Tonia Kendrick's Blog (43)

10 genealogy books at the Murray County Library that I want to review:

• Murray County, Georgia marriages : 1907-1941
• Teague, Gene E., Pickens County, Georgia cemetery records
• Georgia cemetery records
• 1851 census of Cherokees East of the Mississippi : Murray County, Georgia
• Gilmer County Georgia Heritage :…

Two hundred years ago, my Hemphill relatives were all in the Burke/Buncombe county area in North Carolina.

Captain Thomas Hemphill (1746-1826), my 5x (twice) and 6x great-grandfather, lived in Burke County, North Carolina in 1810. On April 4, 1808, he entered a grant for 300 acres lying on both sides of the French Broad river in Buncombe . . . → : …

My grandmother’s grandmother was Mary (Patterson) Whitener. Family legend has it that she was at least part Cherokee. Mary was born in Ellijay, Georgia in 1869 and married William Whitener there in 1883. They lived in Murray County, Georgia in 1900. Sometime between 1904 and 1907, they moved to Oklahoma. According to my grandmother, they moved . . . → : CONTINUE…

This amusing anecdote refers to my five-times great-grandmother, Elizabeth (Patton) Hemphill. It is part of a series of Biographical Sketches from Burke County, North Carolina that were written by by Col Thomas George Walton (1815-1905) and were first published in the old Morganton Herald in 1894.

“The HEMPHILLs of Silver Creek and Old Fort emigrated from the North . . . → : …

I visited the Murray County Probate Court last week and came away with nine copies of marriage records. I went in with a pedigree chart highlighting direct ancestors who were married (or who I thought may have been married) in Murray County. I had marriage dates for many of them, so my goal was to get . . . → : CONTINUE READING

This week I’m looking for ancestors of Leaty (Lankford) West, whose gravestone I found several weeks ago. I have her parents as Wyatt Lankford and Morning Tabitha Bruer.

“Wiet” and Morning Lankford were enumerated on the 1880 Census in the Alaculsa District of Murray County, Georgia. I feel somewhat confident that these are Leaty’s parents, because they are . . . → :…

With so much information available online, it’s easy to forget the wealth of publications that are only available in print or on microfilm and that can often be found at libraries.

I find it helpful to prepare before visiting a library, otherwise I become overwhelmed with all the choices when I get there. Most libraries today have . . . → :…

Amos Johnson and his wife Betty are buried in Mount Pleasant Baptist Church Cemetery in Gilmer County, Georgia. They may be my 3x-great-grandparents, Amos and Elizabeth; however the dates don’t quite match up.

Census records (1850 and 1860) indicate that Amos Johnson was born about 1826, while the birthdate on this stone is 1817. The stone also records Amos’ death in . . . → :…

I’m looking for information on Robert West, who may have been my 3x great-grandfather. I’ve identified Robert as the father of William West, my great-great-grandfather based on two facts: 1) the Robert West family includes a William W. West in 1850 and 1860 in Polk County, Tennessee, and 2) William himself was enumerated as head of . . . → : CONTINUE…

It fascinates me to find connections between different branches of my family tree, possibly because I’ve always known there was a connection between my parents (besides the obvious).

Before you start thinking “cocktails in Appalachia,” I should explain that this is not a close connection. My father’s (maternal) great-grandmother is my mother’s (paternal) first cousin twice removed. . . . → :…

I received an email from Ancestry today with “Possible record matches” in the subject line. Those of you who use Ancestry know that they give you hints, with little green leaves indicating some sort of match in their records, whether it be in another tree, a historical record, etc. This email contained three such hints. Sometimes . . . → : CONTINUE…

Monteville Roberts owned and operated, with the help of family, the combined business establishment of a mill for grinding corn into meal and wheat into flour, a blacksmith shop, and general repair shop, all of which were vitally essential to the people. The combined enterprise, in Hamilton County, Tennessee, provided a flourishing business a home . . . → :…

I visited New Prospect Church Cemetery on Saturday. I knew that some Tuckers were buried there, because I had found headstone photos on Find-a-Grave for Churchwell Branch Tucker and his wife Rosamond. I also had found a listing last week for E. M. Ellis on the Murray County Cemeteries website; the dates were very close to . . . → : CONTINUE…

David S. Butler was my great-great-grandfather. I know that he was in Murray County, Georgia in the 1900s. Working backward, he died in 1938, and I have census records for 1930, (research gap: I don’t have 1920), 1910, and 1900. Each census gives Georgia as his place of birth. I have nearby Adairsville as his birthplace, . . . → : CONTINUE…

Two hundred years ago my Ellis relatives were in Jackson County, Georgia, South Carolina, and possibly North Carolina.

Walter Ellis (5x great-grandfather) is my oldest Ellis relative who was alive in 1808. He and his wife, Mary (Parker) probably were in Jackson County, Georgia. In 1805, he appeared on the Jackson County land lottery list and in 1817, . . . → :…

As I was driving past Mount Sumach Cemetery this weekend, I happened to notice a headstone with my last name. I almost didn’t stop, because I could tell from the road that it was a relatively modern stone. However, it was Saturday afternoon and I had time, so I turned around. The stone in question turned . . . → : CONTINUE…

I’ve been toying with the idea of a Footnote subscription for some time and have even taken advantage of their seven-day free trial a few times. I finally decided to go for it. The item I found this morning makes it all worthwhile.

I’ve been researching my ancestor, Walter Ellis, Revolutionary War Veteran, in preparation for a . . . → :…

My g-g-grandmother’s name was Barbara Baxter. I have very little information about her.

She was married to Francis Marion Kendrick on 16 Apr 1871. I can place the two of them, along with various children, in the 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 censuses, always living in the Alaculsey District of Murray County, Georgia. She was born . . . → :…