My Trails into the Past

Last week when working on a presentation about resources for school-attending ancestors, I discovered I had the signatures of a set of my maternal great-grandparents. These were from the report card of my grandfather’s sister, Beryl Johnston.  Home sources are likely to be the best place to locate signatures of our ancestors. Many of the signatures we see in governmental records are clerk-recorded signatures. To be sure, check the handwriting of the signature against the other writing from the clerk. If it looks similar, likely the clerk wrote it. Chances for real signatures might be in probate case files of loose papers, actual deeds (not those recorded in deed ledgers), passport applications, and naturalization certificates. My marriage certificate has the signatures of my husband and me, as well as his brother and my sister, who were our witnesses. It is wonderful to have the handwriting of my ancestors. It makes me feel connected to them. My parents: William J. Hork L...

Last week I wrote about the tragic death of Joseph McFall (1836-1908) . At the end of the newspaper article was a paragraph about his two daughters, both who were actresses: Sue McFall, known as Julia Gray, and May McFall, known as May Noble. These ladies were my husband’s first cousin twice removed. Their mother was my husband’s great-grandfather, Frederick H. Davey’s sister. May McFall, was born about 1869 in Indiana, likely Jeffersonville. I have not found much about her, but did find a connection with her birth name and her stage name. “The Dramatic News says that Miss May Noble, of the John Dillon comedy Company, now playing in the Northwest, has made a great hit and has won justly deserved promotion. “May Noble” is known in Indianapolis, which is her home, as May McFall.” [1] I found a few articles of her with the Dillon company, and then no more. There are articles about a May Noble with the Leonard Grover Company, starting in Los Angeles in 1894. [2] From there, the compan...

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. My mother’s paternal aunt, Beryl Mavella Johnston, was quite the character. I have previously written about her as part of a Blogging from A to Z Challenge in 2016, as well as about her work for the federal government: “B is for Aunt Beb” “Beryl Johnston Russell Taylor Worked for the Feds” “Beryl Russell Worked in Greece” She was my grandfather, Tom J. Johnston’s older sister, and she was always a part of our holiday celebrations. She usually brought dessert to the meals, mainly pumpkin or pecan pie. She was loud and always spoke her opinion. She was always well-dressed, even if it consisted only of white, black, or silver-colored clothing. As a child, I didn’t understand why she didn’t like wearing color...