ancestry

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES–PART 1 by Cheryl Pierson

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Hi everyone! As a writer, I love to be able to use my imagination and come up with wonderful (I hope!) ideas for stories that are entertaining, no matter what genre I’m writing in. As a reader, I feel the same way—a reflection of the writer side of me. I want to read about characters and situations that are not cardboard “cookie-cutter” stories. I’m sure most readers feel that same way about the books they choose to spend time reading.

Since I’ve delved into trying to learn more about my ancestors (and believe me, I have not spent nearly the time on that I wish I could spend!) I’ve discovered some interesting things about people in my own family line from the past that would make great “fodder” for some very interesting tales.

Ancestry . com has a feature now called “stories”—and the stories are about people they believe are related to you! I haven’t gotten all that far on my family tree, but this story feature of theirs really makes me interested to just drop everything else and work on nothing but learning about my family of the past. These stories are put together in a way that is kind of generic, and tells about things that were of great importance to the people of that time in general.

For instance, one of their stories mentions things like, “Josie Belle Walls—your great grandmother. Your great-grandmother’s right to vote was recognized nationally with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.” It goes on to give a few facts throughout the story about how many women voted, who the candidates were, and has a picture of the census page with my great-grandmother’s information on it, along with her family. Further information calls to our attention that it was indicated on the census page that she could read and write. It even tells what the weather was like at the place where she would have voted that day, Bentley, Oklahoma, in Atoka County! Some pictures are included in this story, but none of her specifically—more general pictures of people of the times, women with suffrage banners, and so on, but the stories have some good information in them that might not be gleaned elsewhere without really digging for it. At the time, there were 12 people listed living in her home—she and her husband and a passel of kids—she was 38. I wonder if she found time to go vote! I do wish there had been pictures of her as a younger woman. I only have one picture of her in her 20’s, and after that, most all the pictures of her were after she was much older. The picture below is the earliest one I have of her, and I think she was in her mid-twenties when this was taken. At that point in time, she had married, had four children, lost her husband and remarried a widower older than she who had several children. They had children together as well, for a total of seventeen kids in a “yours, mine, and ours” situation.

 

This picture is one of my great grandmother, Josie Bell Walls McLain Martin (also pictured above), with grandkids of her own. She looks absolutely worn out, doesn’t she? I wonder what hopes and dreams she had as a young girl, and I wonder what moments made her heart happy as she grew older. The grandkids from left to right are my mother, El Wanda; the current baby in the family, my mom’s (at the time) youngest sister, Betty; their sister, Opal, who is third in that line of siblings; and Mom’s just-younger sister, Joyce, with whom she was always so very close to. This picture was taken in 1930, so my mom was 8 at that time, Joyce only about 19 months behind her, and Opal around 4-5, with Betty being around 2 or so. My great grandmother Josie was born in 1882 and had her first child (my grandmother) at age 16. In this picture below, she was 48 years old.

My other great-grandmother (both of these were on my mom’s side of the family) was 53 at this same time, 1920, and only had she, her husband, and one daughter (age 19) living at home—a huge difference in family situation and age for two peers. She was born in 1867. I’ve  seen one  picture of her.  (SEE BELOW) Her name was Emily (Emma) Christiana (Ligon) Stallings—all her grandkids called her “Mammy”, and my mom has told me so many stories about her and her life. My mom was the oldest of 11 children, so she spent a lot of time with Mammy, since they lived across the street from one another as my mom was growing up. Much of the information provided in this “story” from Ancestry about both my great-grandmothers here is the same—the talk about voting, the weather, and so on. But the interesting part to me is being able to have all the facts in one place to compare the two of them side by side, since, by that time, they were both living in fairly close proximity, and not much later, both lived in the same small town.

I’ve mentioned before how my Aunt Marilyn did a lot of genealogy research, and something my sister and I still laugh about is my mom’s reaction to learning we were related to Lyndon B. Johnson. She begged my aunt to “Please don’t tell anyone, Marilyn!”  (Mom didn’t feel nearly as awful when she found out Benedict Arnold was also a past relative…)

I’m really loving learning about my ancestors because there are so many interesting ‘bits and pieces’ of their lives that I can incorporate into my writing—including a few skeletons in the closet, which I’m so excited about getting to learn more about! Next time I’ll talk about some of the men from our ancestry line –there seems to be a lot more about their escapades than the women, and I can’t wait to read what’s in their “stories” too.

By the way, there is also a feature where relatives, friends, and so on can contribute memories and stories about ancestors as well, and some of those are really fascinating, too. I do remember my great-grandmother Josie that I mentioned above. She passed when I was young, but I have pictures of her and I remember meeting her and being around her. I would love to have known her when she was young.

It’s wonderful to just think about how, in the historical stories we write, we are writing about people just like these women (and men) from our own past bloodlines. Amazing to think about, isn’t it?

Is there someone in your ancestry line that you would like to have met, or like to have been able to spend more time with in your lifetime? Tell us about it! Did any of you know your great-grandparents?  I love to hear your stories about the past, and the people who lived it.

 

CHERYL’S WINNERS!

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I’m so glad you all came by to read and participate in my blog post today. That always means a lot to us here at P&P, and we appreciate each and every one of you! You all are the heart of our group.

I picked three winners today! They are….

LAURA MICHELLE DELGADO

CAROL FRITZ

JUDY SEXTON

Congratulations, ladies! If you will email me at fabkat_edit@yahoo.com and be sure to put “WINNER” in your subject line, and also let me know the email address you’d like your digital copy of ONE MAGIC NIGHT sent to, I will get it out to you as soon as possible! 

Thanks again to everyone for stopping by and being part of our group! We love you guys!

ANCESTRY TIDBITS AND SURPRISES–by Cheryl Pierson

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Several months ago, I blogged about starting on my “ancestry” journey. I gave myself a subscription to Ancestry . com, and voila! I was on my way!

I had put off doing that for a long time because I was afraid it would be too expensive and would take up too much time. I was wrong on both counts! I got my membership for only $59 during a Mother’s Day special, and as for time—you can spend as much or as little as you are able.

I find myself just browsing through my ancestors, and learning things that one day, I hope to sit down and write into a linear genealogy “book” or journal.

Exploring our family’s genealogy is not only a personal journey of discovery but also a way to honor and preserve the stories and heritage passed down through generations. It allows us to connect with our roots, understand our identity, and gain a deeper appreciation for the experiences that shaped our ancestors’ lives. However, tracing one’s genealogy can sometimes be a complex and time-consuming task, especially when dealing with elusive or fragmented records. In such cases, seeking assistance from professional genealogists and researchers, like those at Record Click, can be invaluable. Their expertise and access to extensive databases can help uncover hidden branches of our family tree, uncover long-lost relatives and provide a comprehensive picture of our ancestral lineage. Visit the Record Click website to learn more about their services and embark on a fulfilling journey of unraveling your family history.

What makes this so fascinating for me? Probably because family, to my mother and her generation, was everything. And my mom, being the oldest of 11 kids, was charged with “remembering everyone” – sort of like Aunt Pittypat in Gone With the Wind. So to her, it was very important to pass on family history and stories she’d grown up with.

How I wish I had paid more attention! When I write my books and novellas, I do find myself including some of the stories she told us in those writings. But seeing pictures of some of the people I’ve heard her talk about has been such a revelation. And I’m not sure why, but seeing their handwriting has somehow been almost spiritual for me…maybe because I write all my work in longhand in notebooks before I enter them on the computer. So seeing the handwriting of my ancestors lets me imagine them with a pen (or quill) in hand, writing their names—and on the census reports, imagining them writing their children’s names and ages.

Just picturing the point in their lives in these milestone documents—marriage licenses, military registration cards, death certificates, census documents—even some personal letters that have been included are slowly but surely bringing these long-ago relatives to life for me.

My mom’s parents, Mary McLain and Tom Stallings, when they were ‘courting’–this would have been around 1918 or so. These are my grandparents–my granddad died when I was 10, and my grandmother died when I was 16. (My granddad, Tom, is the son of John Stallings and Emma C. Ligon Stallings that I will mention later on.)

 

This is the page from the 1860 Census for Smith Co., Tennessee. My great grandfather, John Stallings, was only 2 years old. From this record, we can note his father is not in the picture, only his mother, Sarah Hale Stallings. Evidently, she was living with a relative—most likely a brother, Richard Hale, who is 5 years older than she is. There are two other children with the last name of Wooten. I’m anxious to research this part of the family. My mother told me many stories about John Stallings, who was her grandfather, my great grandfather.

 

John grew up and became the headmaster at a school, but he had a temper. The story goes that he was heavy handed with the paddle on one of the students, and had to “get out of town” quickly—but when he did, he did not go alone. He took my great grandmother with him and they eloped! That was when they left Tennessee and headed for Oklahoma, settling in the southeastern part of what was then Indian Territory.

John B. Stallings, my great grandfather, and Emma Christiana Ligon Stallings, my great grandmother.

There have been some surprises, too! I discovered that my grandmother’s oldest sister was born out of wedlock. Another couple who had lived together as man and wife and raised 11 children together were not legally married until the last child was in college.

My grandmother, Mary born 1900; oldest sister Maude born 1886; sister Byrdie born 1896, sister Grace born 1894. Mary is my father’s mother.

This is a truly fascinating journey, and I’m always anxious to “get back to it” again whenever I can.

I have a lot of work and ‘refining’ to do on my family tree, but oh, the discoveries I’ve made and look forward to making in the future!

On my father’s side, using documentation that has been added by other relatives on their trees, I’ve been able to trace my 8th great-great grandparents back to England and Ireland. Now that I know that, at some point, I will pay the extra money for access to global records and see how much farther back I can go.

Have you ever traced your family ancestry? Did you find a surprise or two? Doing this has inspired me with a couple of really great story ideas!

MY ANCESTRY JOURNEY–by Cheryl Pierson

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 Guess what I did on Mother’s Day? I bought MYSELF something I have been wanting for a very long time—a six-month subscription to Ancestry . com! I’ve always wanted to do that, but never did because I just knew I wouldn’t “have time” to use it…but guess what? You really DO make time for the things you love! Even if it’s only 15 or 20 minutes here and there, I always discover something I didn’t know.

I think of how my parents would have love to have had this technology and the ability to use it when they were living! There is such a huge network of people out there that are doing the same thing, and contributing what they have to share, so a person can amass a lot of knowledge in a short time!

A lot of family stories can quickly be proven…or DISproven!

I found out that my gr gr grandfather, George Washington Casey, served in the Civil War for the Union in Missouri—I found his application for his pension! I learned that another couple of relatives never married—not until their children were all grown, married and had kids of their own! That was a shocker. But the marriage license is there to prove it.

 

I’ve used family history in my stories before on several occasions, but this is beyond anything I could have imagined. I have enjoyed this “journey” so much, so far, and look forward to all the things I’m going to find out (yes, if you do this, be prepared to be surprised and shocked) no matter what my discoveries might yield.

I learned that my gr gr grandfather (the Civil War soldier, G.W. Casey) also was married three times and had thirteen children! Someone else I don’t know had posted a picture of him on her family tree. I actually got to see him at a luncheon he attended with four other Civil War veterans. In the picture below, he is on the far right, back row.

I have not started on my mother’s side of the family yet—there is so much I’m learning about my dad’s side right now—I don’t want to get them “mixed up” and believe me, I’m going to have to draw up a  family tree so I can actually see it all in black and white to get it straight! In the picture below, George Washington Casey is seen holding one of his granddaughters.

One thing that is unusual is that my gr gr grandmother has a discrepancy in her dates of death. I also read in an obituary someone wrote that she was the daughter of a “Cherokee man and  his half-blood wife” –now there is a description for you!

I’m a novice at this, but it’s fun to learn—and I’m sure I’ll come across some more skeletons in the closet here and there…maybe some things I can incorporate into my own stories! 

Here’s a fun fact: When my son was born, we named him Casey. But…I had never had any clue that “Casey” was a family name, or that my ancestors carried that last name. I had not started my “ancestry journey” yet at that point. Coincidence? Or…some other connection? I’ve often wondered. When a relative told me she was glad I’d named Casey a “family name” I have to admit, I got chills. I had not had any idea. 

Here’s my Casey in a pic taken last year. It’s hard to make out any family resemblance from the poor quality of the pics of G.W. Casey, except that they both have beards! LOL

Do any of you use Ancestry or any other site like that? Have any of you discovered some interesting facts about your long-ago families that you didn’t know? I’m having such fun with this!

Petticoats & Pistols