In Memoriam: Mrs. Annie Jeffress Shearin(1868-1943)

Mrs. Annie Jeffress Shearin

Born: February 27th 1868
Died: September 28th, 1943 at her home in Rover after a long illness.

Survivors: 
Husband:  E.C. Shearin
Sons--Tom, Jess, and Bill of Rover. 
Daughters--Mrs Alvie Taylor and Mrs Eugene Lamb, of Rover, Mrs Edd Elmore, of Nashville.
She was a member of the Union Ridge Baptist Church since a young lady.
A kind loving wife and mother has gone home to her reward in heaven--Mrs. Elizabeth Ruckett.

Source:

Baptist and Reflector, February 17, 1944, p 17, col 2, Obituary of Annie J Shearin: image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/baptist-and-reflector-obituary-for-annie/204966839/ : accessed August 30, 2026), clip page for Obituary for ANNIE JEFFRESS SHEARIN by user rmbeckman

In Memoriam: Thea H. Winsett(1870-1941)

 

Thea H. Winsett

Born:  1870

Died:  June 15th,1941, age 71 years.

Buried at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville TN.
He married to Emma Pope, and to this union five children were born.

He was a member of Union Ridge Baptist Church, and was loyal to his church until failing health caused him to retire from farming and moved to Nashville, fifteen years before his death.

He died suddenly with a heart attack, while attending a family reunion.

The Lord knows best and maketh no mistakes.--Nettie Shearin.

Source:
Baptist and Reflector, February 17, 1944, p 17, col 2, obituary of Thea H Winsett; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/baptist-and-reflector-obit-thea-h-winset/204967352/ : accessed August 30, 2026), clip page for Obit Thea H Winsett.

In Memoriam: Mr. Eldridge Washington Lamb(1868-1943)

Mr. Eldridge Washington Lamb

Born:  September 23rd 1868

Died:  Evening of March 21 1943, Age 74 years, 5 months, 29 days

One of oldest member of Union Ridge Baptist Church(joined at age 21)

He was married to Laura Owen, September 23rd 1897. 

Child, Alton who preceded him.[This is Laura Alton Lamb(1898-1904) who appears on the 1900 US Federal Census in Eldridge's household. She is buried at Lamb Cemetery with her parents]

To the grief stricken widow we extend our sympathy and point her to the Master who said, "Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of the Lord.:--Mrs. Lillian Shearin.

Source: 

Baptist and Reflector, February 17, 1944, p 17, col 1, Obituary of Eldridge Washington Lamb; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/baptist-and-reflector-obituary-for-eldri/204966594/ : accessed August 30, 2026), clip page for Obituary for Eldridge Washington LAMB.

In Memoriam: Mrs. Edna Kimmins Simpson(1861-1943)

Mrs. Edna Kimmins Simpson

Born:  April  5th 1861(Not given in article--date from FindAGrave)
Died:  July 20th, 1943

Buried at Simpson Cemetery in Rover.

One of the oldest members of Union Ridge Baptist Church at Rover, Tenn.
She united with this church in early life and was a willing worker in Sunday School, the W.M.U. and all church work.

She was married to B.I. Simpson in 1880. They had 7 children, 5 of which survive her.

To know her was to love her and she had made many friends during her eighty-two years.
Her influence will live on in her children, grandchildren and friends.

Source:

Baptist and Reflector, February 17, 1944, p 17, col 2, obituary of Edna Kimmins Simpson; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/baptist-and-reflector-obituary-for-edna/204967014/ : accessed August 30, 2026), clip page for Obituary for Edna Kimmins Simpson.

Exploring My 23andMe Historical DNA Matches

 

I thought it might be a fun exercise to look at my Historical Matches at 23andMe.  Historical DNA matches compare your genetic data with DNA recovered from ancient human remains or historical individuals discovered at archaeological sites.  I sorted my historical matches by amount of matches from each group and it looks like I match with more samples from the Viking Age era than any of the others.  

I pulled the match info into a table including all categories but only the top two of the Viking Age era

I gave this information along with the descriptive blurbs included for each of the matches to Gemini and asked it to give me a brief summary.  

Gemini's Summary:
Your historical DNA matches span roughly 3,000 years of human history (from ~1400 BCE to 1700 CE) across a broad geographic range, including Western Europe, Central Eurasia, Scandinavia, and South Asia.

Highest Shared DNA: Your strongest genetic connections among these profiles are to Viking Age Merchant VK479 (0.14% DNA / 9.86 cM across 2 segments) and Viking Age Individual VK368 (0.13% DNA / 9.11 cM across 2 segments). Because you share multiple segments and higher centiMorgan values with them, these represent your most relatively recent shared ancestry among the listed group.

Geographic Spread: While the majority of your matches are centered in Medieval Europe and Scandinavia (e.g., Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Faroe Islands), you also share ancient genetic links with distant Eurasian populations from Kazakhstan (Late Bronze Age) and Pakistan (Swat Valley).

Relationship Context: All listed matches are classified as "Very distantly related." Rather than direct linear descent, these matches indicate that you and these historical individuals inherited small, preserved segments of DNA from common ancestors who lived hundreds or thousands of years ago.

I think that is a far assessment.  All of my ancestors(paternal & maternal) were living in the American Colonies by the time of the Revolutionary War.

My current ancestry composition at 23andMe as of their last update-- September 09, 2025.

Legacy Family Tree Webinars' Newest Feature: Learning Paths

 

I'm loving Legacy Family Tree Webinars' new feature called Learning Paths. It pulls together 3–6 webinars on a focused topic, ranging from beginner to advanced levels. You can choose from over 100 pre-created paths or build your own custom path. Simply pick the topics you like, enroll, and the site automatically tracks your progress.

Enrolling in paths, tracking progress, creating playlists, and earning certificates is completely free. Watching the individual webinars follows standard site access rules: free webinars remain free, while members-only webinars require a Webinar Membership.

My membership continues to feel like one of the best investments in family history research education.