RELEASE DATE: JULY 1, 2012
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
Are you a descendant of Andrew STRAIN, born about 1750-1755 and died in 1826 in Haywood County, North Carolina, and his wife, Mary REED? If you are, you have the chance to meet your kith and kin at the 79th annual family reunion in Sugar Valley, Georgia, on 15 July 2012. It will be held in the Fellowship Hall of the Sugar Valley Baptist Church. For more details, write to the Strain Family Association, 766 Henry Owen Road, Dalton, Georgia 30720. If you are unable to attend but would like to share your family information, you can send your data to [email protected] or [email protected]. A new Strain family book is in preparation so you will want to be sure your line is included in the written record.
Penny Griffith of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia ([email protected]) would appreciate information about John GRIFFITH or any GRIFFITH genealogies that lead back to what is now Page County, Virginia. She believes John may be her ancestor but is unable to prove it. Her last proven ancestor was Hamilton GRIFFITH of Page County, Virginia. He was born in 1834 and died in 1911.
For several reasons, antique stores often become the repositories of family heirlooms and genealogical information. For example, a family Bible, photographs, or old letters may be up for sale. Found inside a jewelry box in an antique store was an envelope addressed to Fred Shaw, 3908 Swiss Ave., Dallas, TX, from J. E. FISHER, the Dallas County clerk. The envelope was postmarked in Dallas at 10:30 A. M. on 29 December 1933. Enclosed was the original marriage license for Fred SHAW and Bessie GREEN, who were married in Dallas by Rev. A. H. BATES on 23 December 1933. Also enclosed was a copy of the judgment granting a divorce to Bessie and restoring her maiden name. The judgment was issued in Dallas County on 25 September 1939. A receipt, dated 10-2-1961, for cash for a copy of the judgment was also in the envelope. Any relative who would like to obtain this material may have it for the cost of postage. Interested persons may e-mail [email protected].
Since numerous genealogists are interested in the Civil War, they may want to check out the website http://dlxs.richmond.edu/d/ddr/index.html. It contains digitized copies of more than 1,400 issues of the Virginia newspaper, the Richmond Daily Dispatch, published in the years 1861-1865. Perhaps the names of some of your Civil War ancestors will appear in the contents of the nonpartisan newspaper.
Many genealogists may not be aware that Texas Heritage, the publication of the Texas Historical Foundation, has a section, “Texas Families,” which highlights a variety of residents of the Lone Star State. Volume 3 of the 2011 issues, for instance, contains the article, “The Enduring Legacy of Houston’s Yates Family” by Debra Blacklock-Sloan, on pages 26-27. It pertains to Rev. John Henry “Jack” YATES; his son, Rutherford YATES; and granddaughter, Olee (YATES) MCCULLOUGH, who were influential in developing and preserving Houston’s Fourth Ward neighborhood, also known as Freedmen’s Town in the late nineteenth century. Their pictures accompany the article.
Do you have forebears from the Show Me State? If so, have you checked out the Missouri Digital Heritage website at http://www.sos.mo.gov/mdh/? It has a wide variety of materials to search, including digitized images of Missouri death certificates, 1910-1961. One of the latest additions to the site is information from the Federal Soldiers Home (St. James) Inmate Registers. The registers are organized by the date the man was admitted. The home was established in 1894 for the state’s federal veterans.