In Black and White: Cross-Cultural Genealogy

Not a resolution... I say this is not a resolution because those are made and broken each year as easily as fad dieting. Over the past thirty-five years my weight has gone up and down like a yo-yo in the hands of a competent trickster. I generally succeed for a time, only to get frustrated by the stresses of life...eventually weakening, giving in...leading to total abandonment of the resolution till the next New Year comes around. Let it be said... I resolve NOT to make or break any resolutions in 2013! Instead... I've been following several blogs written by successful genealogists, historians, writers and editors who have shared their guidelines for identifying goals and developing successful strategies for reaching them. They have shared their own personal goals for the year to come, and have encouraged their readers to do so as well. So, with that said, the following is my list of goals which I believe are attainable. Reconstructing Co. B & G 14th ...

In the spirit of discovering who each of these men were who had shared bits of Sergeant Isaac Carter's life, and who had come forth to testify on his behalf for a Civil War Pension, I began my search for Samuel Keach with a search on Ancestry.com and on Fold3. Surprisingly, only two documents surfaced: (4) U.S. Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files: 1861-1934, and (1) U.S. Colored Troops Military Service Records, 1861-1865. Search Results Provided By The No. 1 Source for Family History Data Source:  U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 Tue Dec 25 2012 16:53:22 GMT-0500 (Eastern Standard Time) View Record Name Widow State Filed View Record Samuel   Keach   Louisa Keach North Carolina View Record Samuel Windley [ Samuel   Keach ]  Luvenine Reach North Carolina View Record Samuel Windley [ Samuel   Keach ]  Louisa Keach North Carolina View Record Samuel Windley [ Samuel ...

The Formation of a Civil War Artillery Regiment I had taken a break from the pension file to reassess my goals here. At first I thought of skipping over documents to post based on the criteria of whether the actual content provided additional clues to Isaac Carter's disability, and the conditions under which he acquired said disability. Also, since we moved in early November, I have not been in the frame of mind to sit down and focus on these details, and give them my undivided attention until now. The legal-sized binder which contains volume one of the pension file has sat opened on my desk next to my laptop since I first unpacked the boxes containing my genealogical binders. It has remained a constant reminder of what steps I should take next. I skipped Document #17, a two-page sworn statement by David Lawson, who was acquainted with Isaac Carter after the war. Document #18 was a one page form requesting a report from the records of the Adjutant General U.S. A. about the swo...

This morning we are making a brief departure from Civil War Pension Files and the Waterman's Song for an interlude of Blog Caroling. Started by the Footnote Maven's Tradition of Blog Caroling , she encourages all us GeneaBloggers to assist her in raising our "voices" with lyrics of the Christmas Season. Here is my offering, The Coventry Carol. Courtesy: DVIchannel, Uploaded December 20, 2008 The Coventry Carol Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child, By, by, lully, lullay. Lullay, thou little tiny Child. By, by, lully, lullay. O sisters too, how may we do, For to preserve this day This poor youngling for whom we do sing By, by, lully, lullay. Herod, the king, in his raging, Charged he hath this day His men of might, in his own sight, All children young to slay. Then, woe is me, poor Child for Thee! And ever mourn and sigh For they parting neither say nor sing, By, by, lully, lullay. There is an interesting his...