Pilot Mountain in North Carolina as seen traveling Interstate 75 heading South. Photo by author. Colonial British You Can't Miss It! How Our Ancestors Found Their Way Home Traveling down Interstate 74 heading south, you can't help but notice this big "knob" of a mountain sticking up out of the green forest of trees and shrubs. It is Pilot Mountain in North Carolina — along with the nearby town of Pilot Mountain and Andy Griffith's own hometown of Mount Airy — that inspired his fictional towns of Mayberry and Mount Pilot. Pilot Mountain is one of North Carolina's most striking natural landmarks — a lone quartzite peak jutting 2,421 feet above sea level, all that re
The front of the George Perkins (1754-1840) Revolutionary War Soldier Memorial - reinterred remains - Sharon Cemetery near Farmersville, Iowa. Photo by author - May 18, 2024. Photo by author. African American Thank you, State of Iowa! To the descendants of people who lived in Iowa in 1906, thank you for your tax dollars! Now you may be wondering why I said that. Simple, your ancestor's legislation on March 30, 1906, granted $500.00 (about $20,000 in today's money) for "Erection of Monument Over the Grave of George Perkins."[1] George Perkins is my fifth great-grandfather, who was born in South Carolina and served in the militia of both South Carolina and North Carolina![2] The monument was in memory of and to mark those men w
