Please excuse my absence from this blog.  Life is not always a pre-determined . . . planned event and there can be obstacles in our path . . . that require detours.  Hopefully, I will be able to keep this blog going . . . if there is still anyone interested in visiting and reading the things I write.

Tracing our ancestry is not an easy task.  Sure, many of our beginnings are as smooth as a piece of glass . . . but I can promise there will come a time when you hit a snag.  Sometimes that "snag" can be a towering block wall . . . an obstacle you may ultimately believe you will never overcome.  Don't give up!  Keep in mind why you were curious and began this journey.  After all, most of our ancestors crossed an ocean to get to this land . . . now known as the United States of America and then traveled across the land . . . meeting obstacle after obstacle . . . but they never gave up . . . they did not quit . . . they did not say . . . this is too hard.

My effort to learn about my ancestors began in the late 1970s and the Bells was my main objective.  Truthfully, I was curious to know if I was related to Alexander Graham Bell.  I knew my Grandfather and knew the name of his father . . . so I suppose I had a head start on the information many begin their journey.

Of course there was no internet then, so accessing records meant visiting libraries, courthouses and for some . . . having conversations with older relatives.  I wasn't that lucky . . . but it didn't take long for me to discover who my great, great grandparents were . . . well at least their names.  I was fortunate . . . others before me had written about and documented parts of the county history. 

Oops . . . over time I learned there were published books, by a seemingly well respected and perhaps self-proclaimed historian that were not accurate; however, this person's contribution to the preservation of the county's history was believed by many to be the gospel . . . totally and completely accurate.  This is how I learned to research and prove the information from others.  Also, those family stories that are passed down from generation to generation . . . can be embellished and may contain information that sidesteps reality.  Always write those wonderful tales down . . . but keep in mind . . . they may be just that . . . a tale.

Moving along . . . I learned who my 3rd great grandfather was but he had died in 1843 and did not have a will.  This presented numerous complications and barriers.  Had my 2nd great grandfather not been a co-administrator of his estate, I am not sure I would have ever made the connection.  You see, the 1850 U.S. census was the first to give names of those living in a household.  But . . . this was my snag, my block wall and for the next 40 years . . . my 3rd great grandfather was as far back as I could go in my Bell line.

I had no idea where the family originated and without that link . . . well at times it seemed hopeless.  Then . . . I stumbled onto something that opened the door and allowed me to tear down my block wall.  Actually . . . an ex-sister-in-law discovered information that led me to find documentation that proved who my 4th great grandfather was.

I will stop for now . . . but will continue at a later time.  Remember . . . NEVER give up and if you have ancestors who you believe were living in the western part of Tennessee in the early 1800s or late 1700s . . . check Stewart County, Tennessee.