Back among us......
Doing research into my Dad's family past they have journeyed to Darmstadt Germany and found records about the family before they migrated to the U.S. in the 1870's. They have visited Scotland where she found my namesakes, in the Wallace and the Craig families. They made two trips to County Antrim, Northern Ireland where the name Craig is as common as Patel in India. From here my Dad's grandfather Craig came to America, while his brother, Sir James Craig, stayed and ended up becoming the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
On her side of the family, the King clan, she has traced the lineage all the way back to North Carolina in the 1700's and then mapped out the family over the centuries as it moved west into Tennessee and then into Missouri. One of her great aunt's was even named Missouri Gordon to honor their arrival in that state. Over this long period of time, many family names appear in our line of descendants. One of those is Judkins, my Mother's Great, Great Grandparents.
Some years ago, she and my Dad had heard that there might be a Judkins family cemetery plot somewhere in soutwestern Tennessee and so on a trip to the area they searched for it, coming up empty. I have to add here, that for most of her geneological career she has done her research the old fashioned way, by visiting courthouses, libraries, farmhouses and by writing letters and making phone calls. Apparently she would leave her name and phone number at some of these places should anyone find any pertinent information. And apparently people do save this information.....for last week my Mom got a call from a woman in southwest Tennessee. Her family had recently purchased land in Giles Co. and had found....yes you guessed it, a cemetery deep within the woods and covered with brush.
These fine folks took the time and very great effort to clean up the grave sites and photograph the markers. One of which faintly reads "Robert B. Judkins"......my Great, Great, Great Grandfather, born 1807 in North Carolina , married in Giles Co. Tenn. in 1830 and died there in 1890. A rather amazing story, I think, highlighting a direct link to our past and probably the most gratifying experience of my Mothers long career in geneology.
 | My Mother has been an avid and active pursuer of our family's past for many decades now. Her skills in geneology have allowed us to trace our family tree back several centuries and to several European countries. She has researched both her side of the family as well as my Dads. |
On her side of the family, the King clan, she has traced the lineage all the way back to North Carolina in the 1700's and then mapped out the family over the centuries as it moved west into Tennessee and then into Missouri. One of her great aunt's was even named Missouri Gordon to honor their arrival in that state. Over this long period of time, many family names appear in our line of descendants. One of those is Judkins, my Mother's Great, Great Grandparents.
Some years ago, she and my Dad had heard that there might be a Judkins family cemetery plot somewhere in soutwestern Tennessee and so on a trip to the area they searched for it, coming up empty. I have to add here, that for most of her geneological career she has done her research the old fashioned way, by visiting courthouses, libraries, farmhouses and by writing letters and making phone calls. Apparently she would leave her name and phone number at some of these places should anyone find any pertinent information. And apparently people do save this information.....for last week my Mom got a call from a woman in southwest Tennessee. Her family had recently purchased land in Giles Co. and had found....yes you guessed it, a cemetery deep within the woods and covered with brush.
These fine folks took the time and very great effort to clean up the grave sites and photograph the markers. One of which faintly reads "Robert B. Judkins"......my Great, Great, Great Grandfather, born 1807 in North Carolina , married in Giles Co. Tenn. in 1830 and died there in 1890. A rather amazing story, I think, highlighting a direct link to our past and probably the most gratifying experience of my Mothers long career in geneology.
