They Came From Virginia

Jewell Bannarn Bobo Have you ever wondered why you do the things you do?  What makes you, you? where did it come from? maybe you have have a passion for quilting or drawing. Or maybe you are an eloquent speaker and love to talk. As I look into the lives of my ancestors, I find many different occupations. They are all artistic in one form or another. I come from a long line of women who sewed, Seamstresses. My mother liked to sew. I remember her making pajamas, undergarments and Christmas stockings. She also crocheted doilies. Her mother sewed. Grandma had several sewing machines, and made a little of everything..coats, dresses,curtains. She did it all. Her mother; my Great-Grandmother, sewed. She made a lot of their clothing. In her day, she used flour sacks to make dresses for them. She also made quilts. Aunt Shirley, my mother's Sister, sewed too..she also Crocheted. She was a master of both. When I was 9 years old. She made me a lavender skirt and matching vest outfit. All croch...

My grandmother Margaret w/her children, Richard, Gloria Jean and Shirley. Growing up, I remember my mother's kitchen. In my house, like many other families that I know. The kitchen was the heart of the home. A place where mom made great meals and taught her daughters how to cook. A place where we prayed together, laughed and cried together. It was a warm special place. When my grandmother came to visit, which was very often. She and mom would sit at the kitchen table and talk for hours, which seemed like an eternity to my sisters and I. They always drank tea..Grandma, always liked black tea with lemon, and absolutely no sugar! As the years went by, It was my sister and I who fixed the tea for the both of them. Funny how I remember those details after all these years. Grandma would talk about her family... Mama and Papa, as she called them. Her childhood, her ancestors, my mother's father and his family, the Bannarn's. It was always about family history, working hard and bei...

Little Esther pearl, a name that I always heard my grandma talk about. She was my great aunt..grandma's baby sister. Born in 1928. She was the youngest of seven children. At 14 grandma had the responsibility to help look after her younger siblings, she was very close to her baby sister. Grandma said Esther was like her baby..one day she got sick, she was sick for days..no one was aware that while playing in the yard she had eaten the poison berries growing on the bushes in the yard. She died a few days later. A little angel gone so soon.  RIP little Esther. Denise

  My sister and I  I never knew much about my father's side of family. My parents had divorced when I was very young.  My mother raised us as a single parent. I grew up with my two younger sisters and two older brothers..Yes, I was the middle child!  Mom, who was the greatest story teller ever!  would tell us stories about her childhood, her family history and my father and his family. Making it like a story, it was fun and exciting, and I loved it! I think that's where it really began, my passion for genealogy. Thanks to my mother. I knew so much about mom's side of the family I decided to start looking for my father's side. I had heard for years that I had other siblings and family in Missouri and I longed to find a connection. So, I decided to start digging around on Dad's side of the family. My Father, Jesse Carl Taylor, most called him Pete. Was from Washington, Missouri.. he lived in Kansas city. He Passed away in 2000. Armed with my notes from phone ...

Emmerson Doyle w/ Wife Martha E. Dabney and children Robert, Minnie and Madeline. Although I never met him, I have heard his name often. Uncle Emmerson Doyle. Born abt. 1864 in Virginia. He was the brother of my Great Grandfather Peter Doyle. He was a Coal miner who left Virginia for the Coal mining camps of Buxton, Iowa. Even though many of the Doyle's came to Buxton in the early days. After the coal mining towns shut down, they all somehow made their way to Des Moines, IA. Grandma Margaret always spoke fondly about her cousins; Robert, Minnie and Madeline. They all grew up together  in Iowa. Grandma always gave physical descriptions when she talked about her family, the ones that she knew I had not met. I always enjoyed hearing about their physical description as well as their personality. I loved it!  I would ask a ton of questions about family and she would patiently answer them all. Many of the Doyle's, especially in her father's generation had red hair, blue/...

I am a member of the AAGSAR Genealogy Group. As a member I was asked to choose an ancestor that I wanted to know more about for my challenge. So here she is!  Miss Sarah DOYLE. My 2x Great Grandmother. To find the Slave owner of Sarah Doyle, how he obtained her and her death date. Challenge: To determine who the slave owner(s) of Sarah Doyle was, how he obtained her and her family and find out when she died. She was born in Virginia abt 1840, d. sometime between 1886-1892. No records other that the 1870 & 1880 census have been found for her. Interviews with descendants say that Sarah Doyle is buried in the DOYLE family cemetery (heavily wooded) in Gretna,Va.  I have mostly oral family history, stories passed on from her children and grandchildren. Others: Possible slave owners Burwell LEE, Robert Austin LEE, Gen.Robert E. LEE, Mildred Dillard DOYLE LEE, John LEE of Rockbridge, Va. Years: 1840-1865 Tribe (s...

Today I woke up with my grandma on my mind. It's been almost three years since her passing and I still have days that are difficult. I miss her so much. Grandma would think she was a celebrity if she knew I was blogging about her! She would ask me "What the heck is a blog?" She was " The Life of The Party" always laughing, smiling, she loved her family. This is my favorite picture of her. She looks so happy. It shows her twinkling eyes, blue in color. She was a special woman and very feisty. She had so many little quirky sayings, she kept us all laughing. I credit her for my passion for genealogy and sewing. We would spend hours talking about her family, her showing me pictures. We did this over and over again. over the years. Then she would pull out the sewing machine. "Mama and Papa" as she called them. Her Papa was a coal miner from Virginia that migrated to the Coal mining camps of Buxton, Iowa. She lived long, 94 years. Born in 1916 she knew all...