Stories & Tips for A Genealogy Road Trip

by Chris Pattillo

My Genealogy Journey
One month after retiring I embarked on a 2 ½ month cross-country trip. I drove over 9000 miles through 19 states and did family history research in Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina and Virginia. Along the way, I visited six county courthouses in four states, sixteen libraries, and made 3390 copies of pages of documents. Sounds tiring, right? I was exhilarated!

During the trip I found several people who helped me find family graves and clues to my family history. One encounter led to a small rural burial plot where my 2nd great grandmother is buried. While in Albany, Texas I found one small clue that enabled me to break down my tallest brick wall – one I’d been trying to topple for over 15 years. 

It was a remarkable trip filled with amusing stories and tales about how dogged determination led to genealogical treasures. Come hear my tales and be inspired to make your own genealogy journey on October 14th from 1pm - 3pm, right after our The California Genealogical society's quarterly membership meeting and Annual Genie Awards!  

Catch up with what happened before the talk by visiting my blog and read about what I experienced. The blog archive is located near the bottom right of the homepage with posts arranged by month.  I can't wait to share with you what I learned!  

About the Speaker

Chris Pattillo first became interested in family history research when she toured the then new Mormon Temple in Oakland in 1963. She started her research while on a family vacation in the late 60s and has continued to work on it in fits and starts ever since. After running her own Landscape Architecture firm for 40 years, Chris retired last April and spent two and a half months traveling across the United States, visiting Texas, Virginia, Tennessee and South Carolina where her Pattillo ancestors are from. 

She has self-published four family history books and now writes the Pattillo-Thornally Family History blog. Chris has had a few articles published in the CGS quarterly – The Nugget, and since her trip has had articles published in an Albany, Texas newspaper and the Watauga Association of Genealogists bulletin in Tennessee.

Copyright © 2017 by California Genealogical Society

Chris' Genealogy Journey: Discovery at the Tennessee State Library & Archives

by Chris Pattillo

The next chapter of my Genealogy Journey is all about doing research at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. I located several documents and resources that I’d never seen before and learned the difference between land deeds and land grants. I spent time looking at both types of records for my family plus surveyor’s records, marriage records and estate inventories.

Did you know that one of Franklin D Roosevelt’s “put people back to work projects” engaged citizens to transcribe historic documents? This was one of my new discoveries while at the library. If you’ve never been to a state library before you are in for a treat – they offer a virtual treasure trove of genealogical jewels.

The fun begins
I set my alarm for 6:30 this day in hopes of getting to the Tennessee State Library and Archives early enough to get a parking space. I succeeded. On June 7th and 8th I was one of the first five visitors to enter the library.

The day before I looked at their books on Carter County and found several things of interest. My treasures included: 

1) a detailed list of each of the 24 persons buried in the Fitzsimmons Cemetery with details of what information is on every headstone. Four of my ancestors are buried there including William Stover, my third great grandfather. This document was prepared by the Historical Records Survey which was one of President Roosevelt’s WPA programs to put people to work during the depression. I hadn’t known about this before. 

2) A History of the Iron Industry in Carter County to 1860 written by Robert Nave, a local historian and archivist who had generously spent a day with me in 2012 taking me to all the places where my ancestors had lived. This book is of interest because William Stover owned the Speedwell Bloomery Forge in Carter County ca. 1855. 

3) Five years of Tax Lists from 1796 to 1800 for Carter County, and 

4) The book Images of Carter County had several interesting photos including two in particular. One was a picture of Daniel Stover’s home before it was restored. Daniel was my fourth great grandfather. There’s also a good photograph of the Sinking Creek Baptist Church, which is relevant, but I cannot recall why just now.

On the second day I looked mostly at deeds. I started with the Index for 1795-1880 and made a list of 17 deeds for my Drake family line and 65 for my Stovers! My goodness, my ancestors bought and sold a lot of pieces of property. At this rate I’d be here a month, so I decided to only look at the Stovers for the period 1880 – 1895 and found only 28 additional documents. By 1895-1911 the numbers were much reduced and the names less familiar – only 12 more, so I decided to skip 1911-1928. Want to know the rest of the story? Click here.

Photos courtesy of Chris Pattillo

Copyright © 2017 by California Genealogical Society

Chris' Genealogy Journey: Handley Cemetery & Tarrant County, TX

by Chris Pattillo

Cemeteries and Courthouses...a genealogy goldmine. My next highlighted stops as I continued along my genealogy adventure had me in Texas with visits to the Handley Cemetery, near Fort Worth, and the Tarrant County Courthouse.  So take a quick break now and enjoy a bit of genealogy travel and research along with me, a fellow California Genealogical Society member.

Handley Cemetery

After the Stock Yards on the 24th I drove to Azal, a little northwest of Fort Worth, where I found an RV Park for the night. My spot had a very nice view of a field with a small herd of Angus cows grazing in it. I planned to find the Handley Cemetery, the following day, and look for the grave of Wirt W. Pattillo. Wirt was listed on the 1880 census with his parents and his birth information showed he was born in May of that year. I Googled “Handley Cemetery” to I could find the location and the Find A Grave site came up – a tremendous resource for genealogists.

I entered “Pattillo” and three burials were listed. I was taken aback to find three infant sons buried in the Handley Cemetery. Previously, I’d known about two infant boys that had died but now I found that there were three. Wirt W. Pattillo was born May 25, 1880, James H. Pattillo, named after his grandfather, was born September 18, 1882 and died November 11, 1883 – just 13 months old, and Infant Pattillo, a son died January 31, 1884. In just three years James and Carrie Pattillo had lost three children. How very tragic. I’d like to know the causes of death but those records were lost in a fire, as I learned later in the day at the Tarrant county Courthouse.  For more photos and the end of Chris' tale, click here.

Tarrant County Courthouse

When I left the Handley Cemetery I drove south to Camper World to have my solar power converter fixed. I arrived a little early for my 1:00 appointment but spent the time shopping for a few things I needed. After the lunch break I went out to the shop to show them where the converter was hidden. The technician asked me a couple of questions about what the problem was, he tested for electricity flow, then moved a little black switch into the “on” position and voila my problem was fixed – No charge! So, now all my technical problems were fixed and I had time to visit the Tarrant County Courthouse that afternoon.

It is a beautiful building designed by Gunn & Curtis Architects in the Renaissance Revival style. The original cost of construction was $408,840 and the citizenry thought the politicians were so extravagant at the time they voted them out of office.  The interior of the building is also spectacular. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

After finding a parking space directly across the street from the courthouse, I made my way to the City Clerk’s office. The man at the front desk informed me that the marriage record I sought for my great grandparents did not exist because there had been a fire and ….. just then one of his co-workers, Mary Boyd, returned from her break and chimed in, “oh, yes we do have those records”. The front desk person looked dubious but Ms. Boyd escorted me into the adjacent room filled with computer workstations and within five minutes had located my prize. She explained, “we only get requests for these old records about once every five years, so they forget that we have them, but I love looking for them.”  The story continues here.

Stay tuned for my next adventure at the Tennessee State Archives.  If you've got ancestors from this neck of the woods, you'll enjoy this one!

Photos courtesy of Chris Pattillo

Copyright © 2017 by California Genealogical Society

Chris' Genealogy Journey, First Stop: Albany, Texas

Leaving Liz's in Tucson, AZ in my new RV shirt

 by Chris Pattillo

Come along with me, a fellow California Genealogical Society member, and read excerpts from my blog as I begin a genealogy adventure focused on Texas, Virginia, Tennessee and Illinois.  Along the trail I plan to visit state and national parks too.  Ready? Let’s go!

The Why and the How

Inspired by my mom and dad’s camper trips when I was a kid, I’ve got my own small motorhome now, so I’m hitting the road. For many years I’ve wanted to spend time where my ancestors lived and to learn more about what they did, where they lived and what their lives were like. Now that I’ve recently retired, I can spend time seeing these places and doing research at local history libraries, state archives, courthouses and other places where historic records are kept.

In 1971 my parents Lottie and Ed bought a Ford pickup and a new camper 

Texas: My Ancestor Trail Begins

I’ve heard that people in Texas are friendly. Today I experienced the truth to that statement, and I would add they are helpful and generous. This morning I drove from Snyder, Texas to Albany, Texas (Shackelford County) and I started the genealogy part of this trip.

My great grandfather James William Pattillo left Mecklenburg, Virginia after the Civil War and migrated to Tarrant County, Texas. The earliest record I have for his being in the county is his marriage to Carrie Brooks Stover on 5 April 1879. On the 1880 Tarrant County census James was identified as a cattle dealer living in Handley just west of Fort Worth. By 1887 James and Carrie were living in Los Angeles, California but Carrie’s brother David Gaines Stover remained in Texas.

Saw this map in the Dawson County Courthouse.
At top center are Shackelford, Stephens and Tarrant Counties

There are footprints of this branch of my family in three counties all west of Fort Worth – Tarrant, Stephens and Shackelford. I started in Shackelford because I knew where Carrie’s brother, his wife and two of his sons are buried in the Albany Cemetery.

Saundra Nobles had surveyed the Albany cemetery and uploaded all her data and photos onto the Find-A-Grave site. The section, block and lot numbers were all listed on the site, so I figured finding them would be easy. It’s a large cemetery with very clearly labeled street names, but I didn’t see any section, block or lot numbers. I was stumped...for Chris’ complete story, click here.

Everyone I encountered today was warm, friendly, helpful and remarkably generous. Thank you Albany, Texas – a great town.  Stay tuned for my next genealogy adventure!

  

Photos courtesy of Chris Pattillo

Copyright © 2017 by California Genealogical Society

Salt Lake City Success: Our Annual Trip to the Family History Library

by Lisa S. Gorrell

Seven members along with myself serving as the trip leader, made the trek to Salt Lake City, Utah for six days of research at the genealogy mecca of the west coast: The Family History Library.

Member Dick Baker, who along with his wife Lynda, really enjoyed his second trip to the Family History Library this year.  Dick said, “As a beginner, the resources in the library were a bit overwhelming.  Without Lisa’s help, we would have been lost.  She kept me on track by helping me stick to my plan.”

What was it like?

We stayed at the Plaza Hotel, which is just a short walk out the back door to the library. Since it was a bit nippy and wet this year, being next door to the library was a blessing.

The schedule for the week was loose, so there was plenty of time for researching and socializing. Sunday evening was our first get-together dinner at the Olive Garden restaurant where we had a private room.

Monday, we attended an instructor-led class about getting the most out of the FamilySearch Library catalog. It was presented well and being able to use lab computers to follow along was very helpful. This class was well received and even I, who have used the online catalog for years, learned some new tricks!

Each day at lunch the group met in the lobby for a short walk through Temple Square to the Latter Day Saints' office-building cafeteria. At the cafeteria, there were many varieties of items that were reasonably priced. Some members bought extra during the week to have for dinner, so they could keep on researching!

The Temple Square gardens were gorgeous with multi-colored tulips, daffodils, Iceland poppies, pansies, and other flowers.

It was a great place to take a walk for exercise.

Wednesday evening’s group dinner was held at the Garden Restaurant at the top of the Joseph Smith Building. Our table was right at the windows where the view was spectacular.

Fabulous Finds

Each day, Lisa helped participants with research questions, computer searching, or with microfilm use. Each of the members had successes: 

• Jacqueline found photos and information from a local society’s newsletters, and a county history book that had many pages about her family—so much so, she may buy the books.

• Linda found an obit that allowed her to correct a death date and the husband’s death year, and DAR records that connect her third-great-grandfather.

• Kate helped confirm marriages without vital records, and using city directories in Savannah, Georgia was able to sort out Horrigan, Charlton, Pates, and McAuliffe families.

• Lynda connected to her Utah family line on FamilySearch Family Tree.

• Dick worked with entering information in his family tree program and found documents that might point to his grandmother’s maiden name.

• Nancy found original documents from microfilm to back up sources found online.

• Shirley found her husband’s Witherell line in Norton, Bristol County, Massachusetts that had many more generations than the family had thought.

Final thoughts

The wrap up dinner was held at Tuscan Brio Restaurant in the City Creek Shopping Center. At the end, we all toasted each other’s successes and vowed to return again next year.  

2018 trip is planned for April 22 through 29. Will you join us?

Copyright © 2017 by California Genealogical Society