'We’re Kin to WHO!!!??' A Genealogical Research Guide to some Early Families of Southampton and Isle of Wight Counties in Virginia and Surrounding Counties

This work offers a wide variety of content; no one pigeonhole will hold it. It has some of the standard genealogical works, written in the standard genealogical style complete with footnotes and sources. The first two chapters convey the character of the reference material, wedged between historical stories and anecdotes - some humorous, some not so much. Statistical analysis to the reference material presents an aspect to genealogy that most people probably never considered and it can be a bit revealing, and not nearly as boring as it sounds on the surface. The remarkable, true story of a 103-year-old man, who finds himself in a paternity suit, includes glimpses into the Depression, prison life in the forties, and farm life of the 1960’s. A chapter in which the conclusions of a genealogy icon are respectfully challenged reminds readers of how often the research of one family can find its way into the research of another. 'Family Shorts' offers an often light-hearted collection of tales and anecdotes; some family history and some entertaining curiosities, mostly involving mules of all things. 'Finding the Parents of Susan Edwards' presents a case study in the search for ancestors, which goes through the steps required to build a case for clear and convincing evidence and the establishment of probable parents. A story of inspiration and moonshine contains some genealogical and historical elements but is primarily about a man, his still, and his inspiration. The chapter 'Rendezvous with History' examines history prior to 1865 and the roles some of the subject people played in it or as noted in the sub-title 'where micro-history collides with macro-history.' 'The Sermon' makes the case that we all should try to record some aspects of our family history for those who will come after us. There are a few more anecdotes in the 'Final Thoughts', which ends the work. A bibliography, a full-name index, and a CD that has an index with one hundred forty pages of names (about 13,233) complete this work.