Vanessa WoodNOW AVAILABLE: The Kinship Papers, Volume 1
I’m pleased to announce that The Kinship Papers: Genealogical Articles by Vanessa Wood, Volume 1 is now available on Amazon!
After months of compiling, editing, and formatting these case studies, the book is ready for fellow researchers who want to see detailed examples of solving complex genealogical problems.
What you’ll find inside The Kinship Papers:
Eight research articles covering families in Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Louisiana while still Spanish Territory from the 1780s through the 1870s. Each article demonstrates the methodology needed when records are sparse, contradictory, or missing entirely—situations we all encounter in our research.
The following articles appear in this volume:
- William C. “W.C.” Gregory (1818-1870): A Court Error Recorded His Death In 1860
- Two Men Named John Pryor: White County, Tennessee, In 1817
- Who Were John and Massey (Taylor) Pryor’s Children
- The Williams Family Who Disappeared from Illinois into Unorganized Territory
- The J. Prior in Nashville Penitentiary in 1860 Was Jonathan Pryor (born 1820-1830)
- John Pryor of Richmond, Virginia: His First Will
- Capt. Thomas Cunningham, Early Settler in Jefferson County, Kentucky
- Four James Cunninghams: Which One Witnessed Janet (McDonald) Cameron’s Will in Bullitt County, Kentucky in 1799?
How Do These Articles Help Researchers?
Discovering a court error in 1860 helped to “resurrect” William C. Gregory of Wilson County, Tennessee. A two man study, such as John Pryor in White County, Tennessee helps to distinguish identities, but what about an area near Louisville with four men named James Cunningham some with children also named James? Sorting through the four James Cunninghams lead to an answer to a research question and gives each man an identity. When Williams families disappeared from the 1850 census records in Southern Illinois only to reappear five years later, their location comes to light through an account of their travel into the frontier.
About the Paperback
The Kinship Papers is a 6 in. x 9 in. soft cover bound book. Perfect for your genealogy reference shelf. It contains 117 pages. And names are indexed by last name (and first names!).
Thank you to everyone who has followed my research over the years. I hope this collection proves useful in your own family history investigations.
Happy researching!
FEATURED IMAGE: Currier & Ives, The Four Seasons of Life: Middle Age “The Season of Strength,” lithograph, ca. 1868; U.S. Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/item/ 92500887/) > Prints and Photographs Online Catalog.
