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The Intersection of Gardening and Genealogy
Posted on January 30, 2023 8 Comments
The idea for this post came after my recent migration from the “bird site not to be named’” taken over by a megalomaniac, to the much pleasanter and helpful, not for profit, social media site Mastodon. While this blog post is not about Mastodon I do want to put in a plug to fellow genealogists […]
New Speculations on the Origins of Robert WHEATON: Part One
Posted on January 30, 2023 1 Comment
Many years ago I wrote an article TItled Conjectures on the Origins of Robert WHEATON. At that time all of the indications were that he was descended from the Wheatons of Devon. This turned out to be 5 different DNA WHEATON/WHEADON/WHIDDEN lines in Devon, England: Wheaton of Sidmouth; Wheadon of Axminster; Whidden of Buckfastleigh; Wheaton […]
Genealogy: What’s It All About?
Posted on January 29, 2023 3 Comments
“What’s It All About Alfie?” Song title Burt Bacharach & Hal David In genealogy we use lots of metaphors for what we are trying to do when faced with a dearth of evidence, and often what we have is circumstantial at best. After nearly half a century I am quite familiar with all of them […]
The Questions You Wished You’d Asked: Writing Challenge
Posted on January 27, 2023 1 Comment
PART ONE This is both a Writing Challenge and an exploration. Please complete Part One before reading Part Two. For this Assignment you need to make a list of questions you wished you had asked or were able to ask, a relative who is now dead or unable to be interviewed. What I want you […]
The Mystery of Robert Wheaton’s First Mention in America Solved!
Posted on January 23, 2023 7 Comments
Document Found After years and years of attempts to locate the original record of the first mention of Robert WHEATON in America, it was finally resolved thanks to J. Webb who responded to a request I placed on Mastodon. Thank you to the kindness of strangers!!! My attempts included a trip to Salt Lake City […]
Family History or Family Fiction?: Exposing Secrets
Posted on January 22, 2023 6 Comments
Paul Chiddicks is my muse. Paul publishes popular articles in the UK version of Family Tree Magazine and also authors the Blog The Chiddicks Family Tree. He often writes something that is the impetus for my own blog posts. Such was the case this morning when I read his post Ethical Dilemmas and How To […]
Just Say NO to Favorites! Writing challenge
Posted on November 26, 2022 4 Comments
I can’t be the only one who cringes everytime I hear the word favorite. No offense intended, but asking me for my favorite ancestor or heirloom is like asking a mother to choose a favorite child. Reminds me of those moral dilemma stories they gave us in high school, where you have to pick who […]
What Is It About Boxes? Writing Challenge
Posted on August 31, 2022 4 Comments
I am rather sure I was a cat in a previous life. Don’t all cats love boxes? box. noun: a container with a flat base and sides, typically square or rectangular and having a lid. I love boxes—all sorts of boxes. Big cardboard appliance boxes, the kind we made into forts or houses or castles. […]
Property Map Treasure Hunts: Finding the Places Your Ancestors Lived
Posted on August 29, 2022 6 Comments
One of the many wonders of Google Maps is the ability to travel down many streets and roads via “Street View.” And then of course there is aerial view that allows you to locate your ancestors properties of a bygone area by comparing old Platt and Ownership Maps with current ones. I am always amazed […]
And What About Frank?: A Soprano’s Aria Chapter 37
Posted on August 8, 2022 7 Comments
Not everyone in our family trees are people we admire. Sometimes they are unsavory characters that people want to bury the details of—but I think we need to know about the good bad and the ugly. Here’s my follow-up piece to Lulu’s diary. This is Lulu’s husband Franklin “Frank” Stewart MOSIER my great grandfather. Frank […]
Wheaton Wood 