From Our Families to Yours…

On behalf of my Cole-Marriner family, some of the original 1600s settlers of New Jersey’s Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean Counties, I would like to wish you Happy Holidays!

Speaking for my Watts-Stark family, early settlers of Virginia and South Carolina who, generations later, joined other pioneers venturing west, eventually settling in Cole, Moniteau, and Miller Counties, Missouri, I say Season’s Greetings!

Dementia in the DNA

Different traits, mannerisms, and susceptibilities are passed down from generation to generation. In my case, I most resemble my mother’s family. My skin, hair, and eye colors come from them. My warped sense of humor has been bequeathed to me by both my father and my maternal grandmother. My affinity for music and dance and my artistic proclivities come from my mom and her kin. My love of the mountains and rolling farmland and even my nose shape are thanks to my paternal line.

Let’s Go Crazy

Every family tree has them. Those eccentric kin who march to their own beat. However, there is a point where eccentric becomes something more. For some, this is a temporary condition; for others, it is long-term reality. Either way, for these family members, people euphemistically say that they are not all there, are off their rocker, have a screw loose, are out to lunch, or are just not right in the head.

ABCs & Our Family Trees: Letter M

I have always been fascinated by language, specifically where it originates and how it adapts, mutates, and relates to other languages. That is why I found the recent series of blogs by Andrew’s Kindred so intriguing. It combined my love of etymology with my love of genealogy. I was so inspired, in fact, that I decided to try my to try my hand at chronicling the origins of our families’ surnames.

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This is the twelfth installment of a series of posts documenting the etymology of many of our families’ surnames (recent and distant, direct and indirect.)

Well, since I already covered the L names, let’s now address the letter M:

Interesting, Odd & Unusual Names

Hey creative writers and/or family historians!  Have you ever needed an itty-bitty bit of inspiration to kickstart your creativity?

If so, then you might want to check out these two sites. The first is Tales of a Family. Each month, blogger Ann Marie Bryant offers a weekly or bi-weekly creative writing/family history suggestion. Because of her writing challenges, I have pushed myself to include more personal narratives in my blog. For that, I thank her.

Or, is genealogy blogging more your style? Then, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks just might be your cup of tea. Each week, Amy Johnson Crow offers a new topic to help you tell your family’s stories. Although I do not regularly participate in the 52 Weeks challenges—mostly because I already have a ton of tales waiting to be put to pen, I did find this week’s prompt promising: Unusual Names.