Consider the Weather: Factoring Weather into Family History

This week has been full of dramatic weather across the southeastern U.S., where I live. As storms rolled through, I found myself wondering how my ancestors might have dealt with similar conditions without the aid of the tools and technology we rely on today.

These days, we often receive weather alerts days in advance. Radar systems, smartphone apps, and emergency alerts give us time to prepare, evacuate, or seek shelter. But for those living in the 1800s and even into the early 20th century, storm preparedness looked very different. While they might have consulted an almanac for seasonal patterns, my ancestors largely depended on nature to warn them. They watched the skies, listened to the wind, and observed animal behavior for signs of approaching danger. When it came to tornadoes and severe storms, the best they could do was be alert and ready to take cover.

Curious to learn more, I used the Full-Text Search feature on FamilySearch.org to track down newspaper articles referencing major weather events in areas where my family lived. Even as late as the 1920s, articles show that storm preparedness was minimal—focused mostly on reaction.

One article I came across was in The Gallatin Examiner, Vol. 118, No. 10, dated March 8, 1956 (page 13), from Gallatin, Tennessee. It offers suggestions about tornado behavior and stats along with information about what to do in the event of a warning.

For more on how weather forecasting has evolved, check out the History of the National Weather Service, which provides a fascinating timeline of developments that changed how we experience and survive storms today. While many factors influenced our ancestors’ lives, weather played a significant role—and it’s one we shouldn’t overlook when researching their stories. 

See also my blog post from May 2021:  Chapel Hill Tornado Tuesday 10th May 1921 4pm

Notes of Interest from Pine Bluff(Aug 1934)

NOTES OF INTEREST FROM PINE BLUFF

Andrew Hillis spent Tuesday afternoon with Will Rowland.

Ray Slatten visited Haze Miller one evening last week.

Rev. W. J. McElroy and family are spending a few days with relatives in this part.

Jo Acuff visited Fannie Barlow Sunday night.

John Bluford Witt spent Sunday with Elbert Acuff.

Leighton Hash and wife, Gladys, spent Saturday with his sister, Mrs. Bascom Chandler.

Mrs. Charlie Lee Acuff visited Mrs. Richard Moore Sunday.

J. Walter Davis and family of Chillicothe, Texas, spent last week with his sister, Mrs. L. D. Chandler.

Mrs. Ida Breedlove and daughter spent Sunday with Jim Breedlove.

Walter Davis and son, James, spent Monday morning with Andy Acuff.

Mr. and Mrs. Ivy Sparkman spent last Saturday with her mother, Mrs. Daisy Johnson.

Mr. and Mrs. Jim Deaton spent a few days last week with his father, Squire Deaton.

Notes:  A lot of Van Buren County connections in this article. Elbert Acuff and Charlie Lee Acuff are 1st cousins of my maternal grandmother Minnie Acuff Luna. I'm not sure if Jo Acuff was Sarah Josephine Acuff(Daughter of Andrew "Andy" J Acuff and Hannah Hash) or Margie Josephine Acuff(daughter of Wm H Acuff and Minnie Hash Witt.)  Both were named after their maternal grandmother, Josephine Potter Hash.

Source:

"Notes of Interest From Pine Bluff," Southern Standard(McMinnville, Tenn) 23 Aug 1934, Vol LV, No. 26, p 5, col 4; image, FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-13RM-16D7 : accessed 26 Mar 2025) IGN 8964042, image 1121 of 1152.

J.P. Acuff Estate--Van Buren Co. TN(1940)

James P Acuff died in November 1939, about 2 and a half months after his wife's death. They were both living in Madison County, Alabama, at the time they died but still owned land in Van Buren County, Tennessee.  Minnie Acuff Luna was living in Lincoln County, Tennessee.  Mildred Acuff is Ernest Acuff's daughter and the only grandchild listed presumably because Ernest had passed 5 years earlier. I'm not sure why Ovena's name is spelled Evena, but this is not the only case where her name has not been spelled as one would have expected.  

This notice was ordered to be published in the Southern Standard for 4 consecutive weeks.

Dates of publication were:

May 24, 1940
May 31, 1940
Jun 7, 1940
Jun 14, 1940

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

To Evena Sharp, Emma Sanders, Er-

nest Acuff, Mildred Acuff, Sarah 

Thomas and W.E. Acuff
------
W.E. Acuff, Administrator
vs
Minnie Luna et al

In the County Court of Van Buren
County, Tenn.

-------
In this cause it appearing from the
petition which is sworn to, that Evena
Sharp, Emma Sanders, Ernest Acuff,
Mildred Acuff, Sarah Thomas and
W.E. Acuff, the only heirs of J.P.
Acuff, deceased, are non-residents of
the State of Tennessee, they are
therefore, hereby required to appear,
on or before the 1st Monday in July,
1940, before the County Court of Van
Buren county, Tennessee, at the Court
House, in Spencer, Tennessee, and
make defense to the petition filed
against them in said Court, by W.E.
Acuff, administratior, or otherwise the
petition will be taken for confessed as
to them.

It is further ordered that this no-
tice be published for four consecutive
weeks in the Southern Standard, a
newspaper published at McMinnville,
Tennessee, there being no paper pub
lished in Van Buren County, Tenn.
Said petition seeks to sell the lands
of J.P. Acuff, deceased, as an insol-
vent estate, to pay his indebtedness.
This May 16, 1940.

W. B. Cummings, Clerk

4t-32

Source:

"Order of Publication," Southern Standard(McMinnville, Tenn.), 14 Jun 1940, Vol LXI, No 35, p 7, col 2; image,

FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHK-C3TC-GX1H : accessed 25 Mar 2025), IGN 8992355, Image 75 of 1194.

Genealogy, Loyalists, and the Power of Shared Research

About 15 minutes after telling a genealogy colleague that I didn't have any known Loyalist ancestors, one(or likely more) unexpectedly emerged. I finally took a closer look at my Combs line beyond my 4th great-grandmother—a branch I had largely ignored while focusing on other ancestors over the years. Though I knew of a detailed Combs family webpage from the late 1990s, I had never fully explored it. Fortunately, that page still exists.

I’ve traced my matrilineal line back to my 4th great-grandmother, Nancy Combs Fleming(1797-1881). I don't have her parents proven but I believe they were Mason Combs (1747–180?) and his wife, Dorothy. While I don’t know much about Dorothy’s identity, I do know that all her matrilineal descendants share an mtDNA haplogroup with a unique backward mutation. A recent update to Mitotree prompted me to dig deeper into her history. Since women from that era are best researched by studying the men in their lives, I turned to FamilySearch’s full-text search and looked up Mason Combs. The results were surprising—I found multiple records mentioning Mason, along with other Combs and Cody men, labeling them as Tories and murderers. Maybe this explained him removing from NC to Hawkins Co. TN. 

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GPGL-9B27

When I couldn’t get back to sleep last night, I decided to browse the Combs site for any information on Combs Loyalists, specifically Mason Combs' family. I found a few interesting details. Court records related to the settlement of William Ridge’s estate—he was the husband of Winnifred Combs, Mason’s sister—revealed that he was a British Loyalist. This was the case that FS's Full-Text Search had returned the previous day.

The Combs site also referenced the work of George Baumbach. Fortunately, I was able to retrieve his page using the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

William Ridge Estate Records: Tory Combs &  Allied Families of Surry and Wilkes Co., NC  

Even with 35 years of genealogical research, I still learn something new every day. I'm a lifelong learner and I never want that to change. I’m especially grateful for the dedicated researchers who have shared their findings online, helping to connect family groups and point the way to valuable records. When those resources disappear from the web, the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine often comes to the rescue, preserving crucial information that might otherwise be lost.

SNGF: Favorite Legacy Family Tree Webinars From Past 3 Months

Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge tonight is to answer the question:  What were your favorite Legacy Family Tree webinars over the last 3 months? I have a paid subscription to Legacy Family Tree Webinars.  The majority of the webinars I watch are through that subscription. 

Mine in no particular order are:

• DNA: Proof, Citation & Privacy by Elizabeth Shown Mills (27 Dec 2024)  An ESM webinar.  What's not to love...
• Lost and Found: Locating Ancestral Origins with FAN Club and DNA by Mary Kircher Roddy (18 Dec 2024)  Cluster research. Gets them every time.
• The Everleigh Sisters: A Case Study in Conflict Resolution by Karen Stanbary (22 Jan 2025)--I loved this one because I have a few persons I'm researching who love to lie about themselves.
• Applying Research Standards to the Census by Diane MacLean Boumenot (19 Feb 2025)  Always good to have a solid research plan and guidelines to keep you from constructing your own brick wall--signed..the voice of experience.

I also attended the TN Genealogical Society's Virtual Spring Seminar today where I heard excellent presentations by Annette Burke Lyttle and Gena Philibert Ortega on the theme of "The Occupations of Our Ancestors." There were also door prizes and Q and A after each of the 4 presentations.  I was happy that despite the storms, my internet and electricity held the connection. 

A look at updated mtDNA results of tests I manage

 Last week I received the notification that the updates for the two FULLmtDNA kits I manage were in.  

My daughter did the mtDNA test and because there is a backward mutation present in descendants of the mother of my 4th great-grandmother, I find it unnecessary for Mom and I to test.  Nancy Combs b. 1797 d. 1881 is our earliest proven matrilineal ancestor but we do know her mother was the wife of Mason Combs(1746-1802) who is believed to have been named Dorothy.  Some researchers have her listed as Dorothy Mason. There are 25+ Exact matches.

Timeline

My paternal Aunt Bobbie took the full mtDNA test so that we could know the matrilineal haplogroup of my paternal grandmother,  Ruahama Weaver((b. 1766 d. 1840) is the earliest proven matrilineal ancestor for Aunt Bobbie and Dad.  Due to pedigree collapse, this line appears twice from Ruahama and her husband on back thru our pedigree.  There are no exact matches but many are one genetic distance away including a matrilineal descendant of Rebecca Sheppard(1755 - 1837).  The Sheppard family marries into the Rushing, Deason, and Frizzell families in early Maryland. Many from each of those lines end up in Bedford County Tennessee.

Timeline