https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog daily 0.75 2024-02-19 https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/https/wwwblacksheepgencom/blog-page-url/out-at-night monthly 0.5 2024-02-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/d96ed957-6490-4127-bdc7-1fe16a7f2b4f/HicksCabin.jpg Blog - He Only Came Out at Night - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/https/wwwblacksheepgencom/blog-page-url/suddenly-quiet monthly 0.5 2024-01-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/e2ce80cb-853d-4a52-b1e8-7e6b662fa155/Forbes_PickettsCharge.jpg Blog - ‘Then it was suddenly quiet’ - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/https/wwwblacksheepgencom/blog-page-url/elvis monthly 0.5 2023-03-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/bb9af97a-2bdd-4ac5-86b3-f28c1df921b6/LucyWesson.png Blog - Elvis and Me - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/62b489b1-743c-45b2-bbec-c53889ef0213/ElvisTree.png Blog - Elvis and Me - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/61276f36-379d-4c95-9e60-b98bd0a9a33e/CeciliaKelly.png Blog - Elvis and Me - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/3aa1cf52-e6de-4e2a-beee-a8e38e656e74/Elvis.jpg Blog - Elvis and Me - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/https/wwwblacksheepgencom/blog-page-url/threadneedle monthly 0.5 2022-12-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/282c8935-fa4e-4721-9a6b-c595afe5581a/1852_Bradford.png Blog - Finding Threadneedle - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/7f9efc3e-6a82-4e89-aa18-7e2313832a23/1867_Threadneedle_map.jpg Blog - Finding Threadneedle - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/a81e0ba8-397b-4e03-900a-087b00162463/1852_Threadneedle_2.jpeg Blog - Finding Threadneedle - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/https/wwwblacksheepgencom/blog-page-url/butt-trials monthly 0.5 2022-12-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/545bc65d-14f6-46f5-9e33-2d9263604399/MomJim.jpg Blog - The Butt Trials - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/b760a6e1-525d-457f-8976-62d683cda3fe/Testimony_1.png Blog - The Butt Trials - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/4a1ad82e-2d37-4a4c-b3bd-7ae46418a822/1945_JimCupp_newspaper.png Blog - The Butt Trials - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/https/wwwblacksheepgencom/blog-page-url/youthful-neglect monthly 0.5 2022-11-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/7a26c74c-1ebb-4ff1-8b4d-33cfe11091c0/Egans.png Blog - ‘With youthful neglect’ - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/df29b948-f1e5-43cd-ba7b-9967845dc2fb/OliverBanks_andersonville.jpg Blog - ‘With youthful neglect’ - Make it stand out Andersonville Prison Stockade / Prisoner of Confederated Oliver B. Fairbanks, 9th Reg N.Y. Cav Vols / Testified at Trial of Capt. Wirz https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/69c293cf-5469-46a5-aa4d-8d0710abb6e6/1914_PatEgan_pension.jpeg Blog - ‘With youthful neglect’ - Make it stand out A record of Patrick’s pension appication https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/https/wwwblacksheepgencom/blog-page-url/mayhem monthly 0.5 2022-11-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/a45b316f-d420-4eed-83b7-2e3a7db2047a/1842_NinianBarrett_petition.jpeg Blog - Monsters & Mayhem - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/d27d32ac-6660-4995-a50b-99b7511e3bb6/MudBridgeRd_2022.jpg Blog - Monsters & Mayhem - Make it stand out I took this photo driving down the road near where Amos and Ninian faced off. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/https/wwwblacksheepgencom/blog-page-url/terrible-night monthly 0.5 2022-10-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/d27705d8-0aae-4bc2-8f70-2440e0046a54/The_German_Spring_Offensive%2C_March-july_1918_Q6595.jpeg Blog - ‘A terrible sort of night’ - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/blog-page-url/cost-free-update monthly 0.5 2022-05-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/f3d8fba6-0d1c-4ddb-914b-4f950b67ba2a/WinterborneZelston.jpeg Blog - A Cost-Free Update - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/https/wwwblacksheepgencom/blog-page-url/the-past-we-want monthly 0.5 2022-03-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/77df479b-3492-44c5-82d8-5992d375b001/inventory.png Blog - The Past We Want to Find - Make it stand out From an estate inventory: “One head of cattle, $31.25; One sheep, 1.25; One bay Horse, 1; One negroe woman named Hannah, $300; One negroe boy named Shelton, $200; One negroe boy named Clark, $150; One hog, 1.50.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/abe4cd92-2393-4ba6-9906-29cf8d7fea16/1540hpr_80147dae3ca8495-scaled.jpg Blog - The Past We Want to Find - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/https/wwwblacksheepgencom/blog-page-url/denied-acess monthly 0.5 2022-02-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1644883672305-1URDXNHRSM7TKNPE969Z/unsplash-image-gq5PECP8pHE.jpg Blog - Denied Access to Their Own History - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/https/wwwblacksheepgencom/blog-page-url/heavy-lump monthly 0.5 2022-02-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/ade92309-cff6-47d1-8721-203b01a780e9/Quad_City_Times_Fri__Jan_15__1965_.jpg Blog - The Heavy Lump of a Pistol - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1780b99e-5331-47ce-a56f-3d1b026c56b9/2544EastSt.jpg Blog - The Heavy Lump of a Pistol - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/https/wwwblacksheepgencom/blog-page-url/dimby monthly 0.5 2022-02-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/d6f46f21-65dd-45db-aeae-419f61a0d1f3/ListowelRaces.jpg Blog - Dimby & the Kerryman - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/https/wwwblacksheepgencom/blog-page-url/my-geneaology-story monthly 0.5 2022-01-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/fd020d21-bbbb-4262-99db-eb4836f6d3cd/Wycoff_RuralCentralIowa.jpeg Blog - My Genealogy Story - Make it stand out Rural Central Iowa by Carl Wycoff (Flickr / CC) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/b4847f88-9bd6-4a2e-a78e-30bdd466ef58/tom+and+ray+copy.jpg Blog - My Genealogy Story - Make it stand out Tom and Ray Wolfe, 1941 (Wolfe family collection) https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/https/wwwblacksheepgencom/blog-page-url/women monthly 0.5 2022-01-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/c248c156-0423-495e-bd45-e01643b51e7a/Aileen%2C+Honor%2C+Kittie%2C+Cottie%28Marie%29.jpg Blog - Finding the Women - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/https/wwwblacksheepgencom/blog-page-url/where-to-start monthly 0.5 2022-01-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1642511712861-AJFJ8PRIBJAQGL3MDS7N/unsplash-image-7sPg5OLfExc.jpg Blog - Where to Start? - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/https/wwwblacksheepgencom/blog-page-url/thanks monthly 0.5 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/d7623b25-e329-4ada-9125-5adb65ff7376/KidwellyTinPlateWorkers_1.png Blog - A New Year’s Thank You - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/https/wwwblacksheepgencom/blog-page-url/he-kindly-stopped monthly 0.5 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/2e646fe4-8f08-4889-abf8-d640197967fe/Screen+Shot+2021-12-19+at+1.18.49+PM.png Blog - ‘He kindly stopped for me’ - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/0bd6c36b-5c19-422c-b249-8967834bc48a/mvwolfe_newspapers.jpg Blog - ‘He kindly stopped for me’ - Make it stand out Oxford Mirror, 18 August 1927, page 1; Davenport Democrat Leader, 12 August 1927, page 16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/65c5e2bd-e9b0-4827-a369-94325e60c19c/thephantomcarriage1921.724173.jpg Blog - ‘He kindly stopped for me’ - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/https/wwwblacksheepgencom/blog-page-url/letter monthly 0.5 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1630166205907-GVZ92YOJUN2BELJZJXV4/1836Letter_detail.png Blog - ‘I have a great grievance’ - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/children monthly 0.5 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1634306984233-YG398C9XCRH37J9CSK7H/Berkeley_County_South_Carolina-4.jpg Blog - Where Did All the Children Go? - Make it stand out Monck’s Corner, Berkeley County, South Carolina, 1904 https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/brother-against-brother monthly 0.5 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1629468065211-R69N69G9O4QVXEL5XIA2/Photo488216.jpg Blog - Brother against Brother - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/wrote-his-own-obituary monthly 0.5 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1623785995775-TAQENR89CK3KPLMQZ8V0/779cd41af7e84f6e634b858f10a1958e-1200x0-c-default.jpg Blog - Wrote His Own Obituary - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/keeping-up-with-the-buckleys monthly 0.5 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1623330680309-LPQ9M54WNGYY879OBGEG/vintage-postcard-landscape-050a.jpg Blog - Keeping Up with the Buckleys - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/the-buckleys-of-belfast monthly 0.5 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1623156863339-GW5N132F2JJ46WZEWHYY/Screen+Shot+2021-06-08+at+8.53.30+AM.png Blog - The Buckleys of Belfast - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1623154758992-S9391TM6BH5BNJ271MEE/High_Street%2C_Belfast_%285785358121%29.jpeg Blog - The Buckleys of Belfast - Make it stand out High Street, Belfast, ca. 1906 (Robert French) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1623154670394-J70D0ZJE2XHRWESE65HR/Screen+Shot+2021-06-07+at+1.50.16+PM.png Blog - The Buckleys of Belfast - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1623155225597-CABIE40SUK5OXZAJZHT6/Screen+Shot+2021-06-08+at+8.25.17+AM.png Blog - The Buckleys of Belfast - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/blog/is-a-judges-word-binding monthly 0.5 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1623090981722-NUNOQ5K4YFLO0829VAUD/Kanes_PB_MG_Wolfe.jpeg Blog - Is a Judge’s Word Binding? - Make it stand out Judge Wolfe (far right) and family https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1623089413067-9YE0U3O95CRDUJM70S04/1_aVfhTuvbHCnmFJ2FuMVobQ.png Blog - Is a Judge’s Word Binding? - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1623089040965-FB5DWWRCB8RTE8SDH056/1_IE34KjGCPQdraE4I2QDNmQ.png Blog - Is a Judge’s Word Binding? - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.blacksheepgen.com/home daily 1.0 2024-09-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1623168310784-VPG69X31BHMF20ZWHDY0/An%2Belderly%2Bman%2Band%2Bwoman%2Bstanding%2Bin%2Bfront%2Bof%2Btheir%2Bframe%2Bhouse Home From research to attractive presentation, you’ll find what you need at Black Sheep. Need us to do the archive work? No sweat. Let us write you a report about what we find. Or maybe you already have boxes of documents and family trees. Let us put it all together and start connecting the dots. We can help with your DNA, too, and we have experience finding lost heirs. Click to find work samples. Left: Mary Ellen (Wolfe) and John Kennedy, LaSalle Co., Ill., ca. 1890 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1623168342321-XEUOUB01PNFGYW8VLN80/MauriceBlackKate%2Bcopy.jpg Home Why Black Sheep and not some other family history service? Because we’re writers, storytellers, and designers. Let us make you something beautiful for generations to come. Right: Catherine “Black Kate” (O’Sullivan) and Maurice Woulfe and family, Athea, Co. Limerick, ca. 1912 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/d96ed957-6490-4127-bdc7-1fe16a7f2b4f/HicksCabin.jpg Home - He Only Came Out at Night I came across this short biographical sketch this morning, the subject of which I now want to read a whole novel about—if anyone would like to volunteer writing it. It tells the story of one Samuel Hix of Wautauga County, North Carolina . . . https://www.blacksheepgen.com/about daily 0.75 2025-01-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1622562381764-BG7JH2JII42M9ZU5I2GU/IMG_4201.jpeg About - Welcome to Black Sheep. I love to research and tell family stories and am committed to helping tell yours in a way that is accurate, ethical, and accessible. The idea of Black Sheep comes from my father, who was something of a black sheep in his family. The Wolfes were farmers—Dad’s father had farmed and so had his grandfather and great-grandfather, an Irish immigrant. In fact, going all the way back to his great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Dad was the first not to work the land. He taught history instead. As if that weren’t enough, he was also the first to leave the Catholic Church and the first to marry someone who wasn’t Irish. And yet I think it’s because he was a black sheep that my dad so eagerly sought out family connections. He was a family historian in his own right and a first-rate storyteller. The work I do at Black Sheep is in his honor. I have earned a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University. In addition, I am a member of the Virginia Genealogical Society and the Association of Professional Genealogists, and the author of several books. I have an MFA in nonfiction writing from the University of Iowa, and for almost twelve years I edited Encyclopedia Virginia, a project of Virginia Humanities. See my own family history work, then email me to talk more about how Black Sheep can help you tell your family’s stories: brendanwolfe@yahoo.com. — Brendan Wolfe Black Sheep Genealogy https://www.blacksheepgen.com/faq daily 0.75 2022-01-05 https://www.blacksheepgen.com/services daily 0.75 2024-05-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/ce74af29-885c-40dc-ab2c-8e52d77e04f4/GiftCard.png Services - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/6a587c5f-7417-4bad-bc0b-b0af91a59be2/Letter.png Services - Transcription. PRICE: $60 per hour Many family documents require transcription, either for ease of reading or to make them searchable on a website. We have experience with everything from wills and court testimony to personal letters, like this one from 1836. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/8112c3de-998f-41d6-9975-1549e880e350/CuppArchive.png Services - Digital archive. PRICE: $60 per hour With an online archive you can create a searchable database of digital items related to your family. I use Omeka, a well-respected platform that employs standard metadata fields. My mom and grandmother both were “keepers,” and they left behind boxes and boxes of documents. Last year I established an archive of this material (alas, the collection has only just begun) that can be found here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1622573547935-R82H1NZLL8HMIBW208E2/Cover_lg.jpeg Services - Book and narrative. PRICE: $60 per hour (not including any permissions fees) A digital report is nice, but why not something that more thoroughly captures what makes your family your family? A family narrative brings together all the information, stories, images, and historical context into a single piece of writing that can be published in book form (hardcover or paperback). In consultation with you every step of the way, I will write, design, and publish your family history using Lulu.com. You and your family can then order copies printed on demand. In 2019 I wrote, designed,* and self-published Wolfe’s History: A Family Story. It contains a long family narrative that brings together as much of the family research as I could and gives it some coherence and meaning. Called “The Book of Athea,” you can read it here. The book also contains a biographical dictionary, appendices of transcribed primary documents, and a family tree—all of which can also be found on the family website (see below). Because this publishing project was the result of more than ten years of research, the scope of what I might do for you would be narrower; however, the principles of work remain the same. * I designed everything but the front cover, the credit for which goes to my dear friend John Grant. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1622638861400-908R6S2FW1T2H1WCJH6F/Screen+Shot+2021-06-02+at+8.50.11+AM.png Services https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1642344747459-UDGVJUHBHMJWW3N3RQJY/Chicago.jpg Services https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1642345214706-JZ0SSNJL2A2BN8355I7D/RiceFieldsSC.jpg Services https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1642345607564-E9VSQHH9UI8XQSKZOZJK/MorleyLandscape.jpg Services https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1642346565823-T5SOO93CXMQUK81QD2WF/Photo_2021-11-19_102310.jpg Services https://www.blacksheepgen.com/cost-free daily 0.75 2022-02-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60b58fb7e20e8c094f200489/1642345214706-JZ0SSNJL2A2BN8355I7D/RiceFieldsSC.jpg Cost-Free Service - ‘I heard my granddad was born with a different name.’ That’s what one client told me. Family lore claimed that this son of formerly enslaved parents had been born with a different name, somewhere in the Deep South, and had started a new life for himself in New York. After some research, I discovered that this was true. My report follows his trail from the rice paddies of South Carolina to the nightclubs of New Rochelle.