Facebook Post on Origins of Expressions This morning my daughter shared a September 3, 2014, Facebook post created by Dan Steele (Dan Balam) of Norfolk, Virginia. His post was an easy and fun read that got me to questioning whether the origins of the terms and phrases actually had been proven true or were myths … Continue reading We Just Didn’t Make This Stuff Up…Or, Did We?
Stories
Family Stories that Bind Us
Often when I have writer's block, I take time out to read what others are writing about or I simply google a theme that I have in mind. And, today, I discovered the "This Life" column that appears monthly in the Sunday Styles Section of the New York Times. The article "Family Stories that Bind Us," … Continue reading Family Stories that Bind Us
My Blog is Likely to Hit 10,000 Viewers Today!
A Great Big Thanks to all of my Viewers and Subscribers! While I was away playing with our youngest grandchildren in Ocean City last week, I nearly lost track of how many of you were continuing to view this site. Looking back on the past 18 or so months since I started posting my … Continue reading My Blog is Likely to Hit 10,000 Viewers Today!
Nearly 75 Years Later – A Family’s Unanswered Questions and Unsolved Mysteries Unravel
My Family of Secrets A year ago, nearly exactly to the day, I wrote a rather long and personal post about my paternal grandparents and great-grandparents--the Bollings and the Chambers. From its title, you can infer that there were some unanswered questions and mysteries surrounding these people and their relationships that dated back years before … Continue reading Nearly 75 Years Later – A Family’s Unanswered Questions and Unsolved Mysteries Unravel
A Girl Jekyll and Hyde Who Embezzled $110,000
I subscribe to World Explorer Ancestry.com which gives me full access to everything Ancestry has available, including Fold3.com, the military records site, and Newspapers.com, which includes unlimited access to more than 50 million pages from more than 1800 newspapers across the United States with billions of articles, obituaries, and announcements that may contain stories of my … Continue reading A Girl Jekyll and Hyde Who Embezzled $110,000
Chance Encounters and Instant Connections
As Bob made a very long and wide turn from the drive with our Ford F-150 truck to park it in a handicapped space another car came from the opposite side of the drive and pulled straight into the space next to us. We were both laughing about our similar aches and limps as we … Continue reading Chance Encounters and Instant Connections
Railroaded in Colonial Virginia…
THANKFUL THURSDAY...PART 2 King George County, Port Royal, Virginia We are picking up from Part 1 of this post, dated January 30, 2013, in King George County, Virginia, meandering toward our final destination the Centre Hill Mansion Museum to do the annual January 24th Ghost Walk through the house originally built by Colonel Robert Bolling … Continue reading Railroaded in Colonial Virginia…
My Other Uncle John–Blair, that is…
John Blair, Sr., 4-term Acting Governor of Virginia: He sat on Virginia's Governor's Council for over 25 years and was a favorite nephew of James Blair (1655-1743), an Anglican Minister and Founding President of William and Mary College in Williamsburg, Virginia. Among John Blair's many personal and professional accomplishments that follow, he also was father … Continue reading My Other Uncle John–Blair, that is…
Introducing Beau…Part 4, Dogs are Family, too!
Contributing Author: My Daughter, Jennifer My 18th Birthday Present It was November 1991, I had just started college two months before and my brothers were already out of the house when Mom and Dad brought Beau home to me as a birthday present. He was a cute puff of grey, black, brown and white fur … Continue reading Introducing Beau…Part 4, Dogs are Family, too!
Hello Again, World – My 145th Post
My First Post - Eight Months Ago Eight months ago on November 15, 2012, I published “Hello World“--my 341-word first blog post ever, under the category of Witches and Witchcraft. I wondered then if some of my family from among the 40 generations I have traced back could have been among those accused of witchcraft … Continue reading Hello Again, World – My 145th Post
The Tudors and Taylors: My British Connection
The Tudors Two years ago, we watched on Netflix, almost incessantly, 38 streamed episodes of Showtime TV's monumental, award-winning series The Tudors. The Tudors originally aired from April 1, 2007, to June 10, 2010. It starred the 35-year-old Golden Globe award-winning Irish actor, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, (2nd from left in the photo), and this year's 30-year-old, British born actor, Man … Continue reading The Tudors and Taylors: My British Connection
My Life’s Five Most Embarrassing Moments
In no specific order: I was 7, some people referred to me as being very demure for my age, and I was usually seen and not heard (because my Great Grandfather preferred children this way). My Uncle John, Grandfather, Roy, and Dad, Frank, had just returned to the farm in Glenn Dale, Maryland, with a … Continue reading My Life’s Five Most Embarrassing Moments
Found In the Archives from December 8, 1941
Dark, cloudy skies with intermittent heavy downpours to sprinklings of rain make today the perfect day for exploring, researching, and documenting new finds. Among my many searches today to complement draft posts to come, I entered just two of the 13 Presidential Libraries (Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S.Truman Libraries), which have their collections online. … Continue reading Found In the Archives from December 8, 1941
Life is Precious and Sometimes Wild–Let’s Just Do It!
Some of us struggle in life and are too proud to ask for guidance or help. Some lives are in destructive ruts and we are blind to them. We all have a loved one, neighbor, or friend who we might like to help, but we are frozen in fear of being so bold to intrude … Continue reading Life is Precious and Sometimes Wild–Let’s Just Do It!
“That Which Does Not Kill Us Makes Us Stronger”
OBITUARY: STAMBAUGH, BONNIE J. (28 Years, 8 Mos., 8 Days) On July 21, 1983 of Colmar Manor, Prince George’s County, Maryland, third daughter of Delores A. (Boling) Stambaugh and Luther M. Stambaugh; sister of Diane Blesi, Pamela Henry, and Deborah, Connie, and Glenn Stambaugh. Friends may call at Gasch’s Funeral Home, 4739 Baltimore Avenue, Hyattsville, … Continue reading “That Which Does Not Kill Us Makes Us Stronger”
Busted “Brick Wall” Reveals More “Chambers”
It's absolutely exhilarating to bust through a genealogical brick wall and reveal more "Chambers" that until now had been hidden from our family. Since 1980 when I first started manually compiling our history I had gleaned only limited information about my dad's maternal Chambers' family from Pennsylvania. If you read my post from a couple … Continue reading Busted “Brick Wall” Reveals More “Chambers”
Tobacco, Slavery, Earthworms, Honey Bees; Grains, Livestock, Disease…Oh My!
After reading one of my posts, a friend suggested I take a look at the book 1493... by Charles C. Mann. Only in a few pages and I had a rude awakening. It appeared to me that up to this point I had merely been scratching the surface when describing our family's roots, branches, history, … Continue reading Tobacco, Slavery, Earthworms, Honey Bees; Grains, Livestock, Disease…Oh My!
“Rare Gems of Human Knowledge”
If you have read more than one of my posts, by now you know that I love to read, explore, and learn on my own from others--those who came before me and those living, who I may or may not personally know. Over the past several months especially, I have been following those people/blogs who … Continue reading “Rare Gems of Human Knowledge”
Cherry Pink, Apple Blossom White, and Red in the Face!
One week after Easter, two of our sons and their wives came from Lynchburg, VA, and Nanjemoy, MD, so we could all venture into Washington, DC and enjoy the Cherry Blossoms together in full bloom--something our eldest son and his wife did on their own this time last year. (Yes, I know last year's picture reeks … Continue reading Cherry Pink, Apple Blossom White, and Red in the Face!
When I Had to Say Goodbye to My Babies
Starting with my very first Christmas, Santa always left me the most popular baby doll of the times. She was always center front just under our tree. And, my babies were always my most prized possessions. My first infant My first infant baby was all rubber and very life-like. She was delivered in only a … Continue reading When I Had to Say Goodbye to My Babies
Our Unbounded Heritage: 12th Century & Beyond 