A Farmer's Life in Old Virginia: James Madison Agee (1851-1920)

A Farmer's Life in Old Virginia: James Madison Agee (1851-1920)

John Mancini

James Madison Agee was born on April 9, 1851, in Roanoke, Virginia, during the pre-Civil War period when tensions over slavery began boiling over. Named perhaps in honor of the fourth President of the United States, James grew up in the Cave Spring area of Roanoke County, where rolling hills and fertile valleys made farming a way of life for generations of Virginia families.

Roots in County Laois and Children in America

Roots in County Laois and Children in America

John Mancini

In the heart of County Queens, Ireland (now County Laois), Martin McEvoy was born in 1843, a child of pre-Famine Ireland who would live to see his homeland transformed and his children scattered across the Atlantic. His life story is one of resilience, family, and the profound changes that swept through Ireland in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

A Record That Adds Color - S2/E2

A Record That Adds Color - S2/E2

John Mancini

OK, I guess it looks like only my second post in the #52Ancestors in 52 Weeks series might violate a rule. It is not exactly about an ancestor. This record I want to discuss is not about a family member. Nor is it a particularly old record – it’s a photo I took just last year.

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An early 1900s Cagney and Lacey

An early 1900s Cagney and Lacey

John Mancini

Turns out my son-in-law is connected through his G-G-Grandmother, a Cagney and Lacey character in her time, to the longest serving mayor of Jersey City, a machine politics guy who was a character on Boardwalk Empire.

Caleb Sowers (1840-1927)

Caleb Sowers (1840-1927)

John Mancini

Back of the picture info: Caleb Sowers (1840-1927) is in the lower left of the picture. The fifer next to him is Samuel Palmer. The photo was probably taken between 1905 and 1910 at a Confederate reunion.

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