Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

One of the conflicts that Americans participated in, which I know the least about, happens to be the Vietnam War. I won't even pretend to know the first thing about what sparked the initial standoff between North and South Vietnam, nor why the United States felt the need to become involved.  With minimal research, I can report that the war spanned 20 years, from 1955 to 1975, with ties to the Cold War which was "raging on" as the backdrop. North Vietnam was backed by the Soviet Union, and South Vietnam had the U.S. and other anti-communist countries backing its interests. The U.S. military was actively involved from 1965, under President Lyndon B. Johnson's command, until its withdrawal in 1973 during President Richard Nixon's term. According to the Department of Defense Statistical Information Analysis Division (SIAD), nearly 60,000 American service members died as a result of the war, with another 300,000+ wounded in action. Many of those men had not enlisted in...

In a previous blog post on my Great Grandaunt Mary , I wrote about her quilting hobby and how I coincidentally found a photo of her sewing a pattern that wound up in the hands of a cousin whom I had just met online (all due to this blog!). Quilt made by Mary (Dixon) Stalnaker Hogg and gifted to Nancy Hogg.  Photo supplied by Nancy Hogg, 2022. Mary wasn't the only quilter in the family though. Her mother, Lizzie (Rockwell) Dixon, and grandmother, Elizabeth (Pitcock) Rockwell, had also been avid quilters. In 2009, our family attended a small reunion outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma at my Great Aunt Frances (Dean) Wise's home to celebrate her 90th birthday and her sister Thelma's 81st. It was the perfect opportunity to raid Frances' closet, figuratively speaking! She gave us the low down on several family heirlooms and photos hung about her bedroom, including the many handmade quilts she had stored in a box, as well as two garments she produced herself. Both she and Thelma are n...

  OCTOBER 30, 2021 I come from farm people. As a genealogist, this is not the most exciting fact. When you seek out federal census records and eagerly scroll to the field of occupation to see how your ancestors made a living, let me tell you, it’s a total let down the moment you see “farmer” in that box. Does it mean you’ve reached a dead end in terms of records? No, not necessarily. There are agriculture schedules, local mercantile store ledgers, deeds, and plenty of other options of records you can explore to learn more about your farming family. But is it as exciting in comparison to when you find your doctor, local sheriff, or lawyer ancestor? Definitely not. Dixon family on wagon, 1904, West Virginia, (left to right) Nathan Dixon, Walter Stalnaker, Mary Dixon, Elizabeth Rockwell, Emma Dixon, Beatrice Bethel Dixon, Elizabeth V. Dixon. Week 37: On the Farm That said, running a farm is an entirely respectable career, and all of my farming ancestors get mad props from me, because ...