Find a grave is a powerful tool for ancestor research and information. Thank you to all the folks who volunteer for this site. What a tremendous contribution! I am sincerely grateful.

This can also be a powerful tool for misinformation. I worked as a journalist for nearly 20 years and can spot a typo a mile away. It's a curse, really. So, many times I submit edits because I found that typo. Please be patient with me. I was taught that misspelling someone's name in print was causation, grounds for dismissal. So I work really hard to get the spellings right. Unfortunately, that did not hold true for our ancestors, who spelled as best they could, generally phonetically. I stopped counting ways my surname was spelled when it went over 50.

I am a retired journalist/reading teacher researching my family that consists of few close relatives. Mom was an only child for two generations for one branch, and paternal grandpa was also an only child. I am on ancestry where I have a research/working tree with dna. I also use familysearch and contribute to wikitree when I am satisfied with the conclusion of my research into ancestors, and collateral family.

My paternal paternal surnames are Sturdivant, Knight, Boone, Youmans (Yeomans). This is my strongest brick wall. Paternal maternal are Stone, Howard, Martin, Sheffield, Harrell.

Maternal paternal surnames are Traylor, Landers, Pittman, Hartley, Bell, Carroll (brick wall), Lemmond, Lang, Fowler. Maternal maternal are Beverly, Lee, Smith, Heard, Saxon, Harcrow, Camp, Williamson, Braswell, Rives (might be Reeves/Reaves).

I respond to messages, and welcome contact from cousins or others interested in ancestry.

Find a grave is a powerful tool for ancestor research and information. Thank you to all the folks who volunteer for this site. What a tremendous contribution! I am sincerely grateful.

This can also be a powerful tool for misinformation. I worked as a journalist for nearly 20 years and can spot a typo a mile away. It's a curse, really. So, many times I submit edits because I found that typo. Please be patient with me. I was taught that misspelling someone's name in print was causation, grounds for dismissal. So I work really hard to get the spellings right. Unfortunately, that did not hold true for our ancestors, who spelled as best they could, generally phonetically. I stopped counting ways my surname was spelled when it went over 50.

I am a retired journalist/reading teacher researching my family that consists of few close relatives. Mom was an only child for two generations for one branch, and paternal grandpa was also an only child. I am on ancestry where I have a research/working tree with dna. I also use familysearch and contribute to wikitree when I am satisfied with the conclusion of my research into ancestors, and collateral family.

My paternal paternal surnames are Sturdivant, Knight, Boone, Youmans (Yeomans). This is my strongest brick wall. Paternal maternal are Stone, Howard, Martin, Sheffield, Harrell.

Maternal paternal surnames are Traylor, Landers, Pittman, Hartley, Bell, Carroll (brick wall), Lemmond, Lang, Fowler. Maternal maternal are Beverly, Lee, Smith, Heard, Saxon, Harcrow, Camp, Williamson, Braswell, Rives (might be Reeves/Reaves).

I respond to messages, and welcome contact from cousins or others interested in ancestry.