School Days: Subligna High School Class of 1949

Recently my cousin Christa McWilliams set up a new group on Facebook called Subligna Community Members & Friends. Her idea was to bring people together to share old photos and memories about growing up in the tiny community nestled at the southern end of the East and West Armuchee valleys. It’s the same community where […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Connections: Bagwell & Beyond

Previously I wrote about the connection between the Scoggins and Bagwell families. I also wrote about a connection to the Ogletree family that resulted in making a more-than-a-decade-long friend into a step-cousin! But since I love to sniff out those crazy and interesting connections all over the place, the story doesn’t end there. In a […]
Sisters & Cousins: The Scoggins and Bagwell Family Connections

Earlier this year you might have seen one of several articles on the Jordan’s Journey book that appeared in northwest Georgia newspapers. If you haven’t read them, be sure to check out the press section of this site, which will link you to each of them. It was hard work talking to the press! It’s […]
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 […]
Childhood Melon Memories: Happy National Watermelon Day

Fresh fruits and vegetables were a part of every day life growing up on the farm. The best meals were always those prepared straight from the garden. While my parents were not farmers by trade–they were school teachers–they always had a garden of some sort. My grandparents, however, farmed on a larger scale. One of […]
Finns Point National Cemetery

Though the vast majority of my family–even going generations back–are rooted in Georgia and other parts of the south, there are some interesting burial locations in other parts of the country. I’ve yet to discover any direct family connections to New York, where I call home. But there are a couple of interesting family burials […]
School Days: Students at Subligna School, 1930’s

In the late 19th and early 20th century there were numerous schools scattered about the Armuchee and Dirt Town Valley regions. Today not even one of them remains. Gradually, one by one, they were all consolidated and now everyone travels to the larger towns for school. I have relatively little knowledge about the small schools […]
147 Years Ago Today

Today is the 147th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Earlier this year I explored the connection between my Rambo family and the Lincoln family. Today I’m not looking at Lincoln directly but, rather, at a few photos related to him. The first and last shots above are from the collection of my grandmother, Dot Holcomb Scoggins. […]
Happy Birthday, Sis

This is my sister devouring human body parts just moments after she was turned into a zombie… oh no, wait… that was the b-grade horror movie I watched last night. Why did it seem so real? Anyway, this is in fact my sister on her 5th birthday rather engrossed in licking the icing off the […]
Happy Birthday, Dad

Today is my dad’s birthday. This photo was taken on his 14th birthday. His mother always made a cake to celebrate the special day–something she even did for us grandchildren as well. Also of note is the framed quilted wall hanging behind dad. This is one of at least three such hangings made by my […]