Cynthia Tarvin Zavala is on the Saturday afternoon schedule in Mobile.
Cynthia grew up in Alabama raised by her Mother because of her Father’s struggles with alcoholism and finally his death when she was eleven years old. She never knew of her strong lineage to the Mvskoke and Cherokee people until adulthood. Always feeling a connection, she started her search in her twenties to find out about her Father’s people. She was thrilled to find how much rich history there was in her family. She is a direct descendant of Sehoy Tait, Wind Clan of the Creek; a descendant of the Panther clan of the creek; a descendant of a Tukabatchi Chief of the upper Creeks once living in Alabama; her Cherokee ancestors lived in New Echota during the Indian Removal (Trail of Tears).
Cynthia still resides in her Ancestors homeland of Alabama, A place she says is as much a part of her as the air she breathes, surrounded by their spirits.
She is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Tribe. She was a member of her Tribes all Woman drum group for several years. Now she has stepped away from the big drum and plays her hand drum to “Sing the Message of Spirit”. November is a very busy month for Cynthia, her “Apache” husband Jesse and their children and grandchildren. November being Native American History month, they are called to educate in schools throughout Alabama, teaching the History of the Indigenous peoples that once lived in Alabama and sharing with song drumming and dancing.
Cynthia will share her experiences with us at the hotel on Saturday afternoon following the luncheon at Bellingrath Gardens. We are hopeful her talented grandchildren will be able to accompany her to dance and join in song.
See her website: http://www.spirittravelers.com/.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Amanda Ingram to tell of Tarvin-Creek Indian connection
Amanda Ingram will speak on Friday evening at the Mobile reunion.
Amanda Ingram, a native of Alabama, is a descendant of William (I) Tarvin and, more specifically, his son Richard (I) Tarvin. She was born in Dothan, Houston County, Alabama, to Ron Ingram and Cheryl Bailey. Dothan is in the southeastern corner of the state.
Although the family moved to Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama when she was 5 years old, she and her sister spent many summers with her great-grandparents in Brundidge, Pike County, Alabama. Brundidge is a very small, country town just south of Troy, Pike County, Alabama, with a population of about 2,300. It is such a small town that everybody knows everybody. In fact, almost everyone is related in some way or another.
Ingram’s great-grandparents were H.B. Galloway and Oramae Turvin, no the name isn’t misspelled. Turvin, or Tervin, is the surname of those Tarvin descendants living in and around south Alabama and northwest Florida.
H.B. Galloway worked many years paving highways for the Alabama Department of Transportation, while Oramae Turvin spent her time watching children. As they got older, they spent their time harvesting the crops they had planted during the season (e.g., squash, field greens, butterbeans, field peas, okra, watermelon, tomatoes, etc.). Any family that came to visit would be expected to shell butterbeans and peas alongside them.
These Turvin and Galloway families have been a very close-knit group. In fact, they hold an annual family reunion every June for members of this particular branch. It is held every year at Shady Grove Baptist Church in Brundidge, the church of Ingram’s great-grandparents.
In 2001, Ingram graduated from the University of Alabama (UA) with a major in Biology and a minor in Anthropology. This is where interest was sparked in history and other cultures. While at UA, she spent a lot of time cataloguing Native American remains, as well as participating in an archaeological dig at Moundville Archaeological Park.
In the fall of 2002, she graduated with a Master’s of Public Health, with a focus on Epidemiology, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Upon graduation, she moved to Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, where she is a foodborne epidemiologist for the Tennessee Department of Health. She spends most of her time investigating foodborne outbreaks. However, in her spare time she likes to do genealogy research.
At the behest of her grandmother, Nadine (Galloway) Bailey, Ingram started doing research into her great-grandmother’s family, the Turvins. A lot of research had already been done on her great-grandfather’s side of the family (Galloway), but little was known about her great-grandmother’s side (Turvin). It wasn’t until she started digging further into records that she realized that this branch of Tarvins were of Creek Indian descent.
To hear more about this branch and their connections to the Creek Indians of Alabama, Georgia and Florida, Amanda Ingram will be speaking at the 2009 Tarvin Family Reunion Dinner on Friday, October 2nd.
Amanda Ingram, a native of Alabama, is a descendant of William (I) Tarvin and, more specifically, his son Richard (I) Tarvin. She was born in Dothan, Houston County, Alabama, to Ron Ingram and Cheryl Bailey. Dothan is in the southeastern corner of the state.
Although the family moved to Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama when she was 5 years old, she and her sister spent many summers with her great-grandparents in Brundidge, Pike County, Alabama. Brundidge is a very small, country town just south of Troy, Pike County, Alabama, with a population of about 2,300. It is such a small town that everybody knows everybody. In fact, almost everyone is related in some way or another.
Ingram’s great-grandparents were H.B. Galloway and Oramae Turvin, no the name isn’t misspelled. Turvin, or Tervin, is the surname of those Tarvin descendants living in and around south Alabama and northwest Florida.
H.B. Galloway worked many years paving highways for the Alabama Department of Transportation, while Oramae Turvin spent her time watching children. As they got older, they spent their time harvesting the crops they had planted during the season (e.g., squash, field greens, butterbeans, field peas, okra, watermelon, tomatoes, etc.). Any family that came to visit would be expected to shell butterbeans and peas alongside them.
These Turvin and Galloway families have been a very close-knit group. In fact, they hold an annual family reunion every June for members of this particular branch. It is held every year at Shady Grove Baptist Church in Brundidge, the church of Ingram’s great-grandparents.
In 2001, Ingram graduated from the University of Alabama (UA) with a major in Biology and a minor in Anthropology. This is where interest was sparked in history and other cultures. While at UA, she spent a lot of time cataloguing Native American remains, as well as participating in an archaeological dig at Moundville Archaeological Park.
In the fall of 2002, she graduated with a Master’s of Public Health, with a focus on Epidemiology, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Upon graduation, she moved to Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, where she is a foodborne epidemiologist for the Tennessee Department of Health. She spends most of her time investigating foodborne outbreaks. However, in her spare time she likes to do genealogy research.
At the behest of her grandmother, Nadine (Galloway) Bailey, Ingram started doing research into her great-grandmother’s family, the Turvins. A lot of research had already been done on her great-grandfather’s side of the family (Galloway), but little was known about her great-grandmother’s side (Turvin). It wasn’t until she started digging further into records that she realized that this branch of Tarvins were of Creek Indian descent.
To hear more about this branch and their connections to the Creek Indians of Alabama, Georgia and Florida, Amanda Ingram will be speaking at the 2009 Tarvin Family Reunion Dinner on Friday, October 2nd.
Dawn Conway is expert on Baldwin County genealogy
Dawn Conway will speak on Thursday evening:
She grew up in Baldwin County, as did her husband Pete. After becoming interested in family history many years ago, she discovered that many of their ancestors have been in the Baldwin County area since the late 1700’s, making them some of the first settlers in the area.
Dawn and Pete left Baldwin County as newlyweds when he was serving in the Air Force. They lived in Zweibruecken, Germany for 3 years, then southern Maryland for a year, attended college in south Alabama, then back to southern Maryland. They lived and worked in the Washington, DC, area for over 13 years, but chose to move south to raise their daughters. They now live in north Alabama and work in the Huntsville area – where husband Pete is a program analyst for a defense contractor and Dawn is the lead software engineer for a NASA climate satellite project at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. They have been married for 31 years and have two amazing daughters – Kaitlin and Rebecca – Kaitlin is in college and Rebecca will soon follow. They also have a Shih-Tzu, Mollie, a Bassett Hound, Floyd, a mixed Bassett, Ginger, and three cats, Jake, Midnight, and Mitten.
They visit Baldwin County often since all their immediate family is in the area. They love to travel. They have been to Japan, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, many of our beautiful United States, and Pete has even been to the Marshall Islands. Besides travel and genealogy, her hobbies include jewelry making and scrap booking, and web page development. They are also active members of Friendship United Methodist Church in Athens, AL.
Dawn hosts the Baldwin County, Alabama Genealogy Trails site http://genealogytrails.com/ala/baldwin/
She will be speaking on Thursday evening, October 1st.
She grew up in Baldwin County, as did her husband Pete. After becoming interested in family history many years ago, she discovered that many of their ancestors have been in the Baldwin County area since the late 1700’s, making them some of the first settlers in the area.
Dawn and Pete left Baldwin County as newlyweds when he was serving in the Air Force. They lived in Zweibruecken, Germany for 3 years, then southern Maryland for a year, attended college in south Alabama, then back to southern Maryland. They lived and worked in the Washington, DC, area for over 13 years, but chose to move south to raise their daughters. They now live in north Alabama and work in the Huntsville area – where husband Pete is a program analyst for a defense contractor and Dawn is the lead software engineer for a NASA climate satellite project at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. They have been married for 31 years and have two amazing daughters – Kaitlin and Rebecca – Kaitlin is in college and Rebecca will soon follow. They also have a Shih-Tzu, Mollie, a Bassett Hound, Floyd, a mixed Bassett, Ginger, and three cats, Jake, Midnight, and Mitten.
They visit Baldwin County often since all their immediate family is in the area. They love to travel. They have been to Japan, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, many of our beautiful United States, and Pete has even been to the Marshall Islands. Besides travel and genealogy, her hobbies include jewelry making and scrap booking, and web page development. They are also active members of Friendship United Methodist Church in Athens, AL.
Dawn hosts the Baldwin County, Alabama Genealogy Trails site http://genealogytrails.com/ala/baldwin/
She will be speaking on Thursday evening, October 1st.
Gary Hoffman will sort out the genealogy
Gary Hoffman will be speaking Thursday afternoon.
GaryHoffman has been involved with genealogy for over forty years. His late father, Verne Hoffman, was instrumental in the early development of the Tarvin Family Association and served as president and book committee chair for many years. As a Tarvin descendant in Line 10, Verne's interest in the enigmatic ancestor Rev. George Tarvin has inspired many to appreciate their Tarvin ancestry. Verne "hooked" Gary on Tarvin genealogy and then Gary established the Tarvin website in 1995. He now manages the online database where we are gathering information on all Tarvin descendants.
Gary graduated from Brigham Young University, served in the U.S. Air Force, and has worked in high tech industries while getting his M.B.A. He is the Chief Technology Officer for a graduate school at the University of California, San Diego, where he supports faculty, staff, and students with computers and other technology. His wife is a professor at UCSD and they are the parents of three grown daughters.
Working with young people while researching ancestors has given Gary a long view of life. "It's no cliché that life is a cycle," says Gary. "Our ancestors were just like us, only in different clothes. Studying them makes American and world history come down to real people, not just dates and places. I often think, 'What would they think of me? Am I living up to their expectations?' I hope so. In my life, I often think, 'What would Rev. George do?' or another of my ancestors. It gives me a perspective on my own life to think that others have tread this path before me."
Gary will present a simplified genealogy to us Thursday afternoon and will highlight how to search for information on the internet.
Gary is “webmaster” of the Tarvin Family Association website: http://www.tarvinfamily.org/
GaryHoffman has been involved with genealogy for over forty years. His late father, Verne Hoffman, was instrumental in the early development of the Tarvin Family Association and served as president and book committee chair for many years. As a Tarvin descendant in Line 10, Verne's interest in the enigmatic ancestor Rev. George Tarvin has inspired many to appreciate their Tarvin ancestry. Verne "hooked" Gary on Tarvin genealogy and then Gary established the Tarvin website in 1995. He now manages the online database where we are gathering information on all Tarvin descendants.
Gary graduated from Brigham Young University, served in the U.S. Air Force, and has worked in high tech industries while getting his M.B.A. He is the Chief Technology Officer for a graduate school at the University of California, San Diego, where he supports faculty, staff, and students with computers and other technology. His wife is a professor at UCSD and they are the parents of three grown daughters.
Working with young people while researching ancestors has given Gary a long view of life. "It's no cliché that life is a cycle," says Gary. "Our ancestors were just like us, only in different clothes. Studying them makes American and world history come down to real people, not just dates and places. I often think, 'What would they think of me? Am I living up to their expectations?' I hope so. In my life, I often think, 'What would Rev. George do?' or another of my ancestors. It gives me a perspective on my own life to think that others have tread this path before me."
Gary will present a simplified genealogy to us Thursday afternoon and will highlight how to search for information on the internet.
Gary is “webmaster” of the Tarvin Family Association website: http://www.tarvinfamily.org/
Shirley Byerly to speak at Mobile reunion
Shirley Byerly will speak Thursday afternoon:
Shirley Booth Byerly is a master storyteller, folklorist, genealogist, and local historian. Each year, she reenacts at Fort Morgan with the Battle of Mobile Bay, where, during the Civil War, Admiral David Farragut uttered his famous phrase, “Damn the torpedoes;”, and at Fort Mims, the massacre that provoked Andrew Jackson’s battles during the War of 1812. Additionally, Shirley is a treasure trove of local folk-tales, legends, and historical information.
Born in Pensacola on July 14, 1953, to Rita Moye Booth, Shirley spent her childhood in Fairhope, Alabama, and attended public schools there. Shirley’s father, Ples Farrish Booth, was lost at sea while aboard the U.S.S. Princeton, February 5, 1953, five months before her birth. At the age of seven, her maternal grandmother encouraged Shirley’s love of genealogy by attempting to explain how she was lucky enough to have six living grandmothers! Following the birth of her own daughter, Trina, Shirley’s family was featured in LIFE Magazine, “Six Generations without a Gap,” with an Alfred Eisenstadt photograph of Trina Byerly, her mother Shirley, grandmother, Rita Hall, great-grandmother, Geneva Beachnau, great-great-grandmother, Stella Godwin and Trina’s great-great-great grandmother, Roxanne Steele, aged 100.
Shirley met and married her husband, William L. (Bill) Byerly, following a 3-day courtship. They were married in 1970 and moved to Pensacola where their three children were born. She later earned a B.A. degree from Livingston University, with a double major of history and English. She also holds a Master’s degree in Teaching and a Master’s degree in Psychology from the University of West Alabama. Shirley also has the proud distinction of having attended college classes with each of her children: Trina Roxanne Davis, Trisha Rhondelle Wiggins, and Adam Blake Byerly. She and her husband Bill are also grandparents to an even dozen grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Shirley Booth Byerly is a master storyteller, folklorist, genealogist, and local historian. Each year, she reenacts at Fort Morgan with the Battle of Mobile Bay, where, during the Civil War, Admiral David Farragut uttered his famous phrase, “Damn the torpedoes;”, and at Fort Mims, the massacre that provoked Andrew Jackson’s battles during the War of 1812. Additionally, Shirley is a treasure trove of local folk-tales, legends, and historical information.
Born in Pensacola on July 14, 1953, to Rita Moye Booth, Shirley spent her childhood in Fairhope, Alabama, and attended public schools there. Shirley’s father, Ples Farrish Booth, was lost at sea while aboard the U.S.S. Princeton, February 5, 1953, five months before her birth. At the age of seven, her maternal grandmother encouraged Shirley’s love of genealogy by attempting to explain how she was lucky enough to have six living grandmothers! Following the birth of her own daughter, Trina, Shirley’s family was featured in LIFE Magazine, “Six Generations without a Gap,” with an Alfred Eisenstadt photograph of Trina Byerly, her mother Shirley, grandmother, Rita Hall, great-grandmother, Geneva Beachnau, great-great-grandmother, Stella Godwin and Trina’s great-great-great grandmother, Roxanne Steele, aged 100.
Shirley met and married her husband, William L. (Bill) Byerly, following a 3-day courtship. They were married in 1970 and moved to Pensacola where their three children were born. She later earned a B.A. degree from Livingston University, with a double major of history and English. She also holds a Master’s degree in Teaching and a Master’s degree in Psychology from the University of West Alabama. Shirley also has the proud distinction of having attended college classes with each of her children: Trina Roxanne Davis, Trisha Rhondelle Wiggins, and Adam Blake Byerly. She and her husband Bill are also grandparents to an even dozen grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
LifeLine gets a makeover
The Tarvin newsletter, LifeLine, received a makeover as a new publisher has taken the reigns. Jenny Lodien produced ths September issue and it looks terrific. Here's a preview:
Reunion Speakers Announced
As we ramp up for the annual Tarvin reunion, this year in Mobile, Alabama, we learn of a great slate of speakers on tap. Marian Tarvin, one of the organizers, recently posted biographies of these speakers:
Shirley Byerly
Gary Hoffman
Dawn Conway
Amanda Ingram
I will include them in subsequent posts. Don't forget, the deadline for registering is September 10.
Shirley Byerly
Gary Hoffman
Dawn Conway
Amanda Ingram
I will include them in subsequent posts. Don't forget, the deadline for registering is September 10.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Book 1 is Out of Print
We've just received word that the Line 1 Book, The Descendants of Thomas Tarvin, is no longer available. First published in 1997, this 570-page book detailed over 5,000 Tarvin relatives and included pictures and individual biographies. Thomas Tarvin, first child of Rev. George Tarvin and his wife, Sarah Craycraft, was the patriarch of this extensive clan.This was the second book published by the Tarvin Family Association in the series of 15 or so books on Tarvin genealogy. The first, The Descendants of George Tarvin IV, the so-called Line 10 Book, has been out of print for some time. However, a CD containing a PDF version of that book is still available from the Tarvin Family Association website. Whether it will be feasible to create a PDF version of the Line 1 Book is still up in the air.
The Tarvin Online Genealogy Database does contain a skeleton outline of the contents of the Line 1 Book. Entering data from the book into this database is very labor intensive and it may take some time before enough volunteers can be found to work on this project.
Meanwhile, if you are a Thomas Tarvin descendant, I recommend you sign up for a free account on Geni.com and trace your ancestry back to Thomas Tarvin where you can link into the tree we've already built there. Need help? Email me and I'll invite you into Geni.com.
More Tarvin Family History tomorrow.
Gary
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Blair Reunion Planned June 28
From Mary Foxworthy Bowden comes word that the Blairs are planning the 64th reunion of the family of Oliver and Blossom Blair on June 28, 2009. Oliver was a descendant of Line 10 George Tarvin. Their oldest daughter, Rosalene, married George Washington Foxworthy, Jr., also a Line 10 descendant. The reunion will be held at their ancestral home in Brazil, Indiana. Great granddaughter Debbie (Bowden) Cannon bought the place and is carrying on the tradition. There's a big oak tree in the woods with a spot just right for a picnic, according to Mary.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Tarvin Reunion in Mobile this October
The reunion organizers have recently posted the schedule for the 2009 national Tarvin Family reunion, to be held in Mobile, Alabama. We've also put the information on the Tarvin website at http://www.tarvinfamily.org/ If you are a Tarvin or related to someone whose name is Tarvin, you will find many family members in Mobile on 1-2-3 October 2009. Please join us there.
Blog lines on Tarvin website
With a little help from FeedWind, this blog appears also on the front page of the Tarvin Family Association website, http://www.tarvinfamily.org. It's amazing what a little snippet of Javascript can do in the right place.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tarvins on Geni.com
Several Tarvins have been posting photos and family information using the Geni.com website. If you want to join us, send me a message and remind me which line you are in. I'll extend a line down to you and invite you to join us.
A new blog is launched
This is the launch of the Tarvin Family History blog. We'll keep track here of news and research pertaining to family history for the great Tarvin family in America. This blog supports the Tarvin Family Association website at http://www.tarvinfamily.org. Stay tuned for regular updates.
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