The First Memorial Day

Today is the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend, so I want to tell a story about the very first Memorial Day.   Now-a-days the last Monday of May is officially set aside to honor and remember those who died while serving in our country’s armed forces, but it...
NARA

NARA

  Many of my stories will involve information discovered at the National Archives, so I thought it would be good to explain. The National Archives and Records Administration, called “NARA”, is the agency responsible for preserving government and historical...
The Tale of Burley Pixley’s Death

The Tale of Burley Pixley’s Death

Sometimes family legends become embellished in the telling and other times the real story is much more dramatic than anyone knew.  Such is the case with the Tale of Burley Pixley’s Death. Several years ago my mother and I went to the Old Tacoma Cemetery.  We were...
Elmore Wheaton was a Good Man

Elmore Wheaton was a Good Man

In an earlier post, titled Grave Walking for Julia, I found Elmore Wheaton’s grave.  Elmore was my three times great grandmother’s brother-in-law, being married to her younger sister, Ann.  After doing some research I determined that Elmore was a good guy and I liked...
Grave Walking for Julia

Grave Walking for Julia

  Julia Pixley was my three times great grandmother and her grave was lost.  I knew from family lore and from Ancestry.com she was born in Fabius, New York and she died there too.  I knew Julia married Thomas Pixley and I was able to track the family using...
Finding Samuel Jerome

Finding Samuel Jerome

As Linda and I were leaving our hotel in Saratoga Springs I punched Pompey into the mapping app of my iPhone and let Siri choose our route.  We were going to the village of Pompey in Central New York State to look for my five times great grandparents, John and Mary...