grannyfox55

4% Of My DNA

He wanted something impossible. He wanted his freedom. The owners of his soul agreed and he raised the money to buy his emancipation only to turn the money over not once but twice and have them laugh in his face. He continued to do the hard thing never admitting defeat and he won. One canContinue reading “4% Of My DNA”

The Adversities of Elizabeth Stockley Sidbury Bishop 1689-1755

There had been storms off the Atlantic Ocean all her life but the one of 1752 was severe, a sustained 75 miles per hour tropical cyclone that also would reshape the community. Elizabeth, as matriarch, watched as Sarah her daughter-in-law shushed the children Moses 12, Comfort 10, and George 6. Sarah’s husband James Sidbury, andContinue reading “The Adversities of Elizabeth Stockley Sidbury Bishop 1689-1755”

A Man Named McClammy

I believe in the goodness of people. I believe in good gifts and deeds and land deeds. But documents exist that paint a clear picture of history. Seeing my belief in the goodness of people crumble as I discover evidence for people in my ancestry is uncomfortable. However! when I found the records of OctoberContinue reading “A Man Named McClammy”

Extra Notes On Stockley Family moving from Virginia to Delaware

The isthmus the Stockley’s lived on at Accomack County, Virginia, had become crowded. 70 miles long and 12 at its widest, the sandy soil was becoming depleted by the continuous growing of the tobacco plants. A neighbor, by the name of William Burton, also had eleven sons. He left Accomack looking for a new homeContinue reading “Extra Notes On Stockley Family moving from Virginia to Delaware”

Elizabeth Stockley Sidbury Bishop’s Kids

Woodman (Stoakley or Stockley) Sidbury Jr. was my 5th great grandfather. Born in 1714, that same year his father died and his mother Elizabeth remarried George Bishop Sr who lived, I believe on the next plantation in New Hanover County, North Carolina. From Wills and Probate Records I found this misspelled list of the relativesContinue reading “Elizabeth Stockley Sidbury Bishop’s Kids”

A Widow at 25, A Widow Again

From Sidbury, Devon County, England to New Hanover County, 1714, North Carolina My ancestors on my mother’s side settled in the New Hanover County of North Carolina. New Hanover County is 857 square miles, along the Atlantic Coast. The major towns are Bargaw, Atkinson, Rocky Point, Watha, Scotts Hill and Hampstead. About 30 miles upContinue reading “A Widow at 25, A Widow Again”

Governor Stockley, and Another Sultana Death, A Family Divided by the Civil War

The King’s Charter to Jamestown lists the name of John Stockley (also spelled Stokely or Stoakley) and says by the grace of God, our loving subjects intend to deduce a colonie and to make habitacion in that parte of America comonlie called Virginia and devide then collonies one consisting of divers Knights, gentlemen and merchants…Continue reading “Governor Stockley, and Another Sultana Death, A Family Divided by the Civil War”

The Towles of Towle Point, Virginia

The Northern Neck, A Fork in the Road Woodman and Jane Stockley

Imagine a time when there were no roads! Woodman Stockley sighed. He had come to a fork in the trail. They both diverged into the woods. Did he take the one less travelled as Robert Frost wrote in his poem? I do not know how he decided that September in 1694 when tasked. There wereContinue reading “The Northern Neck, A Fork in the Road Woodman and Jane Stockley”

Woodman and Jane & Bacon’s Rebellion

Between 1661 and 1665, over 40,000 acres were patented along the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. From the Eastern Shores of Virginia, my 7th great parents Woodman Stockley and Jane Rogers were among those who listened to the proclamation of Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore. “For the benefit of the people of this ourContinue reading “Woodman and Jane & Bacon’s Rebellion”