The genealogist Amy Johnson Crow has invited her blog followers to join her in 2022 for “The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge. It’s a low-stress opportunity to make something from all of the research we do in genealogy. For me that research tends to accumulate in binders, boxes of papers, in computer files and amongst the flotsam and jetsam of my genealogy world. I actually started this Following the Trails blog to share what I’ve learned, but, if it isn’t obvious by now, I need a prompt to keep it up. So, for better or worse, I’m trying Amy’s challenge as a way to share the stories I’ve accumulated over the years.
The subject of the first week is FOUNDATIONS. My immediate reaction is to think of this little book with information compiled by my great grandmother Carrie McFadden Ford. The book consists of the types of information you’d typically find in a family bible. Births, marriages and death dates along with snippets here and there of where these ancestors lived and for how long and how they got to where they ended up. GOLD for a genealogist!
Various people in the family have perused this book, looking for information. I can see notes in handwriting I recognize, like my mother Marilyn Ford, but most of it is written by Carrie herself. The last identifiable entry from her is for an event in 1949. Given the state of her handwriting at the time the entry was written, I’m thinking she wrote it closer to her death in 1961.
No doubt part of the information was compiled to qualify her for membership in the DAR (she was a charter member of the Mojave Chapter). But that’s another rabbit hole for me to go down another day.
As an aside, Carrie was described as “one of Fullerton’s most philanthropic residents.” A full description of her history, her numerous activities and accomplishments can be found in the Fullerton Heritage (Spring, Volume 17, No.2, May 2011). How she managed to do all that, raise four boys on her own, as well as become the matriarch of the family after her parent’s death…well let’s just say, I’m in awe.
Carrie was understandably proud of her heritage, which she traced back to the earliest days of European settlements in the continental US. She researched four primary family lines. What follows are a few of the pages she wrote.
The McCormack family, most often spelled McCormick. Rachel married John McFadden, Carrie’s grandfather.
The McFadden family. Carrie’s father was William McCormick McFadden, one of the earliest settlers in what became Orange County.
The Earl family. Carrie’s mother was Sarah Jane Earl. The Earl family was the line Carrie used to trace her ancestors back to the Revolutionary War (Phineas Fairbanks), to qualify for DAR.
And last but not least, she researched the Ford family. She was also able to trace this family line back to the early days of the Republic. Originally my sisters and I thought this was her DAR qualifier (Benoni Ford), but since it was her husband’s family, it could not be a direct line. My sister Judy and I discovered this when we visited the New England Historical Genealogical Society in 2019.
So yes, FOUNDATIONS. I’m blessed with a firm foundation on which to build my genealogy research. Thank you Carrie!
Following the trails of our ancestors 