Exploring the Past to Improve the Future
Found Photo Project #8 By Eilene Lyon This portrait of actor David R. Young was taken in Boston in 1896. He inscribed it to his mother, who lived in Connecticut (as did he). How it wound up in an antique store in southwestern Colorado—in the unincorporated, wide-spot-in-the-road known as Gem Village—shall remain a mystery. David... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon I’ve been renewing my interest in botany lately. You may recall this subject is one of my connections to my great-grandmother, Clara Ransom Davis. I recently received communication from the University of Idaho and learned their herbarium contains 144 valuable specimens that Clara collected in her undergraduate years in the 1890s. (She... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon A Brick Edifice Durango was founded in 1881. Many original buildings, particularly those built of wood, no longer exist. This is the third in a series of the oldest buildings standing on Main Avenue, originally called First Street. What is now the 500 block abuts the railroad depot. Being the principal method... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon This information will be useful for any genealogist or family historian who deals with old land records in the eastern U.S. where surveys were done using metes-and-bounds, rather than the federal land survey grid (township and range). Metes-and-bounds surveys are usually irregularly shaped and often delineated by trees, streams, and other natural... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon For this story, I have to begin at the ending. The whole shebang is much more complicated—but this is bad enough! Who Are Louisa's Parents? My 2nd great-grandmother, Louisa Mary Dills, died on February 29, 1928 in Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa. Her death certificate gives her name as Mary Louisa Dills,... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon A Visit to Ancestral Homes A couple of years before I did my DNA testing, The Putterer and I went on vacation to Switzerland, Strasbourg, and western Germany. We went to the German village, Heidelsheim, that my Springer family emigrated from in the 1800s. What I did not know at the time... Continue Reading →
Last summer I published a post about Clara's post-Civil War trip to Philadelphia, based on a letter she wrote to her aunt, Abigail (Bedford) Jenkins, in May 1865. What I did not relate to you at the time was that Clara had a rather brief life. Clara was born in 1845 in Springboro, Ohio, where... Continue Reading →
In all my years of family history blogging, I see I have somewhat neglected my maternal great-grandfather. This is the story of his life from 1867 to 1917, as told by my grandfather. By Laurence M. Smith, edited by Eilene Lyon Charles Edward Smith was my father, as well as the father of four other... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon The highlight of our recent vacation trip to Channel Islands National Park, off the coast of southern California, was a day spent at Anacapa Island. Anacapa consists of three islets about 11 miles from Santa Barbara. Landing on East Anacapa was adventurous. The zodiacs transporting us from the National Geographic Venture had... Continue Reading →
Human Created Content - Creative Writing - Australia
What I Wish I Knew Before I Retired
Life is a series of transitions, and so is the retirement journey.
Creative, non-monetary forms of payment
Random musings on style and substance
Where the locals go, because the locals know!
Internet home for Marie Zhuikov: Blogger, Author, Poet, Photographer
Reflections of an inquiring retiree ...
The opinions expressed are those of the author. You go get your own opinions.
A Blog of Retirement and Related Thoughts
I write about genealogy on this site. Come see what's going on!
Fun With Genealogy
Discover and re-discover Mexico’s cuisine, culture and history through the recipes, backyard stories and other interesting findings of an expatriate in Canada
Navigating the second half of my life
The people, places, and things that make the Willamette Valley shine
Journeys Through the Second Half of Life
Doing the best I can to keep it on the bright side
Quips, Quotes; How To and How Knot To
Author, Speaker, Family Historian
thoughts about life from below the surface
Myricopia 