Category Archives: Special Topics

Help Your Children and Grandchildren Learn to Love Their Family’s History Part 3 – “Five More Tips” will be posted next week.  Stay tuned! Part 1 – Getting Children Interested Part 2 – Five Tips Part 3 – Five More Tips For children, genealogy can be just as incredible a way to find meaning andContinue reading “EARLY is the Time To Get Children Started in Family History”

Getting Them Started Early to Appreciate Family History Part 3 – “Five More Tips” will be posted next week.  Stay tuned! Part 1 – Getting Children Interested Part 2 – Five Tips Part 3 – Five More Tips How many times have I heard adults who are interested in their family’s history say, “My kidsContinue reading “How to Get Your Children Interested in Family History”

100 Years Ago – Status of Middle Tennessee Counties Politically, Tennessee is divided into three Grand Divisions–East Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, and West Tennessee.  The counties of East Tennessee are Anderston, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Cumberland, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hamilton, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Loudon, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Polk, Rhea,Continue reading “1923 Status – Counties of Tennessee”

Is the Information on this Historical Marker correct? Was John White the First Settler of White County, TN? And Was White County, TN Named to Honor Him? The most common tradition is that the county was named for John White, a Revolutionary War veteran from Virginia and an early settler in White County.  Monroe Seals,Continue reading “After Whom Was White County, TN Really Named?”

Samuel Haston – A Lost Son of Daniel Haston? Daniel Haston’s grandson, William Carroll Haston, said his grandfather had 13 children.  Whether or not that was accurate, I do not know.  Even if it was accurate, how many of those children lived to become adults–old enough to appear in public records?  There are nine childrenContinue reading “Samuel Haston and Mary Lowry – Lost Son of Daniel?”

Back to the Soil of Our Haston Family Roots We are now officially homeless people. As I write this, it’s Friday, July 14, 2023.  We closed on selling our house in Pennsylvania today.  And we close on the purchase of a house in White County (Tennessee) on July 31, so temporarily we are homeless people,Continue reading “We Are Moving Home”

The Mystery of the Civil War Yankee Officer’s Sword I wish there was more I could say about this sword, but pretty much all that is known in the Haston family is that at some point after the Civil War, a Federal officer’s story was found in a hollow tree on the farm where ConfederateContinue reading “A Hidden Yankee Sword Found on a Confederate Haston Farm”

Your Ancestors Wanted to Be Remembered “Will I be remembered?” Our daughter, Carissa, passed away on March 22, 2023.  She had suffered for 29-nine years with a paralyzed digestive tract, a medical condition known as gastroparesis.  She was a remarkable girl-young lady-45-year-old woman in the way she fought through pain and multiple surgeries, including aContinue reading “Your Ancestors Wanted to Be Remembered”

Basic Rule of Recording History = Valid Documentation! The “Beyond Family Lore” Series Three Stages of Haston Research Seven Inaccuracies in Haston Genealogies If It Ain’t Documented, it Ain’t History Wayne’s Rant As a Ph.D. student at the University of Tennessee, I was required to take a collection of courses on how to conduct credibleContinue reading “If It Is Not Documented”

Seven Major Errors in Early Haston Genealogical Documents The “Beyond Family Lore” Series Three Stages of Haston Research Seven Inaccuracies in Haston Genealogies If It Ain’t Documented, it Ain’t History There is much to appreciate about Haston family members of earlier generations who sincerely sought to discover and record the history of Daniel Haston’s massiveContinue reading “Seven Major Errors in Early Haston Genealogy Documents”

The Evolution of Research on the Daniel Haston Family Three Stages of Haston Research Seven Inaccuracies in Haston Genealogies If It Ain’t Documented, it Ain’t History I don’t know when members of the Daniel Haston FAMILY began to develop an interest in discovering the historical story of Daniel Haston’s life and ancestry.  I can imagineContinue reading “Three Stage of Daniel Haston Family Research”

Looking Back at our 2022 Daniel Haston Family Association Highlights 1. July 22-23 Haston Family Reunion Our first-ever Daniel Haston Family Association all-Hastons reunion was a remarkable success.  About 150 registered from 17 states–all across the USA.  Saturday was an unusually hot and humid day, even for July in Tennessee, but the Fellowship Hall whereContinue reading “Haston FAMILY Highlights of 2022”

Help Tracing You Back to Daniel Haston If you are a “Haston” or related to a Haston, chances are you are a member of the Daniel Haston FAMILY, that is scattered in all or most all of the United States.  I have to add the “chances are” caveat because there are some American Hastons thatContinue reading “Help Finding Your Place in the Daniel Haston Family”

Cousins or First Cousins-Once Removed What’s the Difference? A cousin at any distance or level in your family tree is truly your “cousin.”  One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about working with Haston family research is getting to know so many cousins.  And even though I may never have met him or her inContinue reading “First Cousin – Or, First Cousin Once-Removed”

The Daniel Haston Short Story Daniel Haston’s family lived “south of the Holston [now Tennessee] river opposite Knoxville, TN shortly after the town was established and when Tennessee became a state in 1796. Daniel Haston moved from Knox County, Tennessee to the area of middle Tennessee that became southern White County, a year or two priorContinue reading “The Daniel Haston Short Story”

“I’m Proud of My Country Roots” Wayne Haston About 1951 – Left to right: My Dad (Boyd Haston), sister Marilyn, me (Wayne), cousin Mickey McWilliams, and of course – the mule. In the photo above, you are looking west toward the “Mitchell [or Dodson] Bridge” and Fraizer’s Chapel Methodist Church in a Caney Fork RiverContinue reading “Proud of My Country Roots – Wayne Haston”

Comb (or Tent) Graves = “Born” in White County, TN? Visitors who are not familiar with White County, Van Buren County and some of their neighboring counties are often surprised when they pass an old cemetery and see a scene such as the one above.  I grew up seeing lots of these kinds of gravesContinue reading “Tent Graves: A Middle TN Phenomenon”