by Sharon Hall | Dec 16, 2014 | Tombstone Tuesday
Some Tombstone Tuesday articles just beg to be written because the subject lived such a long and purposeful life. Today’s article is one of those. Mattie Grace Grob was born on January 16, 1892 in Leavenworth, Kansas to parents Mathias and Martha (Kuellmer) Grob. ...
by Sharon Hall | Dec 13, 2014 | Surname Saturday
Butter Today’s surname is also a common word and another one which presents a research challenge, but with an interesting historical twist – the story of an apple. According to immigration passenger lists, people with the Butter surname, or some variation thereof,...
by Sharon Hall | Dec 12, 2014 | Feisty Females
Her life, though short, was full of many accomplishments. Harriet Quimby was born on May 11, 1875 in Arcadia, Michigan to parents William and Usrula Quimby. The Quimbys had several children, but only Harriet and her older sister Kittie survived to adulthood. ...
by Sharon Hall | Dec 10, 2014 | Digging History Magazine, Ghost Town Wednesday
There were actually two towns in Arizona with the same name, one “Silverbell” and one “Silver Bell”, situated about four miles apart. Both were mining towns, but “Silverbell” has the most colorful history. According to the...
by Sharon Hall | Dec 9, 2014 | Tombstone Tuesday
Greenup Raney was born on August 7, 1846, according to an entry at Find-A-Grave (and his grave stone), although he could have been born anywhere from 1847 to 1849, based on various records. It appears from an 1860 census record that his mother was named Celia and he...
by Sharon Hall | Dec 6, 2014 | Surname Saturday
Marple is most commonly known as an English surname and most sources agree that it was a locational name referring someone who lived near a maple tree grove. There are some mild disagreements about the specific location where the name emanated from. For instance,...
by Sharon Hall | Dec 3, 2014 | Digging History Magazine, Wild West Wednesday
No one seems to have a definitive history of Jackson Lee “Diamondfield Jack” Davis’ early life. Even the date and place of his birth appears to be a mystery. A cursory internet search will yield results spanning the years between 1864 and 1879 as his purported birth...
by Sharon Hall | Dec 2, 2014 | Tombstone Tuesday
Albinus Reger Marple was born on January 27, 1834 in Lewis County, Virginia to parents John Weaver and Ruth (Reger) Marple. It’s possible that his first name was a family name, evidenced by a record of someone named Albanus Marple in Pennsylvania. Most family...
by Sharon Hall | Nov 25, 2014 | Tombstone Tuesday
Jesse J. Bird was born in Patrick County, Virginia on June 2, 1831 to parents Benjamin and Lucy (Grady) Bird. Benjamin served for about six months during the War of 1812 in Virginia’s militia, as evidenced by a pension application submitted by Lucy. Benjamin died in...
by Sharon Hall | Nov 22, 2014 | Surname Saturday
Like the Thing surname (see article here), the Pray surname is a bit hard to research because it is such a common word. Added to that are the various theories as to origins, three at least, and none of them have anything to do with the most common way we use the word...
