Picnic on the Parkway: Work First!

My maternal grandfather insisted on doing chores first. All work had to be completed before any fun or rest. This rule served him and his descendants very well. To this day, even though I’m retired, I feel compelled to finish my chores before sitting down to read or watch TV. My mother (Carrie) shared the following story from her childhood which illustrates her father’s insistence on work first.

Some context

My maternal grandparents were Wiley Thomas “Tom” Snyder (1892 – 1988) and Nora Bessie McNeil Snyder (1900 – 1992). They owned an 86-acre farm on Pleasant Home Church Road in Millers Creek, Wilkes County, NC. They raised five children born between 1922 and 1934.

Tom and Nora with their five kids, about 1935.
Back row: Tom and Neil (with puppy).
Front row: Nora holding Ralph, my mom Carrie holding Bette, Mozelle.

From their home, they could watch the Civilian Conservation Corps construct the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Local men, including relatives, were hired to work on the road. Construction started in 1939 and was suspended in 1942 for the war. Using old newspapers and websites about the Parkway, I verified that the section of the Parkway nearest to Millers Creek was completed by August 1940.

 

Wilkes County is in red, in northwestern North Carolina.

The story

One summer day about 1940, Tom asked his wife and children “Would you like to drive up and see the Parkway tomorrow?”  Of course, they said “Yes!”  So, the next day, they got up extra early. They completed their regular chores (milked the cow, fed the chickens, horse and pigs, gathered eggs, washed up, etc.) and made and ate breakfast. In addition, they made a picnic lunch. Nora killed, cleaned, plucked, and fried a chicken, baked a cake, and made more biscuits. Tom and the older kids boxed up tomatoes, pickles, honey, water, plates, glasses, and napkins. Finally, they loaded up the car and Tom drove to the Parkway.

From Pleasant Home Church Road, they took NC highway 16, a very steep and twisty 12.8 miles to the intersection with the Parkway at milepost 261.2. 

They rode along the Parkway for a while, admiring the new road and the scenery.  After a while, Tom asked “Is anybody hungry?” Of course, they said “Yes!”  So he pulled over and they ate lunch. 

The Blue Ridge Parkway is the red road.
The Snyder home place is in the "NC Eastern Section."

During the drive, they probably stopped at the Jumpinoff Rock overlook at milepost 260.3, just north of the intersection with NC highway 16. (Per legend, an Indian maiden jumped off these rocks.)  From this overlook, you can see the Snyder home place in the valley below.

Jumpinoff Rock sign by J Sedg on Flickr

After lunch Tom said, “It’s time to go home for evenin’ chores.”  When they got home, it was only 9 a.m.!

I guess they had time to relax and have fun until evenin’ chores!

The rest of the story

Carrie died on May 11, 2001, age 75, at Wilkes General Hospital in North Wilkesboro. She requested cremation. After a memorial service at Pleasant Home Baptist Church, we decided to spread her ashes on the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Jumpinoff Rock Overlook. She loved her childhood home and the Parkway so the family agreed this would be the ideal spot for her ashes.

Jumpin Off Rocks overlook by Mike Twekesbury.
If you know just where to look, you can see the home place on Pleasant Home Church Road.
This is a beautiful final resting place for Carrie's ashes.

Sources and photo credits

• Carrie told me the picnic story on 27 Dec 1999.
• Map of North Carolina highlighting Wilkes County, David Benbennick, posted 12 Feb 2006; in public domain; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_North_Carolina_highlighting_Wilkes_County.svg : accessed 17 Apr 2026.
• Google map: accessed 19 Mar 2026.
• Blue Ridge Parkway map, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Federal Highway Administration, America’s Byways, https://fhwaapps.fhwa.dot.gov/bywaysp/byway/2280/map : accessed 17 Apr 2026.
• “Blue Ridge Parkway,” Wikipedia entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ridge_Parkway : accessed 19 Mar 2026.
• Blue Ridge Parkway Timeline, Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, https://brpfoundation.org/about/history-timeline/
• “Construction of the parkway,” National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/blri/learn/historyculture/construction.htm : accessed 19 Mar 2026.
• North Carolina Certificate of Death, no. 097-60-217 (2001), Carrie Mae Disher’s death on 11 May 2001; Wilkes County, North Carolina Register of Deeds, Wilkesboro.
• Photo: “Jumpinoff Rock hike” by J Sedg, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ephemerama/3175154587 : accessed 19 Mar 2026.
• Photo: "Jumpinoff Rocks Overlook" by Mike Tewkesbury is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.). https://openverse.org/image/e727b5c9-203f-491a-b51d-039e47b57cf9?q=jumpinoff+rock+blue+ridge&p=1  :  accessed 19 Mar 2026. 

Celebrating the 153rd birthday of great-grandma Clara Eva Jarvis McNeil

My great-grandmother Clara Eva Jarvis McNeil was born on April 6, 1873 in Wilkes County, NC.

Eva had very long hair, as shown in the photograph below. According to her granddaughter, Carrie Snyder Disher, she had curly red/auburn hair, sky blue eyes, and a few freckles. Another granddaughter, Pam McNeil, said "When she was young she had beautiful long red hair. When she was 16 she decided she wanted to have her picture made, so she dressed up and walked into North Wilkesboro (6-7 Miles) to have her photograph done!" Lots of family members have a copy of that photo, shown here:

Clara Eva Jarvis approx. 1889

Beloved by her eight children and many grandchildren, Eva had a wonderful sense of humor and was an excellent rifle shot. She shot rabbits and squirrels, and warded off chicken thieves. She once shot at corn thieves, and they ran off!

Carrie wrote that Eva “was kind to everybody. She kept a lot of travelers [gypsy-like grifters or itinerant workers] but never let them leave until she asked if they were Christian. She always gave them a formula to get on God’s Highway and go on to Heaven. She never refused anyone a good meal, but seldom got a penny in return.”

Eva's granddaughter Dorothy Snyder Myers shared her memories of Eva. Eva only had two pictures on her wall: Jesus and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She took them with her whenever she stayed overnight at a relative’s house. She was a staunch Democrat. She hated Abraham Lincoln, probably because his army wounded and imprisoned her father. She called Abe a "dirty old man." Having lived through the Depression, she thought very highly of FDR. 

According to Dorothy, Eva was an avid needlewoman. She knitted, crocheted, sewed, and tatted. She made double-sided shawls for each of her daughters; one side was black and the other was a bright color such as rose. She crocheted enough yarn bookmarks (in the shape of a cross, in different colors) to raise $200 for charity. At 10 cents each, that's 2,000 bookmarks!

Crochet cross bookmark similar to ones Eva made

Sources:

• Birthdate is on her tombstone and is consistent with the 1880 census (she was 7).
• Conversations with Eva's grandchildren, Carrie Snyder Disher, George Paul "Red" Snyder, Dorothy Snyder Myers, and Pam McNeil.

My Mother Carrie: Born 100 Years Ago Today

My mother, Carrie Mae Snyder Disher, was born in her parents’ farmhouse in Millers Creek, N.C., on March 7, 1926. Her parents were Wiley Thomas “Tom” Snyder (1892 – 1988) and Nora Bessie McNeil Snyder (1900 – 1992). What were the circumstances of her birth and early childhood?

 Tom and Nora grew up in Wilkes County but moved to Winston-Salem hoping for a better quality of life. In Winston, their house had electricity and indoor plumbing. Carrie’s three older brothers were born there between 1920 and 1925. Two of these boys died as infants; only Jimmy survived.  In 1925, after a few tough years in Winston-Salem, Tom and Nora decided to return home. They bought a farm on Pleasant Home Church Road in Millers Creek, where Carrie was born in 1926. This move was a wise decision. The family thrived with Jimmy, Carrie and three more children (Mozelle, Ralph, and Bette).  

Homeplace of Tom and Nora Snyder on Pleasant Home Church Road, Millers Creek, Wilkes County, NC. 
Photo November 1963, probably taken by Carrie.

 

Wilkes County is in northwest North Carolina.
Winston-Salem is in Forsyth County, two counties east of Wilkes.
Map from FamilySearch Wiki, 2020.

The family was cash poor but they ate a variety of fresh food and were surrounded by a strong sense of community. On their 86-acre farm, their cash crops were wheat and corn. For the family, they grew fruits and vegetables and kept chickens, pigs, and a cow. Carrie’s father had beehives and went hunting and fishing. The kids walked to school. Pleasant Home Baptist Church was a short walk up the road. Carrie’s father taught Sunday school there for 40 years. Carrie lived near all four of her grandparents and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

The farmhouse had no electricity (until 1936) and no indoor plumbing (until 1950). They had a well on the porch and cooked on a wood stove. During the Depression, they wore clothes homemade from flour sack material. The children were embarrassed because their cousins had store-bought clothes.

 

Carrie on her mom's lap in 1928. The child on the left is probably Jimmy. 
The girl on the porch is likely a cousin or neighbor. Photo probably taken by Tom Snyder.

Carrie’s youngest sister Bette wrote:

I remember sitting on our front porch at dark in warm weather and my daddy telling us of the Bible.  He made it so interesting.  He studied the Bible a lot and had memorized a large number of chapters, verses, etc.  It was a pretty sight there on the porch to watch the car lights as they came over the mountain, and a wonderful spot to watch sunsets.  Rendezvous Mountain View was right in front on our front porch.  I didn’t fully appreciate this till I left home and realized we had a million dollar view.

“Million-dollar view” from the front porch. Photo probably taken by Carrie, November 1963.

In the “million-dollar view” photo above, one of the peaks is Rendezvous Mountain. It is a state park honoring the gathering point for the men who marched to Kings Mountain in 1780 where they won a battle against the British in the Revolutionary War. When you see rain over the mountain, you have about 10 minutes to get the washing off the line and bring it in.

Sources:

A.      Tom’s letter to Nora, 30 May 1918: he had “a mighty grand house” with a “fine location, city water, and electric lights.” Privately held by the author.

B.      County of Wilkes, State of North Carolina,  Certified Copy of Birth Certificate, Registration District No. 97-8117, Certificate No. 17, Carrie Mae Snyder, born 7 Mar 1926; photocopy of certified certificate.

C.      Wilkes County, NC, deeds 1925-1927, 141: 63, A.A. Bumgarner and wife to W.T. Snyder and wife, 28 Apr 1925; microfilm C.104.40070.

D.  "Rain Over the Mountain," Bette S. McClure, Wilkes County Memories, compiled and edited by Bob Lasley and Sallie Holt. Hickory, NC: Hometown Memories Publishing Company, 2007.     

Valentine's Day 1918

 My grandfather, Wiley Thomas "Tom" Snyder (1892 - 988) was drafted into the U.S. Army in June 1917. He first went to Camp Jackson, near Columbia, SC. He wrote letters to the girl back home in Wilkes County that he had in mind to marry - my future grandmother, Nora Bessie McNeil (1900 - 1992). Nora saved the letters. 

Here is a postcard appropriate for Valentine's Day. I love the World War I era graphics. This postcard, postmarked July 24, 1918, was his last communication from the U.S. On July 31, he boarded the SS Walmer Castle to cross the Atlantic. He sent the next letter from France on September 1. Three weeks later, he was severely wounded by shrapnel in the right shoulder. He spent the rest of the war in hospitals. He married Nora on April 16, 1919, one month after his discharge.

Transcription of postcard:

July 24, 1918, Brooklyn, N.Y , Upton Branch

Miss Nora McNiell, Millers Creek, N.C.

Dear Nora

Guess you think I am not going to ans[swer]. I really haven’t had time. I am ok. Hope you are well. I am in “Long” Island N. York, Camp Upton. Write me. I remain your true friend (a short while), W.T. Snider

2025 Genealogy Goals - How did I do?

 

1. My number 1 goal was to join lineage societies: 

Yes! National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)

Yes! United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC)

Yes! First Families of Tennessee

Applied but not completed (they have a backlog of applications) National Society United States Daughters of 1812

2. Write my next book! No progress 

3. Scan family photos and documents and upload them to websites: No progress 

4. Teach genealogy! YES! I taught 17 classes at the City of Raleigh Parks & Rec, in addition to making several presentations to genealogical societies. 

5. Serve on the board of the Wake County Genealogical Society: Yes! I'm still the President

6. Keep learning about DNA, my DNA matches, and participate in the DNA SIG of the Wake Co Gen Soc. Yes!

7. Learn more about genealogy by attending webinars and local events. Yes!

8. My final goal for 2025: Post more on this blog! Yes! I posted 10 times in 2025!

Images are from Wikimedia Commons with no changes:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thumbs_up_green_with_plus_sign.svg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thumbs_down_red_with_minus_sign.svg

Sad ending of “Blind” John G. McNeil

My great-great-grandfather John G. McNeil was blind, disabled, and had rheumatism in the 1880 census for Wilkes County, NC. He was 47 with a wife and six children (ages 8 to 18). (See my previous blog post about John in August 2025.)

Not surprisingly, he qualified for public assistance. The local newspaper published pauper claims and I filled in some gaps by perusing the minutes of county commissioner meetings.  In 1891, the Chronicle listed John G. McNeil, $1.25 per month, under “Pauper Claims Allowed.”  This amount was between the low of $1 and the high of $2 in this list.[1]  In 1895, the Chronicle said the county commissioners awarded John McNeil a pauper allowance of $2 per month.[2]  The last claim is in the Board of Commissioners minutes of January 1899: “John McNeil $1.50 per month.”[3]  After John’s death in 1899, Polly lived with their youngest son, George Thomas McNeil (my great-grandfather) until her death in 1908.

John’s obituary was published in the (Wilkesboro) Chronicle, 21 Jun 1899, p. 1, col. 1:

Mr. John G. McNeill, of Reddies River township, died last week and was buried Thursday at Pleasant Home church.  He was 67 years old, and a consistent Christian gentleman.  His wife and six children survive him.  For about 28 years, he had been a helpless invalid, confined to his bed, and for the last 20 years he had been blind.  Through it all he was patient and resigned to his lot.  The funeral services were conducted by Revs. McNeill and Pardue, at Pleasant Home Baptist church, of which the deceased was a member.

Did any of John’s children have similar health issues? Here are the causes of death for all six children. Only one death certificate listed rheumatism (but they don’t list every health problem):

• Louisa, age 65, apoplexy
• Nancy, age 66, myacardia or old age
• Zeb, age 40, cholera morbus
• Banner, age 77, prostate cancer
• George, age 60, heart trouble (also rheumatism)
• Mary Alice, age 79, mitral insufficiency

Here is the only known photograph of John G. McNeil and his wife Polly Nichols. This is a photocopy of a photocopy someone sent to my Aunt Bette. I don’t know who had the original photo or when it was taken. I asked ChatGPT to improve the clarity and sharpness. According to my cousin Dorothy, Polly wove the coverlet.

---

[1] "Pauper Claims Allowed," (Wilkesboro) Chronicle, 14 Jan 1891, p. 1, col. 4.

[2] "Pauper Allowances," (Wilkesboro) Chronicle, 17 Jan 1895, p. 4, col. 5.

[3] Wilkes County, North Carolina., Minutes of Board of County Commissioners, vol. 1884-1898:77, minutes of January term, 1899.

Wilkes County Veterans' Stories

I just discovered on the Wilkes Genealogical Society web page - Veterans' Stories! Click here to open web page in a new window

I see some relatives but no one has written about my direct ancestors who served in the military, including Richard F. Jarvis, Wiley T. Snyder, and several others. I plan to write their stories and submit them to this website.

It's very interesting to read the stories that are on the website already.

Screen shot of the web page.

Details of John G. McNeil’s health in 1880

My great-great-grandfather John G. McNeil was blind, disabled, and had rheumatism in the 1880 census for Wilkes County, NC. He was 47 with a wife and six children (ages 8 to 18). But wait, there’s more!

Many people are not aware that in addition to the U.S. census population schedules, which list every person in the household (starting in 1850), there are also additional schedules. The non-population agriculture schedules, mortality schedules, and several others include the 1880 Defective, Dependent and Delinquent (DDD) schedule. The DDD lists people who are insane, deaf-mute, idiotic, blind, paupers, homeless children, or prisoners.  (Note that all these terms are from 1880, not the terms we would use today.)

The DDD for North Carolina is online at the free website North Carolina Historical Scans. The schedule for Wilkes County is at https://ncscans.com/image/F1154F448V. My great-great-grandfather John G. McNeil is in the “Blind” section of the DDD (image 451):

Here is my transcription of his record:

Page 13, line 29, McNiel John G, Wilkes, not self-supporting, age 41 at onset, cause "Acute Facial Rheumatism," totally blind, has never been in an institution.

The page and line correspond to the John G. McNeil household in the 1880 population census so we know this is the same person. John was 47 in 1880 so he’s been blind 6 years.

What is “Acute Facial Rheumatism?” It’s not a standard medical term.  Rheumatoid arthritis can cause blindness. It’s not clear exactly what John’s medical issues were, we just know that he was blind and an invalid. He lived until 1899.

Grandma Nora born 125 years ago today but there's a problem with her delayed birth certificate

My grandmother, Nora Bessie McNeil Snyder was born on August 10, 1900, in Wilkes County, NC, to George Thomas McNeil and Clara Eva Jarvis McNeil.  The photograph of George and Clara McNeil with their two oldest children dates from about 1901. George is holding Ila, and Eva is holding my grandmother Nora. They later had six more children.

Since North Carolina didn’t require birth certificates until 1913, Nora didn’t receive a birth certificate in 1900. But she received a Delayed Birth Certificate in 1959, probably so she could apply for Social Security.  Here is my copy of her delayed birth certificate:

Nora had to supply three forms of proof of her birth. The first proof was the affidavit from her mother (highlighted in the image above). A mother’s affidavit is excellent proof since the mother is the one person who is certain of the child’s date of birth. However, when I applied this year for membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution, the registrar noticed something I had never noted. Clara died on January 24, 1959, but Nora’s delayed birth certificate says Clara’s affidavit was dated February 24, 1959. So the DAR would not accept this delayed birth certificate!

Notice that February 24, 1959, is recorded several times in this certificate. It’s the date Nora and the Register of Deeds signed the certificate. I believe the typist mistakenly used the same date for Clara’s affidavit.

Fortunately, the DAR accepted the NC Birth Index on Ancestry.com:

Sources:

Photograph of George Thomas McNeil family, about 1901, Wilkes County, NC. Privately held by the author.

State of North Carolina, State Board of Health, Office of Vital Statistics, Delayed Birth Certificate, p. 66 (issued 1959), Nora Bessie McNeill, born 10 Aug 1900 in Wilkes County. Privately held by the author.

"North Carolina, U.S., Birth Indexes, 1800-2000," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 August 2025); entry for Nora Bessie McNeill, born 10 Aug 1900 in Wilkes County.

Allen Whittington (1801-1899) obituary

My 3rd great-grandfather, Allen A. Whittington, lived almost the entire 19th century. Born in 1801, he died on July 25, 1899, in Wilkes County, NC. 

This chart shows Allen's immediate family - parents, wives, and children. He was widowed twice and married his third wife when he was 93 (she was 41). According to family lore, his sons had to help Allen mount his horse to go courting.  They questioned why he wanted to get married at the age of 93. He said "Surely to God I will live ten more years."

On the day he died, the local newspaper The Chronicle published a quickly written obituary. It promised a fuller obituary later but I never found one (some issues of the paper are missing).

---

References:

Family story was shared by Carrie Disher (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) to Barbara McGeachy, letter, 27 Dec 1999; privately held by the author.

I created the chart using PowerPoint. My family often does not fit into standard charts!

"Allen Whittington Dead.," (Wilkesboro) The Chronicle, 26 Jul 1899, p. 4, col. 2.; online image, Newspapers.com, accessed 11 Apr 2018.

Free historic YouTube video about Wilkes County, NC!

Title: This is Progressive Wilkes County, 1948

Channel: State Archives of North Carolina

Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfUzl3Lg22

Do you see anyone you know? I don't recognize any people but I do recognize the (old) courthouse in Wilkesboro, Spainhour's Department Store, and the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's fun to see the old cars and the way people dressed in 1948.

Enjoy!

Jones-May-Snyder Grist Mill in Trade TN

New grist mill's wheel.

Around 1802, Thomas Jones built a grist mill very close to why my Snyder ancestors lived, near Trade in Johnson County, near the NC line. Jones sold it to Pleasant and Callie May. William Rosencrans Snyder bought it in 1915. William was my 2nd cousin 3 times removed. William's son Peter ran the mill until he retired in 1989. The mill was torn down but the original equipment was donated to the Trade Days Museum.

The mill was reconstructed in 2008 and is gorgeous as you can see in the photo above.

Read all about the historic mill and the new mill in this great article with lots of pictures here: https://millpictures.com/mills.php?millid=1421

The Johnson County Chamber of Commerce tells about the mill and has lots of pictures on their website https://www.johnsoncountytnchamber.org/area-info/trade-gristmill/

Source of photo: 

https://web.archive.org/web/20150407005048/https://www.wataugalakemagazine.com/tradetennessee.html

Big Surprise Waitin’ For You!

Today, March 7, 2025 would be my mother's 99th birthday. She learned to be a caretaker starting in early childhood.

Here's a photo of the Snyder family about 1935 in the front yard of their farmhouse on Pleasant Home Church Road, Millers Creek, Wilkes County, NC.

Back row: Tom (W.T. Snyder) and Neil (age 13).
Front row: Nora holding Ralph (age 3), Carrie (age 9) holding Bette (age 1), Kathy (age 6).

Neil was the oldest child but gender roles were strictly enforced. As Tom and Nora’s oldest daughter, Carrie’s chores included looking after her younger siblings. First Kathy, born when Carrie was 3. Three years later, Ralph came along. The other children could play outside after dinner, but Carrie had to rock the baby until he closed his eyes. She blew lightly on Ralph’s eyelids, then dashed outside. Sometimes it worked!  Bette arrived in 1934; Carrie was 8. Carrie wrote:

I remember the nights after supper, we all played “Ain’t no bears out tonight, Papa killed them all last night.”  At dusk we were scared. Mama usually made me sit on the back porch and rock the baby to sleep. I would hurry to put the baby into bed so I could play. If I quit rocking too quick the baby cried and Mama would call me back in. By the time the baby was really sound asleep, I was too scared to go into the yard.

While walking home from school in the spring of 1936, a neighbor lady called out “Carrie Mae, you better hurry on home! Your mama and daddy got a big surprise waitin’ for you!” Carrie then walked as slowly as she could because the last time that lady said there was a big surprise, Bette was the surprise. So Carrie figured there was another baby for her to take care of. Instead, they got a radio!  All the neighbors came over to hear it. Tom told them it didn’t work at night so they would go home and not stay for dinner. Carrie loved the music and comedy and stories. The radio was much better than another baby! 

Charlie and Lily's Story

My grandmother Nora told me a story she heard from her mother Eva Jarvis. Eva said that when she was a little girl, her older brother Charlie and younger sister Lily died the same week from diphtheria.

Eva was born in 1873, long before birth and death certificates were required in North Carolina (1913). I don’t have the family Bible. No newspapers in Wilkes County have survived prior to 1890. So where could I turn to prove or disprove this story?

Everyone is familiar with the U.S. census population schedule. But did you know that there are additional schedules? In 1880, the “mortality” schedule listed all people who died within the year prior to the census enumeration day. In other words, it listed the people who died between June 1, 1879, and May 31, 1880. In Wilkes County, I found Charlie and Lily’s deaths on the mortality schedule!

From left to right in this image:

• 11 is the household number on the population schedule for the Richard F. Jarvis household. Richard was the father of Charlie, Eva, Lily, and many other children.
• Jarvis C.C. was Charles Clinton Jarvis, age 9, male, white, unmarried.  
• He was born in N.C. as were his father and mother.
• The occupation column has a dash.
• He died in September (1879) of diphtheria.
• The next line shows Jarvis L.P. (Lily Prudence), age 4, died the same month.

It’s always a good idea to look for all possible records for a family. Charlie and Lily were born after the 1870 census so the 1880 mortality schedule is the only record of them. They must have had gravestones (their father was a Baptist minister) but I have not found them.

By checking the mortality schedule, I was able to confirm this sad story. It must have been so hard for my great-grandmother Eva, age 7, to lose her closest siblings. They are gone but not forgotten.

Source:

1880 U.S. census, Wilkes County, North Carolina, non-population schedule, Mortality and Manufacturing, Wilkesboro, enumeration district (ED) 214; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.Ancestry.com : accessed 22 Apr 2012); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M1805, roll 5, lines 2 & 3, C.C. Jarvis and L.P. Jarvis.

2025 Genealogy Goals

My number 1 goal is to join lineage societies including the

• National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)
• United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC)
• National Society United States Daughters of 1812
• First Families of Tennessee

I’m 99% sure I can join these societies immediately. I will keep an eye out for more societies.

Why join? They will preserve the documentation I send as proof of my lineage. Other relatives will be able to use this documentation for research and possibly to join the society themselves. Also, they have local meetings where I can make friends with people with similar interests.

2. Write my next book! So far, I’ve only published one book – about my grandparents (Tom and Nora Snyder). I’ve researched and written chapters for the Whittington, Faw, Wagner, Stout, McNeil, Nichols, Jarvis, and Pardue lines.  I need to gather them and create an index. My plan is to upload them to Lulu.com where relatives and others can buy them. I will donate copies to several libraries.

3. Scan family photos and documents and upload them to websites including Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, Find-a-Grave.com, and others. This is a great way to preserve and share the documents.

4. Teach genealogy! I’ve taught 7 classes (from 3 to 6 weeks each) at the lifelong learning institute at N.C. State University. I’d like to continue that as long as it’s fun and they want me to continue!

5. Serve on the board of the Wake County Genealogical Society (currently, I am the President).

6. Keep learning about DNA, my DNA matches, and participate in the DNA SIG of the Wake Co Gen Soc.

7. Learn more about genealogy by attending webinars and local events. My favorites are Legacy Family Tree Webinars, the Tennessee Genealogical Society, the N.C. Genealogical Society, and of course, the Wake County Genealogical Society here in Raleigh!

8. My final goal for 2025: Post more on this blog!

"Save Our Wilkes County History" videos

The Wilkes Genealogical Society (NC) is uploading the "Save Our Wilkes County History" videos that were produced by The Save Our Wilkes County History Committee headed up by Fay Byrd. They received grant monies from the Blue Ridge Heritage Area to complete the project between 2007 and 2009. 

The videos are interviews of local people telling their life stories. 

The videos are being uploaded to the Wilkes Genealogical Society YouTube channel and they are free!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKs_RYiIdpK35Q6U3KHARhw

or 

https://www.youtube.com/@adminwgs/videos

Enjoy!

Daddy's Restaurant Advice

 Today, on father's day, I'm reminded of his valuable advice: "Never eat at a restaurant with very few cars parked in the lot."  I call it the "minimum car requirement."  

There must be a reason why a restaurant has few cars at mealtime.  It may be overpriced, have bad food or bad service. Best to steer clear.

He said a restaurant with a busy parking lot will at least have fresh food. 

As a corollary, my mother would drive around a restaurant parking lot and ask people leaving if the food was good. It worked, but it sure was embarrassing to her passenger (a teen-aged me!).

Image: DanTD, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons 

Aunt Kathy

One of my favorite people died on March 23, 2024. My mother’s sister, Kathy, was a delightful person. She was so calm and loving. She was very patient and unflappable. She made the best potato salad (with Duke’s Mayonnaise, of course!).  

Aunt Kathy would have turned 95 years old today, May 5, 2024.

1957 engagement portrait in author's personal collection

Best Will by an Illiterate Ancestor: Adam Snider

Sensing his imminent death, Adam Snider wrote a will on January 8, 1859.  He died soon after -- the will was proven in the February term of court in 1859.  

This copy of the will was created by the clerk of court – it is in a bound volume along with other wills and related documents.

Adam mentioned his wife and all ten of his children; he listed his sons by birth order!  This is rare and wonderful!  Typically for Southern states, Tennessee did not require birth or death certificates until the early 20^th century, so finding proof of parentage is a challenge.

... I give and bequeath to my eldest son, Noah, ...

to my second son, Jesse, ...

to my third son, Alexander, ...

to my son Andrew, ...

to my son Landon, ...

to my son Emanuel, ...

daughters, Nancy, Sarahfine, Elizabeth and Amanda ...

8th day of January, A.D. 1859.

Adam <his mark> Snider (seal)

Proved in open court, R.L. Wilson, Clerk, February Term, 1859.

 

Adam amassed quite an estate even though he was illiterate.  Some land amounts are unspecified.  Just the amounts mentioned add up to 702 acres. Adam listed blacksmith tools and quite a few buildings - dwelling house, kitchen, smokehouse, barns, stables, and shops.  He was a blacksmith as well as a farmer.

He was only about 54 when he died.  His parents were still alive. 

His gravestone says he died in 1868 but this must be a new stone with the wrong date. The probate court record and his detailed will provide unassailable proof that he died in 1859.

Source:

Tennessee, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1779-2008, Johnson County, Bonds and Letters, 1839-1900; Last Will and Testament of Adam Snider, deceased, p. 121; digital image 67 of 763, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 Apr 2024).