Haven't been here for a while and I'm jumping to a different family today. I've known my maternal grand-parents marriage information (date, place, etc.) from the family Bible, but haven't been able to find an official record of some sort. A miracle happened and I located the reason. My grandfather's name is Charles Mack Priddy and my grandmother's maiden name was Ethel Mae Whittinghill. The only Ethel Whittinghill I was able to find was not the correct one. She had different parents. What I finally found was that my grandfather's name was recorded as "McPriddy" instead of Mack Priddy (Mack being his middle name). The record was right where it was supposed to be in Scott County, Indiana.
Genealogy is really just a great puzzle with many twists and turns to keep you interested.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
New Information
I've just learned that Thomas Carroll's middle name is probably Clarence. Another family member added it to her ancestry.com family tree. I'll have to find a way to prove it, but maybe it will help find his family in Ireland. Hopefully there won't be too many Thomas Carroll's with the middle name Clarence. Actually I had suspected that the "C" stood for Clarence because he named one of his children Clarence, but it was only a guess. Now I'm on my way to prove his middle name.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Happy Holidays
Had a wonderful Christmas with the family and looking forward to our family brunch on January 2.
Hope everyone was able to get where they wanted to be so they could spend the holidays with the people they wanted to see.
Hope everyone was able to get where they wanted to be so they could spend the holidays with the people they wanted to see.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Thomas Carroll
I've been concentrating on my husband's Carroll family and there are so many questions unanswered. When was Thomas born? The only info I have is from his tombstone and his death certificate and that information came from one of his children. Who were his parents? His death certificate says his father was also named Thomas Carroll and his mother's name was unknown. Thomas Carroll is the most common name in County Tipperary where Thomas was from according to his tombstone and death certificate. Without a mother's name, where do I go to learn about his family? When did he come to America? Was he already married or did he meet Margaret Blackburn in the US? Did he leave Ireland because of the potato famine? Or, did both his parents die leaving him to seek a new life on his own? There was a Thomas Carroll arriving at every port on almost every ship on the eastern seaboard for years. The passenger lists I've see do not list any Thomas Carroll with a Margaret Blackburn or Margaret Carroll. Some Thomas Carroll's are accompanied by other Carroll family, but it's not known if our Thomas Carroll had any family come with him or if he was meeting someone here in the US. The Griffiths Valuation lists only one Patric Blackburn in County Meath where Margaret was born and he lived in the city so he apparently was not a farmer. I can not prove that he is her father. The only name given for her mother on the death certificate was "Marie". Thomas and Margeret are my brick wall for this family. I can easily follow them from the time of the 1860 Federal Census, but not before. There are Thomas Carrolls and Margaret Blackburns in the 1850 Federal Census, but I can not prove any relationship to my Carroll family. If anyone, anywhere has a suggestion, I will gladly follow it. There are so many unanswered questions.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Sources
I apologize for not including my sources. My time has been pretty tied up lately and probably will stay that way until after the holidays. I am making Christmas cards now so that I can get them sent right after Thanksgiving. When time allows, I plan to write about certain "facts" with the souce included with it.
A lot of sources are secondary, but they are all I've been able to find so far. I've traveled to all of the sites where my ancestors have lived in an attempt to collect more primary documents, but many times I've left with empty hands. I keep checking FamilySearch and other sites that offer primary sources because I do believe that without source information that you can double check, information may not be very valuable. I've studies local histories as well as books about social practices and traditions of the time and place. I'm really hoping to make Thomas Carroll's family history in a story form and just add the usual genealogical information afterward. As I said before, I've made timelines for each of his children. It is much easier to find primary sources for them. Of course, secondary sources are always included because it may be all that's available and it's better than finding nothing. I've verified most of the sources other's have included about my family.
In case I don't get back before Thanksgiving, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and/or friends. After all, that's what Thanksgiving is all about - being with those you love whether you have a traditional dinner or just a get-together. Best wishes.
A lot of sources are secondary, but they are all I've been able to find so far. I've traveled to all of the sites where my ancestors have lived in an attempt to collect more primary documents, but many times I've left with empty hands. I keep checking FamilySearch and other sites that offer primary sources because I do believe that without source information that you can double check, information may not be very valuable. I've studies local histories as well as books about social practices and traditions of the time and place. I'm really hoping to make Thomas Carroll's family history in a story form and just add the usual genealogical information afterward. As I said before, I've made timelines for each of his children. It is much easier to find primary sources for them. Of course, secondary sources are always included because it may be all that's available and it's better than finding nothing. I've verified most of the sources other's have included about my family.
In case I don't get back before Thanksgiving, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and/or friends. After all, that's what Thanksgiving is all about - being with those you love whether you have a traditional dinner or just a get-together. Best wishes.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Haven't been on here for a while. Nor have I done any genealogy. I'm making my Christmas Cards and I want to get them done asap so I can send them at Thanksgiving. I'm very much into scrapbooking, but I particularly enjoy making greeting cards.
I"ve been working on a heritage scrapbook. I get the pages put together, but I never seem to get the journaling, the most important part, done. I have a whole collection of pages without journaling. Also, I have not been following any particular family, but choosing photos as they interest me. Really not a very good way to to it, but at least something is getting done.
I"ve been working on a heritage scrapbook. I get the pages put together, but I never seem to get the journaling, the most important part, done. I have a whole collection of pages without journaling. Also, I have not been following any particular family, but choosing photos as they interest me. Really not a very good way to to it, but at least something is getting done.
Monday, October 18, 2010
You may have noticed that this blog is my way of reviewing and analyzing the information that I have. Many primary sources have been difficult or even impossible to find. I've made timelines for Thomas and each of his children to help determine what additional information I need to look for next.
Margaret's daily life was just a difficult as that of Thomas working on the railroad. She had a child every two years so at least one was always in diapers and nursing at the breast. Diapers were made of cotton or linen. If the diaper was only wet, it was usually dried by the fireplace and reused. Laundry meant going to a well to collect water. There may not have been a well on Thomas's small plot, so just getting water may have taken a lot of time. Putting it over an open fire to heat it. Soaking clothes in the hot water and rinsing in another tub with water. In winter laundry was hung around the fireplace to dry. I doubt it was done very often. Left over bath and laundry water was put on the garden. Drinking water was kept in a bucket with a cup used by everyone.
The garden was where Margaret got most of their food. It was still necessary to buy flour, sugar, and tea. Often meals were prepared in one pot and set to simmer most of the day so she could get along with her other chores. Everything was made from scratch - bread, canning, butchering any meat they had available.
She was often sewing or mending their clothes and linens to keep them useful for as long a time as possible.
Light from the fire and a kerosene lamp or candle were their only sources of light when the sun went down. Everyone turned in early because they were exhausted and rose early to get started again.
Fairfax Station was a quiet little railroad station used to take passengers and freight from northern Virginia to the southern part of the state. There were only a few trains using the rails, but things were about to change drastically for the community.
In May, 1861 Virginia had a vote to secede from the Union. Thomas was eligible to vote, but it isn't know if he did. If he did vote, an armed man stood at the door of the voting site and told voters to vote to secede or they would be shot. If you did not agree, it would be impossible to hide because all voting was oral.
It's not surprising that eastern Virginia voted to secede while the western part stayed with the Union to eventually become the state of West Virginia. The mountains separating east and west were a significant factor in their divided opinions. Those east of the mountains thought of themselves as "southern" and many were slave owners. Those west of the mountains identified themselves with the north and were farmers rather than plantation owners.
Thomas and Margaret must have been extremely worried. They were located right in the heart of things. The first real battle of the Civil War was at Manassas, only a few miles from them. Fairfax Station was of great strategic importance. It was the staging area for Confederate soldiers and the Union Headquarters was only a few miles away in Fairfax Courthouse. In the course of the war, the little train station changed hands several times. It was one of the main ways to move troops and equipment.
A family story is that Thomas was very much against slavery so he loaded his wife and children with their few belongings in a wagon and set off for northern territory. Hopefully the little family got away before the first battle at Manassas.
Margaret's daily life was just a difficult as that of Thomas working on the railroad. She had a child every two years so at least one was always in diapers and nursing at the breast. Diapers were made of cotton or linen. If the diaper was only wet, it was usually dried by the fireplace and reused. Laundry meant going to a well to collect water. There may not have been a well on Thomas's small plot, so just getting water may have taken a lot of time. Putting it over an open fire to heat it. Soaking clothes in the hot water and rinsing in another tub with water. In winter laundry was hung around the fireplace to dry. I doubt it was done very often. Left over bath and laundry water was put on the garden. Drinking water was kept in a bucket with a cup used by everyone.
The garden was where Margaret got most of their food. It was still necessary to buy flour, sugar, and tea. Often meals were prepared in one pot and set to simmer most of the day so she could get along with her other chores. Everything was made from scratch - bread, canning, butchering any meat they had available.
She was often sewing or mending their clothes and linens to keep them useful for as long a time as possible.
Light from the fire and a kerosene lamp or candle were their only sources of light when the sun went down. Everyone turned in early because they were exhausted and rose early to get started again.
Fairfax Station was a quiet little railroad station used to take passengers and freight from northern Virginia to the southern part of the state. There were only a few trains using the rails, but things were about to change drastically for the community.
In May, 1861 Virginia had a vote to secede from the Union. Thomas was eligible to vote, but it isn't know if he did. If he did vote, an armed man stood at the door of the voting site and told voters to vote to secede or they would be shot. If you did not agree, it would be impossible to hide because all voting was oral.
It's not surprising that eastern Virginia voted to secede while the western part stayed with the Union to eventually become the state of West Virginia. The mountains separating east and west were a significant factor in their divided opinions. Those east of the mountains thought of themselves as "southern" and many were slave owners. Those west of the mountains identified themselves with the north and were farmers rather than plantation owners.
Thomas and Margaret must have been extremely worried. They were located right in the heart of things. The first real battle of the Civil War was at Manassas, only a few miles from them. Fairfax Station was of great strategic importance. It was the staging area for Confederate soldiers and the Union Headquarters was only a few miles away in Fairfax Courthouse. In the course of the war, the little train station changed hands several times. It was one of the main ways to move troops and equipment.
A family story is that Thomas was very much against slavery so he loaded his wife and children with their few belongings in a wagon and set off for northern territory. Hopefully the little family got away before the first battle at Manassas.
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