by Brandy Heineman | Mar 30, 2017 | Blog, Family History
The case of Bessie Belle Bartoo is a sad and strange puzzle—sad because a child’s death always is, and strange because of the very few details we have about her, almost all are in conflict. Folklore or Fact? I first found Bessie Belle mentioned in a source my Mom and...
by Brandy Heineman | Mar 14, 2017 | Blog, Everything Else
The Ultimate Cold-Weather Comfort Food In my last post, I mentioned that I’m on a major kick for corn chowder! After a ridiculously warm winter, we’ve had a few days of cold-snap here in Atlanta, which is nothing compared to the blizzard headed for the...
by Brandy Heineman | Feb 27, 2017 | Blog, Everything Else
A time to grow… I’ve been wondering what to do with my blog for a while now. I love family history, but experience has shown that I can’t keep up the pace with the big, fully-researched stories on a regular basis. So, in the interest of diversification, and because,...
by Brandy Heineman | Dec 24, 2016 | Blog, Family History
Christmas Sugar Cookie Memories One of my fondest childhood memories of Christmastime is sugar cookie baking with my Mom and sisters. Every year, she would roll out the dough and we would take turns using the cookie cutters to produce stars, bells, snowmen and...
by Brandy Heineman | Dec 16, 2016 | Blog, Jesus
The Virgin Mary When I was a teen, I saved a magazine article about the Virgin Mary. I’ve long forgotten that author’s conclusions, but I kept it mostly for the artwork: a full-page grid of renderings of Mary. The faith tradition I hold to honors Mary as...
by Brandy Heineman | Dec 5, 2016 | Blog, Family History
Background on the Witter Deed I was so delighted to find the Joshua Witter deed at the Cattaraugus County courthouse in Little Valley several years ago. Then I started trying to transcribe it. Nonetheless, this 1854 document is an important piece of my Witter family...
