Skepticism runs rampant through my Missouri-born blood vessels. I can’t help it. Yesterday, 2 hours and 45 minutes into my Saturday morning Library of Virginia research routine, I happened upon the last will and testament of Martha Hambleton, my 7th great grandmother. Martha belongs to my newly-discovered Sims line which has taken me to pre-Revolutionary War Cumberland County, Virginia. Written… More →

I’ve always wanted an Uncle “Judy” and now I’ve found him, although I doubt seriously that anyone ever called him that during his lifetime. Uncle “Judy” was Judith Sims, my 4th great granduncle, one of the newly-discovered Sims-of-Montgomery-County,-Tennessee relatives who now hangs from my family tree. “Judith” was certainly not a common name for boys in the 19th century but… More →

Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Although Edison was not likely referring to genealogical research when he said this, I think it applies – especially as a I begin my search for John Sims, my newly-discovered 5th great grandfather. According to the 1850 census, John’s son, Alexander Sims, my 4th… More →

My genealogical drought ended a few days ago and I couldn’t be happier. Having run out of places to search online for documents that might shed light on the elusive parents of John Boren, I decided to turn my attention to another branch – one that I’ve been dreading to touch. Alexander Sims, my 4th great grandfather, was, according to… More →

My father loved to tinker with mechanical things. If something could be improved with electricity, he’d find a way to do it. The house I grew up in was riddled with mystery switches. After his passing, it was a bit of an adventure to figure them out. When he was a child, he received a broken toaster for Christmas, or… More →

It’s been more than a year since I discovered that Harriet (Pearce) Boren, who is my 3rd great grandmother, was the daughter of Spencer Pearce. That brick wall came tumbling down after two years of intensive research. Since that time, I have suspected that the “S” in John S. Boren, who was Harriet’s son and my 2nd great grandfather, stood for… More →

Wondering why I’ve not been posting much lately? It’s because I’ve been busy scanning microfilmed court records from 1741 to 1794 at the Library of Virginia every Saturday morning. (Well, almost every Saturday morning. Last Saturday, i was in Columbia, South Carolina for the South Carolina Genealogical Society’s Summer Workshop. That was a nice break but I felt very behind… More →

Discovering distant cousins who’ve achieved various levels of notoriety is part of what makes genealogy fun (for me). I openly admit that I enjoy the surprise of coming across a name that I recognize. That didn’t happen initially when I added Martha Sharp Crawford, my 5th cousin, 2x removed, to my family tree. After all, it’s a rather unassuming name. Martha… More →

State and county boundaries were fluid up until the late 19th century. Most had settled down by 1900. Finding your ancestors in historical records requires an understanding of this genealogical principle to be successful. Sometimes you have to check multiple counties to find the records you need although your ancestor never moved. Dumb luck also helps. Yesterday, I visited the… More →

Just last week I likened my microfilm reader to a slot machine minus the quarters. You turn the wheel and hope the next image is a winner. Most of the time you come up empty-handed. But I hit the jackpot big time yesterday. And I mean BIG TIME. Genealogical gold. It happened like this: I decided to take a break… More →