Can we talk?

Tying Together the Family History

         I discovered a lot of things researching my ancestors. I found a lot of second and third cousins for one thing. One guy knew little of his grandmother. She died when he was a baby. I knew some about her; she was my maternal grandmother's sister. She died of stomach cancer, so I guess that was hushed up around the children. I let him know what little I knew, and had found in my research, and what I knew of our mutual great grandparents. Except for him, most of the pople I "found" were my age or older.

         I had some photographs that belonged to my paternal grandmother. Fortunately, I had gone through most of them while she was alive and wrote names on the backs. She was forgetting how they were related by then. I posted some on line and got a response. A woman recognized the house as her grandmother's. We determined that it was my grandmother's aunt. Her granddaughter help me put quite a few pieces together.

         I had seen a brief note about my great grandfather's death in the Civil War in a published book by another, older researcher. I wasn't satisfied. I actually went to another state to the mentioned burial spot, before I discovered the information was all wrong. Detailed notes were in the Library of Congress. I put those together with some historical research on the actual battles and prison involved, and found out the truth. It was exciting, like solving a mystery. I was my detective!

         Nobody in my immediate family is interested in what I found out. They say interest doesn't hit until you're at least in the "over 50" club. I want to record it so that others can use it, and maybe be inspired by it. I never could substantiate the Indian claims, but I didn't disprove them either. It actually is probably that I have Cherokee in two family lines. Most Americans who've been around for four generations or more usually do have some Indian blood.

         The only reason I slowed down is that I hit so many brick walls. But it would be nice to put it together in some readable form. Most histories work so hard at accuracy, and the 3 proofs rule, that they're quite boring. I want people to use it but not think it's fiction. It's time to wrap it up and place it somewhere useful.