What a fast summer! For me it seemed to fly by. Sleeping in, going to the beach, pool and water park were so much fun but what did I do genealogy wise? Not as much as I would have liked to, but I did accomplish a few things.
Rereading
Mastering Genealogy Proof by Tom Jones while sitting by the pool and at the water park was a highlight. The kids could go off and splash in the water and slide down the slides while I sat in a quiet corner soaking in what it really means to follow the Genealogy Proof Standard. I found that while there are some areas that I need to improve on , for the most part I have been doing a decent job in regard to following the 5 elements. Now, I just need to "master" them!
I also read
Only a Few Bones by John Philip Colletta. This is a novel based on Mr. Colletta's years of research into a family murder mystery. It is very well written and an example to anyone who wants to write about their family stories.
Our Ancestors, Our Stories by The Memory Keepers: Harris Bailey Jr., Bernice Alexander Bennett, Ellen LeVonne Butley, Etherl Dailey and Vincent Sheppard was a wonderful read. The contributors told their stories of researching their enslaved ancestors from Edgefield County, SC. Although my ancestors, who were slave owners from Edgefield, weren't named in the book, the experiences of the authors had and the stories they told touched me and helped me to understand what life was like during that time period.
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| Summer Reading |
Attending and presenting at the South Carolina Genealogical Society Workshop in July was also a fun time. Meeting other researchers who are interested in the same state and counties is always a bonus!
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| With Rorey Cathcart "the Who Hunter" |
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| Meeting up with Robin Foster of "Saving Stories" |
My presentation was on Blogging with the emphasis on how to set up a blog and why to do so. Fortunately, it seemed to go well and I was able to hear back from a few people who actually set up a blog afterwards. That was very rewarding!
A lecture that I attended at the workshop was on Kershaw County, SC by Joan and Glen Inabinet. They have been life long Kershaw County residents and had many stories and facts to share. They recently published a new book
A History of Kershaw County which I purchased. Several of my lines are from Kershaw County. One, the Roberts, lived in Camden, Kershaw,SC.
As we all tend to do when looking at a genealogy or history book, I looked in the index and found:
Roberts, William T. This was my Great Grandfather! The Inabinet's had included the story of my Great Grandparents
William and
Beulah Roberts whose three sons died within a short time of each other in WWII. After contacting the Inabinet's to thank them for including their story, Joan Inabinet emailed me and told me that her husband Glen was part of the Military Post that provides and maintains the American Flags on my Grandfather's grave as well as the graves of his two brothers in honor of their service.
When asking about other lines in Kershaw County that I was researching, Joan offered to pass on a family group sheet from my
Williams family to those she thinks may be connected. I hope to hear back from them soon!
While in Columbia for the SCGS Workshop a visit to the South Carolina Archives was very productive. I was able to obtain the marriage records for several of my ancestors. Seeing their signatures and those of their parents giving them permission to marry when they were underage was exciting. It took a good deal of time and microfilm rolling, but in the end, I was able to find 5 marriage records and locate 2 probate records. All in all, a good couple of days!
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Marriage License of my paternal Grandparents
Benjamin Allen Hudson and Mary Ann Baker
photo ©Cheri Hudson Passey |
Working on my NGS Homestudy lesson on Church Records led me to a cousin connection. A descendant of my
Daughrity line is still living on part of the property his Great Grandmother owned. She was a sister of my ancestor. The property has part of what was once called "Daughrity Creek" running through it. Plans are being made for a visit in the near future.
Speaking of the Daughrity's, time was also spent this summer planning a reunion for the
Manning David and
Loretta McManus Daughrity family. David and Etta were the parents of 5 girls, one of them being my Grandmother Azile. Each daughter married and had children. We will be meeting in Sumter, SC at the beginning of September for the first time in many years. We will eat, share information, show family heirlooms and get to know each other. Afterwards, we will drive to the land that the family once owned and take a picture of all who attend. So looking forward to that!
The most emotional discovery this summer was during a visit to my paternal Aunt's house for a day of blueberry picking and swimming. My Grandmother-Mimi- lived there for many years A cedar chest is still in the room that belonged to her. Graciously, my Aunt left me alone to go through the contents. It had not been opened since Mimi's death four years ago. Inside I found old shoes, clothing, pictures and documents. It is truly a treasure chest!
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Mimi's Cedar Chest
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Listening to webnars and podcasts when I could, investigating those shaky leaves on Ancestry.com, matches on WikiTree and My Heritage, trying to keep up with my blog,, attending my local Genealogy Club meetings and keeping in touch via social media with the genealogical community kept me busy this summer too.
There were more things that I had hoped to accomplish, like finishing my NGS Homestudy class, that just didn't happen. Now that summer vacation is over, I can look back and see that I did make progress on my goals even if I didn't complete them all and look forward to setting new ones for the fall.
It was a great summer of fun, relaxation and learning!
What did you do on your Summer Vacation?
Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
