William Barnett Sims, my 3rd great grandfather, lived and died in Weakley County, Tennessee. Most Sims Family researchers believe (as I do) that his father was Alexander Sims who died in Weakley County around 1860. Alexander’s parents, according to these same Sims researchers, are also known. Well, sort of. From census records, we know that Alexander was born around 1773 in… More →
Month: June 2016
Gilley Willy-Nilly
This last week was productive genealogically speaking. I managed to fill in four squares on my mother’s ancestral scorecard and focus on a tree branch that I’ve pretty much ignored – the Gilley branch. Nancy Gilley, my 3rd great grandmother, was born in Henry County, Virginia about 1806. She married Stephen Turner in 1828. According to other Gilley and Turner researchers, Nancy’s middle name was… More →
Behold the Mayo
Today is Father’s Day. Although I have many male ancestors I could be writing about, I decided instead to focus on a man who is not related to me (that I know of) but of whose existence I am reminded every time I fill out an application requiring my full legal name. This man’s name was Basil Mayo and he was… More →
Can I Get A Witness?
Desperate times, desperate measures. If you’re following this blog, you may remember my post entitled “Lydia’s Plight”. In it, I told of Lydia (Turbeville) Deason‘s failed attempt to secure her “fallen” son’s Civil War pension. Lydia is my 4th great grandmother. Her son, Milas Deason, was the Army bugler who went missing after the Confederate attack and massacre at Fort Pillow in 1864.… More →
P.S.
Discovering one of my ancestors was characterized as a “lunatic” in court records was a bit unsettling. I am not sure why. I was okay with the idea that Rebecca Trantham had died tragically during childbirth (which didn’t happen) but not that she had been committed to an asylum for lunatics (which did happen). Weird. Not one to let sleeping dogs sleep, my… More →
Rebecca
While browsing historic court documents from Weakley County, Tennessee this weekend, I stumbled across answers to questions I did not know I had. In the end, a heartbreaking story of a family that struggled with mental illness emerged. Rebecca (Deason) Trantham is my 3rd great grandmother. She married my 3rd great grandfather, Robert Floyd Trantham, on May 10, 1855 in Weakley County, Tennessee.… More →
Mister Sister Wives
Hiram Holladay, my 2nd cousin, 4x removed, loved three Haynie sisters. He married two of them and he might have married a third had her husband not shot and killed him. The fact that Hiram was infatuated with three woman from the same family came as no surprise to me. He probably inherited that trait from his Holladay and Trantham ancestors. Let’s review.… More →