If I Knew Then . . .

If I Knew Then . . . I was fortunate to be in Florida when MyHeritage genealogy expert Daniel Horowitz was touring the state and giving free lectures. The Manatee Genealogical Society hosted Daniel Horowitz’s lecture at the State College of Florida’s lovely “Together Manatee Community Room” in the college’s Library & Learning Center. 1. Back Up -The first thing on Daniel’s list of “If I Knew Then What I Know Now” presentation was Dick Eastman’s reminder: Back up. Mr. Eastman posted this reminder on the first of every month. Mr. Horowitz expanded on this suggesting backing up to multiple media. 2. Naming Documents – This slide was the first of how he names and stores his digital files. Make sure the document, image, or photo is identified so it can be easily found. 3. You See It – You Get It – How often have we seen documents or images online, but continue to search because we are hot on the trail? The document or image is forgotten for now, but when we need it later it can’t be found. Daniel Horowitz reminds us to stop and capture the item by either downloading or photographing it. 4. Dates – He posted several familiar ways to record dates that we either said no to or yes, that’s the way. Not. For sorting purposes, start with the year, then the month and date. Make sure you include the zero. i.e. 1980 07 05 5. Facts – He showed a photo of a family photo of a tombstone in Israel he’d found on Billion Graves. The photo showed a bit of the next stone which turned out to be another family member. A reminder to check cemeteries for other relatives as they tend to be buried near each other. Check the dates. He showed an example of a stone with a death date of April 20, but when he checked the death certificate, the person died on April 17, and the burial date was the 20th. 6. Source – Goes without saying, but do your best to get to the original source. 7. Associations – When you have documents, images, and photos of ancestors, look closely to see how they relate to each other. 8. Google Maps – He showed a photo of his aunt standing in from of her grocery store. The sign above the store had the number 722. He figured that was the address, so mapping where his relatives lived in Brooklyn, he looked for that number. They would not have traveled far to work like some do today. He put in 722 in Google Maps and it gave him several addresses with that number. He found one within a couple of blocks from his aunt’s home. Then he found a photo of what the store looks like today. He ended his presentation by sharing all the free opportunities that MyHeritage provides. They have a free Genealogy Course, you can upload your DNA results taken with other companies to the MyHeritage website, and you can have a free tree with a limit of 255 people, though you can transfer a Gedcom file with a larger tree. Daniel Horowitz covered a lot of ground in an hour, interspersed with a few laughs, and he spent another thirty minutes answering questions. I’m glad I took notes! After his Florida tour, he will be on his way to RootsTech. I’ve developed my schedule for the online courses. Have you?

A Growing Family

I thought my Irish ancestors would want their story told. Apparently not. They have been difficult from the start and the reason I was forced to leave them and research other ancestral lines. I'm not one to give up, so I'm back channeling my paternal grandmother's side, Patrick and Maggie Doyle. They had two daughters: Mary b: 1899, who we called "Nana", and Winifred b: 1903, which I found out later was "Nanny." This weekend I went the DNA route and contacted a second cousin once removed. He wrote right back and gave me his mother's email. His mother is Winifred's granddaughter. I couldn't believe my luck! Finally. I carefully composed an email to his mother not expecting a response. She did respond a couple hours later. My heartbeat quickened until I read her note. Neither she, nor her siblings, knew anything about their grandmother. In fact, they thought their grandmother, Winifred (Doyle) Farley was an only child. We went back and forth all Sunday morning as I shared information and photos of the Doyles and the two sisters, Mary and Winifred. What a wonderful feeling to share my research with new relatives who had no idea they had more family. I hope they feel the same.

James Farley was born 1901. He arrived in Portland, Maine in 1923, and then made his way to Bronx, New York where he met Winifred and they married in 1930. James was born in County Longford, Ireland, which is adjacent to Roscommon and Mayo, the area from where I believe the Doyles were from.

Irish Ancestors - Patrick and Margaret (Conlon) Doyle

I've broken down two brick walls over the last week. I found the death certificates for my greatgrandparents, Patrick and Margaret (Maggie) Doyle. Identifying their exact birth and death dates had been frustrating for me over the years, but now those records are digitized. Patrick Doyle was born 17 May 1858 in Ireland. He died 31 May 1924 at 1948 Cruger Avenue, Bronx, New York. I know this is "my" Patrick, because my grandparents, my father and his siblings lived at that address. It gives his occupation as a Street Cleaner, which I knew. What I didn't know was his parents names, John and Mary Doyle. Margaret (Conlon) Doyle was born abt 1867 (no exact date), and died 1 January 1928 at 1948 Cruger Street, Bronx, New York. What I didn't know were her parents Michael and Catherine Conlon. The executor is listed as Mary Nunn (incorrectly listed as Neenn), who is my grandmother. When I found these folks I jumped up and did a happy dance. But these documents did not tell me where they were from in Ireland. Information I want to learn before I attend the Irish SIG hosted by the Manatee Genealogical Society on December 12. This new SIG is being offered due to the generousity of Irish genealogy expert Donna Moughty. Through the census years I had documented the "cousins" who had lived with the Doyles. One set of "cousins" were the Gormley brothers. I had researched them at an earlier date and found they emigrated from Ballinclee, Ireland. Maggie Doyle had Conlon cousins that I knew about, in fact I met two of them when I was small, but so far have not been able to find documentation of the relationship to Maggie. Those cousins weren't helpful because they were all born in the U.S. I remembered I had noted a woman, Margaret Hoey, who lived with my grandparents in the 1930 census. I searched Margaret Hoey in the Ancestry database and Bam! She was really easy to find. The immigration database showed her birth date as 13 Sepetember 1908, her birthplace Ballinclee, Co, Longford, Cobh, Ireland. She arrived in New York on 29 March 1926. Then the cincher: Her parents were listed as Ernest Hoey and Catherine (Conlon) Hoey. Could Margaret's mother be Maggie's sister, named for their mother? I will have to make a trip over to the Godfrey Library and use their International Ancestry subscription to work on that angle. She listed the person in the U.S. as John Conlon, but she stayed with the Nunn family (my grandparents) at 1948 Cruger Avenue, Bronx, New York. Margaret Hoey married Michael Lennon, of County Monaghan, Ireland. They lived at 1807 Archer St. Bronx, New York. With this research, I'm pretty certain my Patrick and Maggie Doyle were from the Ballinclee area of Ireland.

Noah Agard, Jr.

I started working on the Agard family history twenty-four years ago and have taken the family up through the ninth generation. I am revisiting this monograph to flesh our all those ancestors a bit more. I will double check the citations (from when I was a baby genealogist), and edit the write-ups for a more narrative flow. Yesterday, when working on the the sixth generation I realized I hadn't done any research on the last child of Noah and Rebecca Ann (Fletcher) Agard. The only thing I had was his name, Noah Agard, Jr, his birth and death dates - 14 March 1866 - 15 Jan 1887. Poor Noah died just before his twenty-first birthday. Since the Agards are a long line of farmers, I assumed that Noah, Jr. was probably working on his father's farm at the time of his death. But I couldn't be certain. I checked the 1880 census and no occupation was listed for him. I went to the Fulton History website for newspaper articles. There I found that Noah died at his father's house. Still, no occupation. Further down the newspaper listings was an article from 1885. Bingo! The article pasted below is what I love about genealogy. I still would like to get his death certificate, and will work on that. The Watkins Democrat of June 24, 1885, told me what I really wanted to know about Noah, Jr.: “Noah Agard, Jr., a resident of Mecklenburgh, N. Y., who makes a business of coloring, retouching and throwing up with oil colors, photographs of almost every variety, is in town taking orders for work in his line. His prices are so much lower than the general average, for this kind of work, that his orders cannot fail of being numerous. He will call at your residence and receive your orders or they may be forwarded to his address as above, where they will receive prompt attention. We have seen some very fine specimens from his hands, which evince no little ability.”

Esther Agard's Journey - June 18, 2023 Update

Writing helps you make sense of things, so that's what I decided to do on this Sunday afternoon. With the help of a timeline, I've disproved previous assumptions of John and Esther Agard's journey to America. Previous researchers assumed that the child born on 16 July 1683 and listed by the Boston Vital Records as "Esther, daughter of John and Esther Agard" was a mistake and actually a son, John the Younger Agard, was born on that date. I don't think so. I found a baptism of "Esther, dau of John Agard" on 22 July 1683 in the Old South Church, Boston, MA digitized records. Today I found the baptism of John, son of Widow Agard baptized on 30 November 1684 in the Old South Church, Boston, MA. I'm assuming that baby Esther was born 16 July 1683 and died before 1685 when Esther married Samuel Storrs. Because the record stated her as "Widow," John the Elder Agard must have died between July 1683 and November 1684. That's all great information. But, I cannot find a birth record for John the Younger, or a death record for John the Elder Agard. There are no Findagrave entries for either. I learned John the Elder was a weaver and Seth Perry became surety for him. Maybe I should track down this Seth Perry. Any thoughts on where I should go next would be greatly appreciated.

Esther's Journey

I attended the New England Regional Genealogical Conference this past week with a specific goal in mind. That goal was to discover Esther Agard's journey. Esther is the wife of John the Elder Agard, purported to be the founding father of the Agards in America. The only information we have of John in America is that he either died on the ship or upon arrival in Boston. Is that true? And if so, then it is actually Esther that is the founding member of the Agards in America. The research so far has them landing in Boston in April 1683 with the birth of their son, John the Younger in July 1683. Two years later we find Esther in Barnstable, MA marrying Samuel Storrs. The couple had three childre, Thomas Storrs b: 1686, Esther Storrs b: 1688, and Cordial Storrs b: 1692. That information isn't enough. I want to know if John made it onto America soil before he died. I want to know how Esther got to Barnstable, and why. I want to connect with her and learn about what her life was like. I realized through the conference that to get these answers, I'll need to read about the early history of Boston, try to find a death record for John, and trace Samuel Storrs. Finding out when and why he settled in Barnstable might give me a hint as to that migration pattern. The Massachuetts Genealogy Society staff were helpful and gave me some ideas. They also said Barnstable has great records. That historical society will be opening mid-May. The Fall River Historical Society will have information. I will have to bone up on Massachusetts laws at that time. A lot of work ahead of me, but at least I can now design a new research plan. The Mormons believe your ancestors want you to find them. I've learned that is true. You just have to work at it.

Winnie Doyle and James Farley

My father's side, the Nunns and Doyles, have been difficult to research, and my grandmother's sister, Winifred Doyle has been lost to me. My recent 23 and Me DNA test put me in touch with one of Winifred's descendants. Yay!!! Winnie Doyle married James Farley, and with this information I still had trouble placing them until their descendant told me they went back to Ireland for a time. I've sent my second cousin photos of Patrick and Maggie Doyle and a photo I hope has her great-grandparents, Winnie and James. It is a great photo (showned above) as it also shows my grandparents, Mary Agnes (Doyle) Nunn, Harry Nunn and Maggie Doyle. I'm waiting for confirmation that the couple on the right is Winnie and James. I have messages out to some other "cousins," though none are a very close match. And I also have more names to work on. Genealogy is never-ending, and that's what we love about it.

Joseph Agard b: 1746

I am back working on my Agard family line. I started this research in the early 2000s and recently organized the write-ups on each generation into a 3-ring binder.

I chose to work on the third generation, the family of John and Mary (Mason) Horsford Agard. I started with their first son, Joseph, born 17 Aug 1746 who married Tabitha Leach bef 1775. Delving into this line, I learned that Joseph and Tabitha moved west to New York. I learned this line of the Agards moved to Smithville Flats, New York. With help from the local historical society I was able to put together information on the family and surprised to see how many Agards are buried in the local cemetery there. Here is the write-up so far on the Joseph and Tabitha Agard: Joseph married Tabitha Leach (b: 20 Nov 1750- d: 8 September 1818 age 67) bef 1775. Tabitha was the daughter of Richard and Amity Rebecca (Bugbee) Leach. In 1776, Joseph was a new-comer into the Winchester Society. “The town of Winchester lies in the northeast corner of the county. It is situated in the ‘Evergreen district of the state,’ and is hilly and mountainous. The soil a coarse gravelly loam and well adapted to graving. Winchester was granted by the Colonial Legislature in January 1686, to the towns of Hartford and Windsor. By dissolution of the partnership between the two towns, Winchester came under the sole proprietorship of Hartford.” Joseph and Tabitha moved to Pawlings, New York in 1803, where he claimed he owned a house and lot with real estate of 334 acres. The couple had six children. In 1798 the first settler of Smithville, New York, Robert Lytle, sold land to Joseph Agard and Epaphas Sheldon, and families. Smithville was founded in 1808 from part of the Town of Greene. I surmise Joseph moved his family to Smithville because of the land that became available following the Revolutionary War and subsequent treaties with the Indians. The quantity of land purchase is not known. “Joseph Agard built first frame house “which stood in front of Robert Hetrick residence” in hamlet of Smithville. (Smith’s History) “In front of” is not clearly defined but believed to be across street from current location, next to Seebers. Later deeded (1811) to his son Erastus. Joseph and Tabitha are buried in Smithville Flats Cemetery, Chenango County, New York, Plot 169. The epitaph on the grave of Tabitha: "She was the wife of Joseph, Esq., one of the 1st settlers in this town (1798), who after many years of the greatest toil in this howling wild, in which she with her family suffered much by hunger and nakedness, was taken with a lingering illness which lasted several years. She suffered great pain of body and depression of spirit. She knew in whom she believed, and waited with patience the coming of the Lord. She was an obedient wife, a loving mother, and keeper at home. She was a succorer of many in the settling of this country, both Indians and white men, who often received food from her hand. She instructed her children to be always obedient to their father and to fear God. Every day she was attentive to prayer, bowing the knee to the Lord, Jesus, thus leaving a glorious example to all her sex to be obedient to their own husband and teachers of good things and chaste keepers at home. She had 4 sons who cleared this ground where she and all this great family lie." There Agards buried in the Smithville Flats Cemetery: Clarissa Agard (1788-21 Feb 1869) Lot 4; Erastus Agard (11 Feb 1787-1 Oct 1863) Lot 169; Erastus Jordan Agard (1828-17 May 1860 Lot 169; John Agard (1838-Unknown) Lot 169; Latiums Agard (1830-1 Apr 1848) Lot 169; Sally Carpenter Agard (1797-5 Jun 1863) Lot 169; Tabitha Leach Agard (20 Nov 1750-8 Sept 1818) Lot 169; Joseph Agard (17 Aug 1746-25 Aug 1836) Lot 169; Ulisia Agard (1825-18 Sept 1836) Lot 169; Tabitha “Roxy” Agard (17 May 1779-4 Oct 1814) Lot 165; Marianne Agard Grant (1820-1905) Pharsalia Agard Scott (1823-3 Jan 1866) Lot 169. This research opened up a whole new avenue of research and making sure I have the right Joseph.

Oral Histories

Years ago when I recorded and transcribed my mother's (Carol Agard Nunn) oral history, I also asked her to do an oral history of our family restaurant, Taughannock Farms Inn. That history was recently shared with the new owners of the Inn and I am now seeing bits of Mom's history on their menus. That pleases me a lot! At the time I transcribed Taughannock Farms Inn, the Early Years, I contacted Carol Kammen who did the history articles for the Ithaca Journal and suggested that other local businesses record their history before it's lost. Carol ran with the idea and published an article about the importance of documenting the mom and pop businesses in Ithaca. I don't know if anyone followed up on that suggestion. In that vein, over the last two years I've worked with Monica Wilkinson Kelly of the Edith B. Ford Library in Ovid, New York, transcribing 39 oral histories of the craft beverage businesses between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes. Monica has posted these interviews on the New York Heritage website: https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/search/collection/nyheritage!p16694coll112/searchterm/Viticulturists/field/subjec/mode/all/conn/and In that site, click on Collections, Oral Histories, and then Memory Project, Viticulturists. There will be a list of about 27 interviews with the transcript and video taken at the time of the interview. Each one is so different and so interesting. On the left of the screen you will see other sections. Click on those to get more of the wineries and breweries that were interviewed. And then, get to the Finger Lakes and visit these amazing, award-winning wineries.

Casper Joseph Nunn and Catherine Kurtz

I've been away from genealogy research for a while - writing mysteries does that. So, I was delighted to see all the new information on Family Search relating to my German great-grandparents, Casper Joseph Nunn and Catherine (Kurtz) Nunn. New information that I didn't have is that Casper Joseph (he went by Joseph) was listed as a farmer on the ship manifest. When he arrived in New York City on 7 August 1882 he found work as a harnessmaker. Other new information was more exact information as to where he originated in Germany - Heidenfeld, Rothlein, Schweinfurt, Bavaria, which is in Lower Franconia. I also learned that he is buried in St. Michael's Cemetery, plus his death cert number. My great-grandmother, Catherine Kurtz, born in Lauf, Baden, Germany, arrived in New York City 12 May 1881. With her was Dorthea Kurtz. I don't know if this is her sister or cousin. Further research has to be done to learn more about Catherine and Dorthea. I will attend the Manatee Genealogical Society's German SIG this Wednesday to get more hints on how to trace back these family members.

Deadly Secrets - My newest mystery

I’m excited and relieved that my fourth Caitlyn Jamison mystery is published. I began writing this book in March 2020 when the Novel Coronavirus copied/stole the plot for a suspense I’d been working on since December 2019. When I realized that no one would read what I’d developed, or would think I just copied the headlines, I put that book aside and started Caitlyn’s next adventure. It is this venture that has kept me from doing any in-depth genealogy research. I enjoy researching these books. I get to know a new geographic area, its trials and tribulations, and learn about new cultural norms. I wanted to do something different in this book. To that end I decided to have Caitlyn arriving in the Adirondacks. She is visiting the idyllic town of Pont-Aven, an artists’ enclave that welcomes all creative arts. A conference center is built to accommodate groups of all artistic endeavors. Caitlyn immediately falls in love with the town. But, on the day of her arrival, a young male librarian is attacked. And, against the warning of local law enforcement, Caitlyn decides to do her own investigation to find out who attacked the librarian. That young man is also an environmentalist and leading the protests against a commercial development planned for the town green that would ruin the town. Ethan is in Virginia working at his new position as the Law Enforcement Liaison Officer for the State of Virginia. That position is under the umbrella of the FBI. He learns about an item missing from the Library of Congress’s Packard Campus, and then has cases of cybercrime of valuable art and antiquities. Caitlyn’s investigation takes a turn when a murder is committed in the small town. She is challenged, but determined to solve these cases without Ethan’s help. This book has a lot going on between the plot lines and the characters—a great book discussion option.

St. Joseph's Home - Searching Miguel Rivera, Moses and Harry Burnett

I was asked to post this by researcher: Mbock7445@yahoo.com “I am trying to find a Miguel Rivera, Moses and Harry Burnett that were child residents from about 1955 to 1960 at St. Joseph's. They were about 8 to 13 years old at the time. I am trying to connect them with another resident that is looking for them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.” I advised Mbock to contact the Field Library in Peekskill, NY as the reference librarian there would have the latest information on access to the St. Joseph Home’s records.

Abraham Brown of Westchester County, NY, Scranton, PA, and Newfield, NY

My hubby finished a 94 page monograph on his Abraham Brown line early morning on January 24, 2021. A couple of hours later, while working out on his Nordic Track, hubby collapsed and was gone. My life changing event. We'd been married 52 years. One of the things I knew I had to do was to finish the monograph that he'd worked so hard on for years. The 94 pages is only the body of the document. There is also an appendix of all the obituaries and society notes. It has taken me a few months to be able to concentrate enough to tackle this project. I'm doing that now. When I finish indexing, the documents will be printed, bound, and sent to the usual respositoties. In the meantime, I thought I would share some of Ray's writing on this family through this blog. Abraham Brown was born in Westchester County, NY in 1772 before moving to the Scranton, PA area. From there his family moved north and settled in Newfield, New York. Here is an excerpt from that chapter. According to his sons, Abraham came north by horse and stone boat in 1809. He surely followed the Susquehanna River and perhaps took the Chemung River to what is now Waverly or perhaps Elmira, NY, before following the valley trails north towards Cayuga Lake. Land records indicate he first settled in the Town of Lansing but soon moved to what is now the Town of Newfield and was one of the first families to settle there. Their last two children, Adonirum and Holden Tripp, were born in New York and Abraham and Susannah remained in Newfield the rest of their lives. Running southwest from today’s village of Newfield, NYS Route 13 goes to Elmira through a valley locally known as Poney Hollow. The valley was originally called Saponey Hollow in reference to the Saponey Indians, members of the Iroquois confederation. By the mid-1800’s the valley was heavily inhabited with descendants of Abraham and Susannah Brown. Abraham’s homestead was located on what is now known as Sebring Road, just south of the intersection with Test Road . The barn still stands on the eastern side of the road and, according to Marc Whitney, who grew up in the Cape Cod style house across from the barn, the foundation stones from the original house are incorporated in the basement . According to the Agricultural Census of 1850, Abraham Brown’s farm consisted of 160 A., of which 70 A. were considered improved. His farm was typical of family farms of that time. He raised a variety of animals including milk cows and sheep and grew wheat, rye, oats, buckwheat and Indian corn. The Cash Value of the farm in 1850 was $7,000. Although an active farmer, Abraham Brown also established and managed a hotel located along the highway running between Ithaca and Elmira. Pictured below, the hotel was apparently quite successful. As noted in The Landmarks of Tompkins County, his youngest son Holden Tripp Brown said his father kept a hotel for thirty years. “His first hotel was a log house, but soon he built a frame house, and had a large patronage, often having twenty teams and their occupants to provide for at once.” The building is now a private residence located at the intersection of Sebring Road and NYS Route 13. Ray left organized files on this family, so if there are anyone researching this line and needs help, between Ray's paper files, and digital files, I should be able to answer.

The Brevard Family of Colonial Maryland

Arlene Bravard Dukanaukas has just published a family history: “The Brevard Family of Colonial Maryland, And Allied Families of Alexander, Campbell, Chambers, Culbertson, Dale, Davis, Faris, Fassitt, Hudson, Jetton, McKnitt, Pearce, Taylor, Wallace, and Others.” The book is available on Amazon with the option to “Look inside.” This 214 page book is well-researched, with complete citations, and detailed table of contents. For anyone with Maryland ancestors, this book is a must to have in your personal research library. Check it out on Amazon.com

The Gift of a Lifetime – Journaling and Life Stories

On the left is one of many of my great-grandmother Jessie (Tucker) Agard's journals kept from 1944 to almost her death in 1973 at the age of 97. In the midde is a composition notebook, a perfect size and price for journaling. On the right is what I use for my daily journal. In a presentation given several years ago historian David McCullough said, “If you want to be remembered, keep a journal.” As genealogists/family historians, that advice hit home. We also learned from genealogy that writing helps you make sense of things. Not everyone is a family historian, so, in preparing a presentation on journaling, I anticipated the question why. Why do this? My answer is: Because no one has experienced what you have, has felt what you have felt. No one has your perspective on life, on events. We are living through historic times. How did you manage? Are managing? What did you do differently? How did you react during the shut downs? Did you buy lots of toilet paper? Flour? Vinegar? How did you feel about the protests, the election? Even if no one else ever sees what you write in your journal, it will help you make sense of things. It can bring focus and clarity to your life. Be sure to include the good things, especially the good things that came as a result of the pandemic. The air is a bit cleaner, traffic better, more families making meals at home and eating dinner together (big positive). Creatively blossomed as we figured out ways to stay connected, to accomplish things in a different way. Journaling is a written record of your thoughts, feelings, observations. It can be a short sentence, long paragraphs, or bullet points. It’s whatever you want it to be. There are no rules. No right or wrong way. It’s a way of documenting your life and a way to self-discovery. Have you ever kept a nature journal? Tracking birds, flowers, what works in your vegetable garden year to year and what you’d like to do different next year? A travel journal of trips you’ve taken. My sister-in-law keeps a composition notebook with books she’s read and notes on each in a Reading Journal. I keep a Writers Journal for plot and character ideas, to track progress, and book publishing format specifications. Day to day, my husband and I keep what I call a Daily Journal. Except for my writer’s journal, my daily journal is all of the above. I write down what’d I accomplished the day before, what I want to accomplish that day, family news, sometimes national news, happy events as well as sad. Opinions, books I’m reading, even what we’re having for dinner! This year I wrote about what I planted in my Grow Box. A journal can be anything you want it to be. Your journal can be hand written or digital. If hand written, choose a notebook that feels good to you – they can range in price from $1.00 for a composition book to whatever you want to pay. I spend $12.00 - $14.00 on a journal. I want a certain type, one that feels good in my hands and an extra fine tip black pen. Find a time of day that’s best for you to write. Find a best place to write. Keep your journal in a safe place. Not on the kitchen table where it can be picked up by anyone. These are your personal thoughts. Memoir Writing I started writing memoirs in the early 2000s after attending a morning session at our local library. From that, a small group formed and we met every month for the next few years. I completed my life stories from birth to marriage and titled them, “Growing up in Willow Creek.” Thanks to the C.H. Booth Library in Newtown, CT, who paid for my memoir book to be bound. My process for that first book was to think of a topic like stories about my love of horses, and how that was satisfied; family Thanksgivings and Christmas; Swimming across Cayuga Lake at the age of twelve; what it was like being the child of snowbirds, attending a two-room schoolhouse. All these stories influenced who I am today. And, I hope, will provide insight for my children and grandchildren. In a presentation at a Naugatuck Genealogical Society meeting, I learned the Memory Drifting Technique. This is a great aid to help mine those elusive (long forgotten) memories. And I got surprising results. With our paper/pencil in hand, we were asked to pick a decade. I chose 1960-1970. Next, list a couple significant events that happened during that decade. I listed high school graduation, college graduation, marriage, Chicago, NY. We were asked to choose ONE of those and list issues. I chose Chicago, so my issues were adjustment to city living, job, California trip, starting over. Still using Chicago as my significant event, next list were Memories. I wrote down Big City, no friends, pollution. The last list was called Deeper memories. And this is when I remembered the good things about Chicago: Brookfield Zoo close by, Libby Foods where my husband worked, Berghoff German Restaurant, day trips to Holland, MI for the Tulip Festival, day trips to Wisconsin. I was surprised at the memories that popped up as I drilled down into our life in Chicago. Start your memoir with mini-stories. You won’t remember every detail at first. As you write then let it sit, more memories will come. And try the Memory Drifting Technique. A timeline can be helpful to bring forward memories. Write about your parents/grandparents Your children Religion Holidays Family traditions Pets Jobs Military service Courtship/marriage First home Volunteer positions you’ve held – the best and worst Were there turning points in your life? Things to help jar your memory: Photographs Yearbooks Scrapbooks Letters Talk with family and friends Journals/diaries Write down the important people in your life – how did they make a difference?

Ken Cutter and George Gay - 1944

A great photo of hubby's Uncle Ken Cutter and Lt. Gay, former plane captain Torpedo Squadron Eight in Ready Room. This official U.S. Navy Photograph was taken in Miami, FL August 16, 1944.

Could these men be the crew of the USS Hornet?

We need help!! This souvenir photo was taken from Sherman's State and C Streets Dine and Dance, San Diego, CA by Claud's West Coast Photography, December 9, 1942. Uncle Ken Cutter is first row left. We'd love to be able to identify the other Navy crew. The man on top right is in another photo with Ken. That photo taken at Paris Inn, Dine and Dance, n.w. corner First Avenue and C Street, San Diego, CA. Photo #34855. We think they may all be aviation machinist mates.

Kenneth Cutter and George Gay reunite after Battle of the Midway

My husband recently acquired newspaper clippings and photos of his Uncle Kenneth Cutter’s World War II military service. The article shows Aviation Machinist Mate First Class Kenneth Cutter (at right) with Lt. George Gay. Although the news reported there were no survivors on the USS Hornet at the Battle of Midway, they were wrong. George Gay survived. From Ian W. Toll’s book Pacific Crucible; War at Seat in the Pacific, 1941-1942, he writes: “Ensign George Gay, lone survivor of Torpedo Eight, treaded water in the midst of the Japanese task force. He concealed his head under a float cushion whenever a ship came near, and rejoiced as he watched the enemy carriers burn.” The Squadron received the only Presidential Unit Citation ever given.

Mecklenburg County, Virginia Genealogy

One of my genealogy colleagues has a wonderful website with much of her research in Mecklenburg County. She is in the process of writing a monograph on the Newman family line. Check her website, Julie's Mecklenburg, Virginia Discoveries and search surnames, photos of people and places, African-American resources, Chancery records, churches, plats and land notes, oral histories and interviews, and more. Her Website is: https://mecklenburgvagenealogy.com

"Women as bright as Stars" by Rosemary Rowland

Researching female ancestors is a difficult task. Women are left out of the history books. Their busy lives and contributions to family and community oftentimes ignored. 

Thanks to Rosemary Rowland, the women of the small rural village of Newfield, New York are recognized and now part of written history. 

Rosemary starts her books with a quote from author Donald Dean Parker, who wrote Local History, How to Gather it, Write It, and Publish It. Mr. Parker states: It is not, after all, the highly trained historian who will write the local history of each community in this vast country. If the local history of the United States is to be written at all, it will have to be done by an interested, if amateur citizen or citizens in each community."

I would not say Rosemary is an "amateur," because she has published a well researched and documented book. But she does fit into Mr. Parker's category as an interested citizen of the community in which she lives.

To give a glimpse of the scope of her research into the women who called Newfield home during the 1800s, there are nine pages, two columns of names in the index.

This book is not just for those who have female ancestors in the Tompkins County, New York area. Rosemary divided the chapters into categories, such as Land, Farming, Business, African Americans, The Arts, Education, etc. Consequently, any family historian can learn the issues of the day, can learn what daily life was like for women everywhere during the 19th century.

Her book, recently published, has garnered much interest. Bravo! Rosemary. A job very well done.

To order your copy email Rosemary at: fnrland@gmail.com