So special she was enumerated twice.

My first attempt at locating someone on the census was my maternal great-grandmother’s family, the Jordans. That was probably 1994 or 1995, back when a census check involved a microform reader and a pencil. I found her where I expected to find her, in Coryell county with the rest of her family in 1900. It [...]

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John Perry Mayes

John Perry Mayes, horseman, hunter, cowboy, gold miner, rancher, lawman, banker and all around interesting guy. This photograph is estimated to have been taken in 1946, probably in Rocksprings, Texas and mostly likely by his wife’s brother-in-law, Charles A. Bruce.

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What’s in a name?

My musings about names and naming traditions have me thinking about a little mystery. Among Bull researchers there has been some debate about Rebecca H. Bull’s middle name. Some think her middle name was Hogan, some think her middle name was Ho(l)mes. While writing my post of Oct 30 about names, it suddenly occurred to me [...]

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10 things I wish I knew in the beginning

I was tag surfing yesterday and came across this post at the weblog of Will Woods. It made me think about how enthusiastic I was when I was beginning my research and how quickly I became disappointed at my slow progress. (It was really slow.) So I wrote a little encouraging letter to the me that was [...]

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music as genealogical compass

I found this post at The Genealogue validating and enlighting. It is about a jazz singer that relied on her intuition and music to help her past a genealogical brick wall. I’ve often wondered if I am crazy for some of the things I do to try and get unstuck. Sometimes they work. 

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the eyes have it

This picture circulated on an email list a few years ago. The young woman is purported to be Martha Bull’s sister, Rebecca Hogan Bull.  Rebecca was 4 years younger than Martha. It’s said she was born in Georgia 18 Jun 1826 and died in Falls County, Texas 10 Dec 1905. I have yet to find her place [...]

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pondering family genes

Because I have been spending so much energy on this genealogy thing lately, I have not been attending to my studies as I should. I was sitting in pathophysiology class last night daydreaming about family history. We were discussing congenital and genetic disorders. The subject of the first part of the lecture was mendelian genetics and inheritance. (It was [...]

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looking for what was forgotten

“Be careful, you might find a bunch of horse thieves.” My grandfather startled me with his response. Years ago, when he was still alive and I had not begun to map our family history, my mother and I were having a conversation about possibilities. My grandfather was not one for political correctness. He loved prodding sacred cows and much [...]

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Jordans in Arkansas – the facts

James Anderson Jordan was born in Georgia sometime between 1812 and 1815. Martha Bull was born in Jasper County, Georgia 20 Mar 1823. They married in Pike County, Georgia 19 Sep 1837. Pike County was the home of Martha’s family. James and Martha had 9 children: Margaret Ann Augustus born 12 Dec 1838, John Robert born 19 [...]

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Jordans in Arkansas – the story

I’ve heard it said that Granny’s father, Campbell Ambrose Jordan (pronounced Jurden), was a mountain man, resourceful and a hard worker. As a young man he went to live with his mother’s family for a time, possibly in the vicinity of present day Kansas. There is a tantalizing note in a spiral notebook left by my [...]

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