My Trails into the Past

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:  It's Saturday Night again -  Time for some more Genealogy Fun!! Here is our assignment from Randy Seaver of GeneaMusings : 1)  What started but unfinished projects do you have?  Define one or more of them, and how far along you are in the project. Here's mine: Like Randy, I have many, many unfinished projects. I have a folder on my computer called “Work in Progress” filled with file folders of various family surnames and topics, as shown here: Within those files are more files. Here is an example of the top few folders: Most of these are images downloaded from FamilySearch, MyHeritage, or Ancestry, that I did not have time then to deal with them. Digging deeper into the Military Folder, I have a WWI Study folder, where I’m keeping track of various members of my family who either served, or at least registered for the draft. My goal was to learn as much as I can about researching WWI resources and telling WWI soldiers’...

Working on the Shotts family for September. The first post was about Catherine Shotts who married Amos Gorrell. Her parents were Daniel Shotts and Mary Ann Bishop. [1] This post will be about what I know about them. According to the Find a Grave memorial, Daniel was born on 23 February 1804 in Augusta County, Virginia. [2] The tombstone photo is very worn is difficult to read. It gives his death date of 9 Oct 1875 and the age at death of 71 years, ? months, and 18 days. However, a reading done perhaps in 1993 gave the age of death as 71 years, 7 months and 16 days. [3] This calculates to a birth of 23 February 1804. [4] Census records are consistent for his birthplace of Virginia; however, they are silent on the county. He was 46 in 1850, [5] 56 in 1860, [6] and 65 in 1870. [7] Perhaps the source for the county came from the book, Ross County, Ohio Early Families, Volume II. The bio for the Shotts-Wagoner family states “all children born in Augusta County, Virginia except S...

An interesting article was published in the Chillicothe (Ohio) Gazette in 1893 that gives a story of an old powder horn owned over the years by three men. [1] One of the owners was Daniel Shotts, my husband’s 3x-great-grandfather. He had received the deer-skin covered powder horn in 1825 from a hermit named Hewitt, who lived many years in a cave. In those early days, hunters used a long-barreled, muzzle-loading rifle. This powder horn was described in the article as made of “cow’s horn” that later was “mended by drawing over it the skin from a deer’s leg, hair out, which has hardened until it is as firm as metal, holding the horn so that it is impossible to move it. The larger end is filled with a smooth wooden stopper with a swivel in it, so that a strap could be passed through it. The small end is stopped by a wooden peg.” After Daniel used it, he gave it to Martin Haynes in 1835. The article went on to say that it was now (in 1893) in the possession of Martin’s grandson, C.M. ...

Outside activities included phenology, bird watching, and trips to National Park sites with Jacqueline. Genealogy Genealogy Volunteer/Work: I sent out the final press releases for the BCG webinar. Our writing group met in person this week at the Oakland FamilySearch Center and after a couple of hours of sharing, we ate lunch up the street. Genealogy Meetings:  Meetings I attended this week were a special CCCHS board meeting and the RootsMagic SIG.   Genealogy Writing/Research : I did very little writing and research this week, only working a bit on Saturday and Sunday on the Shotts line. Blog Posts Published: A Fact that Makes Me Smile I wrote about my grandmother registering to vote in a different party than her husband. SNGF: Serendipity! I wrote about how I found the source of where I got the information about the marriage of David Shotts and Mary Wagoner. Courses Attended :  I missed my South Carolina Research class last week and haven’t cau...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:  It's Saturday Night again -  Time for some more Genealogy Fun!!   Our assignment from Randy Seaver of GeneaMusings is to: 1)  Serendipity! What happened when you went looking for an ancestor or a genealogical record and were pleasantly surprised to find someone else or something else you didn't expect while you were doing that search? 2)  Please share an instance when you had a serendipitous experience. Thank you to Marian B. Wood for suggesting this topic. Here's mine: This is a tough assignment as I cannot think of a serendipitous moment in the 30 plus years of research. It all seems that way whenever I research. However, this month I am researching the Shotts family, a paternal line of my daughters, and in searching for information at Ancestry about David Shotts (1760-1825) who married Mary Wagoner (1766-1862), I discovered a newspaper article attached to someone’s tree. It was about the 100th anniver...

The theme for this week’s 52 Ancestors is “A Small Detail I Love.” I discovered a small detail that warmed my heart. My grandmother, Anna Marie (Sullivan) Hork registered to vote in Los Angeles, California, as a Democrat. Her husband, William Cyril Hork, registered as a Republican. [1] She chose the party that matched her convictions and did not just follow her husband’s advice. In fact, this could have been the start of their disagreements about things that later led to their life-long separation. #52Ancestors: Week 36 – “A Small Detail I Love” This is my ninth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow ( https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/ ) at Generations Cafe . I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or My Trails into the Past . I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways. [1] "California Voter Registration 1900-1968," digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com), 1...

Outside activities included phenology, History Center, hike, and trips to National Park sites with Jacqueline. Genealogy Genealogy Volunteer/Work: I volunteered twice at the History Center again this week. Traci, John, and I worked on the Betty Maffei collection on Monday. On Tuesday, I helped a trio of researchers. Genealogy Meetings:  Meetings I attended this week were a special CCCHS board meeting and the RootsMagic SIG.   Genealogy Writing/Research : I got in a little more writing this week, finishing up the Johnston line by writing about Reuben’s wife, Olivia Jane Jones. I have started on the new month researching Shotts. Blog Posts Published: The Family of Olivia Jane Jones – Final 12 for ’26 for August I finished up the Johnston month by researching and writing about Reuben’s wife, Olivia Jane Jones. Catharine Elizabeth Shotts Gorrell For 52 Ancestors, I wrote about Amos Gorrell’s wife, Catharine. SNGF: How Do You Use Artificial Intelligence Too...