Personal: Do you like my stories?

 I realized that I really enjoy telling stories! This came to me as I was explaining to my son that I'm trying to make our family history interesting to him and his sons.

My interest in my family's genealogy is not for the research, but for what it tells me about people in the context of their time whether it's 20 years ago or 200 years ago..

For example, the records show my 3rd great-grandfather is Jeremiah Morris Jaggers Sr. He was born in Chester SC 1779. He married in 1808 in Kentucky and died 1854 in Cub Run. 

To put a little context to his life, he was 29 years old when his marriage was recorded, and 73 years old when he died. (I come from a long line of people who lived into their 70s, 80s, and older!) I had calculated ages from dates over 30 years ago when my cousin first sent me a summary of her research.

A little detective work shows that his sister was born in 1800 in South Carolina, but his parents died in Kentucky in 1808.

I want to know more... and I want to make the story more interesting to my son and grandsons.

We can use Google maps to find a route from Chester, SC to central Kentucky, then drive there in a few hours. But how did my ancestors make that trip in 1805? Only 15 years earlier "Kentucky" did not exist as a state, but was considered a part of Virginia.

I am discovering other people who have done the research, and found they have different perspectives.

This project idea: to be continued...