This week’s theme is “travel.” My ancestor Caleb Douglas was born in Connecticut and later settled in Whitestown, NY. In his late 60’s he took a mission trip to Michigan and purchased land there. Caleb was born in 1756 to John and Esther (Leach) Douglass. He grew up in New London, Connecticut with his parents…
The theme for week 27 was “Independence” in honor of the 4th of July. I am working through reviewing all the patriots in my line, so I chose one John Douglas to feature for this week. John Douglas was born in 1724 to Thomas and Hannah (Sperry) Douglas(s) of New London, Connecticut. He married his…
The 26th week’s theme was “Black Sheep.” Jonathan Ellis did not start out as a black sheep, but then he left his family and disappeared. I have been gathering family stories since a young age and very few have been what you might call scandalous. A few NPEs (Non-Paternal Events) here and there, maybe a…
Alternate title: “How many James Prays were there in Maine?” This week’s theme is “Same Name” and many genealogists are faced with untangling which James Pray (or Robert Smith or Patrick O’Brien) belong to which generation. If you do a search for James Pray in Maine on FamilySearch you will see many many James Prays….
This week’s theme is Father’s Day. My father was a contrarian. He always loved the underdog best and often took the less popular side of an argument. One of his more interesting assertions was that if he had lived during the American Revolution, he would have been a Loyalist instead of fighting for the Revolution….
The theme for the 23rd week was “Going to the Chapel.” I have a copy of an interesting document for Frederick Hagell and Elizabeth Eleanor Parsley from their parish church in Canterbury, England. It lists their banns of marriage. For three Sundays in 1839 they had to announce their intention to marry in case there…
I’m still catching up from my move, so this and the next post will be short. The 22nd theme was “So Far Away.” I thought of an ancestor on my father’s side whose details still need some fleshing out. I wonder where her grave was located; close to family or far away from where her…
Theme is Military. Today is Memorial Day, made official in 1868 after the Civil War. I’ve known about two ancestors who fought for the Union for a while now; Solomon Gleason Barber, my paternal grandfather’s grandfather and Ora Butler Douglas, a 3rd great-uncle on my maternal side. Though some of my paternal grandfather’s ancestors moved…
The theme for week 20 was “language.” I’m in the middle of packing for a move, so this post will be short. Do you notice anything different about Aeltje van Couwenhoven’s headstone? It was written in Dutch, not English. Quite a few people in the Dutch community at that time still spoke Dutch as a…
From London to Houston The above photo was taken sometime in 1916, in Houston, Texas. The couple sitting in the center are my 2nd great-grandparents Walter and Jane Ellen (nee Hagell) Avenell. The theme this week is Mother’s Day, and Jane Ellen is the mother of Bertrand (top left), Eleanor (next to Bertrand) and Walter…