The records I am reviewing today are those of my second great-grandfather, Lawrence T. “Larl” Boling/Bowling, born on May 26, 1838, in Chancellorsville, Virginia (about ten miles west of Fredericksburg). In my two previous posts, “Wild Times in "The Wilderness" of Spotsylvania - December 18, 2020, and "The Battle of Wilderness Farm - May 5-7, … Continue reading Lawrence T. “Larl” Boling – 1838-1910: The Wounded Soldier
Boling/Bolling
The Killing Spree . . . Our Ancestral Legacy
Attributing our traits to our ancestors Some days when I look at myself in the mirror, I can see glimpses of my ancestors. My once beautifully brilliant blue eyes; I remember seeing these same eyes in my maternal grandfather, Roy (a Ford from Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina). Unfortunately, I also get my thick midriff from either or both--my … Continue reading The Killing Spree . . . Our Ancestral Legacy
Missionary on Horseback–Key Builder of a Nation
In the past, many of my blog posts have focused on my ancient British relatives and their descendents from the Boling/Bolling/Bowling, Chambers, and Taylor branches on my paternal side, to the Lathrop/Lowthropp and Ford families on my maternal side. Geographically, all of these families resided primarily on the east coast in the earliest colonies--from North Carolina … Continue reading Missionary on Horseback–Key Builder of a Nation
More Than a Few Names or Mere Numbers
As an addendum to this week's post What's In a Name?, I revised my Surname Report in Family Tree Maker™. This report shows that our family's tree (including my spouse's family) has 10,772 persons in it. Of those persons (living and dead), 52 percent of them are male; making my database's percentage of males three percentage points higher than the … Continue reading More Than a Few Names or Mere Numbers
Nearly 75 Years Later – A Family’s Unanswered Questions and Unsolved Mysteries Unravel
My Family of Secrets A year ago, nearly exactly to the day, I wrote a rather long and personal post about my paternal grandparents and great-grandparents--the Bollings and the Chambers. From its title, you can infer that there were some unanswered questions and mysteries surrounding these people and their relationships that dated back years before … Continue reading Nearly 75 Years Later – A Family’s Unanswered Questions and Unsolved Mysteries Unravel
Bi-racial Relationships of the 60’s–the 1860’s!
The Year 1868 Last week my genealogical research took me back to my second paternal great-grandfather, Lawrence T. "Larl" Boling. I already knew that Larl married Sarah Elizabeth "Bettie" Tapp in Fredericksburg, Virginia, but when I looked more closely I found that their wedding took place just one week before Christmas 1868--that was the Christmas day when our … Continue reading Bi-racial Relationships of the 60’s–the 1860’s!
1914: My 3rd Cousin’s Husband Proclaimed Mother’s Day a National Holiday
A Presidential Proclamation On May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson (husband of my third cousin, Edith Bolling Wilson), issued a presidential proclamation that officially established the first national Mother's Day holiday to celebrate America's mothers. But, there are two lines of thought about where and when the idea of Mother's Day was first brought up. Julia Ward Howe 1) … Continue reading 1914: My 3rd Cousin’s Husband Proclaimed Mother’s Day a National Holiday
150th Anniversary–Battle of the Wilderness
My second great-grandfather, Lawrence T. "Larl" Boling married Sarah Tapp, daughter of the now famous Catharine Dempsey "Widow Tapp," (making her my 3rd great grandmother) because she had the misfortune of living on the land that became known as the "Wilderness Battlefield," in Fredericksburg, Virginia, during the Civil War. On Friday, May 2, through Sunday, May … Continue reading 150th Anniversary–Battle of the Wilderness
ISO my Family’s Sociological “Big Bang!”
According to my most recent research into the Bolling-Chambers-Taylor families, I am descended from an ancient line of folks who were known to be bald, short, fat, stammerers, and some even barbarians! At my eldest grandson's wedding in Chicago last weekend, my third eldest grandson approached me for genealogical help. For his college sociology class, his assignment … Continue reading ISO my Family’s Sociological “Big Bang!”
Chi-Town Bound: The Wedding, Part I.
A Whirlwind in Chi-Town This weekend was a whirlwind of emotions, events, and changing environments. On Thursday, April 10, husband, Bob, daughter, Jennifer, and I (representing the Maryland-based Boling-Dickinson-McDaniel families) departed from Reagan-Washington National Airport headed for Chicago, IL., to meet up with our Lynchburg-based Dickinson's for our eldest grandson, Joe's, wedding on Saturday. Food, Glorious … Continue reading Chi-Town Bound: The Wedding, Part I.
My Family of Secrets
This morning, I received an alert about a new comment to a post of May 24, 2013, on my blog site (joannedi.wordpress.com), “My Family of Secrets.” The subject post tells the story, as I know it, of my paternal grandparents Helen Louise Chambers and Jesse Burton Boling and their parents Frank Maynard Chambers and Lottie Taylor.
And much to my surprise this morning, the best Christmas present of 2013 arrived online at my site. From a great uncle, Maynard, that I never knew existed was a message that knocked down several more bricks from my Chambers family genealogical wall. It seems as my post alluded to in May, that Frank Maynard Chambers, in fact, did father additional children after he relocated to Las Vegas. Maynard advises that he is the eldest of three and that he has two sisters. So, my grandmother, Helen Chambers, who died before I was born, was actually the first of four children fathered by Frank Maynard Chambers. In my great excitement I quickly responded back to Maynard to say, “definitely, yes, I’d like to exchange stories and to learn more.” I next went to FaceBook and easy as that, I found Maynard’s page. I can’t wait to explore more and share the unfolding saga as it happens. So, stay with me, folks, there will be more that follows.
Helen Louise Chambers Boling (1 Jul 1911 – 16 Mar 1944) My Paternal Great Grandmother:
| Obituary On Thursday, March 16, 1944, at Baltimore, MD., Helen L. Boling, the wife of Jessie Boling, mother of Frank, Dolores and Barbara Boling and daughter of Frank and Lottie Chambers. Services at the Chambers funeral home, 517 11th st. se., on Wednesday, March 22, at 1 p.m. Interment Columbia Gardens Cemetery. Washington Post (1877-1954) Mar 23, 1944; page 12 |
| Burial: Columbia Gardens Cemetery Arlington Arlington County Virginia, USA |
I expect this post will be one of my more personal and difficult to write. There remain many blanks to my paternal grandmother’s (Helen Louise Chambers Boling) life that we cannot fill in and some of the answers we have found aren’t what we had hoped for by any means. Helen was estranged from her family and living in Baltimore City, Maryland, when in March 1944…
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My Other Uncle John–Blair, that is…
John Blair, Sr., 4-term Acting Governor of Virginia: He sat on Virginia's Governor's Council for over 25 years and was a favorite nephew of James Blair (1655-1743), an Anglican Minister and Founding President of William and Mary College in Williamsburg, Virginia. Among John Blair's many personal and professional accomplishments that follow, he also was father … Continue reading My Other Uncle John–Blair, that is…
Creative Talent: Genetics, A Muse, Or Hard Work?
Can musical talent be inherited? A 2011 article published by Stephanie Sarkis, Ph.D. in Psychology Today's Here, There, and Everywhere Blog suggests genetics could explain musical ability. Standardized tests of musical aptitude, found that the inheritability rate of musical talent was 50 percent. Not only that, but some family members with no musical training scored … Continue reading Creative Talent: Genetics, A Muse, Or Hard Work?
A Poem To Me Mudder
I wrote this piece 10 years ago just before Father's Day. June 20, 2021. It was our family's first Father’s Day without our patriarch. In addition to COVID, a lack of civility towards each other and even racist and political unrest that left coworkers, family, and friends divided, we lost a loving and caring man … Continue reading A Poem To Me Mudder
“That Which Does Not Kill Us Makes Us Stronger”
OBITUARY: STAMBAUGH, BONNIE J. (28 Years, 8 Mos., 8 Days) On July 21, 1983 of Colmar Manor, Prince George’s County, Maryland, third daughter of Delores A. (Boling) Stambaugh and Luther M. Stambaugh; sister of Diane Blesi, Pamela Henry, and Deborah, Connie, and Glenn Stambaugh. Friends may call at Gasch’s Funeral Home, 4739 Baltimore Avenue, Hyattsville, … Continue reading “That Which Does Not Kill Us Makes Us Stronger”
My Family of Secrets
Helen Louise Chambers Boling (1 Jul 1911 - 16 Mar 1944) My Paternal Great Grandmother: Obituary On Thursday, March 16, 1944, at Baltimore, MD., Helen L. Boling, the wife of Jessie Boling, mother of Frank, Dolores and Barbara Boling and daughter of Frank and Lottie Chambers. Services at the Chambers funeral home, 517 11th st. … Continue reading My Family of Secrets
Up Close and Personal in my Ancestor’s Home–The American Revolutionary War
Towns of Petersburg, Blandford, and Pocahontas and the suburbs of Ravenscroft and Bollingbrook become one town called Petersburg. (My 7th paternal great grandfather's home.) The colonial town of Petersburg, Virginia, was established by law in 1748. Petersburg elected John Banister (father-in-law of my 7th great grandfather), as it's first mayor in 1781. It achieved the dignity of … Continue reading Up Close and Personal in my Ancestor’s Home–The American Revolutionary War
Pipers Piping, Ladies Dancing, and Lords a Leaping
And we’re off to Scotland in our ‘Reflections of the past and mirrors to the future…’ It’s a wee country, full of contradictions and BIG surprises! In Scotland, you can… See tiny, stone cottages nestled at the foot of huge, rugged mountains Watch ominous steel-grey clouds part suddenly to reveal vivid blue skies and bright sunshine Look … Continue reading Pipers Piping, Ladies Dancing, and Lords a Leaping
Dad-Daughter Relationships
Two happenings over the past couple of days prompted this post: The first was intended to be a routine doctor's appointment for my 84 year old dad, Frank Burton Boling. It was a follow up for a sore that required special wound care because of dad's diabetes and peripheral artery disease. As it turns out, … Continue reading Dad-Daughter Relationships
BOWLINGTOWN, KENTUCKY–A LOST COMMUNIY, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN (1800-1960)
This article tells the story of the Bowling’s/Boling’s and Bowlingtown–as viewed by ancestors and living relatives; it features a famous colonizer; a single woman's efforts to keep Bowlingtown and its families on the map and in our memories; and a video documentary made by a local newspaper. You might ask me, “How are you connected … Continue reading BOWLINGTOWN, KENTUCKY–A LOST COMMUNIY, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN (1800-1960)
Our Unbounded Heritage: 12th Century & Beyond 