by Sharon Hall | Feb 10, 2015 | Tombstone Tuesday
This family lived in Sumter County, South Carolina, and as the largest slaveholders in the state, were avid supporters of the Confederate cause. The patriarch of the family, William Holmes “April” Ellison, Jr. was a successful entrepreneur and readily offered the...
by Sharon Hall | Feb 7, 2015 | Surname Saturday
Tillinghast is an English locational surname meaning “one who came from Tillinghurst”, according to the 4Crests web site, and a place where auctions were held. While most family heraldry came into wide use during the Middle Ages, it appears that the Tillinghast...
by Sharon Hall | Feb 6, 2015 | Feisty Females
Today’s “Feisty Female” came to America as a slave, and during her all-too-brief life, made history by becoming the first African American woman to have her own book of poetry published. Most scholars believe she was born in Senegal around 1753. In 1761 the young...
by Sharon Hall | Feb 3, 2015 | Tombstone Tuesday
I ran across this unique surname while researching ancestors in Pulaski County, Kentucky. If you regularly read Tombstone Tuesday articles, you’ll know that I’ve written a few of late highlighting some residents of that county, who as far as I know are not related to...
by Sharon Hall | Jan 31, 2015 | Surname Saturday
Bible This unique surname has origins in both Germany and England, according to various sources: House of Names: This German surname is derived from the Latin verb “bibere”, which means “to drink” (as in “imbibe”). According to this source the original...
