Who is Earl Bynum?

One thing I’ve become acclimated to since I began this hobby is finding new and interesting things about my family; most of which I would have never known except through this research.  Usually these unexpected surprises happen 3 or 4 generations ago in the haze and grayness of the early 20th or late 19th centuries. [...]

Uncle Richard

In an earlier post, I talked about my 2nd Great Grandfather and his “complicated” family.  In that post, I also spoke of his wife Ethel leaving home… So, with one child in hand and one on the way, Ethel took off down the dusty road leading away from the family farm…. and Dada stood and watched from [...]

Wordless Wednesdays

This is a story that must be told….at a later time……

My Other Grandmother

I’ve been fortunate to have had many wonderful elders in my life. My grandmother (maternal) is still alive and fiesty as ever nearing her 90th birthday. My paternal grandmother passed away long before I was born. If fact, she passed when my father was a child. As a result, I really know very little about her. What I do know is shrouded in grayness and leads to many high and wide brick walls in my research. Here’s the little I do know:

Wordless Wednesdays

Surnames of Interest

Below is a listing of surnames I’m very interested in for my research as well as the timeframes and US states for each.  If any of these can be cross-referenced with your research, please don’t hestitate to reach out.  Thanks! Name Soundex Qty Date Range State BATEY B300 15 1848 – 1912 TN BRADFORD B631 [...]

Joseph Ceasar Bynum

The eldest Bynum I’ve been able to find so far is Joseph Ceasar Bynum Sr. Joseph was born in 1830 somewhere in South Carolina. Probably born as a slave, Joseph’s first documented record is in 1870. Joseph is married to Phyllis (maiden name unknown) and has two male children; Ceasar and Smart. Joseph is a [...]

Matthew James Bynum II

Matthew James Bynum, or M.J. as just about everybody knew him, was my grandfather. I didn’t know him that well. By the time I was old enough to understand who he was, he was a much older man and dealing with the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease. M.J. was not a perfect man; none of [...]

Matthew James (Dada) Bynum

Matthew James Bynum , or “Dada” as I grew to know him in countless stories, was born in early 1894.  I know very little about his upbringing, other than what I’ve discovered in the census records.  By all accounts, by the time Dada was an adult, he was a hard man.  In fact, every time [...]