Holy Moses

I always try to have an end game for anything I do; a goal, something that drives me to push forward. In genealogy especially. Otherwise it can just get mind-numbing searching for names and dates. And my goal will change from time to time, to whatever I find more interesting or elusive.

One of my goals for the past year or two has been to find the final resting place of my Great-Great-Grandfather, Moses Baker (not to be confused with my Great-Grandfather, Moses Alexander Baker). I know that he brought the Bakers into Tennessee from North Carolina via Mississippi around 1850. And I even found a copy of his obituary in the local newspaper.

But it isn’t very specific about where he was buried. Where is “here”? Bolivar? Crainsville? I’ve searched every available cemetery record and can’t find anything. But there is rumor of a Crainsville Cemetery where the community used to be. However, it is on private property owned by a very private person. Others who have told me of this cemetery say that the owner has piled brush and wood on it.

Perhaps one day I’ll work up the courage to ask if I can visit this cemetery. Hopefully it will really be there. Hopefully there are still headstones. Hopefully they might be legible. Hopefully Moses Baker will be there. If and when I do find my current genealogical Holy Grail, I’ll finally be able to move on to my next goal.

Profile: Thomas Blassingame

Born: 1710, Virginia
Died: 1772, South Carolina
Relationship to me: 7th Great-Grandfather

Court records show Thomas Blassingame served on a grand jury as many as eleven times. This is an indication that he was probably a free holder and a respected member of his community. He married a woman named Frances between 1732 and 1735.
However, by 1740, history records that he took a turn for the worse. That year he misbehaved in court and was put in stocks (hinged wooden boards that formed holes through which the head and/or various limbs were inserted and locked together) for one hour.

Two years later, disrespecting the court landed him in the pillory. Unlike stocks which allowed the captive to roam freely (or hide), the pillory was fixed in a public location allowing the community to scorn the offender and throw objects at him such as rotten food or stones. But the pillory was no match for Thomas’ temper. He broke the stocks off and ran away.

The next year, 1743, found Thomas married to a Katherine Carr. After that, Thomas began moving south, first to North Carolina and finally to South Carolina where he died around 1772. He had 5 children including John Blassingame who fought in the American Revolution.

Home Movie Day

If you're lucky enough to have grown up with a video camera in your home you probably have a wealth of home movies. There are those who might even have reels of old 8mm or 16mm of their parents and grandparents.

This October 17th is the day to dig them out, dust them off and show them. Home Movie Day is an international event started to bring friends and families together to share their home movies. This is also a great event to have at your church, social club, family reunion or employee picnic. What a great way to bring people together and learn more about them.

You can even make a game out of it! Have everyone put their movies into a box or bag. A designated "Movie Master" will randomly pull them out and play them. Then everyone can try and recognize people in the movie and identify who's movie it is. You can cap the event off with your own awards ceremony by handing out faux Oscar trophies for catagories like "Most Embarrasing Movie," "Cutest Baby" and "Most Memorable."

So mark your calendars. Gather your family, your neighbors and/or your friends and share that sentimental celluloid, those vintage VHS's, or your DVDs of days gone by. And don't forget the popcorn!

www.HomeMovieDay.com

National Grandparents Day

This Sunday is National Grandparents Day. It was started in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter. Take this weekend and call or visit your grandparents. If they are no longer living, visit their grave and share memories of them with family and friends. National Grandparents Day also encourages you to adopt a grandparent to benefit from a lifetime of experience waiting to be shared.

www.Grandparents-Day.com

Genealogy slogans

Since becoming an amateur genealogist, I've run across some pretty great slogans. Here's some of my favorites.

• Our family tree: Lots of branches and a few nuts.
• Love doing genealogy? I can relate
• Great-Grandpa was a what?!
• I dig dead people.
• Genealogy is in my blood.
• I know where the bodies are buried.
• I brake for cemeteries.
• I trace my family history so I know who to blame.
• Genealogy: where you confuse the dead and irritate the living.
• It's all relative.
• I lost my census!

Lermond: The Movie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G6YARYJ8wQ

This is the video biography I made of my grandmother, Lermond. I recorded the interview in 2001. She passed away in September of 2008.

The Trouble with Skeletons

I remember an episode* of “Growing Pains” where Mike, Carol and Ben discover; through letters they find in their basement, that both their parents had been divorced. After confronting them, Jason and Maggie confess that they both had been divorced…from each other during a turbulent time early in their marriage.

Every family has skeletons in their closet. It can be divorce, illness, criminal records, anything. And those skeletons leave material footprints like photos, videos or documents. When going through your family history, especially recent history, the impulse is often to skip over or even discard those less-than-shining moments. But any story worth telling has to have drama, peril or obstacles.

When recently going through some family photos with my mother, we came across some of a relative and their former spouse. I had to stop my mother from throwing them away. We mustn’t rewrite history. We must be objective and recognize the value of lessons learned from mistakes made. I also think it is overdramatic and foolish to be embarrassed enough by your skeletons to not share and discuss them openly with your family. Your family’s younger generations are the ones who could benefit the most from past lessons. I know I've gained more respect and love for some of my family members after learning of some of their past trials while researching my family history.

I’m not saying you need to air your dirty laundry for all to see. Keep it in the family but at least share it with the family. This also serves to prevent rumors and dispel myths. Just invite those skeletons out of the closet and give them a discreet yet respectful place in your family history.

*“Growing Pains” Season 2, Episode 19: “The Awful Truth”
Original Air Date - March 17, 1987 (source: www.imdb.com)