One Woman's Story

As most of you know,  I love Genealogy.  I have been working on my family's history off and on for several years.  Most of this time has been spent putting names and dates on my software program ---trying to get accurate information on births, marriages, deaths,  etc.

On Saturday night,  July 16,   I pulled out a packet of my Family History notes.  I got to reading --and while reading,  I realized something.  I know names and dates of many of my family members that go back many years.  What I don't know --and what I want to know now are their stories,  how they lived,  what they did, etc..   While thinking about these Family Stories,  I realized that I don't really have too much on many of them.

I did find a story about my Great Grandmother,  MARTHA MATILDA CARR.  This is a typical story of what it was like in the mid-1800's  when the Civil War was going on in our country.  Times were rough --and for a young woman like Martha,  life was especially hard.

Martha was born  on November 7, 1849 in New Hope, in what is now West Virginia.  Her father was Robert Carr (1801-1874) and her mother was Sarah Sallie King (1808-1878).  There were FOURTEEN children in the family.  Martha was the 3rd from the youngest. 

I read that the family were loyal Confederates ---so when the boundaries were changed between Virginia and West Virginia,  the family moved to make sure that they were in Virginia.  In 1861,  Civil War broke out in our country.  Martha was only about 12 yrs old.

WELL---during those years,  many members of her family were killed or wounded either in that war or due to that war, so Martha saw her little world just fall apart.  (I cannot imagine going through this.)  All of the boys in the family (except one who was too young) went to war.  Here were some of the deaths or those wounded in her family:

• -a sister, Nancy Mary, died at age 23
• -Sarah,  an in-law, died in 1861, at about age 30
• -Reverend William, an in-law, died in 1861,  at about age 32
• -John, an in-law, died in 1863 of battle wounds (he was in the infantry), at about age 33
• -Jane, his wife and a sister to Martha,  died on Oct. 1, 1864, at age 30
• -Jess Green,  Martha's brother, died in 1863, of a fever following a battle wound, at age 28
• -Joseph,  another brother of Martha, died in 1864, of battle wounds,  at age 18

Can you believe it:  FOUR men and THREE women in the same family died,  all between the ages of 18 to 33????    But---besides the dead,  three brothers came back from the war.  James Shannon and John were both severely wounded,  and Giles had a mutilated right hand.   While reading this information,  I just sat there with tears in my eyes ---thinking about that family and what they went through.

Martha Matilda got married in 1873 to Daniel Hoge Bruce.   They moved away to a remote and rugged area in VA, which was far from her home --so she didn't get to see her family very often. Daniel taught school --and life was hard for the family (there were 7 children) as they worked to raise family crops and apple trees,  plus canning and meat curing, etc.  It became too difficult, so the family had to give up the farm and move into town--where the children could continue their schooling. Most of the children eventually became school teachers.

Of the 7 children, one was my Grandmother Ida Elizabeth Bruce.  My grandmother (the eldest child of Martha and Daniel) died herself at the age of 30.   Then,  Martha's  husband,  Daniel,  developed a severe disease which they called Creeping Paralysis (probably Parkinson's Disease).  He became helpless himself and had to be fed and tended to like a baby.  Martha also suffered by losing her hearing totally --but she still managed to nurse her husband through all of those long, painful years --with great patience, cheerfulness and love.

I read that this lady was full of self-confidence and great composure which seemed to carry her through some very sad times.   Daniel died in 1915 at the age of 68.   Martha lived a few more years,  dying herself in 1918.

I only have 2 pictures of my Great Grandmother ---both showing a very sad woman.  As I write her story,   I yearn to know more about my family on a personal level.  That is why it is important to get these stories written down for future generations.  If nobody tells the stories,  they won't get told.

I cannot imagine living a life like my Great Grandmother lived.  From what I read,  Martha only lost her composure one time --and that was over something quite insignificant.  After Daniel died,  Martha was heard saying when she saw a new piece of furniture:  "I never had a new piece of furniture in my whole life".   Needless to say,  the family pulled their money together and bought her a beautiful new loveseat.   I guess  that that little statement popped out culminating all of the heartache she had endured her entire life... 

This is only one story --of one brave lady. I am proud to be her Great Granddaughter --and only hope that I show a tiny bit of her fortitude and self-assurance.

There are two pictures today.  The one above is of Martha Matilda Carr Bruce, my Great Grandmother. The one below shows the family of my Great Grandparents.  From left to right:  First row:  daughter Lula Margaret,  my Grandmother Ida Elizabeth,  my mother Edith Marguerite-in front of her mother,  Great Grandfather Daniel,  Great Grandmother Matilda;  2nd row: daughter Flora;  daughter Rosa;  Son Robert; daughter Alice;  and daughter, Hattie.

Have a great day---and remember to write down the stories of your loved ones... Their stories,  no matter how sad,  need to be told.  These stories also help us in today's world appreciate our lives much more.  They also should help us to quit complaining about what we don't have ---and be thankful for what we do.

Hugs,

Another Branch of My Family: the HOGE Family

This Family History search just keeps GROWING.   Today,  I'll explore a little of another side of my family,  the HOGE side.  My 2Great Grandmother was Margaret Anderson Hoge  (1825-1870).  She was married to my 2Great Grandfather,  Joshua Henderson Bruce (1825-1904).  They lived in Virginia --and are both buried in the Bruce Cemetery in Bland County, Virginia.  They had 7 children.

I have done alot of research on the Bruce side--but am just now getting started on the HOGE side.  Margaret Anderson Hoge's parents (my 3 Great Grandparent Hoges) were Daniel Hoge (1785-1857) and Nancy Ann Stafford (1783-1853).  They also lived in Virginia,  and are buried at the Hoge Cemetery in Wise, VA.  Besides Margaret Anderson,  there were 7 other children in the family.  (Another note of interest:  One of Margaret Anderson Hoge's sisters married a Bruce relative of mine,  Harvey Chesney Bruce. Her name was Susan Hoge.  Confused yet???ha)

Daniel Hoge's parents  (my 4 Great Grandparent Hoges) were James Hoge (1742-1812) and Elizabeth Howe (1750-1809).  Here's a story about James. Besides James,  there were 10 other children in the family.   I read that James went in search of one of his brothers, John, and ended up near Pulaski, VA.  His new found friend in Pulaski was Major Joseph Howe, an English gentlemen.  James fell in love with Major Howe's daughter,  Elizabeth, married her in 1763 and made his home near the residence of his father-in-law.  This home is the old southwest Virginia homestead later owned by Lt. Gov. James Hoge Tyler,  a great grandson of James.   I have tried to find a picture of that old homestead --but so far, no luck. I may need to make a trip to Pulaski, VA.

NOTE:  Added photo in October, 2012...  A long-lost cousin read my blog and sent a picture of the old homestead in Pulaski, VA.   This beautiful home is named Belle Hampton.  Thanks, Michael Gillman, for sending me this photo.

NOW--I'm going to stray off-course a little for some more interesting information.  Daniel Hoge had a brother named GEN. JAMES HOGE (1783-1861).   James married Eleanor Haven Howe,  his cousin. James Hoge was a distinguished officer in the War of 1812,  and was a Presidential candidate FIVE times.

James and Eleanor had 5 children.  One of them was Eliza (1815-1846).  Eliza married George Tyler (1817-1889) and they had one son,  JAMES HOGE TYLER (1846-1925).   Eliza died right after James' birth,  so James was raised by his maternal grandparents,  Gen. James Hoge and Eleanor Howe.

About 1862,  at the age of 16,  James enlisted in the Army of the Confederate States of America and served as a private until the end of the Civil War --RATHER than accept a commission as an officer and be separated from his friends.

James Hoge Tyler married Sue Hammet in 1868.They had 8 children. James was a devout Presbyterian and very involved in the church.  He was a member of the Board of Trustees of Hampden-Sydney College, the Union Theological Seminary, and the Synodical Orphans Home at Lynchburg.

JAMES HOGE TYLER was the Lt. Gov. of VA from 1890 to 1894, and was the 43rd Governor of Virginia from 1898-1902.    I am truly honored to say that a member of my family was once the Governor of Virginia.   How 'bout that????

I know that these Family History blogs can be pretty boring to any of you who don't appreciate Genealogy...  BUT--you would be surprised how many times I find a long-lost cousin who has 'googled' one of these names on the internet --and my blog pops up. That's why it is important for me to do this.  I hope I hear from some of the HOGE family.

Hugs,

ALL PICTURES in this post came from the Internet.

More Ballard History

Please check back at this post (click HERE)  where I talked about my 8 Great Grandfather Thomas Ballard (1630-1689).  In that blog,  I mentioned that I had two more stories about Thomas Ballard to share.  I am finally getting back to these stories,  at least one of them..  The first story talks about his involvement with William and Mary College (in Williamsburg, VA).

The history of  The College of William and Mary can be traced back to a 1693 royal charter establishing  "a perpetual College of Divinity,  Philosophy,  Languages,  and the good arts and sciences"  in the British Colony of Virginia.  It was named for the reigning joint monarchs of Great Britain,  King William III and Queen Mary II.

William and Mary is the 2nd oldest institution of higher learning in the United States.  Do you know the oldest one???? It's Harvard.

Now--you might be wondering what this college had to do with my 8 Great Grandfather,  Thomas Ballard.  WELL----Thomas Ballard owned the land where William and Mary now stands.  AND---he sold part of this land to the college trustees.

Thomas Ballard was a wealthy man  (wish I had some of that wealth now!!! ha) and owned a large amount of land around the Middle Plantation area.   (Note:  Middle Plantation is now called Williamsburg.)  Thomas  Ballard purchased the land from the Honorable Thomas Ludwell,  Secretary of State from 1660-1678.   In 1693,  Ballard sold that land (330 acres) to the Trustees of the College.  Now--only about 30 acres remain as part of the college.  The remainder of the land was sold.

Since my 8 Great Grandfather died in 1689,  his son Thomas Ballard Jr. (1655-1711;  my 7 Great Grandfather Ballard) made that sale in 1693 for him.   When I visited Williamsburg,  we went into the Wren Building at William and Mary College. This building will opened for students in 1700.   It is nice to know that one of my ancestors had a part in establishing this beautiful college.

William and Mary educated future Presidents:  Thomas Jefferson,  James Monroe, and John Tyler.  The college also educated several Supreme Court Justices, as well as Henry Clay.

When the United States declared their independence in 1776,  the college of William and Mary severed formal ties to England.  However,  the college's connection to British history remains as a distinct point of pride.  Queen Elizabeth II has visited William and Mary twice.

The college closed for about 7 years after the Civil War, but reopened in 1888.   The college continued to grow,  even during the recession.  Today,  William and Mary has students from all 50 states and 43 foreign countries.  There are 5800 undergraduates and 1925 graduate students.   Twenty six percent are students of color.  Seventy nine percent of freshmen graduated in the top 10% of their class. The student/faculty ration is 12:1.

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Several years ago (1997),  utility workers discovered the foundation walls of an upper-class home buried on the College of William and Mary campus,  while they were digging a ditch for water pipes.  After finding that,  archaeologists explored that foundation and collected artifacts to help them determine the foundation's age.  It is known that only the wealthy could afford brick foundations.

They determined that the structure was there between 1634 and 1699.  After much research,  the archaeologists said that the house may have belonged to the wealthy and prominent Thomas Ballard,  who sold the land to the college's founders.

How 'bout that?????   I am not sure what they have done with that foundation since 1997,  but the next time I go to Williamsburg,  I want to see if I can find it.  It would be so neat to see something which may have belonged to my ancestor that long ago.  Can you see how interesting and exciting this genealogy research is????  I love it!!!!

If you ever get to Williamsburg,  be sure and visit William and Mary College.  My 8 Great Grandfather had a part in establishing this college.  Neat, huh?

Hugs,

All pictures/illustrations came from the internet.

Also,  just wanted everyone to know that the storm missed us on Tuesday night/Wed. morning.  The only thing which woke us up about 4:30 a.m. was a HUGE (I mean HUGE) clap of thunder...  We had some lightning and thunder and a little rain.  BUT--the worst went south (and north) of us.  We got lucky AGAIN.  Thanks be to God.

My 8Great Grandfather Ballard

For the past few weeks,  I have reading all of the info I can find on my 8Great Grandfather THOMAS BALLARD  (1630-1689).   It seems that nobody knows for sure whether Thomas was born in England or in Virginia.  Since he was an educated man,  some researchers say that he was born and educated in England --and then came to America.  But---we don't know that for sure. We do know the following about Thomas Ballard:

1. - He was a man of wealth.  He more than likely was born into an upper class home in England.
2. -He was called the 'founder' of the Virginia Ballards.
3. -He was known as the Honorable Thomas Ballard.
4. -He was also known as Col Ballard.
5. -In 1650,  he married Anne Sara Thomas in York County, VA
6. -Thomas and Anne had 8 children:  Thomas (1655-1711);  John (abt 1659-bef 1694);  Lydia (born 1660);  Martha Margaret (born 1661);  William (1663-1749);  Francis (bef 1665-1718);  Elizabeth (1665-1705);  Matthew (1667-abt 1720)
7. -Thomas Ballard was a tobacco farmer and merchant and he owned alot of LAND.
8. -From 1652-1663,  Thomas was Clerk of Court of York County, VA
9. -In 1666,  he was Burgess of James City County.
10. -In 1668,  he moved to James City County (which is now Williamsburg, VA)
11. -In 1669,  he become Lt. Col of the Militia in James City County.
12. -In 1680,  he became Col. of the Militia.
13. -In 1689,  he became a Vestryman at Bruton Parish Church.  He was also a Vestryman from 1674-83.
14. -From 1675-77,  he sat on the regional Royal Governor's Council--where he was one of 12 councilors advising the governor.  In order to be on this council,  one had to be one of the top men in the colonies,  one of the richest people,  and one of the best-connected people.  These 12 men were recommended to the post by colleagues, and received their commissions from the King of England.  In this office, Thomas was both a Naval officer and a collector of customs.
15. -He was later re-elected to the House of Burgesses and became Speaker of the House from 1680-1684.
16. -Thomas' wife died in 1678,  so he remarried Alice Hilliard,  who outlived him.
17. -Thomas Ballard died in 1689,  and is buried in the Bruton Parish Cemetery.

I have TWO interesting stories to tell you about Thomas Ballard, but they will wait for another upcoming blog post.  Today,  I will share a few pictures of Thomas Ballard's church,  Bruton Parish.   IF you have ever visited Colonial Williamsburg,  you surely have seen and probably visited Bruton Parish Episcopal Church.   I'll share with you some pictures of this gorgeous church..  Above is a picture of Bruton Parish as it looks today.  Below are more.

Here is Bruton Parish from another angle.  You can see the cemetery.  My 8 Great Grandfather is buried in this cemetery.

And here is an old postcard showing Bruton Parish Church.

A bronze tablet can be found on the interior of Bruton Parish.  You can see Thomas Ballard's name on it. This committee helped erect the first brick church on that foundation.

Thomas Ballard also had his name inscribed on one of the pews...  Thomas was in good company since there were other names listed on some of the pews in the church,  namely Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.

This is a picture showing some of the names inscribed on one of the pews.  The pews with doors were/are typical of unheated 18th century English churches.  Thomas' name is the top one,  but it is hard to read in this picture.   It says:  "Thomas Ballard - Vestryman 1674-83".

Pretty special man,  don't you think?????  AND to think that he was one of my Grandfathers... WOW!!!!!   George and I visited Williamsburg in 2007--but that was before I knew all of this information about Thomas Ballard.  Now---I'm ready to go back and see it all for myself.

Like I said,  there are two more very interesting stories about this man... I will share them at a later time..

Hope you have a wonderful day --and don't forget to talk to your older loved ones and get all of the information you can before they are gone and can't share it with you.   I waited too long --and am now doing this from notes and on my own.

Hugs,

ALL pictures in today's post came from the internet.

Interwoven Names

The word interwoven means linked or connected.   WELL--in my Family History search,  there are some common names which come up over and over in families… For instance,  click HERE to see my post talking about another intersection of the Bruce family (my mother's mother's family) with the Ballard family (my mother's father's family).   While researching the Bruce family,  I found out that my 5Great Grandfather  William George Bruce (1752-1814) was married to Annie Nancy Ballard (1755-1813)…  When I started researching Annie Ballard,  I found a connection to my side of the Ballard family.  Finding this kind of information is so much fun.

Recently,  while researching my Great Grandmother Bruce's side of the family,  (Martha Matilda Carr Bruce--pictured above)  the CARR family,  I ran into a connection between that family,  my Bruce family,  and a new family that I have not studied much--the HOGE family.  This HOGE name kept coming up --while I was researching with a Ballard cousin who lives in Spain.

Here are some of the ways that the HOGE family is interwoven in my family:
1.  My 2Great Grandfather Bruce,  Joshua Henderson Bruce (1825-1904) married a Margaret Anderson HOGE (1825-1870).  They are pictured above.
2.  Margaret Anderson Hoge's parents were:  Daniel Hoge (1785-1837) and Nancy Ann Stafford (1783-1853)
3.   Besides their daughter, Margaret Anderson Hoge,  there were two sisters in that family who connected with my family.  One was their daughter,  Susan M. Hoge  (1820-1853).   Susan married a son of my 4 Great Grandfather Bruce (Rev. Joshua Bruce --1778-1865) named Harvey Chesney Bruce (1818-1891). 
4. Another daughter was Sarah Hoge (1811-1891).   Sarah married John  Carr (1798-1874).  John's father was John Kerr Carr (1755-1835).  John Kerr Carr was my 3 Great Grandfather Carr.

5. My 2Great Uncle Robert Henderson Bruce--pictured above (1883-??) married a Mary Lelia HOGE in 1909.   Mary's father was John Milton Hoge (1844-1913).  Her grandfather was James Hoge (1807-1885). And her great grandfather was Daniel Hoge,  the father of Margaret Anderson Hoge, who was the Grandmother of Mary Lelia's husband,  Robert Henderson Bruce.  Bet you didn't get all of that!!!  In short,  my 2Great Uncle Robert Henderson Bruce married his grandmother's brother's son's daughter!!!  OR--he married his Great Uncle's granddaughter.  I am sure you have it now!!!!!! ha ha (Or maybe--you have quit reading this by now!!!!)

As I said in last week's blog post,  when working on Genealogy,  it is all about NAMES.  People today don't seem to name their children after family members --like they used to do.  Today's generation may be harder to follow than year's ago.. On the other hand though, today's generations have many more technical ways of keeping information.  SO--maybe in the year 2500---- finding out about your relatives may just be easier due to all of the ways to communicate these days.  We won't be here to see how they remember us--although I'd love to see them working on Genealogy in 2500!!!!

BUT--for me right now,  trying to find info on my ancestors leads me to research lots of different names… The bad thing about names is finding too many of the SAME common names --over and over like getting one John mixed up with another person with the same name… However, the good thing about names is finding those unusual names,  like HOGE or DUDLEY or BLAND,  which connect some families…


 

I mention all of these names and dates in my blog in hopes of meeting more people who are interested in the same people I am.. We learn so much from each other.  AND--due to my blogging,  I have met several distant cousins.  Isn't that just super?????

Thanks again for hanging in with me on these Genealogy blogs.  Like I said,  it is a passion of mine --but I'm sure that talking about it to others can get pretty boring…  I said something to George about the "grandmother's brother's son's daughter"---George said,  "Huh?????"  ha ha

Have a great day --and take some time to learn more about your ancestors.  I'll close with a funny one for you.

Hugs,

It's ALL about the NAME

As most of you know,  I have been working on Family History off and on for several years.  I have a program called Reunion 8 on my computer and believe it or not,  I have over 2200 names on this program… Many of these are not my direct line,  but may be brothers and sisters and their families…  You can imagine how many names I can come up with when I find a family of 10 or more kids --and then add in their families and their kids.  It just multiplies from there.

One family that I have done much research on is the BALLARD family.  My mother was a Ballard before marrying my Dad.  Her family has been fun and exciting to research,  and I have found a lot of information on that family.  I am especially interested in ODD names that run in families.   One such odd name in the Ballard family is the first name BLAND.  I have at least 12 BLAND BALLARD's on my program plus many more who used the word Bland as a middle name.  I have never heard of the name Bland used in many other families.

I have yet to find where that name originated --but thought that it was from my SIXTH Great Grandfather's wife.   Captain John Ballard of Yorktown, VA  (1693-1745)  was his name and he married a lady named Elizabeth BLAND (or so I thought).  BUT--after much more research,  we have found that she was not Elizabeth Bland --but was Elizabeth Gibbons.  SO--I still don't know where the name Bland began.

The earliest BLAND BALLARD I have is the son of a William Ballard (1682-1754) who was Capt. John Ballard's brother.  William and his wife Philadelphia Lee had a son named Bland  (1714-1792).  This Bland Ballard patented 230 acres in the fork of the Rappahannock River in Spotsylvania County, VA where he was living on June 2, 1747.  He married a lady named Mary Deering.  Bland had a total of 13 children --but I'm not sure all of them were the children of Mary Deering. Bland may have been married more than once.  However,  one of his children was named Bland……

The first Bland Ballard in my direct line was the son of Capt. John Ballard's son,  Thomas.  This Bland Ballard was named Bland William Ballard (1734-1782).   This Bland Ballard was my FOURTH Great Grandfather.  I'll have to blog about his life another time since it is quite interesting.  He had 15 children:  9 by his first wife and 6 by his 2nd wife…  Busy man, huh????? ha

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Anyhow,  while researching another side of my family,  the CARR side,  I have come upon another odd first name,  DABNEY.   My Great Grandmother Bruce was a CARR---so I have started doing more research on that side of the family.   Her name was Martha Matilda Carr (1849-1918).   On the Carr side of that family,  I have found at least FIVE DABNEY CARR's SO FAR, plus more used as middle names.  AND --my research is just getting started. 

This one may be a little easier to solve,  but I thought I had the other one solved too… ha…  Anyhow,  this Dabney Carr  (1743-1773) had a grandmother named Mary Dabney (1688-1748).   I haven't done much research on this yet --but if  Mary was a Dabney,  then maybe that's where the name started…Mary Dabney's father was Cornelius Dabney.  I will continue to check this out. 

I'm sure I have bored you to death with all of this Genealogy… BUT--it's a true passion of mine,  and I enjoy all of the research and detail-work which it takes.  NAMES really are important when doing Genealogy... My middle name is BRUCE, named after my mother's mother's side of our family.  I used to hate that name because it was a boys name.  BUT--now I love it and am proud to have it.  One of my sons is named Jeffery BRUCE.

After all of these words in today's post,  I will close with something cute for you.  Hope you enjoy it.

Hugs,

A Weekend of Genealogy for ME

This past weekend was the first weekend (since my knee problems began the first of May which ultimately led to surgery) that I have truly felt like myself. It's been a long, long almost 3 months for me. My knee is FINE ---but all of the other problems I encountered, due to the medications, really made it a rough time for me... ANYHOW--I felt so good that I spent almost the entire weekend working on the BALLARD Family History side of my family.

What prompted this was an email from ANOTHER new distant cousin of mine (whom I had never met). Adriel wrote me --after reading some of my Ballard posts online.. I began to do research to see where our connection was---and I found it... Our lines crossed at Col. Thomas Ballard and Katherine Hubbard. Thomas is my 7th Great Grandfather and Adriel's 9th. (She's ALOT younger than I am... ha)... Thomas and Katherine had 10 children. Their son John is my direct line relative and their son William is Adriel's direct line relative.

Adriel and I can trace our Ballard's all the way back to FULCO BALLARD (born sometime between 1250 and 1325 in England). Fulco is my 16th Great Grandfather... Is that not just amazing??????

Unfortunately, I have very few pictures --and only from my Grandfather Ballard's family. I have posted some of these before --but since I'm meeting more and more Ballard cousins, I decided to post them again.

Above is my Grandfather Ballard's family home in Bristol, Virginia. It originally belonged to my Great Grandfather, William Alexander Ballard (1831-1903). William was married to my Great Grandmother, Adeline Frances Doss in 1857. They had 3 children--one being my grandfather... Great Grandfather Ballard remarried Martha Susan Martin (1848-1919) and they had 7 children. I only remember my 4 Great Aunts (pictured at the bottom).

I really want to get back there and see if that home is still there. I know that there are no Ballards (that I know) left in that area, but I do remember that big home --and loved visiting my Great Aunts when I was a little girl. What I remember most about that old home is the smell and a ticking clock in almost every room... The house felt like being in a museum --and had that musty-like smell. (Funny what we remember, isn't it???) Below are more pictures!

This is a picture of my Grandmother and Grandfather Ballard (my mother's parents). My Grandmother was named Ida Elizabeth Bruce (1874-1904) and my Grandfather was named James Franklin Ballard (1861-1936). Both were dead before I was born. My Grandmother died when my mother was only about 4 yrs old. Mother was raised mostly by the Bruce Family in Big Stone Gap, VA (my hometown) --but she did spend time with her father (who remarried) and his sisters, my Great Aunts.

This is a picture of my mother and her father. This picture of Mom (Edith Marguerite Ballard Banks) was taken in the Roaring 20's!!!! Look at her hair!!!! Her Daddy died when she was 36 yrs. old.

These are my Grandfather Ballard's four sisters. I remember ALL of them--and enjoyed visiting them when we would go to Bristol. From left to right: Aunt Nanny (who was married to Fred Pate; had no children); Aunt Eunice (never married); Aunt Aileen (married to Jeter Cross; no children); and Aunt Lura (never married).

I remember that Aunt Nanny and Uncle Fred lived on the 2nd floor of that big home in Bristol--and we were NEVER invited to go upstairs... Aunt Aileen lived away from the family home until her husband died. She then moved back to the family home with her sisters. Aunt Lura was my favorite of the group. I even had a dolly named after her (Lulu).

I have SO much more to say about the Ballard Family---but that will have to happen in many more posts to come!!!!! I hope that my children and grandchildren enjoy all of this Family History sometime.

Hope you ALL had a wonderful weekend.

Hugs,

Banks Genealogy

Have I ever mentioned how wonderful the internet is when doing genealogy? I have met several distant cousins who are searching for their family members --like I have been doing. They google specific names --and if they are looking for some of the same people that I'm looking for, then we connect!!!! This happened again yesterday... I got an email from a Ballard cousin in Indiana who had read something I had written about one of his relatives. We have a common Grandfather --way down the line!!!! I always get so excited when hearing from a new cousin in my life. He sent me all kinds of family information to check out... His direct line goes a different direction from mine, but our lines do meet, which is NEAT!!!! Now---all I need is MUCH more time to work on my Ballard history.

The Ballard family line and the Bruce family line are on my Mom's side of the family. I have been able to find quite a bit of information on both lines. However, I have had very little luck with my Dad's side of the family. He (I) was a BANKS---and the line is just broken...

SO--because of this wonderful internet, I have decided to begin putting some Banks names out there, so that hopefully, I can find some more distant cousins on that side of the family who will contact me. Today, I will feature my Dad and a little about his family. These are all OLD pictures (obviously--ha)---and I don't have time to 'clean them up' but you can at least see them. Above is my Dad ---taken probably when he was in his mid to late 20's (about 1915). Below are more.

Dad joined the Navy when he was about 20 yrs. old (1910-1913). He stayed in the Navy for about 4 years --and while there, got to sail around the world!!!

Dad and Mom ---during their 'dating' days!!!! They got married on Sept. 6, 1919. They had 3 children: Raymond Edgar Banks (1922-2009); James Ballard Banks (1930-1985); and me, Elizabeth Bruce Banks (1942).

These are two of Dad's brothers (twins obviously): Reuben Eli Banks (1894-1969) and Roy Bratton Banks (1894-1970). I remember both of these uncles. Reuben lived in Bristol, VA and Roy lived in Kingsport, TN.

My Dad: Simon Edgar Banks (1889-1969); This picture was taken about 1940.

Dad's parents: William Green Banks (1867-1913) and Alpha E. Witt (1867-1915); They lived in Lee County, VA. There were 8 children: Oscar, Simon, Alfred Ray, Reuben, Roy, Frankie, Thelma, Carl.

Dad's Grandparents: Alfred Banks (1841-1914) and Mary Jane Hyatt (1834-1910); Alfred Banks came from Letcher County, KY.

Dad's Great Grandparents: Williams Banks (1814-?) and Nancy Haney (1810-?); William Banks was born in North Carolina, and moved to KY.

Dad's Great Great Grandparents: Henry Banks (1785-1850) and Catharine Pruett (1789); Born in North Carolina and moved to KY

Dad's 3Great Grandparents: Nathaniel Banks (1730-?) and Jane Gould; North Carolina

Dad's 4Great Grandparent: John Banks (1686-?)

That's as far as I've gone---and I'm not totally sure how accurate this is... Hopefully, I'll hear from someone. I don't have any pictures of Dad when he was young, nor any of his family.

Here's my Dad as I remember him. He was 53 years old when I was born --and Mom was 42..

Here's my Dad with his bundle of joy. Don't you know that he spoiled me ROTTEN!!!!!! ha

If you haven't done any of your family history, do it now... Don't wait like I did until many of the family members were dead. It's harder to get info this way!!!!

Hugs,