Several years ago I compiled my research on the family of my 4^th cousin, Kaye, into a book.  I was intent on trying to answer several questions before I finished it, especially, “Who were the parents of Martha Irene Kline?” Martha, Kaye’s great grandmother, was also known as Mattie.  I had found conflicting clues about her maiden name and attempted to sort it out.  But the more I searched, the less clear the answer became. Continue reading →

Most families have a few old stories that contribute to the chronicle of its history. These accounts, usually handed down verbally through the generations, might include an ancestor who was robbed of land or possessions, descended from a famous person in history or from royalty, or encountered great difficulty on the journey to America. The retelling of the events becomes an integral part of the heritage and tradition of the family.  However, the details we know today are probably changed from the original, like in the children’s game of telephone, where a sentence is passed around a circle and invariably is altered when it reaches the last person.  Most likely there is some grain of truth in the version we hear, even though it might sound more like legend or myth.

In my family there are numerous stories; however, some of them, unfortunately, have unraveled into bits and pieces in my memory. One such fragment involved a relative who was sick in bed when troops came by the house during the Civil War, an event now over 150 years ago.  Where I had heard it, or what relative it included was unclear to me until about 10 years ago.  Continue reading →