Fate and Brandied Peaches

Many family memories came flooding back as I canned peaches today.

Freezer Full

Yesterday, I bought a huge box of Blades Orchard peach seconds for $18 from at the farmer’s market, with the intention of making brandied peaches last night. But I ended up working all day and ran out of steam that evening while I unpacked jars, the pressure canner and other equipment I’d need for the project. I decided to wait until today.

It wasn’t until this morning that I realized what day it was. My Aunt Teri’s birthday. She was the inspiration for making the brandied peaches in the first place — she was famous for them. They were coveted gifts and a beloved side at family holiday meals. After eating the peaches, we often used the leftover juice in the jars for making bellinis. But the world has been without Teri’s brandied peaches since she died two years ago. I still miss her (and her brandied peaches) terribly.

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For Mother’s Day, Favorite Photos of Grandma Grace

Mother’s Day is tomorrow and I thought I would post some unpublished photos of my Grandma Grace, which I count among my favorites of her.

The earliest photo of my Grandma Grace that I am aware of. This would have been taken on the family farm in Elizabethton, Tennessee.

I love this photo of Grandma Grace. I wish I knew where this was taken.

Grandma Grace with my mom as an infant

She was so pretty.

Another Ancestor, Another Newly Discovered Birthplace

Ancestry.com sent me an email with new hints for ancestors among the Texas death certificates. Amid this information, I learned the supposed birthplace of my 2G-grandfather, Anson G. Bennett — Warsaw, Mo. I say “supposed,” because Anson obviously wasn’t there to verify the information. I haven’t done a lot of research on my Bennett line — this gives me a new lead to work from.

Might a New Clue = A Chink in a Brick Wall?

I had a breakthrough on one of my lines over the weekend. I found a passport application for my paternal great-grandmother Ida Champ Ferris, which listed her birthplace as Brownsville, Penn. (Her name was mis-indexed, which is why I’d never come across it before.) I had always thought that she was from the Philly area because that’s where she went to college, but turns out that she was born closer to Pittsburgh. I don’t know much more about her parents except that they came from England shortly before she was born. Hopefully this new information will lead to more clues about them!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town (A Cappella Version)

I love that I can still hear my deceased parents’ voices in recordings like this.

My (Holiday) Recording Debut

My recording debut, circa 1980, thanks to my parents and their tape recorder. There’s more where this came from, but I’m not sure I’ll subject you guys to it. Don’t miss my diva moment at 1:22.

10 Years…

My mom, circa 1970. Lost her 10 years ago today, but it feels like yesterday.

Happy Birthday, Obediah Basham (b. 1760)

Dear Reader: Do you think you are related to the individuals listed in this post? Please drop me a note! I love hearing from cousins and others researching my family!

One of my 4th great grandfathers was Obediah Basham, who was born on April 7 in 1760 (or 1758, according to some records) in Cumberland County, Virginia. He was a Revolutionary War soldier and there is a lengthy pension file about him (I still need to transcribe it). Numerous folks have used him as entree into the DAR. He has a FindaGrave page, but no photo of his gravestone in Kentucky (his wife’s is available and it is crudely engraved). Obediah’s daughter Delilah married into the Corley family.

Way-Back Easter: Happy Mom

Digging out more photos from the treasure trove my aunt shared with me last year. Here are some gems of my mom at age 2 or 3 on Easter Sunday:

When Your 2nd Cousin Is Also Your Great Grand Uncle

Dear Reader: Do you think you are related to the individuals listed in this post? Please drop me a note! I love hearing from cousins and others researching my family!

I spent yesterday staying out of the way of carpenters doing work in my house while I enjoyed a day off from work. I also took a break from my client projects for a personal genealogy day. I was excited to track down several more distant cousins on my Tennessee side of the family and discovered a branch with multiple connections.

My 3rd great-grandfather Alfred T. Gourley had a granddaughter, Ann Gourley. She married into the McKeehan clan and had a son, Walter, who was my 2nd cousin, 2x removed. He married Sina Hayes, my great grand aunt (her brother, Willam Edmond, was my great-grandfather). This then made Walter McKeehan not only a distant cousin, but my great grand uncle, by marriage!

Alfred Gourley’s daughter was Mary L. Gourley, who married Daniel B. Crow. Their daughter, Della, married William Edmond Hayes.