Category Archives: Special Topics

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?”

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”

Be Careful What You Hang on Your Family Tree It May Haunt Your Family Forever! When I began researching my family history, I was totally at the mercy of other people who had researched the history of the Daniel Haston family before me.  In most cases, their research records turned out to be extremely helpful. Continue reading “Be Careful What You Hang on Your Tree”

Building a USPS (Snail Mail) List for Occasional Mailings Related to the History and Heritage of Daniel Haston & Haston Family Events If your current surname (or the surname of a friend or relative who is related to the pioneer Daniel Haston family) is not spelled “Haston” or “Hastain” (example, you go by a marriedContinue reading “Submit Name and USPS Address for Occasional Snail-Mailings”

DNA – An Introduction by Darvin Martin, Scientist & Genealogist View the June 7, 2021 Zoom Session with the Daniel Haston Family Association View Another Video: Darvin Martin Teaching the Basics of DNA Summary of the Q&A in the Video What are the main tests you can take to learn information about your background? ThereContinue reading “DNA – Explained by Scientist and Genealogist Darvin Martin”

One Family – Many H-Surname Spellings Colonel Howard H. Hasting, Sr. – a 1950s–early 1980s Haston family researcher – opened his research report on the family of Daniel Haston with this question: What is the name of this family?  He then proceeded to reference several different ways our H-surname has been spelled in official records.  IContinue reading “Surname Spellings in Daniel Haston Family”

Book Progress Update – December 2020 The work on this book actually began in the fall of 1999, when I started interacting with other people who were researching our Haston family history, visiting libraries, reading books, organizing a filing system, and developing http://www.DanielHaston.com. When I officially retired in 2017, the writing began.  I estimated thatContinue reading “Book Project – Heritage of Daniel Haston”