Week 12: #52Ancestors – Misfortune By Eilene Lyon By all measures, my cousin Orville Bodtker was a very unlucky young man in World War II. But I think for sheer, unrelenting misfortune, I have to turn to the story of my great-great-grandparents, Robert Ransom and Emma Jenkins, the parents of Clara Pearl Ransom. Robert was... Continue Reading →
Payday Lending 1850s-Style
By Eilene Lyon Ridiculously expensive loans are certainly not a modern phenomenon. They probably began with the invention of the monetary concept. I’ll give you two clams today; you’ll give me three clams tomorrow. Farmers in the early- to mid-19th century were loath to borrow money, especially from banks. They’d been burned by the federal... Continue Reading →