Estate Inventories

Have you ever looked at your ancestor’s wills, probate records, or estate inventories? Sometimes they could bequeath quite mundane things like a fork, cup, or a favorite shirt. You can get an idea of their wealth or lack thereof. Even those from the north may have owned slaves. Food for thought

Surnames Starting with “N”

I believe I’ve stated before a surname/ word sounds like it starts with N, but it could also be spelled Kn—. The letter’s sounds come from two different parts of the mouth and are hard to pronounce. Over time starting in the mid-1400s, the K became silent in English words although it continued somewhat in […]

The Last American Civil War Pensioner

Per multiple news organizations, the last American receiving a Civil War-related pension died in May. She was 90 years old. My grandmother only received her pension until she turned 16 in 1913, so I checked to verify what I thought was the reason, and I was correct. This woman was a helpless adult child. She […]

Visiting and Searching Grave Sites

This month’s episode of This Old Tree is about how some of us are doing genealogy in the Covid-19 quarantine era. Several times this summer, Spike Savage has asked me to go with him to either take GPS readings of a gravesite or take pictures of headstones. It was just the two of us traveling […]

Purchase

Until modern times, there were no stores as we know them. Merchants occupied small booths that had no show windows or display counters. There was nothing resembling newspapers or TV advertising. Consequently, a person wanting a specific commodity had to get out and hunt for it. Every successful shopping expedition was a major or minor […]

Special August Meeting

Good day. It’s with great joy to announce that ACGS is meeting at Jay Bullard’s home on Aug 23, 2020, for Jay’s annual Research and Potluck dinner. Unlike in previous years, there will be no potluck meal. Please bring instead your own meal; aka brown-bag your own food. No sharing. Some members are not willing […]