Family Stories and Surprising Ways New Documentation Can Confirm Them: The Story of Robert Allen Sumrall and Margaret and Catherine Ryan

Or, Subtitled: “May her soul rest in peis.” This posting tells a story. It tells a story about a story, one told to me in my formative years. It also tells a story about how sudden genealogical surprises can either confirm or disprove our long-cherished family traditions. So that we do well to keep ourselves … More Family Stories and Surprising Ways New Documentation Can Confirm Them: The Story of Robert Allen Sumrall and Margaret and Catherine Ryan

Children of John Green (1768-1837) and Jane Kerr (1768-1855): George Sidney Green (1817-1853)

Or, Subtitled: “Lost his life while handling a vicious mule“ 11. The last child of John Green and Jane Kerr, George Sidney Green, was born 2 August 1817, according to family trees that researchers of the Green family have shared with me.[1] None of the family trees assigning George this date of birth cite a … More Children of John Green (1768-1837) and Jane Kerr (1768-1855): George Sidney Green (1817-1853)

Children of John Green (1768-1837) and Jane Kerr (1768-1855): Jane Caroline Green (1808-1897) and Husband Thomas Keesee

Or, Subtitled: He “marketed the first bales of cotton in Little Rock,—which event occasioned considerable excitement and comment” 10. Jane Caroline Green, the tenth child of John Green and Jane Kerr, was born 10 October 1808 in Pendleton District, South Carolina. This date is recorded on her tombstone in Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian cemetery at Ovilla … More Children of John Green (1768-1837) and Jane Kerr (1768-1855): Jane Caroline Green (1808-1897) and Husband Thomas Keesee

“In Consideration of the Love and Good Will I Have and Do Bear Towards My Sister Telitha Monk”: Daniel Cherry, Strachan and Talitha Cherry Monk, and What Land Records Can Teach Us (3)

I began this series of postings about the 137-acre tract on the Tennessee River in Hardin County, Tennessee, that Daniel Cherry (1782-1843) loaned to his sister Talitha (1790-1860) and her husband Strachan Monk (1787-1858) in 1837 by telling you of my surprise when I read the original deed for this gift of land. Before reading the … More “In Consideration of the Love and Good Will I Have and Do Bear Towards My Sister Telitha Monk”: Daniel Cherry, Strachan and Talitha Cherry Monk, and What Land Records Can Teach Us (3)

Prob. Died Young, Or How Pat Ryan Lost His Eye (As a Union Soldier) (9)

This will be my final posting in this series about Patrick Ryan (1846-1893) and his Civil War pension file. If you’re just discovering this blog, you may want to read the whole series of which this is the final piece. What I want to do now is provide some footnotes to  previous postings in the … More Prob. Died Young, Or How Pat Ryan Lost His Eye (As a Union Soldier) (9)

Prob. Died Young, Or How Pat Ryan Lost His Eye (As a Union Soldier) (3)

And now to that missing eye: though I have not spelled this out, it has probably become obvious to you if you’ve read the first two installments in this series that it is, in part, an extended essay about the importance of family stories in genealogical research. It’s a foray into understanding how family stories … More Prob. Died Young, Or How Pat Ryan Lost His Eye (As a Union Soldier) (3)