Another day, another brick wall. Neoma, the wife of Spencer Pearce, was my 4th great grandmother. She’s the latest edition to my family tree. I’ve known the name “Neoma” for some time. The inventory of her estate appears in a book of probate records from Lawrence County, Tennessee. It’s been collecting dust on my bookshelf. No other information about Neoma… More →

Another brick wall came tumbling down yesterday and I am ELATED. Buried in the deeds of Lawrence County, Tennessee from 1831 was a transaction between the “Heirs of Spencer Pearce” and Barnabas Gabel. Listed among the heirs was Harriet Pearce, my 3rd great grandmother. Ironically, I had been toying with the idea that Spencer might have been the father of… More →

Daniel Pearce, my 4th great grandfather, is a “new” old ancestor. He is the recently-discovered father of the illusive Matilda Jane Goodger who stymied me for two years. Daniel shows up frequently in county court records in Maury and Lawrence in Tennessee and Itawamba and Prentiss in Mississippi. But I wasn’t expecting to find him in records in Williamson County,… More →

Having two 3rd great grandmother’s whose maiden names were Pearce is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because it cuts down on the number of surnames once must scan in every database, magazine or book index. Although Pearce is sometimes spelled Pierce or Peirce, any Pearce, Pierce or Peirce who appears in said indexes might be related… More →

I must have been suffering from a bad case of pococurantism the day I came across this particular court document that I’m about to share. I found it a couple of weeks ago while perusing the court minutes of Williamson County, Tennessee, 1810 to 1825. Admittedly, although I am always happy to find a new old reference to my ancestors,… More →

Scanning pages and pages of newspapers on microfilm is (I imagine) a lot like prospecting for gold: you have to dig through a lot of worthless dirt to find a nugget. And in either venture you might come up empty-handed. That hasn’t happened in my case. I am nearing the end of the reel of The Pleader newspaper from Booneville,… More →

The microfilmed newspapers of Booneville, Mississippi from 1881 to 1899 have not disappointed. Although I have yet to find the answers I seek to specific questions, I have learned a great deal about my great grandmother Lula Betty Boren‘s kinfolk. With each turn of the microfilm wheel I am offered a peek back into a time long forgotten. Death was no… More →

Miller time was very brief. If there is a silver lining to this genealogical predicament, it is that I believed that my 3rd great grandmother Matilda Jane’s maiden name was Miller for about a month. Poor Vester Garner, Matilda Jane’s grandson, probably lived his entire life believing it. And so he must not have given it a second thought when… More →

Breakfast was truly the most important meal of the day when I slept over at my grandparents house. It was “alone time” with my grandfather, Basil. My grandmother rarely roused from her slumber before 10 a.m. I think. She sat in her recliner working crossword puzzles and watching television into the wee hours after my grandfather had retired to the “front bedroom” where he slept and I to the… More →

Presidents, politicians, patriots, and pioneers adorn my family tree. And so does a porn star. Jennifer Massoli, a.k.a. Jenna Jameson, is my 6th cousin. She has been described as the “most famous adult entertainment performer in the world”. If you don’t know who she is and decide to look her up on Google, be careful because you may get results that… More →