By Eilene Lyon On a genealogy trip to Belmont and Guernsey counties in Ohio last year, I encountered the National Road when I stopped at the wonderful museum in downtown St. Clairsville. During my travels there and heading west toward home, I enjoyed bits and pieces of this historic corridor that played a role in... Continue Reading →
Celestial Blackmail?
Week 23: #52 Ancestors – Going to the Chapel By Eilene Lyon There’s no question that Great-grandma Clara was a staunch supporter of the Methodist Church. Her father (God rest his soul) had been a lay preacher in the faith, after all. She was abstemious, and thought everyone else should be, too. (I do hope... Continue Reading →
Absurdities #7
By Eilene Lyon I was puzzling over the use of the term "Dogfight" to describe an aerial combat. It seems odd, considering that the only "flying" dogs I've ever come across are Snoopy, who is forever losing his Sopwith Camel (an entirely absurd name for a plane, I might add, especially when it’s really a... Continue Reading →
He Dreamed of Being a Marine
Week 21: #52 Ancestors – Military By Eilene Lyon Nathan Everett Halse entered this world at 3:30 p.m., Friday June 22, 1945, weighing six pounds, 3 ½ ounces. He was the fourth son born to Everett and Reatha Halse. Unlike his brothers, he was born in Corvallis, Oregon, not the family’s home state of South... Continue Reading →
Race, the Census, and Genealogy
By Eilene Lyon Race in the Census From the very first U. S. Census in 1790, the enumeration was focused primarily on whites, and secondarily on everyone else. A person was listed as Free White, Other Free Person, or Slave. Based on the constitution, non-taxed Indians were specifically excluded.1 It wasn’t until the 1850 Census,... Continue Reading →
Famous Names?
By Eilene Lyon A post by InNate James discussed his possible family connection to the notorious outlaw, Jesse James. He mentioned that the James family tried to disassociate themselves from him. That was not a universal response to his deeds, though. My family tree sports one “Jesse James Brooks,” for example.1 He was born in... Continue Reading →
A Beloved Mother Passes Too Soon
Week 19: #52 Ancestors – Mother’s Day By Eilene Lyon My grandpa, Laurence M. Smith, lost his mother when he was just nine years old. Though his family had known severe hardships in the early years, Laurence remembered the family’s better fortunes from the time of his birth in 1908 until his mother died. Mary... Continue Reading →
Reatha Gusso, 1932
Week 18: #52Ancestors – Close Up By Eilene Lyon Being an Army brat, I didn’t grow up close to my extended family. But I always had a special affinity for my paternal grandmother, Reatha (Gusso) Halse. Her home was in Corvallis, Oregon, and she worked at Oregon State University in the chemical lab supply room.... Continue Reading →
Earth Day and Pogo
By Eilene Lyon Today we celebrate Earth Day, an international event that takes place in nearly 200 countries around the globe, involving roughly a billion participants. Throughout the 1960s, environmental legislation was going nowhere, as Americans roiled about our participation in the Vietnam War. Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, an environmental champion, decided to create a... Continue Reading →