Exploring the Past to Improve the Future
By Eilene Lyon August 30, 2022 On this date in 1861, Major General John C. Frémont, commander of the Department of the West, issued a proclamation declaring martial law in the State of Missouri, and that those in open rebellion against the Union would forfeit their personal property, including enslaved persons, who would be emancipated.... Continue Reading →
Week 25: #52 Ancestors – Broken Branch By Eilene Lyon Family branches become detached from trees for a variety of reasons. In many cases, a member decides to migrate from the ancestral home, either within a country or to a place far away. The migrant may remain in contact with the stay-at-home relatives, but their... Continue Reading →
Week 3: #52 Ancestors – Favorite Photo By Eilene Lyon This hand-tinted family photograph has been hanging on my wall for years, but I had never researched it. The man on the left is my great-great-grandfather, Thomas A. Reams (1833–1922). My grandfather, Laurence M. Smith, said that his Grandpa Reams had the opportunity to fly... Continue Reading →
Week 40: #52 Ancestors – Preservation By Eilene Lyon A blessing of this blog is that cousins find stories here about their ancestors and reach out to me. Suzanne is one, and we have enjoyed a couple visits here in Durango. Recently she brought her Carey family photo album for me to scan and hopefully... Continue Reading →
Week 44: #52 Ancestors – Voting By Eilene Lyon Because neither Ancestry nor Family Search have Oregon voter registrations online for my ancestors, I do not really know how they voted. I can’t recall having political discussions with my grandparents. I do, however, have a clue about one grandparent’s leanings. My Halse grandparents grew up... Continue Reading →
Hulda Hearn Shanks (1832-1885) By Eilene Lyon “She holds that true companionship between man and woman necessitates the possession and the exercise by both of equal rights, privileges and franchises, believing, as she does, that in nothing else is the civilization of any people apparent as in the closer and ever closer approximation of woman’s... Continue Reading →
Week 14: #52 Ancestors – Great By Eilene Lyon “The record of the Rockefellers in America is that of a vital, dynamic, active race, possessed of resourcefulness, shrewdness in business affairs, and executive ability. In some lines, too, they have been known for their imagination, love of beauty, and literary talents.” – Media Research Bureau... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon -- March 16, 2021 This date in 1827 saw the publication of the first issue of Freedom’s Journal in New York City. It was the first newspaper produced by and for Blacks in the United States. A group of free men of color, primarily clergymen, met at the home of community organizer... Continue Reading →
Week 31:#52 Ancestors – Large By Eilene Lyon The person in my tree who looms largest in American history is my cousin, Col. Ebenezer Zane. He could be, and has been, called many things: Frontiersman, Pathfinder, Indian-hunter. Zane was quite literally a trailblazer, helping to open the Midwest to settlement before and after the Revolution.... Continue Reading →
You might think you understand what I said, but what you heard is not always what I meant.
A New Twist on the Old West
Author, Speaker, Family Historian
thoughts about parenting and life from below the surface
tiny histories
... stories of significant others ...
Celtic, Mythical and More ...
Creative writing inspired by life, love, laughter ... and a horse named Shakespeare
Tracing The Faces
Uncovering Family Legacies One Stitch at a Time
Adventures in Genealogy
Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana Blog
visual stories: fine art, artist books, illustrated gifts
Night Thoughts of a Literary Agent
Family and local stories and history, favorite books
A History of the Famously Interesting and Mostly Forgotten
Sharing stories from my family history
Things That Interest Me
Writing about experiences of women and girls in the North American West.
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