Blog - Family History

Conner Helm Jury Kutzner McCracken Pellett Thomas Thomson Van Allen

The Signature

December 3, 2025

What does a signature have to say about you? I started saving signatures of relatives several years ago. This article explores the signatures of some...

Pellett

Chicken And Noodles

November 26, 2025

My Grandma Dessie May (Thomas) Pellett had rules around which of her daughters, even as adults, could cook which items. One of the items that...

Jury McCracken Peelle Thomas

Hiattville: A Rural Town

November 20, 2025

Today, we think of urban centers as cities and sometimes refer specifically to downtown or most heavily populated portions of the city as urban...

Jury McCracken Peelle Uncategorized

Fire After Fire

October 19, 2025

Small towns in America have always struggled to survive. One of their greatest nemesis is fire. Hiattville was no exception. Matter of fact, Hiattville had...

Stackhouse

The Deadly Voyage

October 12, 2025

In 1698, Thomas and Grace Pearson decided to move their family to America. It was a decision that would turn deadly. Extwistle Hall. By...

Ellis

Buried in the cemetery or not?

October 3, 2025

The cemetery records for Brown Township in Ripley County, Indiana indicate that several members of the Ellis family are buried across the road from the...

McCracken

The Last Letter

September 25, 2025

My Uncle Howard, who was serving in Italy during WWII, wrote a letter home on April 15, 1945. The family would never hear from him...

Pellett

Sleigh Accident

September 18, 2025

Eunity "Euna" was only 23 when she died. A life cut far too short. Early Life Eunity was born in 1862 in Logan County,...

Ellis

South Dakota’s Grand Old Man of Aviation

September 14, 2025

How many people, besides Orville and Wilbur Wright, do you suppose have flown a plane and carried passengers with basically no instruction? How...

Peppard

The 1762 Princeton Graduate

August 3, 2025

A large portion of my ancestors were farmers and many had very limited formal education. However, I had a very early ancestor who apparently...

Ashby Conner DNA Ellis Johnson Jury Matteer McCracken Peelle Pellett Smith Thomas

My Ancestral Religious History

July 27, 2025

Religious views are one of many attributes, views, skills, etc. of your ancestors that are passed down through the generations or flow through your DNA. ...

Ellis McCracken

An Amazing Lady!

July 18, 2025

If you have a bunch of old McCracken-Ellis family photos and you don’t have a clue who half the people are, take them to the...

Ashby Conner Pellett Thomas

All Roads Lead to Bourbon County

July 12, 2025

Gaining statehood in 1861, Kansas was the 34th state admitted to the Union. Six years earlier Bourbon County had been formed as a part of...

Pellett

What A Name!

June 26, 2025

Names are interesting. Some sound really good when you hear them. Others, make you wonder what the parents were thinking. And, others stick with you...

McCracken

When You Open A Can of Worms

June 20, 2025

This story started as a tribute to a boy, who the McCracken family has placed flowers on his grave for decades despite not being related...