My Trails into the Past

It's been six years since I wrote my first blog post. In this time I have written over 200 blog posts, mostly about my paternal families and my husband's families. I write about my maternal families mostly on my first blog, " Mam-ma's Southern Family ." Most of my blog posts have been about the Hork, Gorrell, Sullivan, and Johnston families. I have also made many "Saturday Night Genealogy Fun" posts and participated last year in the "A-Z Challenge." This year I've been working on my portfolio for BCG certification and have not written as many detailed stories about my family for the blog. Since I have not decided on which family to write for the Kinship Determination Project (KDP), I've been selective in what I write about for this blog. Once the portfolio is complete and turned in, I hope to return to writing about the research process and learning more about my family. Copyright © 2017 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, My Trails in...

My three times great-grandparents, Greenlee Bean Selman and Amanda Deborah Oldham were married on 23 Jun 1851 in Cherokee County, Texas. Actually, Greenlee Selman married another Selman, Mrs. Deborah A Selman. Here is a copy of the license for the marriage: [1] “To any Judge Justice of the Peace or Regularly Ordained Minister of the Gospel, you are hereby authorized to solemnize the rites of matrimony between Mr. Green Lee R Selman and Mrs. Deborah Amanda Selman and due return make to within Sixty days after solemnization at my office in the town of Rusk. Given under my hand and seal of ?? In the Town of Rusk this 23rd September AD 1851.    W.P. Brittain Clerk Co Court, by his Deputy O.G. Woods.” 1851 Marriage License for Green Lee Selman & Mrs. Deborah A. Selman, Cherokee Co, Texas Now there is no return recorded in the marriage book. When did they marry? Probably not in the same office on that day. Had the minister forgotten to return the marriage? O...

Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing has another great assignment for us. 1)  Do you have photos of all of your ancestors back to the 1850 time frame?  Which recent ancestors do you not have a photograph of?  2)  Review your files, and list the ancestors for whom you want and/or need to find a photograph.  Also list where they resided and where they died.  Where would you look to find a photograph of them? 3)  Share your answers on your own blog post (and leave a comment here with a link), or on Facebook or other social media. So here’s mine: I have photos of my parents, my four grandparents, and seven out of my great-grandparents. I have photos of  ten out of sixteen great-great-grandparents. And I have only two out of thirty-two 3X great-grandparents. Of my great-grandparents: I have not found a photo of Johan Anton Hork (1843-1906). Of my great-great-grandparents: I need a photo of Vincent Sievert (1823-1890) & his wife S...

Another great genealogy challenge from Randy Seaver of Genea-musing . 1)  The Family History Hound listed 20 Questions about your Ancestor, and I'm going to use some of them in the next few months.  2)  Please answer the first question - "Which ancestor moved the farthest from their home?" 3)  Write your own blog post, make a comment on this post, or post  your answer on Facebook or Google+.  Please leave a link to your answer in comments on this post. My great-grandfather, Johann Anton Hork and his brother, Johann Albert Hork, came the furthermost distance from their home. Both were born in the small town, Oberhundem, located in Kreis Olpe of Westfalen. Anton was born 8 Nov 1843 and Albert was born 10 Aug 1853. [1] The 27-year-old, Johan Hork, arrived in the United States on 5 Nov 1870 aboard the HMS Idaho . [2] He married Julia Sievert in Joliet, Will County, Illinois. [3] John was a tailor and he took his family west as far as Portland...