Top Five Surprises
Over 40 years of researching my family history, the top five most significant surprises has been learning… Continue reading Top Five Surprises
Author: D. M. DeBacker
Afficiando of comix and cartoons.
The Simultaneum
I am nearing completion of the final draft of “Gathering More Leaves, Volume I.” All that remains is to incorporate an anecdote about an ancestor, Jean Germain Voisard. He served as mayor of Montécheroux, France, from the Bourbon Restoration in 1815 until his death in 1826. Jean Germain Voisard, my father’s 4th great-grandfather, had planned to emigrate thousands of miles from his home in eastern … Continue reading The Simultaneum
My Maternal Grandfather
Aside from being a national holiday, the Fourth of July is extra special for my family. It’s the shared birthday of my maternal grandfather, James Monroe Dobbs, Jr., and his father, James Monroe, Sr. Here is an excerpt from Gathering More Leaves, Part I: Chapter One It came like a long-forgotten letter finally delivered. In the spring of 2022, when the U.S. government released the … Continue reading My Maternal Grandfather
Solving Mysteries with Google Lens
While browsing the internet, I have on two occasions come across portrait paintings that are presented as depictions of my ancestors. On one occasion, I discovered an image on Ancestry.com that another researcher was using as a profile portrait for our shared ancestor, Evan Prothro. My initial inclination was to simply copy this image and use it as the profile picture for my mother’s 2X … Continue reading Solving Mysteries with Google Lens
Juneteenth, 2025
On this 160th anniversary of the first Juneteenth Celebration, which occurred on Galveston Island, Texas, in 1865, I would like to address the following to the descendants of people my ancestors enslaved in the colonies and the states of Massachusetts, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia, and express my deepest and most heartfelt apologies for their actions. I acknowledge the immense suffering, injustice, and lasting impact … Continue reading Juneteenth, 2025
Resistance Runs in the Family
The Civil War era saw a significant but overlooked resistance against conscription, particularly among fathers determined to protect their sons from battle. This struggle, deeply rooted in love and familial bonds, played out in areas like Holmes County, Ohio, where groups protested the draft, leading to armed conflicts and legal consequences. Continue reading Resistance Runs in the Family
Finding Eldad Parts 1 & 2
Here is a video series I created discussing using my brother’s DNA to help us find more ancestors, aiming to uncover the rich tapestry of our family history. Throughout the episodes, I delve into the process of analyzing genetic information and how it can shed light on connections that were previously hidden to us. Additionally, I excitedly share the remarkable story of how I discovered … Continue reading Finding Eldad Parts 1 & 2
PART X-CHAPTER SIX
Katherine Talbot married Nicholas de Eyton, Sheriff of Shropshire (Nicholas Eaton).[1] John Talbot, the father of Katherine Talbot, was the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury during the reign of Henry VI and the Hundred Years War. He was born in 1384 and died in 1453. Although Katherine Talbot does appear as the daughter of the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury in Treswell’s The Visitation of Shropshire (1623) and in The Visitations of Essex … Continue reading PART X-CHAPTER SIX
PART X-CHAPTER FIVE
Sir Peter (III) de Eyton, a 12th great grandfather of Elizabeth Eaton, was born before 1246. He married Margery in 1246. He died after 1292. The first mention of his name, otherwise than as an infant, is early in 1272, when Hugh Burnell had a Writ against him for disseizing the said Hugh of common-pasture in Eyton, and John de Apple had a Writ against him … Continue reading PART X-CHAPTER FIVE
PART X – CHAPTER FOUR
I suspected that a wealth of information regarding the Pickering’s and collateral families of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts lay hidden within out-of-print 19th-century books. Furthermore, I believed other genealogists were, and had been, investigating these same family lines, placing them years—even decades—ahead of me. These realizations prompted me to adopt new and radical research technique. I began by gathering information from personal trees on Ancestry.com’s OneWorld section. While recognizing … Continue reading PART X – CHAPTER FOUR
Gathering Leaves 