Joab Lafayette McCollum (1807 to 1893)

[McElmurry]

I had a small genealogical breakthrough while visiting my folks. My Mother and I listened to a recording she had made with my Granddad in the mid 1970’s. In it he mentioned his mother, who died in her early 20’s, and her kin. My Granddad’s mother’s surname had been a sticking point in my research because it had been reported as Rodgers or McCollum or both. I thought her maiden name may have been Rodgers but my Granddad had once told my Mother that his grandmother was named Anderson. I had been unable to make any headway in the census data using these three surnames.

On the recording my Granddad says his grandmother first married a Rodgers and after Rodgers died married an Anderson. Granddad also listed the children of both men. The children’s names match the names listed on this web page.

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-...astl&id=I01098

On the recording my Granddad said he and his sister went to live with Uncle John McCollum after their mother died. My current working hypothesis is Uncle John is actually my Granddad's great-uncle and is the first son of Joab Lafayette McCollum and my Granddad’s grandmother is the first daughter, both listed on this web page.

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ga...s/mccollum.htm

While I have not confirmed this information at least I now have a viable thread to follow. So go visit your aging relatives, ask questions, and make recordings. They may not be 100 percent reliable but their memories may hold the key that unlocks your genealogical quest.

Oh, and howdy to any McCollum cousins out there.

[Mael Coluim]

You may want to poke around the MacCallum Malcolm Clan Society website. We have an number of McCollums members.