My Dad Bill

  Welcome to my blog.  I hope you find something interesting. 
      I  look forward to hearing from you.

Sgt. L. G. Haywood    c. 1920
Original Photo in possession of the author

This a photo of my dad Bill about the time he came home from France, after WW I.

Father’s Day is coming up, and it got me to thinking about my father, Bill.  Bill was not his true name though; his name was Lawrence Grady Haywood.  How he came up with this “Bill” name is a mystery to the family.  And as is usual in genealogy research, back when he was with us, we never thought to ask him to explain.  Children don’t think of those questions – it is just  “WHAT IS.”  By the time you wonder about these things, people are gone, and there is no one to ask.  We do know how it came about.  When he came back home from serving in France in World War I, instead of returning to his previous existence on his father’s farm in Waxhaw, just southeast of Charlotte NC,  he settled in Charlotte  - the only one of his family to “go to town.”  His relatives always thought highly of him because he changed his destiny and left the farm.  He was the only one of his large family to do so.

It was 1920 and he was 27 years old.  He found a job at McClaren Rubber Company,

a tire builder the census said.  (He worked at McClaren for 15 years, until the financial
crash and great depression took his job away in 1935.)  He also found a place to stay
at Mrs. Lilly Chamber’s boarding house.    That first night in the boarding house, when
all the residents had gathered for dinner, they asked him what his name was, what they 
should call this new neighbor of theirs.  He said “just call me Bill!”  They did and he was 
called Bill for the rest of his life.  No one ever knew him as Lawrence again except
for his family down in Waxhaw.  When the telephone rang and someone asked for
“Uncle Lawrence”, we knew it was a call from Waxhaw.

We have pondered on why he did this.  There was no history of the name “Bill” in his family line.  He had no “William” name to base it on.  My sister offered the suggestion that maybe it was a nickname he had acquired while in the army, maybe his buddies had called him that.  This is plausible.  And it is the only plausible theory we have. 

Nevertheless, this is the story of My Dad Bill, and how he got his name.  And besides, the name “Larry” would just not have fit at all!

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Very exciting things happening in my little Genealogy world.  This is the beginning of my new blog.  First posting.  In future writings I will ponder the mysteries we all pursue in research, meander through my mind where whispers of long passed relatives reach out to me, and get down to the "nitty-gritty" hard work involved in this endeavor called GENEALOGY.  Hope you find it interesting and come back to me if you have comments on these subjects or find some connection in my family lines.  See My Family Lines tab at the top.

 We have a genealogy forum every Tuesday in Belmont, NC.  If you live nearby, come join us from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., at the J.Paul Ford Recreation Center at 37 E. Woodrow Ave.  Right now, once a month our meeting is devoted to learning to make short personal videos to be inserted into family trees, facebook postings, blogs, etc. Our resident guru Jim Antley is teaching us loads of new talents.  During other meetings we explore all aspects of genealogy research.  Of course, when a member in the group needs help, or if someone new comes along with a problem, a "brickwall" or such, we drop what we are doing and all jump in  to explore with them.  Lots of fun!

There is also a new Genealogy Group formed in Gastonia, NC.  They meet the first Thursday of the month in the NC History Room, second floor, at the main Gaston Public Library on Garrison Street in Gastonia.  Meeting time 7:00 - 8:30. NOTE:  Because the 4th of July  falls on the first Thursday in July, this particular meeting will back up to the 27th of June.  Thereafter it will always fall on the first Thursday.  Linda Klocker who has had previous groups in Belmont and in Mountain Island Lake will be leading this new venture.  Whether you are a beginner or an experienced searcher, come meet the group.

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There was a very valuable webinar presented on Legacy Family Tree recently entitled “Google Search Strategies for Common Surnames.”  I thought it would be mostly about various Surnames, but it was not at all what I expected.  It was entirely about “operators” which you can insert with the information you put in the search box to pare down the results you get to a manageable amount.  It lets you bring up the most informative subjects and blogs for your own personal need.  I think anyone would find it immensely useful.  If you are a member of Legacy you can pull it up from the webinar archives at:

http://www.familytreewebinars.com/watch-video-free.php?webinar_id=174