Shuffling the Reading Pile

Today I was doing some work in my library. Of course, when this happens I usually end up shuffling my reading pile.

My reading pile is part physical and part mental. I may have books placed where they are ready to be picked up and be read soon, but I also have a mental list of what I want to read next.

The reading pile is always being shuffled as my mind wanders. Current events also have an impact on my reading pile.

Tonight I will share some books that have been shuffled upwards in the reading pile.

shuffling the reading pile, books, to be read, library, reading listHere is The Pleasure of Finding Things Out by Richard P. Feynman. This book is a compilation of some of the short works by Feynman. I have read some of the works in the book, but need to read more of them.

shuffling the reading pile, books, to be read, library, reading listJourney through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics by William Dunham is part History, part Biography and part Math. I hope that I can understand the Math portions of the book.

shuffling the reading pile, books, to be read, library, reading listThe Math Gene: How Mathematical Thinking Evolved and Why Numbers are Like Gossip by Keith Devlin is another book that has shuffled toward the top of the reading pile.

I at least have some Math genes as I have an engineering degree and did well in Math classes in school. This will be an interesting read, especially looking at it through an education lens.

shuffling the reading pile, books, to be read, library, reading listNow switching subjects we have The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester.

This book has some great chapter headings and I am definitely curious about some of them. I want to know who The Scholar in Cell Block 2 was and what was The Unkindest Cut.

shuffling the reading pile, books, to be read, library, reading listThe Stranger & the Statesman: James Smithson, John Quincy Adams, and the Making of America’s Greatest Museum: The Smithsonian is by Nina Burleigh. This looks to be a great look at the history of the museum.

This book also has some good chapter titles like The Body Snatchers and 105 Sacks of Gold.

Will I end up reading these soon, or will they get shuffled back down the list?

Steven

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A Manly Migration

Tonight I will share some of my in-progress research on my Manly family.

Manly Migration, Genealogy, Census, South Carolina, Iowa, Alabama, IndianaFor quite some time I knew that my 3rd Great Grandmother had the last name of Manly, but I had not been able to find the right records to trace her family further back with confidence. However, in the past couple weeks I have done some new research and have found some good information.

Mary (Polly) Manly was born in South Carolina in about 1803 according to the 1850 Iowa Federal Census. She was married to Thomas Bolin – Which is also spelled Bolen, Bowlin and even Bowling in different records.

I also knew that Thomas and Mary had married in 1830 in Perry, Indiana and I was able to trace how they came together.

There was a John Manly who lived in Wood Township, Clark County, Indiana in 1820 and this is the father of Mary.

By the 1830 census John Manly had moved down to Alabama.

Manly Migration, Genealogy, Census, South Carolina, Iowa, Alabama, IndianaHere is John Manly in the 1850 Alabama Federal Census showing him being born in South Carolina. Mary was the oldest daughter of John and from what I can tell the rest of the family moved south to Alabama just before she married Thomas Bolin.

In the past couple of years I have received DNA matches from the Manly family in Alabama. I had not had much luck following the paper trail, but I have finally been able to tie it all together with the 1820 census record in Indiana.

Manly Migration, Genealogy, Census, South Carolina, Iowa, Alabama, IndianaNow heading back all the way to 1800 we find John Manly Junior in the Laurens District of South Carolina. With him listed a Junior, this of course indicates that his father was also named John and this is the case as both in 1790 and 1800 there is a John Manly Senior also listed in the South Carolina Federal Census.

Another thing that had me mystified a bit was that Ancestry ThruLines had been showing the father of John Manly as a Captain Basil Manly. However, after doing some research on him I found that he was definitely not the right person. The DNA matches were all down from John Manly and not Captain Basil Manly, so I am not sure how their logic worked.

Captain Basil Manly was the head of a rich and influential family in North Carolina which because of the location was one of the many reasons I knew that the hint was wrong.  Now that I have the right person in my tree Basil is no longer showing up as a possible ancestor.

Manly Migration, Genealogy, Census, South Carolina, Iowa, Alabama, IndianaHere is the migration map for my branch of the Manly family. You can see that it starts in Laurens County, South Carolina and ends in Millersburg, Iowa.

Manly Migration, Genealogy, Census, South Carolina, Iowa, Alabama, IndianaHere we see the Manly migration to Limestone County, Alabama. I can just imagine the family parting with their daughter in Indiana as they headed south toward new opportunities.

I have friends who live near Limestone County, Alabama, so perhaps some day I will take a trip to visit where my 4th Great Grandfather lived. However, I need to do a lot more research first. I currently have DNA matches with 12 descendants of Mary’s brother Hutchison, so I am confident that my research is on the right track.

Perhaps some of the Alabama Manly family will see this and contact me.

Now back to more research.

Steven

p.s. I find that writing about my research helps me focus and even points me toward new information.

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