My Trails into the Past

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...

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:  It's Saturday Night again -  Time for some more Genealogy Fun!! Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!): 1)  How do you use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to help you understand the lives, history, and geography associated with your family and your ancestors, that aid your genealogy and family history research?   2)  Please share the ways (at least one way!) that you use AI tools in your genealogy and family history research.  Here's mine: To be honest, I don’t use AI much. I enjoy the artificial intelligent tools that makes full-text search available at FamilySearch and look forward to this technique at other genealogy websites. I also enjoy whatever tools are being used to enhance OCR capability in newspaper research. I have not used it much besides the above. I tried having it analyze my research results but realized I should be doing the anal...

This post will double as a 52 Ancestors and a 12 for ’26 post. This month, I’m studying the Shotts and Bishop families, beginning with Amos Gorrell’s wife, Catharine Elizabeth Shotts. Elizabeth was born on 18 February 1835 in Ross County, Ohio, to Daniel Shotts and Mary Ann Bishop. [1] She was the second child of six. The family lived in Huntington Township and Daniel was a farmer. Even though Daniel could not read and write, his children were all attending school in 1850. [2] When she was 22 years old, she married Lemuel J. Sayre on 14 January 1857. Rev. William Morris officiated. [3] Lemuel was a 21-year-old Virginia-born farmer, the son of Squire and Lydia Sayre. [4] They had three children. Mary Adela Sayre was born on 29 May 1857 and she died 11 November 1858. [5] She is buried in the Denver Cemetery, Ross County. Her death date was calculated from age at death: 1y 5m 13d. [6] George Sayre was born on 3 August 1859 and he died on the same day. He is also buried in the D...