Tag: ancestry

When One William Is Not the Other: Problems Identifying Samuel Kerr, Husband of Mary Calhoun, Created by Confusion of Two Different William Kerrs

September 10, 2026

Or, Subtitled: “I have lived in Abbeville District on the same farm where I now live ever since the year 1762” I ended my previous posting stating, In my next posting, I’ll discuss the problem of determining what became of Samuel Kerr elder and wife Margaret Pickens after they acquired land on the northwest fork … More When One William Is Not the Other: Problems Identifying Samuel Kerr, Husband of Mary Calhoun, Created by Confusion of Two Different William Kerrs

Nailing Down the Identity of the Samuel Kerr Who Married Mary, Daughter of Ezekiel Calhoun and Jane/Jean Ewing

September 6, 2026

Or, Subtitled: “All my right of dower to the land I got by Samuel Kerr” My initial posting in this new series following my Kerr family line back from Samuel Kerr who married Mary, daughter of Ezekiel Calhoun and Jane/Jean Ewing, about 1764 in the Long Cane settlement in Granville (later Abbeville) County, South Carolina, … More Nailing Down the Identity of the Samuel Kerr Who Married Mary, Daughter of Ezekiel Calhoun and Jane/Jean Ewing

A Kerr Family of Ulster, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South Carolina: Launching a Study of a New Family Line

September 2, 2026

Or, Subtitled: “Samuel Kerr a Chd. Bapd. named Samuel” With this posting, I’m launching a new series in which I’ll be climbing up my ancestral lines on a line I haven’t yet explored in detail. When I inaugurated this blog back in 2018, my primary goal was to take my over forty years of genealogical … More A Kerr Family of Ulster, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South Carolina: Launching a Study of a New Family Line

Children of Griffith and Mary James: Hannah, Gwendolyn, Joseph, Mary, John, and Samuel

July 25, 2026

Or, Subtitled: Migration Trails from Maryland to South Carolina and Many Points West As the previous posting shows, in his 20 April 1795 will in Pendleton District, South Carolina, Griffith James names his wife Mary and the following children: Hannah, Gwendolyn (Jenny in the will), Joseph, Mary, John, and Samuel.[1] The children are named in … More Children of Griffith and Mary James: Hannah, Gwendolyn, Joseph, Mary, John, and Samuel

Griffith James (abt. 1725? – 1795): Final Years in Pendleton District, South Carolina (1793-5)

July 21, 2026

Or, Subtitled: Horse Thieves and Baptist Churches As the previous posting notes, after selling his homeplace in his Pough tract just southeast of Sharpsburg on 13 May 1792, and (with James Austin), after selling his 50-acre portion of the King Cole tract on 3 March 1792, Griffith James moved with his wife Mary from Washington … More Griffith James (abt. 1725? – 1795): Final Years in Pendleton District, South Carolina (1793-5)

Griffith James (abt. 1725? – 1795): Sharpsburg, Maryland, Beginnings

July 17, 2026

Or, Subtitled: “I have no tradition of her parents, except their nationality, they were Welch, but Hannah was born and reared in Maryland” “Don’t know much about history”: Sam Cooke’s song “Wonderful World” is scrolling through my head as I launch a new series of postings, this one about Griffith James (abt. 1725? – 1795). … More Griffith James (abt. 1725? – 1795): Sharpsburg, Maryland, Beginnings

Challenge of Tracing the Ancestry of James Brooks (bef. 1720 – 1779) of Frederick County, Virginia: A Thought-Provoking New Clue

May 24, 2026

Or, Subtitled: “The chain carriers were often kin to the person for whom the land was being surveyed” (Judy G. Russell, “A Matter of Measure,“ Legal Genealogy) I have posted previously about an elusive ancestor named James Brooks, who died prior to 2 November 1779 in Frederick County, Virginia, when his widow Mary and son … More Challenge of Tracing the Ancestry of James Brooks (bef. 1720 – 1779) of Frederick County, Virginia: A Thought-Provoking New Clue

Thomas Leonard (1752-1832) and Hannah James (1752-1842): Children Robert, Thomas, John, Hezekiah, Samuel, Griffith, Colin, and Hannah

May 16, 2026

Or, Subtitled: “Saw Lincoln County when it was a cane brake infested with bear, wolves, deer and many other wild animals” In three previous postings, I discussed the life of Thomas Leonard (1752-1832), son of Robert Leonard and Honor Pritchard. I began with a look at the documents that chronicle his early years in Maryland, … More Thomas Leonard (1752-1832) and Hannah James (1752-1842): Children Robert, Thomas, John, Hezekiah, Samuel, Griffith, Colin, and Hannah

Thomas Leonard (1752-1832), Son of Robert Leonard and Honor Pritchard: Lincoln County, Tennessee, Years (1808-1832)

May 2, 2026

Or, Subtitled: “My will and desire is that my wife Hannah, Leonard, Shall remain quietly in peaceable poſseſsion, of the room, commonly called hers, during her natural life” This posting continues (and concludes) my documentation of the life of Thomas Leonard (1752-1832), son of Robert Leonard and Honor Pritchard. This series began with an account … More Thomas Leonard (1752-1832), Son of Robert Leonard and Honor Pritchard: Lincoln County, Tennessee, Years (1808-1832)

Thomas Leonard (1752-1832), Son of Robert Leonard and Honor Pritchard: South Carolina Years (1786-1808)

April 24, 2026

Or, Subtitled: “The family came in a cart whose wheels were sections of a big tree sawn out thicker in the center than on the edge” This posting continues a thread discussing records that document the life of Thomas Leonard (1752-1832), son of Robert Leonard and Honor Pritchard. The previous posting in the thread documents … More Thomas Leonard (1752-1832), Son of Robert Leonard and Honor Pritchard: South Carolina Years (1786-1808)