My Colorful Ancestry: 10-Year Anniversary

 

On March 23, 2016, something unexpected happened.

What began as a simple idea at my desk—just a different way of looking at a pedigree chart—turned into something far bigger than I could have imagined. A colorful spreadsheet. A handful of states. A spark of curiosity. And within hours, it was everywhere.

 

The Idea That Started It All

I remember exactly how it began.

I wanted to see my family tree differently—not through names, dates, or locations at the county level—but through birthplaces at a glance. Just states (and countries), nothing more. Clean. Simple. Visual.

Then came the twist: color.

Each state became its own visual identity. Suddenly, patterns appeared. Migration stories jumped off the page. It wasn’t just data anymore—it was a story told in color.

And just like that… voilà.

 

When It Went Viral

I shared my chart on Facebook, thinking a few genealogy friends might enjoy it.

Within hours, it took on a life of its own.

People didn’t just view it—they recreated it. They downloaded the spreadsheet, customized it, shared it, and tagged me. Then their friends did the same. And their friends after that.

By the next morning, it was everywhere:

• Facebook feeds filled with colorful charts
• Twitter buzzing with genealogy conversations
• Instagram posts showcasing family histories
• Blogs highlighting new variations and ideas

It spread across the entire genealogy community—what I like to call the GeneaSphere.

 

The Power of a Simple Idea

Looking back, I think the magic came from a few key things:

• Simplicity – Anyone could do it
• Visual impact – Instantly understandable
• Shareability – Easy to post, easy to recreate
• Creativity – Others expanded the idea in amazing ways

People added more generations. Some incorporated flags. Others adapted the concept entirely—proving that genealogy isn’t just about research, it’s about expression and connection.

 

The Hashtag That Brought Us Together

A special moment in all of this was the introduction of the hashtag #MyColorfulAncestry, thanks to Crista Cowan, aka The Barefoot Genealogist.

That hashtag unified the movement. It gave us a way to find each other, to share, to comment, and to celebrate our diverse backgrounds together.

For a brief moment, we weren’t just individual researchers—we were part of a global conversation.

 

What It Meant Then—and Now

At the time, I called it “an irregularity in the social GeneaSphere.” And in many ways, it was.

But ten years later, I see it differently.

It wasn’t just about a chart.

It was about:

• Sparking conversations between strangers
• Encouraging people to explore their roots
• Making genealogy approachable and fun
• Building community through shared discovery

I gained new friends, new connections, and a deeper appreciation for how powerful even the smallest idea can be.

 

Ten Years Later

Now, a decade later, I still see echoes of that moment.

Visual storytelling in genealogy has only grown—charts, infographics, DNA visuals, and more. And I like to think that, in some small way, #MyColorfulAncestry helped inspire that evolution.

What started as a simple spreadsheet became something meaningful.

And honestly… that still amazes me.

 

Let’s Keep the Conversation Going

So here we are—ten years later.

If you created a chart back then, I’d love to see it again.
If you’re new to it, why not give it a try?

Pull out your pedigree. Add some color. See what patterns emerge.

Because sometimes, all it takes is a little color to bring your ancestry to life.

Link to the original post: https://bit.ly/4uN6nZY

My original post has over 42,000 views as of today.

🎉 GeneaSpy Turns 11: A Lunar Anniversary Worth Celebrating

 

Eleven years ago, I launched GeneaSpy with intention, curiosity, and more than a little symbolism. The blog officially began on the first new moon of 2015—a moment traditionally associated with fresh starts, reflection, and setting long-term intentions. It felt like the perfect time to begin a new genealogy journey, and looking back, it truly was.

Since that quiet lunar beginning, GeneaSpy has grown into something far beyond what I imagined.

📊 By the Numbers

Over the past 11 years:

• 81 total posts have been published

• 480,475 all-time views from readers around the world

• 111 thoughtful comments sparking conversation and connection

Those numbers represent more than statistics—they reflect a community of fellow researchers, storytellers, and history lovers who care deeply about the past and how we tell its stories.

🌈 A Moment That Went Viral

One post, in particular, took on a life of its own:
“A Little Thing That Went Viral… #MyColorfulAncestry”, which has been viewed 40.9 thousand times and counting.

That post reminded me how powerful personal stories can be when they resonate beyond charts, records, and timelines. It reinforced why I started GeneaSpy in the first place: to explore genealogy not just as research, but as a lived experience.

🔍 Why GeneaSpy Still Matters

GeneaSpy has always been about curiosity—asking better questions, looking beyond the obvious, and uncovering the stories hiding in plain sight. Eleven years later, that mission hasn’t changed. What has changed is the depth of experience, the lessons learned, and the growing appreciation for how interconnected our stories truly are.

🌑 Looking Ahead

As GeneaSpy enters its 12th year, I’m grateful—for every reader, every comment, every shared post, and every ancestor whose story nudged me forward. Just like that first new moon in 2015, this anniversary feels less like an ending and more like another beginning.

Thank you for being part of this journey. Here’s to the next chapter of GeneaSpy—still watching, still questioning, still discovering.

🕵️‍♂️✨

Transparency: I wrote this with the assistance of AI.

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 More Than an Heirloom: The Plaque That Tells My Grandmother’s Story

Some family artifacts speak quietly. Others speak with authority.

One of the most meaningful objects in my family history collection is a ceramic plaque presented to my grandmother, Myrtle Hawthorne, in the mid-1950s. It’s decorative, formal, and unmistakably intentional—created not just to commemorate an event, but to preserve a legacy.

The plaque reads:

GOP

PRESENTED - JAN - 6 - 1956

by 

THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

of 

ENCINO REPUBLICAN

WOMAN'S CLUB
To

MYRTLE HAWTHORNE
FIRST PRESIDENT

ORGANIZED 

FEB -15 - 1955

In just a few lines, it captures a moment of leadership, service, and community engagement that might otherwise have faded from memory.

An Object That Anchors a Story

As genealogists, we’re trained to chase records—census schedules, vital records, land deeds. But artifacts like this plaque remind us that not all evidence of a life lived well appears in official documents.

This plaque tells us:

Where Myrtle was active: Encino, California

When she stepped into leadership: the post–World War II era

How she served: through civic and political organization

Why she mattered: she was trusted to lead from the very beginning

She wasn’t simply a member of an organization. She helped build it.

Women’s Organizations and Hidden Histories

Mid-20th-century women’s clubs played a vital role in civic life, especially at a time when women were still fighting for broader recognition and influence. These organizations offered leadership opportunities, social networks, and a public voice.

Yet they are often underrepresented in traditional genealogical research.

This plaque provides a crucial research clue: the exact name of the organization and its founding date. That information opens doors to meeting minutes, newspaper articles, membership rosters, and local histories—records that can illuminate women’s lives in ways standard sources rarely do.

Why This Matters

What I love most about this plaque is its permanence. It was created to endure. Someone believed Myrtle’s contribution was important enough to be preserved in ceramic and gold, meant to last long after the moment passed.

More than seventy years later, it still fulfills that purpose.

For me, this plaque is a reminder that genealogy isn’t only about tracing lineage—it’s about restoring depth and meaning to the lives behind the names. My grandmother wasn’t just an ancestor. She was a founder, a president, and a respected leader in her community.

And thanks to this plaque, her story can still be told.

This post was written by ChatGPT based on GPT-5.2 with information and photos provided by me. 

 Family Snapshot: The G.W. Gowens Family (Graham, Texas, 1912)

Introduction: A look back at the G.W. Gowens family, captured in a portrait taken in Graham, Texas, around 1912. This image captures the family hierarchy and fashion of the early 20th century, featuring the parents, General Washington Gowens and Frances Emily Gowens, alongside their children and son-in-law.

Below, you will find the original photograph followed by a numbered key to help identify each family member.

The Photograph

Colorized version of the original photo

Identification Key

Legend Use the numbers in the outline drawing above to identify the family members listed below. The list includes their names, ages at the time of the photo, and their relationship to the head of the household.

1. James William Gowens

Age: 16

Relationship: Son 

2. Lena Georgia (Gowens) McCallister

Age: 18

Relationship: Daughter 

3. Henry Matt McCallister

Age: 27

Relationship: Son-in-law 

4. Sylvester Bernard Gowens

Age: 15

Relationship: Son 

5. Cordie Loraine Gowens

Age: 11

Relationship: Daughter 

6. Frances Emily (Phariss) Gowens

Age: 41

Relationship: Mother 

7. Clarence Preston Gowens

Age: 7

Relationship: Son 

8. General Washington Gowens

Age: 52

Relationship: Father 

9. Stella Vera Gowens

Age: 6

Relationship: Daughter 

10. Cloyce Washington Gowens

Age: 2

Relationship: Son 

11. Crystal Elizabeth Gowens

Age: 10

Relationship: Daughter

This post was inspired by Steve Little's article here: https://aigenealogyinsights.com/2025/12/19/fun-prompt-friday-group-portrait-keys/

Leola Judson (Hawthorne) Vann (1867-1945) Biography

I have been having fun (and that’s what it’s all about), incorporating my timeline facts from my Ancestry tree into ChatGPT to write quick and brief biographies for my family members that I manage on Find a Grave. Yes, I double-check what ChatGPT writes to ensure there aren’t mistakes or hallucinations.

   This morning, I also uploaded an image of her obituary and asked ChatGPT to incorporate it into the bio (I wasn’t sure this was possible). Yes, it did! What I was looking for, besides a few extra facts, was who survived her and where they were living at the time.

   I currently manage 209 memorials, and I can’t wait to start making bios for each of them! I am doing this because, hopefully, Find a Grave will be around for decades to come, and both close and extended family will see this as helpful in their research and understanding of the family dynamics. ~ J. Paul Hawthorne.

Leola Judson (Hawthorne) Vann: A. B. Canada Collection

Leola Judson (Hawthorne) Vann
(12 February 1867 – 24 January 1945)

Leola Judson Hawthorne was born on 12 February 1867 in Greenville, Butler County, Alabama, to Adoniram Judson Hawthorne (1834–1877) and Clara Elizabeth Amelia Ford (1835–1908). She was one of eight children, part of a large family whose lives were deeply intertwined with the history of Greenville.

Her siblings were:

• Ida Alice Hawthorne (1858–1912)
• Alexander Travis Hawthorne (1860–1926)
• Sara Ann Hawthorne (1862–1914)
• Robert Lee Hawthorne Sr (1864-1950)
• Emma Edna Hawthorne (1869–1949)
• Etta Mae Hawthorne (1873–1899)
• Ford Judson Hawthorne (1877–1932)

 

Leola’s early childhood was spent in Greenville, where she grew up alongside these brothers and sisters. She was ten years old when her father died in August 1877, leaving her mother to raise the younger children.

In 1887, at the age of 20, Leola married Asa Hunter Vann (1867–1948) in Greenville. They had four children: Fred Lee Vann (1887–1972), Clarence Eugene Vann (1890–1972), Perry Leslie Vann (1898–1991), and Edith Mae Vann (1900–1993).

A gentle and quiet woman by nature, Leola found her greatest joy in her home and its duties. She was described as a faithful and devoted wife and mother, whose love for Greenville never wavered.

Leola lived to see her children and grandchildren thrive. Surviving her at the time of her death were her husband Asa; three sons—Fred and Perry of Greenville, and Clarence of Chicago; her daughter Edith, known as Mrs. Melvin Weldon, of Montgomery; a sister, Emma Edna Hawthorne Lewis of Attapulgus, Georgia; a brother, R. L. Hawthorne of Camden; one grandson, William H. Weldon of Great Lakes, Illinois; and two granddaughters, Mrs. Emmett Rodgers of Montgomery and Valerie Vann of Greenville.

Leola passed away peacefully on 24 January 1945 in Greenville after a long illness. Funeral services were held from her home, led by Rev. Andrew Turnipseed and Rev. Joseph Avery, with burial in Magnolia Cemetery under the direction of Dunklin-Johnson. Her funeral was attended by many from near and far, a testament to her lasting impact on the community.

She was remembered not only as a devoted wife and mother but also as a woman whose life reflected a steadfast commitment to family, faith, and the town she called home for nearly eight decades.

Written from facts provided by J. Paul Hawthorne (great-grandnephew), her obituary, and help from AI by ChatGPT on 15 August 2025.

Obituary from the Greenville Advocate

Photo by J. Paul Hawthorne

Photo by J. Paul Hawthorne

Obituary source citation:

"Mrs. Hunter Vann Claimed By Death," Greenville [AL] Greenville Advocate, Thursday, 1 February 1945, page 6, column 4, Leola Judson Vann death notice; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 15 August 2025).

Charity Evelyn (Gowens) Ray (1887-1983) Biography

 Charity Evelyn (Gowens) Ray (1887-1983) Biography

A Biography of my 3/4 great-grandaunt

Charity Evelyn Gowens was born on August 29, 1887, in Old Silver Valley, Coleman County, Texas, the daughter of General Washington Gowens and Rachel Ann Needham. She entered the world in a rural ranching and farming community during a time when Coleman County was still relatively young, its small settlements closely tied by kinship and shared labor.

Tragedy struck early in Charity's life when her mother, Rachel, died on April 9, 1891, leaving four-year-old Charity and her older siblings in the care of their father. In the years that followed, General Washington Gowens remarried, and Charity became the eldest sister to a large blended family of half-siblings born between 1893 and 1913. Sadly, not all survived infancy—Charity experienced the early deaths of her half-brother Moses in 1893, her half-sister Lola May in 1898, and her half-brother Joseph Calvin in 1908.

George Leonard Ray and Charity Evelyn (Gowens) Ray

By 1900, the thirteen-year-old Charity was living with her father, stepmother, and younger siblings in Justice Precinct 6 of Coleman County. On September 25, 1904, at the age of seventeen, she married George Leonard Ray, a man eleven years her senior. The couple made their home in Silver Valley, where George worked in farming and stock-raising. Their first child, George Washington Ray, was born in 1905, followed by Ida Mae Ray in 1907 and Willis Raymond Ray in 1910.

In February 1914, Charity endured one of the most painful moments of her life when she gave birth to twins, Charity Ann Ray and Jerry Dan Ray, both of whom died the following day. More than a decade later, on March 25, 1926, she welcomed her youngest child, Rosa Evelyn Ray.

The Rays remained rooted in Coleman County throughout their marriage. Census records from 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, and 1950 document Charity's life as a farmer's wife, raising children, tending to the household, and helping maintain the family's livelihood through decades of economic change, including the Great Depression and World War II.

Charity's life was also marked by the continual bonds and losses within her extended family. She lived to witness the passing of her father in 1945, her husband in 1957, and many of her siblings and half-siblings over the decades. Yet she also saw her children grow to adulthood and establish their own families, and she became a grandmother and great-grandmother many times over.

50th. Wedding Anniversary in 1854

Gowens' Siblings in the early 1970s

 

In her later years, Charity lived in Coleman, where she remained part of the close-knit community she had known all her life. On August 12, 1983, at the age of 95, she died at 11:05 a.m. at the Holiday Hill Care Center in Coleman. Funeral services were held two days later at Stevens Funeral Home, officiated by David Coffman of the Novice Church of Christ. She was laid to rest in Coleman Cemetery beside her husband.

Photo by Ralph Terry

Spanning nearly a century, Charity Evelyn Gowens Ray's life reflected the endurance, faith, and family-centered values of rural Texas women of her era. Her legacy lives on in the many descendants who carry her memory forward.

Written from facts by J. Paul Hawthorne (3/4 great-grandnephew) and AI (ChatGPT) 08/13/2025.

3/4 relationship? Even though Charity was my maternal grandmother’s 1/2 sister (different mothers), Charity’s maternal great-grandparents were also my grandmother’s great-grandparents! This is called pedigree collapse. Maybe 3/4 is not the correct term. 

William Samuel Galloway (1811-1901) Biography

 Biography of William Samuel Galloway (1811–1901)

Pioneer, Farmer, Postmaster, and Patriarch of Texas

Headstone photo by J. Paul Hawthorne 2024

   William Samuel Galloway was born on September 22, 1811, in Rowan County, North Carolina, into a family deeply rooted in the early American frontier. The son of Charles Galloway and Elizabeth Clifford, William grew up amid the shifting borders and burgeoning settlements of the young republic. His early years were shaped by the birth of several siblings, including Lucinda (1815) and Caleb Cobb (1819), with whom he would remain connected throughout his life.

   In 1827, tragedy struck when William was just sixteen: his mother died in Jefferson City, Tennessee. Soon after, he moved westward, likely with his family, settling in Calloway County, Kentucky. There, on his 22nd birthday—September 22, 1833—he married Martha Brush. Together, they would raise a growing family, beginning with the birth of their son, Charles Richard Galloway, in 1835. Over the next decade, William and Martha welcomed several children, including Elizabeth (1840), J.W. (1842), George Washington (1844), and Caleb Petty (1847).

   William's life in Kentucky was marked by both joy and sorrow. He endured the deaths of close family members, including his brother George Washington in 1844 and his father in 1846. The most profound loss came in 1849 when Martha passed away, leaving William a widower with young children.

   The following year, William remarried. On March 21, 1850, he wed Mary Dillingham in Caldwell County, Kentucky. That same year, he is recorded as living in District 1 of Calloway County. But the winds of change were blowing once again. By 1851, William had moved his growing family to Texas, settling first in Upshur County. This journey marked the beginning of a new chapter in his life as a pioneer in Texas.

   In Texas, William embraced his role as both provider and community leader. Between 1852 and 1861, he and Mary welcomed seven children: Samuel Thomas, James E., Mary L., Jefferson Rufus, Hulda Ann, Eaton, and William Russell. In 1859, William was appointed postmaster of West Mountain, Upshur County—a position he held through the beginning of the Civil War, also serving under the Confederate States in 1861. In the 1860 census, he is listed as a farmer in Gilmer, Texas, reflecting his dedication to working the land to sustain his large family.

   The Civil War deeply impacted William’s life. His eldest son, Charles Richard, died in 1862 while serving in Arkansas. The post-war years brought new beginnings, including a move to Bastrop County, where additional children were born, including Ruth Galloway in 1871.

   By the 1880s, William had settled in the small community of Jeddo, Bastrop County. He was now the patriarch of a large and extended family that included descendants from both of his marriages. In the 1880 census, he is listed as a farmer, and in 1900—at the age of 89—he was recorded as a landlord living in Justice Precinct 2, Bastrop County. Despite his advanced age, he remained active in community and family affairs.

   William outlived many of his children and siblings. He witnessed the deaths of George Washington (1888), Jefferson Rufus (1894), and his brother Caleb Cobb (1887), among others. Through it all, he maintained his position as a respected elder in his community.

   William Samuel Galloway died on July 17, 1901, in Jeddo, Bastrop County, Texas, at the remarkable age of 89. He was laid to rest in Jeddo Cemetery, leaving behind a legacy of perseverance, faith, and family. His life spanned the breadth of 19th-century America—from post-colonial North Carolina to the raw frontier of Texas—embodying the rugged spirit and resilience of the pioneer era.

 W. S. Galloway was my maternal 3rd. great-grandfather.

Written by facts from J. Paul Hawthorne and bio from ChatGPT on 26 July 2025.