Intro

Another blog? Yeah. I'd originally thought to incorporate some bits of my research into my personal blog, Will Write for Chocolate, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to create a repository of information, where cousins, aunts, uncles, etc., could find/share/and contribute. In this blog I'll focus mostly on my grandmother's side of the family, including but not limited to the above-mentioned Ethel.

My grandmother's death (and the 'Who Do You Think You Are?' show on television, I confess) rekindled my active interest in the detective work of seeking out ancestors. One of the interests my grandmother and I shared was family history. When she was still fairly sharp-minded and spent only her winters in Texas, we would compare notes on new things we'd learned over the summer. I had an Ancestry.com membership, so I was able to go searching for a paper trail when she brought me a new name.

And I am definitely a paper trail person. Hearsay and family stories are good as starting points, but I'm interested in the evidence, the documents, the photos. I have a huge folder on my hard drive full of census images, obituary clips, headstone photos, death certificates, etc.

Who is Ethel? (Title explained): Ethel is my great-great-great grandmother, or my grandmother's great-grandmother. She's the lady in the blog header. I believe her maiden name was Marvin (according to daughter Elizabeth's obituary), but I can find no record of her before she married Edward F. Connolly. She represents one of my numerous genealogical dead ends that I hope to one day get past.

I've got quite a bit of research compiled already, and I'll share what I have here. So if you're related to Lloyd Bliss Ashley or Clara Alice Tompkins (my grandmother's parents), give me a shout in the comments. If you're interested in my research (or would like to contribute/help), please give me a shout AND subscribe!