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 […]
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 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: 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.