Journals and How to Reach Out to Distant Cousins

Last week I was invited over to my Aunt Kathy's house to pick up some photos and things that had been marked for my mom (by my Grandma). Aunt Kathy is the one who ended up with many of the boxes from Grandma's house, and has taken the mission of sorting and dividing and sharing the contents with the family. It is a daunting task, as I know from trying to sort and scan and separate the important from the unimportant documents and photos from my parents' house. It is overwhelming and has risks of allergy attacks (or asthma attacks), injuring backs (those boxes are HEAVY) and causing one to remember the past, both fondly and with regret.

I was so happy to receive the copy of my Grandma's journal and to thumb through it last week. She is an example to me of the importance of saving the papers and programs from Christmas plays and other events as well as writing a note about them in a journal. It was a treat for me to read my Grandma's words, to hear her voice in my mind, to see how she felt about us - her family - and how she cherished us. Some entries were as though she was writing a special note just to me; she took time to write what was happening -- usually the TRIUMPHS and SUCCESSES - - of her children and grandchildren, and offered loving words to keep up the good work or to continue pursuing a talent and for those who her heart really ached, for those who were struggling, she desired so much to take the pain away, to hold us in her arms and bring us to the safety and love of a Grandmother who had faith, who had quiet strength, who truly loved us.

When I was 8 years old I received a journal of sorts, "All About Me" book that I did not keep with any diligence. When I was 12, my Grandma gave me a bound journal that I only occasionally wrote in during my younger teen years, but as I went through high school I got into the habit of writing the happenings of my life and the worries and the concerns I had about my life and the world around me. After I graduated from high school I kept writing, though not as regularly, and in the times that I have kept a journal, I inevitably ended up hurting someone when they stumbled across it and read my feelings of frustration or anger. I got out of the habit. I got out of the habit as a way to keep my feelings and thoughts to myself and not risk hurting someone that I love very much by writing the feelings down.
Well, Grandma's journal got me to thinking that in fact I need to get BACK into the habit of writing in a journal. Not only to express my gratitude, but to just keep a record of my day to day life, the life of my children, my husband, my brothers, and my family. I have a box of mementos where I slide in funeral programs and concert bills and little pictures that my kids draw for me, but I have not been good about writing the feelings and thoughts I have of those days, those moments... And since I have not been actively scrapbooking, I have years of papers and ribbons and art projects that have gone into my box...

I also have another genealogy related query on my mind. How do I reach out to share information with distantly related cousins, or even find them and get information to them? I am thinking about my other Grandma's family - her brother's children, her sister's children and grandchildren, etc. I am not expecting anyone to send me photos or anything of that nature (though I would LOVE to receive them), but I just want to know about them, get a family group sheet on them, their children, their grandchildren, so that I can keep a record of my cousins and the posterity to which I belong.
Grandma Starks's family tends to be reserved, quiet, unassuming. They are hard-working people with a great love for their family, but they are not the type to reach out. It is especially difficult for me, as I am a shy person in general, and I struggle with making phone calls, intruding into other people's lives. It sounds silly when I write it, but it is true. I stand at the threshold, wanting to go in, but I fear taking the step.
I do not know if people even read snail mail anymore. If I send a letter of inquiry, even with a self-addressed stamped envelope, would they respond?

In the same thread of will they respond and how to reach out to get in contact with family about family history, I have a desire to save the stories of my children's grandparents. My parents are no longer here to pester about "What was life like when you were a kid" but my husband's parents are. I want to give them each a book of journaling prompts, with room to write their answers, for Christmas, with the request that they give the resulting book BACK to their son or a group gift to my children the following Christmas. Am I crazy to think they would do it? Do people write anymore?

Well, I will continue working on my genealogy and getting CURRENT family history written down as well as working on past generations. November is my month to write fiction for NaNoWriMo (November is National Novel Writing Month) so genealogy research is on hold until I get my novel finished. It won't be long now. I am past the 50K words for "winning" NaNoWriMo, but my story has not been completed. I am currently at 65K words and still have more story to tell.

I would love ideas about journaling and how to get information from cousins and distant kindred if you have any - please share! :)

Happy Thanksgiving,
Dece

Genealogy Elitist...

Well, I think I fall under the category of genealogical elitist. Not that I think my ancestry makes me better than someone else, as I am just as flawed as every other human being, alive or dead, on this beautiful planet Earth. However, I think I am a research snob, an elitist who somehow believes that EVERYTHING should have documentation. And no, someone else's online family tree does not count as documentation. Show me a census record, a birth record, marriage record, a family bible, death record, even a letter or a diary entry, and I would be much more inclined to believe what I see. Yes, all of the above may have misspellings and can be attributed to the wrong "John Smith" but it's *something* besides other people's research.

It's funny to find my own research documenting someone else's family tree. Yay for them that they took what I put out there, but have they even questioned it? Have they thought, this came too easily, I should take a look at the sources. Rarely.

It makes me afraid to put anything out on the web or to share it online because my conjectures yesterday, may prove to be wrong tomorrow, and I don't want to have a whole group of people happening upon my work and believing it when if they looked harder, they might find it is not their family at all.

Anyway, so I have a subscription to ancestry for a year and I have to admit, it is over whelming. Some of their transcriptions for indexes are plain WRONG so I have to keep looking and there is so much information out there, that sifting through it hurts my eyes and my brain.

But that is the puzzle of genealogy, right? Keep looking, everywhere, figuring out misspellings and mis-transcriptions and wondering just where Great-Grandpa George was in 1910 and why I can't find him.
Yes, I cannot find my Great-Great-Grandparents George Washington Sullivan and Nancy Diana Hardt (Sullivan) and their brood of children in 1910. And it would be a nice find if I did, so I can figure out when some of their children were born/died while in childhood.

I can complain all I want about people not being as methodical and research oriented as I am, but I sure am grateful for the internet and the ability I have to connect with other genealogists, other family members, and to sift through records at home instead of huddling over microfilm at the library. I can strain my eyes from the comfort of my sofa and my laptop computer, in my pajamas. :)

It is my quest for genealogical perfection that makes me an elitist.

And there is nothing perfect about genealogy! :)

Dece

Carver kindred... Finally

I go through cycles of digging on one line of my family and then another. The past couple of weeks I've been gathering census data, marriage records, and death records for Carver's in South-East Missouri. My particular line is through Malissa Carver who married Ezekiel George Jasper Sullivan. She is my ggg-grandmother.

Through my gathering I found many Carver's who seemed to be related - they used similar names, etc. but I was really struggling as to how they were all related. They would be in one county in 1850, skip 1860, a neighboring county in 1870, the original county in 1880, and so on. They were not particular about calling their children by one name. For instance, Joseph Richard Carver might be Joseph in one census living with his parents, Richard living on his own, the marriage record might call him Joseph Richard Carver while his death certificate called him Joseph Richard Carver. Craziness!

I was fortunate to find a Family Resource File on familysearch.org that had many of my Carver's and had their connections. My only gripe is that it did not have sources documented, so I have to take someone's word for their searching. Much of it matched what I had gleaned from source records, so I feel grateful for the man/men who uploaded their family information to familysearch. Now I can keep looking for descendants.

But genealogy is the ultimate puzzle. It never really ends -- there are always more generations being born and there always comes a point where I've reached the "brick wall" where the records do not exist (or I just have no idea where else to look).

I also did a little familysearch indexing this week. I wanted to work on genealogy and I just couldn't focus on any area for my own, so I thought I'd give half an hour or so on helping others find THEIR genealogy. Random acts of genealogical kindness, right? :)

Now, I'll dig for a few more minutes then go on to bed. I would welcome a dream about my ancestors, especially if James Willis Kerley could show up and tell me where to find his father, mother, etc. Yes, I would really welcome that. OR if Richard Carver b. abt 1796 would show up and point me towards HIS parents/brothers/sisters, etc. That would ROCK! LOL

Good luck to all of your family history endeavors.
Love, Dece

James Willis Kerley b. 1799

Oh what a frustrating man this is!

My James Willis Kerley was born 1799 in North Carolina, his parents are reported by his son William G. to be Daniel and Ann, of Virginia. He married Elizabeth "Ann" (LNU) and had 10 children:
John Wesley Kerley Jan 1823, NC m. Charlotte Emmaline Eads
Henry L. Kerley 4 Jun 1827, NC m1. Sarah Staggs 1851, TN m2. America French Harris, 1876, AR
Louallen C. (L.C.) Kerley 1829, NC m. Martha McCarey, before 1850, TN
Sarah T. Kerley 1830, NC m. Andrew J. Poffitt 29 May 1871, AR
Lucinda A. Kerley 1835, TN
William Garrett Kerley 5 Mar 1835, TN m. Nancy Jane Cypert 9 Dec 1860, AR
Mary A. Kerley 1842, TN
Violet C. Kerley 1844, TN m. Jesse Newton Cypert, 1860 Slymore, Izard, Arkansas
Achilles Napoleon Kerley 1846, TN m. Elizabeth Ann Cypert, AR
Hettie Luticia Kerley 1848, TN m1. James Gibson, m3. Reuben C. Upshaw, 7 Feb 1875, AR

Why is he so frustrating? Because I cannot find where he fits in with ANY documented family from North Carolina or Virginia. Where do you fit in with these folks, James? I want to connect you to your parents, to your family, and I can't figure out who your Daniel could be.

So, I keep working on descendants. I have many generations found via marriage records, SSDI, and digitized death records. I am so blessed to be living in this time when so many records are available right at my keyboard. :)

I love working on my genealogy!

Dece

Henry Kerley

I woke up this morning at 5:00am thinking about Henry Kerley. I had dreams involving him, or rather, looking for information about him.
Henry L. Kerley was the son of James Kerley and Elizabeth Ann Roric (Roarke, Rorok, Rourke, spelled a dozen different ways). He was born in Burke County, North Carolina, 4 Jun 1827. The Kerley family moved from North Carolina about 1830, to Wayne County, Tennessee. After the 1850 Census, the Kerley family moved again, to North East Arkansas, Randolph County for Henry L. Kerley, while a couple of his brothers moved to Stone County and Izard County, Arkansas.
Henry L. Kerley married Sarah Staggs about 1851, probably in Tennessee. The Staggs family was also active in Wayne County.
They had 9 children:
1. Solen E. Kerley b. Dec 1851, Maynard, Randolph, Arkansas
2. Isabelle Tennessee Kerley b. abt 1853
3. Mary P. Kerley b. 20 Mar 1855
4. Thomas Benton Kerley b. 20 Sep 1856
5. Sarah A. Kerley b. abt 1858
6. Martha E. Kerley b. abt 1861
7. Henry H. Kerley b. 10 Feb 1864
8. Jacob A. Kerley b. Feb 1869
9. Annie Kerley

Here is a transcription of his obituary.
"H L Kerley, better known as Uncle Henry, departed this life 30 July 1912 in his 86'th year. Uncle Henry was born in Burt Co North Carolina 4 June 1827. He moved from there to Tennessee, and from there he came to randolph Co Arkansas in 1850 and settled on a farm near where he died. When the Civil War broke out he was among the first to volunteer. He served through the war and held many honorable positions in the Southern army. He professed faith in Christ and joined the Missionary Baptist Church at an early age, and lived aloyal and faithful member. He was married in 1851 to Miss sarah Stoggs and to this union 9 children were born. Mrs Kerly having departed this life, he was agin married in 1876 to Mrs America Harris. To this union 3 children were born. Uncle Henry had become an invalid many years before he died. He leaves a wife, 6 children, and ahost of relatives and friends to mourn their loss. After the funeral services conducted by Rev C A Fowler, he was laid to rest in Overby Cemetery." PSH, 23 August 1912, pg 5

I feel the desire to write a family history for my Grandma's family -- in order to share it with her sister and cousins. I am not sure how to do this in a way that is cohesive, easy to understand, etc.
I think a book format dividing the ancestry into two main sections, The Kerley and allied families, and The Sullivan and allied families is the way to go. I feel ill-equipped to share what information I have in a non-genealogist way. Any ideas would be quite helpful.

Now, I am going to take a couple more Motrin and hope that this headache will subside by the time my children get up. :)

Dece

Birthdays

Birthdays are special.
I wonder why birth dates on documents vary so much. For instance, My great-great-grandfather, George Washington Sullivan, was listed as:
8 years old - 1880 Census (1872)
19 years old - Jan 1891 Marriage certificate (1871, since he had not had his birthday yet)
March 1871 - 1900 Census (1871)
47 years old - 1920 Census (1873)
56 years old - 1930 Census (1874)
12 March 1874 - Death Certificate (1950)

Now, I wonder why his mother/parent thought he was born in 1872.
What would make a person give so many different answers to, when were you born?

I wonder if I could get away with being 4 or 5 years younger when I'm in my 50's or 60's? ;-)

So, I average it out to be 1872, and that's what I use in my files.

Happy Birthday to my brother today!

Dece

French Connections: Aget and DeCramp

Some of you may not know that my husband's family has come to the United States more recently than my ancestors -- his grandmother was born in France. Well, I was feeling like I was at a dead end with my own ancestors and thought I would give some of his names a try.
I found two fantastic resource sites of transcribed French records for Dunkerque, France:
Marriages
http://www.gennpdc.net/releves/tab_mari.php?args=Dunkerque

1906 Census of Dunkerque
http://crgfa.free.fr/jfichaux/dunkindx.php

It was exciting to me to find names especially in the census records. The women are enumerated with their maiden name, which is a genealogist's dream come true! :)

So, I was able to go a couple of generations on my husband's family -- Aget and DeCramp -- and with the marriage records I feel like I've made great headway on connecting more generations.

I am so grateful to the people who have taken time to transcribe these records and make them available -- FOR FREE -- to other interested researchers. I know our Heavenly Father has special blessings reserved for those charitable acts of service.

Good luck and good gene hunting,
Dece

Carving out time to work on Carver's!

I love waking up and finding emails from distant cousins who have information about family lines that have been plaguing me. It doesn't happen every day but when it does... HURRAY!

I received an email, info, pics, etc on my Carver line. My grandmother, Ida Pauline Sullivan was the daughter of James Bryan Sullivan and Lillie Kerley. (I've worked a lot on the Kerley line, but have yet to get in contact with any of my great-grandmother's siblings/descendants). James Bryan was the son of George Washington Sullivan and Nancy Diana Hardt. (I've worked a lot on the Hardt's, too). George Washington Sullivan was the son of Ezekiel George Jasper Sullivan and Malissa Carver. And Malissa Carver was as far as I had gotten with anything definitive.

Now I have her siblings and her parents' names. Yay!

I am constantly amazed by how this tool, the internet, has transformed genealogy and made the whole world accessible, and CONNECTED! What a blessing we have!

So, along with Fisher's, I will be working on Carver's this week. :)

I am so grateful!!

Dece

Confusing Fisher's!

Like many out there, I inherited not-very-well-documented genealogy information. Perhaps you're like me and started out doing genealogy and not giving as much attention to every single source, but here I am 10+ years later trying to tease out what is real, what is fiction, what is "kind of" right, but not 100% accurate.

Well, I have a line of Fisher. What information I have been given is not supported by census or other records at this time. Who is my Matilda C. Fisher's mother? Father? Siblings? There are 2 Matilda Fisher's that I have found that "could" fit, but I do not know if they really do. The IGI and other online sources are no help with the documentation of the information -- so I have to do the combing through of census and other records on my own, knowing I cannot trust anything other than source information (census and marriage records at this point).

Matilda C. Fisher married James Turnbow 6 Jul 1865, in Lamar County, Texas. I have this from the Texas marriage records (though it is an index, not a scan of the actual record). From census records I have she was born in Mississippi, her parents were born in South Carolina. Is that even true?

So, I keep looking. Where are you Matilda? Where are your parents? Are you the Matilda Caroline Fisher daughter of Albert G. Fisher and Peggy Elmira Crowder? They were in Mississippi at the right time, then in Arkansas, and at some point Matilda was in Texas and married James Turnbow.

Off on the genealogy adventure (in between taking care of kids, making dinner, and being a wife!). Wish me luck!

Dece

Spring Cleaning

I've been working on cleaning up my PAF files and trying to eliminate duplicates. It sounds a lot easier than it is! LOL I get so sleepy looking at names on the computer.

There is so much work to be done.

I have a whole line that is not on my file and I'm wondering what I did with it! LOL There are always issues when dealing with computer files and not the hard-copy paper files. Although, with my lack of organization, finding papers is not much better!

I will be continuing to clean up my working PAF file and then I'll get to uploading more census forms and transcriptions and other records for my family branches.

Hope yours is a fantastic week and that we can get more of our roots "dug up"! :)

Dece

Making Memories - Easter

Today I spent time with my children and a few of my nieces and nephews and we decorated cookies and cupcakes for Easter. As I lamented the fact that not ALL of my nieces and nephews were with us today, I thought a lot about my own Easter memories.
This year, Easter falls on the first Sunday in April, which is when my church has it's semi-annual General Conference. This means that we will not be at "church" in our finest Easter bonnets but will be at home, watching/listening to the Prophet and other apostles give devotionals. I love when Conference and Easter coincide. I loved it when I was a kid, too. To just get up in the morning, dive into the Easter baskets first thing, and consume Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs until we went to Grandma Starks' house for a big lunch. YUM.
At Grandma Starks' house we would hide eggs and search for them. Aunt Judy would hunt the eggs with us, too. :) One of my favorite places was in the skins of the palm tree (after the palm leaves are cut, but the remainder is left on the tree) and on the top of the door handle of Uncle Dwight's green truck. I loved to go outside at Grandma's house and look at all of the beautiful flowers that Grandpa planted, especially the sweetpeas. I remember Grandma showing me that you squeeze the back of the snapdragon's head and it would "open up" it's mouth. Those are some sweet memories.
I am so grateful for the Savior and this Easter season. What a blessing it is to be alive! I hope that my children and their cousins will look back on Easter memories and feel happy like I do, thinking about my own memories. I loved this gorgeous Spring day and I'm thankful to my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for this day.
Love, Dece

More Turnbow Research

Today I have been looking for my line of Turnbow's on the 1930 Census. It sounds easy enough, but I do not have a subscription to ancestry so I have to do some detective work with the "index" through ancestry of 1930 census. I was able to find my "people" though and through Heritage Quest -- available free via Maricopa County Library website -- I found the following in the census:

1930 > OKLAHOMA > SEMINOLE > ECONTUCHKA TWP
Series: T626 Roll: 1930 Page: 190
Line 70, 148, 157
Turnbow, Alonzo Head O $200 R No M W 36 M 22 No Yes Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma 86 _ _ _ _ Yes Battery repairman Own Shop 7623 W Yes _ No
- - - Rosie M. Wife-H _ _ _ _ F W 34 M 20 No Yes Oklahoma, Arkansas, Arkansas, 86 _ _ _ _ Yes None
- - - Elmer L. Son _ _ _ _ M W 12 S _ Yes yes Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma 86, _ _ _ _ Yes None
- - - Edna M. Daughter _ _ _ _ F W 11 S _ Yes yes Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, 86
- - - Thelma N. Daughter _ _ _ _ F W 9 S _ Yes _ Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma
- - - Ruby D Daughter _ _ _ _ F W 7 S _ Yes Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma

1930, Ponca, Lincoln, Oklahoma
Series: T626 Roll: 1911 Page: 115
Line 35, Sec 2, 102, 306
Turnbow, Allen D. Head R _ _ yes M W 40 M 21 No Yes Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas _ 87 _ _ _ _ yes Farmer General Farm _ O yes _ No_ 102
- - - Millie (may be Hillie or Willie) F Wife-H _ _ _ _ F W 34 M 14 No Yes Texas, Texas, Texas _ 87 _ _ _ _ yes none
- - - Henry A. Son _ _ _ _ M W 18 S _ No Yes Oklahoma, Texas, Texas _ 86 _ _ _ _ yes None
- - - Rubby L. Daughter _ _ _ _ F W 16 S _ yes yes Oklahoma, Texas, Texas _ 86 _ _ _ _ Yes None
- - - William M. Son _ _ _ _ M W 12 S _ yes yes Oklahoma, Texas, Texas _ 86 _ _ _ _ Yes None
- - - Cleo M. Daughter _ _ _ _ F W 10 S _ yes yes Oklahoma, Texas, Texas, _ 86 _ _ _ _ Yes None
- - - Ruffus H. Son _ _ _ _ M W 8 S _ yes no Oklahoma Texas Texas _ 86 _ _ _ _ _ None
- - - Oma (Orna) L. Daughter _ _ _ _ F W 6 S _ yes No Oklahoma, Texas, Texas _ 86 _ _ _ _ _ None

Ponca, Lincoln, Oklahoma
Series: T626 Roll: 1911 Page: 117
Line 89, in household of Robert Mums
Turnbow, Leavie Servant _ _ _ _ M W 64 D _ No Yes Texas, Mississippi, Mississippi _ 87 _ _ _ _ Yes Servant Crinet Family 9596 W yes _ no _

Ponca, Lincoln, Oklahoma
Series: T626 Roll: 1911 Page: 119
Line 5, 172, 184
Turnbow, Clarence Head R _ _ yes M W 25 M 21 No Yes Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma _ 86 _ _ _ _ yes Farmer General Farm _ O yes _ no _ 169
- - - Hazel Wife-H _ _ _ _ F W 22 M 17 No Yes Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas _ 86 _ _ _ _ Yes None

Line 7, 173, 184
Turnbow, Nath Head O _ R yes M W 49 M 21 No Yes Oklahoma, Tennessee, Mississippi _ 86 _ _ _ _ Farmer General Farm _ O yes _ No _ 170
- - - Mary Wife-H _ _ _ _ F W 45 M 18 No Yes Oklahoma, Ohio, Tennessee _ 86
- - - Everett Son _ _ _ _ M W 20 S _ yes yes Oklahoma Oklahoma, Oklahoma 86 _ _ _ _ yes None
- - - Paul Son _ _ _ _ M W 18 S _ No Yes Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma _ 86 _ _ _ _ yes Laborer Farm
- - - Silas Son _ _ _ _ M W 12 S _ yes yes Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma _ 86 _ _ _ _ yes None
- - - Eline (Ekine?) Daughter _ _ _ _ F W 8 S _ yes yes Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma _ 86 _ _ _ _ _ None

As time (and my energy) permits I will be looking for more of my ancestors. I have felt a desire to find these people and connect the Turnbow descendants. :)

Do you have anyone to add?

Dece

Sorting photos

This week I have been sorting photos and creating online albums where my fellow genealogy enthusiasts and dear cousins can look at the scans that I have. Perhaps with the help of my family we can put a name to the faces and faces to the names. :)

On the right side of this blog you will see "Genealogy Links". Click on any of the family files and you are taken to that album on Photobucket. Browse through photos and digitized records (census, marriage records, death certificates, etc) and if you would like a higher resolution of any of the photos, let me know and I'll see if I can get a higher res scan.

Right now I am focusing on my paternal lines, but I hope to have my maternal photos and source documents digitized and available, too. One thing at a time, right? :)

You probably received your census form this week in the mail. Please remember to fill it out and send it in. I am so grateful for the census takers of the past. They've given me so much information -- and I know the Lord will bless them for it! My mother was a census taker in 1980, and at the time I had no idea how important this work is... I was just sad because my mom was at work and I had to go to Grandma's house until my dad came to pick us up. I loved being with my Grandma, don't get me wrong, but being home with mom was what I really wanted.

If you have any photos you would like to share, please email me. I would especially like to find photos of my Kerley and Hardt ancestors. Oh, truth be told, I'd like photos of all of my ancestors! :)

Have a great week and happy hunting!
Dece

Turnbow, Turnbough, Turnbaugh etc

Did you ever hear stories of how your ancestor -- some grandmother way, way, back -- was a Cherokee Indian or some other tribe of Native American? It seems as if every family has a tradition like this, but so few of us are able to PROVE this with census data, tribal membership numbers, and the like.


I am also one that was told that somewhere in my Turnbow ancestry, there was Cherokee blood. Proving it has been impossible!

(photo: Alan Starks, Wilmer TURNBOW Starks, Elzie Lincoln Starks)

I am going through my records, collecting census images, and photos of my Turnbow ancestors. My Great-Grandmother, Wilmer Turnbow Starks, was the daughter of Levi Turnbow and Nancy Elizabeth Munhollan(d). I realized as I have been working on this that there are a dozen ways to spell (and misspell!) Turnbow. Genealogists have to look for clues all over the place, as sometimes it's as simple as imagining you are an indexer. What do the letters TURNBOW mesh into? Tumbow, Tumbough, Tumbol... I feel like I am a handwriting detective sometimes! :)

I will begin posting photos, documents, and other pertinent photos and data to a folder offsite, but a link will be found in my "links" section of this blog. I hope it can help you in your search for your elusive ancestors. :)

Off to dig through indexes...
Dece

Kerley Carely Curly Kirley...

Oh there are so many ways to (mis)spell KERLEY.
That is what makes them so fun (HARD!) to find!

Do you ever just go back and work a line because you are hoping to find more information than the last hundred times you looked? Well, I began to search through census records again because I like to compare the transcriptions against the actual microfilm of the said census. I know that transcribers do the best that they can when reading the old, crummy looking films, but when it's YOUR FAMILY NAME you are more likely to see the correct name.

1790
95-15 Carely, Henry (16+male) 1 (under 16 male) 4 (females)2 . . . (Company)6th Co.
95-14 Carely, James (16+male)1 (under 16 male)1 (females)2 . . . 6th Co.
1800
Males Females
All to-10 10-16 16-26 26-45 45+ to-10 10-16 16-26 26-45 45+ Others Slaves Remarks
735 25 Cirley Henry pg00720.txt
735 21 Cirley James pg00720.txt
735 21 Cirley James 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
735 25 Cirley Henry 4 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
736 10 Cirby Josiah 1 0 0 1 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 0
737 21 Cirby Larkin 3 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0

1810 Burke, NC
CARILY 106
CARLY 116
Henry Carly 30100100111
CURBY 112
KIRBY 112-117-121-122-131

1820 Burke, NC
CARELY 11-23-27-75
CIRBY 27-29-65-73-105

p.11
Daniel Carely 21001----11-1
p.23
Henry Carely 00332200220-05
Lewis Carely 20001010010-01
p.27
William Carely 30001020100-0100
John Cirby 1100102010001
p.73
John Cirby 1100101101002
p.75
Larkin Carely 210101011010201

Take the time to go look at the census records for yourself -- do not depend on the transcriptionist to do it for you!

I am still trying to find information on my ancestor: James Willis KERLEY (1799, North Caroline) and his father, Daniel KERLEY. I've combed over records from other KERLEY families and still have not figured out how mine fit in. Not everyone has a great, original name like Dece! ;-) Although, I suppose, if I had been born in the 1800's, someone might be trying to spell my name with as many variations as Kerley has been given! ;-)

You can get to the original census microfilms through Heritage Quest. I access it online via the public library. You can also see original microfilms through familysearch. I like to get my information for FREE and AT HOME -- when I have 20 minutes here or there to go looking! :)

If you have any comments or questions, please leave a comment or email me!
Dece

Great search tool

I have been sneaking in some time to do online research on my surnames -- though I find myself easily frustrated because I do not have the uninterrupted time to focus or to GO to the library to work on genealogy. Here is a place to search the records that are being placed online -- digitized and searchable - by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=home

You can see actual census images and save specific pages to your home computer -- which is a great help! :)

See what you can find for your names! :)

I hope you have a great day!
Dece