Category Archives: American History

“Then we cleared out fast…”

Frothingham and GLS for VB
My grandfather with (at left) William Bainbridge Frothingham (1898-1967) during the summer of 1918.

My paternal grandfather kept scrapbooks all his adult life, beginning with volumes chronicling his time at school in Arizona a century ago. He started at Harvard in 1917, and during the summer of 1918 – traveling with some college friends – he drove ambulances in Italy. His album of that summer indicates that these Harvard boys had time to go to the beach and in other ways amuse themselves, but he was – and they were – also on the front lines, and almost as soon as they arrived.

A newspaper clipping, probably from his hometown newspaper in Goshen, New York, quotes from a letter he sent home to his mother:[1]

 

Thursday, 27 June 1918: The first day six of us stayed at our post until the Austrians were only 200 yards away. Continue reading “Then we cleared out fast…”

In the news

Alicia Crane WilliamsLooking at one’s family at any particular point in time can be educational. Recently, I was interested in 1881 because three of my grandparents were born that year and the fourth was born in December 1880, which is close enough. I was wondering what their parents would have been reading in the newspapers at that time.

Online digitized newspapers are big business these days and there are plenty of pay sites like newspapers.com, genealogybank.com, findmypast.com (for English papers), eliphind.com, and newspaperarchives.com. Newspapers that are still in business often have their own archives, such as the New York Times and Boston Globe, although they require subscriptions, too (you may be able to access these free through your local library). Continue reading In the news

Another game of telephone

Grandpa Scaduto in the Army
My grandfather Ignazio Scaduto.

Frequently, patrons will come into the library to prove or disprove a long-standing family story. These stories may involve larger-than-life characters who survived major battles, were accused of dastardly deeds, or men and women who just led charmed lives that appear a bit too good to be true. Over time the facts get can get muddled or embellished, and what may have started as a simple story can turn in to an epic tale. Such stories may be hard to believe, but what I have discovered is that embedded in the story is usually some truth. Continue reading Another game of telephone

“Practice what you preach”

postcard_Page_2_revisedEarlier this week I was scrolling through my newsfeed and I saw a blog post where the author scolded herself and urged her readers to “practice what you preach.” I often think this, especially when I teach the first class of my three-part series on “Getting Started in Genealogy.” The crux of the first lecture is to work from the known to the unknown – not to skip ahead – and to record data using a chart or genealogical software (including sources examined). I encourage students to begin their genealogical journey with material from their own homes, to interview themselves, and to talk to relatives. Because who better to talk to, when learning about your family, than your own family members? Continue reading “Practice what you preach”

Family puzzles

Martin and Elizabeth Schwindt
My mother’s maternal grandparents Martin and Elizabeth (Heft) Schwindt and their family, including my grandmother Elizabeth standing second from right, in Nebraska ca. 1910.

When I was young, my mother mentioned that in her youth her parents would sometimes playfully argue whether Norka was better than Balzer. When asked what that meant she explained to me that these were the names of villages in Russia. That confused me because I knew that she was of German descent. She explained that her German ancestors moved to Russia but eventually life became hard for them there, and after several generations they emigrated to the United States. Continue reading Family puzzles

“Boston people do not like such nonsense”

PP231.236 Regina Shober Gray. Not dated.
Regina Shober Gray by [Edward L.] Allen, ca. 1860. Courtesy of the Maryland Historical Society, Item PP231.236
Regina Shober Gray’s diary changes tone after the onset of her husband’s fatal illness, in 1876, so what does the year 1875 sound like? Mrs. Gray is 56 years old when the year begins, and her children are almost all grown up. Her daughter Mary has already received, and rejected, at least one marriage proposal, while the boys are either in business or still studying at Harvard.

Early in the year, in the midst of a particularly terrible cold snap, Mrs. Gray recalls the winter of 1844, shortly before her marriage:[1]

1 Beacon Hill Place, Boston, Saturday, 20 February 1875: Thirty-one years ago the English Steamer was released from Boston Harbour, by the cutting of a channel through the ice __ miles long, to liberate it, and I well remember, being then a visitor at Mr. Josiah Bradlee’s[2] [house] in Pearl St., the excitement about it… Continue reading “Boston people do not like such nonsense”

Thank an antiquarian

Lenox image
Engraving of the town of Lenox, Massachusetts, by John Warner Barber. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Genealogists and historians of Massachusetts are indebted to the works of nineteenth-century antiquarians: that is, compilers or collectors of historical information and antiquities. The works of several antiquarians – including John Warner Barber, Samuel Gardner Drake, and John Haven Dexter – have become crucial reference works in the study of Massachusetts genealogy. Knowing what these sources contain, along with their respective shortcomings, can be helpful when researching your Massachusetts ancestors. Continue reading Thank an antiquarian

Solving a mystery?

Steward 3I have written several blog posts on the contents of my grandfather’s box of family papers, but even this seemingly inexhaustible resource must eventually run dry. I don’t think I’m quite there, yet, although it’s true that I am reaching the tail end of the easily identified documents and photographs. Now for one or two remaining mysteries. Continue reading Solving a mystery?

Buckman’s Tavern

Buckman Tavern
Buckman’s Tavern. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

Along with the Boston Marathon and a home Red Sox game, today Massachusetts observes Patriots’ Day. This holiday, the third Monday in April since 1969, commemorates the Battle of Lexington on 19 April 1775.[1] In Lexington, the reenactment of the battle begins in the early morning hours as the Regulars – the British soldiers – march toward the town’s Common, and the militia company exits the adjacent Buckman’s Tavern to gather on the Common, now known as Battle Green. Continue reading Buckman’s Tavern

An unusual family

Steward 1
The John Steward family of Goshen, New York. Harriet Le Roy Steward (later Stuyvesant) stands in the doorway; her brother Campbell, my great-grandfather, stands behind the toy cannon.

It is always a nice surprise to open a book and find a reference to a family member, especially a family member about whom one knows little. This recently happened to me as I was reading Robert Winthrop Kean’s memoir, Fourscore Years, published privately in 1974. The book’s subtitle, “My First Twenty-four,” indicates that this volume covers the beginning of the author’s life; an earlier book, Dear Marraine, concerns his service during the First World War.

Winthrop Kean’s mother was Katharine Taylor Winthrop (1866–1943). Her “most intimate girlhood friend,” Katie Stuyvesant, was my grandfather’s first cousin. Continue reading An unusual family