52 Ancestors - Week 11 - Achievement

 My 3rd Great-Grandmother was Georgia America Segars was born in July 1848 in Georgia, USA. Her father, Southward, was 38 and her mother, Clarkey was 33.  During the Civil War, her future husband, Jerimiah Trusdell was fighting for the North, and he was in Georgia and somehow met Georgia, how I wish I knew.  But he fell in love with her and after the war, moved down to Georgia, married her and they settled in Alabama, where he was the town doctor.

Georgia's achievement was that she was blind.  This was, no doubt, a big challenge in the 1800s.  It is not known how she lost her sight...some research indicates she was born blind and other research says her blindness developed when she was a little older, but at any rate, it does appear she was most likely blind at least by the time she married.

She managed to have a good marriage, to a Yankee, which I am sure was an achievement in itself during that time, but she had 5 children and raised them, while working on a farm.  

I wish I could sit down and talk to her and find out all the achievements she made during her life, those that she probably just accepted as normal life.  She truly seemed to be an outstanding individual.

52 Ancestors - Week 10 - Language

This is a challenging topic for me.  My first thought was to write about an ancestor that spoke a different language - other than my language of English. However, considering that my ancestors are 82% English, Irish or Scottish - well, that's a lot of English-speaking ancestors.

I do have some Norwegian and Danish ancestors and northern African ancestors, but I haven't really identified them, so I am sure they spoke different languages other than English.

So...the post this week, I'm afraid, is a bit boring.

52 Ancestors - Week 9 - Changing Names

I always try to write about the first person or first thing that comes to mind when I received the #52Ancestors prompt.

This week, the first pers6n that came to mind was my mother.

My mother was born October 8, 1940, of course at home because you seldom had a baby in the hospital back then.  She was promptly named Inell.  

Well..a few days later, her aunt visited to see the new baby and was told "Here is little Inell" Her aunt took one look and said, "That's an awful name, from now on, her name is Mary Nell" and from then on, that was her name...although not legally.  

She used "Mary Nell" on every official document...school paper, marriage license, social security card.  I mean on official documents, they asked your name, and you told them, you didn't have to present a birth certificate because quite frankly, a lot of people didn't have them.  She did though and it said "Inell"

When my mom was in her early 60s, she thought, you know...it might be a problem when I get ready to collect social security, so she went to the courthouse and legally had her name changed to "Mary Nell" instead of "Inell".

I have always been glad for that great Aunt changing my mom's name because I too believe that Mary Nell is a much better name and suits her better.  

52 Ancestors - Week 8 - Heirlooms

Hmm....I cannot think of any family heirlooms at the moment.  Maybe something will come to me later, but right now, I just can't think of anything so I am going to skip this week...perhaps I will re-address later if something comes to mind.

52 Ancestors - Week 7 - Immigration

Boy, there is a lot I could talk about concerning immigration, but I decided to post about John Slaughter, since he was the first of my Slaughter ancestors to immigrate to America.

John Slaughter, my 10th great grandfather, was born in 1585 in England.  I'm not exactly sure where he was born but he was baptized in 1596 in Kent, England, as noted in the Tyler Index of Parish Registry (1538-1874)

According to the Passenger & Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, he arrived in Virgina in 1617.  He is actually the farthest Slaughter I have been able to go back to, which is pretty far, I must say.  I haven't been able to properly identify his parents, although I did identify his wife, Catherine Finnis.

I am not 100% sure of his death date.  Some of my research indicates 1620, but I have found a lot of evidence recently that he most like died during the Jamestown Massacre in 1622. However, other information indicates that his brother William actually died during the Massacre, perhaps both did? 

At any rate, I'm so proud of my 10th great grandfather for leaving England and selling to Virginia, approximately 160 years before America became its own country and gained its independence from England.

It's incredible to believe that my ancestors and family have been on this land for that long!! It kind of blows my mind when I think about it.

52 Ancestors - Week 6 - Earning a Living

The timing of this particular week is rather perfect.  I just so happened upon an article about my great-uncle James Monroe Slaughter, who was known by Monroe.  This article discussed how he earned his living, along with my cousin's grandfather, Fletcher Ward, Sr.

It seems my great uncle and my cousin's grandfather had a nice, little moonshine business going on.  This really wasn't a surprise to me, as my dad had told me about how his Uncle Monroe, as well as his daddy, my grandfather had both spent time in prison for moonshining.  It seems to have been quite a family business...I am SO glad my dad chose a different path and never went down that road.

However, I know that not only my grandfather and some great uncles were in the business of moonshining, so was my dad's mom - my grandma.  This was way before I came along.  But my daddy would say she'd stand on the back porch and sell the moonshine.  Often pocketing and hiding some of the money from her husband. 

I guess back then, it was easier for them to take a chance of earning a living by making moonshine than spending all day out in the hot Florida sun farming.

52 Ancestors - Week 5 - Influencer

I have gotten a little behind in my 52 Week Ancestor project.  Surprise, surprise, right?

So I am going to try to catch up this week by posting one a day.

So this week's prompt is "Influencer"

This one is a little tough for me, but I guess the first person that comes to my mind is my maternal grandmother, Jewel Cassada Mims.

My grandmother influenced, not only her 6 girls, but also her 18 grandchildren.  Saturday, I attended the memorial service of my first cousin and while there, I was looking around the room at all of my grandmother's dependents...I mean so, so many grandchildren, great grandchildren, great-great grandchildren and even great-great-great grandchildren...It reminded me of Kind David and how God told him that he would have as so many decedents that they'd be as countless as the stars!

I bet my grandmother would have never known how many stars she would leave behind and it made me happy thinking of this, to think how a little part of her will live on and on and how so many of my cousins and 2nd cousins and all the little children running around were all there because of this wonderful lady.  I mean none of them would exist if it were not for her! How incredible is that?

My grandma was a praying lady! She fasted and prayed, and she was continually praying for her family. I have always been a worrier and one day, I remember my grandma pulling me aside to talk to me and 

she said "Look at this old face of mine, you see all these wrinkles?"

I said "Yes ma'am"

Grandma: "You know how I got these wrinkles?"

Me "No ma'am"

Grandma: "I got them from worrying. Every one of them is because I worried about something and I don't want you to grow up with wrinkles like me, so you need to stop worrying. Besides that, I know that whatever you are worrying about, the Lord will take care of it and I can promise you that"

She set such a wonderful, Godly example for all of us.  She was truly an Influncer.

52 Ancestors - Week 4 - Witness to History

I have a lot of ancestors that were witness to history...so many involved in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, one that was the sister-in-law of Henry VIII and so much more! 

However, I decided to write about Thomas Rogers.  Thomas Rogers is my 11th great-grandfather and he witnessed history by traveling to America on The Mayflower!

Thomas is listed on the passenger list, along with his son, Joseph, who was 12 at the time.  Joseph is not my direct ancestor (rather he is my 10th great uncle).  Thomas & Joseph's family arrived in America later, including my 10 great-grandfather, John Rogers, who arrived at Plymouth, Mass in 1628.

Thomas Rogers signed the Mayflower Compact

In my research, I discovered that he was born in Watford, Northhamptonshire England.  He became a citizen of Leiden Holland in 1618.  In 1619, he sued a baker and a miller of Leiden to free a lien on his house, probably in preparation for his journey.  He won the suit and was awarded the court costs.  He built the house in 1616 and sold in April 1620. 

Unfortunately, not long after he arrived, there was a great sickness amoung the settler's and Thomas died during the "first sickness" as it was called.

I just can't imagine what it would be like to leave my family behind, take my 12 year old son and get on a ship, travel across the Atlantic Ocean for 2 months and settle in an unfamiliar, barely inhabited land.  To be there and actually sign the Mayflower Compact.  

He not only witnessed history in the making, but he was also part of it!  

2024 52 Ancestors - Week 3: Favorite Photo

I can't believe we are already in week 3 of #52Ancestors.  This week's prompt is "Favorite Photo". THAT IS HARD!  I love all my photos, it is difficult to narrow it down to just one.

But...I decided to pick this one.

The reason I chose this one as a favorite is because it is a rare photo of taken in the late 1800s of my maternal great grandparents and 4 of their 5 children. The very tall man on the right is my third great grandfather, Jeremiah Sidney Truesdell. The lady in the middle with her arms folded is my third great grandmother, Georgia A. Segars Truesdell. The lady standing beside her, with the long ribbon on her dress, is my great-great grandmother, Frances. 

So...my grandmother use to tell this story that her great grandfather came "from somewhere over the water" in a horse and buggy and married her blind great grandmother and he was a doctor of some kind.

Well...part of that was true.  I discovered that J.S. Truesdell was born in Cattaraugus, New York. At some point, his family moved to Michigan.  When he was 25, he was in the Civil War, serving in the Navy on the Union side.  Of course, a great deal of the fighting took place in Georgia. While serving in Georgia, he somehow met Georgia A. Seagars, (Some info I found said her middle name was "America" but I haven't been able to validate that. 

So, just before the end of the Civil War, he did get on a horse and buggy (which was the main means of travel for the average person at that time) and he rode it down to Georgia to marry her.  They married in St. Andrews, Florida (which is near Panama City Beach) and they settled in Daleville, Alabama (just above the Florida panhandle border).  

He was indeed a medical doctor. His wife, Georgia, was blind, but I haven't been able to find out if she was born blind or her blindness developed later in life.  

So...some of the story, a good deal of it, was true...he just didn't come from Europe, as my grandmother thought.

2024 52 Ancestors - Week 2: Origins

There are so many things I can think of for the #52Ancestors prompt of "Origins", but I typically think it is best to write about the first thing that comes to mind.  For me, that was the Origin of my last name, Slaughter.

Slaughter isn't an especially common last name and I love that. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Slaughter ranked at #1,295 in terms of most common U.S. surnames. About 9 people out of every 100,000 in the U.S. have that last name.

The Slaughter family name has its origins in Gloucestershire, England, where it was first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086.  The name originated from the Old English word "slohtre", which means "muddy place".  

Just over a mile from Bourton-on-the-Water are the twin villages of Upper and Lower Slaughter. The name comes from old English 'Slohtre', which has nothing to do with killing things and means, simply, 'Muddy place'.

Today's villages are far from muddy places. They are the epitome of idyllic, civilized Cotswold charm. Straddling the banks of the River Eye, also known as Slaughter Brook, the two villages have remained utterly unchanged for more than a century with no building work taking place at all since 1906.

It isn't known to be a touristy spot, but I have traced it back that my family first came from here.  The only attraction is a restored nineteenth century flour mill in Lower Slaughter, where the River Eye meets the north-west corner of the village. The mill was last used commercially in 1958 and its tall chimney cuts an imposing figure. The chimney is made of red brick, in sharp contrast to the other buildings in both villages, which are made from the traditional Cotswold stone. The mill features a giant working waterwheel and has a tea room and ice cream parlour for visitors.

The mill was originally part of Lower Slaughter Manor, which was built in 1658 for the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire. The Manor is now a grand country house hotel.

Lower Slaughter is home to the pretty church of St Mary. The church and its impressive spire were re-built in 1867 but some arches between the nave and the south aisle date back to the thirteenth century while the church of St Peter's, in Upper Slaughter, is a historic Norman church with parts dating from the 12th century . Francis Edward Witts, who wrote 'Diary of a Cotswold Parson', was rector of the Slaughters from 1808 to 1854.

The less-visited Upper Slaughter lies, as its name suggests, minutes upstream from Lower Slaughter. The cottages around the square were reconstructed by the famous architect Sir Edward Lutyens in 1906. The River Eye flows between neatly-mown grassy banks and is crossed several times by quaint old bridges. There are charming stone steps leading into the river which must have been built to enable villagers to more easily get water and a tiny Methodist chapel dating from 1865 also nestles by the brook. It is now used as a pottery.

My ultimate dream is to visit Upper Slaughter and Lower Slaughter to see where my ancestors came from and to stay at the beautiful Slaughters Manor and have afternoon tea there with Battenberg Cake and nice hot cup of Assam Garden Tea.

2024 52 Ancestors - Week 1: Family Lore

Back in 2018, I started the 52 Ancestors Project, where you are given a weekly prompt, and you write about it.  Needless to say, I wasn't very diligent in keeping it up, so I am going to try to give it another go this year.

Week 1's Prompt is "Family Lore"

The first story that popped into my head is the story about my paternal great-grandmother, Dora Donahue Thomas (1884 - 1951).

Dora was my father's maternal grandmother. 

As it goes, when Dora was very young, her parents, who were both \Indigenous People (some say Cherokee and some say Seminole, so it is unsure). They had to leave their land were made to go to the Oklahoma Indian Territory, at the time. They wanted Dora to have a good life so they asked a local doctor to take her.  

The doctor, E.P. Webb and his wife agreed. Dora lived with them the rest of her life and never saw any of her biological family again.  

I never knew how much of this was true but my research shows me that it does appear to indeed be the case and several other relatives (who've I only met through my research and were on different family lines) had told me the same story.

I've never been able to find any birth records for her but that isn't entirely uncommon in 1884 and certainly isn't uncommon for Indigenous People.

My dad remembered that she had very long hair that went to her ankles and she wore it back in a bun.

I do wish I could find out more about her, but sadly, I think I found the end of the family line when it comes to here.  

She is buried, along with my great-grandfather, James William Thomas, in Campground Cemetery in Holmes County, Florida