Samford, Here I Come!

I've been preparing this whole week for IGHR, held in Birmingham, Alabama. The Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research (IGHR) is held at Samford University every year in June, otherwise known in my house as Genealogy Camp. There are ten different courses offered and I was lucky enough to get into Tom Jones' writing class. I am very excited about this. However, my week has been somewhat chaotic. Summer camps for my two boys are in full swing, so I have been shuttling them around, and prepping the house for my departure.

I'm staying in the dorms, so my list of things to pack is lengthy, and there is a growing pile of items being collected from around the house. My husband is a good sport about this collection and doesn't say too much other than to make an occasional observation of said items, some of which have been pilfered from my sons. Other preparations have been to have on hand a 500 word writing sample of my own (check!), pre-read two articles written by Tom Jones (check!), and prepare for my own personal research at the Samford library (in progress).

The branch that I am focusing on during this trip will be the Kirby line. Delila Caroline Kirby was born 6 August 1838 in Birmingham, Alabama. She is my gggg grandmother. There have always been rumors about this line having Cherokee Indian connections to it. My mother remembers hearing whispered conversations about it as a child. Various people descending from this line, that have never met, also say there is a Cherokee link. None of us have been able to prove it. Maybe it is true and maybe it isn't. This is not an uncommon rumor for families to have in their oral traditions. My goal is much more simple, or at least it would seem to be. I want to find primary evidence of who Delila's parents are. By the 1850 census Delila is living with her older brother George W. Kirby age 22, and other siblings. Presumably their parents are dead. What happened to them you may be asking? I have no idea. Another mystery in this line to figure out. Hopefully the Genealogy Gods will smile down upon me in Birmingham, and I'll get some answers.

Meanwhile, I'm off to the grocery store to stock up the house, type up my two boys' itineraries for the week, do laundry, and finish up my packing. Samford, here I come!!