Unfolding The Story Genealogy

05/01/2025

2024 TSGS Awards - San Antonio Genealogical & Historical Society (SAGHS) Our Heritage Journal ~ 2nd Place!! This journal included my story "Opa Stitched Our Family Quilt with Unconditional Love: Herbert Meyer a.k.a Michael Sievers"

04/29/2025

My ongoing fascination with historical social welfare institutions—orphan trains, early asylums, and Texas poor farms—has fueled periodic research into these important yet often overlooked facilities. I completed a paper on the Travis County Poor Farm in Texas, with a short case study on a Alexander Sylvester family admitted and discharged in 1892.
This case study revealed what appears to be precisely the positive outcome these institutions were designed to achieve: temporary assistance during hardship, followed by successful reintegration into society. The family's experience demonstrates how the Poor Farm fulfilled its intended purpose as a compassionate community response to welfare hardships in late 19th-century.

Introduction The Travis County Poor Farm represents a significant chapter in the history of public welfare in Central Texas. Established...

04/21/2025

Beyond traditional genealogical records lives genetic data that can piece together family history - here's my DNA match story to date!!

2024 Carol Meyer Brooks, born January 12, 1967, had always carried a deep curiosity about her biological roots. Though adopted at birth by...

04/09/2025

An orphan story about my biological grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Knight Peerce

1/30/1985 Letter written by Mary Elizabeth Peerce to Carol Anna Meyer (biological granddaughter) Mary Elizabeth Knight entered the world i...

04/02/2025

The German language is only one part of my heritage and this is my maternal grandmother's experience with the German to American language transition.

Mörschbach Photo Taken by Markus Braun In the heart of the Rhineland’s gentle hills, nestled a quiet village called Mörschbach, where Klara ...

03/27/2025

Another Family Story - Home Sweet Home; My maternal grandparent's home in Pleasanton, Texas

Oma & Opa's 50th Wedding Anniversary on Patrick Ave with the Grandkids c. Jan 1993 Beneath the sprawling, gnarled arms of an ancient live oa...

03/21/2025

A Historic Event themed family story - George Washington Knight, my 2nd Great Grandfather supports Women's Suffrage in 1913.

The Home & State Newspaper, 1913 The struggle for women's suffrage in Texas was a protracted battle marked by persistent advocacy and societ...

03/10/2025

Aaron Buckles, my 3rd Great Grandfather, Brick Wall!! Here's a document I generated using the free Claude AI; simply provided a bullet point list of data from available evidence. I'm looking to get another DAR patriot confirmed from my lineage and this will require an analysis to connect Aaron to his father, John Buckles, Sr. Any ideas are greatly appreciated!!

03/03/2025

My paternal grandmother's sibling - George Emil Huffmeyer's Story

The summer of 1907 in San Marcos, Texas, was filled with the sounds of cicadas humming in the pecan trees and the gentle rush of the San Mar...

02/25/2025

One of the escapades with my adoptive cousin, Liz Groff

Summer 1976, Charlotte, Texas; Carol Anna Meyer, Age 9 Liz and I were just a couple of curious cousins, nine or ten years old, sneaking ar...

02/21/2025

Honoring My 4th Great-Grandfather, Judge Jacob Marion Lindley

I’m proud to share a piece of my family’s history—Judge Jacob Marion Lindley, my 4th great-grandfather, was one of the first families to settle in Hopkins County, Texas! His journey was one of resilience and adventure, spanning multiple states before finally making Texas home.

Born in 1781 in Chatham County, North Carolina, Jacob moved westward throughout his life. In 1805, he married Alsey Ruth “Cedepe” Gibson in Christian County, Kentucky, and lived in several places:
📍 1810 – Hopkinsville, Kentucky
📍 1820 – Hopkins County, Kentucky
📍 1831 – Miller County, Missouri (near the Ozarks)
📍 1833 – Greene County, Missouri
📍 1840 – Polk County, Missouri
📍 1840s – Lamar County, Texas
📍 1847 – Fannin County, Texas
📍 1850 – Peerless, Hopkins County, Texas (Hopkins County founded in 1846)

By the early 1840s, Jacob and several of his children arrived in what would become Hopkins County, Texas. Around 1850, he was laid to rest in Posey, Hopkins County. Jacob was not only a pioneer but also a merchant and a key figure in early Texas history. His journey reflects the perseverance of those who helped shape our state and country.

Grateful to be part of his legacy! 💙

02/18/2025

My German Immigrant Ancestors: The Henry Sievers Sr Family & the Michael Joseph Englert Family

On the brisk morning of October 4, 1884, Henry Sievers, Sr. stood on the bustling docks of Bremen, Germany, his wife Wilhelmine and their ch...