Those Pesky Little Hints!

When I finally broke down and joined Ancestry.com a few years ago, I used to get so excited when a green leaf would pop up on one of the names I had entered on my tree. I knew it might be something new that I could use to ‘flesh out’ who that person really was, what he or she did, where they lived, what people were in their households, etc. Sometimes, as in the case of the World War I registration cards, I would actually be able to ‘visualize’ that person because of the description that was given as to height, weight, color of hair and color of eyes.  Their real signature was on the card, too. Maybe I’m just easily pleased, but I was thrilled with each new find.

I even used to find delight in trying to make sure that the hint was actually about my ancestor or relative, and I could hardly wait to enter another ‘source’ when I was sure of that fact.  Having solid, accurate sources is something that I’ve always tried to make sure was on each person’s page.  Of course, that hasn’t always happened.  Sadly, I’m not perfect - a fact with which I’m finally coming to terms.  But I really do try to be accurate and always encourage others to correct me if they see something that's not true.

I had put off joining Ancestry for many years.  At first it was because I could find so much on my own in libraries and then later on the numerous free online sites.  The USGenWeb was one of my first favorite places to explore. I still try to go back there from time to time.  But I finally realized one day that many things that I wanted and needed were already indexed on Ancestry.  Why re-invent the wheel?  So, I happily joined.  Okay, maybe not ‘happily.’  I certainly wasn’t happy with the price. But join I did. That was back in December of 2003.  (Hmmm...I guess it’s been a tad more than a 'few' years ago.)

For most of the years that I’ve been a member of Ancestry, I’ve faithfully made sure that I kept up with the ‘hints’ that were posted on my site. Although I’ve been a member for so many years, I don’t have one of those sites that have thousands and thousands of names on it.  I only have close to 4,000. That may sound like a big number, but it really isn’t when you realize that I started the tree nine years ago. I think that my tree is not any larger because I find myself obsessing sometimes trying to find out as much as I can about each person whose name I put on the tree. I don’t want to be just a ‘collector of names.’ I want to actually ‘know’ each person, and I try to guarantee that those who are looking at my tree can know them, too.

I guess it’s because Ancestry is growing and adding new information, but somehow I find that I can no longer keep up with those darn leaves!  I open the site wanting to do more research on new people, and I find myself entrenched in trying to go through even more leaves every day. I know that I shouldn’t complain.  Ancestry is doing its job.  But I’m finding more and more often that the ‘hint’ doesn’t really relate to my family member.  This bothers me for one main reason: there are a whole bunch of people on Ancestry who will just attach anything that comes up without even checking.  And that, of course, spreads false ‘facts.’

I’m so behind on attaching my hints now that I’ve quit trying to keep up.  I just do a few every day or so and then try to move my mind along in order to accomplish the new research that I want to do. But that’s really hard for me to do because I think I mentioned that I get obsessive about it, didn’t I? 

Okay, I’ll admit it.  Those pesky little hints are driving me crazy!



My Grandfather's WWI Registration card -
giving a description of a man whom I really didn't know very well.



Derby Day

Today is Kentucky Derby Day and a very significant day for all horse lovers and probably also for anybody who has raced through the archives of Kentucky trying to find their ancestors.  I fall into both categories.

I have a number of ancestors who made Kentucky their home at one time or another.  Some of those surnames include: Shrewsbury, Akers, Anderson, and Norman. Even one branch of Loves lived there.  We know that those Loves are related to us because of DNA analysis, but so far we haven’t made the exact connection.  Hopefully, one day soon we will.

I think, however, that what I love the most about Derby Day are the horses themselves. I’ve always loved horses.  Even though I’m a ‘city girl,’ I used to dream that I would own a horse someday (I guess I never contemplated where I would put it!) and would sit for hours sketching horse after horse, each one turning out a little better than the last. Oh, how I wish I still had those drawings!  That love of horses appears to run in the family, as many of my Love family ancestors have been described as horse breeders, importers, horsemen, and turfmen.  Even my Father’s application for the Marine Corps in 1936 included ‘horseshoer’ as one of his skills.

Back in 1774, my 5^th great grandfather, Samuel Love (1720 – 1787) purchased land near the Broad Run in Prince William County, Virginia.  He also bought the mill that was in the area and then built “Buckland Plantation” on his newly-purchased land.  He and his four sons, Samuel, John, Charles, and Augustine, proceeded to develop the entire area surrounding Buckland into one of the finest mercantile centers in the area at that time.  It would later become a town and is still there today.

When Samuel died in 1787, he deeded his main plantation, “Salisbury,” which was located in Loudon Co., Virginia, to my 4^th great grandfather, Samuel Love.  “Buckland” was left to John.  Between the two of them, they began to import thoroughbred Arabian and European horses.  Two of those horses, “Mahomet” and “Spread Eagle,” are said to be “listed among the origins of the modern thoroughbred.”( Source: “The Buckland Preservation Society”)

George Washington bought horses from the Love family for his own use.  The Loves were also friends with Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, and James Madison, all of whom purchased supplies and horses from the successful commercial center located at Buckland.

I’m very proud to be descended from people who were in the forefront of bringing thoroughbreds to America.  My own love of horses, as well as my love of the Kentucky Derby itself probably stems from those origins. (Hmmm…could it be that ‘genetic memory’ thing again?)

Today is the 138^th Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs.  I’m gettin’ my Mint Julep ready and am looking forward to seeing those horses run.

And then, of course, there are the hats.  That just might be the best – and most ‘fascinating’ part of all!



Source: The Historical Marker Database (HMdb.org)



Techie?

Ever since I started this blog, I’ve wrestled with the fact that I am a major non-technical person.  I truly want to be, but as you can see from this page, I haven’t even been able to change the blog background to something more personal or subject-oriented, and I haven’t ever done my ‘links’ correctly.  So, I guess that makes me a ‘techer’ and not a ‘techie.’ 

Oh, now, now…I can hear all of you saying that there is no such word as ‘techer.’ But I assure you that’s what I am.  A techer is someone who follows the world of technology, loves it, but is not quite a part of it.  At least that’s what we should be called – I’m pretty sure that I just made that word up.  A techie, of course, is someone who completely understands the vast world of technology, can easily make use of it, and truly belongs there.

I use the word ‘techer’ in honor of the fact that I am and always have been a major Star Trek ‘Trekker’ – and most certainly not a ‘Trekkie!’  Yes, there is a difference.  A Trekker (like me) loves the show, including all of its various franchise series: the original, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise.  I loyally watched and enjoyed every episode of every series.  Because I love Star Trek, I’m a Trekker.  However, I would not now (nor ever would have) actually put on a Star Trek costume or participate in one of those major fan gatherings where they act as if they really live in the Star Trek Universe.  Those people are true Trekkies.  Like ‘techies,’ they are (or in this instance, think they are) part of the Star Trek world.  I’ve always felt that Trekkers were the ones who, like me, just loved the series with their wonderful stories and characters, and that was all the involvement that was needed.

Many people will disagree with this analogy.  I’ve heard it said that both words can be used to describe the Star Trek ‘nuts.’  I totally disagree with that assessment.  I’m a Trekker and not a Trekkie.  No question.  That’s why I’m calling myself a techer.  I love technology, want to learn more, but I’m truly not yet a well-educated part of the technological world.

Now what, pray tell, does any of this have to do with genealogy?  Everything!  In this day and age, a true grasp of technology is necessary to accomplish adequate research and retrieval of genealogical facts.  I’ve actually been ‘not quite bad’ at that part.  It’s just when I’ve tried to relate my findings in venues like this blog, or on social media such as Twitter, that I’ve had some difficulties – to say the least. 

In reality, I surprised myself when I was able to put in a personalized background photo on Twitter for my ‘home page.’ Nonetheless, if you were to ask me how I did it, I would never be able to tell you. I even put a link to my Twitter account on here, but I wasn’t able to figure out how to get that cute little bird to click on.  Evidently, I did that one incorrectly. I should be happy that at least there’s a link to my Twitter account, but I want that bird!

I have a number of things that I’d like to display on this blog site.  I was able to get my GeneaBloggers symbol on the page, but I’m a member of the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors (ISFHWE) and would love to have that symbol on here as well.  Also, I’d like to proudly show the symbol for the Tennessee Genealogical Society, a group to which I also belong.  I need to get busy and become more adept at this technology stuff.  I will have to admit that I’ve been hesitant to put too many posts on here until I’ve learned more and can be more proud of the way my site looks. 

I will never be a Trekkie, but I do so hope that one day I will be a techie.  When I come closer to that goal, you’ll see a fabulous new background on this blog, and you’ll see all of the symbols and tags, etc. that I’ve described above displayed with pride on this ‘sassy site!’

Until then – live long and prosper!

Sassy Scottish Lassie

I’ve always loved the sound of bagpipes.  There is something about that strange sound (which produces such poignant and beautiful music) that touches my soul in a way that I cannot explain.  Listening to bagpipes was not something that we often did in my house when I was a child.  Probably the first time I ever heard the sound of a bagpipe was on that new and wonderful television set we finally got when I was in the second grade.  Nonetheless, when I first heard the sound, I was moved to tears, a phenomenon that still happens to me to this day. The music of the bagpipes fills my whole being with almost-painful feelings and deep longings.

I’ve heard of the theory of “genetic memory,” but being the reasonable and logical person that I am, I have a hard time accepting the idea that the memories and experiences of my ancestors could be passed down to me. Yet even from childhood, I loved and was deeply drawn to all things Scottish, especially to that peculiar music. 

My Mother was a Wallace, but since we never really knew her father or his family, my Wallace ancestry never made a very big impression on me.  I do remember hearing that we were “Scotch-Irish” and found out years later the origin of that term: groups of Scotsmen who had moved for one reason or another to land in Ireland before coming to the new world. (There is ever so much more to that story, but that’s for another time.)

I actually remember my Mother saying things like “let’s get under the kivers.”  Kivers is apparently an old Scots-Irish/mountain term for quilts or covers - a fact that I didn’t know until just a few years ago.  Words and terms like that, along with the German phrases that my Grandmother would often say (her mother was a Zeigler), were just a part of our everyday life.  



Wallace Clan Tartan

When I first began researching my family’s history, I focused mainly on my Love family heritage. However, when I decided to research that Wallace line, I was fairly surprised at the number of Scottish families who were a part of my lineage. Some of those surnames include: Wallace, McReynolds, Smiley, Wilson, Thompson, and King.  In point of fact, members of those particular families actually arrived on the American continent sometime in the early 1700s, and groups of each family appear to have travelled (often together) down the Appalachian Mountains from Pennsylvania into North Carolina and Tennessee.  My line moved from Tennessee up to Indiana. They married each other, built new homes (often uprooting and moving again), and embraced life in a huge and exciting new frontier. They were amazing people.

I’m very proud to have that Scots heritage. Interestingly enough, on my Love side I actually descend from the Crawford family, a family which included Margaret Crawford, mother of the famous William Wallace. The Scots appear to be all around me and, evidently, deeply embedded into my genetic code.

So naturally, it stood to reason that when I married the love of my life, he was a Scotsman!  Years ago, when my husband and I prepared to join the Clan Maitland Society of North America, I found that in order for me to be a member, I had to make a pledge to renounce the wearing of any other clan’s tartan.  That really hurt.  The idea that I would not ever be able to wear the Wallace Clan tartan was sad, but there was something about that ancient and sacred tradition that appealed to me.  It somehow seemed right; I would give up my clan in order to join my husband’s.  I could almost hear the bagpipes play as those fighting Wallaces shouted a ‘highlander yell’ at my marrying into that noble Clan Maitland.

Clan Maitland Tartan

Hmmm…maybe there is something to that genetic memory thing. 





Wordless Wednesday: Photographic Tribute to Shiloh

(Photos taken by my friend B. Westmoreland. Many thanks for her permission to share!)

Shiloh - Continued

As we continue to observe the 150th anniversary of the Batle of Shiloh, I want to continue with my tribute to the two members of my family who participated in that infamous battle.

In the Military Annals of Tennessee, Confederate, by John M. Taylor, ed, by John B. Lindsley, 1886 (reprint 1974) Taylor described the contributions of the 27th Tennessee on page 422 and wrote of Major Love at Shiloh as "a gallant and affable gentleman, true soldier and grand officer, fell pierced in the neck by a shot."

Also, in a final report issued by captains and other officers in the Official Report of the War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of Union and Confederate Armies, I found a description of Samuel in Series I, Volume 10:

"After the enemy began to retreat from the battery one regiment bore to the right, under the command of Maj. Love, pouring a continuous fire into the enemy's ranks, until they were forced conceal themselves among and in the rear of their tents…”  He went on to say that “Maj. Love was killed, after commanding the regiment in a fearless manner during the day."

Samuel’s life ended at Shiloh, but his nephew, Richard, survived the battle and went on to fight in the Battle of Perryville in Kentucky, near Murphreesboro, Tennessee, where he was wounded in October of 1862. I found on the “Henderson County Sharpshooters” site at http://www.tnyesterday.com/books/gm/gm2-12.html that he was eventually captured in 1863 in Selmer, Tennessee, which is near the Mississippi home of the McKenzie family, who had taken him in to help tend his wounds. 

Richard lived until the age of 79, when he died on October 23, 1923.  He had married Ann Elizabeth McKenzie, who had helped to nurse him during his stay at their home. They made their home in Benton County, Mississippi, and had at least five children.  Sadly, only one lived to adulthood.  Richard Love, Jr. died tragically at the young age of 24.

My own grandfather, Richard Enloe Love, Sr., was very close to his uncle.  He and my father, RIchard Enloe Love, Jr., spent many happy days at the Love family home in Benton County.

Major Samuel T. Love never married, but that "gallant and affable gentleman" is remembered with love by his brother's descendants.

Richard and Ann Elizabeth McKenzie Love

Shiloh - the Beginning

On the morning of April 6, 1862, one of the earliest and deadliest battles of the Civil War began.  The two-day conflict between Confederate and Union forces at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, located on the banks of the Tennessee River, would result in over 3,400 killed on both sides, with thousands more wounded and missing. It would ironically be forever afterwards called the Battle of Shiloh.  This name was taken from a small church named Shiloh, around which General Ulysses S. Grant settled most of his troops.  The name Shiloh is often translated to “peace” or “tranquility” in Hebrew.  Along with the thousands of soldiers who died in that battle, two high-ranking and outstanding generals lost their lives as well: General Albert Sydney Johnston, USC, and Brigadier General W. H. L. Wallace, U.S. Army.  It most certainly was not a place of peace.

Also lost in that battle was my 2^nd great grand uncle, Major Samuel T. Love, who was “mortally wounded” and taken prisoner, only to die on April 17^th of his wounds in the Union prison camp at Paducah, Kentucky.  Major Love served in the 27^th Tennessee Infantry, Company K, also known as the “Henderson County Sharpshooters.”  

Samuel Love, born in 1821 in Fairfax County, Virginia, was the brother of my great-great grandfather, Charles Jones Love, Jr.  Samuel was a veteran soldier who had served as a 2^nd Lieutenant in the 14^th Infantry in the U.S. Army during the Mexican War.  Even though he was already 40 years old when Tennessee seceded from the Union, he followed his 17-year-old nephew, Richard Love, and signed up for duty at Trenton, Tennessee, with the newly formed 27^th Infantry. Richard had enlisted in July of 1861 and Samuel in August of the same year. Richard was the son of Samuel’s brother Charles and was my great grand uncle.

Samuel entered his service as a private, but his age and experience earned him a rapid promotion from private to major in September.  Richard enlisted as a corporal, since he was one of the first to sign up for service, and he would soon be promoted to sergeant.

As I researched Samuel’s Civil War record, I found several glowing accounts of his military service.  In the Civil War Archives found at http://www.civilwararchive.com/RESEARCH1/1862/shilohcsa6.htm, I read that Major General B. F. Cheatham, commanding officer of the 2nd Division, First Corps, Army of the Mississippi (Confederate) at Shiloh, had written a report of the battle on April 30, 1862.  His account of the battle included the following:

“During the engagement here I was re-enforced by Colonel Gibbon, with a Louisiana brigade; by Colonel Campbell, with his gallant Thirty third Tennessee, and by Maj. Samuel T. Love, with the Twenty-seventh Tennessee, all of whom deserve particular mention. Major Love gallantly led his regiment to the charge and fell mortally wounded. Thus re-enforced, I was enabled to prevent the advance of the enemy, who seemed to have thrown his whole disposable force against our left flank."