Part 1 By Eilene Lyon The canal packet Indiana – designed specifically to fit in the locks at Louisville – arrived from New Orleans on Tuesday the 11th, pulling into the public landing, a sloping embankment on the Ohio River, alongside a dozen other steamboats. Though scheduled to depart the next day, obtaining a suitable... Continue Reading →
A Visit to Cincinnati 1851 – Part 1
Week 50: #52 Ancestors – Witness to History By Eilene Lyon Introduction: This two-part feature is an excerpt from my book about the California gold rush. The Blackford Mining Co. left a farming community in eastern Indiana to seek their fortunes in 1851. The ten men ranged in age from Peter Liestenfeltz, the youngest at... Continue Reading →
One Good Turn…
Week 47: #52 Ancestors – Good Deeds By Eilene Lyon I’ve done a couple of posts highlighting people on my tree who have demonstrated extraordinary generosity: William Painter and Inger Boe Johnson. Undoubtedly many others have done similar acts of kindness, but those deeds have vanished in the mists of time. So I will take... Continue Reading →
A Letter from Henry
Week 40: #52 Ancestors - Oldest By Eilene Lyon I believe the oldest document in my possession is this letter written by Henry Z. and Abigail Jenkins, dated October 19, 1855. The entire letter runs to over 1500 words, so I won't give a full transcript here - your eyes would be glazing over long... Continue Reading →
The Interior West
By Eilene Lyon RVing has taken off this year, more rapidly than Covid-19 infections. It’s a relatively safe way to travel, because you take your lodging and kitchen with you, minimizing the need to spend time indoors in potentially dangerous places. The Putterer, Sterling, and I packed ourselves into our new (used) Ford van and... Continue Reading →
Hyphens Matter
By Eilene Lyon Just in case you don't think hyphens are really necessary. I thought, "Gee, that man must have an enormous appetite!" Feature image: Guadalupe Island great white shark (Wikimedia Commons)
Saving Grace
Week 18: #52 Ancestors – Where There’s a Will By Eilene Lyon William Zane Jenkins barely knew what hit him. Suddenly blind, deaf and numb, in a dark hole deep in the bowels of Mother Earth, his life took on new meaning. He’d always been a taciturn, pessimistic, Eeyore of a man. For some reason,... 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 →