Surname Saturday: A

     I've stollen this idea from Colleen Pasquale of the blog "Leaves & Branches."

     There are 4,356 people in my family tree, though only 244 of them are my direct ancestors.  Each Saturday, I will post the surnames of my ancestors, organized alphabetically.

• Adkins
• My 4th Great Grandmother, Mariah, wife of Wiley Powell, was said to have the maiden name Adkins.  She was born on 15 Aug 1821 in South Carolina and died on 6 Feb 1912 in Elbert County, Georgia.
• Albea / Alby
• My Albea line is traced back to my 6th Great Grandfather, Joseph Alby, born about 1746 in Maryland.  He lived in Frederick and Montgomery Counties and then moved with his children to Iredell, North Carolina.  His grandson, Tillman Albea, moved the family to Lincoln County, Georgia.
• Alexander
• George Alexander was born in about 1807 in Georgia and lived in Elbert County.  He was possibly the son of William and Anna Alexander.
• Allgood
• Susan Allgood was my 5th Great Grandmother and the wife of Allen Decker. Their daughter Susanna Pheriby Decker (born about 1806) married Jesse Taylor and they lived in Elbert County, Georgia.
• Armstrong
• Samuel Armstrong was my 5th Great Grandfather.  He was born in 1742 and traveled from Belfast, Northern Ireland to Charleston, South Carolina in 1767.  He raised his family there and his son John Armstrong, lived in Abbeville County, South Carolina.

Can You Draw the US?

     First, if you haven't seen it yet, check out this post over at BuzzFeed where people attempt to draw the United States from memory.  It's pretty funny.  No seriously, check it out 'cause it'll make my attempt look a little better.

     I decided to give it a try and this is what I came up with:

     So I started with what I know: the South East.  However, when I started to draw North Carolina, it turned into Virginia and NC got left out.  That's really the only thing that I'm confused about why I got it wrong.  From there, I moved west, where I ran out of paper.  Then did the North East and Mid-West separately, but wasn't quite able to connect them to the rest of the country (which lead to a couple of "states" named "oops."  I completely forgot Wyoming, Nebraska and Wisconsin.  I couldn't figure out where Indiana went and I knew I was putting Iowa in the wrong place, but couldn't figure out where it actually went.  I got some other stuff in the wrong places, but in their general vicinity. Honestly though, I'm kinda happy with how well I did and that I didn't cheat!

     So my challenge to you is to try this on your own.  How well can you do?

Index Frustrations

     I know good and well that not all genealogy records are online.  But there's just something about FamilySearch.org that makes me forget that.  They just have so many records online that I expect to find the microfilm image I'm looking for every time I log in.  Unfortunately, that's not always the case.

     I've been looking at my Quattlebaum line, trying to flesh out the original records that I have on file.  This is a family that has been researched and written about by many people over the years.  Thanks to this, it was one of the first family lines that I was able to add to my database and trace overseas.  But instead of citing books and websites, I'd like to be citing the actual records.

     Tonight, I went on FamilySearch and found the "Index to estates, 1785-1949" for Newberry County, South Carolina.  I found a listing in the index for my 6th Great-Grandfather, Peter Quattlebaum's, estate administration.  The index listed the package, book, and estate number, so I clicked back through my browser tabs to find the actual record.  Which wasn't there!  The only probate records for Newberry county were wills, which my ancestor apparently did not have.  I about died!  This close!

     I don't know why I expect FamilySearch to have everything online.  There are tons of databases online that provide only an index to records.  And the index itself can be very helpful, providing you with a location in which to look for the actual record.  But I just have this expectation that if FamilySearch has an index, they will also have the microfilm of the actual record.

     Regardless of my unfulfilled and somewhat hyped expectations, sometimes things just don't go your way.  But there's always an alternative.  I now know exactly where the records are, and there are multiple ways to find it.  I can visit the Newberry County Courthouse, the South Carolina State Archive, or send a research request to the SC Archive (these records do not appear to be held on microfilm by FamilySearch).  I'll have this and other records soon and will continue to document my ancestors.

Peter Quattlebaum listed in a Newberry County Estate Index

Book of Me: Time Capsule

     Week 8 of the Book of Me, Written by You blog prompt series.  I've fallen behind, but I'm getting caught up!
   
     In a way, I've created time capsules pretty often, without really setting out to do so.  Take for example the contents of a shoe box I put together in the 6th grade.  I remember collecting the items that seemed important to me at the time; items that I wanted to keep for the future.  In doing so, I created a time capsule that says a lot about my 12 year old self.

     Inside the box: a 6th grade Olympics/Field Day shirt, a program from a play with did in 5th grade art class, the last Calvin and Hobbs comic, a post card from my mom's trip to Puerto Rico, a map of Six Flags, a luggage tag from a 5th grade class trip, a card from a 4-H project, Christmas gift pencils from my 5th grade teacher, two keychains, a ticket and earplugs from the drag races.

     Over the years I've made scrapbooks, many of which contained not just photos, but also mementos.  Those are a form of time capsules as well.

     At the beginning of the year, I created a "2013 Memory Jar" and have been putting mementos inside all year.  I have ticket stubs, a concert pass, buttons, paint chips, note cards, 5K bibs, and more.  If I did something fun or memorable, I put something in the jar.

     I make these time capsules for myself and doubt that anyone else will be interested in them.  It's just fun to be able to look back at my life and have a reminder of what was important to me at a specific time.