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"Along Those Lines ..."
by George G. Morgan
Click Here for George Morgan's Archive
| Notes on a Successful Family Reunion Trip |
Family reunions are a wonderful opportunity for genealogists to gather information of all sorts. Relationships are renewed with many relatives, and new relationships are formed. This was very much the case this past weekend when I attended a reunion in NC with a branch of my family with which I had had little contact in the last several decades. It was a terrific experience and, through contacts and conversations, I learned a tremendous amount. This week in "Along Those Lines ...", I don't plan to bore you with all the details of my reunion. Rather, I want to share some of the incidents that occurred that provided me with new information and new clues. Getting There is Half The Fun The branch of the family holding the reunion is my Grandfather Morgan's brother's descendants. That makes the people there my first cousins once removed, my second cousins, and my second cousins once and twice removed, depending on the generation. I've been communicating via snail mail with my first cousin, Margaret, for many years. She is, in fact, the person who caused the reunion to be organized. I've also been fortunate to have found my great cousins Beth and Barry online on AOL and have been corresponding with them a year or more. Through all this correspondence, and a few phone calls, I have learned something about this branch of the family. I stayed with my older brother this weekend, and he graciously acted as chauffeur. (Little did he know!) We drove through five counties this weekend and visited three cemeteries -- one of them twice. One of the cemeteries is in Mebane, NC, where our mother's parents, her sister, and many family friends are buried. My last visit there was in 1963, and my brother was an excellent guide. Being twelve years my senior, his memories and knowledge made him a great tour guide. He recounted stories of the town and the people buried in the cemetery. His account of the relationship between our grandfather and his best friend added another dimension to my understanding of the man. While there, I took photographs of gravestones and made written transcriptions. The next cemetery we visited was one I had never seen before but one which was most important. It is out in the country and I would not have easily located it without my brother having been there before. My Grandfather Morgan's brother and sister-in-law are buried there with two of their children. My great-grandmother, Caroline, is buried there. Her husband, my great-grandfather is not buried there but both of his parents, my great-great-grandparents, are. As always, I took photographs, made written notes, and drew a map of where the stones were located and their relative positions. I'm so glad that I added the cell phone to my cemetery kit this time! I wondered where my great-grandfather might be buried so, while my brother continued to pace the cemetery, I used the cell phone and called Cousin Margaret. She explained that he was buried in another cemetery about a mile down the road. She explained that the top of the stone was broken off by a fallen tree, and that there was no name to be found. She did, however, give me explicit instructions about where to find the grave. When we got to the cemetery, we located the grave with no problem. The date of death corresponded exactly with the date in the family Bible. Since it was on our way, the next stop was the public library in Yanceyville, NC, the county seat of Caswell County. Its History Room has a strong genealogical collection, complete with microfilm, microfiche and readers. We spent almost an hour culling through their unique collection of books and unpublished family histories, and we unearthed several clues. It was at this point that my brother remembered another MORGAN grave he'd discovered in the cemetery while I was using the cell phone. He couldn't remember the name, so we resolved to stop there the next morning on the way to the reunion. Next, it was off to visit our Aunt Penelope (Nep), our mother's last remaining sister, for dinner. Not only did we have a wonderful, homemade family dinner, she had pulled a box full of family photographs for us to look through. Few of the pictures, however, were labeled. We spent more than an hour looking at the pictures as my aunt rattled off people's names, places, and recounted stories. I spent most of the time labeling the pictures and frantically jotting notes. My aunt gave each of us a large group of these pictures, including her wedding pictures. What a night! Reunion Day On the morning of the reunion, my brother and I returned to the cemetery where he had seen another MORGAN grave. This one turned out to be that of my Great-great-grandfather's sister-in-law. Her tombstone was engraved with "Mary, wife of B.F. Morgan." There was no evidence of her husband's grave, but there were rectangular depressions all about. These would indicate the presence of unmarked graves or graves whose stones are long gone. The MORGAN reunion was held on a spectacularly beautiful Sunday afternoon, with almost fifty people in attendance. There were mixed emotions: joy about being part of this great event, sadness that so many of the older relatives were gone, amazement at the number of new faces -- spouses, children and grandchildren, and regret that I had let so many years pass without having maintained contact with these people. As we renewed one another's acquaintance and made new ones, the word spread that I had brought the family pedigree chart, family group sheets, photographs and other papers. In addition, Cousin Margaret had brought family papers, too, for my Great-grandmother Caroline and her family line. Many of the relatives flocked to look at the materials, and to share information. One cousin even brought typewritten genealogical information for me. Family stories began to be told and I began making notes. There were a number of surprising facts revealed. I learned about the origins of some family names and I heard some wonderful stories. For example, I didn't know that my first cousin once removed, Henry Speck MORGAN, was named for his mother's father, Henry Speck THAXTON. He recounted that his sister, Cousin Margaret, used to tease him about his middle name, saying that "Everyone knows what a fly speck is." He also admitted to having kicked his sister in the shins many times for teasing him about his middle name. I also learned about mistakes in my pedigree and family group sheets: relationship errors, name spelling variations, missing dates, places where events occurred, places of birth, marriage, death and burial. All of these were discussed and I was given new information to research and corroborate. Finally, my Cousin Margaret graciously agreed to loan me the folder of information about my Great-grandmother Caroline's family. With over 200 names and vital dates, this is a treasure trove! Conclusion Your family reunion and mine will certainly differ. However, you can use the opportunity to form and solidify relationships and to gather important clues. Of course, I took many photographs at the reunion and will faithfully label them. They, too, will become part of the family genealogical record. Remember, though, that you don't have to go to a large family reunion to make these kinds of connections. A simple family get-together, such as the dinner with our Aunt Penelope, can yield great information and the opportunity to look at family keepsakes. A visit to a cemetery where family and ancestors are buried can be another information bonanza. Don't overlook what you might gather there too. I encourage you to use every opportunity to talk to your relatives, no matter how distant, and get their side of the story. Learn and document what they know. And use these opportunities to expand the genealogical picture of our family. Happy hunting! George Click Here for George Morgan's Archive
I am pleased to announce a new quarterly genealogical newsletter. It is Notable Women Ancestors: The Journal of Women's Genealogy & History, published by Susanne ("Sam") Behling. This excellent newsletter is an outgrowth of Sam's award-winning "Notable Women Ancestors" website, located at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nwa/ and it is full of interesting articles. The newsletter's inaugural issue contains an article about Anne Marbury Hutchinson, the extraordinary and outspoken 17th century woman who inflamed Boston and the surrounding area with her religious and political speeches. Other articles focus on the "'Mercer Girls:' Washington Territory's Cargo of Brides", "Colonial Women's Rights", and other notable topics. The newsletter is well-written, handsomely published, and contains excellent photographs and illustrations. If you are interested in learning more about the lives, experiences, and issues of women in earlier times, Notable Women Ancestors: The Journal of Women's Genealogy & History will not disappoint you! Subscriptions are $16/year for four issues. To subscribe, contact Susanne (Sam) Behling, 2500 N.E. McWilliams Road, #D8, Bremerton, WA 98311 or via E-mail at samcasey@aol.com.
Copyright 1998 George G. Morgan All Rights reserved "Along Those Lines ..." is a weekly feature of the Genealogy Forum on America Online (Keyword: ROOTS). This column originally appeared in the Genealogy Forum on America Online. You may send E-mail alonglines@aol.com. George Morgan would like
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