A Smörgåsbord of Stories
Gillison “Gee” Rector and May “Pettris” Garnett were the parents of Florence Gertrude “Gert” Rector Gentzkow. What is known about Gee and Pettris? Gert’s Father Gillison G. Rector was the 4th of 8 children born to Milton A. Rector (1855-1951) and Charlotte “Lottie” … read more
Back in August, I wrote about my Grandma Gert’s Bible. Grandma’s notes provide clues and point me in the direction of my maternal ancestors. In particular, I’ve been thinking about Grandma’s maternal grandmother, Dollie Pile (1870-1955). At FamilySearch.org, I even started a discussion thread. No … read more
Bible Records are a wonderful tool for a family historian. Sometimes an old Bible provides the only records of births, marriages and deaths. Each set of records written in a Bible need to be examined carefully. Were the entries written at the time of the event? … read more
John Pile, a native of Virginia, settled in Carroll County, Missouri by 1843. Last week, we noted that by the fall of 1847, John Pile was dead. When did he die? How did he die? Newspaper Research In other blog posts, I’ve extolled the … read more
John Pile married Patsey Allen in Botetourt County, Virginia June 29, 1809. They were the parents of several children, including Oscar Pile. All of their known children were born in Adair County, Kentucky. After Patsey died, John married Matilda Miller, his wife’s niece. Matilda’s mother … read more
Haden family research is built upon the foundation of many talented and thorough cousins, notably: Edith Attkisson Rudder, author of My Father’s Family (1947) Dorothy Kabler Haden, author of John Haden of Virginia (1968) Kay Haden, researcher and blogger at Leaves of the Tree and … read more
The Battle of Blue Licks was one of the last battles of the American Revolution. Ten months after Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown, British and patriot forces met on a hill next to the Licking River in what is now Robertson/Nicholas Counties, Kentucky (then Kentucky County, … read more
Mother’s Day, May 14, 2023. I’m sitting next to my mother’s bed; she is dying. I love you, mom. Hospice and mom’s care team are guiding my family through mom’s final journey on this earth. It is a time to reflect on her strengths, remember … read more
Family names connect us to our ancestors. In our modern thinking, we want our surname to be unique and to be consistently spelled the same way. In genealogical research, we need to be open-minded about how our surnames are historically spelled. My 3x great grandfather … read more
When pursuing the lives of my ancestors, I frequently find myself “down the rabbit hole.” Like Alice, I’m chasing a proverbial white rabbit. Today, this particular genealogical digging adventure led me to Oscar Pile. Karrie Blees – yet another Rabbit Hole Last week, I … read more