Jigsaw Puzzles and Genealogy

There have been many events in my life that have brought to the forefront just how short life really is. On August 21, 1991 two events happened that changed my life forever. That was the day my mom, Clara Jean Garrison Hatch, passed away. Albert and Mittie’s youngest child died at the early age of 52. That same day, the next youngest daughter, my Aunt Betty, also died. Both involved in a horrible auto accident, just a couple days after attending one of their Garrison family reunions. 

Aunt Betty and my mom, Clara Jean

With the realization of how quickly our loved ones can leave us, I set out on a mission to dig deeper, to find more information pertaining to my family’s history. Many years ago, my father encouraged me to do genealogy, so I have been researching all sides of my family for some time. As I have gotten further into it, I see that for a large part of that time it had really been somewhat of a superficial search. Now that I have a little more time, it has become a bigger priority to figure out “from whence I came.”

Searching for ancestors is fun! Is it easy? Think for a moment, if you will, about a jigsaw puzzle. When you dump out all the pieces of the puzzle on the table, it looks like a big jumbled mess. That is kind of what it feels like when you first start doing your family history. But just like when doing a puzzle, you find a piece, and then you find one that attaches to it, and another, and another and pretty soon, you start to see a little piece of the picture. The more you do, the clearer the picture becomes. It's a lot like that when doing research on your ancestors. You find a clue here and there on your family member and pretty soon, you start to see what they were like, you get to know more about them, they start to become a real person, a member of your family.

I’ve been doing research on the Garrison side of my family tree, and I haven’t been able to get any further than John Wesley Garrison, my Great Great Grandfather. No matter how hard I have tried, I keep hitting that proverbial brick wall. However, I do know a few things about him. He was born in 1832 and died in 1911. He lived in the Rowan and Davidson County, North Carolina area and although not verified yet, we think he was married to Mary Ann Mathis. He is buried in Abbott’s Creek Primitive Baptist Cemetery in Wallburg, Davidson County, NC. Have you heard of this family? I would love to hear from you if you have. I recently joined the Garrison DNA Project and they already have someone in their system that is a descendant of John Wesley, so they are hopeful that eventually we can find and verify his parents and other ancestors.

Every little bit of information leads you down a path that could be the exact one you need to be on. But I will tell you, I have been down a lot of rabbit holes too, thinking I was on the right track, only to find after hours of research, that I wasn’t. But you just press on and within no time you have another piece of that jigsaw puzzle in place, making even the wasted time seem worthwhile. Are you looking into your family history? If you’re not, I would encourage you to. However, be prepared, because it can be addictive. In fact, I think it’s time for me to go find some more pieces to my puzzle!

Terri’s Tidbit for Today: Do you have a local Genealogical Society in your town? They are such a wonderful resource for looking up Family History. The Genealogical Society of Kendall County, in Boerne, has room after room full of valuable information that could help you learn more about your family. Joining gets you even more benefits. Check them out on the web by clicking here or look for a society in your area.

Side note: After reading my last blog, my little brother commented on how we used to play some board games at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.  Immediately one of those games came to mind. My grandfather had a Carrom Board. Have you ever played Carrom? He used to sit for hours and take turns with each of us grandkids that wanted to play. You have the board (see below) and all these little wooden rings. You picked a color and then you tried to get them into the little nets by flicking them with your finger. I have long since forgotten the rules but the one thing I do remember was how my finger would hurt so bad after playing just a couple games, but Grandpa would play over and over again and it never seemed to bother him. Thanks Todd for reminding me of that special time in our past!

The Day I Discovered the Family Bible - Part 3

By the time I was born, my Grandfather Garrison was already 69 years old.  I have no memories of the tobacco farm.  I am not even sure if it was still a working farm.  While growing up, however, I did hear many stories of how they would have to work long hours out in the fields, in the North Carolina heat, getting the tobacco cut and into the barn. They would cut the leaves and take them to the tobacco barn to hang and cure with a wood-burning furnace. Harvesting tobacco was a very hard and dirty job. 

Today, the old tobacco barn is still standing, though in much disrepair.  At one time there were almost half a million tobacco barns in the state but only about 50,000 are still around today.  Oh the stories it could tell! 

The Old Tobacco Barn

My dad was career Air Force, and we traveled all over the world while he was on active duty.  We didn't get back to North Carolina often but when we did, we always loved visiting with family.  The Garrison’s had annual reunions, which were huge and so much fun.  There was usually a big horse shoe tournament, complete with bracket charts to determine the ultimate winners.  Trophies were given and the competition was fierce. 

The reunions were not only an opportunity to see family, and for the grown ups to catch up on things, but it also gave all of us cousins time to spend together, getting to know one another.  And I had a bunch of cousins!  There were thirty some grandchildren and my brothers and I were some of the youngest.   Someone would always step up and organize games for us to play. Some of our favorites were Kick the Can and Capture the Flag.  One year we decided to play Kick the Can as it was getting dark.  That didn’t end well.  Two of my cousins came running around the corner from different directions and ran into each other.  There were some major bumps and bruises.  All lived but lessons were learned.

On one of our trips back to NC, I remember sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor, playing jacks.  One of my older male cousins got down on the floor and played jacks with me for a while.  I don’t think he had a clue what that meant to me.  Well, forty some years later I still remember it with clarity so I guess it meant a lot!  These were always great times, but for my family they were few and far between, so we treasured every moment.  

Some times when we made it back to North Carolina, we would barely hit the door and one my aunts and uncles would come get me and I would get to go spend several days at their house with three of my cousins.  I loved those visits.  We always had a great time!  My Aunt, the wife of my mom’s youngest brother, ran a catering business and sometimes I would get to help out on some of her jobs.  It gave me a chance to watch how she worked and she could run circles around all of us.  She was and still is an excellent cook.  We still love going to their house whenever we get a chance.  And an added bonus is, I can walk right across the street and see another one of my aunts, my mom’s second oldest sister.   A true blessing having them both still here and living close to each other.  Grandma and Grandpa have long since passed and, sadly, of their 12 children, these are the only two still living.  

Grandpa and Grandma in their younger years

In later years

Terri's Tidbit for Today:  If you are researching your family, don't forget to use Facebook for finding some clues.  Many times there are genealogical or historical societies in towns or states that have a Facebook page.  I joined one for North Carolina, recently, and listed a brick wall I had hit on one of my Great Great Grandmothers.  Within 30 minutes I had a response from someone who helped me bring down that wall.  Use all the resources you can to help you find some of those allusive family members.