It rained the day before we left Valdosta, so much of the excessive pollen got washed away and the world was new again. It was quite a pollen orgy this year, but we seem to have survived. If I had had the time and energy, I would have tried to put into words or photos how incredibly beautiful this spring has been. It was cold until a couple of weeks ago, and then everything blossomed at once. Rather challenging for the pollen challenged, but the visuals were spectacular. Wisteria, redbud, dogwood-white and pink, azeleas of every azelea color, wildflowers, rabbit tobacco, wild sage, red clover, wart. Stunning! You may have wondered why we did so much driving. I can tell you, it was worth every mile.
We are tired but happy. We had a wonderful visit with the Wilsons and hope to meet up with them in France this summer. Seems that we will be staying near Francoise's grandparent's home (they have long since left their home and this world). Her parents are going there for the summer as it gets too hot for them in the south of France, so we might just spend some time in the south near Marselles with our friends. Knock wood.
This morning we got up at half 5 in order to leave at half 7 to get to TPA at half 9. It all went well. I was able to get some shopping done before coming home and unloading shopping and some of the Cronemobile. Marcia was the washer woman today. By tomorrow we will be all back and settled.
Thing is, I so much prefer being on the run than settled. I do know that we need some settled time though.
I can hardly wait till we plan our next Cronemobile trip. Maybe we can squeeze one more in before we leave for Europe in July. I'm thinking it is time to get back to Jax and explore some in the Jax library and in Camden County.
I have been awash in Shealys for several days. Louise Hay's book about the history of Macon County, Georgia had quite a few pages of Shealy genealogy, so it just kept on going... I believe I have it all in my tree now. I also got a lovely photo taken over 20 years ago in the mail. An ancestry email cousin sent it to me along with the probate record for this grandfather's (William Henry Hagood) estate. $15,000 in 1857. She was a rich widow for awhile, but I suspect the war and reconstruction took it's toll.
Twenty three years ago today Stas made his entry into the world. Happy Birthday Stas!!!
KG
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Red Letter Day at VSU
The VSU archives did not seem very promising at first. One of the students in charge was way tooooooo helpful and the others formed a chorus of chatter behind him. Then they all disappeared and there was no one in the library but me-which was fine with me but maybe not so much for the other people who came in. Eventually the mature librarian came back and by that time I had xeroxing to do. Great book with important information about Georgia genealogical research.
On my last trip to the stacks, I spotted a series of transcriptions of Wiregrass Georgia newspaper obits, so I began to read the index of all 6 volumns. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the obit for Jasper Delaughter Jr. Not only did it give me a death date and circumstances of his death, but the married names of his two sisters. I had one sister's information, but not the other, it is opened up a whole new line of Delaughter descendants.
I also got a pretty good photo of the Shealy home in Oglethorpe. Doesn't say which Shealy's home it was. Same book gave me extensive genealogy of Shealys in Oglethorpe with lots of information I don't have.
To top it all off, I met Pat at the library and got a ride in her new truck (just like the old truck only black) to the Bleu Cafe in downtown Valdosta where we had a find dinner.
Tomorrow we head back to Gadsden County, Fla. I'll plan to sit in the library and read the journal I found last time while Marcia heads to the cemetery to find our more about the Davises of Gadsden Co.
KG
On my last trip to the stacks, I spotted a series of transcriptions of Wiregrass Georgia newspaper obits, so I began to read the index of all 6 volumns. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the obit for Jasper Delaughter Jr. Not only did it give me a death date and circumstances of his death, but the married names of his two sisters. I had one sister's information, but not the other, it is opened up a whole new line of Delaughter descendants.
I also got a pretty good photo of the Shealy home in Oglethorpe. Doesn't say which Shealy's home it was. Same book gave me extensive genealogy of Shealys in Oglethorpe with lots of information I don't have.
To top it all off, I met Pat at the library and got a ride in her new truck (just like the old truck only black) to the Bleu Cafe in downtown Valdosta where we had a find dinner.
Tomorrow we head back to Gadsden County, Fla. I'll plan to sit in the library and read the journal I found last time while Marcia heads to the cemetery to find our more about the Davises of Gadsden Co.
KG
Sunday, April 04, 2010
One Out of 3, the Wadsworths
I suppose if there were any one of the three cemeteries I would like to find, it would be the Waters-Wadsworth Cemetery. However, next trip I would like to find the Shealys as well.
It is a two hour drive to Unadilla, Georgia and then west to the cemeteries. We found the one by the Vol. Fire Dept. It has 4 grandparents, so that is nothing to sneeze at. Jesse and Sarah Waterer Walters are buried there with their daughters, Susan and my gg grandparents, Mary Walters Wadsworth and her husband Elbert Wadsworth.
One of the things I like about going to the cemetery is that there are other people buried there and they might just be clues about the family. This is a bit of a bummer about Elbert, as I am looking for his father-guessing about who might be his father, and since he is buried with his wife's family-no apparent clues.
We looked for the Shealy Cemetery with no luck. Same for Mt Zion Lutheran where we are told Grandpa Andrew Epting Shealy might be buried. I recently found the newspaper clippings about his murder. Would like to find out what happened after his death, but since the courthouse burned.....
I-75 was not as traffic limited as we had hoped. There were a few other heathen Southerners on the road today at 11am, but most of our co-travelers were snowbirds headed north. Temps are in the 80's here. I am starting to think capri pants rather than jeans.
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Revenge of the Ancestors
We are whupped! We have been driving and sitting and sitting and driving with an occasional walk around the stacks. Ideally tomorrow's drive with walks around cemeteries will work a little better. We are headed for Montezuma and Oglethorpe.
Did I mention that Georgia has this less than charming way of naming towns and counties the same name-only the towns are not in the counties with the same name. Consequently, people looking for Macon, Ga would check Bibb County, and people interested in Macon County would be looking in the area around Montezuma and Oglethorpe. It can get rather confusing. Oglethorpe County is near Savannah, where you might think it should be considering he established the colony there.
I think the Wadsworths are not going to reveal themselves unless somebody has a family Bible somewhere. The Macon County Courthouse burned in 1957, the year after Grandma Eliza Wadsworth Shealy Wilkins got married. The local newspapers did not carry the wedding. Perhaps it was a quiet affair. Eliza's mother died two years before and her father died in 1856. I'm guessing her father, Elbert Wadsworth was married in Macon County too, as Jones County does not have a record of the marriage.
I did find that a horse had been sold to pay Elbert money owed him in 1828, but no marriage record in the newspaper or marriage records.
We heard interesting stories about courthouse burnings today from our librarian in Moultrie. Apparently during Reconstruction many people had to sell property quickly. They kept the original deeds, and when the courthouse burned down, they quickly registered their originals as though there was never another transaction made. Always keep the original.
Finding family seems to be either feast or famine. There are huge tomes about some branches of the family. The Haigwoods/Haygoods/Hagoods etc. The Jeters, The Paces, The Battles. In these massive tomes each author seems to have a different method of recording the massive amounts of information on the family/families. If your ancestors were always the first born, it's pretty easy to follow, but if not, you may have to wade through the entire genealogy of the first born, etc. to get to your line. The index is swell for ancestors like Hezikiah Thomas, but John Smith can be a challenge. When there are so many people with the same name in a family, one comes to appreciate the unique name.
So, keep your eye out for Wadsworth family bibles at yard sales-one never looses hope.
The Easter Bunny has left me a chocolate caramel egg, and we have a whole box of chocolate covered coffee beans, so we will be hopping down the bunny trail to Macon Country tomorrow.
KG
Did I mention that Georgia has this less than charming way of naming towns and counties the same name-only the towns are not in the counties with the same name. Consequently, people looking for Macon, Ga would check Bibb County, and people interested in Macon County would be looking in the area around Montezuma and Oglethorpe. It can get rather confusing. Oglethorpe County is near Savannah, where you might think it should be considering he established the colony there.
I think the Wadsworths are not going to reveal themselves unless somebody has a family Bible somewhere. The Macon County Courthouse burned in 1957, the year after Grandma Eliza Wadsworth Shealy Wilkins got married. The local newspapers did not carry the wedding. Perhaps it was a quiet affair. Eliza's mother died two years before and her father died in 1856. I'm guessing her father, Elbert Wadsworth was married in Macon County too, as Jones County does not have a record of the marriage.
I did find that a horse had been sold to pay Elbert money owed him in 1828, but no marriage record in the newspaper or marriage records.
We heard interesting stories about courthouse burnings today from our librarian in Moultrie. Apparently during Reconstruction many people had to sell property quickly. They kept the original deeds, and when the courthouse burned down, they quickly registered their originals as though there was never another transaction made. Always keep the original.
Finding family seems to be either feast or famine. There are huge tomes about some branches of the family. The Haigwoods/Haygoods/Hagoods etc. The Jeters, The Paces, The Battles. In these massive tomes each author seems to have a different method of recording the massive amounts of information on the family/families. If your ancestors were always the first born, it's pretty easy to follow, but if not, you may have to wade through the entire genealogy of the first born, etc. to get to your line. The index is swell for ancestors like Hezikiah Thomas, but John Smith can be a challenge. When there are so many people with the same name in a family, one comes to appreciate the unique name.
So, keep your eye out for Wadsworth family bibles at yard sales-one never looses hope.
The Easter Bunny has left me a chocolate caramel egg, and we have a whole box of chocolate covered coffee beans, so we will be hopping down the bunny trail to Macon Country tomorrow.
KG
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Red Letter Day in Moultrie
Who woulda guessed. Moultrie has the poshest and best outfitted genealogical library in the area. It got endowed, and it shows.
The day started with a visit by Cousin Annette who lives in Adel. Since Marcia is having trouble with her eye, she decided it best to stay home. Wearing her glasses hurts and irritates swelling around her eye. So, Annette and I took off for Moultrie. First lunch at the Three Crazy Bakers Cafe. Quiches and wraps are featured, but I loved the photos of young people in Three Crazy Bakers T-shirts at various famous places around the world. The menu has a photo of the Great Wall with the back of a Three Crazy Bakers T. Very clever!
After lunch Annette introduced me to the library. Stacks and stacks and lovely xerox and pretty fast wi-fi. Genealogists hog heaven. The librarian even gave me a cart of my own.
The first find was about Grandpa James Griffin-gg grandfather. It was in a book of compiled and transcribed newspaper clippings of the time and it says that he died at three score and 10 years in 1873. Now, it is entirely possible that there was more than one James Griffin, and indeed, his son was James, but unlikely that there was another one of the same age in the little area of Decatur, Georgia. So I'm taking this as the correct dates for him. Just before his death he was liquidating his assetts-paying off his debts. It was during reconstruction and hard times for all in this area. He was once Sherriff of Decautr County.
However, the big find of the day was the last book of the day and I almost missed it. It was a new grandfather for us Delaughter descendants. In a book listing marriages in Edgefield Co., SC, Carson ____ m Geo. Delaughter and underneath her name (daughter of James Carson). So, I now have ggggg grandfather Carson! He isn't listed in any other ancestry tree I have found. For those of you on ancestry.com, check comments for Mary Carson.
I also got a list of who Delaughter is buried in what Delaughter cemetery, and first on the first cemetery is Absolom Delaughter-gg grandaddy. I'm preping for the South Carolina trip.
It seems to be a red letter day for grandaddies as well!
Today we are off to Tally. We are on our last roll of TP and a trip by Camping World is a must. Cannot use any but special paper in the Cronemobile. Marcia is also fond of Bruglers bagles and their sandwiches are great. We are also rabid about the State Archives. So many reference books and so little time.
KG
The day started with a visit by Cousin Annette who lives in Adel. Since Marcia is having trouble with her eye, she decided it best to stay home. Wearing her glasses hurts and irritates swelling around her eye. So, Annette and I took off for Moultrie. First lunch at the Three Crazy Bakers Cafe. Quiches and wraps are featured, but I loved the photos of young people in Three Crazy Bakers T-shirts at various famous places around the world. The menu has a photo of the Great Wall with the back of a Three Crazy Bakers T. Very clever!
After lunch Annette introduced me to the library. Stacks and stacks and lovely xerox and pretty fast wi-fi. Genealogists hog heaven. The librarian even gave me a cart of my own.
The first find was about Grandpa James Griffin-gg grandfather. It was in a book of compiled and transcribed newspaper clippings of the time and it says that he died at three score and 10 years in 1873. Now, it is entirely possible that there was more than one James Griffin, and indeed, his son was James, but unlikely that there was another one of the same age in the little area of Decatur, Georgia. So I'm taking this as the correct dates for him. Just before his death he was liquidating his assetts-paying off his debts. It was during reconstruction and hard times for all in this area. He was once Sherriff of Decautr County.
However, the big find of the day was the last book of the day and I almost missed it. It was a new grandfather for us Delaughter descendants. In a book listing marriages in Edgefield Co., SC, Carson ____ m Geo. Delaughter and underneath her name (daughter of James Carson). So, I now have ggggg grandfather Carson! He isn't listed in any other ancestry tree I have found. For those of you on ancestry.com, check comments for Mary Carson.
I also got a list of who Delaughter is buried in what Delaughter cemetery, and first on the first cemetery is Absolom Delaughter-gg grandaddy. I'm preping for the South Carolina trip.
It seems to be a red letter day for grandaddies as well!
Today we are off to Tally. We are on our last roll of TP and a trip by Camping World is a must. Cannot use any but special paper in the Cronemobile. Marcia is also fond of Bruglers bagles and their sandwiches are great. We are also rabid about the State Archives. So many reference books and so little time.
KG
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
