Memory Tree Genealogy Journal

Pictured: Maude Ella (MaMa) Parrish, Houston County, Alabama.  Photo scanned from original in family collection.

"Love is many things...none of them logical" - William Goldman, The Princess Bride . Marriage has been on my mind lately.  As I write this, I'm taking a quick break from penciling-in names on a beautiful fan tree print that I ordered from Etsy a few months back .  Actually putting names and dates on paper is somewhat intimidating!  After months of research and fact-checking, I'm still nervous writing the information on a print that most certainly will go in a frame on my wall.  Years from now, I hope it will be passed from our meager estate to our sons to share and treasure.  May the facts be correct, so help me gosh. Just double-checking a few marriage dates for my great-grandparents Willis Lester Parrish and Maude Ella (Mercer) Parrish, I noticed that they were 18 and 16 years of age, respectively, on their marriage day.  They lived with Maude's father, George Mercer, until at least 1930...along with their daughter (my paternal grandmother) Margie ...

Inspired by THIS POST on The In-Depth Genealogist, my research inspiration today revolves around my ancestors' real estate values.  Using the 1870 US Federal Census, I decided to choose two households from my family tree - one being my best-guess estimate as "richest relative in 1870" and "poorest relative in 1870".  I don't mean this in any disrespectful sort of way...I'm just curious about getting a feel for the socio-economic standing of my ancestors in relation to their neighbors and community. In this particular census, the value of the family's real estate is listed in $ dollars as well as the total estimated value of their personal property.  For comparison in modern-day standards, I ran values for "richest" and "poorest" through an inflation calculator online.  A small disclosure here...I selected these two households based on an educated guess.  With more time, I can browse through ALL 1870 US Census reports attached t...

1896 Map of Henry County, Alabama.  IMAGE SOURCE Have you discovered interesting connections among ancestors in your family tree? Several years ago, I remember hearing my father speak about " two sisters marrying two brothers " somewhere in his family line...but I can't remember specifics.  Kept that tidbit in the back of my mind while setting out on this grand adventure of exploring our family history!  What do you know...I found one such set of siblings.  It's possible this isn't even the one to which was referring.  Maybe there are more to discover! Only a couple of generations back, I located sisters Minnie Cora McMath and "Dutch" Isabelle McMath.  I added the quotes to "Dutch", because it seems like a nickname; I'm not positive of its origins (maybe Dad can enlighten me?) or whether or not it was in fact a nickname.  All census reports list her name as Dutch.  Interesting! I also located brothers Johnnie Levey (I think this...