Georgia Backroads: “A Man of Most Simple and Attractive Manners” [Out Now!]
![Georgia Backroads: “A Man of Most Simple and Attractive Manners” [Out Now!]](https://bd-studios.com/journey/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/georgia-backroads-autumn-2017-cover-150x150.jpg)
I’m very pleased to announce my latest essay, titled “A Man of Most Simple and Attractive Manners.” It’s out now in the Autumn 2017 issue of Georgia Backroads. This piece, my fifth for the magazine, has been a long time in the making. I started the research back when I was writing the Jordan’s Journey […]
Halloween Photos 1955 & 1986
A few years ago I shared some Halloween memories about growing up in East Armuchee. Those are still good memories. I thought I would post a couple more photos to go along with them… The first photo is of my dad in 1955. The photo was taken at the school in Subligna. He and Judy […]
Jordan’s Journey Goes International! ✈️
After I published Jordan’s Journey, I always fantasized about doing a volume two sub-titled: The European Edition! It would be a fascinating way to dig deeper into my heritage before my ancestors came to America. While, unfortunately, I don’t think such a book will happen any time soon—for a variety of reasons I won’t get […]
Georgia Backroads: “Polishing the Gilt Easel” [Out Now!]
![Georgia Backroads: “Polishing the Gilt Easel” [Out Now!]](https://bd-studios.com/journey/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/georgia-backroads-winter-2015-cover-150x150.jpg)
If you’re a Georgia Backroads reader, you already know that I have another new article in the current issue of the magazine. This is my fourth piece with the magazine in as many years. You can learn about my previous Georgia Backroads articles here: “The Scoggins Family and Subligna Go Way Back” (Winter 2012) “We […]
Photo from Concord Methodist Church, Villanow, GA
It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything here at Jordan’s Journey. Life happens, things change, and I just have not had the time to put into creating new content for this blog. For now I’m keeping it online as I think the posts are a valuable archive. People do still visit the site […]
Georgia Backroads: “The Language of History” [Out Now!]
![Georgia Backroads: "The Language of History" [Out Now!]](https://bd-studios.com/journey/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/georgia-backroads-summer-2014-cover-150x150.jpg)
I have a new article out in the current issue (Summer 2014) of Georgia Backroads. The article is titled “The Language of History” and it is an expanded and slightly re-worked version of the post “The Language of Genealogy” that previously appeared here on Jordan’s Journey. I really like the new version of this article […]
Rest In Peace, Cousin Martha
Back in 2012 when I did the Jordan’s Journey lectures in Walker and Chattooga Counties (Georgia), Martha Neal Dennis was one of the many people who came out to see me. Mrs. Dennis is a blood cousin of mine–we both grew up in Armuchee Valley and descend from the same Keown family–though I never knew […]
McWilliams Cemetery [video]
![McWilliams Cemetery [video]](https://bd-studios.com/journey/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/mcwilliams-homeplace-west-armuchee-150x150.jpg)
Although you wouldn’t know it from updates here at Jordan’s Journey, 2013 has been one of the busiest years of my life! Don’t worry though–it’s all in a good way. And luckily for all you Jordan’s Journey fans, recently I uncovered an almost-finished Jordan’s Journey video that I shot back in May 2012. Due to […]
Georgia Backroads: “We Are One People” [Out Now!]
![Georgia Backroads: "We Are One People" [Out Now!]](https://bd-studios.com/journey/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/georgia-backroads-autumn-2013-cover-150x150.jpg)
I am very pleased to announce the publication of my latest article in the current (Autumn 2013) issue of Georgia Backroads. “We Are One People” is an exploration of my ancestral ties to slavery, focusing specifically on the Armuchee Valley and Dirt Town Valley regions. My original photography, as well as antique images I curated, […]
Research and Imagination (& Some Family Photo Fun)
I’ve never written that much about my Jordan family branch on this blog. I guess that’s because I have focused mostly on posts related to the Armuchee Valley area of Walker and Chattooga counties while my Jordan family roots are over in Whitfield county. But my grandfather Earl Jordan and his brother Bill did live […]
All You Need Is Love
I originally drafted this post for use on Valentine’s Day. But I’ve had my head buried in so many projects this year (beyond Jordan’s Journey) that the writing and research simply didn’t get done in time. Rather than wait until next year I thought I would go ahead and finish this off and post it […]
Weather the Storm: Remembering the Blizzard of 1993
It was around this time–20 years ago–that the lights came back on. That is, things were just starting to get back to normal in northwest Georgia after the blizzard of 1993. I remember it well. Out on the farm in East Armuchee, we were without power for a week. We were lucky to have a wood […]
History of the Kinsey-Kenemer Cemetery [Guest Post]
![History of the Kinsey-Kenemer Cemetery [Guest Post]](https://bd-studios.com/journey/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/kinsey-kenemery-cemetery_cherokee-cabin-150x150.jpg)
I’m pleased to present the very first guest post here at Jordan’s Journey. Today’s article and photos are by Lynne McGehee Cabe. Lynne is not only a fellow descendant of several of the earliest Armuchee Valley families but a Scoggins descendant too! Trained as a professional social worker and public administrator, Lynne became interested in […]
East Armuchee Baptist Church [video]
![East Armuchee Baptist Church [video]](https://bd-studios.com/journey/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/east-armuchee-church-video-still-150x150.jpg)
This video on the history of East Armuchee Baptist Church is a great one to share as we draw close to the one year anniversary of the Jordan’s Journey blog. Several elements in this film connect with things I’ve written about on the blog, such as Delila Brown ward (here, here, and here), some watermelon […]
Georgia Backroads: “The Scoggins Family and Subligna Go Way Back” [Out Now!]
![Georgia Backroads: "The Scoggins Family and Subligna Go Way Back" [Out Now!]](https://bd-studios.com/journey/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/georgia-backroads-winter-2012-cover-150x150.jpg)
My latest publication, titled “The Scoggins Family and Subligna Go Way Back,” appears in the current Winter 2012 edition of Georgia Backroads. Georgia Backroads is a wonderful journal that features interesting writing and photos about Georgia history, nature, and travel. The first time I saw Georgia Backroads I immediately knew I wanted to be part […]
Villanow’s Scenic Sites: Johns Mountain, Keown Falls, and The Pocket
It has been almost 15 years since I lived in Georgia. That seems like such a long time ago. All that time away from the place I grew up is actually one of the things that enabled me to make Jordan’s Journey. If I had stayed in the same place, I don’t think I would have been […]
Halloween Memories in East Armuchee
‘Tis the season when ghosts and goblins start to make appearances. Halloween has always been one of my favorite times of years. You’d never know that to be around me on the holiday though. I haven’t dressed up in years. I don’t go to parties. And due to the infamous Greenwich Village Halloween Parade that passes literally […]
Two Mules, A Buggy, and Some Friends
Today’s post is the above photo (be sure to click to see the full image). I don’t know much about the image other than who the people are. I estimate it was taken in the late 1930’s. I’m not sure where it was taken (possibly somewhere in East Armuchee, as that’s where the people are […]
Earl Jordan’s Barn [video]
![Earl Jordan's Barn [video]](https://bd-studios.com/journey/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/barn-shoot-150x150.jpg)
It’s time for another Jordan’s Journey video. Last time I explored some Civil War-era family roots out in Arkansas with my Caney Fork video. That video was a bit longer form than anything else I’ve done here so far and took a more explicitly documentary approach. The video I’m sharing with you today takes us […]
Connections: Pretty People at Puryear Woods
The Puryear family is a well known family of the Armuchee Valley area. While I do not descend from the Puryears directly, they do (like the Suttles) connect in my tree through marriage. Nancy Elizabeth Ward is my 3rd great grand aunt and she married Hamilton Young Puryear (1841-1903). Hamilton is a son of William […]
Coming Home: More Music from East Armuchee
When I asked my mom if she knew of any recordings of music at East Armuchee Baptist Church she at first told me no. Then, almost as if I had willed it into existence, a few days later my mother–rummaging through some old junk–found a bag of old cassette tapes. She wasn’t sure where the tapes […]
The Mythology of Genealogy (or, The Stories We Tell)
Recently I wrote a series of posts on Delila Brown Ward (see here, here, and here). Today is a sort of followup to those posts, focusing on Delila’s husband, Alfred C. Ward. Alfred (or Alford) C. Ward, my 4th great grandfather, was a son of Absalom Ward and Nancy Ann Coleman and the grandson of […]
Mad Dogs and Venomous Snakes: The Inconsequential Nature of Everyday Life
Whenever I get the time, I love poring through old newspapers from Chattooga and Walker Counties, searching the bits of news for names of people in my family tree. The Summerville News and Walker County Messenger are littered with my ancestors far and wide. Most of the time when an ancestor is mentioned it seems […]
Caney Fork [video]
![Caney Fork [video]](https://bd-studios.com/journey/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/caney-fork-video-thumbnail-150x150.jpg)
Today I’m happy to share with you a new Jordan’s Journey video. This video is pretty different from the others I’ve shown here so far. The short film tells the story of my trip to Arkansas in September 2011, searching out the story of my 3rd great grandfather Francis Marion Holcomb (abt 1832-1864). This video […]