The Catch Up Post.....

Due to family illness, death & my own medical issues I haven't been able to post in a while. I had surgery last week & I find I now have the time to catch everyone up. My Grandma Parker was the one that was ill and we lost her in Feburary. It was a huge blow to us all & she is very much missed. With my illness she was always worried about & prayed for me. She would be at her worse & yet as soon as I seen her it was always "Mandy how are you? Shouldn't you be taking it easy?" I can't begin to tell you how much I missed that this past week. Not having her call to see how I was doing was hard but I can say I felt she was watching over me.
My Grandma was an only child born in March of 1923 to Frank & Amanda Newton in Meade County KY. Grandma was blessed with 4 children Wanda, Janis, Frankie & Cathy out of those 4 children she would be blessed with 11 grandchildren, 23 great grandchildren & 4 great great grandchildren.

In the past 2 years I have lost 2 grandparents & I only have 1 grandma left if I lose her I will be lost. I feel very blessed to have had them in my life for so long but it truly feels like a part of me is gone with them & even to this day I can be sitting here & just cry. My daughter is due to have her first child soon & I find myself praying that they allow me the chance my grandparents had to be a part of her life.

I recently was able to make copies of pictures of old photos from my Grandma Parker (Millard) side as well as my Grandpa Millard and I made it into a short video so please enjoy! If any family members would like copies just get in touch with me and I will send them to you

More Pictures

So when my dad brought over the picture of my Grandma and her sister's he also brought pictures of her parents and of Grandma as she was a child. I never knew my grandparents on her side nor did I know what they looked like. To get a chance to see them is very priceless to me. 

                                                Grandma Tingles Parents the Thornhill's

                                                 The back of this photo says Grandparents
                                                 I am assuming the little girl is my Grandma

                                                    This one say's Grandma & mom so  
                                                 one of these girls has to be my grandma

I am spending my weekend cleaning but also finding more information from my family tree. I can't wait till the day comes that I can hand my parents there full family tree. That day will be bittersweet because my journey will be done but it will bring such joy to them both.I hope you will continue to follow me on my journey. 

A Nice Surprise......

So my dad came in tonight and said oh wait I found some photos for you. Low and behold they are my Grandma Tingle and her parents and 2 of her siblings. I haven't seen my Grandma face since I was 16 to say it was bitter sweet is an understatement. I forgot how much my dad looks like her and I am sad to say how much I miss her. Since my heart attack my memories are just not what they use to be so I can't remember much but I do remember the love she had for us. She was a tough women but she was always there to help out. She lived near Churchill Downs and she was in her element come Derby time. She would talk to everyone and she never meet a stranger. My poor dad has lost both parents now and when he talks about them you can tell how deep this hurts him. My Grandpa just left us a year ago and that pain is still very raw. He at least still has my Grandma Wright (his step-mom) but we don't treat her any different she IS his mother in every sense of the word and she IS my grandma as well. This does help to still have her but the loss is still there. I am not sure what I will do when I lose my Grandma Wright it will be a devastating loss. 

Below are some photos of my Dad and my brother, my Grandma Tingle and her sisters, my grandpa, grandma and dad and one picture from grandpa's grave.  

Time to start again...

So due to the holidays and festivity I have been neglecting my ancestry search but no worries it is now to time to pick up where I left off and head into a new year with new adventurers and discovery's. Or at least I hope so. I recently purchased and participated in Ancestry DNA. It has brought more questions then answers but still it is neat to see. So the following chart is what I received when I got it back:

Regions:

80% Great Britain

9% Europe West

4% Scandinavia

4 Other regions

 

They also now have "Circles" which shows you an estimate of who maybe related to you from there DNA sample. Sorta weird but neat as well. My problem is most people don't include in there public names any information on who they are so I am not really sure what to make of those. I am the strange one I guess I have my name public so in the small chance a distant relative would like to reach out to me they can. 

 

So here's to a new year and well wishes to lots of discovery's!!!!

 

Happy New Year everyone!!! :-)  

Millard Newton S

So it was recently decided that my grandma could no longer live on her own and will need to move in with my Aunt on a permanent bases. As such her home has to be boxed up and stuff sorted through and my mom, aunt's and uncle will need to decide where her stuff will go. I was able to visit her home earlier this month and although I didn't take these photos I was able to use my phone to capture these photo's. I also spoke to my Grandma on the phone and asked her that once things are settled and her photo books are brought to her if she would allow me to come and visit with her and learn more about my family as well as look at all the photos she has. She of course said yes! So I am eagerly awaiting for that to happen but in the mean time here are the photo's I took:

                                                  This is my grandma & her first husband JC

                                                    This is my grandma & Aunt Wanda

                                  This is my grandma and my Aunt Wanda about 5 or 6 years ago

                                                    This is  my Great Grandma Bradley
                              My Great Grandfather is at the top left and Grandma on the bottom right sides

                                                    This is my great Grandpa Bradley

                                                                     Newton Farm

                                                  Another photo of the Newton Farm

                              I have to be honest I am not sure who these two are hopefully Grandma can tell                                    me soon or maybe my mom.


I have to say I feel very blessed to be able to view these photos. My dad's side of the family there are very few photos if any at all. And documenting his side of the family is becoming quite the task. I am unable to locate certain people and no one I ask seem to know much if anything at all about the past. So finding this information for my mom's side is like a treasure trove for me and one I am quite enjoying to find

Thornhill Side

To say I am hitting a brick wall on this side is an understatement. I can get as far back as my Grandma Tingle parents but that is it for her mothers side. I know that her maiden name would have been Sublet or something sorta like it but that is it and I thought since I couldn't find her birth certificate on line I thought going to Frankfort would help me but I recently discovered prior to 1911 Kentucky did not keep birth certificates on file leave it to Kentucky ugh. I wish I could find there graves but I can't and I have no ideal how to find it either. I feel so frustrated by this I know that my Great Grandma father was dead by the time she was 5 but that is it I can't find more. So with out a birth certificate or grave site I am left at a stand still I can continue onto the other side of the family and I will do that but I so want to find all the information. Wish me luck as I continue this journey!

Meadeville Cemetery FOUND!!!

David and I were out for a drive today and decided to try to follow the directions I received from someone this past week regarding this cemetery and we found it!! We pulled into this field went back quite a ways then decided the van wasn't going to make it much further in that field stopped and David got out and looked around and we didn't see it at first and then somehow David seen a headstone through some weeds and I was like yep that is it!! So we backed out a ways then got out and visited the site. James would be my 2nd great grandfather and to visit his grave was sort of surreal for me especially knowing my family has been searching for years to find it and have not been able to locate it. I can't tell you how excited I am to get to go back down with my mom soon to visit this site again. Unfortunately this grave yard isn't maintained anymore & I am assuming it is due to the ones who were doing it not being able to keep it up anymore but I am not sure. But it is fenced off so that at least keeps it from being a cow pasture again. Here are some photo's from today but I can't wait to post some of my mom down there soon!!