Using Probate Records to Trace the McCarthy Line in TennesseeProbate records can reveal family connections that never appear clearly in a census or vital record. A will may name children, spouses, grandchildren, and…Martha Tidwell Brighton, 1842–1915The obituary of Martha Tidwell Brighton, who lived from 1842 to 1915, preserves a small but meaningful piece of family history. Her name connects the Tidwell…Allen’s poem and the iron gate at Telford CemeteryAllen Hackworth’s poem about the iron gate at Telford Cemetery brings together two kinds of remembrance: the intimate memory carried by a family and the…Preserving the South Family Letters for Future GenerationsA bundle of old letters can look modest at first: folded pages, fading ink, unfamiliar names, and envelopes softened by years of handling. For Loni, the South…The Tidwell Homestead: A Photographic Survey From 1900 To 1920Between 1900 and 1920, a family homestead could change in ways that photographs captured with unusual clarity. A new porch, a different fence line, a wagon…A Personal History of the Telford Family FarmA farm is more than a piece of land marked on a county map. It is a place where work, weather, family decisions, and ordinary routines leave traces across…Loni’s Photographs: The Abandoned Brighton SchoolLoni’s photographs of the abandoned Brighton School preserve more than the image of an unused building. They hold a record of weathered materials, altered…The Kitchen Table at the South HouseA kitchen table can carry a family story without appearing in a census record. Its worn surface, mismatched chairs, folded papers, and rings left by warm cups…Obituary of Patrick McCarthy, railroad worker, 1888–1962Patrick McCarthy’s life, as preserved in the family archive, is connected with two dates and a working identity: he was born in 1888, died in 1962, and spent…The Tidwell Family Births in TennesseeThe birth records of the Tidwell family offer a way to follow one family line through Tennessee’s changing communities, record systems, and household…