In March 2014, I wrote a lengthy post about the mystery of my 3rd great-grandmother Nancy Catherine WATSON, the last wife of Eli J. COX of Craven and Lenoir Counties. I had questions about so many things: Was she really 18 when she married 59 year old Eli, or was she...
I was recently asked by Wake County Public Libraries to give a virtual Zoom presentation on fascinating but little known facts about colonial North Carolina history. In this presentation, I talked about the Lost Colony, the Tuscarora War and how it led directly to the...
I really am enjoying the new and improved Ancestor Hints on AncestryDNA — especially now that they have the ability to color code matches into surname and other custom groups. One issue that keeps coming up, though, is suggested matches who may not have their data...
Nearly five years ago I published a post for a will I had stumbled upon for a William S. MORRIS of New Bern in which he declares his wishes that his "negro woman Patty" and her "mulatto" children be freed and well-maintained after his death. The will was dated 1831...
FamilySearch has been steadily putting a ton of North Carolina records on their site that aren't yet easy to access through the normal browsing methods. (Another thanks to Becky for tipping me off about some of the great new things that have gone up over the last few...
Yes, there were, indeed, two Rocksolanah CARRUTHERS. I used to think there were two Rocksolanahs, but then because of some dates that were discussed in the old W'ton List (probably close to 15 years ago!), I began to think that there was only one. It was generally...
I have the complete set of Craven County Court Minutes books by the late Weynette Parks Haun, and while I LOVE them— and I recognize them as an amazing resource — there are some index items that I wish she would have included, for instance, Craven County Bastardy...
This article relates to Stephen AVERY (Stephen AVERITT) of Craven and Beaufort Counties, husband of Nancy GARDNER and later Nancy Ada FOY, and father of Nancy, Enoch, Allen, Lewis, Noah, William, Patsy, Julia Ann, Susan, Pollie Ann, and Nancy Augusta AVERY, all of...
This article was originally published August 28, 2016, but I've updated it today (May 23, 2017) because I've just found new information. I found the following while researching one of my ancestors, Celia AVERY, the wife of John HOLMES. I was looking for all variations...
Below I have transcribed a deed from my 4th great-grandfather John HOLMES to Church CHAPMAN of Craven County. In the deed, John HOLMES is selling his wife's (and by extension, his) interest in four slaves who were originally the property of David AVERITT, but who were...
I found the following while browsing through the Craven County Estates, wills, 1786, 1794, 1858, 1869-1921 (p. 352-353) at FamilySearch. It interested me because my 5th great-grandfather is James McIntosh of Craven County (abt. 1765-1837) and I've wondered if William...
Next to genealogy and history research, my second favorite obsession is watching MeTV. I love those old shows, from Andy Griffith to Macgyver, and I especially love courtroom and mystery shows, like Perry Mason and Matlock, Diagnosis Murder and Columbo. Perhaps that's...