Jonathan Parrish Rivers

Enthralled with the stories of people and places I know now or have known, people who I've never met, who came before me, places I've been or places that no longer exist, and passionate about telling my own stories that explain connections between all of these people and places, I live to uncover the stories of my family and paint pictures of what I learn, with words, music, and visual images.

My own personal and family history journey has taken me from my home in the oceanless flatlands of Central Ohio, back to the green and blue Shenandoah and Blue Ridge Mountains and the swampy coastlands of Virginia. The way leads to the North Shore of Boston, Massachusetts and the green hills and lake breezes of Leelanau County, Michigan. It has taken me to the coal mining and railroad country of West Virginia and back to the springs and heat of North Central Florida. I've been led to the rusty mud and brackish waters of the Georgia coast and to the crowded port city and the sea islands of Charleston, South Carolina. The path leads to the stormy and mysterious island of Bermuda and back to the land of the Kings and Queens in the United Kingdom. So far, my research has taken me on quite an adventure, even though I've never really had to leave my office chair to follow this path.

The surnames I've uncovered and/or followed thus far:

Birckhead

Blackstone

Bryant

Clatterbuck

Crapse

Dean

Dowling

Eskridge

Ferguson

Greatbeach

Hall

Hensley

Holland

Magness

Manker

Meade

Meadows

Mixson

Monger

Myrick

Newman

O'Neal

Palson

Raymond

Richards

Rivers

Rollings

Romanac

Schemering

Seal

Simmons

Smith

Spain

Strohacker

Taylor

Trowell

Wall

Walston

Worrell

Youngblood

Documenting my sources is very important to me, as an indication of my integrity as a researcher, and I make sure that my database is documented well. My family history database is not available to anyone online, nor will it ever be, but I do occasionally add to my online trees.

One of my blogs, JPRAncestry, focuses on the journey of researching and writing my personal and family history. At this time the blog is only updated periodically, as my research and writing time has been periodic, but it's about to get cracking once again!