Lightner West and the Horrors of War

Yesterday I inadvertently had a War Movie Day. I happened to be at my mom’s while she watched Monuments Men, and then I went with my dad to see the new Brad Pitt WWII tank movie, Fury. Strangely enough, I had just hours earlier been perusing the Compiled Civil War Service Records for my 3rd … Continue reading Lightner West and the Horrors of War

Amanuensis Monday: Letter from Jennet Cowen West to Paschal P. West and Rebecca Westray West

I'm so very excited to be posting the first in a series of four transcribed letters from the family of my 4th great-grandfather, George W. West (b. abt. 1819 in Spartanburg, SC - d. 1895 in Forsyth County, Georgia.) I received these letters from Ron West, a distant cousin I recently reconnected with. He's of … Continue reading Amanuensis Monday: Letter from Jennet Cowen West to Paschal P. West and Rebecca Westray West

West Family Genealogy Update (June 2013)

Last week was an amazing week genealogically! I received DNA results for my father and maternal grandfather (Edward West). The Wests are Vikings! (Okay, that's a simplification, but we are haplotype I-M253 with origins in Scandinavia, and I've been reading about Vikings lately so I'm claiming it.) I also got in touch with a member of our "long … Continue reading West Family Genealogy Update (June 2013)