Jessica Horne Collins

John Johnston: Military Prisoner of War

This entry is part of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks series. This week’s prompt is Military. To see other posts in this series, view my 52 Ancestors in 2019 index.

Memorial Day honors our veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice of their lives for our country. This week I want to focus an ancestor who came close to dying during his military service — my 3x-great-grandfather John Johnston who spent a year as a Civil War prisoner of war.

Dorothy Jean Hendry Smith: In Memoriam

My maternal grandmother, Dorothy Jean Hendry Smith, passed away this morning at her home on Smith Hill in Liddieville, Louisiana. Her obituary follows:

Dorothy J. Smith
1935 – 2019

Funeral services for Dorothy J. Smith, 84, of Liddieville, will be held 2 pm Thursday, May 23, 2019, in Boeuf River Baptist Church, with Rev. Bruce Cardin and Rev. Kevin Goodman officiating. Interment will follow in Ogden Cemetery under the direction of Gill First National Funeral Home. Visitation will be 1pm until time of service at the church.

Narcissa Duncan Pailette: Named for Nature, Defied Nature

This entry is part of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks series. This week’s prompt is Nature. To see other posts in this series, view my 52 Ancestors in 2019 index.

This week’s prompt led me to an ancestor named for nature — my 3x-great-grandmother Narcissa Duncan Pailette. The name Narcissa means “daffodil” in Greek,¹ and these spring flowers are part of the plant genus Narcissus.²

Not only was my ancestor Narcissa named for nature, she also defied it. She lived into her 90s, and her obituary recognizes her as one of the oldest citizens of north Louisiana in 1948.

Malinda McCauley Johnston: Nurturing Wife, Sister, Grandmother, and Aunt

This entry is part of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks series. This week’s prompt is Nuture. To see other posts in this series, view my 52 Ancestors in 2019 index.

It’s difficult to know the character of our ancestors when all that remains of their lives are a few impersonal records. But sometimes these records can reveal clues about an ancestor’s nature. The simple choice of who lived in her home, the circumstances of a husband returning from a Civil War prisoner of war camp, and the situation of a widowed sister suggests my 3x-great-grandmother Malinda McCauley Johnston was a nurturing wife, sister, grandmother, and aunt.

Alexander Rose Hendry: Epic Road (and River) Trips Bring New Yorker to Louisiana

This entry is part of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks series. This week’s prompt is Road Trip. To see other posts in this series, view my 52 Ancestors in 2019 index.

I love a good road trip. In fact, I’ve taken several family history road trips with my sons and father. But the trips we’ve taken cannot compare to the epic journey my 4x-great-grandfather Alexander Rose Hendry took between his native New York and Louisiana, where he settled in the 1830s.