Sunday Snippets - 31 May 2025
Time for another in the occasional Sunday Snippets series. This is where I share what’s been happening during the past week, in my world of genealogy. I’ve had a busy week, deep diving into research, writing blog posts and reading some of the amazing family history stories that are published on Substack.
I hope you enjoy the following stories. Just click on the images for the link.
Paul Chiddicks
Paul is always a ‘must read’ for, but this post really touched something in me and I wrote the following comment in reply:
I find this more than interesting Paul, as I have experienced it. About 20 years ago, my daughter and I went on a bike ride around Wales, spending just one night at Haverfordwest, where my 2x great grandparents were from. I've often wondered whether the feeling I had there of coming home, was just me projecting my feelings. But it seemed very real to me that this was an important place to me, and though there was nothing about it that particularly appealed to me from a tourism point of view, for many months after returning home, I felt the need to pack up and move there. It felt that this was where I belonged.
God Haunted - The Promising Story of Thomas Ewart
I was hooked immediately into this story of a young man trying to find out about the story of his grandfather. Looking forward to what comes next.
Among the many names and faces however, one grandfather stood out from the rest. His name was Thomas Ewart. As I collected his family photos and letters a story began to unfold. It was a 19th century story of business, religion and attempted murder in Ohio.
From Life With Victoria Olsen
A series of unusual art works from Victoria’s father. I couldn’t take my eyes away from them.
After Lavinia
The first in a 3 part series on the lost legacy of Emily’s great grandfather.
Part 2 will explore his wartime service overseas in Scotland, and Part 3 will reveal the story of his final days—uncovering truths that have been hidden for decades.
Savanna’s Genealogy Rabbit Hole
Savannah investigates her DNA. I found it very interesting to read of how AI interpreted her results.
I decided to feed my little spreadsheet into an AI (Grok) and ask it to analyze for patterns. The results were pretty cool!
BJNL’s Genealogy
Part 3 in Jane Chapman’s very thoroughly researched series about Richard Lang. It was educational for me, as I know little about American history.
The previous post in this series, ended with Richard escaping from custody while being conveyed from Georgia to South Carolina to stand trial. That was in 1784. Somehow Richard managed to escape on route and make his way back to his family in East Florida.
Projectkin
Barbara Tien of Projectkin has written this wonderful article about the importance of telling our stories.
Do you have characters in your family tree that hook you by the heartstrings? They pull you in with their spunk and style. Soon, we’re invested in the twists and turns of their stories. Like kids at a matinee, we’re rooting for them to make it over every obstacle and dodge every bullet. We’re so emotionally invested in their success that we sometimes forget we’re the product of their survival. Family history is like that.
Thanks for sharing your highlights for the week, Jennifer. I appreciate being included in such good company. More on Richard coming in a couple of days.
Thank you so much for including me in your weekly snippets Jennifer. You always include such a wide variety of posts and there are always posts that I have somehow missed that I can sit down and catch up with.