DNA Ethnicity Meets Traditional Genealogy
DNA Ellis Johnson McCracken Peelle

DNA Ethnicity Meets Traditional Genealogy

DNA and associated analysis tells us a lot about our ancestry.  It is a relatively new field, but I can no longer imagine doing genealogy...
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The Old Sawmill
McCracken

The Old Sawmill

When I thought about the oldest story, which was the prompt for this week, I thought of stories of long ago, stories we had known...
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The Search For Louisiana
Matteer McCracken

The Search For Louisiana

My great-great grandmother Louisiana has been a bit tricky to search.  It would have been much easier if there hadn’t been so many mistakes both...
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Near Kin
Uncategorized

Near Kin

Doing genealogy has lots of challenges regarding reading and understanding documents from the past.  I have encountered documents in a variety of languages.  However, sometimes...
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In My Dreams
McCracken

In My Dreams

Many of us long for home.  Sometimes that is a longing simply to have a home.  Other times it is a longing to be home...
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Four Brothers and One War
McCracken

Four Brothers and One War

Each person likely has some local, national, or worldwide historical event that they would say had a big influence on their life.  For many of...
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The Wall Tumbles Down
Uncategorized

The Wall Tumbles Down

When your name is Mary Inga Anderson and you live in Sweden, you are about as easy to find as Mary Ann Jones in America. ...
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Joe Ellis: Frontiersman
Ellis

Joe Ellis: Frontiersman

The image above is what I always think of when my Great-Grandmother Rosa Isabell (Ellis) McCracken Apt’s brother Joe Ellis is mentioned.  He was a...
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Shhhh! Don’t Tell
McCracken Peelle

Shhhh! Don’t Tell

       Some years ago, Dad told me a story and then told me not to tell people.  Well, now that all of the older generation...
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A Pellett Journey
Hanson McCracken Peelle Pellett

A Pellett Journey

Having joined the Society of Friends, Francis Pellett, like many other Quakers, decided to go to America where religious freedom was said to exist.  When...
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A War Years Letter
Ashby Pellett

A War Years Letter

I try to salvage every letter and diary from family as you never know what family history may be in them.  So, when the topic...
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Astonished!
McGinley Stetler

Astonished!

I was astonished when I saw a newspaper article from the early 1800s about Rod’s 5th great grandmother, Ann (McGinley) Stetler, having breast cancer.  The...
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Accidents, Deaths, and Other Challenges
Hanson Van Allen

Accidents, Deaths, and Other Challenges

Grinda Josephine (Hanson) Van Allen  had a life full of challenges, including becoming a step-mother to six, including teenagers, when she was only fifteen, losing...
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Suddenly Getting Older
McCracken

Suddenly Getting Older

  What happened between 1905 and 1910 that caused Delarma Lawrence McCracken to suddenly report his age as several years older?   The Early Years...
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Did a Family Name Start as a Nickname?
Peelle

Did a Family Name Start as a Nickname?

  Was the first known Passco/Pasco Peelle really named Isaac?  Where did the name Passco come from?  And, why did it stick being a family...
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