CHECK OUT MY NEW AVON BLOG

http://www.avonbebeautiful@wordpress.com

For the latest new items and special offers.

Shop my store now

YOU BE THE JUDGE

GREATER TENNESSEE VALLEY ANTIQUE CAR SHOW

GTO The Judge

GTO The Judge

I didn’t even know there was an antique car show today. We had gone to the farmer’s market in downtown Decatur. Which was having their corn festival. Unfortunately, it has been so dry, the corn was not local. This did not stop my husband from chomping on an ear. On our way home, we passed several antique cars, that seemed to be going in the direction of Point Mallard. Once we got home, I checked the Decatur website, and , sure enough….Antique Car Show! We have been going to Third Friday in downtown Decatur, which features mainly local cars. A nice thing to do on a Friday night.

From Third Friday Decatur

I was going walking anyway, so I made my way in the direction of the cars. That is, in the direction of all the card entering Point Mallard park. It was quite busy! The park has quite a few events throughout the year. This was one event that I did not know was coming. Good thing I caught it! It was a free event for spectators, and a $25.00 registration fee. Quite a few really cool cars. I will remember this one for next year. Here is a link to the North Alabama Car Show events.

Apparently, I like red cars! Who doesn’t. It makes the car go faster!!!!

The Metropolitan, first American Sub Compact car

GTO

The Metropolitan, first American Sub Compact car

From Third Friday Decatur

GTO The Judge

GTO The Judge

T Bird $11,500 Who Wants It?

©FANNIESYOURAUNT

TUESDAY TIPS

                                            CREATING YOUR TREE

If you have not already been bitten by the genealogy bug, this is of no use to you. Nor will you even be reading this. But, if you are thinking of starting your family tree, here are some beginning tips on what to do.

1. Start with your parents. What do you know of them, where they met, lived etc.
2. Your grandparents. Now if you are fortunate enough to still have them, ask as many questions as you can, and have a tablet. This is how I started. Learn about their siblings, where the grandparents lived, worked and who their parents were. The great-grandparents are key. This could take you back much further, probably Civil War time depending on your age.
3. Photographs, hopefully mom saved a lot of these, and grandma too. Hope that the photos have names and dates on the back.
4. Resource centers cemeteries in which your ancestors are buried, local LDS centers, death, marriage and birth certificates in your family.
5. Join an online community , such as Rootsweb, Genealogy Wise, FamilySearch, Genforum or Ancestry. This is a great way to network your info.
6. Research on Findagrave, I have found many headstones there, as well as other family buried in the same cemetery. This also gives you locality information on where your family lived.
7. USGenWeb has great information broken down by state and county. There are volunteers there to help.
8. Local libraries/archives has old census records, deeds and abstracts, as well as court records to help you in your search.
9. Visit towns in which your family grew up, I did this recently and discovered a new world.
10. Lastly, try to stick to one family at a time, if you don’t, you may stray and never get back to your original question……

WHERE DO I COME FROM?

WIMBLEY CEMETERY

Wimbley Cemetery AKA Kimbell Cemetery

This cemetery is located just west of Decatur Alabama on highway 20/72. It is on the property that belongs to ULA ( formerly Boeing). It’s posted no trespassing…..I can’t read apparently. This means nothing to those of us eager to take a photo not listed. I was sure to be extremely careful. It is within a fenced area and rock wall as well. It contains the Kimbell family as well as names MInor, Mosely and Murphey. It is very poor condition, with many of the monuments overturned. The only information I can find on this family, is that Edmond Kimbell once operated a stagecoach in Decatur. So, it was a point of interest for many to stop, probably because of the  river.

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY

I LOVE AN INTERESTING HEADSTONE OR MONUMENT……

FindaGrave has a list of the most interesting headstones from around the world. It is especially interesting to me to see the skill and craftsmanship, from the late 19th century. I can not imagine how long such things would take to chisel…there is an extra thrown in that is recent, but,, really cool!

Here are some of my favorites….

If you have never been to an old cemetery, I suggest you do. Not only can you find interesting headstones and monuments, you may be able to fulfill a photo from someone who has posted a request on there. Happy searching!!

The Road Less Traveled

Building left to decay…..

I have always appreciated architecture, in many forms. Whether it is an old timber building or a modern design. Everywhere along the back roads in Georgia, there were many old homesteads, barns, small groceries and abandoned churches. I often wonder  what happened. Was it an economic reason? The small community could not be sustained? People moved away due to lack of work? Whatever the reason, it leaves a question of how they got to be in a state of ruin.

I recently discovered a website devoted to old building and places in Georgia. The writer and photographer ( Brian Brown )  does an excellent job showing the forgotten places throughout Georgia. I appreciate the site, mainly because many of my ancestors came from Georgia. I saw many of these sights just the other day.  If you too appreciate abandoned building, etc., please visit his site and enjoy. Brian Brown’s site is

http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/

another abandoned barn

Old Dead People and Decrepit Buildings

Although, short lived, my genealogy trip was a lot of fun. I began in Opelika Alabama, hoping to find the elusive Mamie Thomas, who married John R. McCall. She is still elusive by the way. I proceeded from Columbus Georgia to Talbotton Georgia. On the way, I found an old cemetery at the Ellerslie UMC Church. There is something really cool about old churches. Imagining, their member were buried at the cemetery out front. Some markers were dated earlier than 1860. After trampling through the cemetery, I then drove on to Talbotton, I wanted to see the court house. The town was really quiet, except for two men out front.  I drove around to the Leverthistoric district and saw some beautiful Greek Revival homes. Several had fallen into disrepair. My gg grandfather John R McCall was born in Talbotton in 1854. Just north in Pleasant Hill community. In the 1860 census, we was listed as an overseer, and I wondered exactly where the planation may have been. I saw several Antebellum homes on the road going out of town. Every once in a while, I would notice an old cemetery, and would have to turn around to find the entrance. May were marked with iron fences. I knew of none of my ancestors buried at any of these old cemeteries, but, I still had to look. From Talbotton, I headed south to Geneva, which was really just train tracks and highway. I found one old church, no longer in use. Then on to Buena Vista, in Marion County. I stopped in a small junk store to look around, and bought a local newspaper. I love small towns!! I drove around the square, and yes, found another cemetery. I kept going until I saw the next sign that said 29 miles to wherever. I was on a straight track to go through all the cities where my ancestors had lived.

More to come

Family Pics 2012

This is a picture of myself, mom and dad. Hershel Pickens and Louise Pickens

WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?

It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while, someone asks me how in the world one gets started in genealogy.  It seems to be the million dollar question (in the genealogy world at least).  Luckily, I got some answers for you:

1.) Start with yourself and work your way back, starting with the three basics: birth date and place, marriage date and place, and death date and place.  Once you’ve finished writing your birth date and place for yourself (include marriage date and place if that applies to you), start with your parents.  Then move on to your grandparents, etc, etc.

2.) Ask your relatives about what they know about your family.  Usually, they can give you information that you might not of known about.  Write down any dates and locations, even if they are only estimates.  All of the information you gather will serve as a guide for when you finally jump into the research pool.

3.) Put all of that information that you’ve gathered onto a Pedigree Chart and on some Family Group Sheet (You can find these sheets at a TON of websites, but the links that I included go to the forms provided by Cyndi’s list).  By putting your information on these forms, you have it all organized.

4.) Start researching information about the censuses, birth records, death records, marriage records, etc. in the area you are researching.  Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to memorize it or to look at all the records that are available – the point of this is just to get an idea of what you can search and what records your ancestors might be found in.

5.)  Now, it is time to go out and start proving that information.  If you are ready to invest some money, then try to buy a subscription to a website like Ancestry.com or Footnote.com (I recommend Ancestry.com when you are just starting out).  If you don’t want to invest money just yet, try the message boards on websites like Rootweb.com and Genealogy.com.  Try going onto free websites like FamilySearch.org.

So now that you have some easy steps, go ahead and try to get your feet wet in genealogy.  Just be careful though – this will become an addiction.

Rubbing Elbows

How to do a cemetery rubbing:

Check with the cemetery or local historical society to find out if rubbings are permissible. Do NOTattempt a rubbing on a wobbly, flaking, chipped or crumbling tombstone. Take a photograph instead. You can bring out details in the photograph with many software programs today.

Clean the tombstone with plain water and a soft bristle (natural or nylon) brush. Scrub the stone from the bottom up to avoid streaking. Flush the stone with water after you have scrubbed.

Large flat crayons work well for rubbings or you can use charcoal, rubbing wax, or chalk. Use can use sheets of newsprint – you might ask for an end roll from the newspaper office (it’s usually free), butcher paper, rice paper or Pellon interfacing material for your rubbings, (rice paper, and Pellon can be found in arts and craft stores). Before going to the cemetery, cut the newsprint into poster-size sheets.  Soft brushes or cloths may be needed to remove dirt and moss from tombstones.  Never use harsh brushes or chemical cleaners, and if a stone is crumbling, do not attempt a rubbing.

Use masking tape to adhere the newsprint to a stone with indented letters or decoration.Rub lightly to start with, and then progressively harder to bring out the detail and letters. But be very careful and gentle so you won’t damage the tombstone.

If you used chalk, carefully spray the paper with chalk spray or hairspray to protect the rubbing but be careful not to get any on the tombstone. You can also use the masking tape to secure the rolled up rubbings.

Be sure to pick up and trash and leave the cemetery just as you found it.