This is a time-traveling blog. My brother, Tom and I plan to visit each of our ancestors. Join us on the journey of a life time, a journey which may, in fact, last the rest of our lifetimes. You are welcome to join us. Some of the limbs of our family tree may be familiar while others may hold unexpected surprises, and even a few mysteries.
Research has led me to the following people in our Family Tree: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Light Horse Harry Lee, General Robert E. Lee, an American Indian woman (Choctaw) named Molly (she married an Archibald), Zachery Taylor-the 12 President of the United States, and if I remember correctly Thomas Jefferson. These are but a few that have been discovered on my expedition into the Archibald-Tolman-Collingwood family history.
Our family history is much like the history of our country. We have an ancestry to be proud of and although I haven’t found a notorious criminal yet, I have uncovered a few skeletons (which I may or may not reveal). We have an ancestor’s brother who was hanged at the age of 16, for being a traitor to the British, during the Revolutionary War. And yes, many of us can qualify to become members of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Although intended for our family, others may be accidentally (or purposefully) directed to this blogsite. We welcome them and hope to hear from them, and when possible, include them in this Family Tree. But, rest assured it is not my intention to disclose anything about the private lives of the living (or even those who are more recently departed). But for you gossips, as an amateur gardener as well as an amateur genealogist, I know all the best dirt!
Welcome aunts, uncles, cousins. I hope that some relationships will be discovered and possibly new family ties developed. But mostly I hope you enjoy learning about our common ancestors as much as I enjoy finding out about them, and the details of their lives that make them special and unique individuals. Some of them I know only through research, others I have learned about through family stories, and even more, I have actually known and I remember. Also please feel free to contribute stories and pictures. If your dad was my uncle or grandpa then you probably knew him better than I did. I would like to know more. Stories that you remember about incidents in your life with him would be more precious than ruby’s in my eyes. Please share. I may want to write up your stories to add to the BOOK I am writing (someday).
The traits, skills and experiences of our ancestors are varied. All were immigrants, some more recent than others. Some were very educated, at Oxford no less. Several were farmers, a truck driver, even an amateur wine maker (possibly many of you knew this man). We have ancestors with high education, and ancestors of very little learning. Some ancestors had many children, others only one or two. Some who seem to have been wise, while others not. The monkeys hanging from our family tree range from coal miners to Virginia plantation owners, and vaudeville performer(s), to a President of the United States.
We have a vast and varied family history, not an uncommon occurrence in the United States. Because of my decades-long, on again-off again, obsession with genealogy, I have learned much about myself from my family history. No man (or woman) stands alone, and I feel strongly that we are who we are because of our family history. It is my opinion that the people we come from, have influenced our lives in many and often unknown ways. I hope that learning about them will open up new worlds to you regarding your own potential, as it has for me.
There are a few things that you who non-genealogists need to know. DOB and DOD mean date of birth and date of death. The date is always written with the day number, then the month shortened to just three letters, then the year, so May 8, 1954 is written 8 May 1954. No abbreviations of the year as we will be covering several centuries and it can become confusing. There may be other abbreviations that I will use as we go along. If you are confused please just ask a question in the comments section or email me at cgillice@gmail.com . I am always thrilled to correspond on my family history.
Mistakes are bound to occur since Government records, family trees, and anything else that is produced by the hand of man, is prone to error. I apologize for the errors before they occur and I humbly ask that you point them out to me when they become evident.
Corrections are much appreciated and I need to know where or how you got your information. Did you get the information out of an old Bible, off a website, from a birth certificate? Please share your knowledge and sources, and I would love to receive any copies of your documentation. If your information is from word of mouth, or memory, please state who and when and how. But even if you don’t have the documentation and just have a clue, I would be happy for that clue. (I am becoming something of a genealogy detective).
I am already hard at work gathering the information for you, about our first featured ancestor, Hannah Elizabeth Craig. You will have to ‘tune back in’ to find out who she is, when and where she lived, and how she is related to you.
Here is a mystery about her. She is related by blood to both the paternal and maternal families of one of my parents (I’m not saying which parent yet). This means that there is a husband-wife couple in my family where the husband and the wife are both related to my ancestor and to me, although neither are blood relatives to one another. Caught your interest? You’ll need to check back later this week to find out all about Hannah.Your cousin,
Cathy Jo Archibald Gillice
Hope, Idaho (2011)
(now in the year 2021-22, Grass Valley California)
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