There’s no use mincing words. During prohibition, perhaps even afterward, my great-great grandparents Fred Pickering and Marie Gingras distilled their own whiskey. How do I know this? Well, my cousin and I discovered a strange contraption in the basement of their home in San Francisco when the current owner was kind enough to take us […]
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 finding the home where the family had lived in 1880. The Census provided an address, the wrong address, […]
Real Estate Mogul Fred Pickering Died Alone
Rhoda Anne Williams and Walter Hinds Doty hadn’t been married too long when a mysterious visitor showed up in their driveway.
Stop the Presses: Marie Gingras Mystery Solved
For half a decade, I’ve been working with relatives to try to figure out where the bedeviling Marie Gingras (1861-1937) came from. I’m pleased to report that, thanks to the hard work of cousin Sue Wolfe, the mystery has been solved
Thompson Family History: The First Chapter
The project started out innocently enough. I merely wanted to confirm some of the often bizarre stories my parents and grandparents had told me at family events, typically after a few drinks.
Society Pages Describe Marie Gingras as French Down to Her Highly Polished Fingertips
Marie Gingras Pickering lived her life, warts and all, under the harsh magnifying glass of the San Francisco society pages, judging by the countless references made to her and her family in newspaper accounts during the early 1900s. A cursory search reveals that she hosted countless bridge and tea parties, always with elaborate flower decorations; served as a patroness of a […]