My name is Macy, I am twenty one and live in Michigan.Growing up I was one of those kids who questioned everything, and often I was let down in my quest of knowing stuff.
For me, the questions never stopped. I vividly remember being in second grade standing behind my Grandma while she cooked at the stove and asking where her family came from, “Uh, well, I think Eichler is German. My mom had Vanness in her, so maybe Dutch?” She thought? Maybe? I needed facts, but I didn’t know what genealogy was or how to start.
I can remember logging on to the school computers in elementary school for typing class and finding Ancestry and FindAGrave instead of following the lesson (I’m almost certain that is the reason why I chicken-peck). I didn’t find much. So, I decided to ask more questions! I sat with my great grandmother and asked her all about her parents and grandparents. I asked everyone to tell me everything they knew.
Because I was 12, I had no credit card (some kids do now!), so I started with Google. I googled my great grandmother’s name “Lovie Lee Moore” and a family tree came up! There they were; my great grandmother, her siblings, and my great great grandparents. Excitedly, I clicked on one name after another all the way to the top.
But, me being me, I was not content with this perfect stranger’s family tree, I needed proof! They could have made that all up! I was I going to have to prove it. I found some website I don’t recall the name of and started looking. They didn’t have many states, but they had Kentucky on there (no index though), so I clicked on Harlan and began making my own family tree. Then, I found Family Search (que angelic singing). And one year while in high school, my whole family pitched in and got me six months of Ancestry!!!
Now I’m at the point in my research where I want to be able to tell the stories of my ancestor’s lives and get in contact with long lost relatives who are in their own quests to find their families. So please, if we are related don’t hesitate to contact me!
Email: msbender.mi@gmail.com
Find a Grave Account
Instagram Account
Resurrecting Memories 
How awesome to fine someone interested in “The Feud”! Tom, Earnest, and Henry were my great uncles. Their sister, Bertha Anna Howard Moser, was my grandmother. I, too, have been trying to find answers. My greatest one is “Why?” “Why the Feud?” Alcohol was a great factor. The Jones and the McGhees were just plain mean (I believe)! Much of the facts that might have been helpful were stolen. The Court cases, both hear in Knoxville and in Monroe County were stolen. Newspapers and interviews have been my greatest resource. Nanny Denton, who married Henry Howard, is the connection to your Murr family. The Howards, Dentons, and Murrs were cousins. One correction for you. Alva was born in 1879. To say that the Feud began in 1883 because of the courtship can’t be correct. Otherwise, you have done your homework, and I thank you for putting this to paper (to the computer)! Tommie Nichols, Powell, TN
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Tommie,
Thank you so much for your comment! I’m just interested in knowing everything I can about my family. If there’s something out there, I want to know it. I can totally believe that the Jones’ and McGhee’s may have been “just plain mean”, it would explain why the Murr’s would have been hanging out together. My family has a thing called a “Murr Streak” which means you’re mad and mean for no reason. I had no idea that the court records were stolen! I couldn’t find much at all on the web, which surprised me. Thank you so much for correcting my oversight on the courtship of Tom and Alva!
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I am the youngest child of John King and Dorothy Hundley I can help you with the correct date of my parents marriage and my dads name.
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My great, great grandparents were John Jenkins and Anne McCallum. My great grandmother was Margaret Jenkins. She married Nicholas Brabban Teasdale on July 22, 1884 in Rendville, Ohio. My grandmother, Dolores Greschaw, was their daughter. Looking forward to sharing this with my dad, her son. I revisited this info recently after binge watching Outlander. We also live in Michigan.
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I think it’s awesome that you do this and are open to sharing and connecting! I have lots of Swift Pictures if anyone is interested and wants to share!
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What part of the Swift family are you??? I would love to see them. My Grandmother was a Swift.
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Macy,
Reference your post on the Bender and Showalter individuals in Van Wert, Ohio.
It is correct that “Dillie” is actually “Dollie” Lydia Ann (Mowery) Showalter.
She was my grandmother. Dollie was a nickname but the only name she went by.
Few knew her real first name. Dollie is on her tombstone.
Sara Jane (Showalter) Bender, Dollie’s only daughter, married Robert Bender.
Dollie divorced her husband, Victor Clarence Showalter about 1952-1953.
Their children were: Herbert Showalter, Sara Jane “Sally”, Thomas Richard Showalter, and James R. Showalter (my father). James was the youngest, born in January 1928. All four children are deceased as well as their spouses.
I came across your page in a general search of family members and was surprised to see it!
Most all these Showalters mentioned are on Find A Grave, all buried in Van Wert County, Ohio. Only Thomas R. Showalter is not found on Find a Grave last I checked.
As to the Benders, I do not know very much. Sally and Robert Bender had two children and both are alive. There is an unhappy story about Robert and his father, who I never knew. Robert’s mother Nellie divorced and remarried Russell Gwen, and those two are who I knew of any Bender relatives besides Robert.
If you would seek any further information, please contact me. I live in Van Wert, Ohio, with my family. There are no other close relatives from my mother’s or father’s side left in Van Wert County, Ohio, except me. As to the Bender clan, I cannot tell you of relative connections. Sally’s children may be able to supply Bender family details, and I can easily contact them if desired.
Best regards,
Gary Showalter
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