Old York Road

Week 3: #52 Ancestors – Long Line By Eilene Lyon Two branches with the surname Jenkins converge on my tree at my 4th great-grandmother, Ann Widdifield Zane. She married David Jenkins, presumed from Wales, but not a Quaker like Ann. Next to nothing is known of his life or family, so this is a rather... Continue Reading →

Jenkins Cousins

Week 2: #52 Ancestors – Favorite Photo By Eilene Lyon Last fall, one of my second cousins discovered she had a trove of family photos and heirlooms tucked away. The pictures likely had not been seen in decades. Most of them are of the Ransom and Jenkins families. I chose this particular image that shows... Continue Reading →

Back to the FANs

Week 1: #52 Ancestors - Fresh Start By Eilene Lyon To genealogists, the FAN acronym stands for Friends, Associates, Neighbors - people we should be researching alongside our ancestors to provide context and clues to family connections. My knee surgery rehab time on the exercise bike prompted me to start watching some Legacy Family Tree... Continue Reading →

The Gift of Life

Week 52: #52 Ancestors – You By Eilene Lyon I am my ancestors’ future. Their legacies to me were their hopes, aspirations, and privileges…as well as their fears, anger, and disappointments. These things, passed down to me, shape who I am today. From my father, I learned the work ethic that came through generations of... Continue Reading →

Preserving The Past

Week 51: #52 Ancestors – Future By Eilene Lyon “The future” is a seemingly contrary topic for a historian. But the tagline for my blog includes the word “future,” because I believe history can teach us so many useful things. Preserving knowledge for coming generations is important in my view of the world. So what... Continue Reading →

The Zane Sampler

By Eilene Lyon A couple weeks ago I confessed to being an unreliable caretaker of family heirlooms. Fortunately, not everyone in the family is so irresponsible. In fact, it has recently come to light that a couple of my second cousins have some remarkable items. One of these cousins, Karen, brought a whole trove to... Continue Reading →

Ceremonies

Week 50: #52 Ancestors – Tradition By Eilene Lyon I can’t think of too many traditions that have survived down to my generation, but one of them is age-old and nearly universal: marriage. When I look back through my ancestry, I find a surprising number of winter weddings. I think people were always looking for... Continue Reading →

The Slide Years: Cowboy Christmas

By Eilene Lyon The Slide Years is a series in which I select an image my dad took from 1957-1982 with Kodachrome slide film, then I write a stream-of-consciousness essay – a sort of mini-memoir. The year is 1967 and we’re celebrating Christmas at my Smith grandparents’ home in Little Rock, Arkansas, the city I’d... Continue Reading →

Crafty Man

Week 49: #52 Ancestors – Craft By Eilene Lyon My maternal grandfather, Laurence M. Smith, was a crafty man in more than one way. He loved to play practical jokes. He used his wit in a cunning, sneaky way. But he also like to make things, especially in his retirement years. It isn’t surprising that... Continue Reading →

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