Family Tree Redux
Still obsessed, even after episode 9
I am deep into the rabbit hole of researching my family tree. So hang on: I love history, architecture, and family. Remember my talking about Senator Richard Pettigrew, who caused the scandal The Pettigrew Incident by suggesting America was sacrificing kids to the money-making war effort? (Episode 9: Family Trees)
There’s more: we have more congressmen in the family, plus I finally proved we are directly related to Brigadier General James Johnston Pettigrew (2nd cousin 2 times removed), who led Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg (Dad is so pleased) and so much more. (Find a Grave) I’m finding Quakers, Mennonites, and First Nations and African-American ancestors. I love finding such a rich history, and I am excited to learn more. I know my great-great grandmother Porter was full-blooded First Nations (I don’t talk about that often, because one, it was an open secret in the family because of how First Nations peoples were treated in 19th and early 20th century North Carolina; and two, how that statement sounds, i.e. tacky and gross.) How much of a secret? I always thought my great-grandfather had a deep tan from working in his garden every day. Yep. I think my great-great-grandmother was from the Cherokee tribe, given the Porter family’s closeness to Kings Mountain, but we shall see. I’m researching how to solemnly and properly research tribal genealogy.
But the most interesting people are the everyday, not the outstanding. I have a Porter maternal cousin (1st, 3 times removed) whose photo blew me away: Vera Virginia Peeler. Absolutely haunting. If anyone knows how to use AI or Photoshop to enhance it, please feel free. It would make me so happy.
Another is another Porter cousin, who died when she was about two. I want to learn as much about her as possible, to honor her…and her fabulous name. I hope I can find a photo. Grandma Porter’s maiden name was Champion…this child’s name was Cleopatra Champion. I love this so very much. She was my 2nd great grand-aunt. She lived from Feb 1, 1894 to May 27, 1896. Find a Grave—even her gravestone is interesting and unusual.
I am finding so many amazing names that may pop up in my writing. The winner so far is Brazure Cocke. Brazure was his mother’s maiden name, but still. Those two names together are right out of a classic novel. Dickensian. 1694-1770, Virginia, my 6th great-grandfather.
As you know from listening to the podcast, I love names. I love pondering why they were chosen, the power that have over shaping a personality, if the named person liked their name, what names mean and if they have their own etymology…
I was named for my dad, Carlos. I used to joke that he named me after Carla Thomas, who dueted with his beloved Otis Redding. My name means “little womanly one”. insert roar of laughter
And then there’s the architecture piece of geneaology. First, there’s Crilly House, the Pettigrew ancestral home in Ireland. It’s located in County Tyrone, Ireland, 3 miles from Aughnacloy, about an hour from Belfast.
King William III granted James Louis Pettigrew (1659-1753, my 4th great-grandfather) a tract of 300 acres where he built his home in 1690. It’s stone and slate, and has three stories; it originally had a thatched roof. That was removed by Robert Pettigrew in 1814, James’ grandson. The Pettigrew family owned it until 1909, but it is still considered the Pettigrew ancestral home by the current owners.
If you recognize the name, the home in the series Father Ted was also called the Crilly House. :D I love that.
The second is the scandalous Senator Pettigrew’s home in South Dakota. It’s just as gorgeous. I’m hoping to visit someday.
And then there’s BG James Johnston Pettigrew’s family home, Bonarva Plantation House, in North Carolina. Yes, unfortunately, as many powerful men of the time of the Civil War did, he owned slaves, and slaves helped to build it. This is why it is so important to know our personal histories.
I get overwhelmed in the best way when I think about how much love, work, travel and pain it took over the centuries, from the Hugenots in France, to the Stuarts (yes! that’s for a later date) in Scotland and Ireland, to the New World where the Pettigrew’s built the first Episcopal church in North Carolina…mistakes and love and pain and creativity and loss to make me. I am five centuries deep in my family tree—our family tree, over 4000 people. I am grateful for every single one of them, and I want to learn as much as I can about every single one of them, even the deceased infants listed as “Dead Child Pettigrew” or “Infant Daughter McSwain”. They deserve it.
Since he comes up a lot on the podcast, and he was my first best friend, I cannot end a genealogy discussion without mentioning my little brother, Eric Benjamin (1974-1981). Find a Grave
