What happened to John Powell? Part 3 - GUEST BLOG!

South Carolina State Archives

Note:  This is a continuation from a previous post.  To start back at part 1, click here.

Long overdue...

You know, when I started this blog a year ago, I had the best of intentions.  First, I planned to write a post every week.  Then, after the first few posts, I realized that the level of research involved wouldn't allow for that.  I needed more time to be able to do the proper amount of research to develop a good story - you know, one that people might actually want to read.  I don't want to bore you folks to death with a bunch of dry, boring lists of names and dates, after all.  So then I thought maybe I could do a post once per month.  But alas - life got in the way, as it often does, and my genealogy research, which I consider to be my "me" time, all too often got shoved to the back burner.

What happened to John Powell? Part 2

Note:  This is a continuation from a previous post.  To start back at part 1, click here.

On Tuesday, February 5, 2019, I had taken the day off work to take my husband for some medical tests.  When the tests were finished, we were at CVS waiting for a prescription to be filled when my Apple Watch buzzed to alert me to a new e-mail.  The first thing I saw on the screen was a name - John Powell.  JOHN POWELL??  I immediately pulled my phone out of my purse to read the full e-mail:

What happened to John Powell? Part 1

In genealogy circles, they are referred to as "Brick Walls" -  genealogical puzzles that refuse to be solved, no matter how much research you do.  I have one that has plagued me for several years now - my 2nd great-grandfather on my Powell line.  He married my 2nd great-grandmother, Hattie Gregory, sometime around 1890, fathered my great-grandfather, James Edward Powell, who was born in 1891, and then seemingly dropped off the face of the earth.

My DNA Story

My Ancestry DNA Ethnicity Estimate.

For Christmas 2017, my parents gave me the gift of an autosomal DNA test kit.  I was THRILLED!  I won't lie, though - it wasn't a huge surprise.  Since my parents aren't quite as well-versed in genealogy and DNA testing as I am (which isn't even very much), my mom had previously contacted me to find out which DNA testing company I would be most interested in testing with.  Being just a little OCD (okay, a lot OCD - stop laughing, mom!), I had jumped right in to researching which kit would work best for the results I was hoping to get from it.