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Birthdays from my family tree for the week of Nov. 2: Nov. 2 Levi Alfrey, (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1875 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. before 1930, Indianapolis, Ind. Levi is one of 11 children of Franklin L. Alfrey (1839-1918) and Jane Elly Hall Alfrey (1842-1915). I do not know a great deal about Levi's life, but his parents were integral players in one of the more infamous events I've uncovered in my genealogical research. Jane was one of nin

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of Aug. 31: Aug. 31 Clarence Wills, (my second cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1900 in Kentucky; d. Oct. 27, 1988, in Montgomery County, Ky. Clarence was the son of James Monroe Wills and Leonora Sanders Wilson Wills. Our common ancestors were Isaac Wilson and Theodocia Lee Wilson, my 4G grandparents and Clarence's 2G grandparents. Theodocia, incidentally, was the daughter of Major Burwell Lee of the prominent Lee

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of Aug. 24: Aug. 24 Addie B. Hall, (my first cousin four times removed on my mother's side), b. 1874 in Robertson, Ky.; d. November 1875. Addie was the daughter and one of nine children of James Edmund Hall and Elizabeth Jane Coyle Hall. Archibald B. McBrayer, (my first cousin twice removed on my father's side), b. 1883 in Wagner, Rowan County, Ky.; d. Sept. 30, 1910, in Rowan County, Ky. Archibald was one of eight children and six s

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of Aug. 17: Aug. 17 Dana Carol Trent, (my second cousin on my mother's side). Happy birthday, Dana. Hope you have a great day. Aug. 18 Millard Lambert, (my second cousin twice removed on my father's side and my fourth cousin twice removed on my mother's side) b. 1908 in Elliott County, Ky.; d. Sept. 27, 1913, in Elliott County, Ky. Millard was the son of Edward "Edd" Lambert and his first wife, Pearl Belle Lowe Lambert. I do not know

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of Aug. 10: Aug. 10 William M. Wilson Jr., (my second cousin four times removed on my mother's side), b. 1841 in Madison County, Ohio; d. uncertain. William was a grandson of Valentine Wilson, a well-to-do landowner in Ohio during the early- to late-1800s. William was the son of William Delano Wilson and Nancy Moore Wilson. Simpson Thornsberry, center, is photographed with his wife, Amanda Kidd, and his son, William Thornsberry. I'm

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of Aug. 3: Aug. 4 Melvina Manerva Catron Lambert, (my 3G aunt-in-law on my mother's side), b. 1842 in Wythe County, Va.; d. Aug. 11, 1876 in Moccasin Precinct, Elliott County, Ky. Melvina married Elias Lambert, who died in 1926 in Rowan County, Ky., at age 89. My paternal grandmother was a Lambert and likely a relative of Elias, but I've not established the connection. Rather, Melvina is the grandmother of Alexander Lambert, who marr

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of June 29: June 29 Joseph Harrison Coyle (father-in-law of James Edmund Hall, my 4G uncle on my father's side), b. 1814 in Bath County, Ky.; d. Sept. 6, 1875, in Robertson County, Ky. James Edmund Hall married Joseph's daughter, Elizabeth Jane Coyle, in 1870. James and Elizabeth gave Joseph nine grandchildren. Surena Katherine Hall (my 2G aunt on my mother's side), b. 1891; d. Sept. 1, 1981, in Morehead, Rowan County, Ky. Surena Hal

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of June 22: June 22 Emile Roscoe Brinson (my wife Deborah Renee Ray Kidd's great uncle on her father's side), b. 1917 in South Carolina, d. Oct. 13, 1959, in Charleston, Charleston County, S.C. Emile was the brother of my wife's paternal grandmother, Ruth Augusta Brinson Ray. I've heard at least two stories about how Ruth met her husband, Clarence Richard Ray, and one of them involves Emile. It goes like this: Clarence grew up in Ker

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of June 1: June 1 Andrew J. Winkleman (father-in-law of Saul Kidd, my first cousin once removed and my first cousin twice removed on my father's side), b. 1855 in Lawrence, Ohio; d. Feb. 6, 1941, in Elliott County, Ky. Andrew's daughter, Allie Fair Winkleman, married Saul Kidd. Saul was the son of Peter Fannin-Kidd and Sarah Ann Wilson and the cousin of my grandfather, Elmer Kidd. Anna Elizabeth Williams (my 2G aunt on my mother's si

Birthdays in my family tree for the week of May 18: May 18 Delphina Kidd (my first cousin twice removed on my father's side and my first cousin three times removed on my father's side), b. 1926 in West Liberty, Morgan County, Ky.; d. Dec. 11, 1980, in Lytten, Elliott County, Ky. Delphina's grandfather, Peter Fannin-Kidd, was the half brother of Edmund Kidd, my 2G grandfather. May 19 Mary E. Jennings (wife of Marion Kidd, my first cousin twice removed on my father's side), b.

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of May 4: May 4 Joseph Brinson (my wife's 2G uncle on her father's side), b. 1893 in South Carolina; d. Nov. 24, 1943, in South Carolina. The son and one of six children of John James Brinson and Isabella Thornley Brinson, he was born in Berkeley County and lived most of his life in adjacent Charleston County, according to census records. Isabella was John's first wife. She died in 1895 at age 32, and John James married Elizabeth Rac

Birthdays from my family tree for the week of April 27. My Uncle Kenny, at Christmas in the living room of the farmhouse where he grew up. He's holding his oldest son — my cousin, Kenneth Lee — and his mother — my granny, Leona Williams Wilson — is holding present in the background. Kenny has a fantastic memory, particularly when it comes to family history. He doesn't write anything down; he just remembers it. And it's uncanny how many times a story he's told me has been ver

My family-tree birthdays for the week of April 13. April 13 Sarah Perry (my second cousin four times removed on my mother's side), b. 1850 in Rushcreek Township, Ohio; d. April 12, 1856, in Ohio. Sarah was the daughter of Mary Wilson Perry (1831 to 1907) and Solomon Perry (1832 to 1905). April 14 Lula C. Caudill (my first cousin three times removed on my mother's side), b. 1891 in Rowan County, Ky.; d. Jan. 14, 1925, in Rowan County, Ky. One of 11 children of William B. Caudi

Old family photos are the best — if you're looking at photos of your family. Someone else's kin? That can be another matter, like looking through a yearbook from Name Your High School High. When you don't know the folks involved, all the photos look unremarkably similar. So I'm putting myself to the test, picking through pictures I've corralled through my genealogy research to find the shots that I think have wide appeal. I did not know or barely met most of the nearly 2,000