1832 - Timeline Fact - Gold was found in Union County, Ga.

Legend holds that gold was found in the area that became Union County in 1832.

This Timeline Fact may be an indicator why some of our family migrated to the Blairsville, Ga area.  We see several of our ancestors moving in to the area . . . . just some food for thought.

1952 photo at house in Cashes Valley Ga

Here's a photo that I really like! It was made at their house in Cashes Valley on the back porch in 1952.
It is Carol and Bill with their puppy and you can see Mariam (aka Nan) in the background.

1812 - 1814 - Timeline Fact - War of 1812

War of 1812

June 1812 - Dec 24 1814

the United States declared war against Great Britain in reaction to three issues: the British economic blockade of France, the induction of thousands of neutral American seamen into the British Royal Navy against their will, and the British support of hostile Indian tribes along the Great Lakes frontier.

1918 - Timeline Fact - Spanish Flu Pandemic

Spanish Flu Pandemic 

1918

January 1918 – December 1920

1775 - 1783 - Timeline Fact - American Revolution

American Revolution

April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783

Location:  Eastern North America, Gibraltar, Balearic Islands, Central America;
French, Dutch, and British colonial possessions in the Indian subcontinent, Africa and elsewhere;
European coastal waters, Caribbean Sea, Atlantic and Indian Oceans

1754 - 1763 - Timeline Fact - French and Indian War

French and Indian War

1754 - 1763

France cedes New France east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain, retaining Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and transfers Louisiana to Spain

1939 - 1945 - Timeline Fact - World War II

World War II

1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945  

(6 years and 1 day)

Europe, Pacific, Atlantic, South-East Asia, China, Middle East, Mediterranean, North Africa and Horn of Africa, briefly North and South America

1914 - 1918 - Timeline Fact - World War I

World War I

28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918
(4 years, 3 months and 2 weeks) 

Location:  Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Pacific Islands, China and off the coast of South and North America

1898 - Timeline Fact - Spanish American War

Spanish American War

April 25, 1898 – August 12, 1898

(3 months, 2 weeks and 4 days)

Location:   Cuba and Puerto Rico (Caribbean)
Philippines and Guam (Asia-Pacific)

1861 - 1865 - Timeline Fact - American Civil War

American Civil War

April 12, 1861 – May 9, 1865 (by proclamation)

(4 years, 3 weeks and 6 days)

last shot fired June 22, 1865

cool Genealogy Love Story

"I didn't grow up with him, so this is a whole love story we never even knew,"

"I love touching them, knowing that my grandparents had their hands on them," 

Stranger Discovers Long-Lost Love Letters in Attic, But Story Doesn't End There

A long-lost box of treasures found in one man's attic has unlocked a decades-old love story, ending in an unexpected surprise for a family that for the past roughly 70 years hadn't even realized anything was missing.

Joshua McKinney, of Casnovia, Mich., was removing old insulation in his home's attic on Jan. 25, when he found a stack of old love letters from the World War II era.

"He was scooping up old insulation to put the new insulation down, and while he was scooping, the letters just fell," Christina Frein, the now very grateful grand-daughter of the man who'd written the letters, told GoodMorningAmerica.com of McKinney's discovery.

The findings were wrapped in a dainty, disintegrating pink ribbon and included a birth certificate from 1942 for William Kissel, Frein's father, and a marriage certificate from 1941 for Edward and Virginia Kissel, Frein's grandparents.

Unsure of how these delicate old documents had ended up in his attic, McKinney and his sister decided to try to find the family these letters had once belonged to. They alerted their local news station, which shared the remarkable discovery on social media, and within four hours of the post circulating around the western Michigan area, Frein, who lives about an hour away in Muskegon, took notice.

"He found these on the same weekend my uncle, my dad's brother, passed away," said Frein, a complete stranger to McKinney. "It was really freaky, like my dad was trying to talk to me."

As soon as she heard about the discovery, Frein traveled to collect the sentimental pieces. But what she found when she got there was even more than she had expected.

"I thought I was going to retrieve stuff of my father's, but to see all these things, love letters from my grandfather to my grandmother, that was a huge bonus," Frein explained.

Edward Kissel, her grandfather, passed away before she was born.

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"I didn't grow up with him, so this is a whole love story we never even knew," said Frein. "When my grandma remarried, she never really talked about him."

 

"You'll never know the difference in 100 years"

Papa used to say when we would get upset or mad over things.

To which a 5 or 6 year old once responded, "But Papa, we never the the difference a hundred years from because we will be dead."

Papa replied, "Some things matter enough that they will last more than a hundred years and those are the only things worth getting upset over.  Everything else is just a passing thing."

sounds like something Papa would have done

love was the answer

Only when we recognize that we are heirs can we truly be pioneers.

We inherit from our ancestors gifts so often taken for granted-our names, the color of our eyes and the texture of our hair, the unfolding of varied abilities and interests in different subjects. . . .

Each of us contains within our fragile vessels of skin and bones and cells this inheritance of soul. We are links between the ages, containing past and present expectations, sacred memories and future promise.

Only when we recognize that we are heirs can we truly be pioneers.

-Edward C. Sellner

Some day we will be the Ancestors . . . what do you want to tell our family in the future?

I research our ancestors, trying to find enough information to help us know who they are/were.  I hope to help us see some of their lives through their eyes, so that they are not just facts on page.  

I love our family of today enough to put forth the effort to do   

I hope for our family in the future that they will 

"Why do you do this? Why do you spend time on our genealogy?"

I do this for the love of our family I know and in honor of those that came before us and for the curiosity of those that will come after us.

I have often been asked why I spend my time on our family history?  It is a valid question, I suppose.  The answer today is very different than it was when I first started.

The love of 'knowing' people who came before us was a gift instilled by Papa and Nan Jones.  If you were fortunate enough to know them when you were young, you may remember them showing us old photos while naming the people.  Sometimes you would get a story and sometimes it was just a name and how they were related to us. Even more than knowing who came before us, I love my family today.  We are a wide variety of personality types and interests, but most of all I am so very happy that I am part of this big family!

Who knew we would reach back in time hundred's of years to various countries with voyages on ships, traveling on foot, by horse, wagon and train. Who knew there would be banishment from Scotland or defiance of King James or the search for gold or the adventure for the wide open west.


I think I was around 12 years old when I started to document some of the things they were sharing. 

They Ask "What type of things do you need?"

Some of you want to help and I am so glad!!  The big question is what type of stuff do you need?  Anything you want to include is important enough to me to add!  All contributions are very welcome.  Don't worry, you can always revise anything you have added.

Here are some suggestions:
photos of anything and everything
your stories about
   something special to you
   something you did with someone
   your 'traditions'
   your 'I remember when' stories
your 'favorites'
   favorite color
   favorite food
   favorite song
recipes - maybe some day we can do a Family Cookbook
   your favorite Christmas recipe or Thanksgiving recipe
   your favorite appetizer or dessert
hobbies
your pets if you want 
photos and info of Special Dates
    births
    graduation
    special sports events
    when you started ballet
    your very first basketball game 
    your sports team photos
    prom  
    parties
    vacations