The December 2024 NGSQ is Now Online!

 

The December 2024 issue of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Volume 112, No. 4, is available online in the members-only section of the website and printed issues are being prepared for mailing.

CONTENTS

FEATURE ARTICLES

• “Using Indirect Evidence to Find the Father of Robert Y. Jones of Hopkins County, Kentucky,” by Faye Jenkins Stallings, CG
• “Parents and Siblings for William M. C. Leggitt of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas,” by Lana Leggett-Kealey, CG
• “Who Are the Children of John Bradley of County Tyrone, Ireland, Blair County, Pennsylvania, and Scott County, Iowa?” by Mary Kircher Roddy, CG, CGG

EDITORS’ CORNER                                                                                                                                    Rescue Mission

SIDELIGHTS                                                                                                                                              Advice for a Price

REVIEWS

• Woo, Ilwon. Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom. Reviewed by Janice Lovelace, PhD
• Newton, Maud. Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation. Reviewed by Deanna Korte
• Nicholson, David. The Garretts of Columbia: A Black South Carolina Family from Slavery to the Dawn of Integration. Reviewed by Ruth Randall, CG
• Swarns, Rachel L. The 272: The Families who were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church. Reviewed by Nicole Gilkison LaRue, CG, AG
• Daniel, Larry J. Engineering in the Confederate Heartland. Reviewed by David M. Morehouse, JD, BCL, MSc, CG
• Dollarhide, William. Genealogical Document Organizing: Paper Files to Computer Files. Reviewed by Bryna O’Sullivan
• Cimprich, John. Navigating Liberty: Black Refugees and Antislavery Reformers in the Civil War South. Reviewed by Nicole Gilkison LaRue, CG, AG
• Harris, William C. Confederate Privateer: The Life of John Yates Beall. Mastering Spanish Handwriting and Documents: 1520–1820. Reviewed by David M. Morehouse, JD, BCL, MSc, CG
• Dollarhide, William. Genealogical Identification Numbering: Ancestors, Descendants, Collaterals. Reviewed by Bryna O’Sullivan
• Cox, Shae Smith. The Fabric of Civil War Society; Uniforms, Badges, and Flags, 1859–1939. Reviewed by David M. Morehouse, JD, BCL, MSc, CG

Note to longtime members and newer members who elected to purchase the print version of NGSQ when they signed up to become a member: The USPS is still experiencing delays in some areas. We apologize if your print copy is affected.

The National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ) is published four times per year, in March, June, September, and December.

A Genealogist's Holiday Tale

 

 

‘Twas the night before the holiday 

and in my abode 

No one was sleeping 

That’s the genealogist’s road. 

 

I should be wrapping packages,  

I know I’ve been told 

But this ancestor died  

At 115 years old, 

 

While it’s possible longevity  

runs in our genes 

I doubt this is right 

So you know what that means. 

 

The packages will wait 

I can wrap in the morn 

You see I must verify 

When this grandaunt was born.  

 

As I searched and I searched 

My frustration grew 

I tossed up my hands, 

“That’s it, I’m through.” 

 

Just as I was about 

To stop and to quit 

A spirit appeared  

To stop a hissy fit. 

 

She reminded me at once 

Of the holidays past 

The joy of our families 

Making memories that last.  

 

Their joys and their sorrows 

Their hopes and their dreams 

Shone down around me  

Like a million moon beams. 

 

All of their stories 

so big or so small 

came together to become  

the stories of us all.  

 

So I turned back to my task 

Remembering now 

It’s the who, when, and where 

The why and the how.  

 

I will solve this mystery 

And deck the halls 

Because preserving their stories  

Is the best gift of all. 

 

Wishing you and your family a joyful and memorable holiday season from the National Genealogical Society.