Every Trip Needs a Cemetery Visit

Anyone doing family history research knows you can't just drive by a cemetery with an ancestor, even if it is a little out of the way.

This week my DH and I took a short trip from Norfolk, VA, to Abingdon, VA, in the farthest reaches of our state, to witness our niece and nephews at a Suzuki violin camp. This is an awesome thng to see, so many young violinists, learning to play in the mountain beauty. Our travels took us through Carroll County, VA, where lies my 5th great-grandfather, Capt. William Bobbitt and his family.

County histories¹ tell a little about William. He lived near Hillsville and the Mountain Plains community of Carroll County. He had several positions of responsibility in the community--surveyor for a road, Captain of the county militia and Justice of the county court. William died in August, 1817.


Finding the cemetery is an adventure. The Quesinberry-Bobbitt Cemetery is located on a small hill, near the intersection of Rte. 682 and Rte. 52 south of Hillsville, next to a cow pasture. The Bobbitt marker is the big modern one amongst all the broken headstones. Very disappointing, but I'm glad to see someone took the time to remember the families buried there. It appears that the Bobbitt headstones have all been broken over time. I guess it won't be a good source for my research, but the photos are still nice to have. Also listed here is his wife, Nancy Ann Mackenzie and their children.



1. John Perry Alderman,Carroll 1765-1815, The Settlements (Alderman Books, 1985) 77-78

Surname meme

Craig on GeneaBlogie has a great suggestion for a blog. Of course, I just posted yesterday, but it is such a good idea, I really want to get this out there. The task is to list the surnames I'm researching, their localities and your "Most Wanted Ancestors". Here goes, through 2xgreat-grandparents:

• DeHority/Dehorty and variants: Indiana, Delaware, Ohio, Maryland, Idaho and (someday) Ireland;
• Mauzy: Indiana, Virginia, France;
• Hupp: Indiana, Virginia, Germany;
• Moore: Indiana, Virginia;
• Bobbitt: Indiana, Virginia;
• Huffman: Indiana, Tennessee;
• Carr: Indiana, Virginia;
• Douglas/Dobrovalskas: Virginia, Pennsylvania, Lithuania;
• Wychulis/Vaiculis: Pennsylvania, Illinois, Lithuania;
• Urnikas: Pennsylvania, Illinois, Lithuania;
• Bartkiewicz: Pennsylvania, Illinois, Lithuania;
• Beaulieu: Massachusetts, Quebec, France;
• Landry: Massachusetts, Quebec, France;
• Ducharme: Massachusetts, Quebec, France;
• Filion: Massachusetts, Quebec, France;

Most Wanted: No surprise here, the parents of James Madison DeHority, born 1819 in Delaware, probably Kent County, and died in 1891 in Elwood, Indiana. Second, the parents of Susanna Huffman, said to be born in Kingsport, Tennessee in 1817, died in 1899 in Elwood, Indiana.

What's in a name?

So, I guess the first question is what family names am I following? Most important is my family's name, DeHority. Variants have appeared in documents dating to the 1700's: DeHority, Dehorty, Dougherty, Daugherty, Daggity, Dehortee, and even Dawoughtee. Other surnames include Mauzy, Hupp, Moore, Sillivan, Huffman, and Bobbitt. In researching these folks, I have picked up quite a bit of paper on collateral lines...my stacks are pretty big. Along the way I've corresponded with many other wonderful researchers, each stalking their own ancestors, lurked on a lot of lists hoping for tips, spent hours on Google hoping to sight new contacts, tramped through cemeteries....pretty much the same thing everyone bitten by the genealogy bug does. As hobbies go, it is fascinating, frustrating, enlightening and non-fattening.

But enough philosophizing...next, working on a brick wall.