Steve's Blog Spot

I wrote earlier about receiving a comment on the family tree website I am working on. Well, it ends up that the comment was left by a somewhat distant relative - her name is Sally and we share the same great-great paternal grandfather! And to top it off, she has done extensive study on our family history. She has since been spoon-feeding me bits and pieces of genealogical data, and I have actually been able to give her a little info back, mostly thanks to my Aunt Shirley. I am slowly being drawn deeper into family tree research; I only wanted to see what the structure looked like, learn a little bit, and be done with it. Instead, I am finding out there's more to it than birth and death dates - I am uncovering stories about different forebears that paint pictures of real people who lived rich lives, only in another time. It is both profound and humbling, for without just one of them, I do not even exist! I have found something that is more than just a hobby, and something that I can...

I received a comment on the family tree website I am working on regarding my Great Aunt Jess. She was the older sister of my paternal grandfather, who was also his surrogate mother (although I don't think they used that word back then). According to my Aunt Shirley, it seems my grandfather was a late birth in my great-grandmother's life, and she was not "up to raising" him, for whatever reason. So, the raising duties fell to Aunt Jess. Anyway, the commenter described himself as the descendant of one of Aunt Jess' cousins, and said he had a copy of Aunt Jess' obituary, and that said obit describes quite an accomplished life. I sent him an e-mail with my address, so I hope to get my hands on that copy. I'll share it with both of my readers...

but I've been busy evenings sorting through the pile of pictures and old letters that my Aunt Shirley gave me on my last visit, as well as working on posting names and dates into a family tree website. This family tree thing has been extremely interesting, especially as I've never been much of a history buff, though this is different. Based on the information I've received from cousins on my mom's side of the family, our great-grandmother's line can be traced back to pre-1700 France, while our great-grandfather's lineage goes back to Charleston, SC in the early 1800's. There's lots of ancestry around Natchitoches, LA, and along the banks of the Cane River - perhaps that's why I have always been drawn back to that area. And to top it off, our family bible is safely stored in the library of Northwestern (LA) State University! Not much info on my maternal grandfather's side, who was born in KY not far from Bowling Green. That might necessitate a vis...

Yes, friends, I am about to depart on a road trip and get away for a while. Gas prices? Who cares? Well, sort of. When it's all said and done, few things are more important than family, and from that truth hath sprung my mission, er, vacation purpose. (I think a vacation should have some sort of, at least minimal, reason to be. It gives you something to anticipate, even if you only plan to do nothing.) And the sole reason for this vacation is to visit family. It started as a desire to visit my younger sister and brother in Shreveport, LA, then it took a life of its own. My sister Pam recently underwent a second surgery to put a rod in her right leg in place of her femur which was shattered in a wreck on July 4, 2007. (Those things can be a slap in your face and make you think how quickly you can lose a loved one.) The original surgery was performed with the wrong parts, so she had to endure the second one, this time with a much better doctor and without trauma from the wreck. She h...

I received a package the other day from my Aunt Shirley in Houston. She's my late father's sister who will be 90 this year! Mind is still sharp, but they won't let her drive any more - she quit that at 85. Heck, they'll probably ground me a lot earlier than that! Anyway, this package - it really was a large box - contained an old bowl-back mandolin. It had belonged to my grandfather, who, according to Aunt Shirley, did not know how to play it, and probably won it in a poker game! But it is in great shape, relatively, and she wanted me to have it, as she had planned on taking up the harp in her after-life. (Her words, in essence.) I took it to a couple of local guitar shops and a guy at the first place said, "Oh yeah! That's one o' them tater bugs!" I said, "Huh?". He said again, "That's one of them tater bugs!" So I did hear him right, though he didn't know where the name came from. At the next shop, they were a lot more kno...