My Cup Runneth Over

We spent a day reunited with our far-away family and touring Grand Rapids' Art Prize 2011 - a truly amazing installation. Sunshine, a rejuvenated city, our loved ones within eye's and ear's reach, and interesting art made for an almost perfect day.

Then Dean Hunt's charcoal drawing Back to My Roots greeted us as we walked into The B.O.B. to see more art and have dinner. All that joy, food, AND genealogy? It was a perfect day.

Empty Cottages, Grand Haven, MI - Wordless Wednesday

Mary Stephenson Wyly - Tombstone Tuesday

SACRED

to the memory of 

MARY N. WYLY

Consort of 

SAMUEL ?. WYLY

Died March 7th 1851

Aged 31 years & 4 months

Mary Wyly is buried at Leesburg Presbyterian Church (Leesburg, TN) where her husband, the Rev. Samuel Wyly, preached.  She was my third great great-aunt. 

According to our McAdams Family Record she was born 7 Nov. 1819 and married Samuel G. Wyly on 28 Sep. 1841. She was the daughter of John and Eliza Cloyd Stephenson, who are buried down the road at Washington College. 

Lancaster County Landmarks - Mappy Monday

This map, hand drawn by Louise Palmer Strong, was enclosed in a letter to my husband's grandfather (and her first cousin) dated 24 Feb 1956. The map shows the location of Clifton, the Palmer home, in relation to other historic landmarks in the area. At the time photographers from National Geographic had just finished photographing the home for the April 1956 issue featuring several Virginia colonial homes.

Clifton was originally part of King Carter's land and probably served as a hunting lodge. His descendants sold the house and farm to James Armistead Palmer in 1843. Palmer died shortly after, but his daughter Maria Lee Palmer and son John Armistead Palmer grew up at Clifton. Louise Strong was John Palmer's daughter.

Source

Louise Palmer Strong (Clifton; Kilmarnock, VA) to William Meredith Smith, letter, 24 Feb 1956; digital image, privately held by Smith descendant, [STREET ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Frederick, MD.  

Can't watch baseball so here's my mother - SNGF

It's Saturday evening and I'm listening to the Cardinals play their first post-season game. Too tense to watch so Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun is a perfect distraction. Yikes. Other guys just scored.

Anyway, Randy asked us to list our matrilineal line and mtDNA Haplogroup if we've been tested.

The mothers -

1. Susan Clark
2. Carolyn Sawyer (b. 10 Dec 1929 TN, d. 10 Jul 1999 CT) married LIVING
3. Iva Williams (b. 31 Jan 1900 TN, d. 27 Jun 1993 TN) married Robert Sawyer
4. Flora McAdams (b. 13 Apr 1867 IL, d. 17 Dec 1945 TN) married R.J. Williams
5. Rachel Mulkey (b.15 Sep 1839 TN, d. 1906 TN) married Samuel McAdams
6. Ann Duncan (b. 23 Oct 1809 TN, d. 12 Dec 1849 TN) married Philip Mulkey
7. Sarah Hunt (b. 10 Nov 1789 TN, d. 9 Jul 1858 TN) married James Duncan
8. Sarah MNU (b. 14 Mar 1763, d. 13 Feb 1834 TN) married Uriah Hunt

I did autosomal testing earlier this year and learned my mtDNA Haplogroup is H, the most common European haplogroup. That's not specific enough to provide any hints on my mystery Sarah, beyond the probability that her mother was not an Indian princess.