Bøker av Susan Diane Black Blackmon

Based on a real-life Cinderella story set in 1900, Texas. Writing Emma's story has been a departure from my comfort zone. As a genealogist, my norm is dealing with facts. While I've always loved adding the photographs and stories, the flesh on the bones, the picture was fact-based. Taking the stories I've heard my entire life and weaving them into a work of fiction has been one of the most exciting things I've done. The character, Emma, is based on one of my great-grandmothers. She was the youngest of eighteen children whose mother died when 'Emma' was about three years old. The fact that her father remarried would be expected and that he married a real-life wicked stepmother was unfortunate at best. I had never thought about this being a Cinderella-type story until after I'd written and published the book. It was just my great-grandmother's life. Putting her stories down on paper in a fictional setting highlighted that she was indeed a "Cinderella." The only thing missing was the evil stepsisters. Her real-life stepsister was a lovely woman who would quickly tell the truth about how horrible her mother was. We often hear that truth is stranger than fiction - in this instance, the reality was shocking."16 June 1900 Her earliest memories were of her Momma's face. Emma could remember Jane smiling at her each morning when she woke up and her soft kiss as she tucked her in at night - or so she thought. It was possible that what she 'remembered' was her Momma's likeness that had once hung over the fireplace. Whenever she could manage, she would slip up to the attic and quietly move the discarded furniture to sit and gaze at her Momma. Emma found comfort in the likeness of her parents. Momma had been so pretty and Papa so handsome. Emma reached out and touched his beard through the glass. She remembered crawling into his lap and running her little fingers through his whiskers. She liked how they tickled her fingers and how thick his beard was. Now Papa's beard was thin and scraggly. She missed it." I didn't grow up with a grandfather. My grandmother had these fantastic portraits of several of my ancestors hanging in her living room. The "likeness" of the real-life Ben and Jane was and is my favorite. 'Ben' had this lovely, full beard and kind eyes. I always thought he looked like you could crawl in his lap and snuggle. Several years ago, I saw a photograph of 'Ben' after he'd been married to 'Matilda' for several years - the difference in his looks was startling. I sincerely hope that my readers will enjoy reading Emma's story as much as I have enjoyed telling it and that they will be anxious to read the next volume, Celey - the story of Emma's grandmother - Ma Marcus. Susan

In 1976, I began researching my family. This original effort was the result of a school History project that required me to write an autobiography and fill out a pedigree chart. At that time I was able to fill in 29 names, including my own, now I have a database of over 14,000 relatives on my maternal grandmother's side alone. I find myself constantly searching to fill in "one more blank", find "one more birth, marriage, or death record", locate "one more tombstone". Because I am always looking for the "Elusive Ancestor", this is a never ending project. Always, the most difficult part is deciding what to put in and what to leave out (Yes, I did leave some things out.) Volume I of "The Giles Driver Family" introduces the 11 children of Giles and Susan (Williams) Driver of Wight County, Virginia. Their eldest son, Ichabod "Bud" is the focus of this book. The fact that his family, alone, occupy the pages of this volume, speaks to the vast number of descendants he has. Within this cover you will find the names and faces of the people who made each of us who we are today. There are countless hours of happy memories, visits to cemeteries, frustration, and love in these pages. Along the way I have met some wonderful people and I thank them for what they have added. The vast majority of this information is documented although I have not included the documentation due to the fact that it is a book in itself. Please contact me with corrections or additions. I have tried to check for errors, but inevitably, I'm sure some have escaped my notice. There are some lines that I have been unable to trace due to the fact that they have simply "died out". I hope that you enjoy reading about your family as much as I have enjoyed searching for and finding them.

As the result of a History project in 1976, my passion for genealogy was born. What started as a simple three generation pedigree chart has unfurled into thousands of leaves on an ever growing family tree. This nearly 40 year journey has brought joy, frustration, satisfaction, and a never ending desire to learn more about the people who make up our past. I truly believe that these individuals shape who and what we are today. We take from them a measure of their strengths, passions, beliefs, sorrows, joy, and love, and we each make of it what we will to become who we are today. In Volume I of this history of the Boultinghouse family, I have covered what I believe to be the early immigrants up to the line of Daniel Boultinghouse (1797-1867) who left Arkansas and came to Texas. Daniel's family of fourteen children will be covered in Volume II. Volume II will also include expanded, but not comprehensive, information on the Evan Gabriel Evans family from the Donna Hull book, "And Then There Were Three Thousand". The information included here is in regard to the multiple marriages between the Evans and Boultinghouse families. I highly recommend obtaining a copy of the original "And Then There Were Three Thousand" book as well as the updated version which Cheryl Wimberly Billesbach is currently working on, if you are a part of the Evans line. I have also covered collateral lines such as the Hon, Huie, Cullen, and Brown families. The intertwining of these families with the Boultinghouse family makes it impossible to not say more about them than just a passing mention of marriages. The most difficult part of this project has been to find a stopping point, a place to be able to say, "I've done all I can do, this is complete." As I've worked on theses volumes, babies have been born, loved ones have passed, marriages and divorces have taken place, each one changing the so called, 'Finished Project'. I can only hope that I have laid a sufficient foundation for future researchers to build upon. It is my sincere desire that each person who reads this work and views the pictures of our common ancestors, will take away a sense of heritage, a bond of family and strength, for they were truly a strong and amazing group of people and we should all be proud to call them kin.83 pages of pictures. Sources are not included in the book due to file size restraints