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
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
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
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
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
Gathering Leaves 