Memory Tree Genealogy Journal

My research lately is leading me down a Massachusetts rabbit trail of sorts.  Having spent the majority of my life in the Deep South, little did I know that I had such roots in New England!  One of my favorite parts of family history research is taking time to learn about locales that are completely new to me...familiarizing myself with geography, culture, and historical aspects of that particular town/state/country. For context, today's ancestor is my 6th great-grandfather through my mother's father's paternal grandmother's side of the family :).  Papa's grandmother was a MEAD, and Col. John Powell (1752) is connected through that branch of the tree. Col. Powell is one of four patriots connected to the MEAD side of our family.  While digging through newspaper archives in GenealogyBank.com this week, I located the following mortuary notice from The Sun in Pittsfield, MA: John POWELL married Lois CURTIS (1753-1838) on 20 November 1755 in Berkshire County, Ma...

Feeling a little patriotic this holiday weekend!  Today I stumbled upon digital images of a text on Ancestry.com that includes names and specifics for "Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolutionary War".  Three of the patriots in my tree (yes, family...THREE - the number keeps growing!) hailed from Massachusetts, so I was eager to search with their names and see what I could uncover.  Here are the entries, which really read like journal entries or summaries of their records of service: Source: Ancestry.com. Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolutionary War (Images Online) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.Original data: Massachusetts. Secretary of the Commonwealth. Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War . Vol. 1-17. Boston, MA, USA: Wright & Potter Printing, 1896-1908. Azor Curtiss has an incredible story - including time spent at Valley Forge.  I will have to buckle-down ...