Happy Birthday to Two Special Sisters!

Happy Birthday to my mother (84 today) and to her sister (83 last week)! 

Diana

© 2016

If your family lived in Texas . . .

If your family lived in Texas, you should be continually looking for them at the The Portal to Texas History. The Portal to Texas History is a fabulous FREE website created and maintained by the University of North Texas Libraries. Enjoy the searchable newspaper collections published in large cities and small towns. You will find yearbooks, photographs, maps, personal and community records, bank notes, city directories, county histories, and much, much more. New information is continually added. 

There is a lot about my grandparents in the small town newspapers. I found my father's sisters and brother in high school and college year books. And, even a photo of my father when he was stationed aboard the U.S. Adams and heading for Shanghai in 1946. 

So, if your family lived in Texas . . . 

                                      don't hesitate to check out the Portal to Texas History!!

Diana

© 2016

Source
Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn.

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: They Played Ball in Ringgold

Baseball Team - 1930-31 Ringgold, Bienville Parish, Louisiana

Marguerite Cook Clark saved so many interesting photos and I imagine she went to school with many of these ball players. Is this the high school team? It is dated 1930 to 1931. The photo below of the football players may be about the same time period. Notice the coach is the same person and some of the players appear to be in both photos. 

Diana

© 2016

Source

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Marguerite Cook Clark. Accessed April 28, 2014 and September 14, 2014. Used with permission.

It's Father's Day and I am Honoring the Fathers in My Family Tree

Happy Father's Day to my husband - pictured
with his father William Joseph Quinn 1930-2005

My father, Whit Criswell Bryan 
1920 - 2001

Happy Father's Day to my brother, Rick. 

Happy Father's Day to my nephew, Nick.

My grandfather, Claude Louis Davis
1893-1967

My Grandfather, Redic Eli Bryan
1870 - 1929

My great-grandfather, Charles Allen Giddens
1865-1958

My great-grandfather, Phillip A. Hairston
1852-1917

My great-grandfather, Terrell Bryan
1836-1920

My great-great-grandfather, Reddick Bryan
1793-1864

My great-great grandfather, William Moore Criswell
1822-1881

Diana

© 2016

Friday's Photo: Soldiers at Camp Beauregard

Camp Beauregard, Pineville, Louisiana - WWI

Camp Beauregard, named for Louisiana native and Confederate general, Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, is located in Pineville, Louisiana. The Camp was authorized by the War Department on July 15, 1917 so the photo was probably taken closer to 1918, but no later than 1919. The camp was closed in 1919, but at times used for National Guard training until 1940 when reopened. It was closed following WWII, revived in 1973, and currently serves as a training base for the Louisiana National Guard. 

This family member in this photo is Charles Jefferson Frye - first row, second from the end. Charles Jefferson Frye is not a Bryan descendant, but married to Bryan descendant, Allie Belle Trott, a grandaughter of Josie Bryan and Joseph Cook. Josie was the adopted daughter of James Bryan and Alice Wimberly and the biological daughter of Joseph Bryan and Sarah Wimberly. 

Thank you to the Frye Family for allowing me to post this photo. To see more about Charles J. Frye, check my post at this link. 

Diana

© 2016

"Camp Beauregard, near Alexandria Louisiana in World War II."  Web. 15 Jun. 2016. <http://www.alexandria-louisiana.com/camp-beauregard-louisiana.htm>.

Camp Beauregard photo courtesy of the Frye Family

Why I attend the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree

Last week, I attended the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree, a genealogy conference in Burbank, California. This conference features nationally known speakers and a Genetic Genealogy Conference on the day prior to the Jamboree. 

My second-cousin-once-removed lives in California. We attend the conference together and combine it with a research trip.  This is was my 6th Southern California Genealogy Jamboree and on the day following the conference, we drove to San Francisco to meet distant cousins who graciously shared their family photos and documents. 

My Genealogy Pinterest Board

For me, the conference is a wonderful educational experience. I always learn something new. There were tips to improve the use of some of my favorite subscription and cloud services. I learned how to take better photos with my iPhone and a session about Fold3 inspired me to create family Pinterest boards. Click on the names to see my Pinterest Boards for Criswell, Quinn, Hairston, Giddens, and Bryan families. I will be adding to these as I research.

I know that I need to increase my analysis of my DNA so went to as many DNA sessions as possible.  

I am very interested in cluster methodology - researching friends, neighbors, and acquaintances of ancestors to find more family information. Karen Mauer Jones' Cluster Methodology: A Case Study in Upstate New York is a perfect example for me to follow as I research my southern Hairston family. 

A Woodmen Circle in Seymour, Texas

Secret Societies: Finding Your Ancestors in Fraternal Organizations was excellent. Michael Strauss of Utah, but formerly of my hometown of Virginia Beach, talked about the Masons, Woodmen of the World, The Grange, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and many more. I find these organizations throughout my family's histories so this was extremely interesting.

I've seen pros and cons of the conference by other bloggers. I have only positive things to say. If I could make a change, it would only be to shorten the trip from Virginia to California.  

Thank you to all of those volunteer organizers who made this such a wonderful learning experience!

BTW - Don't want to make the trip? For just $35 a year, you can join the Southern California Genealogy Society, see many archived conference sessions and other webinars, AND have free 24/7 access to World Vital Records and My Heritage (Library Edition). 

Diana

© 2016

Sources

Draw On Maps and Make Them Easily.. Web. 11 Jun. 2016. <http://www.scribblemaps.com/>.

Sweet Clip Art - Cute Free Clip Art and Coloring Pages. Web. 11 Jun. 2016. <http://sweetclipart.com/>.