Virginia focused genealogy and history
At a Court held for Surry County on July 4th, 1677[1], my 9x great-grandfather Arthur Long appeared in open court on his knees with a rope around his neck and made the following submission: I Arthur Long, that all bystanders may take notice of my this my sincere Repentance of my Rebellion, to here most … Continue reading Bacon’s Rebellion in Surry County, VA – Part 1
My Dad was visiting from Florida last week and we took the opportunity to take a field trip to Surry County, Virginia where my grandmother grew up and our people have lived since 1618 well before it became a County in 1652. Accompanied by my wife and sister, we took the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry[1], which is … Continue reading A field trip to Surry County, Virginia
A letter dated 25 August 1939 from my great grandmother to my grandmother conveying family news
My latest blog post is about my 7x great grandfather Charles Atkinson whose estate inventory shed light on his possible occupation. Read on to learn about him and his life in the Virginia colony.
Today's post is about my ancestors Randall Holt and Mary Bayly who were both in Jamestown by 1620. It's also how I am own 9th cousin - once removed. Read on to learn more.
I introduced my 2x great grandfather John Rives Morris in an earlier post concerning his unusual death in Amelia County, Virginia, a murder in California, and rumors of his mental illness. Need to catch up? Click here! This post focuses his early life and offers some insight into his later difficulties. Born into a … Continue reading John Rives Morris (1840-1904) – Part 2
Today's post is about my great aunt Helen Wilson Rowell and how I used her birth and death certificates to learn about family history as well as genealogy. I hope you enjoy it.
The very first thing my 4x great-grandfather William Walker wrote in his 20 February 1838 will[1] after the introduction dealing with his mortal soul and his mortal remains was this: I give and bequeath to John or Jack Miller, who married my daughter Sarah A. Judith and went off with a strumpet and left his … Continue reading William Walker of Cumberland County, Virginia (1757-1840)
On 26 August 1782, my 5x great-grandfather Richard Rowell II went to Surry County Court and "being fully persuaded that Freedom is the Natural Right of All Mankind" freed sixteen enslaved men, women and children. Check out my latest blog post and find out what happened. Hope you enjoy it!
My 6x great-grandfather Richard Rowell, born about 1694, is first mentioned in his grandmother’s will dated 23 August 1717. Margaret (--------------) Cooper Hodge Hunnicutt’s will mentions her daughter Elizabeth Rowell, wife of Edward Rowell as well as her son Richard Rowell.[1] If you missed my post about the immigrant Edward Rowell click Here! Richard Rowell … Continue reading Richard Rowell (c.1694-1743) – Son of an Indentured Servant Pursues the “English Dream” in Surry County, Virginia
A friend asked me recently if I ran into funny articles when searching old newspapers. Well, I run into all sorts of articles – some funny, some interesting and some really tragic. I will share some of each as I am moved to do, but today I’ll share one I find amusing. While articles I … Continue reading Uncle Gus’s Watermelon
Need to catch up? Click here: Sarah (Holt) Truly (c.1724-1792/3) – Part 1 We ended Part 1 in 1773 and learned that Sarah Truly’s life since her husband’s 1761 death was difficult to say the least. A widow with seven children ranging in age from 17-4, Sarah struggled to settle her husband’s estate because of … Continue reading Sarah (Holt) Truly (c.1724-1792/3) – Part 2
My 7x great grandfather Edward Rowell is first mentioned in the Surry County, Virginia records on 1 May 1677 when he appeared in court and entered into an agreement with Samuel Cornell [Cornwell] to serve a six-year term as an indentured servant: “Edward Rouwell, a youth servant to Samuel Cornell coming in without Indenture, the … Continue reading Edward Rowell of Surry County, Virginia (c. 1663-1729)
Sarah Holt was born about 1724 in St. Paul’s Parish, Hanover County, Colony of Virginia. She was the eighth of ten children born to David and Margaret (Dibdall) Holt. Her father was born about 1685 and soon after his birth on 28 May 1686, his grandfather Col. David Crawford who served in the House of … Continue reading Sarah (Holt) Truly (c.1724-1792/3) – Part 1
I was very fortunate to become interested in researching my family history when I was just 11 years old. I knew all of my grandparents and my grandmothers, in particular, were both interested in family history. When I began researching my family history, I also became interested in family photographs. Once I exhausted my grandparents … Continue reading Genealogy in Photographs
The first record naming my 5x great grandfather, Nathaniel Berryman was on 20 October 1761 when the Surry County, Virginia Court ordered that the “Church Wardens of Southwark Parish bind out Nathaniel Berriman[1], a base born child of Ann Berriman, according to law.”[2] grandfather. A base … born … child … You can probably … Continue reading A Base Born Son Makes Good: Rev. Nathaniel Berryman (c.1748-1822) of Surry County, Virginia
This is the headline from my great-great grandfather, John Rives Morris's obituary. I found the original obituary and numerous other clippings in small leather wallet that my grandmother had, which had belonged to her grandmother Ann Octavia (Vaughan) Morris (1844-1942) - the wife of John Rives Morris. JETERSVILLE, VA. August 5 – Mr. John … Continue reading FATALLY GORED BY AN INFURIATED BULL
On June 20, 1901, my great-grandparents were married at Jetersville in Amelia County, Virginia. Their marriage record lists them as J. Stewart Morris (called Stewart) age 29 born 1872 and Anna May Blanton (called Annie May) age 17 born 1884. Interestingly, both of them fibbed about their ages. Stewart Morris was born on 25 October … Continue reading A May-December Romance (and a June wedding) in Jetersville, VA
A Son of Virginia 