My brother-in-law, Alan, recently shared with me a document he found in some of his Mississippi grandmother’s belongings. In great shape other than a few torn and folded edges, this first person account of a man named Will Mathis appeared
Throwing in my two southern cents on the Confederate flag
My grandparent’s farm in Haywood County in the mid-1990s. I’m a Southerner and I love all things related to West Tennessee. If you ask me what symbols represent home, my mind immediately goes to family, cotton fields, cicadas on a
Photo of Mary Aurelia Blaydes Castellaw and Jack Pender Castellaw
Photo/Lynn J. Graves Click to Enlarge Mary Aurelia Blaydes Castellaw with her grandchildren Lynn Graves is one of my many Castellaw cousins that descend from my third great-grandparents, Thomas Jefferson “T.J.” Castellaw (1808 – 1878) and Mary Elizabeth Cole (1809
The Brantley DNA test results are in and the father is…
Random Photo from Pinterest Thanks to my cousin Betsy’s detective work, we were recently able to take part in a DNA project that confirmed our Brantley lineage goes back to Edward Brantley, an early immigrant to America from England in
Never-before-seen photos of Hiram Bradford family cemetery
Click to Enlarge Likely descendants of Hiram Bradford taken at“The Old Bradford Place,” Sept. 1924 I love it when technology allows complete strangers to work together to solve puzzles relating to individuals who died decades ago. I recently wrote about the
Book: A Year in the Life of the South 1865
Click to Enlarge I’ve long been fascinated by the the years immediately following the Civil War and how it impacted the lives of my West Tennessee ancestors. In just a few days, on April 9, 2015, it will have been
Will and Eva Overton Williams of Haywood County, Tennessee
Photo/Mary S. Williams Click to Enlarge Will and Eva Williams I never knew my paternal great-grandfather, William Lafayette “Will” Williams (Feb. 13, 1888 – April 1, 1962) because he died the year before I was born. Although I’ve seen several
The Brantley Family: Preachers, Planters and Pioneers of the South
I was grateful last week to open the mailbox and find my copy of “The Brantley Family: Preachers, Planters and Pioneers of the South” by Ken Brantley. As big as a phonebook and weighing in at what feels like about 25 pounds,
Iva McElroy, my wife’s great-grandmother
Click to Enlarge Iva Griffith McElroy I usually blog about my adventures while researching my own genealogy, but for a long time I’ve been wanting to begin looking into the ancestry of my wife Michelle. A few years ago, her
Brother George Williams’ slaves
Photo/Lib. of Congress Click to Enlarge Modern