Alabama

Last Tuesday-Friday I drove with my mom all over Alabama doing family history research. I have to say, I've never really been into family history, but I've been starting to get into it a little more as I learn a little more about my ancestors. Especially going to where they lived and seeing actual documents from their time period, it makes them more real and interesting and relevant. And it's kind of fun trying to piece bits of their life together. Here are some pictures from the past week. (this is my mom's side, so for all my bushman cousins, these are your peeps too!)

Original land deed to Benjamin Foscue my 4th great grandfather 

Um, Alabama is gorgeous.

Finding some graves

So my 4th great grandfathers' brother's house is still standing in Demopolis, AL that was built in 1840 and they've turned it into a restaurant! How cool is that? Unfortunately, it's only open for dinner on the weekends, so we didn't get to eat there.

We checked out some other plantation homes in the area-turns out a Foscue married the son of the guy who built this house, and they lived in it! It was really really pretty inside.

Cool Methodist Church (also built back in 1850's I believe) 

Plantation Home City!!!! I loved it. 

Reseraching at the Birmingham Library 

Made some time for a temple trip

It kinda looks like I'm squatting to go to the bathroom here, but I'm not. We were searching this unruly pretty much abandoned cemetery for an ancestors grave. We found out she was def buried here, but there were too many weeds, snake holes, spider webs,  and poison ivy for our flip flops and shorts to check every grave.  

record of 3rd great grandmother's marriage in Rockford, AL courthouse.

Seriously, look how old that book is! I love it.

Found out my 4th great grandfather was a pastor at this Baptist church that was practically in the middle of nowhere. Not the original church, they said it was built over the original.

Stopped in Montgomery to eat and drove by the First White House of the Confederate.

Civil Rights Monument in Montgomery. That black wall has water rolling over it. It gave me chills!

So that was the trip. Yesterday we went to the beach, dinner and saw Batman-really good, but I couldn't help but be scared that a crazy gunman was going to come in the exit door at any minute, and we were not in a good spot for that. Tomorrow we're going to Marianna, FL where these peeps moved to see what we can find there.