It’s getting easier to figure out where a relative who died in the last 150 years is buried. The larger cemeteries often publish Internet lists of who was interred there, and they may even post a map to help you find a grave when you visit. But sometimes, if you are fortunate, a volunteer has […]
Discovered: The Gingras Ancestral Lands
Luck was on my side when I embarked on an epic search for the mercurial Gingras ancestral lands. After driving in circles around riverside farmland, I had all but given up the quest — when a glimmer caught my eye. Could the marker by the side of the road (the one on the left) possibly […]
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. Originally called the King Cinema, it’s the oldest continuously operated movie theater in Scotland, dating back to 1914. It specializes in art films. Hugh […]
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, […]
J.E. Thompson Jr. Tells a Few Tales About His Storied Life in His Own Words
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 […]
Old Pennsylvania Grist Mill Was Probably Not in the Family
This just in: It unlikely that “my” John Clark built this beautiful grain mill along Yellow Breeches Creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna River. It sure would have been nice to say someone in my family was responsible — it was the first grist mill in Cumberland County, Pa. I thought for about a year […]
Derelict Motel Occupies the Hill Major J.R. Boyce Tried to Take
More than 400 soldiers died during the two-hour battle of Iuka, making it one of the fiercest of the Civil War. (Six people died per minute.) Yet today it’s difficult for visitors to this small Northern Mississippi town to find any trace of the battle. Yes, there’s a big, touristy mural on a crumbling downtown […]