Life in the Past Lane

I have been contemplating blogging about genealogy for several months. For some reason I always talked myself out of it, or just felt I was too busy. Have I mentioned that I have a two year old?? There is a reason I am up at midnight writing this!

About a week ago, Crestleaf.com tweeted a challenge that I just could not pass up! Crestleaf.com is the world’s largest leading free collaborative genealogy site. For this challenge I will blog each month for the next 12 months about a fascinating family find. This will both motivate me to write, and to keep up with all the great discoveries I find! Winning!

For June’s challenge I am going to share with you an incredible discovery, at least to me, that I learned of just yesterday! First, a little background information. My 3rd great grandfather was Peter Garrison of York County, South Carolina. Through my research I have known for some time that he was the grandson of Arthur Garrison, a Revolutionary War Patriot, and the son of Josina Garrison. Born on October 9, 1820, he was a farmer by vocation. By his first wife and my 3rd great grandmother, Cynthia Louise Hall, they had eleven children. Yes, you read that correctly, ELEVEN! I guess I really shouldn’t complain about not having free time because of one precocious two year old!

During the Civil War he served in the Confederate Army, although well past the normal age of military service. After the war he served in the South Carolina House of Representatives. His most important legacy, I believe and I just bet he would agree, is the 60 years he served as Elder in the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. It still stands as a vital congregation in the community today.

About a year ago, to my delight, I found a photo of Peter and his second wife Tirzah Carothers standing on the front porch of their farmhouse with a few of his grown sons and their children. A phone call with a distant cousin had led me to believe this charming home been torn down sometime in the 1970s.

This week I submitted this photo to Roots and Recall, a treasure of a website devoted to “connecting genealogy to the someplace” – the history of South Carolina as well as the preservation and documentation of it’s many historic structures. In corresponding with the founder of R&R, he informed me that the house is still standing and is currently in use as the offices of a landscape company. He was generous enough to drive by the house and take a photo for me and provide me with additional information on Peter. While the home has changed somewhat with modern updates and structural additions, I am beyond thrilled to learn that the house is still standing over 130 years later!

This discovery has indeed been a great one and I am very thankful for the motivation that Crestleaf.com provided! There is more about the original photo that I am hoping to learn about. I am determined to learn the identity of the African American woman in the far right of the photo. I have done some research and found information that may be helpful in restoring her identity. But that will be another post for another day!

Stay tuned!

Disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way by either Crestleaf.com or RootsandRecall.com for this content.

Copyright © 2015 Beth Wylie and Life in the Past Lane. All rights reserved