Gines
Breaking Down the Wall-Prologue
First in a multi-part series I started my serious research in December of 2003. From the beginning, my leading goal was to discover the paternity of Richard Gines of Shreveport,Louisiana, my great-grandfather. I knew very little about him; until I was an adult, I had never heard his name. And then, over the years, my mother gradually began telling me …
August 4, 2009 Tuesday at 6:48 pm
Breaking News: Man Smashes Through Brick Wall in Louisiana!
I have done it! I’ve made my greatest genealogical discovery ever! For five years, my top research priority has been to discover the parentage of my great-grandfather, Richard Gines of Shreveport, Louisiana. Following an intensified search this spring and summer, I can now say with the appropriate degree of confidence utilizing the Genealogical Proof Standard, that I have solved this …
August 3, 2009 Monday at 5:19 pm
The Brick Wall–Did We Really Knock It Down?
A week ago or so, I was making noise about hammering down a major brick wall in my research. I was getting ready to do the Genealogical Happy Dance. I have made a major advance in my research into the Gines family as a result of the research I’ve been describing here over the last several weeks. I’m thrilled about …
June 16, 2009 Tuesday at 9:24 pm
Way Around the Brick Wall: The Plantations
As we were making our long way around the brick wall of my great-grandfather Richard William Gines (1860-?), the trail led to several plantations in Tensas Parish, Louisiana. The first plantation we found was called Marydale. What attracted us here was a nearly forgotten tax record from Tensas Parish that showed Rebecca Gines and “Don” Gines living on the …
June 4, 2009 Thursday at 1:42 pm
Reading the Writing on the Brick Wall
I had intended to move on today and discuss the plantations that we’ve come across in our long way around the brick wall of my great-grandfather, Richard William Gines. But I want to share an issue that has hindered our search and is not all that uncommon. The Wordle graphic above tells the story! To put the issue into genealogical …
May 29, 2009 Friday at 6:00 pm
When A Wild Goose Chase Isn’t A Wild Goose Chase
Some Lessons from Our Pursuit of Egans Gines We had started out to get past the brick wall of my great-grandfather, Richard William Gines, who was born in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, in about 1860. After years no success either on the ground (we visited Bossier Parish as well as Caddo Parish in 2004 to research this matter) or online, we …
May 22, 2009 Friday at 6:44 pm
The Round-About Way Around Collaterals to Your Brick Wall
Sometimes when you run up against a brick wall, you may have to go a long way in a parallel or perpendicular path to get around the brick wall. True in physics, true in life, true in genealogy. In illustration of that point, we’ve been trying for a long time to get past the brick wall represented by my great-grandfather, …
May 20, 2009 Wednesday at 7:26 am
Egans Gines (??-1948)
In which we beat the bushes for a collateral relative in hopes of finding our way past a brick wall! One of my big brick walls has been getting past my great-grandfather Richard Gines. [Another challenge I have is getting my voice recognition software to recognize that surname!] To deal with this brick wall I’ve been looking for collateral relatives …
May 16, 2009 Saturday at 7:55 pm
The UPS Man Cometh
Finally! Back in January, I ordered from Amzaon.com the book, Biographical & Historical Memoirs of Northwest Louisiana, originally published in 1890 by Southern Publishing Co. For several months, I kept getting notices from Amazon that shipping would delayed and they would give a date range during which it would ship. All truned out to wrong until the last notice, which …
April 28, 2009 Tuesday at 8:07 pm
An Impromptu Family Reunion
A number of unusual circumstances came together this past weekend and the result was an impromptu family reunion at the San Jose home of The World’s Smartest Sister. All of my parents’ children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren showed up!
April 20, 2009 Monday at 6:32 pm
