Grab your handkerchiefs. Elizabeth Goodger‘s maiden name was probably not “Pankey” as I had hoped. Boo hoo. I came to this sad conclusion about my 5th great grandmother during my recent visit to the Library of Virginia. Other family researchers cite Stephen Pankey, Jr.’s 1790 will as the source of her maiden name. A daughter named “Elizabeth” was indeed listed as one… More →
Month: September 2016
Birth Cousin
People often ask me why I am so obsessed with genealogy. It’s a fair question considering my family tree is approaching 39,000 relatives. I have never met nor will I likely meet 99.9% of them. Most of them are dead, so the good Lord willing, I won’t be meeting any of them any time soon. But should I ever happen… More →
Private Martin
Summing up my visit to the Library of Virginia in Richmond yesterday is easy: it was like unleashing an unsupervised child in a candy store for eight sugar-coma-inducing solid hours. Frankly, I think I was discovering new information about every 5 to 10 minutes as I worked my way around the local history and genealogical section of the 2nd floor.… More →
Cousins marrying cousins – Unlucky 13
It’s been a while since I’ve posted one of these so here goes. My mother’s 4th cousin, 2x removed, Charles Calvin (“C. C.”) Reynolds, married Mary Elizabeth McCracken, my father’s 4th cousin, 3x removed – earning them the 13th spot on my list of cousins marrying cousins. Unfortunately for both C. C. and Mary Elizabeth, their marriage did not end well. In… More →
Be My Palatine
“Tangent” or “Distraction” should have been my middle name. Almost every week, a dear friend and I catch up on the week’s events. We’ve been doing this for 15 years or more. Our conversations usually turn to genealogy since we’re both hobbyists. Recently, she started telling me about her German ancestors who were living in New England in the 1700s. They were part of the… More →