Faulkner Family History

Faulkner Family History

First Generation

We know that everyone has a starting point, but this is the first generation we were able to fine. I will leave it with my collaborators to help me find more since this is a rough sketch of our history.

As far as we have been able to unravel at this point, the Falkners of 1800 were in what is now Franklin Co., North Carolina, in a small village now called Alert of the Sandy Creek township.

1. William Hillard Falkner, b 09 Mar 1800
Married Jane Jefferson Gant, b 15 Apr 1804
Their 7 Children:

·         Elizabeth Virginia Falkner, b 20 Dec 1833, Alert, Franklin Co., North Carolina, d 27 Nov 1912, Alert, Franklin Co., North Carolina. We have not found record of marriage.  My paternal grandmother.

·         Sidney Benjamin Falkner, b 08 Nov 1835, Alert, Franklin Co., North Carolina

·         Jane Malon Falkner, b 02 Mar 1838, Alert, Franklin Co., North Carolina

·         William Hillard Falkner, b 28 Jan 1842, Alert, Franklin Co., North Carolina, d 22 Jul 1926

·         Sarah Frances Falkner, b 09 Apr 1828

·         Ann Eliza Falkner, b 18 Apr 1831

·         Leomidas Falkner, b 1843

Genealogy

I have been doing genealogical research for some time now. I have over 16,000 people in my family tree. I seek to uncover more history anywhere I can. I find a need to hunt down any information that pertains to my research. If I touch on any of the names you recognize feel free to let me know. I have worked on the Faulkner side and this is what I have found.

The name Faulkner is English, originating from the Falcon trainers of England, who trained and handled the birds for the royal ranks of palaces and regaled estates.
I have researched back to the early 1800's, with the help of a cousin who just happened to have the family bible containing hand written loose pages, which were yellowed and brittle with age. Between the two of us we were able to make out many of the names and dates listed there.
The earliest listing we were able to make out was 'William Hilliard Falkner' born March 9, 1800 and was married to 'Jane Jefferson Gant' born April 15, 1804. The pages did not list where they might have been born, but all their children were listed as being born in Alert, Sandy Creek Township, Franklin County, North Carolina.
The original spelling of the family name did not contain a 'u', and it is determined by this writer that it was added in the late 1800's.

It's amazing

Yesterday while my newest son-in-law was here, I asked a few questions about his family and entered new names into my family tree.  Within a few minutes, I had quite a lot of history.  He did not know his grandfather at all. His grandfather died in 1966 and my son-in-law wasn't born until 1985.  I was even able to pull up his father's enlistment information.  He was truly astonished that information came up that easy on ancestry.com.
I can hardly wait 47 days, when ancestry.com will have the 1940 census available.  I enjoy the census reports because I can get the names of people and their children and approximate birth dates.  The census also lists states or countries of every one including the parents.  The occupations are listed as well, however, people in rural areas were mostly farmers.
My favorite census report is 1900 as it not only lists the ages, but also the year and month of birth.  I don't read all the census reports, but I read any that are closely connected to me.  One thing you need to remember when reading any census report, and that is the report is only as good as the understanding of the census taker.
Birth registers are not as good as I would hope as babies sometimes registered well after the birth, called delayed registration. I suppose many doctors could not send the information in as soon as the birth occurred.
Military records, such as draft cards and enlistment papers, have a wealth of information.  Many list the next of kin, place of work, occupation residence and is more accurate for birth dates.
Happy hunting!

Researching Family History

Researching family history can be fun and rewarding.  I have been researching my family tree since the late sixties-early seventies.
To begin, I asked some of the older members for information.  Fortunately, I had an aunt who was willing to share information and knew a bit about the family history.  In addition to past history, work on the present as well.  Talk to aunts, uncles, cousins and other relatives to obtain current information about family.  This information will be in place for years to come and also, it makes you feel closer to your family connections.
Ask you relatives if you can see their family bibles. Many of them have tons of information in them; dates of birth, death, marriage etc...
Visit family cemeteries and record information from the tombstones.  An easy way to do this is to carry a small camera with  you and take pictures of each stone.
When I could finally afford it, I joined Ancestry.com.  I have a huge family tree there along with some smaller ones.  I also have FamilyTree software on my computer and back up information from ancestry every couple of months.
I have been in contact with many relatives which I would not have known if it had not been for my interest in the family history and Ancestry.com.