Amador County Ancestry

02/14/2026

Love this 💕

02/14/2026

🌳 For last year's 4th of July weekend, 3 generations of Shealor-Watt cousins traveled from Oregon, Montana, and throughout northern California to gather together in Amador County for 4 days. We squeezed in a bunch of family history, too! Just in case you're new here... the Shealor Family were Amador County pioneer settlers… crossing the plains in covered wagons, and came down the Carson Pass to settle in Amador County with a US Land Grant, in 1853… 8 generations ago! And no one in any of these photos knew about this family history until about a year before this. Can you believe that? It's true.

All descendants of Samuel and Sarah Ann Shealor, the oldest generation to settle here. Since this family history was a recent discovery for all of us, it served as the perfect excuse to get together. It was a fantastic long weekend spent together. Updated captions are under each photo!

01/26/2026

🌳 One year ago, I did a little genealogy as a surprise for one of my brother-in-law’s birthday (married to my youngest sister). This research took me out to the Shenendoah Valley and the historic pioneer cemetery there. WOW, that cemetery. I never knew it existed until I started this project, and I fell in love with it. Tucked up into the hills off of Steiner Road, under peaceful, shady oak trees. You would never know unless you walked up the hill to the headstones at the top, that there is a glorious view off the back of the cemetery. Looking out onto gently rolling vineyard-dotted hills, quiet and lazy in the sunshine. My favorite pioneer cemetery in AC so far, and I’m sad to say I can’t find the rest of the photos I took there. Good reason to go back there soon.

If you’ve been in Amador County for awhile, you’ve likely heard comments that everyone here is related. I’ve been learning that there was a reason for those comments, and they are rooted in truth. It simply means that in a small county that was even smaller 170+ years ago, most neighboring families married each other... and many of their descendants still live here. Discovering that my brother-in-law’s family (UHLINGER) *and* our family were both pioneer settlers in Amador County, was truly extraordinary!

I took a hiatus from research during the holidays, but plan to be back at it now. See captions under photos…

01/11/2026

🎄 Grabbed a quick picture before I finished taking down my tree, today. One of my favorite ornaments. (I’m working on a new family history post, to be posted soon!)

01/03/2026

🎊 As we welcome in 2026, we extend our warmest wishes to you for a Happy New Year. With this beginning of a new year, today marks the debut of our brand-new Flashback Friday feature... a weekly series capturing Jackson’s rich and vibrant past in photographs. Zoom in so you don’t miss any details!

11/10/2025

10/26/2025

🌳 I rarely make it over to the other side of the county, in the Shenandoah Valley. I had to be there on Thursday, so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to take a ride (remember how much my family loves to take rides!). Wow, the Fall colors were gorgeous, and it was truly a beautiful day. As I rambled along Ostrom Road, bobbing up and down the rolling hills, and weaving in and out of the many curves in the road, I came down into Fiddletown. At the stop sign, I spotted 2 little signs pointing towards the old cemetery and schoolhouse, which I had never visited before. So of course, I had to take a look.

My great grandmother Ruby Shealor Watt (“Nana”) grew up in Fiddletown (Oleta), so I was very curious to see if there might be any Shealors buried there. None of my research had ever mentioned any there, but I haven’t been able to find much on her father yet, so it’s always worth a shot to check. As I always do, I wandered around and checked every single headstone there, but no Shealors. However, the beautiful ride was worth it to get to see the adorable little one room schoolhouse that my Nana attended… right across the road from the cemetery. ♥️
Captions under each photo.