Growing the Family Tree - A family tree offers a window into your family's past, and like a real-world organic tree, it requires constant pruning, maintenance and care. As your family tree grows, you'll uncover family stories, photographs and vital records along the way which provide insights into who your ancestors were, what they did in their lives, when they did these things in their lives, where they lived their lives, and if you're lucky, you might also discover why they did the things they did, and how they did these things. Now everyone has their own approach to building their family tree, so I will only describe the methodology that I follow and have followed thus far for growing my family tree. 
Elaborating on My Pyramid Stream Methodology - As I go down the rabbit hole of family history and genealogy research, I found it helpful to create a graphic to elaborate upon my grand methodology which I'll call the Pyramid Stream Methodology. While it may seem that Roots & Leaves presents information on non-related sources of information and topics, I can assure you that I have some method in my madness…ha ha. My methodology consists of nine components really, each of which has several sub-components which I will further decompose as my research progresses. I think having your own methodology towards research can help not only in long-term planning, but, also in motivating you to do each task with a purpose, knowing that every research building block plays a role in the ultimate project output…a family history book. 
A Genealogy and Family History Bullet Journal - When I started researching my genealogy and family history in earnest a couple of years ago, I became interested in documenting my work in the form of a Bullet Journal, with the goal of creating something akin to an old medieval manuscript with a modern twist. The Bullet Journal, developed by Ryder Carroll, is a methodology that its creator describes as a "…mindfulness practice disguised as a productivity system. It's designed to help you organize your what while you remain mindful of your why". I began documenting my notes in an acid-free hard-cover journal capable of taking water-colors and heavy ink. While keeping to the journal format, I also incorporated several bullet-journal features, particularly in the organization of the journal into collections, categories, rapid logging, bullets, tasks, events, and notes, along with signifiers. I grouped these concepts together for a genealogy bullet journal and included some creative elements (water-color paintings,… 
Family Surname Origins - Every family story begins somewhere, and I can't think of a more appropriate place to start than with the origins of my family surnames. The paternal side of my family, the Greenlee's, originate in Armagh, Ireland and my father's maternal line, the Twyman's originate in Scotland. On my mother's side, her paternal line, the Murillo's go back to Spain via Bolivia, as does my mother's maternal line, the Claros family. A surname goes to the root of our sense of self…it follows us throughout life and often defines our personalities throughout our school years and provides a context for camaraderie with our friendships and relationships. Throughout my life and my career, I have found that asking six simple questions iteratively defines the root of any issue. These six questions: (1) Who, (2) What, (3) When, (4) Where, (5) Why, and (6) How, all come in handy regardless of whether the… 
How Did Surnames Come to Be? - So, what’s in a surname? One of my favorite shows until the final unsatisfying season, Game of Thrones, highlights the humor one can find in a name. I speak of course, of Daenerys’ long-winded title, a composite of her first (given name) and family name (surname) along with all the titles she accumulated in her quest for the Iron Throne. “Daenerys of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, The Unburnt, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Protector of the Realm, Lady Regent of the Seven Kingdoms, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons”. If this tradition continued today, my name might come out something like this: “Daniel of the House Greenlee, the first of his name, the curly haired and olive skinned, the infinitely positive, traveler of continents, father of twins, survivor of marriage and… Family History: May, 13, 2024
Family Births
- On 1453-05-13, Mary FEILDING is born in Stirling, Stirling, Scotland
- On 1570-05-13, William BISHOP 2ND is born in Ancient Holway Manor, Cattistock, Dorset, England
- On 1668-05-13, Mary Margaret JONES is born in Charles City, Charles, Virginia, USA
- On 1674-05-13, Mary WHITTEN* is born in Tisbury, Dukes, MA
- On 1800-05-13, Colby Cowherd TWYMAN is born in Woodford, Kentucky, United States
- On 1850-05-13, Stokely Taylor MARTIN is born in Henry County, Virginia, USA
- On 1852-05-13, Sarah Elizabeth DEBUSK is born in Estell, Kentucky, United States
- On 1856-05-13, Charles George MILLER is born in Boonville, Cooper, Missouri, USA
- On 1878-05-13, Harlan MC GUIRE is born in Kentucky, United States
Family Deaths
- On 1748-05-13, Robert Spilsbe COLEMAN dies in Picadilly, Caroline, Virginia, United States
- On 1829-05-13, May BURTON dies in Orange, Orange, Virginia, United States
- On 1850-05-13, Abner STULTZ dies in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, United States
- On 1941-05-13, Martha Ann MARTIN dies in Rowan, Kentucky
- On 1989-05-13, Joseph HELLEMS dies in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States of America
- On 2004-05-13, Alma Clementine (Tiny) HELMS dies in Roanoke County, Virginia
| Paternal Line | Maternal Line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Categories
Genealogy
- Genealogy Portal
-
Search genealogical information related to the Greenlee, Murillo, Twyman and Claros families. Please contact us if you think we're related and can help each other in expanding our ancestry trees.