Puzzle Pieces Coming Together - the importance of scanning historical documents

My cousin, Jack Lynes, recently contributed to a genealogy story for International African American Museum. Jack had posted a scanned copy of the Guyton Family Bible from Oakley Plantation onto The Foxbank Project website (http://www.thefoxbankproject.org) and notified IAAM about an unusual entry in the bible....a record of purchase of several slaves in the late 1850s and 1860s. There are of course records of sales and purchases of slaves, but it is very unusual to notate it in the family bible.

You can read more details in the article, but the notation in the bible actually gave IAAM a piece of a puzzle for 3 of the 235 individuals sold from Pimlico Plantation in 1860. There was no record of where they were sold or what became of them until this bible entry. It goes to show you should "never give up on your search, because sometimes the pieces come together from many different sources." Thank you Jack for the contribution, and I hope it encourages more people to scan and share historical family documents. https://cfh.iaamuseum.org/african-american-genealogy-when-the-pieces-come-together-guyton-family-bible-oakley-plantation-berkeley-sc/

Family History Month

My daddy brought me some more old family photos today. Good timing as October is Family History Month! My favorite is this photo circa 1893 of my great-grandmother Annie Haynes Fultz (left) with her sister Flora Haynes. Annie was about 8 and Flora about 10.  I was very excited to get this photo; I had never seen a photo of my great-grandmother as a child. The youngest photo I have of her was her wedding photo from 1907 at age 22.

Creating a Personal History for Ancestors

I've been trying to write up individual biographies for some of my ancestors. I ran across this really good article on Family Search  (https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Creating_a_Personal_History_of_Ancestors) 
and thought I would share some of the tips.
How do you write a personal history of an ancestor who may have lived hundreds of years ago and left no diary?  It is not easy, but you can make some assumptions like authors of such works do. 

Typical day in the life on an ancestor

In addition, we might be able to describe a typical day of a father by knowing his occupation and learning how he earned a living. We can describe the typical day of a housewife and mother by knowing the kind of house they lived in, how they cook meals, clean clothes, etc.

Research is not hard

• Get a general idea of the history of the country where the subject lived or came from to see what influence it had on them and why they may have left it.
• Try to locate any local histories from the area of the country where your subject lived which probably had a larger impact on them than the national scene.
• Can you find any direct evidence that they were effected by such events as national wars or local conflicts, land ownership disputes, poor working conditions, no opportunities to improve ones economic condition, any ethnic persecutions, religious harassment, etc.
• Were they native to the country they came from? Many of the immigrants from Wales, for example, had ancestors that were originally from Ireland and Scotland so you’ll want to learn why they went to Wales.
• What was the town or village like that the subject lived in? Was it a manufacturing or farming area? Was a big town or small village? What were most of the houses built of?
• What were the living conditions in that town or village?
• What would the subject’s home have been like?
• What kinds of furniture would the subject have in their home?
• How did they make a living?
• Were they effected by natural disasters?
• What were their chances for an education? Could they read or write?
• What was the dominate religion and did your subject belong to it? How did your subject worship? Did they say grace before meals? Read the Bible together? Had their children christened?
• How did they pick names for children?
• Learn what occupation your subject was engaged in and learn how he preformed his labors.
• Find out what would be typical day for a housewife of the period.
• What would be typical meal served to the family? Did they have plenty to eat?
• If the subject immigrated, what were traveling conditions like?. Be detailed. How did they travel, how long was the trip, what did they eat, were they sick, who did they travel with, how were they organized, etc. Did they move because of a relative who had immigrated earlier? Did they go live with that relative for a while?
• What was the make up of the family at the time of immigration?
• What style of clothes did the subject wear?
• Where did they sleep? How many to a room?
• What was medical treatment like in those days?
• What sorts of illness effected people?
• Was the subject involved in any wars and if so what weapons would he have used?
• What was their social standing in the community?
• What education did the subject have if any? Could they read and write?
• How were people married?
• When did people quit working and retire or did they?
• What did people do for entertainment?

There is some other good information and tips in the article that will help me in writing these biographies, and I hope they help you as well!

Indentured Servants

There is a book entitled "White Cargo" by Don Jordan and Michael Walsh that discusses the English, Irish and Scottish people sent to the early American colonies (some against their will) as indentured servants. Tens of thousands were brought here. Some were street children in 1619, later there were beggars, gypsies, prostitutes, convicts and anyone else who displeased the upper classes. This makes me wonder how many of us with Irish/Scottish/English roots may be descended from these "indentured servants". It could explain the difficulty we have with genealogy research.
"White Cargo" is meticulously sourced and footnoted and uses quotations from letters, diaries, newspapers, and wills for authenticity.
An excerpt from the review: 'Mainstream histories refer to these laborers as indentured servants, not slaves, because many agreed to work for a set period of time in exchange for land and rights... Many early settlers died long before their indenture ended or found that no court would back them when their owners failed to deliver on promises. And many never achieved freedom or the American dream they were seeking.'
Thank you for the information Christine Wright, it is definitely a book to read for those of us interested in early Colonial America and genealogy.

First Motorcycle Cop

This is my great-great uncle, Robert Henry Dangerfield of Berkeley County. Believed to be the first motorcycle cop in South Carolina.

Pretty Charleston single house.

Pretty Charleston single house.

via Tumblr http://ift.tt/1oYfgKw

questionableadvice: ~ Etiquette, Health and Beauty, Frances...

questionableadvice:

~ Etiquette, Health and Beauty , Frances Stevens and Frances M. Smith, 1889

via Tumblr http://ift.tt/1nUjeWs

"The past cannot be changed, forgotten, edited or erased; it can only be accepted."

“The past cannot be changed, forgotten, edited or erased; it can only be accepted.”



- TheDailyPositive.com (via thedailypozitive)



via Tumblr http://ift.tt/1pWldGK

Old Georgetown Road - part of the original King’s Highway,...

Old Georgetown Road - part of the original King’s Highway, the main road leading from Charleston to Boston.

via Tumblr http://ift.tt/1lW1R0K

One of my all time favorites!

One of my all time favorites!

via Tumblr http://ift.tt/1lW1OC5

The Stories That Bind Us

I feel a strong connection to my ancestors and our land because someone in my family showed me these places, told me who lived there and showed me pictures if possible. They told the stories of the people's lives. These were my ancestors before me and I felt a connection and have memories that I want to hold on to. That's what I want to pass down. Not everyone feels that connection, but I read an article recently that made a lot of sense to me and I think it explains how important knowing your history means.

The article was printed in the New York Times on March 15, 2013 and titled “The Stories That Bind Us” by Bruce Feiler. A study had been done showing that children who know more about their family’s history tend to do better when faced with challenges, have a stronger sense of control over the lives and higher self-esteem.  Why does knowing where your grandmother went to school help a child overcome something as minor as a skinned knee or as major as a traumatic event? The answers have to do with a child’s sense of being a part of a larger family. The bottom line: if you want a happier family, create, refine and retell the story of your family’s positive moments and your ability to bounce back from difficult ones.

Yes, as children growing up we all yawned a lot during the “back when” stories of our elders, but believe me, those stories stay in your memory and are appreciated so much as you grow older.

If you would like to read the article in its entirety the link is:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/fashion/the-family-stories-that-bind-us-this-life.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&

Another good article: http://www.journaloffamilylife.org/doyouknow.html

Surprising Discoveries Part 1

Over the past few years the internet has connected me with family that I didn't know about as it has with many others doing their family history research.

The most surprising came about 7 years ago when I was contacted by someone who saw my inquiry on a website regarding my Haynes family. My great-grandmother was Annie Haynes Fultz who passed away when I was 12 years old and I already knew quite a bit about her and her siblings, but not much about her parents and nothing at all about her grandfather (still trying to find out more about him!). Well, this person said we were related because her grandfather was Annie's brother. I said I'm sorry you must have the wrong Willis Haynes because Annie only had one brother and that was not your grandfather. I even have Annie's handwritten paper which lists her parents and siblings with their birth dates and he is not on there, and I have never heard his name before. He was not in the obituary or will, either. She was surprised that I didn't know of him and even provided me with his death certificate listing Willis and Margaret Haynes as his parents! I immediately called my dad (Annie's grandson) who also had no idea this person existed! Unfortunately, Annie's son (my grandfather) had died three years earlier and I really wish I had known about this when he was still alive so I could ask him.  The person (the granddaughter) told me that Willis had an illegitimate child and brought him home to raise as his son. Willis died the following year and all of his children other than this son were already grown, so the son and Willis' wife moved in with their daughter and her husband. I have learned from other family members that there was a rumor that the child was actually the "out of wedlock" child of one of Willis' daughters, but it was 1906 and it was kept secret and he took the child in as his and his wife's. The child and Willis' wife did move in with that daughter after Willis' death. Perhaps I'll never learn the truth, but that was the BIGGEST surprise I've learned so far!

Picture History!

I know I'm slow finding things sometimes, but just ran across two web sites that are really interesting. You can take an image and pin it to a mapping site to see what the current address used to look like. Don't laugh; I'm sure they've been there for ages and I'm just finding out!  www.whatwasthere.com is a really neat site for this. There are tons and tons of images already there and I love pulling up an address (say Historic Downtown Charleston) and seeing an image from the past overlayed on the current street view of Google Maps! You can slide a bar that fades the image in and out to make is easier to view.

Another similar site is www.historypin.com

I'm a visual type of person so being able to see old images overlayed on current images makes it so much more easier for me.  Try it....I'll bet you will be addicted!

Contributing your time to Ancestry.com

If you are a member of Ancestry.com, consider volunteering to key records. All those records we search for are keyed in by thousands of contributors...you could be one of them!  Ancestry.com has just reached is 100,000,000 mark of records keyed. That's a lot of records!!

May 10- Confederate Memorial Day

We bow our heads in solemn prayer
For those who wore the gray,
And clasp again their unseen hands
On our Memorial Day.

In memory of my known Confederate ancestors:

Robert Haines

Samuel Thornley

Nelson Funchess (killed at Fort Fisher, NC)

John Fultz

Thomas Fultz

John Ballentine

Andrew Ballentine

Lewis Ballentine

George Lynes

 

I will never forget your sacrifice or the sacrifice of your wives and families for the Confederate States.

"Sleep sweetly in your humble graves."

 

 

Those Places Thursday - Bonneau Beach

Growing up near Bonneau Beach on Lake Moutrie meant lots of fun times! I miss the old pavilion with the game room and grill. Lots of memories.....it's also where my parents met for the first time :-)

Hitting a brick wall on Robert Haines

I, as well as several other descendents, have tried so hard to find out who Robert Haines' parents were for several years. It's driving me crazy! He is my 3rd great-grandfather and the first record I can find of him was in the 1850 Census. He was a Cadet at the Arsenal Academy in Columbia, South Carolina aged 16. The Arsenal Academy was an extension of the Citadel in Charleston where cadets were trained then sent to the Citadel. I was able to locate a copy of the enrollment of cadets in 1850 and it states he is from Charleston. Good; close to where my family has always lived and where I knew he lived after the war and died (Foxbank Plantation, St. John's Berkeley Parish, South Carolina). I just knew if I could get his enrollment papers it would have his parent's names. So I contacted the Historian at the Citadel. Very nice man, but advised me that all papers were moved from the Citadel in Charleston to the Academy in Columbia during the War Between the States for safeguarding. They thought the Yankees were going to burn Charleston. Fortunately they didn't, but unfortunately they did burn Columbia, and the Arsenal Academy as well and most of the records in the process :-(

I have gone through all the 1840 Census records for any Haines/Hains/Haynes family in SC who may have had a son around the age of 6 or 7. I have a few leads, and they are from the same area where he was living in 1860 - St. Paul's Parish, Colleton District, South Carolina. Now it gets tough again...the 1840 Census records are so vague..there are no names except for head of household. So now I have to find another direction to begin searching.

Maybe one day I will find it!

Annie Eliza Haynes Fultz

I am ending Women's History Month with my great-grandmother Annie Eliza Haynes Fultz. Annie was born 14 March 1885, the daughter of Willis and Margaret Mellard Haynes. She was a teacher for Berkeley County School District.  Annie first taught school in 1901 at the Oliver School, and old fashioned one room school near the Carnes Cross Roads which had grades one through seven. She taught grades 1-5 and her salary was $25 a month.  After two years there, she attended Winthrop College between 1903-1905. Due to illness in the family (probably her father), Annie had to leave college, however later she completed her hours through extension courses offered by Carolina, summer sessions at Winthrop, the Citadel, College of Charleston and Carolina and earned her degree. After completing college, she was employed by her father Willis Haynes in his law office.  She married Lewis Fultz, an attorney in Moncks Corner, in 1907, and after raising her family, she returned to teaching in 1920 at Ebenezer School in Whitesville where she taught grades 1-7.  This school has been moved to the Berkeley County Museum and restored. Annie taught at Ebenezer from 1920-1922. After Ebenezer, Annie taught grades 1-4 at Appii school near Cooper’s Store in the Longridge area between 1922 and 1923. At the close of that school year, the school consolidated with the Moncks Corner School System and Annie transferred to Berkeley Elementary School in the fall of 1923 where she remained for 40 years teaching the 4^th grade. In 1961 Annie was named Teacher of the Year. A former student, Dr. Pete Myers, stated “….Mrs. Fultz was a ‘stickler’  for proper manners, respect for elders, and discipline in her classroom, without making the classroom a drudge…..Her neat, attractive, yet dignified appearance through the years has only been an outward manifestation of her inward nature, and all of these she has attempted to pass on to her pupils….I consider it an honor to recommend this Christian lady to you as teacher of the year”.   On 30 May 1963 Annie retired from teaching after 45 years of service and continued to live in Moncks Corner where she died 15 January 1977. 

Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month. My first female ancestor I am posting on is my 3rd great-grandmother, Emily Rebecca Lynes. Emily was born to George and Lizzie Lynes on 12 December 1840. Her father George was an overseer at several different plantations, and she and her siblings were born at these plantations. Her father eventually inherited Foxbank Plantation in St. James' Goose Creek Parish. She married Robert Haines and they had two children. Willis was born in 1858 at Foxbank and Emma was born in 1864. Robert served in the War Between the States. I assume Emily lived with her family at Foxbank during his service since Willis would have been a toddler and Emma a newborn. At one point during the war she, her mother and her sisters were sent to Georgetown to stay with one of her sisters. Emily died 15 April 1890, 14 years after her husband Robert. They are both buried at Bethlehem Baptist Church/St. James' Goose Creek Chapel of Ease near Foxbank Plantation.

The Chosen

We are the chosen.  In each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors.  To put flesh on their bones and make them live again....  It goes beyond just documenting facts.  It goes to who am I and why do I do the things I do?  It goes to seeing a cemetery about to be lost forever to weeds and indifference and saying I can't let this happen.... It goes to pride in what our ancestors were able to accomplish.  How they contributed to what we are today.  It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, their never giving in or giving up, their resoluteness to go on and build a life for their family.  It goes to deep pride that the fathers fought and some died to make and keep us a nation.  It goes to a deep and immense understanding that they were doing it for us.  It is of equal pride and love that our mothers struggled to give us birth, without them we could not exist, and so we love each one, as far back as we can reach.  That we might be born who we are.  That we might remember them.  So we do. With love and caring and scribing each fact of their existence, because we are they and they are the sum of who we are. 

So, as a scribe called, I tell the story of my family.  It is up to that one called in the next generation to answer the call and take my place in the long line of family storytellers.

That is why I do my family genealogy, and that is what calls those young and old to step up and restore the memory or greet those who we had never known before.

Author Unknown