When I first became a Professional Genealogist, one of the first lessons I learned was how I could get to know my ancestors. I know a lot about many people I have never met. We can get to know people by learning what they say, what is written by them or about them, what they […]
Remember with me when Joshua and Ellender were still living in North Carolina. He sold some property on September 6th, 1810[1. A.B. Pruit, Abstracts of Deeds of Anson County, North Carolina: Books F, G, H2, L, &M (North Carolina:2002), 123]. This is the last evidence we have of Joshua and family living in North Carolina.
Our third option for the Seale family to travel to Mississippi was by river. Traveling on rivers was the longest way to get to your destination because you had to follow the path of the river, which isn’t exactly straight. Sometimes the river would flow the opposite direction from your destination. If Joshua took this
Another way Joshua could have taken his family from North Carolina is over land. However, this was not as simple as loading up the family wagon and taking off to Mississippi. Even when we visit Wilderness Areas in America today, if we should happen to take off through the woods we do not experience the
There were three options for traveling across North America in the early 1800s. You could go by sea, in a ship around the continent to your destination. A traveler could go through the woods, taking the most direct path, but having to deal with natural barriers and other obstacles. A person could also travel by
While Joshua and Ellender were busy raising a family, Joshua was also busy farming. In 1810 he got the desire to move. He sold his property in North Carolina and decided to move South, to Mississippi.[1. A.B. Pruit, Abstracts of Deeds of Anson County, North Carolina: Books F, G, H2, L, &M (North Carolina:2002), 123.]
What became of Alexander? Did he exist or didn’t he? Let’s take a look. If you have looked at the US Census before 1850, you might have thought that it did not tell you much. Many of us rush over those early census documents, just using them to establish if our male ancestor lived in
By 1800 there is no more evidence of Joshua doing business in Fairfield County, SC. His activities seemed to be limited to Anson County, NC and to raising a family (which is a full time job!). You’ll remember they already have a young son, Lewis, who was born in 1798. In 1800 they added a
My wife lost her brother this week. As the death of a loved one often does, his passing caused me to reflect–about family history, my contribution to friends and family, and what really matters. Her brother was the kind of person this company is named after, an everyday hero. He was not famous, well known,
Joshua married Ellender Hasseltine in 1797.[1.”Family Data Collection-Marriages”, database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com, path=search>card catalogue>Family Data Collection-Marriages>search for Joshua Seale/Ellender Hasseltine.] As happens to most of us, life gets busy when we merge our lives with the ones we love. Joshua’s and Ellender’s lives were no exception. Over the next several years, we can find Joshua in