history and genealogy, by Fred Dews
This piece is adapted from a family history I wrote in 2020 about my Hawthorn(e) ancestors who originated in Virginia and migrated west through Georgia, Louisiana, and eventually Texas. This responds to the theme "Worship" in Amy Johnson Crow's “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.” Religion was central to the lives of colonial Virginians, as it … Continue reading Hawthorns and religion in colonial Virginia
This week’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge from Amy John Crow is “Females,” so let's see how far up the family tree I can travel in only female lines. Starting with me, then (1) my mother Sarah, then her mother (and so on): (2) Cora Belle Hawthorne (1914, Louisiana - 2004, Texas)(3) Sallie Annie … Continue reading Maternal family lines
This week’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge from Amy John Crow is “Courting,” so my thoughts turn to a picture of the first days of my paternal grandparent’s meeting each other. Edith Kuester, Fred Dews, Banff, Alberta, Canada, ca. 1936. Photographer unknown. Author's personal collection. This is Edith Kuester and Fred Dews on a … Continue reading My grandparents met in Banff
On April 9, 1868, Johan Fredrick Höglund, his wife Mathilda Carlsdotter Envall, and their baby son Carl Johan departed their home in Linköping, Östergötland, Sweden for the long journey to America. They were part of a growing migration of Swedes leaving their country during that decade, spurred in large part by food shortages and famine … Continue reading Swedes settle Iowa: Land maps, a railroad, and a minister
Starting late Sunday night, May 24, 1896, and into the next morning, a massive tornado churned across northeast Iowa and into northern Illinois, from near Des Moines to Chicago. The storm caused the death of over 40 people, injured scores, killed horses, hogs, and cattle, and left extensive damage to homes, barns, railroads, bridges, fences, … Continue reading The 1896 Iowa-Illinois “cyclone” map
Two men with the surname Fuller, who both lived in East Texas around the same time in the late 19th and early 20th-centuries, are often confused in family trees on Ancestry.com and in hints in Ancestry record results. Here I show how John Seborn Fuller and Seaborn Fuller are not the same person. My personal … Continue reading Two Fuller men in Texas untangled
I like to ask people the question, "if you didn't have to work for money, what would you do?" My answer? Genealogy and family history research, all the time. My passion for genealogy and family history originates with a document distributed at a family reunion in April 1973, when I was three-and-a-half years old. At … Continue reading My family history passion starts with a document
In this week's "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" theme, Amy Johnson Crow asks participants to share a favorite photo. When I saw the entire list of the themes a few weeks ago, I started thinking about this one in particular. And I kept thinking. And I'm still thinking about it now—I have so many photos … Continue reading A favorite photo? Mom goes to college
My legal name is William Frederick Dews, II. The second. The Second of his Name, King of the … No, just plain old the second—but, I probably should have been a “third.” And how I found that out is one of my favorite finds in my three decades of genealogy research. My parents named me … Continue reading The second of his name …
Think about a trip you’ve taken with your family or a group of friends—whether as a child or an adult. Maybe you flew someplace, or drove, or took a train. You (or your parents) spent money, saw the sights, enjoyed yourselves (I hope), and then returned home. Now imagine it’s the 19th century, and you … Continue reading Marckhoff family lays foundation in America
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