North Carolina Land Grants

The Genealogy.com message boards don't see a lot of action these days, but they are chocked full of gems. For example, last night I came across a FREE site listing all of North Carolina's land grants from 1663 to 1960. 

Very cool. Check it out.

It's the simple things that make me happy. And grateful.

Wake County Genealogical Society December Meeting

Please join the Wake County Genealogical Society for our holiday presentation, “Family Holiday Traditions and Recipes, and the Stories and Photos that Go with Them” on Tuesday, December 9, 2014 at 7pm at the Olivia Raney Local History Library, 4016 Carya Drive, Raleigh, NC  27610. WCGS volunteer Jennie Gunther will coordinate the discussion.

Everyone is encouraged to bring food, recipes, photos, and stories of traditions to share, and to learn engaging ways of preserving and passing on these traditions to family members.

Meetings are free and open to the public, and are for all levels of family historians and genealogists, whether or not you are researching in Wake County. Come share some holiday cheer genealogy style!  It's a wonderful opportunity to step away from the computer to socialize with others who enjoy the same hobby—you might even meet a new cousin.

Dillard-Davis Family Cemetary

The Dillard-Davis Family Cemetery in Granville County is rich in family history for me. My great grandparents, Jonathan Davis and Cornelia Dillard Davis are buried there, along with many of their ancestors and descendants. 

The cemetery is located on Woodland Church Road in Granville County very near the Wake County line. I've been there several times. It's in a wooded area near a home with a viscous looking pooch chained up in the front yard. It's very overgrown with brush. There are only a handful of engraved stones, and some graves are marked with just a rock. I imagine there are plenty of unmarked graves, likely those of distant family members or possibly slaves.

Gladfry Bailey 
Born 1790 
Died 1867



William Bailey 
Born Dec 10, 1791
Died Dec 18, 1861
My notes: WPA records show death date as 15 Dec 1861. I haven't really figured out all these William Baileys, but I think this fellow was my 1st cousin 5 times removed.

Cornelia Davis
Wife of Jonathan F. Davis
Born March 7, 1838
My notes: My great grandmother who, along with her husband, owned the property across the road and likely the property hosting the cemetery, at one time.

Jonathan Davis
Born Dec 18, 1829 
Died July 22, 1900
My notes: Cornelia's husband. Jonathan owned a great deal of land as well as slaves. There is a Freemason symbol at the top of his gravestone.


Davis, L.  (b. 8 Nov ? - d. 25 Nov 1863). This may be Luvinia Davis. I believe she died a few weeks after birth. She is the daughter of Jonathan and Cornelia. She appears on the census of Cemetery Census, but not on the census of Find-A-Grave.

Davis, L. B. (b. 11 Aug 1834 - d.). I'm not sure who this is. He appears on the census of Cemetery Census, but not on the census of Find-A-Grave.

Davis, Mary A.  
Born Jan 13, 1827 
Died Sept 30, 1910
My notes: I think this is Mary Ann Davis, daughter of Jonathan Davis and Tildanthe Bailey. Jonathan's (the son of a Jonathan and husband of Cornelia) sister. She shows up on the school census for Granville County Beaver Dam School. The census is undated, but probably is from sometime in the 1840s.

Seraphno Davis (b. 17 Jan 1874 - d. 9 Dec 1903). Daughter of J.F. and C. Davis. I'm not sure why they put her maiden name on her gravestone, but Seraphno was married to Jim Inscore. I'm not sure if Jim died shortly after his wife or if he ran off, but his in-laws, Jonathan and Cornelia, raised his two children Lucy and Hubert.

Susan A. G. Davis
Sacred to the memory of 
Susan A. G. wife of Wm D. Davis
Born 1832 
Died Sept 10, 1861

W. D. Davis 
Died August 18, 1891
My notes: Probably the husband of Susan, above. He died just before his 43rd birthday, possible in the Civil War. There is a Freemason symbol at the top of his gravestone.

Whitman Davis
In memory of
 (b. 28 Apr 1862 - d. 19 Dec 1882). WPA records death date as 19 Dec 1888.

Dilliard, E. H. (b. 17 Feb 1831 - d. 2 Nov 1851). I think this is Elijah H. Dillard, son of Israel Dillard and Mahalia Bailey. Brother of Cornelia.

Dilliard, H. C.(b. 31 Dec 1843 - d. 13 Apr 1882)  WPA records birth date as 31 Dec 1818 and death date as 13 Apr 1887. This might be Henry Dillard, son of Israel Dillard and Mahalia Bailey. Brother of Cornelia.

Dilliard, I. F. (b. 11 Sep 1811 - d. 7 May 1888). WPA records death date as 7 May 1886. This is Israel Dillard, Cornelia's father and my 3rd great grandfather.

Dilliard, M. C. W. (b. 3 Nov 1839 - d. 12 Nov 1869). WPA records birth date as 3 Nov 1832 and death date as 12 Nov 1860.

Dilliard, W. I. (b. 15 Mar 1842 - d. 23 Oct 1862). This is probably the son of Israel and Mahalia. He died at age 20, I'm guessing an early casualty of the Civil War.

Loyd, Nasada B. (b. 29 Jul 1896 - d. 27 Jan 1906)

Moore, W. H. H. (b. 16 Jan 1841 - d. 8 Feb 1895)

Ray, Lucy (b. 1 Apr 1859 - d. 12 Dec 1920). Daughter of Seraphno and Jim Inscore, married to Mark Ray.

Here's a link to a census of the cemetery. It even provides directions. Here's Find-A-Grave's site - it differs a bit from the above link so be sure to look at both.