Christina’s Challenges

Week 10: #52 Ancestors – Strong Woman By Eilene Lyon As I research my family history, it amazes me what trials and tribulations my ancestors went through. It’s a rare female in my tree I would not describe as a “strong woman.” These women were tough as a rule. (Just the clothes they had to... Continue Reading →

April 25, 2020 19

Did He Serve?

Week 6: #52 Ancestors – Same Name By Eilene Lyon When I put together the list of ten men who formed the Blackford Mining Company in 1851, two names made me groan: John K. Anderson and Samuel Jones. At least Anderson had a middle initial. But Samuel Jones, no middle initial? Argh!! How many men... Continue Reading →

April 4, 2020 21

The Slide Years: Brushes with History

By Eilene Lyon The Slide Years is a series in which I select an image my dad took from 1957-1982 with Kodachrome slide film, then I write a stream-of-consciousness essay – a sort of mini-memoir. Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that I became a history buff. In the heart of the slide years, my... Continue Reading →

March 12, 2020 38

Minnesota Pills

Week 47: #52 Ancestors – Soldier By Eilene Lyon When I recently watched portions of the film “They Shall Not Grow Old,” I was struck by how the young men (many just boys of 15 and 16), were eager to volunteer to serve in World War I. Even after all the horrors they experienced, the... Continue Reading →

November 23, 2019 16

A Widow Perseveres

Week 27: #52 Ancestors – Independent Perhaps it’s a bit perverse to write about the granddaughter of a Loyalist for this prompt, but I greatly admire my 3rd-great-grandmother, Mary Paulina Rowley Cutting. Widowed by the age of 41, Mary never remarried. Though she certainly had assistance at times, she clearly was an independent woman. Mary... Continue Reading →

July 20, 2019 19

Preacher Man

Week 17: #52 Ancestors – At Worship By Eilene Lyon I have photographs of all my 2nd great-grandparents except one – Robert Ransom – a serious disappointment. He looms large in my family history. I did meet him once, in a dream. A figment of my imagination, of course. He had the stern countenance I... Continue Reading →

May 5, 2019 18

Slave-owner to Socialist

Week 45: #52 Ancestors – Bearded By Eilene Lyon The Slave Years My 2nd great-grandfather, Melville Cox Davis, was the oldest of five children born to Dr. Hamilton Cunningham Davis and Christina Mock. Hamilton married Christina in their home state, North Carolina, and shortly afterward moved to Lafayette County, Missouri, along with their parents and... Continue Reading →

November 11, 2018 26

Meanwhile, On the Homefront

Week 42: #52 Ancestors – Conflict By Eilene Lyon To Engage, or Not? The Civil War was undoubtedly this country’s most destructive conflict, in terms of damage to American lives and property. Not to mention the permanent scars on the collective psyche of the nation. Far from the battlefields, discord raged in communities across the... Continue Reading →

October 19, 2018 17

A Family Legacy

Week 40: #52 Ancestors – Ten By Eilene Lyon My great-grandfather, Sterling P. Davis, was one of ten children born to Sarah Rebecca (Livengood) Davis. Though many women gave birth to ten (or more) children back in those days, not so many can say they brought them all to a healthy adulthood. Perhaps the fact... Continue Reading →

October 7, 2018 20