Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Adventure Into Your Ancestry

Posted: June 23, 2012 in Ancestry, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , ,
4
Tree - leaf canopy

Tree – leaf canopy (Photo credit: blmiers2)

A little over a year ago, I became intensely involved with finding out who my family really was, what natural or historical events may have shaped their lives, and even with any amount of luck, I would be able to put a face to those names and dates! When researching I found out a few things, the most important thing being that just because you see it on the internet or in print form doesn’t necessarily make it a fact! I started out with the basic version of Ancestry.com and from here I searched for my Cornett family just to see what information was hiding out inside this site. Granted, there are photos and documents such as BMD records, public and private member trees, stories that members have shared in their trees, census records, immigration and emigration records and so on. What got me into trouble with my tree was linking my current tree to someone else’s data that they had in theirs. Big mistake! HUGE! Not only was there some incorrect data as far as the person’s name but some dates were incorrect too. By the time I realized the error in my ways, I had at least a thousand family members in my descendants’ tree and I had no clue that maybe someone could have made an error. I uploaded a GEDCOM file, which wasn’t created by me, but someone else in the family line and in this file there were tons of errors. This created the biggest family tree on Ancestry that I become sort of lost. Who were these people?

Some of the errors I was at fault for, by presuming these facts to be true in nature, I came to realize that the “research” I thought I was doing, really wasn’t anything but sloppy research on my part. So what do I do now? Delete everything and start over with what I do know as fact! I started with my father, who passed away in 2001, and contacted the mausoleum to obtain his death certificate. Okay, so I’m getting on the right track now; I’m documenting every little piece of information or document I can get my hands on and being that I am his next of kin, I was able to obtain a copy. There was so much more information on this little piece of paper than I had originally thought there would be. I found out the exact time of his death, the facility where he was pronounced dead, his social security number, who his parents were (of course this I already knew), I also found out that he died from congestive heart failure. So having these types of documents further feeds my passion for wanting to know more.

I have talked to family about my passion for genealogy, and they have offered to help me in any way they can, if it is at all possible. I really appreciate all they have done thus far. What next steps do I take? Well, for me, I started to write a blog, originally with BlogSpot, but after a year using the site, I feel that WordPress is offering so much more as far as my writing, which I love to do, and also my desire to connect with others that share my interest in family history. So, with that said, since talking to older family members about what I was doing, I was really overlooking the younger generation. Why not involve them too? Get them interested in who their family really was, what trials and tribulations they may have gone through to get us where we are today. I consider my contributions to this research as a glance into our past. Passing our family legacy onto the younger members of the family. I truly wish I had been this interested 20 years ago!

Researching my families past, who they were, where they lived, who died from what ailment, or even how many children they had, gives me a better idea of what their lives were like. I know some think that what is in the past should stay in the past, but I find this to be a very fulfilling adventure! I like to dig; I like to investigate further so I can paint a picture of who my family was all those years ago. Family stories passed down from generation to generation says that we, the Cornett family, were descended from King Canute, but I haven’t been able to track back that far to say whether this is actually true or not. Yes, we might be, but then again maybe we really aren’t. Another story is that a family member married into the Hatfield family, you know the Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s? The History Channel recently aired their family story and the families well known for their feuding counterparts. I know a member of our family married a Mary Hatfield who was born in 1777, but is it the same one from this notorious family? Or another Mary Hatfield belonging to a different Hatfield generation? Could there be any relation? I hope to one day find out!

This is why I think researching your family’s ancestry is such an adventure! We won’t ever know if we are part of families such as this, unless we investigate and dig deep into our roots. After all, the roots are what keep a family tree standing! I wish you all the luck in finding your past and hearing about your findings as well!

Until We Meet Again

Posted: June 20, 2012 in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , ,
3

Dad in October 1970 Is it possible for someone to grieve over the loss of someone they have loved their entire life? My sister Amy and I can attest that this is true, even after 11 years since our fathers’ death in 2001. Some may ask why we are so interested in our dad after all this time, but in truth, we have always wanted to know him, to talk to him, to put our arms around his neck and just say, “Daddy, I love you and always will.” When our parents divorced I was only six years old and my sister was only eighteen months. We never had the chance to know our dad like so many daughters have the chance to do in their lives. As children growing up we were told lies. Lies that forever changed our lives. We were told that our dad didn’t love us or he would want to be with us. To grow up thinking this all your life, is very traumatic for a child at any age. It changed the way we thought, the way we showed our emotions, and the way we showed our love to those around us. For me personally, it hardened my heart in a way that I cannot explain. 


Just recently I found out from my sister that dad did try to visit us but was told that he wasn’t welcome there and he was forced to leave. (I think my mom was at work at the time, so if you are thinking it was her that told him to leave, you can just get that idea out of your head. She was shocked when I told her this new information. She had no idea that my dad and uncle Stewart had driven from Maryland to Florida to come see us, and only to be told to go back home.) So he left. I never seen him again since that day, even though I didn’t know it was him standing on the front porch trying to look in. I believe he just wanted to see our faces just one time before he was forced to go. In the back of my mind, I knew someone had come to visit, but I didn’t realize it was our dad. He was coming to see us! We never knew until decades later. Sometimes, and I speak for my sister Amy when I say this, “What would our life be like right now if only we were given the chance to truly know him?” I can only say that we wish things had turned out differently. To turn back the clock is an understatement. I would love to just start over, knowing what I know now, I think our relationship with our dad would have been quite different. It could have blossomed into something really special between us and our Cornett family.


Before dad’s funeral our Aunt Evelyn called my sister, Amy, and told her she needed to come see dad because he wasn’t doing well and should come to his bedside before he passed away. I wasn’t able to go because I didn’t have the money for plane fare, and I had no one I could ask for money except my husband at the time. Needless to say, I was told we didn’t have the money. The one thing I asked for I couldn’t have, which hurt me even more. I wanted to see my dad desperately but I couldn’t. I felt trapped. I felt cheated. All I can remember is breaking down in tears and running back to my lonely bedroom and just thinking that this could have been the last moment I would ever get to spend with my dad. I don’t know how long I cried, I just remember that I looked horrible with red, puffy eyes and a shiny,red nose that I probably could have passed for Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’s twin! I am glad my sister was able to pay her last respects even though I couldn’t be there with her. 


The following is my sisters story, painted by her for me so that I could envision what it was like to be in her shoes while she visited with our Cornett family in Maryland and what the funeral service was like. 


Amy’s Story


 Amy With Lucia 2001
Amy With Grandma, Lucia Rose Cornett

I remember Aunt Evelyn calling me one afternoon, saying dad was in the hospital and he was not doing good at all. She said if I wanted to see him I should make it up there really soon. I was able to get a flight out, but a little too late as dad passed away the night before my flight. I got on my flight anyway; I just wanted to see him at least once. My flight landed in Baltimore, Maryland where Uncle Kyle and Aunt Evelyn were waiting for me. They held up a sign that said “Cornett” so I would know who they were. They seen me in pictures through the years, but had no idea what I looked like now, I was 21 or 22.


We left from the airport to Lucia’s small but welcoming home and we were supposed to go to a funeral viewing of a lady, named Edith Cox. At first I wasn’t exactly sure how we were related ( I figured we must be from Scotland or the lady from there because when we went to her funeral there were men dressed in Tartan plaid kilts and playing “Amazing Grace” on bagpipes.) It turned out that Edith Cox was my grandfather, Walter Allen Cornett Sr.’s sister.The men playing bagpipes was pretty neat to see in person. Not everyone can say that they went to a funeral where there was bagpipes playing. What a cultural treat even though it was for a sad occasion. Kyle and Evelyn waited for me in the car while I changed my clothes. I came out of Lucia’s house with my shoes in hand because I was trying to hurry, when I got in the car Evelyn said ” We sure can tell your Bill’s daughter, because he would always walk around barefoot too”. I went to the viewing where I met some of the family for the first time ever in my life. Everyone acted very excited to finally meet me and some I think were even surprised to see me and asked which daughter I was, Kelly or Amy?

I stayed with Kyle and Evelyn the few days I was there, they lived in Westminster,Maryland. They drove me around and showed me the hospital where I was born, the house we used to live in and where mom used to work. I also seen Amish people too which was kinda neat. Pennsylvania is really beautiful and I thought to myself that I wouldn’t mind living there. 

I dreaded the day of dad’s funeral because I would be seeing him for the first time but definitely not the way I wanted. When we got there I planned on sitting in the back of the Church, the preacher introduced himself to me and told me to sit in the front row next to Grandma Lucia. Everyone who came payed their respects, he had an open coffin and he was wearing a shirt and light blue denim jeans, which he was always known to wear, he looked exactly like in the pictures he sent to me.  There was a little girl standing next to me, she was around 7 years old I think. She asked me if I was Uncle Bill’s daughter and I said yes and told her my name was Amy. She said dad was her favorite uncle, she had a stuffed frog which dad had given her and she put it on dad’s chest and she said she wanted him to have it. We all sat down and the funeral service started. The preacher mentioned both our names at the funeral. I was so upset that day that I ended up running out of the service, crying. Uncle Greg followed me out and asked if I was okay and tried to console me the best he knew how.

After the ceremony, all the family gathered at Lucia’s house for dinner. They had foods like macaroni and cheese, pasta salad, dinner rolls but I can’t really remember what else we ate that day. Lucia, Martha, Evelyn, Sue and I sat at the table and they shared stories with me. They told me that he loved baseball and he watched it all the time; I think they said his favorite player was Cal Ripkin. They also shared stories about his epilepsy. 

The night of dad’s funeral we (me, Kyle and Evelyn) spend the night at Lucia’s house. I think it was because they didn’t want to leave Lucia alone; we stayed up late talking about dad and they were telling me what he was like and that he thought of me and Kelly every day and was always talking about us. He would check the mailbox every day, excited when he got another letter from us in the mail. They explained how he came to have epilepsy, that there was an auto accident he was in when he was 18 years old, the car overturned and he hit his head. He had epilepsy ever since that accident; he was also on anti-seizure medication but still had seizures pretty much everyday. They would try to hold him down when he would have a seizure so he wouldn’t hurt himself, but he was just too strong. We talked for a long time, for hours it seemed, about dad, about my life and they asked about Kelly and what she was doing now. They asked about mom too. They told me they really loved mom and they were sad when they split up so many years ago.


That night Lucia told me I could sleep in dad’s room, so I did. When I went into the room I just looked around, I guess it was just so I could see if any of his belongings would tell me a little more about him. He had a simple room, a twin bed and a dresser with a mirror. On the dresser he had photos of me and Kelly and our children, ones that we sent him throughout the years. There was about four pictures altogether set in photo frames. I remember he had a small box of baseball cards that he had apparently collected. I lay in his bed for the longest time that night but I just couldn’t fall asleep. When I finally did sleep, I was awakened by someone touching my shoulder and whispering my name, but when I looked around I saw no one was there. I know this probably sounds really weird but I thought it was dad, you know like his spirit or something there to tell me he loved me and he knew I was there. 

I left on my flight that morning, Kyle and Evelyn took pictures of me and Lucia and everyone that was there. Kelly, I’m pretty sure you know from doing your research we have a pretty big family on the Cornett side. Thee family kept telling me ” I bet you didn’t know you had such a big family”. When I met everyone they remembered me, but for me It was like meeting them for the first time because I was so young I was only a year and a half when mom and dad split up. I had no memories of anyone, not even the one person that I would love to have at least one fond memory of. We all said our goodbye’s and the family welcomed me to come back anytime.

This was really hard for me to write, I think I cried most of the way through it. I just wish things could have been different; I wish I could have met him. I would have been happy with at least meeting him one time, just so I could say I knew my father. I’m sure he remembered me but I don’t have any memories of him at all. The only memory that I can fall back on is seeing him laying in that coffin and wishing I would have gotten there sooner. I wish we could just turn back the clocks and go back but I know that’s impossible. He left this world too quickly and way before his time, but I know he is in a better place now. Up in heaven with God and in no more pain. I just hope somehow that he knew that I was there, that I did try to be there for him even though it was too late. I love him even though we never met really, and I will think of him everyday for the rest of my life. I love you Daddy! 

Not only was my sister’s story hard to read without tears flowing freely, but it was also hard for me to write it. I appreciate the effort she has gone through to share this memory with me. I believe that we have grieved our fathers absence from our lives for so many years. We still grieve to this day. We will probably always grieve for our daddy but as the days pass, the pain hasn’t diminished at all for either of us. For me, knowing that I never had any closure with him makes it that much more difficult to talk about without crying like a baby. I wanted to tell him that I know he loved us and my sister and I share that same love in return. I hope he knows this, looking down on us from heaven above. I wish I could turn back time too, but I also realize that it impossible to do. One day we will be with our dad again and  be united as a family once more. 


Until we meet again….

 















Sentimental Sunday ~ A Daughter’s Love…

Posted: June 17, 2012 in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , ,
1
Look at Earth from the Heaven

Look at Earth from the Heaven (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dear Daddy,

I miss you so very much. As each Father’s Day passes, I miss you even more. I know you are looking down on me from Heaven above, and I hope that I am a daughter that you are very proud of. I look through your photos quite frequently and have even started a web blog about our wonderful family.
I wish I had the chance to start over, I would do so many things differently. 
  Even though my life is a happy one, I still wish that you were here with me right now. If just to fill that empty space in my heart where only a daddy’s love will forever remain. You may be gone from this earth, but you are always thought of and loved by so many.
  I have heard a few stories about you and what you were like from other family members, but I wish those memories were forever mine. Do we share common interests? Do I smile like you? Do we have similar facial expressions depending on whatever mood we happen to be in? I don’t know these things. I have so many lost memories that a father and daughter should have been able to share. Milestones aplenty. You became an angel before your time. Before I ever had a chance to know you for who you really are. Before I ever had the chance to say good-bye. Letters and photos and sometimes gifts, don’t account for all the father and daughter times that we have missed.
  I realize that God has selected you to be with Him, to stand by Him, but there are times when I need you to be here with me too! I know your days here on earth were few, now you’re in Heaven starting your eternal life anew. So many years have passed since I last seen your face, one day though I will see you again, by God’s grace.
  If I were granted just one wish, I would wish to see you again even if it was only in my dreams. To be able to talk to you, hug you, and tell you that I love you, this would be my forever wish! There are so many things I would like to say, but what I want you to know is this:  For every moment when I think of you, I think of the times I could have spent with you. You’re right here in my heart, a place which I have saved just for you. 


Happy Father’s Day….


Your Loving Daughter,
Kelly Ann






Image Source: My Personal Collection

Funeral Cards Friday ~ Gincy Malinda Caroline Long

Posted: June 15, 2012 in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,
4
The funeral card below is one of many that my mother had collected and saved over the years.

Belonging to my great grandmother, Gincy Malinda Long.
July 1, 1886- September 24, 1978.




Genealogy Tips For Beginners

Posted: June 14, 2012 in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , ,
2

Are you interested and intrigued by your family ancestry but just don’t know where to start? First of all, you will want to start by being organized with your findings. You could start by creating folders for known family surnames that you plan on researching. If it helps, write a small note that has surnames of your family listed. This sometimes helps keep you organized but at the same time you don’t want to overlook a surname either.


For me, my interest and infatuation with genealogy came from my father. More than 15 years ago, he sent me a packet and in this packet were two different sets of genealogy research papers with names, birth, death, and marriage dates along with the names of children on down the line. When I first started, never having the proper education as far as the topic of genealogy was concerned or having someone say, “this is how you should start and this is what you need to do to get started”, so I did what I had to do, on a limited budget. I taught myself! Granted, I haven’t learned everything I need to know. Why? Because every day you learn something new. But how you retain that knowledge and use it is entirely up to you, the student.

I won’t tell you that your family research will be easy, because it won’t be. You may have some members in your family that you look up and find everything you could possibly hope for, but not all family members will be so easy. You have to dig deeper for these others because they are hiding out. For all we know, they could be there. Just not in plain view sight! They could be in an old cardboard box at a historical library in a room with other boxes. Just keeping each other company while collecting dust. That’s a horrible thought when I think about it.

The following tips helped me in my research and I hope they help you too.

1. Interview Family Members ~ Get in touch with and stay in contact with living family members that you can “talk story” with. You may hear a family story or two that you may be able to utilize later. You could voice record the conversation or even set up a video camera for your family interview. You probably don’t have to take it to the video extreme but it is an option you may want to consider. Talk to grandparents, aunts and uncles and anyone else you think may be able to offer some insight to your research.

2. Join a Genealogical Society ~ What are the benefits? You can learn new research skills and techniques for starters. You can meet other local researchers and volunteers that may help you along the way too. It is a great way to network with others that share your passion on the topic of genealogy. You can attend monthly meetings and listen to guest speakers and even if you are like me, and have moved away from the area where the majority of your family may have settled, you can still join! (My family is mostly from Kentucky and Virginia, but I live in Hawaii) You may eventually meet some local family historians who are more than eager to share their own experiences and accomplishments. Another benefit to joining is the newsletter, it may be monthly or bi-monthly, but the information that is in them could be very beneficial! So what are you waiting for?

3. Family Albums and Scrapbooks ~ Looking through an old family photo album or scrapbook, you may find just about anything! One day I was looking through some photos my mother has collected over the years, and not only did I find a few old photographs but I also found obituary clippings and funeral cards too. Scrapbooks and photographs can tell a story like you wouldn’t believe. Remember it’s not just about finding the photos, you could find birth announcements, wedding invitations, birth and death certificates, vintage postcards, old letters,   military records or enlistment papers.  

4. Family Bibles and Journals ~ Look at an old family bible which most likely has writings of birth and death, names and dates, christenings or baptismal records. The possibilities are endless! My grandmother on my mother’s side use to have an old cedar chest in a guest bedroom. I wish I had access to the objects that were inside! I remember as a child, I would wear all her fancy old hats, scarves and jewelry that she kept in there. The jewelry wasn’t valuable at that time but they would be considered a great heirloom piece one day. She had old clothes in the chest along with a quilt she made, some doilies and some old books. Memories are wonderful things to behold.

5. Local Libraries ~ Visit your local library as you never know what you may be able to find there. Talk to the librarian and explain the research that you are partaking in. She may be able to offer some guidance or recommend certain texts. Unlocking the door to the past may only be a library card away! Here you can get familiarized with the printed work offered and also microfiche. Microfilm and the readers at your library may help spare you some time in researching and reading book after book. 

6. Internet Research ~ The Internet has evolved in so many ways. There are so many web pages dedicated to the topic of genealogy and family history research. You could read other blogs, read and participate in genealogy forums, read articles on the topic, groups on Facebook you can join, news articles. You can even view archived newspapers, look at old photos and anything related to this subject. Access to libraries online, genealogy files, online family trees, personal web pages that list members of their family tree, cemetery records and many others.

Below are a few of my favorite links that I like to utilize, but remember when doing your research, to have everything documented and to cite the source where the information was obtained from. If you do this right from the start, you can go back further in time and research other members of your family. For example, you may have a copy of your parents and grandparents birth or death certificates. This would name their parents, so this is a lead you can work with! Then you can research the parents and their parents and so on down the line. Good luck!

Links







There are many more sites to choose from but this list is just for starters. Good luck in your research and I hope this article has helped you in some way. 


Image Source:
Title:

vintage family photo album and documents
Caption: genealogy & family history
Creative image #: 108757760
License type: Royalty-free
Photographer:

Andrew Bret Wallis
Collection:

Brand X Pictures
Credit: Andrew Bret Wallis
Release information: This image has a signed property release. This image is available for commercial use.
Copyright: Andrew Bret Wallis

Wordless Wednesday

Posted: June 14, 2012 in Uncategorized
Tags:
0
Sabory Jane Roberts Long
My Great Great Grandmother

Image Source: Posted By User: Lonesome Drifter
Date Uploaded: April 5, 2012

 

A Story To Be Told, A Memory To Behold

Posted: June 12, 2012 in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

When I started writing this blog a year ago, my concentration was primarily focused on the history aspect of my family’s ancestral roots. I don’t know what I expected to find, being a novice and just starting to learn genealogy and all that it entails. I also didn’t know that it would become an addiction of sorts! My first impression of genealogy was the history part of it for sure, but also gaining a learning experience. 


Writing has always been a passion of mine since I was probably 17 years old. Not many people know this except my mother, but I actually wrote a romance novel! Ha! Who would have thought that a 17 year old girl would know enough about romance to write a book about it? I even typed the manuscript out on a typewriter, some people don’t even know what a typewriter is now that we have all this technology with computers, laptops,the iPad, and our smart phones. As a teenager I never even had Internet! So now everyone who reads this knows my dark secret! I wrote a book, submitted the manuscript to a publisher in New York and it was accepted, but little did I know about the publishing world. They told me I had to pay for the books to be published. Go figure! That never happened to Kathleen Turner in “Romancing the Stone”. So in my mind, I thought that it really wasn’t good enough to be printed. I requested my manuscript back and tore it to shreds and never wrote another word. Until last year when I started this blog, researching my family history.


So here I am today, still searching in the past. What about the future? What legacy will I be able to give my children and their children and so on? I think every family has a story, a past which no one person knows about unless it’s been written in a history book. Some stories get passed on from generation to generation but somewhere along those lines the original story was lost in translation. This reminds me of a time when I was in elementary school. The teacher would whisper a sentence in the first students ear, in turn that student told the next student what the teacher said and by the time the sentence reached the last student in the class, it wasn’t anything close to what she had told the first student originally! So you see, how just one sentence can change in just a short period of time between a handful of students. I can imagine what the different variations would be if a story were to be told and passed on from one generation to the next. There is always a story to be told and a memory to behold.


Photography is both a hobby and a passion for me. I take photos of just about everything; I guess it’s almost like a photo journal where I want to create the snapshot that will tell my story. One day I will create my own photo book of my life to pass on to my children. Memories are wonderful things and as the saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words”, I believe it really does ring true. Photos are just memories in time. Times of happiness and memories to be made for future generations to enjoy. 


What keepsake will you create? Share your ideas in the comments below. 




Image Source:
Family Quote ~Tea Cups Of Life

Stuart "Marvin" Monroe Cornett

Posted: June 16, 2011 in 14 children, family stories, Flat Ridge Virginia, Gincy Caroline Malinda Long, James Monroe Cornett, Stuart Monroe Marvin Cornett, Uncategorized, Virginia
Tags: , ,
0
Ominous Sky in Grayson County, Virginia

Ominous Sky in Grayson County, Virginia (Photo credit: Dancing Arethusa)

Stuart was my great grandfather and I believe he was also the grandson of James Monroe Cornett and Mary Ann Cornett. He was born on September 22, 1881 in Grayson County, Virginia and died on February 3, 1966 in Smythe County, Virginia at the age of 84. His immediate family includes his wife, Gincy Malinda Caroline Long and their 14 children. The children’s names are Della Pauline Cornett, Grover Cornett, Mary Frances Cornett, Anna Mae Cornett, Lucia Rose Cornett, Pearl Mildred Cornett, Elbert Wayne Cornett, Charles Estel Cornett, Lillie Edna Cornett, Carl Wesley Cornett, Ora Lee Cornett, James Donald Cornett, Billy Cornett, and Claude Scott Cornett. 


Stuart didn’t like his middle name of Monroe, so he changed it to “Marvin” (although his grandfather was named James Monroe Cornett). Stuart and his wife, Gincy Malinda Caroline Long were both born in the Flat Ridge area of Grayson County, VA and were married on April 5, 1905, by Johnson Stamper. At their wedding party they said they wanted 14 children like great-grandparents David Cornett and Feby Sutherland and great-great grandparents, William and Mary Hatfield Cornett— Stuart and Gincy did indeed have 14 children- 7 sons and 7 daughters! 

They began housekeeping in a little house just over the hill from his fathers farm. They had several children when they purchased a neighboring farm from Lucinda Nelson and her son, Jasper. This is where all the other children were born. About 1938, they built a new home just “hammering distance” away and this home and farm are now owned by their son, Carl Wesley. (Curtis Cornett bought the farm in 1993). 

Stuart was a hard working, honest man who was an affectionate but strict father. He had cancer of the shoulder bone and had his left arm removed in 1960, the doctors were amazed by his speedy recovery. He managed to do almost everything for himself and did not consider himself handicapped. His special fork had a “knife” tine on the edge and he seldom asked for any help at the table. He loaned money to his children when they needed it and charged the local ones 1% interest. His children living out of state had to pay 2% because he couldn’t “see” what they were doing with the money! He and “Lindy” promised all their children $100 or a horse if they did not drink or smoke before they turned the age of 21. That was a lot of money back then and doubly hard when six sons went into service. (Some of the children claimed their prize.) 

Malinda was a good neighbor and mother who remembered each child’s favorite foods and made sure they were on the table during their visits. With 14 children, that was remarkable! She lost the sight of one eye after cataract surgery but she still quilted, embroidered, and crocheted. The family attended Bald Rock Methodist Church. Stuart, Malinda and their oldest daughter, Pauline Wright, are buried in Central Cemetery in Flat Ridge, Grayson County, Virginia.


Note:The information above was given to me by my father, Billy Cornett.

A Family History- More Than Just Names and Dates

Posted: June 13, 2011 in addiction, family tree branches, famine and war, Genealogy, history, Uncategorized, Where do I come from
Tags: , , ,
0
Rizinus-Blatt

Rizinus-Blatt (Photo credit: flöschen)

So you have been searching your ancestry and getting your family tree in order. You have names. You have dates. So you might be thinking, these are just a bunch of names, birth dates, and that’s about the gist of it. Well, think again. 

When I was younger, I used to think of genealogy as a pretty boring topic and it kind of ran neck and neck with ancient history. Blah blah…boring! But now that I’ve grown up, had children of my own, I want to know who my family was and where they came from. Now, I have become so thoroughly involved in the research behind it, that it’s become more personal to me. Not just a pet project, but something much more. It’s almost like an addiction; I just can’t get enough! As the title of this blog states, it’s definitely more than just names and dates! They were real people living real lives.

By focusing on just one person on the branch of my tree, it’s almost as if I am trying to know that person on a more personal level. I am trying to learn who this person really was, not just by name but by their lifestyles too. What were they like? Would I like them even if they weren’t a member of my family? What did they do for a living and how did they survive in times of famine and war?

Before the Internet even came into everyone’s homes, it was much harder to do research on our ancestors. Today, in this digital age, we are able to send information all over the world in just minutes. There are literally hundreds of web sites on genealogy to help us in our searches. Some require membership fees, yet others do not. We don’t have to leave our homes to request copies of birth certificates or look at census records, as we can do this online through our computers. Even though the internet is a great resource tool to use, we can still use the older methods of actually talking to our elders, other family members to get this information. We don’t have to rely on just the internet and a few key phrases to get the results we are looking for, but it does help. 

Another idea for you to consider, would be to obtain a copy of an ancestors birth certificate. All you need is the name of said person, their parents name and the date of birth; it shouldn’t be an act of Congress to get this information. Just contact the counties Vital Records and Statistics office. Also, you could join a genealogical society in the state where your family has originated from. This may help you and keep your headaches to a minimum!