I Had To Read The Directions

My old iron needed to be replaced recently.  It just was not heating up well anymore.  So, DH came home with this.....

My New Iron

....a super fancy iron and I love it. I do admit that the first time I went to use it the family laughed.  I had to pull out the directions to figure out how to turn it to the correct setting!  Adding water for the steam setting?  Back to the directions! Did I mention it came with lots of bells and whistles?

I don't think Grandmom Winnie (my great grandmother) had to worry with directions before she ironed. I also think she had strong arms.

Winnie Haley Carr's iron

I wonder if my Winnie would be offended if I used her iron in my home gym?

Could These Be Photographs of Your Ancestors?

Like many genealogists and family historian, I have photographs of people I cannot identified.  When I first came into possession of them, I just assumed the photographs were of my ancestors. People in the family.

I may have made a wrong assumption.

Many of my unidentified photographs were among my great grandmother Eshter L Richardson's things. (I've written about Esther frequently here on my blog.)  As I have gotten to know her through her saved letters and postcards, I learned that she was very social and had a lot of friends with whom she kept in touch.  This was the early 1900's when photographs were becoming more popular and easy to share.

I had a lot of her correspondence with her friends (and beaus), why not photographs?  Below are some of those photographs I still cannot identify.  I believe the individuals to have been from Pittsylvania County, Halifax County or Mecklenburg County areas of south central Virginia.

Possible surnames might include: Farson, Clark, Satterfield, Meadows, or Roberts.  Some Elliotts might be there as well.

Take a look.  If you see anyone you might recognize, leave me a comment.  If you know anyone researching these surnames or this area of Virginia, forward them my link.  I am going to need help identifying these individuals.

Adding Understanding To Our Ancestors' Lives

I came across the blog 19th-century American Women recently.  As the title implies, this blog focuses on women and how their lives changed during the 19th century.  Barbara the author obviously loves history and offers glimpses into different aspects of women's lives - everything from a well kept table to Christmas memories of women living during the Civil War.  When possible, the women's stories are told in their own words.

It's a fun (and informative) read.

Before Computers....

I "met" a lovely woman recently by phone.  A mutual friend introduced us. She is in her 90's and has been a genealogist for many years. She's even written books on her family history.

All her research has been done without the computer.

She's spent many hours in archives and in courthouses.

She's spent many hours on the road.

She's met many people along the way.

She's come face to face with her ancestors when just stopping to ask for directions. (That was an amazing story!)

I'm inspired.  I'm getting out from in front of my computer and planning my next on-site courthouse research.

It's time to get dusty again.

How about you?

Richard J Singleton

The gentleman on the left is Richard J Singleton (1915-2011), son of Ivy Haley and James Monroe Singleton.  Like many of the Haley cousins, Richard seems to have inherited a love of music.

You can read more about Richard Singleton here.

Thank you to my Haley cousin who shared this photo!

What I Was Up To During the Holidays

Back in the fall months, I opened Esther's Place - Heritage Gifts by Lisa.  (You can view a slide show of some of my gift ideas on my sidebar.)  I have had a lot of fun creating personalized gifts using my customers' own photographs.  I have worked with some amazing photographs and heard the fun stories that go along with them.

I stepped outside my comfort zone (way outside my comfort zone) and participated in two local craft shows.  I had so much fun participating in these shows.

I wonder what my ancestors would say about all of this.  After all, I use their photographs (copies, of course) in my samples.  Would they say "Way to go!"?  Or would they say "I can't believe you are using that photograph of me.  Look at my hair!"

The Mortar Is Loosening....

After time away form researching my Haley family of Halifax County, VA, I delved back into the records this weekend.  Stepping back from a research project while waiting for microfilm to arrive can bring a fresh prospective.

As a review, I am specifically looking to answer the question of who is Jesse Haley's father.  Jesse Haley is my great x 4 grandfather. Through my research I know quite a lot about his life from his 1826 marriage forward. It is the early years where I have hit the proverbial brick wall. You can read more about Jesse here.

Having exhausted most of the resources on Jesse Haley with no good clues to his parentage, I turned my research to focus to his associates.  In this case, the Brackett Owen family of Halifax County.  Many of the record sources I have for Jesse Haley have him in close proximity and relationship to the Owen family. Jesse married Brackett's daughter Temperance.  Staple (uncle to Temperance) and Armistead (brother of Temperance) served as witnesses to the marriage.  William Cardwell also was listed as a witness. (Just keep him in mind, but in the background for now.) Fleming Owen named Jesse Haley as a nephew in his will.

FHL microfilm, a free Saturday, and a fresh (hopefully) perspective and I was ready to resume my search for Jesse's parents.  Review of the personal property tax records (1822-1832) provided a few new answers and new clues to research.

Here is what I found:

• Jesse Haley was paying personal property taxes in the Henry Terry District of Halifax County, VA from 1824 forward.  This represents the earliest date I can definitely place him.  He does not appear in the 1830 and 1840 census records, but was paying taxes in the county.
• Brackett Owen was paying taxes in these years in the Henry Terry District of Halifax County, VA during these years.
• Fleming, Staple and Armistead Owen were also paying taxes in the same district Halifax County, VA during these years.
• Cardwells were living in the same vicinity of Halifax County, VA as the Owen family during this time period.
• Other Haleys (Ambrose, Lovelace) were paying taxes in the William Thaxton District of Halifax County. (Earlier research cannot find a connection between these Haleys and Jesse Haley.)

Here is where I started to get excited (more than usual!).

Through out these early tax records years I was searching, three names kept appearing: Sterling S. Hailey, Polly Haley, and Mary Hailey.  There is a William Hailey appearing next to Jesse Haley in the 1825 tax record. These are the only other Haleys that appear in the same tax district as the Barnett Owen family and my Jesse Haley.  It seems likely that there is a connection.

A quick look at the census records show that Sterling Hailey is not the correct age to be Jesse's father, but could be a brother.  Mary and Polly are a little harder to track down, and all three still need more focused research time.

What's next?

• Further research of Sterling S Haley including census record analysis, land records, and possibly chancery records.
• Further research of Polly Haley, Mary Hailey and William Haley including census records, marriage records, and will/estate records.
• Research of land records involving Brackett Owen, Fleming Owen, Staple Owen and Armistead Owen.

I'll keep you posted.

It's Always Nice.....

.....when I open up my e-mail and discover a cousin has sent me pieces of the family history.

Look what I found in my inbox last week.

While I already know most of the information in mu great grandmother's obituary, I have never actually seen her obituary.  I notice that Winnie Carr is listed as a member of St. Thomas Episcopal Church at Clarkton.  I find that interesting since the family moved away from the Clarkton area in Halifax County, VA  to Charlotte County, VA in the 1920's.  It was not so far away, but no longer close either.  The family began attending New Hope Methodist Church on what is now Scuffletown Rd in Charlotte County.  Later, Winnie and her husband S. Baker Carr moved closer to Halifax, Halifax County.  Apparently Winnie never changed her membership.

Thanks to my Haley family cousin for sending me this!

Needing Tech Advice

Like most genealogists (and well, everyone) these days, I find myself with a large number of digital photographs.  I get overwhelmed when I look at all the options for backing up photographs online.  I thought you, my blogger friends, would be able to help me.

Currently I use Picasa to edit and organize them.  Most are saved on my computer that I back up on discs. I confess. I do not do this as often as I should. (Please tell my I am not the only one!) I have begun putting them in Picasa web albums where I control the privacy settings.

Is there a better way to back them up?  

Goals for 2012

I am typically a goal setter.  (I prefer goals to resolutions.) I have set my goals for 2012 in several areas of my life including home, exercise and career.  The funny thing is that I am having difficulty in setting goals for my genealogy research.  Not so much the short term goals as the long range ones.

So, for now, I am sticking with setting monthly goals/focus areas.

January 2012 goals include:

• Continue researching John White of Surry County, NC.  Write up my research so far.
• Complete my search of the tax records of Halifax County, VA of the Owen family connected my Jesse Haley.  Begin search of land records.
• Create new list of possible fathers for Jesse Haley.
• Add new items to Esther's Place - Heritage Gifts by Lisa.

I would love to add more, but I think I will stop there.  I think that will keep me busy for a few weeks.  I am already looking forward to February and possibly a courthouse research trip.

The Old Sailor - Percy Owen

Elizabeth (1920-1976) and Percy Owen (31 May 1916- 28 Dec 2011  )

The Haley family lost another member this week.  Willard Percy Owen at the age of 95 passed away this week. Known as the "old sailor" he was the son of Carrie Haley (1885-1873) and John James Owen (1883-1960).   He will be missed.

Happy New Year 2012!

Happy New Year 2012!

Now that the holidays are over, I'll be back to more regular postings. I'm looking forward to sharing more of my ancestors' stories!