If you submit information to the site...

Your submissions and interest are very welcome. I also appreciate your comments and suggestions. Submit your information by email to me.

Please be advised that I am very particular about the histories or information that I may post here, and if your information is not easily understandable or your format is not recognizable, I probably will not post it; however, I will let you know it isn't working for me so that you and I can get it to work eventually. I am interested primarily in pre-1850 information, though some things up to 1900 are fine. I work entirely on a macintosh computer and, though most formats can be read by my machine, some genealogical programs create files in formats that my computer can't read. Please ask me before you send anything, especially if it's in some form of genealogical program-output. Microsoft Word files are great.

Like everyone else I'm on the lookout for undiscovered information that I'm sure is out there somewhere. Letters, oral history, newspaper clippings, jotted notes, etc., can all be that clue that has eluded us. I hope it may come my way and end up here on the site. Here are some of the special names I search for:

• Sarah "Sallie" Black McPherson, the mysterious widow who left Cumberland County, NC, in 1833 for Lauderdale County, Mississippi, which is a "burned county." Liz Frano has spent years writing the definitive history on the Black brothers of Cumberland County, NC. I contributed all I could about Sallie Black McPherson and her husband to her book but perhaps someone has more info that hasn't been documented;
• Malcolm McPherson, Jr., of Richmond Co., NC, Chesterfield Co., SC, and Alabama. Also would like information on his nephews William McPherson and Malcolm McPherson both of Alabama; and his brothers Daniel McPherson and John McPherson of Cumberland County, NC. Possibly had a brother named Neill [moved to Richmond Co., NC?]. Malcolm, Jr., had five sisters – Janet [married Thomas Brown?], Katherine [married a Morrison?], Christian? [may not have been his sister, but she married Silas Brogden and moved to Chesterfield Co., SC], Nancy [married a McNair of SC] and Mary [married a McCall and moved to Florida];
• "Shoemaker John" McNeill of Bladen and Robeson Counties, NC, son of Neill McNeill and the brother of "Sailor Hector" McNeill of Bladen/Robeson County, NC. It is believed that Shoemaker John's wife's name was Mary Peterson and that she is the Mary McNeill who wrote her will in Robeson in 1790;
• Daniel McPherson, son of Hugh McPherson and Christian Ferguson, born Oct. 1816 in NC, and went west [probably Alabama or Mississippi] about 1841. This Daniel is NOT the Daniel McPherson who married Mary Ann Munroe, but is his first cousin;
• Sarah Ann McPherson Parker, daughter of Hugh McPherson and Christian Ferguson, born c. 1817 in NC, married Emmon/Emen Parker in Cumberland County, NC, in 1839 at the home of Archibald and Mary McPherson Gilchrist, and moved many times and places throughout the South. Who are all of her children and grandchildren?
• John McKay, born about 1815 in Robeson County, NC, son of Daniel and Nancy McMillan McKay of Robeson County. John probably went west about 1835-40, or to South Carolina.
• Neill B. Brown, of Robeson County, NC. Married Mary McNeill, daughter of Neill and Flora McNeill of Robeson County, NC.

Please understand that I demand firm sources for most all information. I know that's frustrating for many folks, but it's my cardinal rule. This site will grow for years—hopefully—and I intend for its content and sources to be reputable. I will remove anything that turns out to be inaccurate, and certainly if it's my own research (and you may find that the site changes frequently). I am a careful, if amateur, historian. Whenever possible, I insist on researching original records. Man, oh man, if only I could travel and research as much as I'd like....

I'm especially interested in old photographs, but only if something about the subject or locale of the photo is known. For that I must rely on your honesty, and hopefully you can give me a bit of its history as well. I will certainly cite you as its source. Don't hesitate to send scans of old letters [300 dpi preferably], old newspaper clippings. Transcribed documents are fine, but again, I must have its source. If your grandma told you something over and over, write it up and send it to me. I'm thinking of adding an "Oral History" section....

If there is anything you wish to ask, or to rant about, please do so. I respond quickly, as those who email me will tell you.

Thanks,

Steve Edgerton