Day 9 — December 10, 2025 Two headstones stand side by side in the Jacob Walters Family Cemetery, Ashe County, North Carolina. One says A.P. LITTLE. The other says THEODOCIA LITTLE. But the records tell a different story. In the marriage certificate, he's "Ambros." She's "Dotia." In the marriage register, she's "Dotea." In the 1900 census, he's … Continue reading Dotia and Dick: Ambrose Parks Little (1850–1906) & Theodocia Witherspoon (1852–1915) | 52 Ancestors in 31 Days →

Day 8 — December 9, 2025 Six Houcks. One line in a marriage register. October 17, 1908. Jefferson Township, Ashe County, North Carolina. The groom: Conly Houck, age 20. The bride: Pearl Houck, age 17. His father: J. C. Houck. His mother: Julia Houck. Her father: T. M. Houck. Her mother: Delia Houck. Six people. … Continue reading Six Houcks in One Line: Joseph C. “Conley” Houck & Pearl Ethel Houck | 52 Ancestors in 31 Days →

The headstone says ALEX on one side and SESSIE on the other. Not Henry. Not Sissie. Alex and Sessie. That matters. Because the records don't always agree, and names are slippery things in the mountains. But the stone—the final word, the thing the family paid for and placed over the grave—tells us who they really … Continue reading Alex and Sessie: Henry Alexander Lawrence (1870–1955) & Sessie Mae Goodman (1878–1948) | 52 Ancestors in 31 Days →

The census taker came through Jefferson Township on April 1, 1950. Two households, side by side on the enumeration sheet. First: George C. Bower, age 67, and Hattie A. Bower, age 64. Next: Mont W. Little, age 40, and Ruby H. Little, age 37. And their children—Monte Ann, 12; Linda, 9; Ned, 8; and Joe … Continue reading The Ones Who Stayed Next Door: George Cecil Bower (1893–1987) & Hattie A. Bare (1895–1975) | 52 Ancestors in 31 Days →

Day 5 — December 5, 2025 The stone says LOU. Three letters, carved in granite, at Friendship Baptist Church Cemetery in Jefferson, Ashe County, North Carolina. On the right side of the double headstone, beside her husband Joe: LOU. July 4, 1878. November 20, 1960. Nothing more. She was born in Jefferson. She married in … Continue reading The Woman Who Stayed: Lula Ellen “Lou” Bare Little (1878–1960) | 52 Ancestors in 31 Days →

Day 4 — December 4, 2025 The stone says JOE. Three letters, carved in granite, at Friendship Baptist Church Cemetery in Jefferson, Ashe County, North Carolina. Below the surname LITTLE, centered in large block letters, two smaller panels mark the couple buried here. On the left: JOE. On the right: LOU. Birth dates. Death dates. … Continue reading Hey Joe! The Several Names of J.W. Little: Jethro Wilson “Joe” Little (1874–1951) | 52 Ancestors in 31 Days →

Day 3 — December 3, 2025 The gravesite lies in a pastoral meadow at the foot of Bald Mountain. The rounded, treeless summit rises in the background under a soft Appalachian sky. A bronze marker, flush with the grass, bears two names and two sets of dates. A military emblem. A flag holder. And all … Continue reading Orange Pop and Salted Peanuts: Warren Dean Lawrence (1921–2003) & Thelma Francis Houck Lawrence (1921–2017) | 52 Ancestors in 31 Days →