College Boy

Week 3: #52Ancestors – Out of Place By Eilene Lyon My grandfather, Laurence M. Smith aka Smitty, was the only one in his family to attend college. He earned his degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Idaho in 1931, which eventually led to a very successful career with the Army Corps of Engineers.... Continue Reading →

The Pioneer Association

Week 2: #52Ancestors - Favorite Photo By Eilene Lyon Before I began researching my family, I knew nothing about my great-grandmother, Clara P. (Ransom) Davis. She died in 1953, well before I came along. I had never been to Moscow, Idaho, prior to 2013, even though three generations of my ancestors are buried there and... Continue Reading →

Ella’s Kids

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 →

The Virginians

Week 25: #52 Ancestors – Broken Branch By Eilene Lyon Family branches become detached from trees for a variety of reasons. In many cases, a member decides to migrate from the ancestral home, either within a country or to a place far away. The migrant may remain in contact with the stay-at-home relatives, but their... Continue Reading →

The Botanist

Week 20: #52 Ancestors – Nature By Eilene Lyon You’ve met my great-grandmother, Clara Ransom Davis in several earlier posts. Clara moved to Idaho as a teen and attended Moscow High School, becoming a teacher at 16, while still in school herself. She attended the University of Idaho, and graduated with the third class in... Continue Reading →

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 →

How It All Went Wrong

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 →

Letting Love Go

Week 7: #52Ancestors – Valentine By Eilene Lyon I think it’s probably rare for anyone to have just one romantic interest in their lifetime. Many of us can probably relate a story about someone we’ve loved deeply, but the relationship did not work out for one reason or another. We rarely get a chance to... Continue Reading →

Finding Family Treasure

Week 2: #52Ancestors - Photo By Eilene Lyon Sterling Price Davis (1867 – 1933) and Clara Ransom Davis (1877 – 1953) – wedding portrait (1905; Collection of the Latah County Historical Society) Historical Societies and Libraries Though I’ve been engaged in the genealogy hobby – okay, obsession – for a couple decades now, it was... Continue Reading →

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The Heart of the Matter

A place where we write and talk about inspirations...our journey to discover what matters most.

Waking up on the Wrong Side of 50

Navigating the second half of my life

The Willamette Valley's Heritage through its Barns and Structures

A history of the people of the Willamette Valley as revealed through their structures.

A Dalectable Life

Doing the best I can to keep it on the bright side

Amusives

You might think you understand what I said, but what you heard is not always what I meant.

Tumblereads: A New Twist on the Old West

A New Twist on the Old West

Eilene Lyon

Author, Speaker, Family Historian

bleuwater

thoughts about parenting and life from below the surface

Northwest Journals

tiny histories

Ancestral Writing in Progress

... stories of significant others in the Allery, Cutting, McCulloch and Robertson tribes ...

Coach Carole Ramblings

Celtic, Mythical and More ...

Shedding Light on the Family Tree

Illuminating the Ancestral Journey

Forgotten Ancestors

Tracing The Faces

The Patchwork Genealogist

Uncovering Family Legacies One Stitch at a Time

Family Finds

Adventures in Genealogy

What's Going On @ ACGSI

Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana Blog

sue clancy

visual stories: fine art, artist books, illustrated gifts

Ask the Agent

Night Thoughts of a Literary Agent

Joy Neal Kidney

Family and local stories and history, favorite books