When I began researching family history my focus was collecting names. I did not realize I was about to stumble upon the stories behind some of those names. I wasn’t pleased when I found 20 year old Horton Howard on the 1790 census listed as head of family, with a free white male of under 16 […]

I’ve been busy, vacationing and trying to find some order in the mountain of historic facts I’ve accumulated about Horton Howard and his family. I was trying to find the reason for the Core Sound Quakers’ concern about church tax, when I found these words. These are timely words, considering the recent news about the […]

Quakers have kept thorough records of their members and of their meetings. The minutes of their meetings contain language that is stiff by today’s standards. After reading many pages of these minutes I suspect their choice of words was quite deliberate. I have written before about the purposeful use of loving and affectionate terms of […]

I’ve been reading the minutes from late 18th century Monthly Meetings of the Quakers of Carteret & Craven County North Carolina. I like getting a sense of who these people are. They had concerns about the conflict between Great Britain and America, especially wanting to avoid fighting on either side; they were increasingly anti-slavery; and […]

I’ve just found, through Ancestry.com, original records of Horton Howard’s first marriage, to Anna Mace. The Quaker customs of 1791 were unlike most weddings my readers can remember. The couple had to appear before their congregations (or Meetings) over the course of several times and announce their intention to marry. Elder members of the congregation […]