Ancestors Killed by a Slave

There are some things I pretty much expected to find while researching my family tree - veterans of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War; slave owners; possibly ancestors who were themselves slaves and/or "mulatto".

I did not expect to find murder victims. Killed by one of their house slaves, no less. Wow.

Apparently the house slave Hannah found out that it was written in the will of her "owner" Stephen that she would be freed once Stephen and Mary (his wife) were dead, so she killed them with an axe (Stephen while napping; Mary when she looked in on Stephen, thinking he was asleep) so that she wouldn't have to wait any longer for her freedom. Hannah was then hanged from a tree, possibly a tree on the family's land. This happened in the 1790s.

I also found Stephen's will, which he had written just a few years before he died. He gave his daughter Celia (not the same Celia I mentioned in an earlier entry), my ancestor, "forty-seven pounds and ten shillings, one large chest, one hundred and thirty-eight acres of land on the west side of Flowers Swamp .... to her and her heirs forever."


I had been reading over other information from old documents that mention some of my other ancestors a short while ago, but my eyes began closing on me. So no more researching and digging for information tonight.

Y'all have a great Friday!

Interesting Ancestry Finds; New Zealand

I've been such a bad blogger lately. I'm not posting here or reading other blogs as much as I normally do. I'm still really into researching my family tree. I've found some interesting things. According to one census, my great-great-great grandma Celia (on my mom's mom's side) was white, but an earlier census lists her as "mulatto". She was born in 1818 in North Carolina, where obviously slavery was still legal, so she was probably the child of a slave and a slave "owner". I'd love to find out more about that situation.

I love it when I can find a census record or a death certificate. There's just something almost thrilling about seeing the actual document with the handwritten information. I love the details of members of the household, ages, places of birth, whether or not they owned or rented their home, occupations, real estate value, and so on. Most of the census records I've found list the head of household's occupation as "farmer".

My great-grandma Lessie (age 3 at the time) is listed as "granddaughter" with her grandma (age 55) as the head of household in the 1900 census. Her mother (age 21) is listed also as "daughter", along with a few other "daughters", Lessie's aunts. The only male in the home was one of Lessie's uncles, about 24 years of age. It's got me real curious about who Lessie's father was (still digging for that information) and why he wasn't around. I find it interesting that the head of household in 1900 was a woman. The census record says she owned her home, which was on a farm, and that her occupation was "farmer".

Anyway, y'all probably aren't interested in any of this, but I'm loving it. Well, I love it when I actually find something. Especially actual documents. I get so excited and just keep saying, "This is so cool!" over and over like a big dork.

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Not much else going on really. The weather's been beautiful (temperatures in the 70s), so we went to the park again yesterday after school. Today's only supposed to be in the 50s, as is tomorrow and Thursday.

The trees in our front yard are starting to bud. I love seeing the first green popping out.

Kelly isn't feeling well today and stayed home from school.

Researching my family tree has kept me so busy that I haven't kept up with the news all that much. I had heard that there was an earthquake in New Zealand, but only just this morning did I sit down and see the footage on one of the morning news programs. I have a great love for New Zealand, though I've never been, and sat there crying as I watched the news. In my mind I was thinking, "That's my New Zealand."

I know it's silly, since as I said I've never been there. I can't explain why I love a place so much that I've never been to. Over the past several years I've dreamed of going there, have read about it, watched videos about it, I follow bloggers who live there and even dreamed for a few years of living there myself, to the point of looking at houses for sale in NZ. I know - crazy. I don't dream so much about living there anymore, but I still really want to visit.

I hope the quakes and aftershocks are done there now. If any Kiwis are reading this, my heart truly goes out to you. (((HUGS)))

Pretty February Day at the Park; Karate

No time for a lot of typing right now. Still working on the family tree. I was making good progress with my husband's side of the family, but I'm too tired to continue with it tonight.

Yesterday was a beautiful day with a high of 68°, so Kelly and I went to the park. I wore a light jacket because the breeze was a little cool to me, but Kelly wasn't bothered by the breeze and tied her jacket around her waist.





My mom took Sean to Karate where he received the news that they're going to move him to the adult class. The owner/sensei said that Sean is doing really well and can handle the pace of the adult class. Sean's really excited. He'll be joining the adult class tomorrow. A couple weeks ago they said that promotions were coming soon. Sean can't wait to move on to his next belt.

Well, it's 2:30 AM and I must go to bed. I'm pretty tired.

Y'all have a great Friday!

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"Until you realize you are the creator of your own misery you will never be truly happy. For it is how you react to any given situation that brings you happiness."

"When you are more desperate for personal happiness than Biblical obedience bad decisions are imminent."

Busy with the Family Tree

It seems I've been neglecting my blog for a few days. It's not because I don't want to write. I've just been busy building my family tree. It can be so hard to stop where I am in my building and go to bed or get something else done. I've found some really interesting and exciting things so far. I can't wait to discover more.

The furthest back I've been able to go is on my mom's mom's dad's side of the family. I've gotten all the way back to the 1400s! That is, of course, if the information I've found that's led me there is correct. If it is correct, then we come from English nobility - the Nevilles and Fennes. I won't bore y'all with detail. If you want to know about them just look them up or click the link. One thing I will share with y'all though is that one of my possible ancestors, Sir Edward Neville, was beheaded in 1538 while Henry VIII was king. The Nevilles built Raby Castle in England.

I never expected that my ancestors would've been nobility. I really thought that if I ever got as far back as when our ancestors were in England (they came over to America in the 1600s, which surprised me; I thought they wouldn't have arrived until around the 1800s) that they probably would've been peasants and that I wouldn't have been able to find out anything more.

There are also of course ancestors who fought in the Civil War and probably the Revolutionary War. My dad's side (his dad's dad's side) was from IL and in the Northern army, my mom's side (her dad's mom's side) was from NC and in the Southern army. The ancestor who was on the side of the South was a POW in Virginia and New York.

Okay, okay, I'll stop. I could go on, but I will spare whoever might be reading this. I need to go to bed anyway. It's after 3:00 AM. It's a good thing ancestry.com is down for maintenance right now or I might still be there.

Y'all have a great Tuesday!

Par-tay, Family Tree, Quotes

As I wrote before, Kelly's birthday was this past Tuesday. I was going to throw a party for her this Saturday, but like last year, she didn't want a big party with friends. She just wanted it to be our small family group. So the five of us (me, Charlie, Sean, Mom, Kelly; my brother & his family couldn't make it) went to Olive Garden the evening of her birthday. When we got home we did the cake (Oreo ice cream cake) and presents.

These didn't turn out as well as I had hoped because I forgot the flash. Doh! Notice Sean behind Kelly being the typical pesky brother.

It's hard for me to believe that my little girl is 11 years old now. Not all that little anymore. She's growing (too quickly) into a fine young lady.

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I've been trying to do some research into my family tree. (I'm putting it together at ancestry.com.) I wish I could get all the information I want without having to pay for it. I personally don't feel like I should have to pay to find out about my own family. I've managed to find out some things (full names, birth dates, sometimes just the year, places of birth or residence), a little at a time. I'm sure I could find out more if I was paying for it. :-/

I've contacted an uncle (one of my dad's brothers) in the hopes that he can tell me more about my paternal grandpa. Especially about his service in the Navy, place of birth, his parents' places of birth and so on. As well as give me more information about my paternal grandma's parents. I hope he gets back to me soon.

One thing I found that I thought was really interesting was my maternal grandpa's Army enlistment information. I didn't know until now that he was in the "Regular Army", field artillery, and that he was a farm hand prior to his enlistment in September 1940.

Anyway, I won't bore y'all further about my family history.

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I read this at another blog and really liked it:

"The art of keeping a home not only encompasses beautifying the home, but also, helps to establish virtues and manners. This is seen and made manifest in the woman who cheerfully serves her family & friends with kind hospitality and service unto the Lord.

"Do you delight in creating a warm, serene, space that is filled with the love of Christ? The significance of your deeds done joyfully unto the Lord are invaluable. Take joy in serving the Lord and others today.

"Rejoice in your calling, be blessed."

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Well, I'm so tired my eyes feel like they're about to fall out onto my cheeks. Off to bed I go.


“Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.”

Accent Meme

Apparently there's a new meme going around. A vlog meme about accents and regional names for things. You read off some words and then answer questions about what you call things. I've never done a vlog before and I really wanted to particpate in this one, especially since some online friends of mine and I have talked about these things (accents and regional words) before. Problem is, I hate how I look in pictures and video. I'm not too happy about how I look in "real life" either, but pictures and video are worse. So, I recorded my voice only, with the camera pointed at my mouse pad. Yeah, I know. Weird. Whatever.

So this is the meme in its written form:

If you want to follow along or do the Accent Vlog yourself, here are the words/questions:

Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught.

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

And here's me. Well, my voice. It's a little embarrassing and I may end up deleting this. My apologies for the shaky camera. :-/ Oh, and scroll down to the bottom of my page and pause the music first.

Today is My Daughter's Birthday!

Today is my beautiful daughter Kelly's 11th birthday. She is one of my life's greatest blessings. All her life she has been very close to me. It was a couple years before she would go to school without crying when I dropped her off in the mornings. When we're at home or eating at a restaurant or at church, she has to sit next to me. She always wants to be with me and we have a good time together, mostly laughing and acting goofy.

Yesterday was my birthday and before she went to bed on Sunday night, she gave me a homemade birthday card with a tiny mermaid charm taped inside of it. For Christmas she gave me four of her little plastic animals. When I saw the mermaid charm taped inside the birthday card, I got choked up. Here she was giving me something of hers again because, as she wrote in the card, "You are special to me." I don't know how to explain it, but it really touched me.

She asked Charlie a few times to give her some money so that she could buy me something for my birthday. (He didn't give her any yet.) She told my mom that she wanted to get me something too, so Mom picked her up from school yesterday and brought her to Target and Wal-Mart to go birthday shopping for me.

And these are just examples from my birthday. There are so many times she's done things for me or was concerned about what I wanted or needed, to the point of not wanting to go somewhere if I wasn't going or participate in something if I wasn't able to.

Kelly is not only beautiful and thoughtful, but also smart, crazy funny, and affectionate. I'm proud of her and the young lady she's becoming. I couldn't have asked for a better daughter.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KELLY!

I LOVE YOU!

Go Shorty, It's Your Birthday

Today's my 38th birthday. I hope my 38th year is worlds better than my 36th and 37th. Those were two of the hardest years of my life. Full of tears, struggle, frustration, some very dark days, worry, spiritual fighting. But even in the midst of all of that, God gave me peace and filled me with hope. I pray that what He's given me hope for will happen, or at least begin to happen, this year.

No plans for today really. I'm going birthday shopping in a few hours for my daughter Kelly. Her 11th birthday is tomorrow.

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This song popped into my head while I was fixing my breakfast. I haven't heard it or sung it in years. It came out sometime in the late '70s to mid '80s.

A Love of my Own

So many times I've dreamed about falling in love.
Visions of rainbows and sunshine above.
But when the rainbows had faded
And the sunshine was gone,
I was still searching for a love of my own.

Then one day a stranger came
And He called out my name.
And ever since His gentle touch
I have not been the same.
He replaced all the dreams and chasing rainbows
With His joy in my heart and a love of my own.

And since I met Jesus I know what love really is.
Until I met Jesus there was no feeling like this.
On my face is His sunshine,
In my heart His song.
And now I can say I've a love of my own.

Just like castles in the sand
Your world falls apart.
You watch the tides of time erase
The dreams from your heart.
But just turn around,
He's standing there
And He beckons you to come.
He's waiting to give you a love of your own.

And when you meet Jesus you'll know what love really is.
Until you meet Jesus there'll be no feeling like this.
On your face will be His sunshine,
In your heart His song.
And then you can say,
"I've a love of my own."

Ringtone and Blog Following

Charlie likes to text. He texts me more than he talks to me when he's away. I have a ringtone just for him so when he calls I know it's him without looking. And everytime he calls I get that song stuck in my head. Not that I mind, of course.

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I've been a member of SITS for a year or two. (There's a button for their site in the margin.) I enjoy checking out the featured blogger of the day and congratulating them on their day. Sometimes I'll become a follower of the featured blogger. But if I see that that blogger (or any blogger really) has hundreds of followers, I usually don't follow them unless I really love their blog. I'd rather follow someone who looks like they need more followers - if I love their blog even just a little. I hope it makes them smile when they see they have a new follower. I love it when I get a new follower and I admit I'm kind of sad when someone stops following me. Though I guess I can understand. I'm not funny and I'm not the most interesting blogger in the blogosphere. :-/

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I started feeling really bad a few hours ago. Headache, nausea, overall feeling of not feeling well. I took some ibuprofen for my headache and ate some crackers for my nausea, which helped some. I really hope I'm not getting sick. Not that a person would normally want to get sick. So, this night owl is signing off now and going to bed.

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"The 'Love Language' of Jesus is Obedience. You don't need a personal conviction to obey scripture, you just need a 'Personal Submission'."

“Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.”

“To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness.” -- Robert Muller

Immodestly Dressed Children

This commercial bugs me:



I'm sure many of you have seen it. What bugs me about it? That the mother is okay with her daughter wearing a short skirt and smiles approvingly at her daughter when she's able to wear that short skirt again. Yeah, I know she's also happy that she was able to get the stain out, but dang, that's one short skirt. The girl is obviously supposed to be under 18. Why would any mother be okay with their daughter showing that much skin? Dad should've just thrown the skirt out or burned it.

"Come on! It's just a commercial!", you might be saying to yourself. But it's also a sad reality. Too many mothers are allowing their daughters to dress that way and worse. (Yes, there's worse. Have you seen some of the things they're selling in the girls' departments at clothing stores? Especially Juniors, but also younger.) There's enough pressure on our kids to be sexual and show off their bodies. They need their parents to teach them right from wrong, not go along with what society or the media or fashion designers push on them. We have to stand against the immorality of this world, regardless of how "acceptable" society thinks that immorality is.

Another thing that bugs me about the commercial is the look the mom gives the dad. Can men sometimes do things that annoy us or even infuriate us? Absolutely. But I don't blame that dad one bit for wanting to ruin his daughter's mini skirt. They make dad look like a baffoon or a fuddy duddy. (Does anyone say "fuddy duddy" anymore?) All because he doesn't want his daughter showing off her body.

We need to guard our children against the idea that it's okay for them to show their bodies or be sexual. It is not okay. It's up to us as parents, if we want to be good parents and raise our children right, to teach them that this is not okay.

Yeah, all this because of a commercial. :-)