Gene Notes

Some random and some not-so-random thoughts on family history.

Friday, June 19, 2015

You Know It's an Addiction When ...

DH and I bought a piece of property this week. Well, we closed on it anyway. It's way out in Macon county. Well, it's about an hour away. This is for younger daughter and her man.

Our agent sent us some  papers - warranty deeds - for past owners. Going back to 1877 when Marshall Duncan transferred the property to his son, J. F.

I'm a genealogist, of course I went looking for them. The best hits were on the the Tennessee genweb, which surprised me. I found the cemetery where the Duncans are buried. It's on the old farm. They showed a picture of the house -- big surprise we pass it every time we drive out there.

The land was in the family at least from 1877 when it was transferred to Joseph F Duncan from his father. It passed out of family hands in 2001. Impressive!

I love this addiction!

Copyright 2010-2015, ACK for Gene Notes

Monday, June 8, 2015

This Land is Your Land, This Land is MY Land!

I promise I am not attaching a sound file of me singing. There are laws about that!

DH and I drove out to the lot that we put an offer on while on vacation. Because we got a call from the survey company. We looked at the stakes and the neighbor on one side is certainly encroaching. What an issue.

In the car on the way to the surveyors, I busied myself picking off chiggers. Ugh. The weeds are about a foot taller than they were in early May. The surveyor commented on the field guys on what they put up with. It gave me a new respect for all surveyors, especially my surveyor ancestors. The photo below is my ancestor Alexander Oliphant, surveyor among other things.



Copyright 2010-2015, ACK for Gene Notes

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Thoughts for the Day -- What's in a Nickname?

I was watching the President of the United States conferring the Medal of Honor on two late World War I soldiers. Talk about waiting for a long time for the honor. In it, POTUS referred to Henry Johnson as Frank. What the heck? I would expect him to be referred to as Hank. It got me thinking.

You see, every one called my dad Hank. He often received mail addressed to Henry Percival. But his name wasn't Henry. It was Frank. Dad told me once that his brother who 4 years old when dad was born, had trouble with Frank, so he was Hank forever more. Although, I never remember my uncle or grandfather calling him Hank.

My father-in-law was known to nephews and nieces as Uncle Benny. Other family members called him Ben. Friends called him Lefty. Well, his name wasn't Benjamin. It was Bernard. I never could find a reason for that nickname!

Copyright 2010-2015, ACK for Gene Notes