A few months ago I was browsing early Pensacola Journal newspapers at the Chronicling America website and discovered that they would occasionally do a whole section of the paper on a Florida Panhandle county with ads and articles about the county. I quickly got sidetracked from what I had gone there to look for and … Continue reading Washington County: Highlights from the 1907 Pensacola Journal newspaper
Jackson County, Florida
The Challenge of Holmes County Family History Research
Introduction I, like a number of other native Floridians, have ancestors who helped settle Holmes County, Florida. It is a difficult county to research in. As I mentioned in my post of 8 January 2018, the early moving county boundary lines for the area that would become Holmes County in 1848 makes it a challenge … Continue reading The Challenge of Holmes County Family History Research
A Glimpse of Early Holmes County
I was recently reminded that I did most of my 2017 posts on Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa County. So, to start 2018 out, I will move east to Holmes County and start by exploring its earliest days and settlers. It might be good to start with the ever changing county list that the land … Continue reading A Glimpse of Early Holmes County
Questions of Honor and Courage: Individual Decisions During the Civil War
Many of us with ancestors in the Florida panhandle know there was a Union regiment of Southern men that served during the Civil War at Ft. Barrancas. Many of us have ancestors who served with that regiment and we have family stories or reasons that they served that we hold to be true. But most … Continue reading Questions of Honor and Courage: Individual Decisions During the Civil War
Early Northwest Florida Churches
I have to admit that one of the many things I find interesting in history is the efforts to organize churches early in human settlements. Churches served a number of purposes other than the education and nurturing of the soul; they were ways for people that were often scattered, isolated and busy trying to survive … Continue reading Early Northwest Florida Churches
World War I: A Introduction to the War and Researching Florida Ancestors Who May Have Served
I find researching my Florida (and those in other states) ancestors in the various U.S. wars to be rewarding. These are major events in our ancestors’ lives, whether they served or not and the events they may have experienced can be fascinating whether on the battlefield or the home front. For the most part only … Continue reading World War I: A Introduction to the War and Researching Florida Ancestors Who May Have Served
Researching Civil War Ancestors in the Northwest Florida Panhandle, Pt 2
In the last post we laid out a basic plan for getting to one man in one or more Confederate (and/or Union) military units. Now comes the work to figure out what he likely experienced as the war progressed. A word of caution: this set of two blogs is only a tiny part of understanding … Continue reading Researching Civil War Ancestors in the Northwest Florida Panhandle, Pt 2
Very Early Northwest Florida Genealogy Records
If you have ancestors in the earliest migration from America into the new territory of Florida you have a few options for attempting to identify them and when they may have entered Florida. Let’s start by doing a quick run through the history of the territory of Florida and how it became part of the United … Continue reading Very Early Northwest Florida Genealogy Records
Northwest Florida History & Genealogy 