Skip to main content

WELCOME!


Each week (or thereabouts), I will post about an ancestor of mine and maybe one of yours. This will be a peek into their past and not their whole story. If you wish to learn more about that person, let me know!

The photo is part of a wall of framed photos I have of many of our ancestors. Most of these came from years of connecting with cousins, so few are original. I have 25 of our direct ancestors! That includes some great-great-grandparents, and even one or two great-great-great-grandparents.

Here's to the journey!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thomas Gardner (1840-1909), Emeline Denning (1848-1925)

  Thomas Gardner, b. 1840 in Wales, came to the United States with his parents, Francis Gardner of South Wales and Hester (Esther) Hoppes Gardner of England in 1843, sailing into the port of New York. As would be a common theme among our ancestors who mined coal, Tom’s father Francis tried to make a living by farming, but had to fall back at times to mining. The family first settled in Strabane, Pennsylvania where Tom’s father is listed as a collier (coal mine) in the 1850 census. Though I could not find them in the 1860 census, from other census records, the family likely moved to Iowa in 1860 or 1861 where it appears Francis succeeded in farming. This family has ties, including many burials, to Black Hawk Township, near Fairfield, Iowa. Tom enlisted as a soldier in the Civil War in Company D, 19 th Iowa Infantry in August, 1862, until July, 1865. I have not yet researched this company’s record to know where he might have gone or fought. In 1866, Tom married 18-year-old Miss Emaline
Post a Comment
Read more

John DuBois (16??-abt. 1723) and Subsequent Generations

  The presumed progenitor of the “South Carolina DuBois” family is John DuBois who, at the time of his death around 1723, left a widow named Jane. Our connection is: John>Jasper>Peter>Peter>John>Rufus>Rev. HHS DuBois>Martha K., Bill, and Hugh Who was this man? How/why/when did he go to South Carolina? Was he the father of Jasper DuBois from whom we can definitely trace our DuBois lineage? John’s presence in the colony of Carolina is noted in 1696 where he is paying Quit Rents on a lot in Charles Town (Charleston). He likely had some connection to the lot sometime prior, as it was common for many to occupy the land before recording the patent and then paying quit rents (taxes). It is possible he was there by 1670 when Barbadian settlers arrived. There was a strong connection between Barbados and Charleston for decades, including the arrival of land speculators. Also permeating Charles Town was the slave trade. After 1696 are John DuBois’ land transactions further ou
Post a Comment
Read more

Martha Jane (Slaton) DuBois

Martha Jane (“Mattie”) Slaton (12/27/1838-7/20/1907) was born on a plantation in Autauga County, Alabama, not far from present-day Prattville. She was the youngest of seven children born to John Slaton and Nancy Harris. She was well-educated, attending a “Female Academy” and she was a staunch Methodist. From an early age, Mattie owned property, including enslaved people, in her own right. After her marriage to Dr. Rufus DuBois (a dentist), she provided funds for the family homestead and surrounding acreage in Greensboro, AL. In the years just before her death, the homestead was divided and parcels of land sold off. The house itself stood over 150 years before being torn down and replaced with affordable housing. According to the 1860 census, their real estate was worth $3500 ($111,695 today) and their personal property was $13,000 ($414,868 today). Of that, a substantial amount could be attributed to the eleven enslaved people on their property. I am attempting to trace their families.
Post a Comment
Read more