When it comes to the Civil War, I’m not that interested in the generals and battles. The thing that interests me is the depravation, the hunger, the neighbors turning on one another, and the way that – like wars now – poor men end up paying the price for rich men’s (misguided) dreams. Mary Ann West was
The 1880 Federal Census for Forsyth County Georgia was one of the more curious of my family censuses until I figured out what to make of it. My ancestors George W. West and Jennett Cowan West are where I expected them to be, in the Hightower District of Forsyth County, Georgia. Two of their younger
It’s Derby Day! I aim to blog almost every day, and I don’t want to let a supremely busy weekend confound me. Last night I went with good friends down to the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta to see Iris Dement. If you don’t know her, she’s a country/folk singer from Arkansas. She closed the show
So I started my genealogy blog last Saturday. In that week, these are the things I found that surprised, impressed or amused me, and I thought I’d share… Posts As someone obsessed with words and their colorful meanings, I was enamored with Old Diseases: Early Medical Terms in Historical Newspapers on GenealogyBank.com. Having recently come
As I mentioned in a previous post, 1928 was rough for my West family. Their patriarch had died the year before, and their matriarch and two sons – including my Papa Ed’s father – all died in 1928. We’ve had years like that in my lifetime, so I know they were not happy campers back
Family history research is not cheap. These are just a few of the things I’ve spent money on in order to do family research in my time: Books Copies of documents (some courthouses charge as much as $1.00/copy) Ancestry.com membership Ordering records Travel to research Tape and records to record interviews (back in the day)
I’ve already blogged about my family tree brick wall, George W. West (b. abt. 1819 in Spartanburg County, SC). As I’ve been digging and delving into that family though, one given name keeps sticking out to me. “Paschel” or, as it’s sometimes spelled, “Paschal” or “Pascal.” I have two Paschels in my West line, and have found
When we buried my beloved and very-much-missed Granna Ellabel (Duncan) West at Hightower Baptist Church in Ball Ground, GA last Christmas Eve, the ground was a little soggy and I had chosen for some reason to wear heels. As I made my way to her burial site, I – being me – tripped and accidentally
I have a family mystery. (Unlike every other genealogist out there, right?) I’m looking for the record that proves the parentage of George W. West. Read on for more about my West Connection or click here to get straight to the Mystery of George W. West’s Parentage. Who was George W. West? GEORGE W. WEST