Preserving The Past

Week 51: #52 Ancestors – Future By Eilene Lyon “The future” is a seemingly contrary topic for a historian. But the tagline for my blog includes the word “future,” because I believe history can teach us so many useful things. Preserving knowledge for coming generations is important in my view of the world. So what... Continue Reading →

December 21, 2019 30

Lone Star

Week 45: #52 Ancestors – Rich Man By Eilene Lyon This really isn’t about a rich man, or even a poor one, or actually, even about a man, though it starts out with one. Robert J. Halse was born in Highland Township, Winneshiek County, Iowa, in 1860.1 Along with most of his family, he relocated... Continue Reading →

November 9, 2019 20

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