Hampton: The Family That Got Me REALLY Interested

     139 years ago, on June 28, 1874, in the small village of Paw Paw, Illinois, my second great grandfather, James Hampton, was born. He was born to Jonathan Hampton and Mary Lambert, as the seventh child of nine.

     On August 29, 1911, in Dixon, Illinois, he married 17 year old Elsie "Dolly" Estelle Nance, who a year before came from Bethany, Iredell County, North Carolina. I always wonder how they met and how she convinced Dolly's parents to let her marry James. James was 37 and Dolly was 17 - a 20 year difference but age is only a number!!

     Anyway the point of me writing this blog today is that the Hampton family is really the first family I ever did serious research in and the family I know the most information about. I had a really good first time experience in genealogy with this family.

      It helps that my grandmother had LOTS AND LOTS of photos and stories, and also a lot of information. It really broke be into how much fun genealogy can actually be, and that it's not just names, dates, and places. Its stories. My thing that really makes me interested in genealogy is trying to figure out how my ancestors decisions affected me. My favorite is that if my 5th great grandfather never moved to Canada, his son would have never met my 4th great grandmother, and I might not be here today (or the way I am.)

     So my question for you is: What was your 'first' big genealogy find and how did it affect you? OR, what got you REALLY interested in Genealogy? E-mail me your story at: tylerjamesmccane@gmail.com or post a comment and I'll post it in a blog!

Honoring Ancestors for Memorial Day: Michael Buster

     Michael Buster was born in Russell County, Kentucky on January 12, 1825 to Claudius and Sarah Buster. Michael was my 4th great grandfather. In about 1847, he married Nancy Higginbotham. She was born about 1833 in Kentucky. He was left widowed in about 1853 and was left with their four children: Mary Ellen (1847), Lewis J. (1849), Robert H. (1851), and Sophia M. Buster (1852.)
     On April 27, 1855, he married again to Elizabeth Ann Burchett in Russell County, Kentucky. She was born in 1834. The couple had four children: Charles B. (1856), Josephine (1857), Lucy Jane (1859), and William M. Buster (1862.)
      My fourth great grandfather enlisted on November 8, 1861 as a sergeant under Company H., 3rd Kentucky Infantry. On December 31, 1862, at the Battle of Stones River in Mufreesboro, Tennessee, Michael died of battle wounds. He left eight children. 

Michael's Entry of Death. SOURCE: U.S., Registers of Deaths of Volunteers, 1861-1865. Line 5, Pg. 22. 

    


     I am still in the process of finding his tombstone. I believe he is buried in Battle of Stones River National Cemetery in Mufreesboro, Tennessee, and have made a request for a photograph of it. If their is no tombstone I can get one ordered for him for free with the proper documentation (which I have.)

Please Click on These Links To Learn More:

Battle of Stones River
3rd Kentucky Infantry (Union)

Please Also Visit These Links:

My FindAGrave Contributor Page

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