Exploring the Past to Improve the Future
Week 48: #52 Ancestors – Thief By Eilene Lyon Note: The Historical Society of Michigan published a version of this story originally in Michigan History Magazine May/June 2018. Due to length, I will present it in two parts. South Haven, Michigan, 1894 The schooner George L. Wrenn rested lightly in the South Haven harbor. Her... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
Week 42: #52 Ancestors – Adventure By Eilene Lyon Part 1 Emily Sets Sail The steerage passengers on the Emily "... were divided into messes of ten men each and had 6 pints of water including our tea and coffey … ½ pound of bread ½ pound of flour whitch we made into what we call... Continue Reading →
Week 39: #52 Ancestors – Map It Out By Eilene Lyon Note: This three-part series is adapted from my California gold rush book. Sources will be listed at the end of Part 3. Background The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in January 1848 set off the largest mass migration to a single destination up... Continue Reading →
Week41: #52 Ancestors - Context By Eilene Lyon Take a look at a Google Earth image or map of central Indiana today. It will be hard to imagine that two hundred years ago it looked like this: Tall trees covered the whole country with their wide-spreading branches, depending to the ground, and the shrubbery below... Continue Reading →
Week 40: #52 Ancestors – Harvest By Eilene Lyon My great-grandfather, Charles Edward Smith, never had much success as a farmer. He began in Missouri, then moved to eastern Washington. The farm in Washington entailed dryland farming, because water was scarce. Once the family moved to Moscow, Idaho, around 1910, he engaged in other businesses... Continue Reading →
Week 38: #52 Ancestors – Cousins By Eilene Lyon I have a scarcity of first cousins – exactly five. Even though I rarely see them, I would know them instantly if I ran into them anywhere in the world. I’ve met a number of my dad’s cousins since taking up the family historian role. I... Continue Reading →
Week 37: #52 Ancestors – Mistake By Eilene Lyon Thomas Harvey Ransom, the only son of Dr. William C. Ransom to reach adulthood, emulated his father quite readily. Unfortunately, W. C. Ransom was not a good role model. Harvey (as he was known) took the mimicry a step too far, and it cost him dearly.... 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 ...
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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
My 'Well of Found Thoughts'
Author, Speaker, Family Historian
thoughts about life from below the surface
... stories of significant others in the Allery, Cutting, McCulloch and Robertson tribes ...
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