You may have arrived here by accident or
you may have gotten here through a search engine. Regardless, I'm happy you're
here. If you are curious about the title, it is based on a quote from George Bernard Shaw's Immaturity: "If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you'd best teach it to dance."
Let me introduce myself. I'm Teresa Brewer Devine, an amateur genealogist and my
family's historian. I've been researching my father's Brewer line and my
mother's Eady line for several years. I've had some success. I've been accepted
as a member into the United Daughters of the Confederacy based on the service
of my paternal 2nd great-grandfather, John Augustus Travis Uptain. I've submitted
an application to the Daughters of the American Revolution on the service of George
Uptain, John AT's grandfather. I'm waiting (not very patiently!) to find out if
I will be accepted.
Both sides of my family have been in Alabama for quite a few
generations. My mother's Speegle and Lentz ancestors arrived before statehood
in 1819. My father's ancestors arrived later, about 1840. Mostly, they settled
in Cullman, Limestone and Walker counties. They came to Alabama by traveling
from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, through the Carolinas, westward through
Tennessee or southerly into Georgia before settling down in Alabama. I was born
and grew up in Cullman County.
Many made their way to America from England, Scotland, Ireland
and Germany, and I'm trying to track down an alleged "French
Connection." The men supported their families by farming the land they
received through land grants and outright purchases and, when called upon, the
women did, too.
My family has served our country in most of its wars, from
the Revolution up to and including Iraq and Afghanistan. Brother fought brother
in the War Between the States.
This blog gives me an outlet to talk about my family, the places that mattered to them, their
experiences and lives. If any of the
names or places I write about are familiar to you or you are curious about them,
let me know. I hope this also serves as
"cousin bait."
