Thomas Lewis Leonard (1781-1870), Son of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James: Nacogdoches and Cherokee County, Texas, Years, 1839-1870

March 28, 2026

Or, Subtitled: “Situated in Cherokee County on the waters of the River Neches north of the San Antonio Road and about 6½ miles SE from Rusk” So on to Texas, the final destination in the life journey of Thomas Lewis Leonard and wife Sarah Lauderdale: as the previous posting shows, on 6 May 1839 Thomas … More Thomas Lewis Leonard (1781-1870), Son of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James: Nacogdoches and Cherokee County, Texas, Years, 1839-1870

Thomas Lewis Leonard (1781-1870), Son of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James: Limestone County, Alabama, Years, 1830-1839

March 11, 2026

Or, Subtitled: “The said Thomas absconded so that the ordinary process of law cannot be served upon him” This posting is a continuation of a previous one in which I documented the life of Thomas Lewis Leonard, son of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, in Limestone County, Alabama, in the decade 1820-1830. This posting will … More Thomas Lewis Leonard (1781-1870), Son of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James: Limestone County, Alabama, Years, 1830-1839

Thomas Lewis Leonard (1781-1870), Son of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James: Limestone County, Alabama, Years, 1820-1830

March 8, 2026

Or, Subtitled: “Credit appeared to be turning enslavers’ Alabama dreams into reality. Alabama was already third in the United States in total cotton produced and first in per capita production” ~ Edward C. Baptist, “The Half Has Never Been Told”: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism (New York: Basic Books, 2014), p. 93 In … More Thomas Lewis Leonard (1781-1870), Son of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James: Limestone County, Alabama, Years, 1820-1830

Thomas Lewis Leonard (1781-1870), Son of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James: Early Years in Maryland, South Carolina, and Tennessee

February 14, 2026

Or, Subtitled: “He was one of Limestone’s best citizens, no man stood higher as a good man than Thomas Leonard. His wife was his equal in all duties of a companion.” Thomas Lewis Leonard, son of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, was born in 1781 in Washington County, Maryland. This date of birth is based … More Thomas Lewis Leonard (1781-1870), Son of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James: Early Years in Maryland, South Carolina, and Tennessee

Pat Ryan: Family Stories and Our Obligation to Share Them

February 6, 2026

Or, Subtitled: “Everywhere in the world people led their lives unrecorded”~ Elizabeth Strout, Tell Me Everything (NY: Random House, 2024), p. 79 Stories; stories handed down in families; family stories: these are precious gifts that demand to be shared, if not in our family circles, then more widely, since stories told within a family circle … More Pat Ryan: Family Stories and Our Obligation to Share Them

Aletha R. Leonard (abt. 1803 – abt. 1845), Wife of James G. Birdwell

February 5, 2026

Or, Subtitled: “That James Birdwell and Lethe Birdwell his wife have both departed this life” With my last posting about James Lauderdale (abt. 1707 – 1796/7), I’ve drawn to a close, for now at least, my series of postings on my Lauderdale family line. With this posting, I’m inaugurating a new series about another of … More Aletha R. Leonard (abt. 1803 – abt. 1845), Wife of James G. Birdwell

James Lauderdale (abt. 1707 – 1796/7): Will and Children

January 31, 2026

Or, Subtitled: “James Lauderdale his mark wafer seal” In my previous two postings (here and here), I shared the subtance of what I know about my earliest proven ancestor in the Lauderdale line, James Lauderdale, who died at an advanced age between 24 September 1796, when he made a codicil to his will in Botetourt … More James Lauderdale (abt. 1707 – 1796/7): Will and Children

James Lauderdale (abt. 1707 – 1796/7): The Virginia Years, 1744/5 – 1796

January 28, 2026

Or, Subtitled: “Run away from the ſubſcriber, near Buchanan’s ferry, the 5th inſtant” In my preceding posting I focused on establishing when James Lauderdale (abt. 1707? – 1796/7) arrived in Virginia, and, insofar as this can be documented, where he was living prior to his arrival in Virginia. That posting showed that there’s sound documentation … More James Lauderdale (abt. 1707 – 1796/7): The Virginia Years, 1744/5 – 1796

Joseph Pryor of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama: Pre-Alabama Records Gap and Importance of Church Minutes

December 30, 2025

Or, Subtitled: “For wine … Sister Pryer” In a previous posting, I shared here an article I published in August 2025 in the journal of the Tuscaloosa County Alabama Genealogical Society, Roots & Branches. That article focused on the question of the pre-Alabama roots of an early settler of Tuscaloosa County, Joseph Pryor (1767-1851). I’ve … More Joseph Pryor of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama: Pre-Alabama Records Gap and Importance of Church Minutes