Trip Around The World – Part 1

Week 48: #52 Ancestors – Thief By Eilene Lyon Note: The Historical Society of Michigan published a version of this story originally in Michigan History Magazine May/June 2018. Due to length, I will present it in two parts. South Haven, Michigan, 1894 The schooner George L. Wrenn rested lightly in the South Haven harbor. Her... Continue Reading →

Minnesota Pills

Week 47: #52 Ancestors – Soldier By Eilene Lyon When I recently watched portions of the film “They Shall Not Grow Old,” I was struck by how the young men (many just boys of 15 and 16), were eager to volunteer to serve in World War I. Even after all the horrors they experienced, the... Continue Reading →

Good Intentions

Week 46: #52 Ancestors – Poor Man By Eilene Lyon He had to be desperate – it was such an insane thing to do at his age. Traveling to California and mining gold was for the young and strong, not for 49-year-old family men. But Henry Zane Jenkins made that difficult choice: to leave his... Continue Reading →

Wrong-Way Emily – Part 3

Week 43: #52 Ancestors – Transportation By Eilene Lyon Part 1 and Part 2 Stranded Robert and William Ransom had meager funds. There was no way for them to send a message to their family at home, or to Henry Jenkins in California, to let them know of their predicament. Families in Indiana and elsewhere... Continue Reading →

Wrong-Way Emily – Part 2

Week 42: #52 Ancestors – Adventure By Eilene Lyon Part 1 Emily Sets Sail The steerage passengers on the Emily "... were divided into messes of ten men each and had 6 pints of water including our tea and coffey … ½ pound of bread ½ pound of flour whitch we made into what we call... Continue Reading →

Wrong-Way Emily – Part 1

Week 39: #52 Ancestors – Map It Out By Eilene Lyon Note: This three-part series is adapted from my California gold rush book. Sources will be listed at the end of Part 3. Background The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in January 1848 set off the largest mass migration to a single destination up... Continue Reading →

Smiths vs. the Wilderness

Week41: #52 Ancestors - Context By Eilene Lyon Take a look at a Google Earth image or map of central Indiana today. It will be hard to imagine that two hundred years ago it looked like this: Tall trees covered the whole country with their wide-spreading branches, depending to the ground, and the shrubbery below... Continue Reading →

History Repeats

Week 37: #52 Ancestors – Mistake By Eilene Lyon Thomas Harvey Ransom, the only son of Dr. William C. Ransom to reach adulthood, emulated his father quite readily. Unfortunately, W. C. Ransom was not a good role model. Harvey (as he was known) took the mimicry a step too far, and it cost him dearly.... Continue Reading →

Made In Madison

Week 35: #52 Ancestors – At Work By Eilene Lyon This week’s project began as a story about my 4th great-aunt, Catherine Delle, who is credited with establishing the first kindergarten in Madison, Wisconsin. You know I like to write about successful women from my family tree. As I researched, I ended up finding more... Continue Reading →

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

Up ↑

Something to Ponder About

Human Created Content - Creative Writing - Australia

Retirement Reflections

What I Wish I Knew Before I Retired

retirementtransition

Life is a series of transitions, and so is the retirement journey.

ARTISTIC PENSION

Creative, non-monetary forms of payment

olderfatterhappierdotcom

Random musings on style and substance

Durango Weather Guy

Where the locals go, because the locals know!

Marie's Meanderings

Internet home for Marie Zhuikov: Blogger, Author, Poet, Photographer

Robby Robin's Journey

Reflections of an inquiring retiree ...

bluebird of bitterness

The opinions expressed are those of the author. You go get your own opinions.

I Seek Dead People

I write about genealogy on this site. Come see what's going on!

Moore Genealogy

Fun With Genealogy

My Slice of Mexico

Discover and re-discover Mexico’s cuisine, culture and history through the recipes, backyard stories and other interesting findings of an expatriate in Canada

Waking up on the Wrong Side of 50

Navigating the second half of my life

Oregon's Willamette Valley

The people, places, and things that make the Willamette Valley shine

Closer to the Edge

Journeys Through the Second Half of Life

A Dalectable Life

Doing the best I can to keep it on the bright side

Amusives

Quips, Quotes; How To and How Knot To

Eilene Lyon

Author, Speaker, Family Historian

bleuwater

thoughts about life from below the surface

Ancestral Writing in Progress

... stories of significant others in the Allery, Cutting, McCulloch and Robertson tribes ...