The Ancestral Pen

  "Did your mom speak Romani, and were your mom and dad both gypsy?" The question from my newly discovered cousin, Rhonda Krug, stopped me cold. After fifteen years of tracing my ancestors, I thought I had uncovered every family secret. But this? This was something I never saw coming. My second-great-grandmother, Rachel Mason Roe, had always been one of my more puzzling ancestors. Born around 1863, she appeared in records with frustrating inconsistencies—different birth years, various spellings of her name, and conflicting information about her origins. When I discovered the 1910 census claiming she was "half Chippewa Indian" born in Canada, my mother and I thought we'd finally found the answer to our unknown heritage on that side of the family. But those inconsistencies that had frustrated me for years suddenly made perfect sense once I understood the truth: Rachel wasn't Native American at all. She was Romani. The Records That Didn't Add Up Rache...

  Born August 24, 1862, in Warren County, Kentucky Died September 15, 1909, in Bradley, Grady County, Oklahoma Helen Fannie Burnett's life embodied the restless spirit of late 19th-century America, when families packed their belongings into wagons and chased opportunities across an expanding frontier. Born during the Civil War in the rolling hills of Kentucky, she would die nearly half a century later in the red dirt of Oklahoma Territory, her journey marking the path of a nation pushing ever westward. Kentucky Roots Helen entered the world on August 24, 1862, as the daughter of John Burnett and Mary Jane Tygrett in Warren County, Kentucky. She was part of a large family that would eventually include siblings James Wood, Charlie Cooper, Augustus, Charlotte, Lulie, Warner Thomas, Phillip (who died young), Blanch, and Shelly. Growing up in the post-Civil War South, Helen experienced the challenges of Reconstruction firsthand. By 1880, at age 17, Helen was still living as a sing...

"It started like a spark — hot, irresistible, impossible to ignore. But sparks burn out fast… and the ashes leave scars." When I wrote  His Greatest Regret , I wanted to explore what happens when grief and longing push two people together — not because they’re ready, but because they’re lonely, human, and aching to feel alive again. Richard and Charlotte’s love was never meant to last. It began as a spark: a widow and a widower, each carrying their own grief, finding an unexpected comfort in one another. What started as warmth grew into a fire that neither of them could control — and that fire left behind ashes that scarred everyone it touched. Most of all, it scarred William — the child born of that spark — who would carry the weight of Richard’s choices for the rest of his life. (William’s story comes next month — but you’ll need to catch up on what came before.) 🔥 Excerpt: Charlotte stood before the shop, her arms wrapped around an enormous flour sack that threatened to s...

Photo shared by Glenda Owen on Ancestry.com My fourth great-grandfather,  Tillman Williamson "T.W." Graham  (1817-1893), was a man perpetually in motion, chasing opportunity across three states during one of America's most transformative periods. But his story also serves as a perfect reminder of why careful record analysis matters in genealogy, because sometimes those convenient Ancestry leaf hints can lead us astray if we're not paying attention. From Tennessee Roots to Texas Dreams Born on May 15, 1817, near Nunnley in Hickman County, Tennessee, T.W. started life in the established settlements of middle Tennessee. By 1841, he had married Jency Jane Williams in Perry County, and their first son, Charles Granville, arrived in 1843. But Tennessee couldn't hold this restless pioneer for long. By 1846, the young family had packed up and headed for the promise of Texas, settling first in Cass County. This wasn't just a casual move—T.W. was investing in land, ...

  Sometimes our ancestors seem to emerge from the historical records like ghosts, leaving only breadcrumbs of their existence scattered across decades and state lines. Willie Marion Crooks was one of those restless souls—a man perpetually in motion, chasing opportunities across the American frontier as the 19th century gave way to the 20th. Born on October 18, 1876, in Hill County near Hillsboro, Texas, Willie entered a world still raw from Reconstruction. His parents, Bolivar Houston Crooks and Martha G. Thomas, were raising their large family in the heart of rural Texas, where cotton fields stretched to the horizon and the frontier was still a living reality rather than a romantic memory. A Texas Childhood The 1880 census captures four-year-old Willie as simply another child in the Crooks household—one of many siblings, including brothers John Porter, General Grant, Daniel H., Guy Melton, and sisters Sudi, Julia, Maggie Delana, and Sarah Jane. His father, Bolivar, worked the ...

  July 4th Parade As I've mentioned before, I'm a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. I have many patriot ancestors, two of whom are on my Woolsey line. Daniel Woolsey was the great-grandfather of Richard Woolsey from my book "His Greatest Regret," and Daniel's father Henry—both served together side by side in the American Revolution. You'll learn a bit more about this in the next book about Richard's son, William. Families are messy. Richard was the broken link in this family line. He descended from two amazing men who were patriots, then Richard somehow avoided the Civil War, even though he was of the optimal age to serve, likely in the Union since he lived in Indiana. He left behind a son he never knew. However, when you go back beyond Richard, you have men who were patriots, well-established family men, and so on. Someday I will write about Daniel and Henry Woolsey as well, but I'm still in the process of gathering information about...

(AI generated image) One of the most frustrating aspects of genealogy research is when family oral history directly contradicts the documentary evidence. This week's ancestor, my husband's 2x great-grandfather Thomas Marion Elonzo Manning, presents exactly this kind of puzzle—one that has me questioning everything I thought I knew about his character and his relationship with his daughter. The Man Behind the Records Thomas was born on November 7, 1874, in Montgomery County, Arkansas, to Ira W. Manning and Tamsey Manervia Sessions. His childhood was marked by loss—his father died around 1888 when Thomas was just 14, leaving him to help support his mother and younger siblings. After his mother remarried, Thomas gained several half-siblings through the Shopshire family. At age 25, Thomas married 17-year-old Mattie Smith on March 24, 1900, in what was then Indian Territory (later Oklahoma). They built their life as farmers, moving around McIntosh County as Thomas sought better ...