Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Who are my Kinfolk?

     
I thought I go ahead and introduce you to part of my family.  This is the first step in being brave and sharing things that may never be credited to me.  I have no idea when this picture was taken as my mom gave it to me before she died knowing how much I loved researching. 

I was named for the woman second to the left, my paternal grandmother, Pennsylvania JEFFERS.  I was supposed to be a boy...we were all supposed to be boys, but that never quite materialized.  In any event, I already had two sisters whose names began with the letter "P", so when my parents were brainstorming with friends on a name, someone suggested naming me after my dad's mom.  I have to say, I am quite grateful they decided to truncate my name to Penny...not sure if I could have handled the rousing at school over Pennsylvania.  It was hard enough with the surname of SEXTON.

So, left to right is my great grandfather, Timothy S. SEXTON, his daughter-in-law (my gandmother) Pennsylvania JEFFERS, her father (my great grandfather), Robert G. H. JEFFERS, and her mother (my great grandmother), Phoebe Jane PHILLIPS.  My best guess is that it was taken outside the home of Robert and Phoebe Jane, in Scott County, Tennessee.

My grandma Pennsy lived to the ripe old age of 94.  I was able to visit her in Ohio on two different occasions, the last time when I had done a geographic to Ohio for 10 months.  She was able to meet my husband and hold her great-grandson.  It was a good day.  Part of my angst is that I live way on the other side of the country.  Even with the internet at our fingertips, I so wish I had the means to spend time researching in my family's home states.

So Dad's family finds me mostly researching SEXTON, JEFFERS, PHILLIPS, CHAMBERS, NEWPORTS, and GOADS from Scott County, Tennessee.  Of course, there are others, but these families tend to marry quite a bit, which always freaks out my children.  If any of these names fit your research, let me know.  It's time to find my distant cousins.

Tomorrow (yes, I really should go to bed...but it is so quiet), I'll share a little bit about mom's side of the family from New York.  Until then, as my dad would have said, "Remember who you are and where you're going".

©2011, copyright Penny Sexton Brennan

2 comments:

  1. Love your photo.
    I like your blog too. Don't worry. We are reading, but few will comment. I've gone through long dry spells only to be overwhelmed at times with contacts and comments.
    Sheri

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  2. Thanks, Sheri. Yes, that photo sits above my computer where I do all my genealogy work...I look to it for inspiration. It is kind of funny, right now, I am not too concerned about a following, it seems to be more about giving voice to what I am doing and my family. That may change, of course...and those of you following will be the first to know.

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