I’ve been asked, “How can I read your genealogy article?” I’m pleased to announce that my first compilation of genealogical articles will soon be available on Amazon! The Kinship Papers: Genealogical Articles by Vanessa Wood, Volume 1 brings together eight research articles that tackle annoying problems every encountered by everyone …
I’m pleased to announce that my latest research article, “Five Families from Hawkins County, Tennessee: Their 1850s Migration to Pulaski County, Kentucky,” has been published in the Tennessee Genealogical Society‘s Ansearchin’ News. My search for one person–virtually a needle in a haystack–stumbled upon a mass migration in the 1850s. East …
Things can seem pretty quiet while genealogy work is happening. I’ve been working on a collection of genealogical writings and of course there is more research and writing under way. These are some of the projects: Transcribing hundreds of names on several unpublished legislative petitions. Following a group migration from …
Picture this: You’re researching an ancestor who appears in records from Tennessee, Alabama, and Texas. The same person in three places or three different men? With common names genealogists face this puzzle constantly. But what if you found a signature so unique it became like a fingerprint? Signature Analysis: How …
While researching Nashville Penitentiary convicts, I noted the prisoner Lacy Witcher (and many other prisoners) was “Pardoned under the Act of 1836” (see image 1). What was this act? Was it simply for good behavior or was there another reason, such as prison over-crowding or perhaps an outbreak of a …
