Breakfast on Christmas morning has always been a family affair at our house. This year we took that concept to a new level, welcoming delectable pork sausages from Jennings Premium Meats to the table. Located in New Franklin, Missouri, this award-winning charcuterie was started in 1954 by Oscar “Pop” Jennings. His wife, Marvel Struchtemeyer Jennings, was my grandmother’s first cousin and my link to… More →
Month: December 2015
Happy Holland Days?
Drury Holland, my 5th great grandfather, fought in the Revolutionary War under General George Washington. This is an undisputed fact thanks to military records and letters written in the late 1830s on behalf of his widow, Sarah (Turner) Holland, who successfully claimed his military pension of $80 per year. (Drury paid her father 50 pounds to marry her so I think she did okay.)… More →
Cousins in High Places
It’s comforting to know I have cousins in positions of power in case I should ever need them. Gary Dusenberg, my 2nd cousin, 1x removed, was recently appointed by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to the (Missouri) Board of Parole and Probation. Although his appointment is subject to Senate approval, I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t pass with flying colors. Twenty-six years as… More →
Veazey Street Signs
There are four historic roadside markers in Cecil County, Maryland associated with members of the Veazey family. The first of these I discussed in a earlier post – that of the original homestead. The other three I present here for the first time. Since you’re reading this post, I assume you can read the signs, too. I’ll let them speak… More →
Trentham, Trantham, Trainum
“Trainum” is the latest potential variation of the Trentham surname I’ve stumbled upon. (I am only going to use quotation marks once so bear with me.) A Jeremiah Trantham, who was living in Williamson County, Tennessee in the early 1800s and about the same time as my ancestor, Martin Trantham, shows up in some documents as Jeremiah Trainum (and Tranthum and Tranum). I… More →
Winterized
Christian Winter has been on my radar screen for quite a while. I suspected we were related for the longest time but couldn’t quite connect the dots. Although he lived in Iowa, he frequently visited his cousins who lived in Warren County, Missouri. The people he visited, as reported in the Warrenton Banner, were cousins to my ancestors so there had to be… More →
Grave Mistakes
One of the first things you learn when you begin to study genealogy is this: just because it is carved in stone doesn’t mean it is correct. This cautionary tip, which was meant to encourage researchers to check multiple sources, forewarns of the dangers of simply accepting birth and death dates as they appear on grave markers. After all, as many writers have pointed out, the best person for the job of… More →
Betsy’s Other Children
Betsy (Martinleer) Trantham, my 6th great grandmother, had but one child and reportedly lived to be 154 years old. Tales of her mythic longevity (because that’s what it is) continued to be retold in newspapers across the country long after her death in 1834. But in 1884, her great great grandson, Lewis Peach, finally decided to set the record straight. In his… More →