Uncategorized Category
Hands in the Mud: Writing Challenge
Posted on March 27, 2022 2 Comments
I was daydreaming about mud which led to this piece of writing. I will have some writing suggestions at the end. “Learn to humble yourself, you are but earth and clay.” Thomas a Kempis When I was a kid we made mud pies. The best mud was made from dirt with lots of clay in […]
Catch & Release, Word Fishing: Writing Challenge
Posted on March 20, 2022 2 Comments
“Every man is a quotation from all his ancestors.” Ralph Waldo Emerson If fishing is a metaphor for writing, the title is the bait. I often start with the title. It’s setting the hook, attracting the reader, but it has another purpose. It sets the scope and determines what it is I am hoping to write […]
One Fine Autumn Afternoon at the City Hotel
Posted on March 4, 2022 4 Comments
This is a work of historical fiction grounded in the facts as catalogued in My Woman Warrior . This is just one incident in my 2nd great grandmother’s life. It is my first attempt at historical fiction, so be kind. At the end I will briefly talk about my process. Mrs. Catherine Adeline Mosier ran […]
Heirlooms Gone, but not Forgotten
Posted on February 13, 2022 8 Comments
We keep some things so close, that even though we do not own them, they are never far away. The things that are indelible. The things that in a millisecond transport you back to the beginnings of our time, upon this earth. Their texture, fragrance, as close to you now as they were then, a […]
Sign of a Kind Heart: A Soprano’s Aria Chapter 26
Posted on November 19, 2021 Leave a Comment
Monday Aug 5 – Up early. Jessie and Sylvester get started about 8 oclock to Hayward for him to Entrain for Fort McDowell where Uncle Sam will make a soldier boy out of him. Eilene and Leo Hoffman came about 2:30. I will cut and fit her gray dress. I dislike the job exceedingly. I […]
The Mystery of the Fleur-de Lis: Why would John SHELDEN / SHELDON use this symbol in his sheep brand?
Posted on November 6, 2021 9 Comments
You just never know what mysteries you will be presented with in your research and how sometimes there is very little to be found about them. Such is the case of John SHELDEN’s [John of Kingstown] sheep brand as registered in South Kingstown, Rhode Island in 1705. You might think why does it matter—and perhaps […]
Location, Location Location: Changing Names and Jurisdictions & Finding Records
Posted on October 18, 2021 1 Comment
My recent trip back to Massachusetts underscored the SUPREME importance of understanding a Town’s history. It is not just the names that often changed, but their jurisdictions and sometimes their ACTUAL location. What do I mean by knowing a Town’s history. Specifically nothing will serve your genealogy research and your family history writing more than […]
Foxes, Wild Cats, Crows & Woodchucks – Negros, Indians & Servants: The Battle for Control in Early Rhode Island as reflected in South Kingstown Records
Posted on October 17, 2021 1 Comment
The joy and horror of reading original colonial town records is the discovery of everyday life in the Colonies. On a recent visit to South Kingston, [Originally named for the Naragansett Indians and later known as Kings town], Rhode Island Town Record office I stumbled upon these records, which were both illuminating and disturbing. What […]
The Very Best 50th Wedding Anniversary Gift of All
Posted on October 14, 2021 2 Comments
Sometimes we must tell our own family stories. Back in February of 2021 after we received our first Covid-19 vaccines, we began talking about a trip to celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary. I did lots of research and came up with 20 or so places we might go. They ranged from Vancouver Island, BC to […]
A Fairy Land of Snow Embroidered Dreams: A Soprano’s Aria Chapter 19
Posted on September 27, 2021 Leave a Comment
Jan 1 1917 Monday Came back to Allie’s this morning and accompanied him to see Mr & Mrs. Jacobson where we will live for a few mo. Allie having rented it furnished. We were received very graciously by them both and I think will be satisfied out there for the winter mo. Came back to […]
Wheaton Wood 