“Tangent” or “Distraction” should have been my middle name. Almost every week, a dear friend and I catch up on the week’s events. We’ve been doing this for 15 years or more. Our conversations usually turn to genealogy since we’re both hobbyists. Recently, she started telling me about her German ancestors who were living in New England in the 1700s. They were part of the… More →
Category: Trantham Kenfolk
Martin and Tiller Indeed!
An over-sized envelope arrived this week from Mississippi. Its content – photocopies of deeds recorded in Old Tishomingo County between 1845 and 1857. I am on the trail of my Goodger ancestors who lived in Old Tishomingo before it was divided into the counties of Alcorn, Prentiss and (new) Tishomingo. I had hopes that one of these deeds might reveal a familial relationship… More →
Liar, Liar, DNA on Fire
DNA doesn’t lie but I’ve learned that it doesn’t always tell the complete truth. In last year’s DNA testing frenzy, I uploaded my autosomal DNA results onto several websites including one called Gedmatch.com. One of their cool tools tells you whether or not your parents are related. According to this tool, my parents are not related. LIAR! They may not have DNA in common… More →
The Other Martin and Elizabeth
Martin Trentham, Jr. and Elizabeth Martinleer Eppinger, my 6th great grandparents, have been the subject of many posts on this blog – with good reason. A rascally couple, they show up in documents found in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Mississippi for more than 80 years They were on the move and mischievous for sure – stealing horses, claiming land they never… More →
The Hudson Bait
About once a month I’m contacted by a DNA-matched distant cousin who, like me, is trying to connect the DNA dots and figure out how we’re related. This month one of my Y-DNA “matches” made contact. I haven’t heard from many of these men-folk and there’s a good reason for that. You’ll recall that only men carry a Y chromosome and… More →
Raider of the Lost Archives
As crusades go, this may be a lost cause. I am determined to find historical evidence proving that the Martin “Frentham” who arrived in Natchez, Mississippi in 1788 was Martin Trantham, Jr., my 6th great grandfather. And that the Robert “Trentham”, who not only appeared but stayed, was Martin’s son. The “Holy Grail” of evidence is an affidavit filed by… More →
Cut it out. You’re Confusing the Lemmings.
I am auditioning titles for my new book on Martin Trentham. This is one of my favorites. In what will surely become an unfinished project laced with self-inflicted bouts of lunacy, I’ve decided that I simply can’t take it any more. I’ve developed an obsession (thus the lunacy) of trying to set people straight on the topic of Martin Trentham –… More →
The Trouble with Turbevilles
Alas, misfortune found its way to me as I tried to find a familial tie to Fortescue Turbeville who died under mysterious circumstances in South Carolina circa 1710. He may be related but he is not my ancestor. There are two genealogical research principles I learned early on and I ignored both of them. Don’t skip generations and try to… More →
Tracking Tricky Tranthams
Having picked the low-hanging fruit from my family tree, I am now faced with doing the kind of genealogical research that could easily and understandably take someone 30 years. Armed with enough Diet Dr. Pepper to choke a horse, I decided to buckle down this weekend and tackle one of the tougher items on my Trantham “to do” list. The first item is… More →
Casting Doubtful Votes
Lydia Turbeville, my 4th great grandmother who tried unsuccessfully to defraud the Army pension office in 1877, may have come by her penchant for dishonesty honestly. Fortescue Turbeville, who died mysteriously in 1710, was most likely Lydia’s direct ancestor – at least this is what I am now trying to prove or disprove. Fortescue fortified his place in history when, as… More →