Leaves & Branches

Well, I still haven't found that spark that will again make my family history research an obsession again.  I keep trying to find that one record that will open the door to new avenues of research.  It will come - it always does - but right now I'm still in a rut. This morning I was searching for some good cooking blogs to follow.  In the process, I came across a couple of blogs about "orphan photos" - old pictures the bloggers have found or purchased and for which they have no information.  This inspired me to post some of my orphan photographs. I found these photos in a chest containing photos and documents that belonged to my maternal grandmother, Mary Jane Dudley Donaldson (1898 - 1976).  I believe that many of the items in the chest were passed down to her from her mother, Mary Elizabeth Shaper Dudley (1861 - 1947).  I believe that most, if not all, of the photos are family and friends of the Dudley and Shaper families of Clinton and Highland Cou...

Last week I wrote about what I learned about Campbell Dudley’s death from the military pension application filed by his mother, Lettitia Dudley.   My primary objective in ordering the pension file was to learn more about Lettitia.   Most of what I knew about Lettitia and her husband Thomas I learned from the Dudley album I received from my great-uncle Clarence Dudley’s step-grandson a year and a half ago.   I have gleaned other information from the usual genealogical sources, mostly census records.   Iva Lettitia Tankersley was born January 18, 1811 in Virginia.   There is a Virginia marriage record that indicates that a Thomas Dudley married a “Malitia Tankesley” in Pittsylvania County, Virginia on November 17, 1830.   However, the Dudley album states that Thomas and Lettitia were married in 1829 and moved from Virginia to Ohio.   The Dudleys’ first child, Matilda, was born on October 11, 1830 and died June 24, 1831.   They then had ten more ch...

I'm frustrated and I need help. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I have been searching for the parents of my great-great grandparents, Thomas Dudley and Iva Lettitia Tankersley Dudley for several years. I have chosen to pursue Lettitia's parents, guessing that researching a less common surname might make my odds better. And, if I can find Lettitia's parents' names, maybe it will make it easier to find Thomas' parents. Although I continue my own research, I am also hoping that someone out there will someday read this blog post and contact me! Iva Lettitia Tankersley was born around 1811 in Virginia. She married Thomas Dudley on 11/17/1830 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Marriages of Pittsylvania County, Virginia 1806 - 1830 by K. B. Williams lists her name as "Malitia Tankersly." The marriage bond was posted by Nicholas Dillard, a teacher in Pittsylvania County. Soon after their marriage, Lettitia and Thomas moved to Ohio, settling in Clark Townsh...