Long Time

It has been another “long time no see”, yet it doesn’t mean that the road of researching has been cool. I have been researching not only my Conner family, but the family of my husband – the Gouge family!

With the release of the 1930 & 1940 census, doors have burst open to confirm leads and  discover new leads. It was like opening presents on my birthday! What is it? Which one do I open next?

I have been able to confirm documentation that I have had for years.  Discover new leads such as place of residence, leading me to a new family member.

All the new discoveries created a new problem! How to organize it all?

I’ve been talking for years about doing a book on the Conner family. My only problem was, I just could not publish something that I could not confirm. Now with the publishing of the census, it has put be on the track to really work on the book and publish what I have collected over the years. From the work of Clifford Conner to hand written notes of my grandmother to draft cards to photos to wills to taped interviews of my great-aunt Odell.

What a journey it has been! I look forward to sharing the information.

Long Time No See

It has been a long time since I have blogged on the Conner family. I have not been working on any research lately and hopefully will be able to re-connect with the research journey soon.

I just recently compiled a 38-page notebook of mementos of my parents, especially my Dad’s time in the military. It was exciting to find their marriage certificate, Dad’s military service record, his medals and a 1943 Thanksgiving and Christmas menu for Company A, 59th Battalion Armored Division. 

The only problem with all this research is that it was my Dad’s side of the family – the Burgin family. There is a great work already on the Burgin family, all the way back to the 1600′s. Peggy Silver did an awesome job in her book…Echos in the Mist!

There does not seem to be extensive research on the Conner family of North Carolina. That is what keeps me digging.

Conner Websites and Blogs

Are you like me……..surfing the internet looking for information on your ancestors. Well, I was surfing, hitting upon a site and wonder if or even how they might connect to the Conner Family I’m searching.

Who knows the possibilities? Here are the sites that have caught my attention:

Scrapbook of Me: Conner page

Probable Usefulness

Pam’s Little Corner of the Great Black Swamp

Jake Fletcher’s Blog: Conner Family Research

Conner Genealogy on Facebook

Conners’ Buried at Bill’s Creek

During my surfing for Conner genealogy, I came across a blog by Sharon H. Harris titled “A Scrapbook of Me”.  Sharon has given me permission to post her video of the Conner tombstones at Bill’s Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Lake Lure, Rutherford County, NC. Thank you for your generosity!

A Scrapbook of Me - is a blog where Sharon has written extensively on her line of the Conner Family, including pictures and other information.

The Elusive Conner Family

Are you hitting brick wall after brick wall when researching the Conner Family? How about dead-end web searches? Non-responsive forum queries?  Well so have I, which is why I have started blogging about my Conner research.

You see, I’ve been researching the Conner family going on 16 years and walked so many twisted paths and twirled in so many circles till I am dizzy. I have looked through so many documents that people have given me that did not have sources cited and could not be verified.

Cousin Clifford Conner shared his immense knowledge and collection with me. I am forever indebted to him for his generosity. It has been the most accurate and verifiable.

I’ve heard of good report that there is a Conner Family Bible in Rutherford County, NC, and the family is very protective of it. I understand wanting to protect a wonderful piece of Conner Family History. If you know them, please let them know that I would really appreciate the opportunity to see this great family history piece.

I have found at least six spellings  of the Conner name – Conner, Connor, Coner, Conor, O’Conner, O’Connor. For the sake of clarity, I am using one spelling – Conner.

My interest in the Conner family was inspired by my mother, Eunice Faye Davis and her siblings – Lawrence, Eugene, Katherine and Beatrice. Even though I never knew Lawrence, it seems as if I did from the stories told me from my mother and his siblings.

My ancestors are as follows:

Cynthia Jane Burgin [Gouge] (me)

Eunice Faye Davis [Burgin] (b. 1924)

Ina Beatrice Skipper [Davis] (b. 1896)

Adeline Lillian Conner [Skipper] (b. 1870)

Joseph Washington Conner (b. 1845)

Jackson Conner (b. abt. 1820)

 I have confirmed my family back four generations to Jackson Conner.  In the Bill’s Creek Township of Rutherford County, NC of the 1850 census in the household numbered 1462….  Jackson is the father of Joseph Washington Conner.

Joseph listed as a 7 year-old and Jackson Conner is listed as a 30 year-old, which would indicate that he was born about 1820.

This is where all the questions start…

• Is Jackson in the 1850 census….Jackson Isaac? Jack?
• Who is Jackson’s father?
• Are the Rutherford County, NC Conner’s connected to the Conner’s who migrated to Ohio and Texas.
• Which dock did they step upon when arriving in America?
• What ship that brought them across the ocean?
• What year did the Conner’s migrate to America?
• What brought them to America – religious freedom? Famine?
• Were they transported across on convict ships?

I have reviewed my collection of documentation many times. Read and re-read, read it again, then over and over when a note hand written and lopsided on the page caught my eye.

Written on the page of Clifford Conner’s research was the following sentence, “Uncle Edgar Conner said that his father – Joseph Washington Conner – was a 1st cousin to my grandfather – Felix Crawford, whose mother was Martha (Patty) Conner” – said by General Dalton.

If this is true, that makes Jackson Conner and Martha “Patty” Conner siblings and William Albert Conner, Sr. their father.

Wow! Doesn’t that open up a whole new theory on where Jackson Conner (b. abt. 1820) is from and where the Conner family originated?

Trip to Rowan County, NC

Rowan County Public Library has an extensive “History Room”. If you have never been, it is worth the trip if you are researching early North Carolina history and families.
I spent from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. there and could spend days there. They had a specific sections for family research, NC counties, Salisbury newspapers, Virginia research and more!
I confirmed several things that were only theories for Conner research and look forward to going again really soon.
My wonderful mother-in-law was related to the McCanless family and I found a wonderful book that I would love to own. If anyone knows of a copy of The History of the McCanless Family in the United States for sale at a reasonable price, please let me know. It includes the documentation of her relative – D. C. McCanless murder trial when Hickock and two others were charged with the murder!
Many theories as to where the Conner family came from exist and that they were O’Conner/O’Connor before becoming Conner/Connor.
The puzzling thing is that in 1840 there is only one (1) O’Conner/O’Connor shown in the United States by Ancestry.com. That O’Conner/O’Connor lived in Maryland.
By the US Census, the Conner/Connor families were already established in the Carolinas with Conner families in the 1790 Census.
I would love to hear you thoughts on this idea and suggestions for further research.

Another step along the trail

Going, going, going….I can’t wait! I’m going to Salisbury, NC to do some research on the Conner family.

Time Together #1

One of my most favorite genealogy travels happened in 2001.
About 8 p.m. on a July night, I called my Aunt Bea (my mother’s youngest sister) and ask her to take me around to the cemeteries where our Conner ancestors are buried. Cemeteries like Bethlehem and Bethel-Cherry Springs!
What a day we had! I picked Aunt BeBe up about 7a, so the cool of the morning would comfort us and we would be finished before the heat overwhelmed us.
Walking the grassy rows of the cemeteries, she told me stories about her mother and things she remembered about her grandmother – Addie Conner Skipper.
I am so thankful for the time that I spent with Aunt BeBe while she shared about the different Conner’s.
We arrived home about 10 a.m. – tired, hot and happy.
After dropping off Aunt BeBe, I picked up Aunt Katherine (mom’s other younger sister) for a trip into the low country…Rock Springs, Big Level and Bill’s Creek Cemeteries. Aunt Kat continued to tell stories about each of the cemeteries and tombstones.
Along the way I took picture after picture of tomb stones of Conner ancestors. After returning home, it turns out that the pictures were invaluable for checking dates on ancestors and creating time lines.
Several of the pictures created more questions of who is who? Where did they come from? How are they related?
More Conner Trails to follow!

Where To Begin

Where to begin with the Conner Family? For me I began with Lillian Adeline Conner, my great grandmother. She was the daughter of Joseph Washington Conner and Cynthia Carolina Flynn. I was named after Granny Cynt. I have a copy of the Widow’s Application for Pension and a copy of the “Report and Settlement of Estate of Cynthia Conner” filed 09/24/1938 in which all her children are named.
Joseph Washington Conner was born 15th of July 1845 in Bill’s Creek, Rutherford County, NC. He is listed in the home of Jackson Conner as a 7 year old in the 1850 census of Bill’s Creek. Jackson Conner was born about 1820 and married Adeline Thomson.

First Post

Wow! Setting up this blog has been fun. It is exciting to see all the fun things I can add to the site. Can’t wait to try them out.
This is a work in progress. Stop by frequently and let me know what you think.