My Family History Space-Time Continuum
A favorite family photo One of my treasured heirlooms is a photo of my Howle family grandparents standing in front of their home.[1] I had never seen this picture until after my grandmother Lillian Florence Howle (1902-1994) passed away in 1994. Not long after she died, we found an old trunk tucked away in the hall closet of her home. It was filled with letters, legal papers, and lots of photos. As I began going Read More …
[Parents of William T Hughes – Part 2] Starting with what I know In order to begin tracing one’s ancestors, it is critical to always start “with what you know.” Right. Well, when I began tracing the life of William T Hughes (1821 – abt 1875), I didn’t know much. The few clues I had were based on his notation in my maternal grandmother’s family tree (see Image 1). From this single page of the family bible, Read More …
Who’s his daddy? Who’s his mommy? At some point, every genealogist encounters a “brick wall” ancestor. These are the ancestors whose document trails baffle, frustrate, and block all attempts to trace and extend a family tree line at least one more generation further back. Running into these obstacles is inevitable. But sometimes, it is possible to break through them or, at least, chip away at them. My 2X great-grandfather, William T Hughes (1823-abt 1875), is Read More …
Stumbling into a gold rush It wasn’t until I began digging deeper into my Harrell family ancestors that I discovered a treasure trove of family history chronicled in Louisiana’s parish notarial records. Parish notarial records? Wha-a-at? Yep. That was my first reaction too. But as I examined them more closely, I sensed that these records might hold an extensive amount of valuable information about members of the Harrell family. This blog post describes how I Read More …