I’ve written several times about my 5th great-grandmother, Theodosia Beck Beazley, wife of John McMullan. (See “Bad Grandma” and “The Legend of John McMullan – Gathering Leaves.“) Recently, new information about Theodosia has come to light from Gayle, a distant cousin who descends from one of John and Theodosia’s daughters, Catherine Schifflet. In response to “Bad Grandma,” Gayle wrote: “You probably share DNA with a … Continue reading News of Theodosia
Growing up in Texas, I experienced an identity crisis. Because I wasn’t born there, I felt disconnected from the state’s rich history and culture. Looking back, if I had the understanding then that I have now, it would have profoundly impacted my self-perception and my place in the world. While this morning’s discovery may seem trivial, I strongly believe that this knowledge would have made … Continue reading My Texas Roots
Here is another question for ChatGPT Also in Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind there is a scene where Rhett Butler refers to the Georgia State Guards as Joe Brown’s Pets. What was that all about? The reason why I asked this question is because my great great grandfather David Judson Dobbs was in the Georgia State Guards during the time depicted in the novel … Continue reading Joe Brown’s Pets
I sometimes use ChatGPT as a tool to aid my understanding of various topics encountered during my family history research. Below is an illustration of this practice. One item that I came across a few weeks ago intrigued me to the point where I could not get it out of my mind. It is an notice that I came across published on more than one … Continue reading The historical kernel behind the “$300 tax on Tara”
For years, I’ve been trying to unravel the mystery surrounding my mother’s great-grandfather’s civil rights status at the close of the Civil War. I believed I had finally solved it: Was he among the thousands denied property and civil rights due to specific criteria? These categories included former Confederate civil and military officers above a certain rank, individuals who had abandoned U.S. government or military … Continue reading Reconstruction Recall
Sticky post
Every family has stories. Some are well-worn tales passed down through generations, while others are fragments — half-remembered, scattered like leaves caught in the wind. My book, Gathering More Leaves, Volume I, was born out of a desire to collect those fragments, to preserve them before they were lost, and to weave them into something meaningful for both my family and anyone who values history, … Continue reading Gathering More Leaves
Over 40 years of researching my family history, the top five most significant surprises has been learning… Continue reading Top Five Surprises
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
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
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
Gathering Leaves 