I Loved My Grandmother - her name was Maggie

My paternal grandmother was born in 1900 and died in 1969. I was very close to her and remember her very well. I have so many wonderful memories of her, the things we did, the trips we took and her kindness and goodness. She inspired me with her work ethic, her love for her church, her love for her family and her ability to always be there for everyone and make it appear to be without effort. I loved her very much. When she died, a part of me died too. I was 21 years old. She was born in Georgia and she left her home and family when she married my grandfather and came to North Carolina. I know she must have missed them terribly because she only went back to Georgia occasionally due to work, family and responsibility. She and my grandfather had one son, my dad (1924-2001). She is on the left in the photo above. This was made about 1940. Life moves on.........

How I was Bitten by the Genealogy Bug!

I became interested in genealogy in 1978. I was completing the genealogy section of my daughter's baby book. She was two years old at the time. I realized then that I did not know (for sure) who her great-great grandparents were. I decided to find out. Little did I know that by doing this, I would be bitten by a bug named Genealogy. Once bitten - you're infected forever. Back in those days, we had no computer. You used the library, the courthouses and you corresponded with other people. I subscribed to a magazine called, 'The Genealogical Helper'. In it you could post queries and see if others might be searching the same family. You would travel to out of town courthouses and cemeteries. You made lots of pictures and paid to have them developed. Then you sorted the pictures, your data and notes into manilla file folders. I remember keeping my file folders in alphabetical order - in a cardboard box. In 1981, when she was 5 years old and started kindergarten, I returned to college to finish my nursing degree. I put the Genealogy Folders in the closet - but from time to time, I would get them out. Someone would write me with an inquiry and I just had to respond. So off and on during those years - I continued to add to my data and correspond with others but not as much, due to working and raising two kids - (my daughter and her brother who was 5 years older than her). In the year 2000 - genealogy once again came to the front of the line. About that time I bought the Family Tree Maker program for my new computer. I began making family files and adding lots and lots of data. Since then I have updated the Family Tree Maker program three times. I was so afraid I'd have a computer crash that I invested in a computer backup program. It backs up my computer data every Wednesday so now I've stopped worrying that I would loose everything. I bought the 3 volume McDowell County, NC cemetery books - and also have been a member of Ancestry.com for about 7 years now. This lets me do research from home most of the time. So you could say that I am a Family Genealogist. I love helping others research their family. I love sharing my notes with others. I am always eager to learn new things about genealogy and I am always so happy to find new cousins.

All human experiences are not unique, but are shared by generation after generation. Love, loss, ambition, hope, grief - the whole big journey. Others have gone before us and others will go after - it's a comfort somehow. To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain perpetually a child. For what is the worth of a human life unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?
Marcus Tullius Cicero

Since 1978, I have been interested in my Ancestry. I have wondered who my many ancestors were, where they came from, why they came to this country. So began my search and my passion for genealogy took hold, with very deep roots. A couple of years ago, I became interested in joining the DAR - never believing I'd actually get in. It is very hard to find all the data you need and that they will accept. You must prove a straight line from yourself, back to your Revolutionary War Ancestor. From the year they were born in the 1700's to the year you were born. About a year ago I decided to give it a try. I spent many hours pouring through census information, military records, going to cemeteries, to courthouses, sending to other states for birth, death and marriage certificates, making copies and last but not least meeting many times with the local DAR chapter representative who would look over my data and send me back home to look for more, or to arrange it in a different format. Finally the day arrived when the local chapter accepted my data and said it was ready to be sent to Nationals in Washington, DC. I was told that it could be rejected once there or 'they' could request more data. So with baited breath I waited and waited. Then two week ago the local chapter contacted me and said I was accepted and I would be receiving my certificate soon. On Monday of this week I got it. I just sat and looked at it in awe! My goodness - such a wonderful feeling. Then I began to think back to this ancestor who never knew me, never knew that anything like the DAR would ever exist, never knew I would try to join using his name. Then I also realized that if it had not been for this ancestor, I would not be here today - a new member of the DAR. His name is Isaac Grindstaff.

THE OLD HOMEPLACE
It's been ten long years since I left my home
In the Hollow where I was born
Where the cool fall nights make the wood smoke rise
And the fox hunter blows his horn
I fell in love with a girl from the town
As I thought she would always be true
We raised a family and had a good life
Simple living was all we knew.
Now years have gone - I know not where
And we visited to the old homestead.
It didn't stand where it once had stood
I had such a feeling of dread.
What have they done to the old home place?
Why did they tear it down?
Why did I leave the plow in the field,
And look for a job in town?
Now the geese fly south and the cold wind blows
As I stand here and hang my head.
Gone are my dreams, gone is our old home
All was lost with the old homestead.

Genealogy is more than just a hobby. It can become an addiction. We search our family history in many strange places. We stumble through forgotten graveyards and sneeze our way through dusty vital records archives. We search out our ancestors in census indexes, passenger lists, Church records and various finding aids. We beg (bug?) our elders for any bit of memories they can dredge up. We discuss the events of a hundred years ago and how they might have influenced the lives of our ancestors. We are thrilled about old newspaper clippings and a marriage certificate dated 1852 is a treasure to be wondered at. Most of all, the Genealogy hobbyist loves to share. We work with each other and share our findings with anybody that may be interested in 'our line'. Do we have other jobs - things we have to do? Of course. But a good genealogist knows how to 'Multi-Task' and get all of that done. Then we can settle down, dig through those old papers and smile brightly when we find what we have been looking for - for so long.