Genealogy!

I've committed myself to working on our family history this year.  This is a relatively new area to me. My mom was the family genealogist, but now that she is gone I've taken it on.  The biggest hole in our family tree was on my maternal grandmother's side.  Her parents both died by the time she was two and she went with her father's side of the family.  Very little was known of her mother aside from her name and that she was from Mississippi.  I had been feeling like I should contact the last living relative from that side of the family - my great aunt Evelyn.  She is 86 years old, but fortunately is very sharp.  I had been putting off calling her for months - busy with other things, wondering what I would say as I couldn't remember ever speaking to her before, etc.  I finally felt prompted to do it immediately so stopped putting it off and called. She was delightful to talk to.  I asked about her mother's side of the family and she said she only knew that she was from Grenada, Mississippi and that she heard from a relative that she and her sister (my grandmother) had two half siblings named RT and Pearlie that she had never met.  They had been sent back to their mother's parents shortly after Evelyn had been born.

I had very little to go on, but felt like I was being guided to pursue this so I hopped on the internet.  I got a couple of leads from a cemetery listing and my great grandmother's death certificate (which listed her parents names), but couldn't find a record that had her parent's names at all, let alone those siblings.  I went to bed that night with a few ideas, but nothing firm.  That's when the haunting from the other side began : ).  I couldn't stop thinking about it so I got up and sketched some ideas of possible connections on paper.  Then I tried to go back to sleep.  I was restless again and then had a clear scene play out in my head that there was an error on my great grandmother's death certificate - that her father's name was incorrect.  The recorder had written M. C. McClellan, but what had actually been said was "Him Seab McClendon".  I had found records for a Sebron (Seab) Mc Clendon that matched some people buried near someone named  RT, but couldn't find anything like M.C.  I just knew this was right (total inspiration - how on earth would I have come up with that otherwise!). In the morning I went to the temple and prayed that I would be guided to the tie this information together.   I went to the library and miracle of miracles I found in the 1930 census a record with all the right family names including Sebron and his grandchildren RT and Pearlie!

It was such a joy to call Evelyn and tell her I found her family.  She was overjoyed. She said she knew she belonged to somebody!  She had tried a few times over the years to find out more - even asked a school teacher her to help her write a letter, but no one wanted to help her and discouraged it.  It turns out that her brother RT died that same year as the census at age 7.  I haven't found Pearl or other living relatives yet, but thanks to the census I now have some names to look for them.

And so the spirit of Elijah turned the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers lives!  I'd love to find some living relatives before Evelyn passes so the race is on!