It's my blogiversary and I'll post if I want to ...

Peach cobbler, suitable for any celebration--or any day, in my opinion!

Hey, it's my blogiversary!  I've been lax about blogging in the last year or two, though I have been continuing to explore my family tree.  No big excuses, I just work more now than I did a couple of years ago (better for the budget, less so for research/writing time), and lately, I've had a tweaked neck (blame years of flute playing and my iPod touch).  

I find the more blogging I do, the less research I do.  So when I have had free time, it's been more about the research.  This year, one of my goals is to blog a little more (another: "desk-cavation").

(Note: You can blog without being an overachiever.  You still get the benefits of the occasional e-mail from a cousin and also the benefits that come from evaluating your research by writing about it.)

So what was I up to in 2012, genealogically speaking?  Here are some highlights:

• I attended all three days of Southern California Genealogical Society's 2012 Jamboree.  I met more bloggers and visited with others I previously met there or online.  I even saw Saturn (courtesy of a stargazing geneafriend) and chatted up Washington Post associate editor Steve Luxenberg.  His book about unraveling family secrets, Annie's Ghosts, is a compelling and moving read, and he was an interesting and entertaining speaker.  Info for this year's SCGS Jamboree (in June) is here.

At Jamboree, I met a Californian genealogist with ties to Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, Denise Spurlock.  Go read her blog.  I'm a cousin to her Kilpatrick cousins.  Which makes us "almost-cousins," I think.  Yes, small world.  I also met genealogist Kim von Aspern-Parker, who has cousins from my Southwest Louisiana hometown, of all things.  Smaller world!  Go read her blog, too.

• I've gotten hooked on DNA.  I've done more research on my "mystery grandpa" Robert Hall's paper trail (promising but not definitive), but now I'm adding DNA to the toolbox.  Dad's Y-DNA has been in a Hall surname study for a few years now with no close matches, so I got myself a Family Finder test at Family Tree DNA and have been slooooowly putting together who might be related and how.

Since roughly 25% of my genes are from Grandpa Hall (unknown parents), I'm looking especially closely at anyone with a surname list with Hall and/or full of unfamiliar monikers.  This takes a lot of time and patience.  Thank you, Cajun and Acadian cousins, for helping me weed out Grandma (Elia Legere) Hall's ancestry!  Your surnames are easy to spot.  (Trying not to think about Acadian cousins who also have Hall or British Isles ancestry--one problem at a time!)

I got a 23 & Me test for Christmas, and I think I may ask Mom to test, then transfer her results back to FTDNA (for a fee) to help sort out which cousins belong to which side of my tree.  Plus we'll be "fishing in two ponds."  A bonus could be that we extend a few of her lines (the two Smith lines, please? I'm in no hurry to research them!).

• I met another new-to-me cousin in person, a "2nd-and-change" Guidry cousin I enjoyed lunching with, and made a few new "e-mail cousin" friends.  One posted a portrait I think solves a photo mystery (more to come), and another shared some good research on our Hollier and McBride ancestors (his web site is here).

• A Trahan cousin sent me a photo of my great-aunt "Philo," Philomene Stemmans (Stemmann) Weber.  It was the first time I've seen her, at least since I was maybe two or three--I may have met her once.  Thanks!  I'll share it here if they don't mind.

There's more, of course: loads of fun with the 1940 census, death notice and obituary finds on Google News Archive for my McCoys, FamilySearch finds for McCoys and McBrides (updated here) and others, Facebook groups, reading, stories scribbled down from Mom every other time we talk.  I hope to share a bit more with you this year and perhaps next year's wrap-up will then be shorter!

Happy blogiversary also to Thomas and fellow bloggers posting at Geneabloggers--you provide a lot of inspiration and food for thought even when I'm not blogging so much!

And thank you all for reading!

Text copyright © 2013 and photo copyright © 2011 Liz Hall Morgan, all rights reserved.

Original post URL: http://mybigfatfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/its-my-blogiversary-and-ill-post-if-i.html

Tombstone Tuesday: John & Emily (Morgan) Kilpatrick

John Milton Kilpatrick headstone, Arcadia Cemetery, Arcadia, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, October, 2011.  (Photos courtesy of John Hinton; see bottom of post for copyright info.)

John Milton Kilpatrick and Emily Coleman Morgan are my 3rd-great-grandparents, the great-grandparents of my maternal grandfather Alvin Jasper Stevenson.  In a bit of genealogical serendipity, posting their headstone photos has led to the discovery of a new cousin.

A few months ago, I was discussing Kilpatricks via e-mail with a couple of cousins, and I noticed that that John & Emily were listed on Find a Grave, so I thought I'd request photos of their headstones.  A wonderful volunteer, John Hinton, posted photos within only a couple of days! (This is not necessarily typical or even expected.)  Click the name within each photo caption here to go to their Find a Grave pages.

Anyhoo, when I contacted John again to ask if I could post these photos on my blog, I noticed he had added some surname interests to his Find a Grave contributor page.  One of them was Stevenson (my mom's family).  John was posting photos from North Louisiana (where Mom's from), so I had to ask.  Yes, we're cousins!  Fifth cousins, I think.  Our common ancestor is James Stevenson, Jr.

But back to the Kilpatricks:

John was born 6 Feb. 1824 in Franklin County, Tennessee, and married Emily there on 28 Dec 1843.  He died 3 Apr. 1863 (according to his headstones; one researcher I trust has 18 Apr, so I will have to ask about the source), probably in Arcadia, Louisiana, where he lived.  Granddaughter Loda Duckworth said his father's name was Tom Kilpatrick, but I don't think this has been proven as of yet. (If you're up on the current research of this family, let me know.  I have not done in-depth research on the line.)

Emily Coleman Morgan Kilpatrick headstone, Arcadia Cemetery, Arcadia, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, October, 2011.

Emily was born 28 Dec. 1820 in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, to John William Morgan and Sarah Elizabeth "Sally" Coleman. She died 14 May 1899 in either Arcadia or Athens, Louisiana.

John Milton Kilpatrick headstone (older broken stone), Arcadia Cemetery, Arcadia, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, October, 2011.

Thanks to "Tombstone Tuesday" prompts at Geneabloggers (which prompted me to "inventory" my direct line for grave info), my Kilpatrick cousins, Find a Grave, and especially cousin John, I've now "virtually" visited my 3rd-great grandparents' graves, and met a new cousin.  Happy dance!

Want more sources? See my preceding post here.

All photos courtesy of and copyright © 2011 by John Hinton, all rights reserved.  Text copyright © 2012 by Liz Hall Morgan, all rights reserved.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Emily Coleman Morgan Kilpatrick

Emily Coleman Morgan Kilpatrick, photo from Hall family collection, probably taken in Bienville or Claiborne Parish, Louisiana.

Emily Coleman Morgan was my 3rd-great-grandmother, the daughter of tobacco farmer John William Morgan and Sarah Elizabeth "Sally" Coleman.  She was born 28 Dec. 1820 in Mecklenburg County, Virginia.  Her family moved to Franklin County, Tennessee about 1833, where she met and married John Milton Kilpatrick.

Kilpatrick was hired by Emily's father to teach him to raise corn; he stayed with the family for four years and ended up growing a crop of Morgan grandchildren as well--including my great-great-grandmother Hannah Kilpatrick Stevenson Dobbins.

(I don't know of any connections to my husband's Northeast U.S. Morgan line, unless there are common roots in Wales, perhaps.)

Emily looks rather formidable, certainly a lot taller than most in my family, though some Stevenson descendants were tall, and a Kilpatrick cousin tells me she has tall relatives. Her fingers are so long! Wonder if she ever played piano?  (Also wondering about Marfan syndrome, though I have not heard of it running in the family.  I'm doubtful there's a death certificate available in 1899 Louisiana; most parishes began recording them in the 1920s.)

Emily's granddaughter Loda Duckworth confirmed her formidability in a memoir: "Grandma was never afraid of anything, not even a bucking horse, she could ride like a man, get on a horse and go out and tend to business as well as any man."  Loda wrote (or told to someone) more colorful history about the family; when I find out more, I'll post a link to read or buy if possible.  I believe it may be part of a published family history.

After brief stays in Mississippi and Texas, John and Emily finally settled for good in Arcadia, Louisiana, just before Christmas, 1859.  John died in 1863; Emily lived another 36 years and moved again to nearby Athens, passing away either there or in Arcadia on 14 May 1899.  She and John are buried in Arcadia Cemetery.

Next week on "Tombstone Tuesday," I'll tell you how a photo request regarding her turned into a bit of genealogical serendipity.

Sources: Memoir of Loda Duckworth, excerpts in my possession; Arcadia Cemetery transcription by Maxine Morgan (no relation to my Morgans, though her husband is a Cotter cousin) at USGenWeb Archives; U.S. Census records; Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002, at Ancestry.com; Findagrave.com; original research of Mary Urban (note: her research is well documented, despite the lack of sources at that link); additional notes in my possession from others. Please note that Emily's family is a work in progress.  Questions, corrections, additions? Contact me at hallroots [at] sbcglobal **dot** net.

Copyright © 2012 Liz Hall Morgan, all rights reserved.  Read more "Treasure Chest Thursday" posts at Geneabloggers.

Tombstone Tuesday: Hannah Kilpatrick Stevenson Dobbins

Hannah E. Kilpatrick Stevenson Dobbins headstone, Tulip Cemetery, near Athens, Claiborne Parish, La.  Photo by M. Hall, abt. 2005.

Hannah [the headstone spelling is wrong] was my great-great-grandmother.  She married James W. Stevenson (my great-great-grandfather), and later married Giles Weaver Dobbins.  She was born Nov. 19, 1848, in Franklin County, Tennessee, to John Milton Kilpatrick and Emily Coleman Morgan.  Hannah died Dec. 13, 1927, in Marsalis, Claiborne, Louisiana.

Tombstone Tuesday: Stevenson in La. (maternal great-grandparents)

Note: "Tombstone Tuesday" is a theme used by many genealogy bloggers; you can see other tombstone posts at GeneaBloggers.

John William Stevenson and Maggie Elizabeth McCoy are great-grandparents from my mom's side of the family. They are buried in Tulip Cemetery in the Tulip community near Athens, La. Tulip is in Claiborne Parish (county) in Northwest Louisiana.

 Headstone of John W. and Maggie E. (McCoy) Stevenson, Tulip Cemetery, near Athens, La., Nov. 2005.  Scanned photo by M. Hall, slightly edited and privately held by Liz Hall Morgan.

John was the son of Hannah E. Kilpatrick and James W. Stevenson.  He was born 9 July 1871, probably in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, and died 29 Apr. 1942 in Caddo Parish, La. 

Maggie was the daughter of James McCoy and Rebecca Jane Harrell.  She was born 16 Aug. 1876 in Louisiana (possibly Mt. Lebanon or Liberty Hill in Bienville Parish, or perhaps in Lincoln Parish) and died 11 Aug. 1937 in Minden, Webster Parish, La.

UPDATE 6/1/2012: Mom now thinks the original photo posted here for John & Maggie was of a Harper couple.  Here is a photo we know to be John and Maggie:

John William and Maggie Elizabeth (McCoy) Stevenson, Crossroads, La.?, c. 1920s or 1930s.  Photo by J. Marler, of original photo privately held by M. Hall, La.

Maggie and John were married 30 Nov. 1893 in Athens, Claiborne, Louisiana, where they spent the rest of their lives, and had four children: Ethel Gertrude, Alvin Jasper (my grandfather), John T, and Vera Mae.

 

Text copyright 2010, 2012 by Liz Hall Morgan; photos copyright 2010 M. Hall (top) and 2012 J. Marler (bottom), all rights reserved.