Tracing Ancestors on the Move—Last Chance to Register
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Share your thoughts about the survey! Please limit submissions to 150 words or fewer. Responses featured in a future newsletter may be edited for clarity and length.
Last Week's Survey:
Vacations in Nature
Total: 3,101 Responses
31%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors had a regular tradition of taking a vacation that involved camping in tents.
27%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors had a regular tradition of taking a vacation that involved staying in rustic cabins.
21%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors had a regular tradition of taking a vacation that involved staying in a camper or trailer.
5%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors had a regular tradition of taking a vacation at a dude ranch, nature retreat, or a nature-oriented family camp.
11%, Yes, at least one of my ancestors had a regular tradition of taking a nature-oriented vacation of a type not mentioned above.
41%, I have or had a regular tradition of taking nature-oriented vacations.
37%, No, I don’t believe any of my ancestors had a regular tradition of taking nature-oriented vacations.
Readers Respond
Carol Austin, Garden Grove, California: Before World War II, my father built a little “tear-drop” camper trailer that he towed behind the family car. I slept on the blanket shelf above the double bed my parents used, and there was a kitchen in the rear of the trailer. We camped all over the west: Yellowstone, the Tetons, Jenny Lake, Sequoia, Yosemite, Mesa Verde, and the Grand Canyon. When I was five years old the war began, and rationing put a stop to those trips. Much later, my husband became interested in birding. We traveled to Papua New Guinea, then Ecuador, Kenya, and Borneo. It has been a great life.
Margaret Jo Dye, Stoneham, Massachusetts: My paternal grandmother regularly went on mule treks to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. She grew up in Montana and loved riding. When I was young, I liked to try on her riding boots. They were too tall for me and went up over my knees, so I would just fall over.
Renee Furgeson, American Fork, Utah: I spent my childhood vacations with my grandparents, Ruby and Glen A. Putnam. I rode in the back of their old Dodge sedan while my grandmother crocheted in the front seat. Grandpa was an avid fisherman. I spent quiet time sitting on riverbanks in St. Charles, Idaho, as he waded out to the deepest spots. These vacations were special to me.
Margaret Brosz, Langhorne, Pennsylvania: Around 1960, when I was 9 years old, my parents loaded myself and my four siblings into our 10-year-old, second-hand station wagon. We drove from New Jersey to a tiny cabin in a state park at the Thousand Islands in northern New York. Another family had abandoned their cabin due to persistent chipmunks, so we ended up with two cabins. We spent a week feeding chipmunks at the picnic table and swimming in the freezing St. Lawrence River. We were the only people swimming because the water was so cold. We had a great time. I will never forget that week.
Kathy Beaudoin McHale, Norfolk, Massachusetts: In 1984, my family visited Nova Scotia. We camped at Lake Ainslie in Cape Breton and explored Margaree, home of our MacNeil and Daigle ancestors. In nearby Cheticamp, we visited Les Trois Pignons Genealogy Centre. There we learned of the Mi’kmaq ancestry of our maternal grandfather, Charles Martin/Chaumable. My favorite vacations combine camping and genealogy.
The Disabled Founding Father Who Put the “United” in “United States” “A congressman, senator, diplomat, attorney and vocal opponent of slavery, [Gouverneur] Morris looms large in the nation’s founding. He was also disabled. Two major accidents in his life left him with a severely impaired right arm and an amputated left leg.”
The Peculiar Game of the Yankee Peddler—or What Do You Buy? “An astounding number of printed nineteenth-century games centered on Yankee peddlers.”Early games aimed to instill Christian morality, while an 1888 version valued competition.
Spotlight: Newspaper Database: Puskarich Public Library, Cadiz, Ohio
by Valerie Beaudrault
The Puskarich Public Library is located in the village of Cadiz, the seat of Harrison County, Ohio. The library has made a database available in its digital archive. The database includes historical newspapers and other resources. The online collection comprises more than 248,000 pages from 39 newspapers, including Harrison News Herald (1968-2020), The Steubenville Daily Gazette (1875-1920), The Cadiz Republican (1842-1968), The Freeport Press (1880-1964), The Cadiz Sentinel (1844-1911), and The Cadiz Democrat Sentinel (1854-1932). Other resources include family papers, church records, Harrison County Sheriff Jail Registers (1913), and the Harrison County Board of Commissioners Journal (1824-1898). The database is keyword searchable. Individual newspapers can also be browsed. Search Now
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Your Legacy. Your Peace of Mind. Your Free Will.
As a family historian, you know that wills are important in your research—but have you created a will for yourself? Free Will, an easy and free online will creation tool, will guide you step-by-step through identifying beneficiaries for your assets, supporting the causes that are important to you, and planning for the preservation of your research. Learn More
