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twistingtreeancestry · 6 months

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It's my 1 year anniversary on Tumblr 🥳

Image Description: A purple numerical 1 is postured in the center of the image against a light blue top to bluish-white bottom ombre background. A single magenta balloon icon floats to the top left of the 1 with a light purple string tied at the balloon opening.

Image provided by Tumblr.

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Woohoo! One year of sharing my genealogical stories and discoveries! Thank you to anyone who has taken an interest and/or helped me to invite those long-gone souls back to life, if only for moments!

My Twisting Tree of Ancestry was started with the hopes of exploring my roots and the history of Southwest Louisiana, as well as immortalizing and connecting those who:

are within my family, be they close, family friends, extended, so extended we're not even related now, disowned, estranged, etc.

reside within the cemeteries that I visit

become memorials that I manage on Find a Grave

for any other reason drift into my life

If that intrigues you, make sure to follow me to ensure you see my future posts~

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twistingtreeancestry · 11 months

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Fallen Branches

Image Description: A flat pink granite gravemarker that reads, "CLIFTON Hugh D. 1919-1974 and Ruby Hughen 1920-2007".

Image by Jill Wave, Find A Grave member ID 48865354.

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Ruby Jewell Hughen is my maternal great-grandmother. She was the second child born to Sadie Thornton and James Hughen in Alabama, USA in 1920. She was 24 years old in 1944 when she married 25-year-old Hugh Clifton in Bay St. Louis, Hancock County, Mississippi, USA.

Hugh Clifton was the second child of Maggie Hobbs and Hilton Clifton Sr. in Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida, USA. He was a "semi-skilled chauffeur and driver, bus, taxi, truck, and tractor" and "worked as an Automotive Mechanic in Air Transportation". A U.S. WW2 Army Enlistment record from 1941 states he was a Private. In 1942 in Walton County, Florida, USA, Hugh married Annie Sowell. Annie then divorced him in 1944 on the grounds of desertion exactly 2 months and 18 days before he married Ruth.

Ruth's oldest two children—daughters—were born in 1940 in Roanoke, Randolph County, Alabama, USA, and in 1942 in Alabama, USA respectively. Her youngest two children—sons—were born in 1947 and 1951 (likely in Alabama, USA) respectively. Perhaps if I had paid attention to the dates a recent reveal by my mother wouldn't have been so shocking (or too late to save me from a countless amount of time researching in the wrong direction).

About 3 weeks ago I learned that Hugh was Ruby's second husband. I can't even find the words to describe the whirlwind that consumed me in the following moments. Lightning quick, I began interrogating my mother for more information to fill in this sudden void in my ancestry. All she could remember was that her mother told her that her real surname was Singleton.

The name plucked familiarly at my brain, yet I couldn't think why. It was only later that night when I sat down to figure this all out that I realized why the name was so familiar. Tucked into the ignored hints on my Ancestry account under Ruth's profile was a U.S. WW2 Draft Card which listed a Ruby Jewel Singleton and her spouse Joseph David Singleton.

Following that vein, I discovered a Mississippi, USA marriage record between a Joseph D. Singleton and a Ruby J. Hughen in 1938. The discrepancy with this record is that it lists both parties as being of color. My mother and other documents can verify that Ruby and my grandfather were white, and the draft card indicated that Joseph was white as well. While I've learned that this can be a frequent issue with historical records, I can't definitively verify the couple listed on the record as my ancestors despite the dates and locations matching up.

Without knowing who Joseph really is and whether or not he's actually my great-grandfather, this branch of my tree is stumped. I'm hoping to discover more information regarding this little twist in my family history. Perhaps it will soften the blow of losing 50+ "direct" relatives through Hugh.

Until then, I'll keep trying to build up my ever-twisting tree and keep y'all updated on the interesting stuff that I find along the way.

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twistingtreeancestry · 2 months

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Back to the Roots

Image Description: Many dark brown twisting branches of a strong and tall tree in Englewood, Colorado, USA splay starkly against a grayish-blue sky.

Image by Keekalee Photography.

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I've been researching my genealogy on and off for over a decade but began earnestly working on my family tree four years ago.

Unfortunately, when I began this later leg of my journey in early 2020, I didn't know what doing my due diligence entailed. While I always intended to go back and verify entries, my passion and curiosity would often sweep me away before demonstrable connections could be made.

This unintentional messy start to my research created the unstable foundation upon which my current tree, consisting of 7,070 people and innumerable hours of research, is built.

My technique has thankfully improved tremendously over the years. What good is that, though, when I constantly need to go back and fix things when errors are discovered? I've deleted entire family units, such as discussed in my post Fallen Branches. I also have information in my tree from records that I never saved that are no longer available to me.

It's time to amend this lapse. I'm starting over.

So far, replanting my familial tree is slow going. I've been learning The Chicago Manual of Style for proper citations (which have never been a strong suit of mine). I already have thirty members meticulously entered into my new tree.

Every entry of information has a coinciding image of the original document as well as a citation. Any entry without an image of the original document is listed separately and isn't used to establish information, though I will add a note that the information correlates with other established information or may provide me with additional information upon further research.

While starting over is certainly intimidating, it'll ensure that my future research is sound and will hopefully stand up to recreation should others need to verify portions of my tree. It also gives me a great opportunity to revisit stories to share here.

Until one of those stories comes my way, I'm gonna get back to filling out these rascally branches and let you know when I find something interesting. Remember to give me a follow so you don't miss my new posts!

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twistingtreeancestry · 5 months

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You find the most interesting things browsing old records.

This is from a 1900 U.S. census record from Acadia Parish, Louisiana.

"Lavergne, Julien—Refused permittance into his house. He even would not let me come near his house. I did repeatedly told him he would put himself liable to a fine of $100 if he insisted to refuse to giving me the required information, he replied he knowed me. That I had [...] him once too high and he don't care what would happen. There he commenced talking about his shotgun and whipping me if I would came across the [gulley>ditch?] and I left.

I would also respectfully report that I started out on Monday July the 2nd to finish [...] my district but got only 4 miles from Crowley "my residence" when a [billion?] attack of fever took me and I had to return home and called on Doctor N. B. Morris for treatment. I have been confined in bed 4 days and got up to write this report and to send off my Scheduler but could not finish it. I had to lay in bed again.

Yours very respectfully

Joseph [...]

Enumerator"

#genealogy #ancestryblog #familyresearch #research #census #censusrecord #censusrecords #oldrecords #records

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twistingtreeancestry · 5 months

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I partially translated a French record from 1711, and I'm proud AF.

A top contributor in one of my genealogical groups on Facebook posted a baptismal record image yesterday. I saw it this morning, and the name rang a bell. I checked my tree on FamilyEcho and, sure enough, I have an 8th great-aunt named Marguerite Brun. I have no personal information about her, only basic familial information.

Image Description: A wooden easel pad stands in the center with an unlined notepad flipped open and draped over it. The title is "What I Do Know" highlighted in violet-red, followed by a list of relatives of Marguerite Brun highlighted in deep mauve.

Mother: Marie Anne Pellerin; Father: Abraham Brun; Maternal Grandmother: Jeanne Savoie; Maternal Grandfather: Etienne Pellerin; Sisters: Marie Madeleine Brun, Marie Josephe Brun, Marie Anne Brun; Brothers: Charles Brun, Joseph Brun; Maternal Stepfather: Laurent Doucet Sr.; Maternal Step-sisters: Marguerite (Doucet) Breau; Maternal Step-brothers: Michel Laurent Doucet, Laurent Doucet Jr.

Image from BeFunky stock images. Edited by Keekee Smith with BeFunky.

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The baptismal record could be about my 8th great-aunt, but for the sake of certainty, I need to translate the record. The issue is that I haven't spoken, read, or written French in 15+ years and instead began attempting to learn Spanish. I wasn't confident in my ability to translate this, especially since the handwriting of old is notoriously challenging to read anyway.

Thankfully, my experience with reading old, handwritten records and my rusty French pulled through to help me transcribe/translate nearly half of the document. I'm confident of the bulk of the translations, but I'm definitely unsure of a few.

At any rate, I'm proud of myself for what I accomplished with this document, and it helps me to feel more connected to my language, culture, and roots.

Image Description: A document page with faded lines and cursive handwriting in black ink. "1711" and "Marguerite Brun" are scrawled in the left margin. The main body of the document details a baptismal record written in French. The document was signed at the bottom by two individuals.

Image provided by J. D.

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1711 - Marguerite Brun The 9th of January 1711 __ __ __ __ (fruits?) __ __ has(?) Port Royal __ baptise with __ ce- remonies __ __ __ __ cha- pel of St Laurent of haut de la Riviere __ __ __ __ Port Royal __ __ __ Mar- guerite Brun __ __ girl(daughter?) of Abra- ham Brun and Marie Pellerin __- __ __. __ __ __ __ godfather Pierre LeBlanc __ __ godmother Magdelaine Pellerin __ of Pierre __ __ __ __ __ __ __ the __ __ the __ __ __ __ __ __. The godfather and the godmother __ declare(?) __ __ __. F. Justi(__) Duraud(?) __ __

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twistingtreeancestry · 1 year

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Just caught a vibe

Image Description: A large tree stands in the middle of a small town cemetery. Gravemarkers and the front portion of a mausoleum can be seen to the backdrop of a treeline shrouded with light fog.

Image by Keekalee Photography.

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This week has seen a long-lost distant relative come into my life. We're currently trying to find out how we're related. As I'm searching back through the most likely branches and lines, I have cello and piano covers of songs playing on YouTube. I had to take a break when the cover for My Immortal by Evanescence came on, and I thought this was the perfect moment for this blog to post about.

These instruments are really setting a deep sorrow into my heart as I gaze upon faces long gone, flipping through the analytical data of their lives which remain. The feeling is visceral, a deep hollowness in the pit of my stomach that floods with sadness with every picture. The one fate that binds us all has taken all of them, but what of the memories of them? Have they faded into nonexistence? Who remembers them?

I do, and hopefully, this blog will allow others to remember them as well, even if it's only for as long as you read the posts about them.

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twistingtreeancestry · 2 years

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Image Description: A caption at the top has a blue bokeh background with the title “A Backstory for Keekee” in the center. The image is of a water tower with words “Lake Charles Home of McNeese State University” across its tank. There are droplets of rain on the lens and the photo is in cooler tones of blue.

Image by Keekalee Photography.

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Since my ancestry starts with me, that’s where we’ll begin as well. I’m Keekee, a writer with a lot of distracting hobbies.

I'm intrigued by how my ancestry has become one of those hobbies as it never crossed my mind when I was younger. As a child, I simply wanted to exist in the right now. I regret not listening to the stories that my grandparents told in those days, but that is the way of bittersweet retrospection.

My family lived in the "Cajun Country” of Southwest Louisiana back then, prime hurricane and flooding land. It was also the land of sugar cane and rice silos, alligators and snapper turtles, zydeco and crawfish boils, farmers and traiteurs. It was a land where us kids could run down the street and give a holler to any neighbor we passed by name—cos they knew our Mawmaws and Pawpaws.

We snuck into the fields to crawl on the hay bales. The fence posts were perfect for shooting cans off it with BB and pellet guns. There were always wild honeysuckles to pick and dragonflies or fireflies to try to catch.

This neck of the woods is where my history has led to, but how did it get here? Where did it start? If I'd listened to my Mawmaw and Pawpaw perhaps it could have given me a quicker boost to the past and its discoveries. Since I didn’t, I used what I did know and reached out to the family members that I’m still connected to. Before I knew it, my family tree began to twist up from the soil and its branches began to grow.

Over the ensuing years, that tree has continued to twist toward the sky and stretch out its branches. The writer in me is spellbound by the stories of people’s lives. It’s captivating and enthralling, and sometimes heart-wrenching and infuriating, to discover these long-gone people and learn tidbits of what their lives entailed.

Does anyone else remember them? Who else would care about them? There’s something inside me that doesn’t want these people to fade into the blur and non-existence of history.

So, join me on this journey. Help me to remember these people. Tell me about your people! Who knows, we may be related 🤙🏼

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