Wild Times in “The Wilderness” of Spotsylvania

My paternal great grandfather was Edward "Bud" Vincent Bowling/Boling (1872-1946). He was born in Parker, Spotsylvania County, Virginia. According to the 1880 Census, "Vincent," as he was called at eight years old, lived on a tenant farm with his father Lawrence T. Boling (42), and his mother Sara Elizabeth Bettie Tapp (45), and his sisters …

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, …

My Genetic Genealogy – 1725-1750

As in my earlier post that covers my DNA timeline from 1700-1725 and my ancestors' migration from  England, Wales, Northwestern Europe, Germanic Europe, Ireland,  Scotland, and Norway,  much of what I am about to share with you, I gleaned from my DNA Story as provided to me by Ancestry.com.    More of my posts will …

My Genetic Genealogy – 1700-1725

Much of what I am about to share with you, I gleaned from my DNA Story as provided to me by Ancestry.com.    Part 1 covers my DNA timeline from 1700-1725.  More posts will cover the remaining timeline that spans to 1925. Eighty-six percent of my DNA-matched ancestry originated in England, Wales, Northwestern Europe, Ireland, …

What’s All This Fuss About a Groundhog Named Phil and Punx’a’what?

Our local Calvert County weather forecast for Friday, calls for a mostly cloudy day, which in Groundhog Day terms means if Punxsutawney Phil were here with us locally he wouldn't see his shadow and we would see an early Spring instead of six more weeks on Winter!  Wel, guess what?  Punxsutawney's forecast also calls for …

“Is Genesis History?”

It's Friday night and many from our church met in the auditorium for yet another FREE MOVIE NIGHT!  Tonight we going to get to see the much-awaited viewing of the new compelling and perhaps controversial documentary movie Is Genesis History?. The film's title is a double entendre, or play on words.  In my initial reading …

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 …

From Spit to SNPs: Decoding My DNA

A few years ago I spit a small amount (about two tablespoons) of my saliva into a specimen collection tube provided in a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) testing kit that I ordered through Ancestry.com. My goal was to learn about my ancestors' through their genealogical beginnings and follow a familial chain of genetic links from generation to generation. …

Historically and Genetically Speaking, I Guess I’m Naturally Frank (1st-3rd Centuries)

Frank was my dad's name, so I'm curious about where it came from. During the Merovingian dynasty (AD 476–750), which ruled areas of modern France and Germany from the 5th century AD to the 8th century AD, “Frankish” kings ruled a constantly fluctuating area. For their leaders' symbolic refusal to cut their hair, they were …

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 …

Really–Just How Important is Your Given Name?

In Act II, Scene II  of Shakespeare's 1597 play, Romeo and Juliet,  Juliet says in reference to Romeo's surname, Montague, that they should ignore his surname which is meaningless to them so they could be together. Map: Six Decades of the Most Popular Names for Girls, State-by-State I love infographics (graphic visual representations of information, data, or knowledge intended …

We Just Didn’t Make This Stuff Up…Or, Did We?

Facebook Post on Origins of Expressions This morning my daughter shared a September 3, 2014, Facebook post created by Dan Steele (Dan Balam) of Norfolk, Virginia.  His post was an easy and fun read that got me to questioning whether the origins of the terms and phrases actually had been proven true or were myths …

The History and Demise of Cursive Writing

Cursive, the Secret Language of Adults  Cursive Handwriting - A Centuries-Old Art1   "For centuries, cursive handwriting has been an art. To a growing number of young people, it is a mystery. The sinuous letters of the cursive alphabet, swirled on countless love letters, credit card slips and banners above elementary school chalk boards are going …

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 …

Irish-American Heritage Month: March 2014

DNA Test Reveals 10% Irish Ancestry From my ancestry.com DNA report--A Look Into My Irish Ancestry - Primarily in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, but some lived in France, and England: I guess the DNA results that revealed my blood lineage as 10 percent Irish, allow me to legitimately wear green today to honor my Irish heritage.  Ireland, …

What’s in a Name…

As Shakespeare so eloquently wrote: What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet... But... Were you aware that there is statistical information even about your surname or first name that you can use to have some fun or interesting discussions?  (And, yes, you also can …

ISO Family Athletes and Olympians

Origin of the Olympic Games The Olympic Games began in ancient Greece about 3,000 years ago.   From the 8th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D., the Games were held every four years in Olympia, in Southern Greece's western peninsula, Peloponnese.  The Games honored the Greek God Zeus, who was the god of the sky and ruler of …

What’s All This Fuss About a Groundhog Named Phil and Punx’a’what?

From my May 26, 2013, blog post, Busted "Brick Wall" Reveals More "Chambers" "…So again yesterday morning, I decided to start over once more with basic research techniques for the elusive Chambers within our family's ancestors. Among my review of earlier research and findings of Frank Maynard Chambers, through my contacts with the Las Vegas Bunker …

An Inheritance of Deafness for the BollingS AND RANDOLPHS (1771-1816)

Almost ten years ago, Boling, Bolling, and Bowling family members discussed whether deafness and hearing loss were inherited. The answer is, in fact, that there have been Boling family members born deaf. Some of the lines that include deafness extend over to descendants of the John Randolphs (another branch in the Bolling ancestry). The short …