Editor’s Note: The research presented in this report was featured in a recent episode of Finding Your Roots on PBS as it followed the ancestry of actress Maya Rudolph. By Kandie Adkinson, Administrative Specialist, Land Office Division, Office of the Secretary of State As Researched by The Harrodsburg-Mercer County Oral …
By: H. Scott Hankla Introduction In my paternal grandfather’s[i] [i]old cherry desk was a worn, dusty portfolio made of heavy black cardboard, and on its cover and back were engravings of a building with the words “New York Crystal Palace for the Exhibition of All Nations.”[ii] Inside the portfolio was a …
By: Rogers Bardé I began the search for Hugh Brent when Hopewell Museum received a gift of the portraits of Hugh Brent and his wife, Elizabeth Langhorne Brent. I wanted to know who Hugh Brent was and find out why my 4th great grandfather, William Rogers, named his youngest son Hugh …
By: Ronald Clay Belcher David Cozine Westerfield of Mercer County, Kentucky, enlisted in 1861 and valiantly served with the Union Army, 19th Kentucky Regiment. On 2 January 1862, at Camp Harrod, Harrodsburg, his unit was mustered into service. Westerfield’s service with Company B took him from Kentucky to West Virginia …
By: Cheri Daniels, KAO Editor & KHS Head of Reference Services For a small family farm in Northern Scott County Tennessee, the conflicts of the Civil War were consistently nearby. Despite being surrounded by loyal Confederate counties, Scott County maintained a strong allegiance to the Union. In June of 1861, they ignored their …
By: Mary E. Clay This is a story about a surname puzzle. A similar story could be told by many other African Americans trying to find their ancestors. The search for the surnames the ancestors took after they were freed can be a true test of one’s research abilities. This …
By: Christopher L. Starr I have yet to meet a genealogist that did not have at least one amazing story to share about the unexpected path that their research took. As my own research progressed, this native New Englander was very surprised by the western turn made by my family. …
By: Clinton Slayton In two previous issues of Kentucky Ancestors, volume 38, numbers 1 & 3, 2002 & 2003, the story of the family of John Slatton was explored with emphasis on his soldier sons. In the intervening years, details have been uncovered to the extent that an update fills …
By: Elizabeth Rouse Fielder The George Blackburn Family Major George Blackburn Sr. (b. 16 January 1745, d. 9 September 1817) was one of the early settlers of Augusta County, Virginia.[i] He married Prudence Berry (b. 5 November 1754, d. 14 June 1836) in Virginia on the 12th of October 1771 …
Written by Aleta Hodge, a Jackson descendant In July 2011, the Jackson family, descendants of three brothers (Jordan Carlisle Jackson, Jr., Edward W. Jackson and John Henry Jackson and their uncle, Edward C. Jackson) held a reunion and visited four locations in Kentucky to connect with their family history. Despite …