This Week On My Family History Calendar

 

May 24~
Benjamin Thomas Thames (1854-1931), my paternal great great grandfather, was born 167 years ago in Clarendon County, South Carolina. He was the son of Thomas Lemuel Thames (1827-1863) and Rebecca Hannah (Stukes) Thames (1830-1870).

Benjamin Thomas Thames
(1854-1931)
About 1910
©Cheri Hudson Passey     
  

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This Week On My Family History Calendar

May 22-28

                                                                               

May 22~
  My paternal Great Grandfather, Jubal Ransom Early (1888-1964) was born in Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina 128 years ago. He was the son of Ransom Taylor Early (1829-1888) and Ellen Caroline (Martin) Early (1850-1926).
             

Jubal Ransom Early (?)

This picture is said to possibly be of Jubal Ransom Early. Any information to help confirm the identification of the man in this photo would be appreciated!

May 24~
Benjamin Thomas Thames (1854-1931), my paternal Great Great Grandfather, was born 162 years ago in Clarendon County, South Carolina. He was the son of Thomas Lemuel Thames (1827-1863) and Rebecca Hannah (Stukes) Thames (1830-1870).

Benjamin Thomas Thames
(1854-1931)
About 1910
©Cheri Hudson Passey     
  

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52 Ancestors Week 21-Military~Thomas Lemuel Thames

   Many of my ancestors have served in the military. 
  For Week 21 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Thomas Lemuel Thames (1827-1863), my paternal 3rd Great Grandfather is the subject.
  In the 1860 US Federal Census of Clarendon County, South Carolina, Thomas and family were living in Wrights Bluff.
 With the start of the Civil War Thomas joined the Hampton Legion of the South Carolina Volunteers. He was part of the Company C, Infantry Division.  His Compiled Service Record shows that he enlisted on April 15, 1862 in Sumter, South Carolina.

Muster Roll
Thomas L. Thames
March and April 1862
Fold3.com image

 It appears from the Muster Rolls that during most of Thomas' service in the Confederate Army, he was ill. He was in and out of the Hospital in Richmond, Virginia and reported as absent due to sickness several times. One record has him absent-sick with diarrhea. This seems to have been common with the soldiers in Hampton's Legion.

Muster Roll
T.L. Thames
31 Oct. 1862-Dec. 5 1862
Fold3.com image

 Thomas was eventually furloughed and went home to his family in South Carolina. Passed down through the years is the story of his homecoming. It is said that Thomas Thames was so dirty upon his arrival that his wife, Rebecca, made him bathe outside, cut off all his  hair and burn his clothes before he could go in the house.
   The company Muster Roll records the death of Thomas Lemuel Thames as being on 10 March 1863. Although  the cause of death is not recorded, it is thought that he died as a result of the illnesses he suffered during his time of service in the Hampton Legion. 

Muster Roll
T.L. Thames
March-April 1863
Fold3.com image

 Thomas Lemuel Thames left his family, friends and home  for a cause he felt was worth fighting for. He returned home a sick man. His  death left a widow and two children whose lives were forever changed. 
That is the nature of war. 

On this Memorial Day, 2015 let us honor those who fought and died in the many conflicts our nation has been involved in. 
Let us never forget their sacrifice.

Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.
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Thank you Crista Cowen!

  Tuesday, I took a few minutes to sit down, relax and watch Crista Cowen, on Ancestry.com Livestream, as she talked about Correcting Mistakes in Your Family Tree. If you've never watched Crista and her fun tips about genealogy research and Ancestry.com, I would encourage you to do so. You can watch the Livestream broadcasts whether or not you have an ancestry.com subscription. They are archived if you can't tune in on Tuesdays.
 I do need to say that although I have an ancestry.com banner on my blog, I have never received any compensation from them, nor will I for this post!

 I have been using Ancestry.com since it came on line so I thought I was using the features as well as I could...until Crista showed this drop down box under Tree pages. This box is right next to your ancestry,com on line Tree Name. 

Screen Capture:Tree pages Drop Down Box -Ancestry.com

The drop down box leads to this when clicking on Tree Overview: A detailed page of all the comments, pictures, hints, etc. that you have on your tree! 

Screen Capture: Tree Overview page Ancestsry.com

WHY hadn't I noticed it before?! OK, I am sure everyone else who uses Ancestry.com already knew it was there!

Looking at the right side of the page, I noticed this list:

Screen Capture Hints on Tree Overview page Ancestry.com

Oh, my goodness! Hints listed in a manageable way! Instead of looking at that Shaky Leaf at the top of my Home Page and feeling a bit overwhelmed, I could have been coming here and looking for specific types of Hints.

 I started with photo's first. Skimming through a list of only 385 seemed reasonable. It didn't take long to find these pictures.

Screen Capture Picture Hint Results Ancestry.com

 The links were for two of the sisters of Arthur Wellington Baker (1857-1940),  my Paternal Great Great Grandfather. 

Mary Ellen Baker Richardson (1853-1946)
Picture Courtesy Sarah Fulton, Ancestry.com

Laura Montgomery Baker (1858-1948)
Picture Courtesy Sarah Fulton,Ancestry.com

   Next, I clicked on the Stories link and found these. 

Screen Capture Stories Results page Ancestry.com

  Susan Rebecca Thames Beatson (1853-1940) was the daughter of my 3rd Great Grandparents, Thomas Lemuel Thames (1827-1863) and Rebecca H. Stukes (1830-1870).  The links led me to information about Rebecca, her parents and her brother Benjamin Thomas Thames (1854-1931). my Paternal Great Great Grandfather.

Story submitted by fordafunofit Ancestry.com

Story Submitted by cbcabler Ancestry.com 

    In an hour, just by finding one tab that I didn't know was there, I was able to find pictures and stories about my ancestors and their families. I have reached out to the submitter of each and asked to be able to share information with them. Hopefully they will respond so that I can get source information that will tell me how accurate the stories are and make sure the pictures are who they are reported to be.
In any case, I have more clues to go on and a new understanding of tools to help me with my research.
  So, thanks Crista Cowen! I will be watching again next week!

©Cheri Hudson Passey