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 Genea-Musing : 1)  We all have "elusive ancestors" that we cannot find a name for, or one that absolutely eludes us, but we know some details about their spouse and/or children. 2)  Tell us about one of them - how are you related?  What do you know about them? Where did they live? etc. 3)  Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook Status post.  Please leave a link in a comment to this post. Here’s mine: I do not know the parents of my 3x-great-grandfather, Benjamin W. Jones, who married Amanda A. Haley 26 Jun 1845 in Rankin County, Mississippi. [1] Census records in Rankin County show Benjamin was born in Virginia about 1822. [2] He first appeared in Rankin County in the 1845 state census and 1845 tax list. These show Benjamin as a sing...

This is my third year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow. I will write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways. Olevia Jane Jones, my fourth great-grandmother, was born 22 February 1859. [1] Her parents were Benjamin W. Jones and Amanda A. Haley. [2] She was the fifth and middle child of nine. There is no census that lists all of the children together. In 1860, she was the youngest of five. [3]   B.W. Jones, 38, male, farmer, VA, $2842, $8323   AA Jones, 31, F, MS    MF Jones, 13 F, MS   WA Jones, 11, male, MS   TW Jones, 9, male, MS   EB Jones, 5, F, MS   OJ Jones, 1, F, MS   David Gillman, 20, male, dressier, MS By 1870, her father is gone, having died sometime and someplace during the Civil War, and only eight children are enumerated, as the elde...

My fourth great-grandfather, Thomas Haley, died 26 January 1851 in Rankin County, Mississippi. At the time of his death, his son Thomas J. Haley stated his father died without a will, and that he had over two thousand acres of land and twelve slaves. [1] This post will discuss the distribution of the slaves, especially to Benjamin W. Jones and his wife, Amanda (Haley) Jones, my third great-grandfather. By publishing this information, descendants of these enslaved people might be able to make a connection and further their own research. These enslaved people were part of the Haley and Jones family and community, too. Distribution Those twelve slaves who were part of the estate were “a negro man Sam [,] a negro girl Sarah [,] a negro girl Charlotte [,] a negro boy Josephus [,] a negro girl Ally [,] a boy Sam [,] a boy Isaac [,] a boy Jordan [,] and one boy Moses and a girl Phillis and her child and a girl Celia .” [2] In the December term 1851, Thomas J. Haley report...

Another great activity created by Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings to help us share something about our families in our blog. 1) What year was one of your great-grandfathers born? Divide this number by 75 and round the number off to a whole number. This is your "roulette number." 2) Use your pedigree charts or your family tree genealogy software program to find the person with that number in your ancestral name list (some people call it an "ahnentafel" - your software will create this - use the "Ahnentafel List" option, or similar). Who is that person, and what are his/her vital information? 3) Tell us three facts about that person in your ancestral name list with the "roulette number." 4) Write about it in a blog post on your own blog, in a Facebook status or a Google Stream post, or as a comment on this blog post. 1.  Johann Anton Hork was my oldest grandfather on my paternal side. He was born 9 Nov 1843 in Oberhundem, Westfalia (Ge...