Digging For Your Roots
“Digging for Your Roots” is published every Tuesday in the Jonesborough Herald and Tribune.
The “Digging For Your Roots” has been published in the Jonesborough Herald and Tribune since August 22, 1990, under two editors.
Elaine Scott Cantrell, August 22, 1990- October 28, 1992
Judge John L. Kiener, November 4, 1992- Present
Several different writers have wrote articles over the years and different columns have been added and taken away, but one thing remains we are still “Digging for Your Roots”!!!
“Digging for Your Roots” is property of the Editors and the Jonesborough Genealogical Society. Material below has been added by permission of the editors and the Jonesborough Genealogical Society. Please do not republish without the permission of the Jonesborough Genealogical Society, editors, and the Jonesborough Herald and Tribune.
***NOTICE: The Jonesborough Genealogical Society places a disclaimer on the following Digging For Your Roots articles. Any phone numbers, addresses, and contact information are not accurate and more than likely out of date.
Click here to download the 2018-2019 Index of Articles.
A SPECIAL THANKS FROM ONE COMRADE TO ANOTHER
By: Chad Fred Bailey As we all know for the past 6 months, Judge John Kiener has focused on a diary written by Tom Cole, a World War II hero. Tom Cole would like to express his gratitude to Kiener for taking his perspective of actual events in his diary and taking it...
“Stories From the Heart”- SAMUEL COLE WILLIAMS HONORED WITH AWARDS’ NAMESAKE
By: Chad Fred Bailey As we begin to think about Thanksgiving and see Christmas just around the corner, the Washington County Historical Association had its annual Banquet to finish out the twenty-eleven year. At this annual banquet that was held on November 4 at 7 pm...
DR. JOBE SAVES HIS ‘HIDES’: PART XXX
By: Dr. Abraham Jobe (Editor’s Note: This is Article XXX in a series of memoirs from the manuscript “Autobiography or Memoirs of Dr. Abraham Jobe of Elizabethton, Tennessee: By Himself.” The series is continued from the 26th day of October 2010. The document...
November 2012- HISTORICAL BANQUET AND ARCHIVE CERTIFICATION
By: John L. Kiener WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL BANQUET “I am pleased to announce the Washington County Historical Association’s Annual Banquet was a success with 91 in attendance,” President Chad Fred Bailey announced...
21 May 2013- PIONEERS JOSEPH TUCKER AND ISAAC WHITE
By: John L. Kiener (Editor’s Note: Information on Washington County, North Carolina – now Tennessee – pioneers Joseph Tucker and Isaac White was sent to the Jonesborough Genealogical Society by Jane Ledbetter Ernst, Lincoln, Nebraska, email: artjane40@aol.com. Her...
14 May 2013- THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT JOHNSON
By: John L. Kiener (Editor’s Note: Articles from the “Autobiography of Dr. Abraham of Elizabethton, Tennessee” have been included in a number of issues. Justin White, a student in Dr. Tom Lee’s Historical Methods Class at East Tennessee State University,...
23 April 2013- AN UPDATE ON THE KNOB CREEK DISTRICT
By: Judge John L. Kiener The period of significance listed in the Knob Creek Historic District designation is 1750-1799 and 1925 to 1949. The description of the “diamond-shaped” area stated that it included nearly 137 acres with Indian Ridge on the northwest,...
16 April 2013- HOW SPRING STREET WAS NAMED
By: Judge John L. Kiener (Editor’s Note: Following is how the Mill Spring became the name-sake of Spring Street in Jonesborough according to the following poem about the Mill and Brook Spring given by Sarah Kate Whitaker to George Campbell with a written...
9 April 2013- LAMAR COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT DAY
By: Judge John L. Kiener The Lamar History Club hosted Community Involvement Day on Saturday, March 16th at LamarSchool in Washington County. A meeting of the Washington County Historical Association was held at the school with 27 people in attendance. In...
2 April 2013- THE WATAUGAH PURCHASE
By: Judge John L. Kiener I have a rare book that is an invaluable finding aid to researching “The Wataugah Purchase.” The book is titled “The Wataugah Purchase At Sycamore Shoals March 19, 1775 – AN INDEX.” The Index preceded by a historical “FOREWORD” was...
26 March 2013- DR. JOBE, PART XXXVII, COPPER SPECULATION
By: Judge John L. Kiener (Editor’s Note: Continued from the 11th day of September 2012. This is Part XXXVII of the “Autobiography or Memoirs of Dr. Abraham Jobe of Elizabethton, Tennessee: Written by Himself.” In this chapter of his 300 page autobiography, Dr....
12 March 2013- WORLD WAR II REMEMBERED: AN AFTERWORD
By: Judge John L. Kiener (Editor’s Note: Continued from the 9th day of October 2012. Tom Cole left the USS Melvin [D D 680] on Friday, April 20, 1945. His diary continued until Saturday, May 12, 1945. During the crew of the Melvin’s reunion in San Luis Obispo,...
5 March 2013- WASHINGTON COUNTY A RICH FIELD FOR HISTORIC RESEARCH
By: Judge John L. Kiener By Mrs. L. W. McCown (Editor’s Note: The following article appeared in the Herald & Tribune on Wednesday, July 2, 1930. It was prepared by Mrs. McCown, of Johnson City, Regent of Col. David Henley Chapter, Daughters of 1812. Thanks to...
26 February 2013- BASHOR MILL, PART II
By: Judge John L. Kiener (Editor’s Note: On July 30, 1980, Dr. Donald F. Tarr of Mountain City was notified that Bashor Mill in Johnson City, Washington County, had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the Heritage Conservation and...
12 February 2013- ELIAS BOWMAN: UNRECOGNIZED WASHINGTON COUNTY PIONEER
By: Judge John L. Kiener By Bernie Bowman (Bernie Bowman is the author of “George and Barbara Keller Bowman: Immigrants and Bowman House Builders.” He is the direct descendent of John Bowman, brother of Elias Bowman who is the subject of the following...
22 January 2013- WATERFORD AND BLARNEY CASTLE
By: Judge John L. Kiener There is never a stone that whoever kisses, Oh! He never misses to grow eloquent ’tis he may… become a member of parliament. – Francis Sylvester Mahony You should not go to Ireland and fail to kiss the Blarney Stone. Our trip to the Emerald...
1 January 2013- BROYLESVILLE ON NATIONAL REGISTER, PART II
By: Judge John L. Kiener (Editor’s Note: Continued from the 23rd day of October 2012. In November 1984, the First Tennessee Development District filled out an application to include Broylesville, Tennessee on the National List of Historic Places. Martha Gray Hagedorn...
15 January 1992- TENNESSEE COUNTY RECORDS- PART III
By: John L. Kiener, General Sessions Judge, Washington County (This article is compiled from the original information) This is Part III of the information prepare by Linda M. Williams entitled: “State of Tennessee, Individual County Records Information County records...
8 January 1992- WASHINGTON COUNTY, TENNESSEE DEEDS 1775- 1800- A REVIEW
By: John L. Kiener, General Sessions Judge, Washington County ***NOTE: THE JGS DOES NOT HAVE ANY OF THESE BOOKS FOR SALE! Loraine Rae’s book Washington County, Tennessee Deeds 1775-1800 (Copyright 1991 by Southern Historical Press, Inc. 275 Broad St., Greenville,...
1 January 1992- TENNESSEE COUNTY RECORDS- PART II
By: John L. Kiener, General Sessions Judge, Washington County (This article is compiled from the original information) This is Part II of the information prepared by Linda M. Williams entitled: State of Tennessee, Individual County Records Information Sources. ...