The blog posts I write typically relate to my ancestors or collateral lines. However, after years of research, I couldn’t help but come across some amazing, funny, tantalizing, sad and sometimes tragic stories about others. A lot of these stories come from newspapers and books about county history. I once…
I mentioned in my last post Finding the Parents of William Hawley… One Step Closer…, that I found my 2nd great grandfather William Hawley in the 1850 census. William was 14 years old and living in the household of John W. Lockwood in Urbana, Steuben County, New York. As you can imagine, I…
In a previous post called, Re-thinking Research: The Parents of William Hawley, I made the claim that William C. Hawley and Mary Oakley were not the parents of my 2nd great grandfather William Hawley. I used several methods to help back up this claim including a timeline comparison of the…
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King’s Men; Patriots called them “persons inimical to the liberties of America.” They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution. – …
If you grew up in Northern Michigan during the winter, as I did, you are more than familiar with the blustery conditions that we endure during the months of November thru March. I recently found a small notice in the Detroit Free Press about my 2nd great grandfather William Hawley…
In a couple of previous posts, Elizabeth Miller and the hope of a cure and The Founding of Long Rapids Township and the Role my Ancestors Played, I mentioned a letter written from William Faught to his brother, my Third Great Grandfather, George Faught. In his letter, William provides a wonderful description of…
Sometimes it is the research I do on a location, rather than the people, that leads me to a piece of interesting information. My plan for my next blog post was to write about a letter that was written by William Faught to his brother George Faught in 1871. While in…
I previously wrote a blog post called Mary Anna Faught: One Tough Lady, about my 2nd great grandmother Mary Anna (Faught) McKenzie. In that blog post, I outlined the life of Mary Anna. Since then I have come across more information that helps to tell the story of Mary Anna’s…
In an earlier blog post called Road Trip Through Our Family History, I mentioned some photos that I found labeled as Faught Lake. If you remember the photos also suggested that this lake was named after my 2nd great grandmother Mary Anna Faught. Since I found these photos and wrote the previous…
As all beginning genealogist, I relied on online public family trees to start my research. Over the last year, I have been going back over my research, verifying information, adding sources and filling in the gaps. During my research, I started to add sources for my second great grandfather William…
George Faught, my 3rd great grandfather, was born on July 12, 1837, in New York, the youngest child of Lawrence Faught and Bridget Fogarty. By June 11, 1860, George was living with his mother Bridgette and two older siblings William and Ann in Lexington, Sanilac, Michigan. George’s father Lawrence had passed…
Benjamin Burt is my 7th great grandfather. He and his wife Sarah (Belden) Burt were forced to endure a terrifying and unthinkable ordeal during the winter of 1704. In this blog post, I will share their story. I will admit ahead of time, that a large part of the information…
I referenced a photo I found of a lilac bush, in a previous blog post called Road Trip Through Our Family History. In today’s blog post, I will share with you the beautiful and sad story about the planting of this bush and the continued impact that it has had on…
I referenced a photo I found of an old water pump that sits on the original of the McKenzie Schoolhouse, in a previous blog post called Road Trip Through Our Family History. In today’s blog post, I will provide additional details about the McKenzie Schoolhouse and it’s wonderful history and connection to my McKenzie family. Jeremiah McKenzie and…
I referenced a photo I found of my grandmother Edna Jean (Burt) McKenzie standing next to a sign for “The Witness Tree”, in a previous blog post called Road Trip Through Our Family History. In today’s blog post, I will provide additional details about William Burt and explore a possible family connection. First,…
