Returning to the Eastern Shore of Maryland this morning, I ventured south to Dorchester County, having visited Cecil County on the northern end just a few weeks ago. The Fitzhugh, or Fitzchew, branch of my family tree was the purpose of the trip. Samuel Fitzhugh, my 6th great grandfather, was born in Dorchester County in 1765. His daughter, Polly, married James Turbeville in 1809. They would become the parents of Lydia… More →
Month: October 2015
Mystery Kenfolk Case #5: Ellen Muriel Deason
Country music legend “Kitty Wells” was born Ellen Muriel Deason. A Nashville native, Kitty’s paternal lineage goes back to the Deasons who landed in Maryland and then migrated south into North Carolina and Tennessee around 1800. My 4th great grandfather, John R. Deason, was born about 1809 in North Carolina. He married Lydia Ann Turbeville in the early 1830s, most likely in Bedford County, Tennessee… More →
Cousins marrying cousins, the Upd8
Cousin coupling #8 was hiding in plain sight. Mary McCracken, the bride in pairing #6, was the daughter of Martha Pearl Vestal and Robert McCracken. Martha’s mother was a Chamness, and a distant relative of my mother’s. Robert McCracken, meanwhile, was a distant relative of my father’s. Genealogically speaking, that means Mary McCracken is both my 2nd cousin. 5x removed on my mother’s side and my 2nd cousin, 6x removed… More →
Screenwriter Beware
Seeking redemption after the previous post, I decided I’d better give my mom’s side of the family some attention. The intertwined Utlaut-Kersten families from which she came have been keeping track of family members for 55 years. The family history they’ve compiled chronicles the lives of ancestors who lived 150 years ago. It took me a couple of months but I painstakingly loaded… More →
Bushwhacked
Might as well get this post out of the way. My mother would not be amused. She might have even whacked me over the head for posting this where anyone could find it. There’s a very strong probability my mother married a distant cousin of George Herbert Walker Bush. And she gave birth to three distant cousins of George W. Bush. Her grandchildren are also distant cousins of both father and… More →
Mystery Kenfolk Case #4: Common Anne-cestors
More than 20 years have passed since I first met my friend, Anne. I was a student at UMKC’s Conservatory of Music and she was my voice teacher. We hit it off instantly. She’s intelligent, witty and sings like a goddess. Truthfully, she helped me find my voice and gave me a solid singing technique. After I graduated, our student-teacher relationship evolved into a close and enduring friendship.… More →
Cherry Grove
“Cherry Grove” is the homestead of my Veazey ancestors. Located in Cecil County, Maryland, the land was acquired by John Veazey, my 8th great grandfather, about 1670. It remained in the Veazey family for more than 100 years. Many of the early Veazeys are buried in a family cemetery located somewhere on the property. It is believed (logically) that John is buried here too. Today, the land is privately… More →
Mystery Kenfolk Case #3: Kathie (Solved?)
After months of exchanging emails, carefully inspecting family trees and sifting through countless birth records (in vain), my DNA-matched cousin “Kathie” and I finally know how we’re likely related. Kathie is my 9th cousin, 2x removed on my paternal grandfather’s side of the family. According to numerous pedigrees, our common ancestor was Henry Hollingsworth who was born in Ireland in 1598. The only… More →
Hollingsworthy
Unless you lived under a rock in the 1980s, you’ve probably seen at least one episode of The Golden Girls. I’ve probably seen all of them at least once if not twice or three times. Rue McClanahan’s character, Blanche Devereaux, hailed from the Hollingsworth family. Southern to the core, the fictitious Blanche grew up at “Twin Oaks” under the watchful eye of her father and the patriarch of… More →
Easy Veazey
Finding the name of my great grandmother’s mother – Mary Emma Goodger – took some doing. But it was worth the effort because it’s revealed new and unexplored tree branches. One of these branches – the Veazey branch – has been remarkably well-documented by other family members. So, there’s not much more for me to do other than to reap the… More →