#Weekendcoffeeshare, Carolina on My Mind

March 14, 2015 — #weekendcoffeeshare, ancestry, Gateway to Southern History, Old Edgefield, South Carolina

This week I want to invite you to use the transporter cloaks to travel back in time to Edgefield, South Carolina in 1798.  I want you to help me solve a history mystery.  My 2nd great grandfather, John Samuel Taylor, was born May 1, 1798 in Edgefield County, South Carolina.  He died Mar.11, 1873 in Edgefield County, South Carolina. The town was founded in 1785, and I imagine John’s parents could have been involved.  I have not found solid evidence of his birth or his parents, so I am here to find out exactly what happened.  Having the name John Taylor is a serious problem in research because there were so many other people with the same name.  I might despair of ever finding the truth about which John Taylor’s parents are mine but for a lucky break.   Fortunately  Edgefield has taken the historical heritage of the area very seriously and probably has the answer.

My life as an ancestry detective was rudely interrupted this week by a claim by my first cousin. Some of you know I do research all the time to learn about my family tree. I have found errors in the past which have caused me to start over from that point. This is painful, like tearing out your knitting. The funny part about it is the attachment I have to these people. For a while after removing some phantom limbs in the past I have missed those people terribly in addition to being vexed at having spent so much time on the wrong trail of data. I had an idea of who they were and how my DNA was built, but I was wrong, all wrong. If my cousin is right, and all the rest of the people on Ancestry.com are mistaken I have done a massive amount of research based on specious evidence.  She thinks that John Taylor has a different set of parents than I do.  She has no proof, but I don’t either.  One of us is correct, and I just have to know which one.

The Southern Studies Showcase is an event that celebrates the history of the town.  Prohibition is the theme for the next Showcase in September, and will feature moonshiners, model A cars, and period costuming.  The genealogical  society is the largest in the state, and prides itself on keeping excellent records.  I would have a very good time dressing up in a flapper dress I already own and going to a big history party, so I think I can kill two birds with one stone in September, 2015.  I can discover just who the parents of my John Taylor are, and visit a historically significant place that cherishes it’s past.  I went to the Somerset, PA Historical Society to do research.  I even bought a membership. When I arrived in person I was shunned.  Nobody would help me and I had never been in an archive like that, so I found nothing.  I had paid them to do some research for me, but that never happened either.  I don’t think that will happen in the deep South.  I think a trip to The Gateway to Southern History would be highly educational as well as enjoyable.  I can solve this ancestry mystery and party at the same time.

The timing for me is intriguing because I recently went to a performance by the Steep Canyon Rangers here in Tucson. They play modern bluegrass music.  I became very homesick for North Carolina hearing it. I lived there when I was young, and had a very good time.  I bought a couple of their albums and have binged on bluegrass for weeks now.  Now I have a really good reason to go to the source.  So I hope you will enjoy this visit to the historical South where they do have coffee, tea, lemonade, and RC Cola ( Moon Pies and more).  I am going to suggest that this week, since it is digital, we all just pass this jar of moonshine around the table while we sit and tell our tales.  I am interested to hear about your week, gentle reader.  I sincerely hope you have not discovered possible flaws in your research.  If so, not to fret..tomorrow is another day.

#Weekendcoffeeshare

Carolina Moonshine