A year ago I published my first book, From Harleyville to Beulah Land about my grandmother Beulah Harley Fitt's family. It is the story of the sins of my great great grandfather and how they affected his family. The setting is Orangeburg County, South Carolina. Thanks to all of you who bought the book. (I still have some left.) Other families included in the book are the Williamsons, Williams, Baggot, and Livingston families. You can order this book at http://junegardner1.wix/book.
A month ago my second family history book about my husband's grandmother's Russ family was published, The Sojourners. This book follows the Russ family for nearly a thousand years--from Normandy to England to New England to Charleston County, SC to Bladen County, NC. It includes information about the places they lived and events the family endured, including losing sons in the War between the States. The beautiful cover for this book was painted by Daniel Gardner, a great grandson of Edward Jones Russ. You can order this book at
http://russfamilysojourners.com.
I am looking forward to four book events in North Carolina next weekend to celebrate the launching of the Russ book.
I have already begun writing a history of the Coggins family and the Wingo family both of Spartanburg, SC, my husband's maternal grandparents' lines.
My goal is to write book for each of our family lines as a legacy for my children and grandchildren. I still have a book to write about the Gardner, the McManus, and the Fitts families. I find this endeavor both challenging and rewarding.
I hope to hear from you if you have an interest in any of these families.
June
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Friday, June 29, 2012
A Beautiful Morning
One of my favorite places is sitting in a rocker on the screened-in front porch of our inherited home fourteen miles out from Spartanburg, SC. My favorite time is early morning just as the sun is coming up. It's too dark out to read but a perfect time and place to meditate on the goodness of our Lord and the beauty of His handiwork. It is not often that the weather is suitable for this but today it was perfect!
After meditaing on the Lord I spent time meditating on my new Russ book and the direction it is taking me. Last evening I spent several hours combining chapters of the book that were in various places into Part I - Earliest Beginnings. In it I try to describe the area where our ancestors lived, where they attended church, and what was going on in the world during their time as well as tell who they were and the date of their birth and death.
It is my dream to visit the areas of Norfolk and Suffolk, England and perhaps even Normandy to see for myself where they lived. However, I doubt that I will have the time or money to do that so I will just have to settle on information I find on the net.
Already I've picked blueberries and pulled some weeds, watered and fertilized my flowers and its only 9 a.m. I think Ben Franklin's old adage "Early to bed and early to rise" is easier to follow as we get older.
I'm waiting today for FedEx to deliver my laptop that was repaired under warranty. I'm thankful that I had the foresight to pay for extended warranty. In a few weeks the computer will be four years old and they fixed it for free! After it arrives and a friend helps me to get the programs loaded into it we will be ready to head for our other home -- the parsonage at Goucher.
The main thing today is getting the motorhome stocked with groceries and the house ready to be away for several days. Also today I will stop by the post office to mail more copies of "From Harleyville to Beulah Land." I am so grateful for the response I have had to my first book
Stay cool!
June
After meditaing on the Lord I spent time meditating on my new Russ book and the direction it is taking me. Last evening I spent several hours combining chapters of the book that were in various places into Part I - Earliest Beginnings. In it I try to describe the area where our ancestors lived, where they attended church, and what was going on in the world during their time as well as tell who they were and the date of their birth and death.
It is my dream to visit the areas of Norfolk and Suffolk, England and perhaps even Normandy to see for myself where they lived. However, I doubt that I will have the time or money to do that so I will just have to settle on information I find on the net.
Already I've picked blueberries and pulled some weeds, watered and fertilized my flowers and its only 9 a.m. I think Ben Franklin's old adage "Early to bed and early to rise" is easier to follow as we get older.
I'm waiting today for FedEx to deliver my laptop that was repaired under warranty. I'm thankful that I had the foresight to pay for extended warranty. In a few weeks the computer will be four years old and they fixed it for free! After it arrives and a friend helps me to get the programs loaded into it we will be ready to head for our other home -- the parsonage at Goucher.
The main thing today is getting the motorhome stocked with groceries and the house ready to be away for several days. Also today I will stop by the post office to mail more copies of "From Harleyville to Beulah Land." I am so grateful for the response I have had to my first book
Stay cool!
June
Thursday, June 28, 2012
A Bittersweet Day
Today is a bittersweet day. My son's family just moved to Raleigh, NC about four hours away. For all of my two granddaughters lives, ages sixteen and seven, I have taken them to school and back and cared for them while their mother and dad worked. Already I miss them terribly.
However, their leaving has opened up a new opportunity for me to write uninteruptedly. I do so enjoy sitting at the computer and doing research. It is fulfilling when my research provides answers to questions I have had about the family. Just this week I was able to tell my husband that his sixth greatgrandfather was a French Huguenot pastor in Santee, SC. (And he always thought he was the first pastor in his family line).
God has blessed our family in so many ways--spiritually and materially. Just recently we have become the owners of a motorhome (the cabover kind). Never mind that it is a 1991 model. We're looking forward to a trip in it next week to do research. Of course our first stop will be Raleigh and we'll "camp" in our son's yard. While there I plan to do research at the UNC library and at the NC Archives. On Thursday we plan to visit Bladen County where our Russ ancestors settled after leaving the Charleston area.
Oh, by the way, we are trailering our Suzuki trike as a means of getting from place to place while doing research. I hope we can stand the 100 plus degress heat and that it doesn't rain.
My dear sweet husband of nearly fifty eight years is waiting to take me out to dinner in a restaurant that has just opened up in our community.
More later,
June
However, their leaving has opened up a new opportunity for me to write uninteruptedly. I do so enjoy sitting at the computer and doing research. It is fulfilling when my research provides answers to questions I have had about the family. Just this week I was able to tell my husband that his sixth greatgrandfather was a French Huguenot pastor in Santee, SC. (And he always thought he was the first pastor in his family line).
God has blessed our family in so many ways--spiritually and materially. Just recently we have become the owners of a motorhome (the cabover kind). Never mind that it is a 1991 model. We're looking forward to a trip in it next week to do research. Of course our first stop will be Raleigh and we'll "camp" in our son's yard. While there I plan to do research at the UNC library and at the NC Archives. On Thursday we plan to visit Bladen County where our Russ ancestors settled after leaving the Charleston area.
Oh, by the way, we are trailering our Suzuki trike as a means of getting from place to place while doing research. I hope we can stand the 100 plus degress heat and that it doesn't rain.
My dear sweet husband of nearly fifty eight years is waiting to take me out to dinner in a restaurant that has just opened up in our community.
More later,
June
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