Nothing is worse than the crushing blow of dashed expectations, especially when it comes to ancestral research. I had high hopes that a recent visit to Charleston, S.C., would turn up something — a gravestone, a house, a place of business — related to my fourth great grandfather, Philip Benjamin (1779-1852). My spirits rose further […]
Was King Tut’s Curse the Real Cause of W.B. Thompson’s Demise?
It’s been pretty well established that an early visit to Kit Tut’s tomb wasn’t good for your health. A long list of famous people were presumably laid low by a curse for disturbing the pharaoh’s 3,000-year repose. Maybe it’s time to add the name of William Boyce Thompson to the list. According to a letter […]
No Surprise: Isaie Gingras Was Buried in a Catholic Cemetery
It’s getting easier to figure out where a relative who died in the last 150 years is buried. The larger cemeteries often publish lists of who was interred there. They may even include a map to help you find the grave. Sometimes, if you are really lucky, a volunteer has taken a picture of the […]
Discovered: The Gingras Ancestral Lands
Luck was certainly on my side when I went searching for the mercurial Gingras ancestral lands. I had all but given up the search, when I caught a glimpse of the marker on the left. Background is certainly in order. All Gingras (pronounced Gin-Gra, bozos) in North America descend from my eighth great grandparents Charles […]
Hugh Simmers: Walking in his Cinematic Footsteps
In the summer of 2017, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting the Cameo Cinema in Edinburgh, Scotland, where my grandfather Hugh Simmers worked as a projectionist from 1916 to 1917, before he emigrated to the United States. Originally called the King Cinema, it’s the oldest continuously operated movie theater in Scotland, dating back to […]
Discovered: Gingras Home in St. Johnsbury
It was no easy find. First, there was the hassle of getting there — to St. Johnsbury, Vermont, in the northern part of the state, a mere 49 miles from Canada. Then there was the matter of trying to find the home where the family had lived in 1880. The Census provided an address, the […]
J.E. Thompson Jr. Tells a Few Tales About His Storied Life
It’s good to catch up with a relative, even if they are long gone. I never met my great uncle J.E. (Joe) Thompson, Jr., but thankfully he left behind hand-written notes that chronicled some important, and some not so important, events in his life, including a few details about his legendary trip around the world. […]
Anyone for Polo? J.E. Thompson Wanted Phoenicians To Have a Place to Play
Who builds a polo field in Phoenix? It’s so hot you can fry an egg on the sidewalk and bake cookies on a car dashboard. Sometimes airplanes can’t fly. Answer: My great grandfather J.E. Thompson. Though J.E.’s gesture seems foolhardy, it may may have actually paid financial dividends. That sly fox! Joseph Edward, who belonged […]