As promised in my New Year’s Day post (although over two months late), today I published the first set of stories featuring an ancestral couple and their children. First up are my great-grandparents Thomas Leander “Lee” Hankins and Samantha Angeline Petty of Hopkins County, Kentucky, and their seven children. Three of their children died young—daughter […]
Bios & Stories
What Happened to Great-Aunt Lula? The Answer
For ten years I’ve been asking “what happened to Lula?” My great-grandparents, Joseph Smith Lanier and Nancy Jane Bennett had ten children who lived to adulthood. Lula was the oldest. What I Knew In 1870 Joseph, Nancy, and four-month-old Lula lived in Chambers County, Alabama.1 By 1880, they were in Rock Mills in Randolph County, […]
When Your Dad Worked for the Railroad
My mother and her sisters grew up in a small town in Harlan County, Kentucky, but train travel to big cities was a normal part of their lives. Their father worked for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad hauling coal out of the mountains in Harlan County, and that made the family eligible for passes to […]
Storms: Flood Water in My Grandparents’ House
My grandparents, Elmer and Emma Hopkins, had a house built on the corner of Mapother and Johnie Streets in Loyall, Kentucky in 1925. My mother and two of her sisters grew up in that house located a short block from the Cumberland River. Mom remembers being prepared to leave on a moments notice during heavy rains […]
The Old Homestead: John & Emma Taylor’s Farm
As a child, my mother loved to spend time at her maternal grandparent’s farm in Rockcastle County. John and Emma Jane Taylor lived at Buckeye, just outside Mt. Vernon, and Mom would stay with them anytime she had a chance. I’ve heard many stories about “the farm” over the years, but a few weeks ago […]
Maiden Aunt: Mattie Bennett
Martha and Mary Bennett were twins. Martha was called Mattie and Mary was called Mollie. Mattie never married and didn’t leave many records. I don’t know much about her life except for where she lived at the time of each census from 1870 to 1940. The twins were born 15 February 1863 in Georgia, probably […]
Strong Woman: Samantha Angeline Petty Hankins
Finding strong women in any family tree isn’t difficult. Several in mine came immediately to mind when I saw that was the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks prompt for this week. But I settled on Samantha. Born 3 April 1861 in Dalton, Whitfield County, Georgia to John R. Petty and Margaret E. Thomas, Samantha Angeline […]
Where There’s a Will: Finding Polly Smith’s Father
A few years ago, I mentioned in a blog post that I didn’t know the parents of my 3rd great-grandmother, Polly Y. Smith who married James Lanier 29 July 1810 in old Randolph (now Jasper) County, Georgia.1 I wouldn’t call that a brick wall, because I hadn’t really tried to identify her parents beyond a cursory […]
Heirloom: Woven by Mary F. Morris Howard
Heirloom ducks? Yes, but before we get to that let’s talk about my 2nd great-grandmother who is connected to them. As with most Marys of her time, Mary F. Morris was called Polly. She was born in the Watts Creek area of Harlan County, Kentucky to Littleton Morris and Martha Mark. The year is debatable, […]
Valentine: Ruby Marie Hopkins
According to Ruby’s headstone, she was born on Valentine’s Day 1924.1 She wasn’t. But that doesn’t mean she wasn’t forever her parents’ tiny valentine. Ruby Marie Hopkins was born on 26 February 1924 in Loyall, Harlan County, Kentucky. She was the second child of my maternal grandparents, Elmer Dennis and Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins. She had […]