Perry married Man A Mcgabba on January 20, 1865 in Pulaski County, Arkansas. And I can’t find a copy of the original online. It’s driving me insane because if…not if, when I order it I will have to wait about two more weeks until I can see the actual record. And that’s only if they can still find the record (you’d think it would be easy, but remember when I ordered the marriage certificate of Leah/Sarah DeMumbrie and Henry Hodges and Tunica County, Mississippi couldn’t find what happened to the book after it had been scanned for FamilySearch?).

Well, a quick search of the Civil War pension index led me to another card filed (I had posted an incomplete one here).

This one has that his widow’s name is Mary A Perry. The “Mcgabba” is throwing me off. I can only guess it is McQueen, based on previous information. Sigh.

However, this does tell me some information I have been searching for: Elizabeth died sometime between the enumeration of the 1860 census and January 20, 1865. Saying how she died would only be a guess, considering disease and war, or even old age (for that time). I’d like to think that she didn’t have to see all of her children die. Of the children I know were definitely hers, the only two that did not pass before her were Louisa and Nathaniel (Nathaniel based on his death date between January 3rd and 17th, burial on the 18th, CP’s marriage on the 20th). Seeing that she did not have an easy life at all, this does comfort me a little.

Looking around a little more I found CP on the 1870 census with his wife in Union, Hot Spring County, Arkansas. The family members were listed:

Clayton Perry, age 58 years, born in Alabama (this is CP)

Mary A Perry, age 47 years, born in Tennessee (this puts her birth in about 1823…so it is possible that she is the 1850 Mary McQueen with the Perry family and that census had her birth off by about 10 years, the same as Elizabeth…also, you have to take into account that rarely were the same birthplaces listed per census).

Interestingly, living next door to the Perry family in 1870 was the household of:

Galucia Chapin, age 54 years, born in Ohio

Mary Lewis, age 35, born in Mississippi (they had not yet married)

John Lewis, age 12 years, born in Arkansas

Alice Lewis, age I month, born in Arkansas

Scott Wyatt, age 20 years, born in Arkansas (most likely just a boarder)

I am unable to locate CP and Mary A Perry after this census, with the exception of the pension card. I will have to order that file from NARA. If I am reading it correctly then it is telling me that CP applied for invalid pension on July 8, 1885 in Arkansas. His wife then applied for widow’s pension on July 11, 1892 in Indian Territory. So exactly when and where he died, I’m just not sure yet. I’m sure the actual file will tell me, though.

Biscuits or Another Kind of Recipe?

Today I bought a book that is pretty interesting, and bizarre. I went to a little shop called Pam’s Honey Creek Candles and Trash to Treasures (www.honeycreekcandles.com). While browsing I saw a little paperback recipe book. I was pretty sure it was all biscuit recipes and I was wondering if there was a recipe for the beaten blistered biscuits my mom wants so bad.

Front CoverReach For The Biscuits

REACH for the hot biscuits. They provide valuable carbohydrates that help build up strong energetic bodies. Eat TWO EXTRA biscuits at every meal and have lots of energy for school work and play.

SILVER FOX FLOUR

Always Runs Best

Monroe Milling Co., Waterloo, Illinois

I found that Monroe Milling Company was in operation at the grain elevator from 1924 until sometime after 1940 (information can be found here). I was unable to find anything on the actual Silver Fox Flour brand.

Back CoverEnergy Foods

ON PARADE

EVERY boy and girl loves the good things mother bakes with soft wheat flour – hot biscuits, hot rolls, home-made light bread, waffles, cookies, pies, cakes and doughnuts. Eat lots of these ENERGY FOODS. They are good for you.

The inside cover of this flour advertisement goes on with little pictures of children doing various things accompanied by:

Biscuits give you energy for that winning spurt of speed at the “finish.” (boy crossing a finish line)

Eat plenty of biscuits and jump “red-hot pepper.” (girl jump roping)

Hot biscuits with milk or syrup give you energy for doing good school work. (teen girl with diploma)

Touchdowns come easy with plenty of biscuits under your belt. (boys playing football)

Sounds like biscuit recipe book, right? Am I right?

I was wrong. I was flipping through it and realized that the “recipes” in the book were not biscuit recipes. In fact, they weren’t actual “recipes” at all. I discovered that the flour company cover was a ruse.

The REAL Front Cover ALBERTUS MAGNUS

Being the Approved, Verified, Sympathetic and Natural

EGYPTIAN SECRETS

White and Black Art for

Man and Beast.

REVEALING THE

Forbidding Knowledge and Mysteries

of Ancient Philosophers.

The Title Page

ALBERTUS MAGNUS

BEING THE APPROVED, VERIFIED, SYMPATHETIC AND NATURAL

EGYPTIAN SECRETS

OR,

WHITE AND BLACK ART FOR MAN AND BEAST

THE BOOK OF NATURE AND THE HIDDEN SECRETS

AN MYSTERIES OF LIFE UNVEILED; BEING THE

Forbidden Knowledge of Ancient Philosophers

By that celebrated Student, Philosopher, Chemist, Naturalist, Psychomist, Astrologer, Alchemist, metallurgist, Sorcerer, Explanator of the Mysteries of Wizards and Witchcraft; together with recondite Views of numerous Arts and Sciences – Obscure, Plain, Practical, Etc., Etc.

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN

It goes on to list the contents of Volume One, as there are three volumes in this paperback. Pam, the woman who sold it to me, was just as interested in how this came to be and researched the book a bit. She found a website that she printed out the information and stuck it in the book for whoever bought it. I found the same website, plus a little more. What is certain is that Albertus Magnus did not write this book.

Joseph H Peterson apparently released another edition of the book in 2006. According to his words on Esoteric Archives:

NOTE: the editor does not endorse or recommend any of the recipes found in this book. -JHP

This little Silesian spell-book seems to have first appeared "in Braband" with a second expanded edition printed in Cologne in 1725. [PEG, p. 41] It is clear from the contents that this collection has nothing to do with the great Dominican scholar Albertus Magnus (ca 1193-1280). Neither does it have anything to do with Egypt, but rather "Egyptian" is used to refer to Gypsies — more properly the Roma — based on the mistaken belief that this diverse ethnic group originated in Egypt. It’s connection with actual lore of the Roma is also tenuous, and "Egyptian" is used more as a generic term for "magic". (In exactly the same way "Magic" originally meant "of the Magi" referred to the Median tribe and later the Zoroastrian priesthood, but was eventually used generically to refer to Eastern wise men or wizards.)

According to Will-Erich Peuckert, the language and use of idioms point to an origin in the Swabian-Alemannic region. (PEG, pp. 43-44.)

The German title reads Egyptische Geheimnisse für Menschen und Vieh. The edition I have used was printed in Allentown, 1869. The English edition has no date.

The original German edition contains 4 books. Each book is paginated separately, and has its own Title page, table of contents, and index, though all four books are bound together. For the first three books the recipes are not numbered, but the fourth book numbers them. The English translation stops at 3, and maintains a continuous page numbering.

I have silently corrected many typos in this text (or at least enough to identify plagiarists), but please let me know if you find additional errors. Thanks, –JHP

But really, all of this about the book itself is not what is interesting. What I find interesting is that someone back in the 1920s or 1930s, my guess being a housewife (perhaps), had this book and didn’t want anyone to know. So she wrapped a flour advertisement dust cover around it and probably kept it between her Betty Crocker and Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks…you know, somewhere her husband would never look. Littered throughout the “grimoire” are notes that all include the word “special”:

For the Fever – “special”

When you have Lost your Manhood – “man-special”

For the Palsy – “special here”

To make
an Ointment for the Cure of the Itch – “a special”

To Vanquish a Man – “A real special”

That Nobody may hurt you and how to be Secured against all Assailants – “(Seay at all times) special special special here” (interestingly enough, this is not exactly what I would expect to find in a “spell book”. This one says:

Now I will walk over the threshold. I met three men, not yet very old. The first was God the Father, the other was God the Son; the third was God the Holy Spirit. They protect my body and soul, blood and flesh, that in no well I will fall, that water may not swell me at all, that a rabid dog may never bite me, that shot and stone may never smite me, that spear and knife may never cut me; that never a thief may steal the least from me. Then it shall become like our dear Saviour’s sweat. Whoever is stronger and mightier than these three men, he may come hither, assail me if he can, or forever keep his peace with me. † † †)

I am going to continue to research the book and cover. I find it interesting that someone really studied the book, but kept it well hidden, most likely in plain sight.

What I Have Been Doing Lately

1. I had purchased several hundred photos on eBay that all turned out to be a family collection. After hunting around for a while I finally found the family to which they belong. I scanned roughly 70 of the photographs and mailed those off to the family on Tuesday. In the coming weeks I will scan the rest of them so I can get those mailed off, too. I am extremely happy that I found the family, and I am extremely happy that they are getting their precious heirlooms back. I had started a blog regarding the photos just in case I wasn’t able to find family. I will be keeping it going so you can check it out here.

2. My mom and I went up to Tennessee to visit with family again. After picking up Great-Aunt Kat we drove up to Clarksville to visit Grandmother and Granddaddy’s graves. Then we drove down to Hurricane Mills (our usual spot) and visited with Donny and Bobbie. We didn’t stay long because Bobbie wasn’t feeling well (luckily she is feeling much better now). While there we had decided that instead of buying Nan Nan’s fried pies from Cissie Lynn’s store, we would go to Nan Nan’s store and buy them directly from her. After driving out of our way (you can tell from the start of this that it ended badly) we got to the location only to find out that the location was moved. The sign (of which I wish I had taken a photo) gave the address of the new location and said to stop in and visit. So we drove even further out of the way. Come to find out the new location was the original location: the owner’s home. She (I assume Nan Nan, but it might just be named Nan Nan by using her grandmother’s recipe or something) was not pleased to see us. She seemed to be miffed that we pulled into her driveway. After telling us she didn’t really have many pies to sell I asked her if she took credit cards. No, she said, she didn’t even take them at the other location. By now I was angry. Their website (which is just their Facebook page from what I can tell) didn’t have the new address listed which caused the looooong drive. They also didn’t have payment options on the page, so I didn’t know I should have stopped for cash. But in the end, you know what? Her attitude ruined the entire thing anyway. Had she been more pleasant I may have considered driving out to an ATM and getting cash just to buy a fried pie. Will I ever purchase another Nan Nan’s Homemade Fried Pie again? Nope. (I just checked out the Facebook page, and they now have that they don’t accept credit cards and failed to use spell check…ok, that’s just me being bitter and mean)

3. A couple of weeks ago my mom and I got to meet new cousins who live here in Georgia: Valerie Craft and her mom Ruby! Valerie has the genealogy blog Begin With Craft, which is chock-full of great information and research tips. Due to the shared Craft surname we think that may be how we are related. Through DNA Valerie’s father matches up to Great-Aunt Kat an estimated 4th cousin. That means to find out how they are related we would need to go back to, at the very least, Prestly Ezekiel Craft’s father. I think it has been figured out that his name was John Craft (don’t hold me to that because I am not positive). Kat’s Craft family goes back:

Henry Corbit Craft (1895 TN-1971 TN)

John Craft (1859 TN-1936 TN)

Thomas Craft (abt 1810 NC-aft 1880 TN)

Prestly Ezekiel Craft (abt 1786 NC-btwn 1850 and 1860 TN)

Several people have that Prestly married his wife Mary Thaxton in Surry County, North Carolina. I guess I will have to look into that more.

4. My mom and I are getting ready for the Bondurant Family Association Annual Meeting next week. I’m pretty excited about it!

5. I recently applied to go back to school. I have thought about it for a while, and now with the imminent closing of the Georgia Archives to the public I decided to just do it! I applied to American Public University online school for history. Who knows, maybe I will eventually become an archivist!

6. In my genealogy research I am currently working on (ready for this? It’s like it is never-ending!):

-Who are Peter McQueen’s parents? It really is driving me crazy not knowing. The earliest I can find him is on an 1818 bill of sale for a slave named Daniel. Peter doesn’t appear on any census record (by name at least) until 1840, though.

-What happened to Spencer DeMumbrie? When and where did he die? Where is he buried? Why is he being difficult?

-Why am I unable to locate James Franklin Stalls’s grave in Oak Grove Cemetery in Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky? His obituary says he is there, but there is no record of him as being buried there.

-Is the research I did on Brett’s Murphy family correct? It seems perfectly logical to me, but I was presented with something extremely different that is completely illogical to me.

-The Craft line (as mentioned above).

-The search for Eppy Willhite Craft’s death record. I will have to write a whole post for this fun headache. Let’s just say that no one is actually sure of her first name anymore, and her death cannot be found (and she had to have died unless she’s still alive at the ripe old age of about 150 years-old…which you never know, I guess).

-William Glenn Cathey: where are you buried exactly?

-Amanda Summers: when, where and how did you die and where are you buried? Oh, and who exactly is Lizzie’s father? Or do you not even know?

-And let’s just say many other research subjects, such as who are the parents of John B Smith? Where exactly was Elizabeth Brownlee from? Where is t
he Stalls family from? And many, many more questions.