10,000 and growing...

Yesterday, I entered the 10,000th family member into my family tree software.  Wow!  I can't imagine 10,000 people in one place. 

I had neglected my genealogy for a few years.  Back in April/May, I had some time, "met" a couple of new cousins online, and got back to researching.  At that time I had about 7,500 people in my database.  So I have entered about 2,500 people since then.  I've been busy.  The dust in my house would attest to that! 

I have tracked cousins to Kentucky, Missouri, Texas, Indiana, Michigan... and now back to my current home, North Carolina.  And when I say my current home, I mean right down to the town I live in - Durham.  I have found an arm of the Tapley family who settled in the Durham area, Roxboro in Person County, and Granville County, North Carolina (neighboring counties to Durham).  When it warms back up, I have several cemeteries to visit!

Unfortunately, I do not know much about the 10,000th person I entered into FTM 2017 last night.  Just the basics I found on Ancestry.com and FindaGrave.com.  (My favorite places to search, by the way.)

Sherman Lewis Hunt was born October 15, 1909 in Granville County, North Carolina to Melvin and Eliza Hunt.  In 1910 and 1920, the family lived in Tally Ho, Granville County.  (I have not heard of this community!). 

Sherman married my 7th cousin, Nina Ozelle Davis, on August 17, 1929 in Halifax, Virginia.  Hmmm... I wonder why they went to Virginia to get married.  Could it have something to do with the fact that Nina was only 16 years old?

[My relationship calculator to Nina:

  Our nearest common relatives are Hosea Tapley and Sarah Moore.  Nina was descended from Hosea and Sarah's oldest son, Hosea Jr., whereas I was descended from their 3rd child and Hosea Jr.'s brother, Joel. 

Want the full breakdown to see if you recognize any of the names?  Sure!  Let's find a connection!

  Nina's line:

    Hosea Tapley Jr and Sarah Green
    Hosea Tapley III and Lucy Pryor
    Sarah Moore Tapley and Daniel Farmer
    Sarah Mary Farmer and Thomas William Blackard
    Sarah Jane Blackard and  William H Wade
    John Pumfrey Wade and Peloponnesia P Lunsford
    Lula Jane Wade and William Ruffin Davis
    Nina Ozelle Davis

My line:

    Joel Tapley and Mary Avent
    Newhampton Tapley and Unknown
    Sarah Tapley and Canneth Swain
    George Washington Tapley and Elizabeth MNU
    James Madison Tapley and Elizabeth Rebecca "Becky" Page
    Lusion Keman Tapley and Nealie Vermell Drake
    Gilbert Earl Tapley and Linda Irene Tapley
    Mary Elizabeth Tapley (that's me!)

  Whew!  That's a long way apart.  A good distance.  Does that still make us cousins?  We all have our own opinion on that.  While I know that we most likely do not share any DNA that far out, I still consider us cousins.  We still come from the same family tree.]

Now back to Sherman.  According to the 1930 census, Sherman and Nina were living in Dutchville in Granville County in their own place.

He and Nina had 5 children that I know of:

  Ozell, born about 1931.  (I only found one reference to this child - on the 1940 census.)
  Pella Jane, born October 20, 1931 there in Granville County.  She married Johnnie Wesley Clayton and passed away January 23, 2013 in Durham.
  Lois, born about 1934
  Bobby Lewis, born September 26, 1936 in Granville County.  He married Iva Mae King and passed away June 28, 2006 in Chapel Hill.
 Josephine, born around the 1st of April 1940.  She passed away on the 14th of April from a congenital heart defect.  Bless her heart - she lived just long enough to be counted on the 1940 census. 

Speaking of the 1940 census... I found that Sherman and his entire family (him, his wife, and their 5 children) were living with Sherman's parents.  I wonder why?

Sherman lived his entire life in Granville County.  He passed away in Oxford on December 1, 1984.  He, along with Nina, are buried at Meadowview Memorial Park in Oxford. 

So there's the sum total of my knowledge about my 10,000th family member, Sherman Lewis Hunt.  To be honest, I was a little disappointed that this milestone person turned out not be a "blood" relative but rather a relative by marriage.  That's OK.  Welcome to the family. Thank you for joining us.  I'm glad you did.