Friday Finds

• First off this week is a fascinating article that Dick Eastman noted on his blog.  The article is from an L.A. Times reporter on the history behind his own unusual surname, Mozinga.  This just goes to prove that we are not all what we think we are.
• Michael Hardy takes a look at a long-held myth of why Mitchell County, North Carolina was formed.  Most believe its formation in 1861 was a stance on secession and the impending war, but he discusses that the county formation didn't just happen overnight.  He does state that those counties closer to the Tennessee border (of which Mitchell was one) did tend to lean Union, but he also notes that according to an 1862 tax list there were 65 slaves in the county.  Very interesting article on an area where so much of my heritage can be traced.
• And from the Davie County, North Carolina Genweb site is a link to the marker for Daniel Boone's parents, Squire and Sarah Boone.  My dear friend and fellow Grindstaff researcher, Anita, took those photos several years ago while on vacation.  When I first begin my research, I was told we were descendants of Daniel Boone's.  The reality is we are not and I haven't found a Boone connection at all, but it seems apparent that my ancestors were contemporaries of the Boones. 
• Here is a very interesting post from the National Archives on finding Civil War pension files.  If I had only known some of this info a few years ago.
• Lastly, be sure to read Miriam's article on the Mt. St. Helens explosion 30 years ago this week.  I was only five, but I do remember hearing my mom and grandparents talking about it as well as all the news reports.  At the time, we lived on the Idaho/Oregon border on the banks of the Snake River.  I distinctly remember the ash falling from the sky and landing on my mom's car.  Her windshield was covered with a fine layer of ash.  The other distinct memory I have is the gray sky for weeks afterward and the hazy, fiery orange sunsets that followed for several years.  As I progressed into later grade school years, our teachers spent a lot of time focusing on Mt. St. Helens during the volcano segments of our science classes.