Today, researchers have not only the internet to help us find details, facts and information but we have the internet to find support, friends and groups of like minded comrades to help us grow and become what we hoped to become. I was blessed with that experience of late. In 2017, year my research stalled due to lack of time.…
Category: Familes
Celebrating The Allen Gazette, 100 years old!
I was researching this weekend and when I came upon my original copy of The Allen Gazette, I noted the date, 1917. It is 100 years old! This was written by my Great, Great, Great Grandparents and for my Grandchildren, it’s 5 Greats. I have one original copy that my Grandmother saved for me. I am excited. My copy is…
Family Patterns of Death
My Great Grandmother, Laura, died leaving 6 children under 10 years old. Upon researching, I discovered that her mother, Mary Hutchins, died leaving her children at young ages as well. Mary Hutchin’s mother died in the Great Boston Fire, leaving her child motherless. Unable to identify Mary’s mother, we don’t know if that is where the pattern started. But through…
Willie E. Balentine
My Great Grandfather was Bill Balentine. He told numerous tales that found their way into oral history. Apparently he had a grand sense of humor. I have heard that he changed his name to Balentine to be named after his favorite beer. I also heard he was married to an Indian woman in Maine and had to leave as the…
The Bedford Flag
I have always said that it is an amazing gift to have tangible pieces of our past preserved for us. My Great,Great,Great,Great,Great,Great Grandfather Nathaniel Page carried the first flag into an American battle and that flag is preserved in the Bedford, Massachusetts Library where he lived. After decades of wanting to see it for myself, I finally got to go.…
Page Family Homestead Article in The Sunday Herald, 1901.
Discovered in the Parker/Allen Bible was found this newspaper clipping. It is from The Sunday Herald-Boston, dated August 11, 1901. It is entitled, Historic House at Bedford and is rich with details regarding the Page Family homestead in Bedford, Massachusetts. What I find worth noting is that the presence of this article demonstrated that he Allen’s valued this information and…
History according to Gramp.(Alfred T. Balentine)
I have learned a lot from doing family history. One thing that I have learned is to assess a body of work. In other words, when I asked Grampy to write down a historical picture of his life, what is important is not only what he wrote, but what he didn’t. The silence of topic is as important as the…
Baileys
Today I thought to do another round of paper diving within the Parker Family Bible published 1849. There are dozens of letters, newspaper clippings, and notes. My scanner is sooo achingly slow, it really removes the enthusiasm of scanning anything. But the responsibility of acquiring family papers is in their preservation. Family history, if you have never done it, is…
Salem, Massachusettes and Roger Conant
I was thrilled to find out that I descend from early Salem residents. I, like so many, hoped I descended from a witch. Wouldn’t that be cool? Well, no I don’t. But I do descend from a number of original founders. Roger Conant being the most famous one. Anyone who has a statue of themselves is a real find. It…
The Marble Game
I recently acquired The Marble game. It has been in my family for generations. As a child,I saw it on rare guarded occasions. I don’t remember ever being allowed to touch it. Maybe I had. But now as an adult, I own it. It is mine to care for and protect and find the right person to whom to pass…