My Cousins Declare America’s Independence

Many Americans take for granted our annual July 4th Independence Day.  While working in my genealogical databases, I came across the name of John A. Hancock, a familiar name from America's history.  I decided to compare our family's John Hancock (my second cousin, seven times removed), to the list of 56 signers of the Declaration of …

From My Family Tree–

Founding Father Fables & Folklore I received three gifts from the Ages of Enlightenment (1700-1800) and Reform(1830-1850).  My family tree revealed that I am descended from three distinguished founding fathers -- our first, third, and 12th presidents: George Washington (1732-1799) My 6th paternal great-granduncle was Virginia's Robert Bolling IV. His wife, Sally Washington, was the …

I Age Not By Years, But By Stories

As some of you may be aware, I reached another of life's milestones on Wednesday, January 5. To those who posted warm sentiments for a happy birthday, I only can say "thank you," and express to you how much I always enjoy hearing from you. Moving forward, the ever-turning wheels in my head raised my …

America’s Plaques–Endemic, Epidemic, & Pandemic

COVID 19 (Coronavirus) has consumed the media, politics, big pharma, the health industry, and too many facets of our lives for the past three years. I'm not aware of any families who have totally escaped it. Worldometer.info has maintained a living clock dedicated to the global statistics for COVID 19 cases from January 22, 2020, …

Genetic Code from 5,700 Year-old ‘Chewing Gum’ Reveals Extraordinary Details of Young Danish Woman

The following article was excerpted intact from GoodNewsNetwork gnn@goodnewsnetwork.org By Andy Corbley (Good News Network) and Theis Jensen / University of Copenhagen - Apr 4, 2021 A 5,700 year-old lump of pitch from a tree provided intriguing details to archaeologists about the intimate details of a Stone Age Danish woman—and the ‘chewing gum’ sheds new light on …

Pocahontas Heacham, England, Mulberry Tree DNA Test ‘Inconclusive’

To my regular followers, you may have been aware that this blog has been keeping up with the ongoing research here in the United States and England to determine through DNA testing whether trees in Jamestown, VA, and Heacham, Norfolk, England, share the same markers. Below is the newest information available, this time from BBC …

Yes, at our Age, We Adopted

Our family just got a little larger... We adopted a baby girl. Her name is Cinder Ella. She came to us with a heartbreaking backstory. Cinder Ella's mom was just a young girl when she was molested and impregnated by an unknown male. Whomever she was staying with in turn dropped her off at a …

My Genetic Genealogy: 1775-1825

Continuing on through my genetic genealogy timeline, my DNA has been found to match with 1,000+ 4th cousins or closer relatives who now live as far north as Vermont, span southward down the eastern coastline into Georgia, and inland to the now midwestern states of Illinois, Indiana, Kansas,  Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio.  We also can …

My Genetic Genealogy 1750-1775

"When the ships have for the last time weighed their anchors in England, the real misery begins with the long voyage. For from there the ships, unless they have good wind, must often sail eight, nine, ten or twelve weeks before they reach Philadelphia...But during the voyage there is on board these ships terrible misery, …

Close Proximities of My Family’s Deaths and Births

As the population of the world is increasing, overall the birth rate is exceeding the death rate, but one does not affect the other as a "rate".  Yet, I have repeatedly observed in my family's deaths and births examples that births occur within a year or less of each family member's death.  From my longstanding genealogical …

Ancestors, Life, and Other Stuff

As I sit here today, eight years last week since my first blog post, I am reflecting back across 366 stories that I wrote about "stuff".  And, this past weekend at church the message to parishioners was about "stuff."It strikes me that I had initially so very little information about my ancestors beyond my maternal …

Ancestry.com’s Newest Mobile App Identifies Iconic Ancestors and Relatives

An End to Years of Tedious Research? Over the course of my 35+ often tedious years of researching and documenting family histories, obviously, I have discovered many ancestors and even living relatives who I wasn't aware were connected to our family.  Nevertheless, during their lives for whatever reason(s), they left indelible marks on our world's history …

Back From the Future – Part 3 (With John Rolfe and Pocahontas)

I wish to thank my dear friend, retired College Lecturer, and fellow Pocahontas research enthusiast, Christine Dean, for her ongoing updates about happenings in and around her hometown of  Heacham, Norfolk, England.  From her undaunting energy and perseverance, while delving into local legends about Pocahontas and John Rolfe, I am able to bring you new posts …

Adding “Genetic Communities” to My DNA Results

Evaluating My DNA Testing Results It has probably been three or more years since I first received my DNA test results that I ordered through Ancestry.com.  Initially, I was very disappointed with the look and feel of Ancestry's DNA feature--it merely showed (based upon my DNA sample test), that I descended from Europeans who had migrated …

On This Day: April 5, 1614 – Pocahontas Marries John Rolfe

Article Details:  POCAHONTAS MARRIES JOHN ROLFE Author:  History.com Staff Website Name:  History.com Year Published:  2009 Title:  Pocahontas marries John Rolfe URL:  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pocahontas-marries-john-rolfe On the 403rd Anniversary - The Story of the Marriage of My Paternal 11th Great Grandparents Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Indian confederacy, marries English tobacco planter John Rolfe in …

John Rolfe – Just One of My Family’s Immigrants . . .

The Early Modern Period Over the next twenty-eight days, we will be revisiting my 11th paternal great grandfather’s story once again.  It is a story that dates back to 1585--the 585th year of the 2nd millennium, the 85th year of the 16th century, and the 6th year of the 1580s decade.  Although much has been …

John Rolfe Letter to Governor Thomas Dale, 1614

Continuing to further document and understand the lives of our earliest ancestors - emigrants from England to Jamestown, Virginia, I have included below, the 1614 letter  (transcribed and updated to today’s word usage and spellings by me--I made no changes to word choices or punctuation and kept present-day English spellings).  My  11th great-grandfather, John Rolfe, …

Thanks Charlie–One Man’s Genealogical Random Act of Kindness

This video shows the great work ethic and commitment this man has for honoring those who paved the way for the rest of us in this world.  As a genealogical enthusiast, I can relate to this man's passion for identifying and uncovering the lost people and histories of our families. In fact, I volunteer for …

Our Ancestors’ Died From What?

Death Certificates Validate Our Lives The primary purpose of a death certificate is to explain how or why people died. The only thing we know for sure is that people died because they were born; because they were mortal. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that roughly fifty million people in the world this year will …

My Genealogy Story

My Desires to Know and to Learn One day my dad and I were talking about his young life, the absence of his mother early on and her mysterious death at age 32 that had left him and his family with unanswered questions. We also visited my paternal great grandmother about once a month for …