Jenkins Cousins

Week 2: #52 Ancestors – Favorite Photo By Eilene Lyon Last fall, one of my second cousins discovered she had a trove of family photos and heirlooms tucked away. The pictures likely had not been seen in decades. Most of them are of the Ransom and Jenkins families. I chose this particular image that shows... Continue Reading →

March 19, 2020 26

Lewiston Peaches

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 →

October 17, 2019 26

Saddled With The South

Week 23: #52 Ancestors – Namesake By Eilene Lyon My great-grandfather was the fourth child born to Melville Cox Davis and Sarah Rebecca Livengood in Elmwood, Saline County, Missouri, on December 15, 1867. A few months earlier, Sterling Price, former governor of Missouri and Confederate General, had passed away. Because the Davises were from North... Continue Reading →

June 9, 2019 18

The Odd Brothers

Week 10: #52 Ancestors – Bachelor Uncle(s) By Eilene Lyon The grown children of Robert Ransom and Emma Jenkins, my 2nd great-grandparents, really stump me at times. My great-grandmother, Clara Ransom Davis, was the youngest of the lot. She had one surviving sister and four brothers: James, William, Arthur, and Fred. The sister married in... Continue Reading →

March 20, 2019 11

The Stepmother

Week 6: #52 Ancestors – Surprise By Eilene Lyon The Surprise My grandfather, Laurence M. Smith, wrote many stories about his life. I’ve already shared some on this blog. But there’s a big gap between the death of his beloved mother, Mary Lila Reams, and the beginning of his engineering career. All he said was,... Continue Reading →

March 3, 2019 24

Horse Power

Week 49: #52 Ancestors – Winter By Eilene Lyon Well into the 20th century, my ancestors relied on horse power. The real thing. Here are a few images from the “archives.” This photo shows Chet Painter (a Halse cousin) on the Guy Halse farm in Dexter Township, Codington County, South Dakota. Though it’s cold enough... Continue Reading →

December 6, 2018 26

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

I Remember the Farm

Week 39: #52 Ancestors – On the Farm By Eilene Lyon My grandmother, Clare Ransom Davis, was born on the Davis family farm about six miles from Moscow, Idaho, in 1914. She was the second (and last) child of Clara Pearl Ransom and Sterling Price Davis. Grandma wrote a story about her father that I... Continue Reading →

September 27, 2018 20

The Schoolma’am

Week 35: #52 Ancestors – Back to School By Eilene Lyon The ancestor that I most closely associate with schools is Clara Pearl Ransom. Education was the driving force in her life – her own and that of others. Her early life was marked by tragedy, but when she moved to Moscow, Idaho, it was... Continue Reading →

September 7, 2018 38