I’ve long been aware that both my paternal and maternal ancestors migrated from Bertie County, North Carolina to West Tennessee in the earliest years of the state’s history. When I ran across “Beginnings of West Tennessee: In the land of
My 10th great-grandfather, “Captain” James Blount, was born about 1620, likely in Astley, Worcestershire England. His father was also named James Blount and his mother’s maiden name was Clare. Her first name is unknown. He became a colonial official and
Researching the Castellaw family has always been fun, but one Castellaw ancestor in particular has always captured my imagination. My 4th great-grandfather, John Dawson Castellaw (1780-1859), led many of the wagon trains from Bertie County, North Carolina to Haywood County,
I like to think about those who were here before us. It’s easy to forget there have been generations of others who moved through the same spaces and places through which we move today. Because I work at the Newseum,
I’ve spoken with many talented people in the last few months who have a book they want to write, but don’t exactly know where to start once the writing part is done. Most think they need a “publishing deal” to
Researching Odd McIntyre at The Esther Allen Greer Museum at the University of Rio Grande near McIntyre’s hometown of Gallipolis, Ohio. I haven’t blogged much this year because all my time has been spent working on a biography about Odd
I finally got my Ancestry DNA results. I haven’t been doing much ancestry research or blogging this year because I’ve been using my spare time to write a book, but I thought a blog entry would be the best way
Part 2 of 2 / Part one can be found here. Jesse Hill Ford While his successful novels, short stories and the critical and commercial success of “The Liberation of Lord Byron Jones” resulted in Jesse Hill Ford being heralded as
After reading a few weeks ago that the Brownsville, Tennessee train depot was used as one of the locations for filming the movie “The Liberation of L.B. Jones,” I was anxious to see if it included other locations as well.
I recently visited the Appomattox County Courthouse where Confederate army commander Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union commander Ulysses S. Grant. Fresh in my mind during the visit was an old article posted a few weeks ago on Facebook by Judge