Sentimental Sunday - Meeting Nicholas

If you have followed my blog for awhile, you know I started my research back in the 1980s then took about a 10-year hiatus from my research when I moved back home, started grad school, helped dad take care of one of my paternal aunts who had Alzheimer's, etc., etc., etc. You probably also know about my cousin Nicholas who contacted me in 2009 and who triggered something in me that motivated me to return to my research, and I've been going practically non-stop ever since.

Well earlier this year, July to be precise, at the 2010 Pierce Descendants reunion, I finally got the opportunity to meet Cousin Nicholas as well as his mom, Suzy. Both were really nice and cousin Suzy took the opportunity to thank me for including Nicholas in the journey that is my research. For the record, Nicholas is my 2nd cousin twice removed. (Nicholas' great grandmother is my mother's first cousin, so his grandmother and I are second cousins.)

The picture of cousins Nicholas and Suzy are part of the collection of my 2nd cousin, R. Williams, whom I also had a chance to finally meet after meeting her on-line earlier this year via Facebook.

Wordless Wednesday

Uncle Melvin Hosch and my first cousin Michael from back in the day. Uncle Melvin celebrated his 96th birthday earlier this month.

This picture is from the personal collection of O. Jones.

Tombstone Tuesday

Tommie Lee Martin (1909 - 1969)

Tommie Lee was the son of my Grand Aunt, Mattie Henyard Martin (the oldest of my grandmother's siblings), which makes him my second cousin once removed. Tommie Lee was the only one of Aunt Mattie's children that didn't remain in Ohio with his brothers and sisters after they migrated there from GA. Tommie Lee is interred in Evergreen Cemetery in Polk County, FL.

Tommie Lee had a son, Tommie Lee, Jr., whom the family has lost contact with through the years, so Tommie Lee Jr. if you or your son Chris come across this post, your family in Georgia, Ohio, and North Carolina would sure love to hear from you.

The pictures of Tommie Lee Martin's tombstone were obtained via photo request at FindaGrave.com.

Sentimental Sunday and Sunday Supper - Fried Chicken

I don't know if it was an African-American / Southern Tradition or just a family tradition but you always knew it was Sunday when you saw the Fried Chicken. It didn't matter whose house in the family you went to either, because you always knew what the main attraction was going to be. The side dishes might change but the main course was always the Fried Chicken. And of course there was always the fights over your favorite piece(s). Mine were the wing and upper back.

With the passage of time, this Sunday tradition seems to gone by the wayside since we don't eat a lot of fried food anymore. Also, mom and my aunts having grown up on the farm with their own chickens don't particular care for today's store bought chickens at least if they are the ones cutting it up into pieces. I remember many conversations between my mother and Aunt Lucille back when they were still buying a whole fryer, cutting it up and  frying it and about how that store bought chicken looked like nothing they had ever seen. The conversation definitely would turn your stomach.

By the way, we still purchase and cook chicken in a variety of ways, with the exception of frying it seems, we just buy it already cut up deskined, etc., so we don't have to think about the current state of chicken affairs. And ever so often, you can find us grabbing a piece of fried chicken from the buffet at Golden Corral, getting a dinner from KFC, etc. but you just can't walk into our houses any more and know it's Sunday by what's being served for dinner.

The picture used for this blog post was obtained from Sourthernfood.about.com.

Surname Saturday - Stovall

Surname Saturday - Stovall

The Stovall surname represents the only 3rd great grandparent I’ve been able to discover.


My Stovall lineage is as follows:

1. Me
2. Mom
3. Oscar Lucillous “LC” Hosch - born abt 12 Aug 1887 in Jackson County, GA; date of death - 10 Sep 1978, Shelby, Cleveland County, NC
4. Sallie Rome – born abt 1868, Walton County, GA; date of death unknown (most likely between (1895 – 1900)
5. Wyatt Rome – born abt 1840 in Georgia; date of death unknown (between 1910 and 1920), Walton County, GA
6. Eliza Stovall – born abt 1810 in Georgia; date of death unknown (between 1880 and 1900). Grandma Eliza appears on the 1880 census in the household of my 2nd great grandfather, Wyatt Rome, but is not on the 1900 census.

In addition to Grandpa Wyatt, the 1870 Federal census points toward my 3rd great grandmother probably having at least 2 other children, Emma Stovall and Lou Stovall. I’ve tried to trace forward to find out what became of them but have been unsuccessful to this point.

WorldNames Public Profiler doesn’t provide any information on the origins of this surname. I tried a Google Search and checked out a few other sites in hopes of learning more about the origin of the surname and other than one site indicating that it was English and another indicating that it was French, there appears to be no available explanation for the surname.

Could this be a truly American name? The surname distribution leads one to believe this could be a possibility. The top three countries for this surname are United States at 53.4 FPN, Luxembourg at 8.5 FPN, and Canada at 1.6 FPN. The top three regions for the surname are Mississippi at 261.9 FPN, Texas at 209.75 FPN, and Georgia at 191.5 FPN. Finally, the top three cities for this surname are Memphis, TN; Atlanta, GA; and Chicago, IL.

I’ve not done much work on my Stovall line, so as always, I’m hoping that another descendant of Grandma Eliza Stovall will come across this blog and help me fill in the details.

Tombstone Tuesday

Troy was my second cousin. I'm not sure that I ever met him. If I did, it was during my childhood, back when the Hosches used to have a family reunion every summer.

Picture obtained via FindaGrave.

September 2010 Genealogical Goals - Maternal Lineage

As noted on Sunday, I think I did a good job in accomplishing most of my Genealogical Goals for the month of August. I would like to thank Tonia of Tonia Roots  for this excellent idea.

Now on to matrilineal genealogy goals for September 2010.

Research

1. Resubmit request to RAOGK regarding probate records for my great grandfather, Cornelius Pierce. If I remember correctly, there is a second volunteer for Walton County, GA.
2. Order next round of microfilm from Family History Center.
3. Complete scan of cemeteries, via Walton County, Georgia Cemeteries by East Georgia Genealogical Society.
4. Contact Green County, GA to determine if there are any tax records for Jesse F. Pierce, suspected slave owner of my 2nd great grandparents.

Blogging / Writing

1. A minimum of four additional posts to the blog, two of which must be written posts.

Miscellaneous

1. Declutter and rearrange office.
2. Clean and repaint the "new to me" legal-size file cabinet. Purchased from the Habitat ReStore almost 2 months ago for my genealogical research files.
3. Now that a date has been selected to hold a Hosch family reunion, hope to narrow down places.
4. Begin and complete transcription project I volunteered to help out on for for LowCountry Africana.
5. Complete the genealogy part of a Genogram that I'm doing for a friend, which is part of an assignment for their recently started PhD program. This will probably be ongoing but will forward what I've found so far as the assignment is due in 2 weeks.
6. Take pictures for two FindaGrave photo requests. The cemetery is located in my hometown and is where my grandparents are interred.

A Look Back at August Goals - Maternal Lineage

I think I did good in attaining most of my August genealogical goals.

A look back-

Research Goals

1. Follow-up letters and / or calls to the Walton County, GA Coroner, Walton County, GA Sheriff, and the City of Monroe, GA Police Department. If you recall, a few months back, I wrote each of these agencies trying to find more information on the murder of my 3rd cousin twice removed (my grandmother's first cousin), Nunna Pierce Jackson. To date, I've not heard from any of them. Hopefully, writing and / or calling will spur them into action if for nothing else than to state they were not able to locate any additional information.
2. Follow-up with volunteer, Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness, whom I had contacted about transcribing / taking a picture of the probate records for my great grandfather, Cornelius Pierce.
3. Request Probate records for Jesse F. Pierce, possible slave owner, of my 2nd great grandparents, Jasper and Jane Pierce. As with my Ewell Ancestors on the paternal side, Jesse F. Pierce did not die prior to the end slavery. However, I'm still hoping that records are available and that there may be some bit of information that will help in the research.

1. 
I did send follow-up letters to City of Monroe Police Department and the Walton County Sherieff and Coronor's offices. I received a reply back from the Sherieff / Coronor. They don't have any further information on Cousin Nunna's death. So, I guess I'm left to pondor what were the circumstances surround her death. Maybe one day I'll come across something by accident.

2.
I wrote a follow-up e-mail to the volunteer from RAOGK but to date have not received a response.

3.
I did request probate records for Jesse F. Pierce. Unfortunately, there don't seem to be any. Interesting, given the fact that I've found him listed as executor, etc. on other's wills / probate records.

Blogging / Writing

1. A minimum of two posts to the blog, one of which must be a written post.

I actually surpassed this goal. I did 5 posts during the month of August (doesn't include my goals post) and all but 1 were a written post.

Miscellaneous

1. Take first steps in planning Hosch Descendants Family Reunion for 2011, i.e. come up with a date. It's been approximately 11 years since the last reunion of the descendants of my great grandparents, Barto Hosch and Sallie Rome Hosch, gathered together.
2. Declutter and rearrange office.
3. Clean and repaint the "new to me" legal-size file cabinet. Purchased from the Habitat ReStore a few weeks ago for my genealogical research files. 

1.
I did decide on a date but will run it by two of my cousins, also, to get their input. So for now, tentatively scheduled for August 6, 2011. Haven't quite decided on a possible location, yet but have 4 possible locations in mind.

Did not get anything accomplished on Items 2 and 3.


When I initially posted the August Goals, they were supposed to be for that week but I ended up making them for the remainder of the month. So, after one month of posting Goals, I've decided that a monthly list is probably the best with progress reports mid-month and at the end of the month or beginning of the next month.

So September goals will be posted later today or early tomorrow.

Sentimental Sunday - Fried Green Tomatoes

One of the things I miss from my childhood is momma making fried green tomatoes for breakfast. Summer wasn't summer until I had had them. I don't have them often any more, because 1) I've not had a garden in years and 2) although there are a few places around that will sell tomatoes to you green you really have to search for them. So, I'm usually asking friends to save me a few green tomatoes from their garden but I don't have alot of friends who garden anymore, either. Sigh.

So, one of my missions for this upcoming week, now that I've decided I have to have some fried green tomatoes, is to see if I can get to a farmer's market and hope that there are some green tomatoes amongst their offerings.

The picture of the Fried Green Tomatoes was obtained via RealSimple.com 

Surname Saturday - Rome

My Rome lineage is as follows:

1. Me
2. Mom
3. Oscar Lucillous "LC" Hosch - born abt. 12 Aug 1887 in Jackson County, GA; date of death - 10 Sep 1978, Shelby, Cleveland County, NC
4. Sally Rome - born abt. 1868, Walton County, GA, date of death unkown but best guestimate is sometime between 1895 and 1900. On the 1900 census, granddad, his older brother Will and his younger brother Hosea are found in the household of their grandparents. Granddad always stated that both his parents died when he was a young boy and his grandparents finished rearing he and his brothers.
5. Wyatt and Alice Rome - Wyat was born abt. 1840 in Georgia. Date of death unknown but most likely between 1910 and 1920 in Walton County, GA. Grandpa Wyatt appears on 1910 census but is not listed on later censuses. Alice was born abt. 1836 in Georgia and died between 1900 and 1910 in Walton County, GA.

According to WorldNames Public Profiler, the Rome surname is of Scottish / Celtic descent. The top 3 coutries for the surname are Solvenia, France, and Belgium, The top 3 regions for the surname are Southland District, New Zealand, Louisana, and Auvergne, France. The top 3 cities are Carlisle, North, United Kingdom; Baton Rouge, LA; and St. Etienne, Rhône-Alps, France.

Granddad's first cousin, Henry Rome, migrated to Detroit, MI. Henry's dad, Henry L. Rome, was the youngest of my 2nd great grandparent's children. Outside of that, I know very little about my Rome ancestors and family. Hopefully, one of cousin Henry's descendents or another Rome descendent will come across this post and contact me.