Happy New Year to Everyone.

My genealogy goal for 2011 is to pour through the Tennessee Death Certificate Images- just as soon as they are posted at ancestry.

Other goals will be to continue photographing grave markers in my area as time and weather permit.  A family member has asked me to do some research for them and I look forward to the initial interview and getting started on this project.

My personal life will be busy with a big project at work. I'll have to make time to visit art galleries, museums, and gardens along the way too! 

Looking forward to 2011! 

The Woods Family about 1925 probably Blytheville, Mississippi County, Arkansas

This is the only picture I have of James William Woods. Back left to right: Grandma Woods (Alberta Virginia Neff) holding baby, Laura M. James; Catharine Woods, James William Woods, Mary Ada Woods James, Lena Woods Nichols.

Front row left to right: Marye K. Nicholds, Virgil Neff Woods, Jack Nichols, and Virginia Nichols.

I joined the ARKANSAS forum tonight. I search almost the entire state of Arkansas. Both of my parents were raised in Arkansas, with their families living in the Northeast corner for years. Then, if that wasn't enough, I married a man from Arkansas and his family still has roots in Arkansas.

Other collateral lines lived in Arkansas from time to time- some on their way West and some came back to good ole Tennessee. I would like to take an AR road trip going straight down I-40 with a stop at every courthouse along the way to Little Rock and then keep on going to the Texas line with a stop at every court house. Next I'd like to visit every county in the north East Section. I could fill in some dates and maybe find some interesting stories too. The Jonesboro Library has an excellent Newspaper collection which I'm sure would help my research. They have been kind to mail me obits from time to time.

I've visited the Arkansas History Commission several times and would enjoy spending more time there. I've even thought about taking a job in Little Rock so I could spend my days off at the History Commission.

The counties I'm most interested in: Poinsett, Mississippi, Cross, Woodruff, Greene, Clay, Randolph, Lawrence, Prairie, White, Faulkner, Conway, Lonoke, Pulaski, Yell, Nevada, Hempstead, Desha, Chicot and Arkansas, Hot Springs, Monroe, and Garland.

Okay, that's enough, but really not all of them.

My number one brick wall in Arkansas:

My great-grandfather, James William Woods, was born in December either 1870 or 1872- depending on the record. Apparently, he was orphaned young. By the 1880 census he is living in Cadron, Faulkner County, Arkansas with Andrew Brown family. His known sister, Fannie or Sarah Frances Woods is living with an Oliver family in another part of Faulkner County.

I found a paper either written by James Woods or his wife, stating he was born in Cabot, Arkansas. This paper states father's birthplace is unknown and mother is also born in Cabot, Arkansas. Unfortunately it doesn't have his parents' names listed.

James Woods moves to Jackson, TN between 1880 and 1894 when he marries July 1894. By 1900 the Woods family is living in Paducah, Kentucky. By 1910 they have moved to Metropolis, Illinois and finally they move to Blytheville, Arkansas. Grandpa Woods was a house painter so he followed the building trade. My grandmother told me they also lived near Little Rock, AR for awhile with his sister, Fannie Woods Merritt and also in Yarbrough and Jonesboro, Arkansas. She said they moved often and life was hard as Grandpa Woods was out of work a good bit.

He died 5 April 1930, three days before the 1930 census taker arrived. As he was living on 1st of April, he was listed on the census though. He is buried at Maple Grove Cemetery. I have a copy of his death certificate and it lists parents as unknown. The informant was my great-grandmother.

Both Lonoke and Faulkner counties were created in 1873, so I have to check several counties for 1870 records. James Woods would have been born at the earliest Dec 1870;  therefore wouldn't have been on the 1870 census. Woods is such a common name I haven't been able to locate his family in 1870.

The BROWN family James was living with in 1880 are from Tennessee and I haven't been able to find a connection. I haven't found a connection with the Oliver family either.

I would appreciate any suggestions on moving through this wall.

Surnames referenced: Woods.Neff.James.Oliver.Brown.Nichols.Merritt

My South Carolina lines have really fanned out in the past year with South Carolina Death Records going online. I have discovered many maiden names which has assisted me go back to the next generation.

Yesterday, while waiting on the rain to descend,  I thought to myself, I'll see if I can find out anything about Mary Wardlaw. There are lots of Wardlaw's in the Anderson area, so I really wasn't expecting just a lot, but I started with the 1850 census as she was born about 1804. I already had her record as she was living with her husband and family, but armed with a maiden name, I decided to see who are near neighbors and if there are any Wardlaw's in the bunch.

Paydirt immediately, I mean Immediately!  Her next door neighbor was a fellow named Hudson Wardlaw. Now Hudson is a great name for genealogy. I thought to self I may not be able to find Mary Wardlaw, but Hudson increases my chances significantly so..... I did a quick search to see if anyone else had done any research on Hudson. I quickly found a Hugh Hutson Wardlaw the correct age. I surfed ancestry.com family trees and did a google search and low and behold he had a sister named Polly in some places and Mary in some places....

On it goes;  Hutson  has a very documented history with several generations of Wardlaws. I copied these down in my notebook and decided to see if I can prove that his sister, Mary, is my Mary Wardlaw. I try not to put anyone in my tree unless I've got some proof- more than living next door in the census.

Because I found dates, places and names, I went back to the South Carolina Archives and decided to check for a will for the name listed as Hutson's father. Well, I immediately had a genealogy happy dance as I located a will for James Wardlaw and he lists his daughter, Polly Balentine. Yes! That's my woman!!!

I was able to go at least two more generations quickly thanks to those wills and more thanks to these Wardlaws for owning lots of land and property and leaving wills in the first place. They also spelled out their children's names pretty well in the wills. The only snag has been Wardlaw marrying Wardlaw and keeping it all straight. My children now have two Wardlaw lines since first cousins married. I will spend some time in the next few days doing the data entry for these families and verifiying dates and places- trying to keep it straight b/c as soon as I found Hutson it went straight to James and John and Hugh and William with those names repeated often.

When I started my genealogy adventure in 1983 this would have taken years as I would have had to order lots of death certificates and by the way most of the death certificates came from siblings of direct ancestors, so this would have been a lot of time and money trying to figure out when and where someone died and what name they went by. There are so many varations with names.  Actually without the great search function at Familysearch.org I don't even know if this would be possible b/c I did a lot of searches by father's last name and/or mother's last name which helped me find married daughters.  Next I would have needed to make a long trip to the South Carolina archives. 

Genealogy research has definitely improved since I got my first computer about 1995. I still want to make that long trip to the South Carolina Archives. I bet there are lots of Happy Dances just waiting for me.

Labor Day Weekend is almost here. Let's take the opportunity to make great family memories and to ask a few questions too. We never know who might have family information. Ask the in-laws, outlaws, the neighbors-whoever you are with this weekend, ask those genealogy questions. Come home and document the information for future generations.

I have the opportunity to attend an Old Community School Reunion and a ninety something birthday party for a former neighbor. I may not learn about my direct family, but I will have the opportunity to learn some history about a now non-existant community and school as well as learn more about my neighbor and her family.

Make the weekend count.