The Castellaw Family Reunion was held this past weekend at Holly Grove Baptist Church in Haywood County, TN. It was a great time with descendants of Tom and Nancy Marianna Johnson Castellaw and their son and daughter-in-law, Bob and Zula
Illustration of Colonel John Dawson
Today I received this scan of my 6th great grandfather, Colonel John Dawson, from the archives at The College of William and Mary. I recently wrote about discovering that my 7th great grandfather, the Reverend William Dawson, was the second
Looking for George Williams
I’ve been trying to find out what I could about George Williams who is my fourth great-grandfather. Recently, I received an email from Lynn who knows a lot about the churches of Bertie Co., NC and she had some more
Star-spangled Beanes
While Dr. William Beanes is not a direct descendant of mine, he was very close to the Marbury family and, now that I know his story, is someone I’ll think about every time I hear “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Leonard
From Alex and Olivia to Alfred the Great
The Marbury family is loaded with some interesting characters and, if you allow jumping back and forth from the wife’s genealogical line to the husband’s, you can get from my daughters, Alex and Olivia, to Alfred the Great and run
The Ark and The Dove
The Marbury family has kept me busy the last few weeks. There are a lot of men named Francis and Leonard and they all served in the Revolutionary War so it’s tough keeping them all straight. Because they were so
Adam and Eve of Virginia
Much has been written about my 10th great-grandparents, Colonel William Randolph and Mary Royall Isham Randolph. I recently wrote about Reverend William Dawson who was the second president of The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. He was
I have George Washington’s Autograph
I finally received the book written by my 7g-grandfather today from Amazon and the cover page was signed by George Washington. The daughter of Penelope Golland Maule Lovick Phenney Johnston, also named Penelope, married Colonel John Dawson who was the
John Castallaw and Martha Butler
When digging through the Castellaw side of my family, one story that begs to be explored further is that of my great-great-great-great-great grandparents, John and Margaret Dawson Castellaw. Both John and Margaret were from wealthy, influential Colonial families and were
The Immortal Ten
My great-great grandfather, Tom Castellaw Jr., stayed in Haywood County his entire life as did most of his children. His brother Fletcher, however, had a son who moved to Ennis, TX before the turn of the century. Jack Coleman Castellaw