“We Do Not Remember Days, We Remember Moments”

On January 30th, we celebrated our son-in-law's 50th birthday! Yet another instance of moments in our lives passing too quickly. Our daughter, Jennifer, first introduced Brian to us 31 years ago. Our introduction to Brian's father, Bill, (who was 50 years old when Brian was born), gives way to an amusing story. Jennifer's dad, Bob …

Lawrence T. “Larl” Boling – 1838-1910: The Wounded Soldier

The records I am reviewing today are those of my second great-grandfather, Lawrence T. “Larl” Boling/Bowling, born on May 26, 1838, in Chancellorsville, Virginia (about ten miles west of Fredericksburg). In my two previous posts, “Wild Times in "The Wilderness" of Spotsylvania - December 18, 2020, and "The Battle of Wilderness Farm - May 5-7, …

Commemorating the 111th Women’s History Month– March 2022

Remembering My Ancestors: Pocahontas and Edith White Bolling Wilson... Strong Women and Role Models for Young Girls How many young girls can claim they descend from Pocahontas? I knew little about my ancestors or my relationships with them when I was a girl. But I'm very glad that I made time throughout my adult years …

” FUNNY AND NOT SO FUNNY MOMENTS “

Our son-in-law, Brian, turned 50 on January 30, 2022! Our daughter, Jennifer, first introduced Brian to us 31 years ago. Our introduction to Brian's father, Bill, (who happened to be 50 years old when Brian was born), gives way to an amusing story. Jennifer's dad, Bob was on call at Maryland's Forestville Volunteer Fire Department …

Weathering Life’s Storms

It was 10 years ago since the start of back-to-back blizzards left Maryland buried beneath more than 4 feet of snow. Two back-to-back, humongous blizzards rolled through. The first was the biggest. It started on the 5th of February, ended on the 6th, and dumped anywhere from 2 to 3 feet of snow. Days later, …

Wild Times in “The Wilderness” of Spotsylvania

My paternal great grandfather was Edward "Bud" Vincent Bowling/Boling (1872-1946). He was born in Parker, Spotsylvania County, Virginia. According to the 1880 Census, "Vincent," as he was called at eight years old, lived on a tenant farm with his father Lawrence T. Boling (42), and his mother Sara Elizabeth Bettie Tapp (45), and his sisters …

Another Visit to Lottie’s Cardboard Box of Momentos

It's been six years since I tried to identify people or places in my paternal great-grandmother Lottie Taylor Chambers' photo box.  On my last visit, (July 1, 2014), I wrote about a poem that I knew had been written by Lottie's hand. In many instances these photos and momentos are over 100 years old.  Until …

The Battle of Wilderness Farm – May 5-7, 1864

Many of my paternal ancestors lived in Spotsylvania County and, in fact, on the Wilderness Farm (my 2nd great-grandmother "Bettie Tapp [1834-1900] who married Lawrence T. Boling [1838-1910]). The following video is tailer from the new 3-part mini series on the History Channel about the Civil War Battle of Wilderness Farm [May 5-7, 1864], then …

An Intimate Interview With My Dad – Part 4

8.  What are some of your indelible memories about World War II and the decade known as "The Fighting Forties" [Note:  According to the weather records, it was a mild Sunday in Washington, D.C., on December 7, 1941.  The temperatures were in the 40's] It was my BIG 13th birthday--the day I officially became a …

“Tapp-ing” Into Lives in 19th Century Spotsylvania County

Local author, Pat Sullivan, penned and published the post that follows on Saturday, September 2014.  It is a far more intimate story of Phenie Tapp's (my second great aunt) family than my post "Bi-racial Relationships of the 60’s–the 1860’s!", penned May 14, 2014. My post tells about my second great-grandmother Catharine Elizabeth "Widow Tapp" Dempsey (descendent …

A Christmas Pause During “The Great War” (1914 – 1919)

"No Man's Land" is the term used by soldiers to describe the ground between the two opposing trenches. Its width along the Western Front could vary a great deal. The average distance in most sectors was about 250 yards (230 meters). However, at Guillemont it was only 50 yards (46 meters) whereas at Cambrai it …

Keep Calm and Carry On–It’s More Than a T-Shirt Logo

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that it's become so much more than the stories and histories of my family.  It truly is about Our "unbounded" Heritage. Meaning, that these posts cover a vast array of enlightening, informative, and unbridled themes and content intended to help us better define who, …

French Soldier’s Room Remains Unchanged 96 Years After His Death in World War I

The story below touched my heart so much that I felt compelled to share it with my readers.  I can only imagine with great trepidation enduring the loss of a son and honoring him beyond my time on this planet... THIS IS A REBLOG FROM THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER: Parents kept room as it was the day he …

Flashbacks of the Great Y2K Scare

The Great Y2K Scare The great Y2K scare was spread by scaremongers who thought that the world's computer systems would cease to function on December 31, 1999.  The Y2K problem, aka, "the Millennium bug," "the Y2K bug," or simply "The Year 2000 problem" was both a  digital (computer-related) and non-digital documentation and storage issue.  The quick and easy fix was to convert …

Remembering Loved Ones for Their Military Services

Home of the Brave About 1-1/2 years ago, I wrote a blog post From Everyday Moments May Come Precious Memories where I noted my feelings, ties, and respect for my mom's grandfather, John Carpenter Ford; her parents, Robert Gideon and Loretta Ford; and her brother, my uncle, John Austin Ford.  The Ford family was intricately involved with me in …

Bi-racial Relationships of the 60’s–the 1860’s!

The Year 1868 Last week my genealogical research took me back to my second paternal great-grandfather, Lawrence T. "Larl" Boling.  I already knew that Larl married Sarah Elizabeth "Bettie" Tapp in Fredericksburg, Virginia, but when I looked more closely I found that their wedding took place just one week before Christmas 1868--that was the Christmas day when our …

150th Anniversary–Battle of the Wilderness

My second great-grandfather, Lawrence T. "Larl" Boling married Sarah Tapp, daughter of the now famous Catharine Dempsey "Widow Tapp," (making her my 3rd great grandmother) because she had the misfortune of living on the land that became known as the "Wilderness Battlefield," in Fredericksburg, Virginia, during the Civil War. On Friday, May 2, through Sunday, May …

Oldest-Known Holocaust Survivor Dies; Pianist Was 110

This blog would be incomplete if I failed to include references to the good, the bad, and the uglies of this world. So when I came upon this story of Alice Herz-Sommer, I realized it had all of those features and many more. Alice's spirit, in only moments, touched my heart. I believe she survived …

Our 28th President, His First Lady Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, Pocahontas, and Me

In Celebration of November -  Native American History Month President Woodrow Wilson - husband of my 3rd paternal cousin Edith Bolling Galt Wilson Edith Bolling Galt Wilson was the 35th First Lady of the White House. President Wilson's daughter, Margaret Woodrow Wilson served as First Lady for a brief period following the death of President Wilson's …

…Back to Ole’ Virginny

Although we are officially two weeks into the 2013 Fall Season today (October 3), it is yet another day in a string of unseasonably warm ones with brilliant blue skies, bright sunshine, blossoming flowers, mostly green trees, and temperatures rising again into the mid-80's.  What an opportunity to  'Saisir le jour,' as the French would …