Roots of Identity

 For the life of me, I couldn't figure out where this guy was from. Samuel Gregory McCarthy (1862 - 1918), detail. My wife's great-grandfather, Samuel Gregory McCarthy (1862 - 1918), shows up in Hand County, South Dakota where he married Adaline "Addie" Elmira Carl (abt. 1880 - 1953) on 28 June 1896. He was 33 years old. She was 16. Oof. Addie (Carl) McCarthy , detail. Hand County, South Dakota They ended up staying together and having 9 children together, until he passed away in 1918. From family records, we had the hint that he was born in  Monticello, Jones County, Iowa . We didn't have a birth record to prove the exact location, but both the 1900 and 1910 U.S. Census records confirmed that his birth place was Iowa. But we had no records of Sam before he showed up in 1896 in North Dakota. There didn't seem to be any McCarthy family in Jones County, Iowa. Jones County, Iowa Matches from my wife's DNA test finally solved the mystery man. I put together...

Alice H Drummond  (1880 - 1929) was the daughter of Jacob N. Drummond  (abt. 1845 - 1893) and Ann Rebecca (Long) Drummond  (abt. 1847 - 1923) in Shenandoah County, Virginia. Shenandoah County, Virginia Alice was buried with her parents. At the bottom of their combined gravestone was " Grandmother Nancy Long ". Nancy Long was the mother Ann Rebecca (Long) Drummond, that was clear. But what wasn't clear was trying to find any documentation on this family. Ann and Jacob Drummond's kids, in later years, give Ann's last name as "Long" on marriage records. But this started to unravel once I found the actual marriage record document for Ann and Jacob. Marriage record of Jacob Drummond & Ann Rebecca Carryer, 10 January 1867 . Here are the names of Jacob and Ann, clearly showing the surname of Carryer, which is also sometimes spelled Carrier (in other records): They were both from Shenandoah County, Virginia: Interestingly, here are Ann's parents: Clearly...