Back to James Island, South Carolina

After years of slow computer problems and a filled up C drive, thanks to my lack of proficiency in windows 10, I finally was able to upgrade the RAM in my computer and clear up the C drive enough to get it going once again. So I am back at it!

Today I pulled out my genealogy books about James Island, Bermuda, Lake City, and Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina. I decided I would take a look at the family of Constant Henry Rivers, who is buried in Magnolia Cemetery.

Screenshot taken From Find A Grave Memorial for LTC Constant H. Rivers (50477265), SandyK
Screenshot taken from Find A Grave memorial for Mary Elizabeth Minott Rivers

Constant H Rivers and his wife Mary Elizabeth (Minott) Rivers lived in the area famous for the location of the Battle of Secessionville, one of the first decisive battles of the Civil War. Before being renamed Secessionville the area was known as Riversville, a community of homes started by Constant and his family.

Riversville Historical Marker
Uncle John Rivers, James Island, South Carolina, on the spot where Riversville once stood, later renamed Secessionville, Fall 2017
Screenshot taken from Find A Grave memorial for LTC Constant H. Rivers (50477265), SandyK

Expect more to come on Lieutenant Colonel Constant H. Rivers, Mary Elizabeth (Minott) Rivers, and their family.

As always, have a great day. Thanks for following!

Children of Lewis William and Susan Amanda Walston Rivers, My Great Great Great Grandparents

Today I started getting back into my family history research and genealogy work by looking at the children of my third great grandparents, Lewis and Susan Rivers, and recording facts about them into my Ancestry family tree and into virtual cemeteries on Find-A-Grave.

Why did I start here?

Lewis and Susan, if I go backwards in generations from myself to my parents, to my paternal grandparents, to my paternal great grandparents, to my paternal second great grandparents, were the first generation to have more than two children for which I don’t already have a good amount of information recorded. I’m an only child of my parents. My dad was one of three children. My grandfather was one of two sons. My great grandfather was one of two sons. But my great great grandfather, Dewitt Oscar Rivers, was one of nine sons!

I started with David Gillum Rivers, the oldest of the children of Lewis and Susan. He was born in 1858 and died in 1937. He married Mary Elizabeth “Lizzie” Hancock and they had seven children. I’ve been looking them up in census, marriage, death, birth, burial, and residential records, and adding data to my family tree on Ancestry.

It’s been a day of uncovering bones in a bulldozed pit using only a toothbrush and a whole lot of patience.

Many ancestors, many siblings, many descendants, many cousins

rivers_family_treeIt is hard to imagine sometimes how many ancestors we have when we go pretty far back in generations.

 
When you start counting these things it’s easy, at least for me, to be amazed.
 
Everyone has two biological parents, no matter how complicated the fertilization process is, because, let’s face it, things have changed. There are all kinds of technologies and procedures that complicate matters, but just for the sake of this lesson: We each have two (biological) parents, and every one of our ancestors has two parents.

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