Week 41: #52 Ancestors – Passed Down By Eilene Lyon There’s no question that my favorite family to write about is the Ransom family. What a great name! The Ransoms loved to stand out: ambitious, adventurous, tragic, a bit crazy at times. Never dull. This is probably one of the more sedate stories, but a... Continue Reading →
A Capital Visit
By Eilene Lyon I recently visited Denver to research my current work-in-progress at the Denver Public Library. Fortunately, a good friend was able to offer a place to stay, not far from a light-rail station. For $10.50, I could ride trains and buses all day and leave behind the hassle and expense of driving and... Continue Reading →
A Champion for Equality
Week 35: #52 Ancestors – Free Space By Eilene Lyon Lately I’ve been reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1851, her tale of slavery helped pave the road to the Civil War. A cousin on my family tree didn’t have quite the elevated reputation of Mrs. Stowe, but nonetheless made a... Continue Reading →
Artful Durango – 2
By Eilene Lyon In my first Artful Durango post, I shared a small sampling of murals around town, particularly more recent ones. This time I will share some sculptural, or three-dimensional art around the city. One thing I learned in doing this project is that it is very difficult to get good photographs of outdoor... Continue Reading →
Shattered and Scattered
Week 39: #52 Ancestors – Road Trip By Eilene Lyon The Putterer’s great-grandmother, Mary Frances (Stephens) Gee, was orphaned at a young age. She was the eighth of nine children of Granville Allen Stephens Sr. and Sarah Poor. (Sarah was a descendant of Revolutionary War patriot, Amos Poor.) Mary Frances had seven brothers and only... Continue Reading →
From the Vault: Woolly
By Eilene Lyon Breaking up is sometimes made more difficult by the fact that, just because you want to lose the partner, you don't necessarily want to lose their parents, too. I met Doug in the Mountaineering Club at The Ohio State University. By the time I graduated, we'd gotten engaged. It was a spur-of-the-moment... Continue Reading →
Adorable Dorothy
Found Photo Project #4 By Eilene Lyon Postscript on #3 – Fort Wayne Stenographer I was able to track down Jessie Armstrong McDonald’s granddaughters. I sent one of them the photograph of Jessie taken about 1920. We had a nice chat on the phone. After Jessie’s husband died, she went to live with her daughter’s... Continue Reading →
The Drought Diaries: Lawn Begone!
By Eilene Lyon While I wouldn't say our decades-old drought is over, we had an unusual amount of moisture this past summer. We got over an inch of rain just last week. Normally August and September are what I call "brown season." The grasses and forbs have died or gone dormant by then. Even today,... Continue Reading →
It’s Complicated!
Week 36: #52 Ancestors – Exploration By Eilene Lyon On any given day, I can go on a major expedition—without leaving my desk. Family history is like that. You might be tempted to call it a “rabbit hole,” and it does involve many diverting side trips, but it is goal-oriented. Unlike building a pedigree, as... Continue Reading →