I am always surprised at the number of times I search for an ancestor on Ancestry.com and see entry after entry for a person of the same name and when you click on one of the family trees and look at the family, the person appears to be an only child, at least from that … Continue reading “Family” Research – Genealogy Tips – Ancestors & Their Families
Oak Grove, Okaloosa Co, FL
The Shadow Occupation in the Florida Panhandle – Ancestors Bootlegging for Fun and Profit
Sooner or later if you study and/or write about America, the South, or the Florida panhandle, you will likely find references to the making of moonshine. I did not have to find my first reference to this once shadowy endeavor, my grandfather spent a year in the Atlanta Penitentiary after being picked up for his … Continue reading The Shadow Occupation in the Florida Panhandle – Ancestors Bootlegging for Fun and Profit
The Original Tiny Houses
Today there is a growing movement to downscale the size of homes. For some of us, when we see folks trying to live in 300 square feet, we wonder how and why. But our ancestors had much larger families in not much more space. Let’s look in detail at the homes of our ancestors. Start … Continue reading The Original Tiny Houses
In Celebration of Father’s Day
This coming Sunday is Father’s Day. For some reason, it never gets quite as much attention as Mother’s Day. I decided to do a video on the men of the Upper Yellow River area from 1818 on. Very much like I did for Mother’s Day and the women of Oak Grove and surrounding communities. I … Continue reading In Celebration of Father’s Day
Some Upper Yellow River Area Women Through History – A Video
Bonus April posting - The original rendition of this video was created for my Mom's 90th birthday party. I've added a number of women to the video to create a video celebrating Mother's Day. The song is Mother's Patience by RimskyMusic. If you have a documented photo of any of the women who are included without … Continue reading Some Upper Yellow River Area Women Through History – A Video
Keeping Warm in By-Gone Days
Most Floridians, whether native or transplant, prefer warm and/or hot weather. Most of the time, winter isn’t too bad. We get a good, low-swinging cold front in December, or sometimes November, and we get a dip or two in January and February. And then there is the Easter cold snap that those of us who … Continue reading Keeping Warm in By-Gone Days
Southern Music Back in the Day
We drive around these days listening to the radio, free or paid; listen to music from our TV satellite service; watch musical videos that entertain visually more than stimulate our hearing sense; and have a band accompanying many church services so the voices can't be heard well. Many people can't read music, can't play an … Continue reading Southern Music Back in the Day
Brick Walls in Your NW Florida Family History
When I’m out talking to groups about my books on Northwest Florida, I almost always have at least one person come up and start talking about one of their brick walls. It is just natural for family historians to get around to commiserating about their research brick walls. If you do genealogy, you likely have … Continue reading Brick Walls in Your NW Florida Family History
Reuben Hart: FL/AL Pioneer, Slaveholder & Enigma
It is believed that Reuben HART was born in NC around 1783, migrated to GA sometime before 1810, migrated first to south Alabama then to northwest Florida sometime around 1816-1817, then back to Alabama before 1840. In tow from Georgia to Alabama/Florida were his family - wife Nancy Ann RIGDON HART and their children Reuben, … Continue reading Reuben Hart: FL/AL Pioneer, Slaveholder & Enigma
Learn From the Past; Prepare for the Future
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how our Florida panhandle ancestors produced their food, preserved it for the long winter and protected it from bad weather. While there is much about our current way of life that has its benefits, our fragility in the face of bad weather events is clearly laid out in … Continue reading Learn From the Past; Prepare for the Future
