“It was the third of June another sleepy dusty delta day I was out choppin’ cotton and my brother was bailing hay” Bobby Gentry’s song speaks to the mundane. The routine, the heat and bored-out-of-my-mindness of late summer. It wasn’t … Continue reading
As a woman, I often wonder what will define my life when I’m gone. For our ancestors, it was often a woman’s husband and sometimes, her children. That’s pretty much it. Of course, today, living on the “right side” of … Continue reading
William and James are both common names, as is Moore. Saying this family has been difficult to research is an understatement. I’ve made multiple trips back to Halifax County, Virginia over a period of 3 decades – each one unearthing … Continue reading
Recently, I became aware of petitions in the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA), by county, when reading this article by Judy Russell, the Legal Genealogist. If you have ancestors in Tennessee, check this resource. Between 1840 and 1850, several … Continue reading
Evaline Louise Miller was my great-grandmother who married Hiram Bauke Ferverda. This charcoal drawing of Evaline was sent to me electronically some years ago by a generous cousin and was restored by a talented friend. Eva, as she was called … Continue reading
It’s Father’s Day, and of course, we’re either with our fathers or missing them. This Father’s Day, I can’t help but think of my step-father, Dean Long. This is us together at my wedding. Can you tell that we utterly … Continue reading
Hiram was born in the Netherlands in 1854. His first article, Hiram Bauke Ferverda (1854-1925), Part 1: Baker’s Apprentice chronicled his life in the Netherlands. In 1868, at age 13, Bauke immigrated to the US with his family. His life … Continue reading
My introduction to the Ferverda genealogy came in the form of a small blue booklet that my mother obtained at a family reunion. How I desperately wish I had attended that reunion, but I was preoccupied in the summer of … Continue reading
When I first discovered that my father’s nephew, Robert Vernon Estes, was a prisoner of war in North Korea and died, probably of starvation, in their hands during his captivity, I was determined to discover as much as possible about … Continue reading
This Mother’s Day morning I woke up half way home from St. Louis. I had been speaking at the 2019 NGS Conference in St. Charles, Missouri and drove part way yesterday after my luncheon session. The rain has been incessant … Continue reading
