Wordless Wednesday

Lily Gordon Howard

Second wife of Connie M Howard

Tombstone Tuesday

The Reverend Caswell Suggs Harward (note the spelling here is Howard) was my GGG-grandfather. Here is buried in the church cemetery of Baptist Chapel Church outside of Sanford, NC. At the time of his death, the property was actually part of the homeplace for his wife Mary A Thomas Harward's family. There is some indication he may have died of typhoid fever.

Who Is She.....More Clues

I still don't know who she is, but I know more than I did when I first posted. (http://areyoumycousin-lisa.blogspot.com/2009/12/who-is-she.html)

What I've learned since the last post:

*I was able to find the photographer WGR Frayser (both Jr and Sr) in the Danville, VA directories. This photography studio was only in Danville, VA from 1888-1891. That narrowed down the age of the photo quite nicely.

*The woman's hairstyle should also have been a clue to her age. She is wearing bangs which apparently did not come into fashion until the 1880's.

*The card thickness was also another clue. I learned that the 1mm thickness placed this CDV in the 1880-1890's.

Today as I was studying this particular CDV, I decided to take another look at my collection of family photos and see if I had any other CDV's or cabinet cards by the same photographer. I found not one, but two! One of a young man and one of a young child:

Maybe a family group?

Stay tuned.....

Happy 101 Award

Harriet at Genealogy Fun awarded my blog the Happy 101 award. (Thanks, Harriet! ) The recipient does the following:

1. List 10 things that make him/her happy.

2. List 10 blogs to pass the Happy 101 award on to.

So, here goes....

Ten things that make me happy:

1. Spending time with my family. We love playing games, going to hockey games and puzzles.

2. Hearing my older relatives memories about the "good old days".

3. Identifying that "unknown" photo.

4. A productive day in the state archives.

5. Meeting new cousins--from the past, present, online or even in person!

6. Watching Dr Who on Netflix.

7. Couponing.

8. Reading mysteries. (Isn't that what genealogy is all about?)

9. Sharing the family history with my cousins.

10. Connecting the dots from the past to the future for my children.


Now for ten blogs I enjoy.....


1. A Twig In My Tree

2. We Tree

3. A Multitude of -sens

4. Pollyblog

5. Genealogy Fun

6. A Couple Of Bubbles Off Center

7. Genealogy Gems Podcast - Your Family History Show

8. Genealogy and Me

9. Blog of a Genealogist in Training

10. Gene Notes

I'm sure you'll enjoy these blogs as much as I do!

Now here's a subject I never thought I'd learn about when I embarked on my family history adventure. The subject of hogs. More specifically, how and why my farmer ancestors put rings in the noses of their hogs. Nose rings were used to keep the hogs from rooting up crops. The tool above (complete with box of nose rings) was used to place said rings in the porcine's nose.

The things I've discovered.

Three Guesses What These Are

Any guesses? They are corn shuckers that belonged to my farming ancestors of Halifax Co, Va. I correctly guessed their use on the first attempt, however, watch the next post. That tool wasn't as easy.

Wordless Wednesday Cowgirl Lisa

Christmas 1969

My favorite outfit

Planting Pegs

Now here's a family heirloom many might not have seen previously. It's a planting peg, or perhaps better known as a "plantin' peg". (Add a southern Virginia accent and you have it.) Planting pegs are fairly self explanatory. They were used to make the hole in the ground to plant tobacco plants or other crop. These were used by my great grandfather, Bossy Talbott and my great-great grandfather Joseph M Talbott on their tobacco farm in Halifax County, VA.

These pegs were carved from tree roots and through the years of use have become incredibly smooth. Some even still had the dirt attached! Hmmm......ancestral dirt from the tobacco fields. Now that's an heirloom!