James M Yancey (1862-1924)

There are at least two James M Yanceys floating around north Georgia during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The James M Yancey who was my great-great-grandfather was fostered by Washington and Mary Collins (and is listed as James Collins on the 1870 census). He resided in both Milton and Forsyth Counties over his lifetime, and is buried in the Shady Grove Baptist Church cemetery in Cumming (link to FindAGrave here).

He married Mary E Brannon in the mid-1880s, and they had three children who lived to adulthood: Eddie, born in 1888; Clifford, born in 1890; and Pearlie, born in 1892.

The Inferior Court Records for Milton County show that James M Yancey served as Constable for the 842nd militia district in 1895 and 1896 (link to Rootsweb here, records A299 and A317).

James M Yancey's death certificate can be found in Georgia's Virtual Vault (link here). His birthdates differ on his certificate (6 May 1861) and on his tombstone (1862).

Genealogy tool of the day - Atlas of Historical County Boundaries

The money I invested in Family Tree University's Georgia crash course has already paid for itself with this site:

Atlas of Historical County Boundaries
http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/

I have been looking for a site like this for ages! Within each state page, you can select a date and see what the county boundaries were at that time. If you have a family that seems to have moved back and forth between counties, they may not have moved at all - maybe the county lines moved instead.

It has been especially useful for locations that are unfamiliar to me, such as Indiana, Ohio, and New York state. I'm putting this site on my favorites because I will be using it frequently.

Why a blog?

Why not? I've come across many things in my family history searches. Often I would say, "Oh, I'll never forget that!" But trying to remember what I found six months later . . . is nearly impossible. This blog will capture some of the random information I locate, with links back to it so I don't keep performing the same searches over and over again.

I'm researching both my lines and my husband's lines; this complicated task has taken me from the mountains of Georgia to the flats of Texas, from the Midwest to New England, and back here to South Carolina.

Surnames and locations are listed to the right; if you have information, comments, or just want to trade memories, contact me.